Kim: Empty Inside: The Diary of an Anonymous Teenager Blog Post

Kim: Empty Inside: The Diary of an Anonymous Teenager Blog Post

            I have recently started reading K.E.I.T.D.A.T., and I regret to say that I think it’s horribly written and that it’s not a good book. I understand that Beatrice Sparks wants to show how Kim interprets her own life so that readers can better connect to the book, but I think she took it a bit overboard while trying to make a big issue seem less extreme by showing it through the victim, Kim’s, point of view.

            K.E.I.T.D.A.T. is mainly about how the main character, Kim, has an eating disorder, and how it affects her life. Beatrice Sparks, the author, writes it through Kim’s perspective. I think that Sparks is trying to show how many teenagers are suffering through eating disorders, and how even a normal teen such as Kim, can have problems just like anyone else. I have a problem with this, because while there are many people suffering with eating disorders, they either know it’s a problem and don’t know how to stop, or don’t think they have a problem. Kim thinks she’s doing a stupid thing, with no logic behind it. I honestly don’t think that anyone with an eating disorder thinks they’re doing something stupid, and I don’t think Sparks is intentionally trying to do this, but she’s giving me the impression that people with eating disorders are unintelligent, or doing unintelligent things, which is false.

            K.E.I.T.D.A.T. is written in the point of view of Kim, through her diary. There are many grammar mistakes, she often changes subjects, and writes in capitals for no reason. I think it’s great that Sparks is trying to get readers to better connect with the book, and the character by writing through her opinion. However, I don’t think it’s good that she writes so immaturely to make it clear that it’s Kim’s writing. Teenagers can definitely write in a professional style, and even in their diaries, they can still stay consistent with their topics, and make no grammar mistakes. I think Sparks missed her target on this aspect of her writing.

            In conclusion, K.E.I.T.D.A.T. could definitely be written much better. It’s not a terrible book, but it isn’t perfect. I think Sparks had good intentions for this book, but was just not able to incorporate her goals for this book successfully.

The Fault In Our Stars 2nd Blog Post

SPOILER ALERT!!!

The Fault in Our Stars Blog Post #2

            In The Fault in Our Stars, there are many unexpected plot twists. One that stands out, however, is when we find out that Gus has had a relapse of cancer, and it’s spread all over his body. Hazel’s worry over being a grenade towards her and Gus’ relationship played a big part in the story. Now that Gus can also be a grenade, I think it can alter the story in more ways than one.

            One way Gus’ relapse can affect the story, is that Hazel will become less sensitive towards holding back her emotions. Sometimes, Hazel would bite back behavior she deemed to be snappy, or even getting too close to Gus. She was afraid to die, and tear his entire world apart. However, now that Gus has cancer again, he might think he could be a grenade, and they would both distance themselves from each other, causing them to possibly break up. On the other hand, Gus might want to enjoy every moment with Hazel as much as possible, and cause her to feel pain if he dies prior to her death, or vice versa.

            Another way Gus’s relapse may affect the course of events, is if Hazel feels that she’s no longer supposed to hold any nasty comments back, or doesn’t care if she falls deeper in love with Gus. She might not be the same girl Gus fell in love with, which I highly doubt, but it is still a possibility. If Gus realizes she’s been holding back feelings since he’s met her, he might break up with her for “lying” to him.

            Both case scenarios do end with Gus and Hazel breaking up, or dying. I really hope neither of those things happen but they are possibilities. I think that since their relationship is pretty centered on cancer, it plays a big role in whether they are together or not.

The Fault in Our Stars- Who's Point of View is Left Out? Blog Post

The Fault in Our Stars- Who’s point of view is left out?

            I’m currently reading The Fault in Our Stars, an amazing book so far, about one cancer survivor and one cancer fighter’s relationship and how it evolves. Hazel Grace Lancaster, a cancer fighter, has met Augustus Waters, a cancer survivor. They both bond over their cancer experiences and share many of the same opinions on their situations moving forward in life. They both seem to have “crushes” on one another, or at least that’s how Hazel see’s things. However, we don’t get to hear Augustus, or Gus’ point of view in the story, and I was thinking about how it might alter the story line.

            Gus has told Hazel he has a crush on her over the phone, when he said “I have a crush on a girl…” speaking about Hazel in the third person. We know that Hazel thinks he’s cute and likes him, but I was wondering if maybe Gus wasn’t being completely serious when he admitted his affection for Hazel. I think the author would chose to exclude this point of view, so that perhaps if further on in the story we find out that Gus thinks of Hazel as a friend, we can experience the emotions Hazel would really experience. It’s one thing to know one person likes another and the other doesn’t like them back and to see their friendship fall apart, but when you see it from only one person’s point of view, you get to put yourself into the character’s shoes. No one can mind read, so this happens to so many people all the time. When we read about Hazel’s heartache, it will come as more of a blow to readers, and will hurt us more than it would if we knew both points of views. I personally believe Gus likes Hazel, but reading critically, I think it’s important to realize the multiple turns a story could take.

