So much to read

My Finished Book

Arhama Ahmed

  Once again, I have completed a captivating novel. It was so good. Now admittedly, it was not my first time reading this book. I can't help it. The author has such a way of bringing the book to life, and making all the characters unique. I laughed and cried and smiled and got angry and felt almost every emotion.

  Some may know this writer, not as a best-selling author, but also as a famous youtuber. His name is John Green, and the book I am talking about is, The Fault in Our Stars.

  This book could be described as a work of pure genius, or at least, I think so. 

  The main character, a cancer patient by the name of Hazel Grace, is incredibly closed off. She no longer has many friends, and even shuts out her parents. One thing that brings her parents comfort is the weekly support group Hazel is forced to attend. Here, she only has an acquaintance by the name of Isaac. He is almost blind, and soon becomes it completely.

  Isaac helps make attending the dreadful support group worth it, by one day bringing in a friend. This friend is Augustus "Gus" Waters. Augustus is a previous cancer patient- or is he?

  Through this book, Hazel and Augustus develop a beautiful relationship, that some may say ends quite tragically, but in my opinion, has a beautiful message.

  Hazel Grace thought that shutting out everyone would lessen the "collateral damage" that would occur once she inevitably died. However, Augustus taught her, that letting people in and being surrounded by love, isn't such a bad thing.

  John Green is a best-selling author of many other books, such as Paper Towns and Looking For Alaska. He is also a youtuber, and works with his brother Hank Green. Their youtube channel is the vlogbrothers. Trust me, you'll love them both.

  In addition, "The Fault in Our Stars" is now an amazing and enthralling movie. The movie "Paper Towns" is coming out soon(summer!).

Spring Break Reading

My Finished Book

Arhama Ahmed

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to predict the future? How it would feel to know what was about to happen?

Well, Ashlyn and her sister Kyra do. Let's just say, it not something you would expect.

Over break, I read the book Trance, by Linda Gerber.

At a young age, the main character, Ashlyn, and her sister Kyra have had visions. however, each would only get part of the vision, and would put them together to learn what would happen. The weird thing was that, along with the visions, when the girls went into the trance, they would also write a large string of numbers.

After Ashlyn's mom died in a car crash, which Ashlyn blames herself for, Kyra leaves. She believes that will stop the visions, because both girls cannot control them.

However, when Ashlyn has a new vision, it's horrible. She knows, that somewhere, someone she knows, is about to die. With help from her sister, Ashlyn must find a way to save a man from dying, and save her new boyfriend from a fatal accident. Enthralling, suspenseful, emotional, amazing. These are just a few words to describe this captivating novel

Finished!

The Book I Finished

Arhama Ahmed

Once again, I have completed a new book. This time, it's a book by Chanda Hahn, called, UnEnchanted. This novel is very intriguing with a captivating plot and characters. Hahn does an incredible job showing how age old fairytales can have a dark past.

  Mina Grime is an unpopular girl in high school. She is incredibly clumsy, and always blamed it on her bad luck. She soon learned how right she was. Mina's field trip to a factory with her class, leads to her unraveling a mystery surrounding her family, and explains her father's death. From her mother, she learns where her family comes from, her real last name, and the curse that  and then takes on an incredibly hard task. One that killed her father. 

  Mina stands in between two worlds, where reality and imagination collide. From red riding hood, to the wicked witch, Mina discovers that the two worlds may not be so different. With help from her new found friends, Mina manages to defeat the evil in one of the stories. However, there are more stories ahead, and she does not know how many more, for no one in her family has ever defeated the entire Story book. If she fails, the next in line will have to start from the very beginning. Mina can never let this happen, because next in line, is Mina's younger brother.

  Throughout the story, Chanda Hahn builds a new world, where everything is different from the world we know. She writes so that everyone plays a part, and her style really makes Mina's world come alive. I would recommend this to those who like to read a spin on the classic fairytale, and want to follow this series. The next books in this series include; Fairest, Fable, Reign, and a new book coming out June 8th, called Forever. This book and author deserve a 5/5 rating. :)

Fahrenheit 451 theme handout

Theme One Handout

Group: 1                        Members: Arhama, Caitie, Freddie, Shannon, Sanya, Joe                 Bell: 5

Theme: Censorship causes diminished individual thought. 

 

1. The society is brainwashed into thinking books are bad and that they must burn books
2. The people believe that books can’t help anything
3. “‘Do you ever read any of the books you burn?’ ‘That’s against the law!’” (Bradbury, 8)
4. Clarisse begins to open Montag’s eyes to the fact that the society is “brainwashed”
5. Montag gets curious and steals a book from the lady whose house they burnt down
6. Clarisse is killed because she understands that society diminishes their thoughts and ideas
7. (Part two starts) Montag goes to Faber to find the meaning of books
8. Once he discovers books he gets Faber to help start a revolution
9. “‘Using the very books you clung to, to refute you on every hand, on every point! What traitors books can be!’” (Bradbury, 104)
10. Beatty makes Montag burn his house and books
11. (Part three starts) Montag does burn his books under Beatty’s command
12. Montag runs from the law to Faber’s house
13. He crosses the river to the new society
14. He meets Granger who also loves and respects books and is also very wise
15. “When the war is over perhaps we can be of some use in the world.” (Bradbury, 146)

Three Quotes Chosen:

•(Part one) “‘Do you ever read any of the books you burn?’ ‘That’s against the law!’” (page 8)

•(Part two) “‘Using the very books you clung to, to refute you on every hand, on every point! What traitors books can be!’” (page 104)

•(Part three) “When the war is over perhaps we can be of some use in the world.” (page 146)

Theme comprehension: The theme shown above is important to the understanding of the story because throughout the scenes of the novel, the main message being conveyed is that, censorship of books keeps people from gaining knowledge on the world, and how to make new discoveries based on what you have learned.

