The Future of Us (Blog 3 Summary and POV)

The beginning of The Future of Us is a bit confusing but it gets better later in the book. It starts off with Emma talking about how she can't break up with a guy named Graham. After this it explains to us how she got a computer from her father as a gift. This had been the start of this story because it's wrapped all around the ideas of computers and the internet. Then the neighbor Josh had came over to give Emma a CD: ROM and that's when this story all starts off. For a while in the book Josh and Emma talk about computers and things on the computers. They talk about the few websites and accounts that they can make on their computers. This is the start of Emma and Josh really actually talking. 

I think that POV is an important topic to touch for this story. I think that POV is really important because the POV changes quite frequently. In the book it changes from the story in Emma's eyes, then to Josh's and it keeps going back and forth. I enjoy reading books like this because you can see how characters feel about other characters through their own perspective and eyes. In books when they do this I think that it gives off a different vibe, it allows differentiation and it keeps the book from boring you to tears. 

LATLL (Blog 2 Summary, Conflict, and Conclusions)

Leo and the Lesser Lion has to be one of the best books that I have ever read. It really had caught my attention and I could've read it for hours on end without getting bored. I usually enjoy reading books with several twists and turns in them, which this book hit the nail on the head with that. Leo and the Lesser Lion had many depressing notes, though it also had some kinder parts to it as well. My favorite part of the book would be where Leo died, not because it was happy but because it helped me to understand the book more than I had before. In the book it talks about the constellation Leo which was the name of one of the main characters. After he had died I had understood what the title had meant, Leo was the constellation while his little sister Bayliss had been the Lesser Lion. Though after Leo's death Bayliss felt lost, she didn't really know where she had belonged, or what her place in her family had been anymore.

This book had several conflicts right at the beginning but also throughout the whole book as a whole. In the beginning the book explains how the whole community is under a depression and everyone is poor. Bayliss' father is a doctor and people would trade him things such as potatoes for medical services. Then there had been the conflict of Leo dying. That had left their family, the Pettigrew's in mourning after the loss of their beloved son. The one person who had gotten hit the hardest had been Bayliss. The one thing that had kept her enjoying things and being happy was her brother. Leo and Bayliss would always go do pranks together and were partners in crime. This had cause another conflict of Bayliss losing sense of her purpose in her life. In the book after Leo's death there is another conflict which is these two "weary travelers" had been taken in by the Pettigrew's which had left Bayliss a little perturbed.  She had felt that way because they had been moved into Leo's room which she didn't feel was right.


Overall I had enjoyed this book and I hope to read many more books by the Author Sandra Forrester.

Tolerance Blog

I think a person can be more tolerant to others by being open minded,willing to try new things, and understanding others cultures and traditions. I think I can be more tolerant of others by trying to learn about their traditions and understanding their culture. When I say the word tolerance, I think of tolerant. Tolerant is being open to others ideas, like that one food is better than an other, even though you might not also agree with them. It also means, acceptance. A big part of tolerance is acceptance because if you're more accepting of others and their beliefs then you'll be more tolerant of others cultures. People can live a more tolerant life by not being prejudice. Just because a person might've experienced a situation they didn't enjoy, doesn't mean every person that is that race,gender,etc are going to act the same exact way. There's somethings in life that people just won't stand for and can't tolerate. One of the things that I can't tolerate whatsoever is discrimination of people in the LGBT community. In the beginning of this great nation being born, one of the main reasons for people coming over here, was to be free to do whatever that they felt was right, be free. Though now all of those ideas have been changed due to things like social media, t.v. shows, movies, and worst of all, just us as people. When I hear about discrimination about the LGBT community it just makes me upset. Although others might not agree, all religion and biases beside, I think if you love someone, no matter what gender, you should be able to be with them. I've always been pretty tolerant of things but then again there are things that I can't stand which I have to learn to cope with to become a better, and more understanding person. 

