Vocabulary - Week of 2/21/11

Lexicography - the writing or compiling of dictionaries.
Fluctuate - To shift back and forth.
Vigorous - Energetic; forceful

Reader's Response # 3 - Week of 2/21/11

Eh, not much has changed still. I really thought that Melinda would start making friends, but instead it's the opposite. The one person she hung out with is now with another group of girls and Melinda officially has no friends. In the book, she keeps mentioning this guy and how she's afraid of him, but I have no idea why. I don't know anything about this guy, or why he freaks out Melinda and it bothers me! Melinda has also started cutting herself and skipping school. I feel really sorry for her, because she doesn't have a single friend, and I know that would make me feel really lonely. The people at her school still haven't forgiven her for calling the cops, and they have no intention of getting to know her. This book has amazing detail, and it's really good to read it before the TAKS. It's really descriptive and I think my writing could use a lot more of that.

Reader's Response # 2 - Week of 2/21/11

I don't know if it's just me, but most of the books I read seem to go really slowly. Maybe this genre just doesn't really interest me..? Anyways, Melinda's still a loser, not much has really changed. Even though not much happens at a time in this book, it has lots of details. The characters are described really well and I have a pretty good idea of their personalities. I hope there's like a sudden twist or something, to make this story more interesting. I hope Melinda moves, or finds new friends, because she's spent a lot of class time hiding out in a janitor's closet and forging tardy passes. She's apparently really good at basketball, so maybe she'll make new friends on the team is she makes it. Also, her old friend Ivy is starting to talk to her a little, so maybe they'll start hanging out again. Another thing that Melinda has to go through is her family that doesn't really communicate. She's an only child and her parents are usually extremely occupied with their jobs. For Thanksgiving, her mom got an emergency call from her store and her dad ordered pizza. That's like...breaking up with someone on Valentine's day...or not having a Christmas tree on Christmas. I think that would be pretty depressing, and now I'm glad my mom kind of overdoes it on the holidays. This book pretty much made me realize my life could be a LOT worse.

Reader's Response # 1 - week of 2/21/11

This book is called Speak, and it's pretty good so far. It's about a girl, Melinda , who had a pretty normal life until the summer before high school. There was an end of the year party held, and she called the cops because it got out of hand. A few people were arrested, so now everyone hates her. On her first day of high school, people give her death glares and her old friends act like they don't know her. She meets another girl, Heather, who is also completely friendless. Melinda thinks Heather is really annoying, but she hangs out with Heather anyways, so she'll have someone to talk to. I think it would really suck to be in Melinda's position, because it's not like when you're a new student. When you're a new student, no one knows you and you can start fresh. Melinda has doesn't have friends either, but not many people want to be her friend, so her choices are pretty limited. I think Melinda's pretty brave too, because she probably knew calling the cops was social suicide, but she did it anyways.

Reader's Response #3 - Week of 2/14/11

This book is getting old! I only read 30 minutes and I'm already sick of it. I'm definitely getting a new book today. So not much has really happened, the party is STILL going on. Kristen is calling Massie every five minutes, crying because her parents didn't let her go to the party. Oh yeah, earlier that day, the four girls wore their Halloween costumes to school, which show much more skin than the school allows. They got caught, and Kristen got grounded. I think it was a really stupid idea to wear the costumes to school, especially if you ran a risk of getting grounded right before a huge party. Massie didn't get punished, because her parents are pretty laid back, but I know my parents would freak out.  They probably wouldn't let me dress like they did for Halloween or throw a huge party, but ehhh you get my point. I wish there was more to write about, but this is all I can get from this book. I think I will read this series when I have more free time, and do my reader's responses on other books.

Vocabulary - Week of 2/14/11

Factotum - A person employed to do all kinds of work.
Eclat - Brilliance of success, reputatation.
Cachet - An official seal, as in a letter or document.

Reader's Response #2 - Week of 2/14/11

So this counts as a reader's response right? It's my thoughts on the article about how important personal narratives are.
I think this article is a good example of  why it's so important to be able to write good essays. I think you can tell a lot about a college applicant from their personal essay. They could have straight A's in language arts, but it really doesn't say much abut them. If I was the head or dean or principal, or whatever they call it of a college, I think I would require an essay, because it tells you if they're a good writer, it tells you a little bit about their personal experience and how much effort they put into their work. I never thought essays were that big of a deal, but i have realized that you are actually going to use them later on in your life.