Theme connection to modern society: The theme above connects to our modern-day society by teaching us to allow books into the lives of people so that we, along with future generations, can develop our own opinions on the world and acknowledge those who have written them.

Another Finished book

The Book I Finished

Arhama Ahmed

  A couple days ago I finished another amazing book. It's called Everblue, by Brenda Pandos. All you myth-maniacs and fantasy-fanatics better get ready for this enthralling novel.

  First of all, this book is good because it is told in the view of two different characters. The first is Ash, or Ashley, who lives in Tahoe with her family. Her family owns a gift shop not far from the boat rental store of her close friend. Ash is best friends with Tatchi, who's brother, Fin, tells the story from his point of view. Both Fin and Ashley are attracted to each other, but they do not believe the other feels the same way. In addition, Fin has another reason that he cannot become attached to Ashley. If he does, he will never be able to leave her and she, him.

  Ashley always knew that there was something odd about Tatchi's life. Her parents being so strict, and not letting her leave Tahoe for college. However, she chose to stay away and oblivious. Ashley is seen to be curious and so she could not keep away from Tatchi's mystery for long, but what she discovered was something she could have never imagined.

  Fin loved the water. That is an understatement. He "lived" in it. Fin never worried about leaving Tahoe like his sister, he was content to just stay put and take over the "family business" when he was old enough. However, something, or more, someone was holding him back. Fin knew that he wanted to carry out his family's legacy but that meant never seeing Ashley again.

  One day, Tatchi and her family suddenly disappear and Ashley becomes worried from the lack of communication. As time goes on, she decides to explore Tatchi's world and find out what's wrong. This eventually leads to her putting herself in danger.

  Fin, along with his family must travel to another world, where he realizes his love for Ashley. When he surfaces back to Tahoe, he sees Ashley in danger. Upon saving her, Fin binds them together in an inseparable bond.

  You must read this magical book filled with surprises in the deep blue sea. I give this novel a 5 star rating. Who know's? You may love it as much as me. So go on, take a dip into the exciting world of fable and fairytale.

Finished book

The book I finished

Arhama Ahmed

WARNING: some spoilers

 Recently, I finished a book called Broken, by Kelly Elliott. This book is very heartwarming. It shows how two people who were once hurt by a close one, were able to find love and trust in each other.

  The book is written from two different point's of view. They are the main characters, Layton Morris and Whitley Reynolds. In this book both characters go through heart break and learn to love again. Whitley and Layton take time to get to know each other and eventually fall in love through all the ups and downs in their lives and their relationship. 

  Whitley leaves New York to get away from her now ex-fiancé who hurt her both physically and emotionally(mentally). She travels with her best friend, Courtney, and they move to Texas so Whitley can start a party planning business. Whitley finally let's go of the hurt and promises to never fall for another man again.

  Layton lives in Texas and owns cattle and racehorses. He usually keeps to himself  after his girlfriend broke up with him, the night after his brother, Mitch, died. Layton promises to never commit to another person who would break his heart.

  Coincidentally, Whitley's car breaks down in front of Layton's land. As he helps her, he becomes more infatuated with her, and against her will, so does Whitley. As time goes on, both of them fall more in love and through some interesting events, they start to believe it was fate that brought them together.They eventually get together, and confess their insecurities. Promising to never hurt and leave the other, Whitley and Layton leave their dark pasts behind and look to a brighter future.

  I would recommend this book, but it does contain some violence and mature scenes. Be advised as you read.



I finished a book!

Finishing a book

Arhama Ahmed

I just completed a book called, just Ella, by, Margaret Peterson Haddix. The main character of this book is a girl named Ella. The story is a twist on the original Cinderella tale. Now, as I have mentioned before, I am a fairytale fanatic so, this book really drew me in. Ella is also a dynamic character, so she changes throughout the text.



Ella started out as a young girl, whose parents' had both died, and was now being raised by her stepmother with two stepsisters. Ella was a quiet girl who got pushed around by her "family". She got teased by her stepsisters, who called her "Cinders Ella" because they made her work in the ashes of the fire to make her beautiful face, dirty. One night, Ella's entire household, including herself, were invited to a ball. However, Ella's stepmother would not allow her to go. This is where you witness the first change in Ella's character.

Ella disobeys her stepmother and begins to work on a dress to wear to the ball, and tricks a shoemaker into making her glass slippers. This is when she goes to the ball and gets a ride from a coachman who had to leave at midnight and agreed to give Ella a ride home. Ella gets introduced, and although she wanted the announcer to say,"Cinders Ella" so that her family knew she had arrived, the man said "Cinderella". Ella dances with the prince who finds her very intriguing and beautiful. The next day, the prince finds Ella with the help of her lost slipper. They are set to be married and Ella becomes very excited. She is happy to have left her horrible life behind and be married to her love. 

However, as the story continues, you begin to witness a change in Ella's demeanor, she does not look forward to meeting the prince as often, and finds palace life boring. Eventually, she makes a drastic decision, which leads to her final change in character. Ella realizes that you do not need beauty or riches to be happy, because real happiness is found within you and the things that you love.