            I think Hazel’s point of view would be overshadowed if Gus’ was heard. We’d think less about the struggle that Hazel’s going through currently, because we’d focus on both Hazel’s present conflict, and Gus’ past conflict. I think with Gus’ point of view, we’d view situations and experiences through a completely different eye (obviously), because little moments that perhaps Gus doesn’t realize are big moments for Hazel wouldn’t be as highlighted. For example, Hazel didn’t realize how much it meant for Gus to make a good impression on Hazel’s parents when he took her for a picnic. If we’d seen it through Gus’ point of view, that moment would have been zoomed in on and stretched out in a way it wasn’t in Hazel’s perspective.

            I think that John Green made a good choice in excluding Gus’ point of view. I think it makes the story a lot more meaningful to read it through only one person’s perspective.

December Non-Fiction Blog Post

December Non-Fiction Blog Post

            This month, I read, “Formerly homeless teens share their stories” by Andrew Denney. The overall main idea of the text was to pity homeless teenagers and help them out whenever you can. “ “I used to make fun of people who did that,” Girdner said. “Then I became homeless; then I had to take a bath in a Greyhound bus station.” “ Denney includes a quote from one of the four homeless teenagers who spoke at the Columbia Public Library. This quote makes me think that even I could become homeless, and to help rather than make fun of things that are uncontrollable. There are at least 1.6 million homeless kids in the US, and Rainbow House in Columbia gets 10 to 15 phone calls every month concerning abused teens that have been kicked out of their homes. These details help add to the sympathy readers have towards the “formerly homeless teens”, making them want to help them out.

            The author wants readers to think that homeless teens aren’t to blame for being homeless. Denney makes the teens out to be innocent by including their stories of how they became homeless, however does not go into detail about how they are to blame. The author wants readers to feel bad and sympathetic towards the teens. “Phil Leak, 18, spent a few months living under an outdoor staircase at Hickman High School after he got in trouble with the police and was kicked out of his parents’ home.” Denney doesn’t include what the crime Leak committed was, or any prior family history. Without this information, it makes Leak seem like the victim, when in fact he may not be the victim and could be to blame in this whole situation.

            I will take away the constant thought in the back of my mind of whose perspective is missing, and how that affects the text, from this article. I’m sure that teenage homelessness is a horrible thing to go through, but this article really didn’t help enforce that point. It talked more about how the teens were victims, rather than their actual experiences. I still think teenage homelessness is probably a traumatic experience to go through, however I don’t believe they are all victims, and some are to blame. I’d like to know more about how teenagers become homeless.

http://www.columbiatribune.com/news/2011/nov/04/formerly-homeless-teens-share-their-stories/ 

The Perks of Being a Wallflower blog post

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

What really difficult or complex things are happening in the text?

                                                                                                                                                                                               

            I’m currently reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. The entire book is written in letters to a person referred to as “Friend”. The main character, Charlie, is writing to this person about his life and all its ups and downs. However, this “Friend” doesn’t know who Charlie is, and Charlie is writing him anonymously using different names for different people in his book. I think one really difficult and complex issue happening in the text is that Charlie isn’t comfortable enough to talk to someone personally about his problems and has to anonymously write someone to do it.

            Charlie’s going through a lot at the moment; struggling with girls, hanging out with very nice people who do drugs; family issues, etc. A lot of these things are pretty serious, and aren’t things he should be keeping for himself. He is taking a step in the right direction by writing to this person, but since it’s anonymous and he doesn’t put a return address on any of his letters, this person can’t help him at all. The whole point of talking to someone about your issues and struggles is so that you can get help and hopefully and eventually move on from them. However, since Charlie won’t talk to anyone who can actually help him, he won’t get help, and these problems could potentially become dangerous or harmful to Charlie, and others around him.

            The experiences Charlie’s going through aren’t rare, and they happen to many teenagers around his age. Charlie does seem very smart, and can usually differentiate between right and wrong, which may be a tremendous help to him in the future if any of these problems escalate. Some teenagers don’t talk to anyone about their problems, and we always hear about the ones who committed suicide or crime, but we never hear about the ones who made it out okay in the end. Charlie might be one of those people who are smart enough to know when to separate themselves from a crowd or situation that will harm them rather than help them in the future, and not need advice from someone else.

            In conclusion, Charlie may be making the wrong choice by not talking to someone about his problems, but he may be making the best choice at the same time. Everyone is different, some need help to get through tough situations, some can handle it on their own, and others can’t take the pressure. I think that Charlie is smart enough to make the right decisions for himself, and I’ll just have to keep reading to find out if he has.