Never Getting to Build the Glass Castle...

To be honest, recently I've been having trouble finding good books. I asked Ms. Robbins to find me a good book. Every time I ask Ms. Robbins for a book, she gets really angry, but she always comes through with the best books. The last one she recommended is The Glass Castle. This book was amazing in multiple ways, and has made it into my top five in the world.

To sum it all up in a paragraph, this book is this lady named Jeanette's memoir, recapping her entire life. The whole twist to the book is that it revolves around her parents, not her. And when I say her parents, I mean her dad Rex. Her entire life revolves around him. He is a complete genius, in every way, except for the fact that he's a lying, cheating, tax evading, alcoholic. He makes promises he cant keep, and when bills pile up, he has his family do the "skiddadle," meaning they run away from the tax collector.

The difference between Jeanette's parents, and most people parents, is that they don't play by the book. They have a complete opposite view of the world, and impose this on their child.

When thinking about this, the first thing that came to my mind was Cuba. I know it sounds like something random to think about when reading a book by an american, non political author, but it makes a lot of sense. Fidel Castro calls Cuba a communist society. The thing with communism is that with the right leaders, it would work out just fine. Cuba is supposed to be a government of the people. The only problem is, Fidel Castro is a dictator, and he rules Cuba like he's a king.

Jeanette and her siblings are Cuba, and her parents, especially her father, are Fidel Castro. He thinks his kids should be wild and free, but at the same time keeps a chain on them. On one hand I feel bad for Jeanette, but on the other I feel bad for Rex. He can't help his addictions, and he can't control his anger.

This is why I think people should stay by the book, because it benefits the whole.

All Star Mentors: The ones that lack but succeed

Molly Dore in Ms. Rear's class post about the book "The Dear One" had it's ups and downs. The only problem I found with it was that it was stuck in one paragraph land. Other than that, it was a great post. She talks about how everyone in life shouldn't be so judgmental. I liked how she said "So what I've learned from experience and even more from the story is give people a chance and don't be judgmental."

Dante Deblasio's post is pretty epic. Once again, in one paragraph land. But other than that, it was amazing. It made me laugh so hard when he talked about how why they shouldn't have published it. I haven't read it, but I guess I'll have to now because of how articulate he was about it.

Casey Gallagher's post really inspired me to look at art. It was perfect in many ways. He had the right amount of paragraph organization, and it was meaningful. It was really well described. Great job Casey

The Third of May

Third of May:By Freedom and Smith(West Harlem Amtrak tunnel)

Guns blast, BANG!

Kneel before them as they overpower

Rifles shouldered as your family dies

If only these people knew your story, how you've already suffered.

Twilight surprise, not so great of a present

Outskirts, debris everywhere.

Organized while you all spread apart, maybe to confuse them?

Not possible.

They're too trained.

You're tattered rags, and desperate pleas, are nothing compared to their orders.

Orders of "Halt" and "Kneel". Identical coats

Background bystanders look on at the massacre.