Reader's Response #1 - Week of 2/14/11

Whoohoo more Clique books! This one's called Best Friends for Never. Basically, it's getting close to Halloween, and some people think Massie is "slipping". To keep her status as the most popular girl, she decides to throw a huge boy-girl Halloween party. The only problem is that she has to co-host with Claire, who doesn't know the first thing about throwing a party. She hires a professional party planner and throws the party, but Claire keeps getting in the way. The book goes really slowly, and I'm pretty sure the only thing that it talks about is the party. This book isn't really as interesting as the first one, because not much happens. I don't really like books where the whole plot is centered on one event, but I'm not going to drop this book yet. Knowing me though, my next reader's response will probably be about how I'm getting sick of this book.

Reader's Response #3 - Week of 1/31/11

Title: The Clique
Time:30 minutes
Pages:63
I was so busy today, I totally forgot I still had one Reader Response left! Sorry Ms. Green looks like you owe Mr. Doyen a sonic drink!(:  Well I'm going to try to get to get this done before midnight...
Almost done with the book! I would have finished it, but I'm so tired, I'm about to fall asleep!
So now, Claire has been sneaking into Massie's room while she's gone and Instant Messaging Massie's friends, telling them all of Massie's secrets they don't know, and turning them against her. This made me so mad, I mean it just makes Claire look really jealous! I think it was a really stupid thing for her to do, because she wasn't going to be able to hide it forever. Also, it wasn't going to make her fit in, it was just going to make Massie hate her even more. For the short period of time no one knows Claire is the one they're instant messaging, Massie is kicked out of the group, and everyone suddenly loves Claire. Eventually Massie does figure out what's happening and Claire sinks to the bottom once again. I think she deserved it, because making someone's friends turn against them isn't a very good way to make them like you. Just saying.

Vocabulary - Week of 1/31/11

Itinerary - A detailed plan or schedule.
Albeit - Conjunction: Although, even if
Nonchalant - Unconcerned, casual

Reader's Response #2 - Week of 1/31/11

Title: The Clique
Time:32 Minutes
Pages:62
Ahh I just love this book! I wish I had more time to read it! I'll probably get a couple of the other books in the series to read over the weekend. I think Lisi Harrison did a great job writing this book, because it totally pulls you in and makes you feel like part of the story. The characters are good too, because they each have their own personality and you can relate to them in some way. i would have to say my least favorite character is Claire. I feel sorry for her when Massie and her friends are really mean to her, but I have to admit she's pretty annoying. Since she's living in Massie's guest house, she tags along wherever she goes and tries to hang out with Massie's friends. I can imagine how Massie must feel, especially because her and Claire are so different. I hate it when I have to invite someone to something when they weren't originally invited and it's my job to make them feel invited. Like when Massie's mom made her invite Claire to the sleepover she was having with her friends, Massie had no choice but to invite her, and she had to be somewhat nice to Claire. Claire ended up leaving after everyone went to sleep which really annoyed me, because if you're already there, why leave?
I got the same feeling about Claire when I watched the movie a while ago. I seriously wanted to punch her if I could because she just got on my nerves so much! I guess that's how you know a book is well written!

Reader's Response #1- Week of 1/31/11

Title-The Clique
Time- 35 minutes
Pages-66
Normally, my "getting a book" routine consists of running into the library between passing periods, grabbing a book off a random shelf and checking it out, all in less than a minute. Most of the time I get a pretty good book, and sometimes I get a "What the heck am I reading?!" book. Today, I managed to get "The Clique". I have heard about these books from a lot of people, but considering how much time I give myself to pick out a book, I never got around to reading one of them. I started reading it and I loved it! I love how I can totally relate to some of the things that happen in the book. For example it starts off with Massie Block's mom telling her she can't go on a Labor day shopping spree with her friends, because one of her dad's friends is going to stay at their house for while, and they're arriving at the same time Massie wants to go to the mall. I can't say how many times my mom has done this to me, where I tell her I have plans like two weeks before they actually happen, then the day before I go a party or the mall she says I can't go. That annoys me so much!
Another thing that I like reading about was Massie's glamorous life. She may be in seventh grade too, but she lives in designer heels, barely knows what a school bus is and goes to a great private school. This is obviously not at all what my life is like, which is why I like reading this book-because it's not exactly what my life is like, but I can still relate to it.