Girls Out Late by Jaqueline Wilson

Girls Out Late is basically about three girls who are boy crazy but have to cope with there crazy parents' rules.  For example, Ellie has a curfew of 9, Nadine has a mother obsessed with knowing every little detail of Nadines life.

Ellie meets a boy that, at first her dad doesn't approve of.  She is constantly hanging out with him after school though.  One time they meet at night but the older boy cajoles Ellie into staying out later, causing her parents to disapprove of the boy.  So they secretly met at McDonalds.  On there first date, Russell does not come.  Ellie thinks this is the end and becomes very sad. 

But then one day, Russell calls explaining that he got grounded and he is very sorry.  For some reason this makes Ellies parents approve of Russell and allow them to go out again.

I think a main problem in this book is curfews and what a good time is to call a curfew.  In the book Russell is 16 and Ellie is 14. They are older than most of the 8th grade students at Ms.51.  Ellie has a curfew of 9 and we do not know when Russell's curfew is but it is before 1AM.  When is your curfew?

Stealing Parker by Miranda Kenneally

This book, was a really good book, even though it took me a while to read.  It is about a girl who's mom leaves their family, turning it upside down.  Ryan, Parker's brother, resorts to dugs, Parker, quits softball and starts hooking up with almost ever guy that she knows, and her dad thinks that prayer can fix everything.

I think a main issue in this book is finding out who you are.  I think this because Parker's mother left because she didn't want to be with a man anymore, she moved to Arizona with a woman.  Obviously, her mother had second thoughts after marrying her husband and raising Ryan and Parker. 

Drew, Parker's best friend, also had to figure out who he is because Drew is bisexual and just broke up with his girlfriend.  Drew likes his other best friend so there is also a lot of confusion about who he is exactly.

Brian needs to find out what means more to him, his "love" for Parker or his career.

And last but not least, Parker has to decipher whether or not she was meant to play softball.  She deffinetly has the skills and we know that she has a passion for it, but honestly the way Miranda Kenneally describes it, it makes it seem like Parker is deciding what she wants. 

As you can see, there are many people in Stealing Parker that are trying to identify themselves.  I think Miranda Kenneally made the age group perfectly because it is about high school students who are also stressing about college and adulthood.  In real life, at around this age, people have to find out what they want to do with there life and who they are as a person.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

This book took place in the 24th century, in which no one reads books anymore. in fact, it is illegal to own books. Everyone in Fahrenheit 451 is tech savvy.  For example, people have seashell like radios that they can listen to throughout the day and they rely on virtual medical systems to save lives.  I wouldn't want my life saved by a robot, would you?  In this book, technology dominates society.  Literally. One day, when Clarisse finally made Montag, the main character who is a firefighter, understand how much of a negative impact technology has on the people.  He is ready to change his life when atomic bombs destroy his city and Montag is ready to start a better life, vowing to use less technology. 

Technology is a problem in this book that leads up to what I think is an even bigger problem, censorship.  I wonder why it became such an issue and a problem to obtain books.  In the book it states that books slowly lost there place and the futuristic people started to become offended by types of books.

The job of a fireman would be to go to houses where books have been spotted and burn them.  If the owner refuses to leave, they usually die as well.  Clarisse questions his job twice in the book and both times Montag gives a different answer.  The second time, I think he did realize that his job is just a little bit weird and that it's not at all right. 

The Winter Lodge by Susan Wiggs

 In The Winter Lodge, Jenny's house burns down and she has no family to stay with.  She moves in with a friend that she's known since they were younger.  They have a awkward history.  Then Jenny gets reunited with her father and she gets a job as a writer in New York.  But she feels she cannnot write well in NYC so she moves back to a place by an old camp.  Jenny has a job in a bakery, where she works with the mayors son, Zach. 

 I think Zach is a good person but Matthew pressures him into doing bad things.  For example, when Zach was stealing money from the bakery, Jenny walked in and saw him.  Jenny always catches Zach. I think this made there relationship stronger because Zach had to explain that Matthew wanted more money and that's why he was stealing the money.  It was almost like the two of them are now sharing a secret.

Also, Jenny's reaction when she caught Zach was a little sympathetic.  At first, she was mad because, well, isn't it obvious? A fellow employee, that you trust, is stealing from the cash register? Doesn't look good.  But after Zach explained and apologized sincerely, I think that Jenny could tell that Zach really was being honest and felt bad for stealing so she wasn't as mad.

Non-Fiction Blogpost on Sara Tucholsky Article

 In the article we learn that a senior, Sara Tucholsky, hit a homeroom in a playoff softball game.  After hitting 1st base, she fell and hurt her right knee.  She could not walk and no one from her team could touch her.  So two opposing members, Liz Holtman and Mallory Wallace, carried her around the bases. Tucholsky's team still won the game even with out Tucholsky's hitting.

I chose to write about this article because I think it demonstrates good sportsmanship which is a key component of the game. I think that Tucholsky was very thankful and the girls did the right thing. 

Overall, the Article is teaching us that sportsmanship is a good thing.  Like when two members of the opposing team, Holtman and Wallace, volunteered to carry Tucholsky around the bases so that she could be rewarded her home run.