The Lost World

Derrick Poem (The Lost World)
by Terrance Hayes
I take my $, buy a pair of very bright kicks for the game at the bottom of the hill on Tuesday w / Tone who averages 19.4 points a game, & told me about this spot, & this salesman w / gold ringed fingers fitting a $100 dollar NBA Air Avenger over the white part of me–my sock, my heel & sole, though I tell him Avengers are too flashy & buy blue & white Air Flights w / the dough I was suppose to use to pay the light bill & worse, use the change to buy an Ella Fitzgerald CD at Jerrys, then take them both in a bag past salesmen & pedestrians to the C where there is a girl I'd marry if I was Pablo Neruda & after 3, 4 blocks, I spill out humming "April in Paris" while a lady w / a 12 inch cigar calls the driver a facist cuz he won't let her smoke on the bus & skinny Derrick rolls up in a borrowed Pontiac w / room for me, my kicks & Ella on his way to see The Lost World alone & though I think the title could mean something else, I give him some skin & remember the last time I saw him I was on the B-ball court after dark w / a white girl who'd borrowed my shorts & the only other person out was Derrick throwing a Spalding at the crooked rim no one usually shoots at while I tried not to look his way & thought how we used to talk about black women & desire & how I was betraying him then creeping out after sundown with a girl in my shorts & white skin that slept around me the 5 or 6 weeks before she got tired of late night hoop lessons & hiding out in my crib there at the top of the hill Derrick drove up still talking, not about black girls, but dinosaurs which if I was listening could have been talk about loneliness, but I wasn't, even when he said, "We should go to the movies sometime," & stopped. Observation: I observe from this poem that there are a few themes. The first one I noticed was the poverty. He talks "ghetto" but he almost seems like he longs to be with the upper class people who "smoke 12 inch cigars" on the bus and get to call the driver a fascist. At the end he seems to reach that at the end of the poem. Interpretation: I think the others voice talks from the lower class up to the upper class, and makes it seem almost sophisticated so that he can get his message across. He gives detail, which he thinks make it seem nicer. And it is. He shows us his life with the detail. Extension: I think this poem speaks for a lot of people that long for a better life. People want new friends and new people you know and new clothes and new privileges. I think that's what this poem talked about. I think this is the kind of poetry people should be writing.

It's pretty hard writing about Holden Caulfield when I haven't finished the book *SPOILER ALERT*

Holden Caulfield (from "Catcher in the Rye") is a sophisticated character. I've only known him for about 70 pages, but it's almost been a lifetime to me.There are two things I know about Holden that I would really like to get out.

I think Holden is egotistical, if that's the right word. For example, his hunting hat. He uses his hunting hat to display his feelings, and to be cool. He puts it on forwards and backwards, expressing different security levels. I think this shows Holden likes to make it obvious that he's afraid, but I think he likes to show that he's never afraid, because he mainly keeps it in front, showing security of some sort.

The next thing about Holden, is that he thinks he's above it all, even though he flunks out of everything. What is wrong with him? If you want to be the man, you have to act like the man! He thinks he's above all this education nonsense, so we can cut to the chase. Hate to rain on your parade Senor Caulfield, but everyone else went to school, so so must you!

My conclusion is that I hate Holden Caulfield. I wish I could run away to New York and live in a hotel and be carefree. Oh, wait, I already live in New York, and theres bed bugs in hotels. So honestly, I conclude that Mr. Caulfield is a self absorbed, snobby, moron. (But it's a good book)

Is Darren Shan really a vampire?

I read the book "Cirque De Friek" #1, but I'm still trying to figure this one out.

Is Darren Shane really a vampire? He said he was, but I think he made it up. If he is, hes probably writing the books during the night, because vampires come out at night.

I kinda hate it when these writers pretend like stuff was true. Fro example, Jk Rowlings "Beetle the Bard" book and "History of Quidditch" were so dumb, because it made it less realistic by pretending it was true. Although Darren Shan's books were good, the idea that it actually happened to him killed it

Unscrew the doors themselves from their Jambs!(*SPOILER ALERT*)

I just finished a book, "Paper Towns" by John Green, and I have to say, after reading two of his books, he's my favorite author. I realize now that what he writes is teenage mystery. The only difference is that his mystery is way better than actual mystery.

He writes about teenagers. And from the two books I've read, I can tell that theres a climax between the male and female character, and then something happens to the female. Normally I would try not to spoil the book, but I can't give a juicy response without it. The girl in this book, Margo, runs away. It's not the first time, but it's the first time that Quentin, the main character, knows about it. It's drawing closer and closer to high school graduation, and Q is getting worried that Margo wont be back in time.

He starts to investigate. He looks everywhere within 50 miles of Orlando, exploring, investigating, and sniffing to see if he can smell Margo's almond butter skin lotion. A series of uncoveringes occurred, and Q found where Margo was, so he packs up a car with all of his 4 friends, and travels to upstate New York.

Eventually he finds Margo, but that wasn't the point of the story. The point was the journey. He learned about Woody Guthrie, and Walt Whitman, and whatever the heck a Paper Town was in the first place. And that's what made the book beautiful. The mystery of it. That's what makes all this guy's books great.