Native American's Marginalized

Many Native Americans had been marginalized in several ways by white people. In the article it tells the readers how the U.S. government went in and took many Native Americans and put them into schools without reason. In these schools the idea was to sort of get rid of the Native American culture and their ways of life. The article states how they had changed the attire and looks of the Native Americans. Carlisle had changed their clothes from traditional Native American wear to more proper clothing. They had also done things like primp the Native Americans, and make them have to have shorter hair and take care of their hygiene more. The goals of the Carlisle school was to turn the Native Americans from the people that they had been into more "proper" people. "Pratt was deeply troubled by their plight and poor education offered at reservation schools." This line from the text tried to make 
it seem like the schools were a good and helpful idea, thought that wasn't the case. Later in the text it states that Pratt's plan was to make them into more civil people and to get rid of their past ways of life, their traditions. The article also says how they had changed Ota Kte's name into Luther Standing Bear, and how Carlisle school had taken away things like his leggings, and moccasins. They had replaced it with an itchy wool uniform and leather boots. Carlisle school had forced the English language and the Christian faith upon those who had attended school there. Making them learn English had made them have to stop using their traditional language and changing their faith meant taking away culture from them as well.

I believe that the purpose behind Shanice Britton writing her essay was to inform us on how the times have changed. The article shows us many points about how much closer and less marginalized our society that we live in today is. Shanice also tells us in the article how "We live in houses with electricity and running water. I take showers, watch Finding Carter on MTV, and wear jeans, just like any other teen." It shows us how much closer we've become and that many of the stereotypes that we had thought of as true for Native Americans. She wants to know that the Native American's living today are just as normal people as anybody else, that they just live on a different place separate from other communities.

LATLL Blog 1 (Summary and Plot Analysis)

In my book there was a lot of action that had went on recently. In the very beginning this girl Mary and her brother Leo had snuck out of the house. They had then went to what they called "the hobo camp" to visit a fortune teller. Leo and Mary then had went to the fortune teller and when Leo got his fortune told, the fortune teller said nothing at all, because she didn't see a future. The next day it had been Mary's birthday and Leo had gotten her a boat for her birthday. Leo then had promised the next day that they would go out and sail it, and so they did. Soon after they had done that Mary had been tired from rowing and rested upon the top of rocks where she fell asleep. She then had woke up and had not seen Leo to her surprise. Although, Leo had went to another island, and it had started storming now. Mary had shouted for her brother but he couldn't hear her. Leo had kept swimming and swimming even though there was the thunder storm behind them. Leo had then drowned and Mary had fallen off the rocks into the water to then fall into a concussion.

In the book when Leo had seen the fortune teller she said that she saw nothing in his future. Later in the book I had realized that it had foreshadowed a future event that happens in the book. A few days after Leo had seen the fortune teller he had got caught up in swimming when there was a storm that was brewing up. Although he wouldn't get out of the water even though his sister was yelling at him to get out. As the waves got higher and higher, Leo had seemed smaller and smaller. In the book the events had shown me that the fortune teller hadn't seen anything because he wasn't going to have a future.

Traitor Blog 4 (Summary and Conflict and Conclusion)

      Overall this book was an interesting book with many twists. I think that it was an interesting book because the way that it made Danny think and how it changed him. The book overall is about how Danny has to make tough decisions that affect how his overall life will change. He has to make tough decisions such as wether to help his Grandfather, and help his blood family, or to help the British Government and help his country. He has to weigh the after affects of each decision he makes and how it will change things for him. He has to decide which decisions will make his life better or hold bonds and make his family stronger together.

       Throughout the book I had realized there was one main conflict. The conflict had been a person vs self conflict with Danny. Danny had to realize that he needed to help his family before himself. Danny also had to realize that he had to do what was best for him and his family. He also had to face the conflict of losing his chance at a better life to help his Grandfather. Danny had helped his grandfather and lost his chance at a better life but tied bonds with his grandfather.

Traitor (Blog 3 Summary and tough questions)

         Later in the story more action appears. Danny appears to have found his grandfather in Columbia. Although Danny's grandfather isn't doing legal work anymore. Danny's grandfather Fergus is now involved with a Columbian drug cartel. Fergus tries to explain what happened and why he followed the path he did but things changed. He tries to explain to Danny that he was betrayed by a higher level of authority in the British Government and now is in danger. That British Government worker knew that Danny would try to find his grandfather to get the scholarship and Danny has now led him to his grandfather Fergus. Now both Fergus and Danny must run because if Fergus get's found out about and his workings with the cartel then he'll be arrested for these crimes. Both Fergus and Danny must now use skills that they have to try and survive together.

          During the story I realized that he had a question he had to ask himself. What does he do with his grandfather? What does Danny do? Does he go on to help Fergus' keep away and escape from the British government, or does he turn him in to get the scholarship that he needs to turn his life around? In the book that is the conflict that he's faced with and how he goes about it can be the hardest decision of his life. One wrong thing he does can change everything that happens to him in the future or what happens to Fergus' future.