Books Read:

Uglies by Scott Westerfield  (Finished the Book) 1-323

Pretties by Scott Westerfield (Finished the Book) 1-323

Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen 1-54

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How do the scientists insert the brain lesions without damaging the people under surgery? Are some people immune to these lesions? How did Tally "talk" herself out of the lesions? How does David feel about how Tally was with Zane? Will Tally and David get back together, and how did Shay turn special?

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In Flipped, Julianne is a bit of a complex character. She can be loud, brash, and annoying. However, Julianne is also very insightful and clever. She's accepting of all people and can be much more mature than other kids her age. This is exemplified when she was on the tree, because she saw beauty in the gnarled branches and chose to protest how the city was cutting the tree down. 

Double Reading Log

The Clockwork Three by Matthew J. Kirby 1-317
Lolita by Vladimir Nakobov 16%-22%


The Jungle Book 50%-100%


Trends
In The Clockwork Three, they have many different trends than that would be found in our time period. For example, the opera is popular there while here, our culture would much rather see a movie. Also, the clothing that the characters wear is very different. For example, Madame Pomeroy wears very ostentatious outfits that would be considered ridiculous today. 


Symbolism
In Lolita, there is are a few symbols that can be interpreted differently. The first symbol I'd like to address is Lolita herself. Now, Humbert views Lolita as perfection- he rants on and on about her supple skin and youthful beauty. He talks about how he views her as His Lolita, his Lo and Loli. However, I don't believe Lolita is truly what Humbert desires. I believe that Lolita just reveals his craving for young children- not just the Dolores. "I was able to make out a dim first version of Lolita's outline, legs, cheekbones, bobbed nose." In this section of the book, Humbert is not talking about Dolores. He is talking about her mother as a child. Therefore, I believe that Lolita symbolizes what Humbert desires in a women- youthful perfection. 


Ethics
In one scene of The Clockwork Three, Hannah steals a diamond necklace from Madame Pomeroy in order to pay for her father's medical bills. Though I empathize with Hannah for her father's condition, I don't believe that was the right thing to do. Hannah ought to have explained her situation to Madame and asked for a loan, not steal the gift impulsively.


Details
Dolores, or Lolita, is described in intense detail in this novel. She is described as a messy, uncaring, rebellious 12 year old girl. She is dressed sloppily and does not care for any baths. She has a fierce temper and is capable of having terrible arguments. However, Dolores is quite innocent and can be very fun at times. 

Reading Log

The Jungle Book by Ridyard Kipling

1%-49% (approximately 80 pages)

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

1%-15% (approximately 30 pages)

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In the story of Mowgli and his jungle life, much of the native tongue is used. For example, they call the fire a Red Flower and they call various other creatures either by an African name or a different nickname. Also, the seals use different names when referring to bachelors ( the seals call them holluschickie).

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When describing his memories, the narrator Humbert manages to describe his experiences with a melancholic, sad tone- almost as if he is romanticizing his life a bit. However, when he begins to describe his "nymphets", it is hard to not take him seriously as his tone is as serious as it was when he was describing Annabel before. 

Reading Log~

A Stolen Life by Jaycee Dugard

14%-68% (more than 100 pages)


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In this book, Jaycee describes her scenery in detail. When she is captured, she vividly recounts how she felt herself grasp something sticky, which is a pine cone. With all of the intricate descriptions, I can actually feel like I am living through her experience with her.

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In this story, Jaycee accurately portrays her abductor, Paul, as an ethic-less man that cruellly tricks her into believing she is in good hands. Also, Paul's wife is portrayed as an immoral woman who puts up with the abuse going on in her yard. Through out this story, I find myself continuously horrified about how Paul and his wife could do something so horrible to the young, eleven year old Jaycee.

Reading Log~

Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
1- 127

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In this action-packed novel, there may not seem to be many symbols. However, it is actually chock full of symbol. The first symbol is Toshio sitting up on the rooftop throwing arrows at those running past when the game started. This symbolizes fear and the notion "eat before being eaten".

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This story is chock full of controversial topics. First, the major thing that the characters are divided about is to kill, or to work together and die together? Of course, many characters such as Kazuo just decide to kill and don't have any regrets. However, many students such as Toshio have mental battles on whether killing is the right thing to do or not.

reading log week 10

The Condition  by Jennifer Haigh

I finished the book- around 300 pages?


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This story goes way into depth when defining who the characters are. First, Gwen herself is intricately carved. Her Turner's syndrome ultimately hides her true self and personality. Before diagnosis, Gwen had been a adventurous young girl. However, once she was diagnosed, she became elusive and stubborn. Well, she had already been stubborn, but now she had become even more so. This is especially shown when she goes to the island and then begins to live there, much against her parent's wishes. However, Gwen is still very distrustful and quickly leaves when she suspects foul play.

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Pauline and Frank have big differing views on how to treat Gwen properly. Pauline prefers to avoid the situation altogether. Frank likes to bring out the facts truthfully. Though both have their own pros, they also have cons. I believe that Gwen should have a combined treatment. She should receive the tender loving care from Pauline, but Gwen also shouldn't be treated as a child. Gwen also has the right to know about her disease, but then again she shouldn't be treated like a specimen ready to examine. In conclusion, both Pauline and Frank are right and wrong. Gwen should be treated as a normal human being, but with some specialness involved also.

Reading log week 10

Happyface by Stephen Emond
pages 1-307

Garden Shadows by V.C. Andrews
pages 86-257

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In happyface, the big idea seemed to be the cliche idea of a loser becoming a cool kid. However, as I moved through the story, I soon found this was not the average story.

The big idea was actually that insecurities can easily be hid. This is shown both by the events and the unreliability of the narrator himself. In the book, "happyface" easily hides the traumatic past events of his life by slapping on a huge smile and never taking it off. But as the reader finds out, "happyface" is also hiding his own insecurities from the reader. For example, "happyface" hid the incident of his brother's death through out mnost of the novel and only revealing it to us near the end of the book.

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In garden of shadows, the new fashion trends and woman rights correspond with
the telling of the story. For example, in the beginning of the story Olivia is wearing the old fashioned clothes and the younger more fashionable ladies are wearing bag dresses. However, as the story went on, Olivia's daughter began to wear the most fashionable scarves and tight fitting dresses. And also, Olivia gained more rights as she went on with Malcolm's business because women started to fight for their own equalities.