"A Child Called It" By Susana Rojas

   Link to Susana's Blog Post: http://susanarojas808.blogspot.com/2013/02/a-child-called-it-by-dave-pelzer.html

    I have decided to review Susana's review on the book "A Child Called It," because I thought it was well written in the way that she truly showed off her ideas. She starts off the post talking about the author and main character of the book, Dave Pelzer, and his situation. She described some of the ways his mother used to torture him, and about how he was so confused about his mother's sudden change in her attitude towards him.
     I like how Susana sort of shows her sympathy for the author and the ordeals he had to go through. I also like how she states her opinion on the dad. How she thinks that the dad was the sort of man who cared for his son the most.  That he cared for his son and did all he could for Dave. That he ended up having no choice.
      But this opinion is also the reason why I wanted to write this blogpost. I felt like this was one blogpost I could share my opinions that differ as I have already read the book and realized how sad it was. I have to disagree with Susana's idea that the father truly cared for the son and was a good father but simply had no choice in the whole thing. I feel like she is putting him (the dad) in a very sympathetic light which I can't help but completely disagree with.
    I agree with Susana that the father does sort of seem like the good guy, but that image doesn't really last long for me. I mean, I feel bad for the dad as he obviously never realized what was going to happen with his marriage, or else I think he would of married someone else. I think it was a very valiant deed he did, staying with his wife for so long even though he knew how she was, and trying to protect Dave, but at the same time I find him a very cowardly person.
   If I remember correctly, I think Dave pretty much feels betrayed when his father leaves. I think that's when I started to strongly dislike the dad, when he left the family, but didn't take Dave with him. It was the thing that enraged me the most. He knew how his son was treated, yet he didn't save him! Why not? What kind of father is he?!
   This is the point where many would argue that the father was also suffering. But here's where I explain more. You can tell a lot about a person by their actions. By simply his actions, I can tell that the father is cowardly, weak willed, and probably blamed his son for his ruined marriage.
   Why is the dad so weak willed? Well, his wife has been bossing him around. I think in a healthy relationship, the partners have to think of each other as equals, meaning no one bossing the other. He let her boss him around, but he could have been more aggressive. Not hitting aggressive, but less passive, as in sticking up for himself and not letting his wife mistreat him and his son! We usually hear about Wives getting abused by their husbands, but this is one of those cases where the husband is pretty much getting pushed around by the wife. Now, in concerns to physical strength, I think the Dad would be able to take on the mom, as men are built to be stronger, and the mom wasn't really fit. But that doesn't mean he should abuse her, just not to let her push him around, especially when it came to the well-being of his family.
   I think the Father is a coward because he doesn't ever tell anyone about what his wife is doing, or tell his wife off for mistreating her child. I mean, he could have gotten his wife in jail and had to raise the kids, but he could also worry about the way they would be affected having their mother gone. But may kids don't have mothers and turn out fine. I think he might have been scared of having to take care of so many kids (which is why he should have stopped having kids with the woman!) and didn't even think about how his kids could be negatively affected by having their mother abuse one of their brothers.
   If anything, I'm still annoyed he never took Dave with him. I think he does blame the arguments with his wife on Dave, as he was usually the one who caused the fights (his treatment). But if anything, I think I dislike him because he chose himself over a child, his own child. I find that the biggest act of cowardice and it disgusts me. To abandon the child who hopes you will save him. It disgusts me, and shows a lot about a person.
    Over all, I think Susana had a very nice blogpost which I could easily talk back to and share opinions with, and if anything I think she can add a bit more content by putting in more of her thoughts about the text.

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice
by: Jane Austen
Terri Thampan 804

   I have recently read the book "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen. It's one of the classics, and I only read it because I heard it was one of the best romances ever, and since young females such as myself are pretty much "fangirling" over famous, not well written romances, ahem Twilight, I decided to read a supposedly well written romance.
   I absolutely love this book! The main character is a girl, well woman, name Elizabeth Bennet, and she is of the age where getting married should soon happen before she becomes a "old maid", so like, in her early twenties. She is a very smart, witty, polite, and humorous woman. The book itself is about how she and Mr. Darcy fall in love. I think the romance in the book was very well written as right from the beginning Elizabeth sort of hates Mr. Darcy, but over time and the course of the book learns to love and respect him. This really does show off love to me as most of the time, isn't love kind of unexpected? Love doesn't happen so quickly like what happens it today's romance novels, and it takes time to be a strong bond. Most books today are very fast paced, and the events usually happen very quickly, but in this book it went like how time usually can go, it goes by quickly yet slowly, and not everything has to do with the love interest. This passage of time made the love grow more gradual, and seem very, very realistic.
   I also liked the character of Mr. Bennet, Elizabeth''s father. He is the one whom Elizabeth takes after in personality. I think this is why she (Elizabeth) is his favorite daughter. I found his character amusing, as I think he's the type of man who thinks of others as purely something for entertainment. He is entertained by them, and so he doesn't truly care about anything else. But that also makes me think of his marriage. It was said in the book that the mother's idiocy was what caused the little sense of affection he had for her (the mother) to disappear early in their marriage. I think he really sort of stayed with the mother as she made him amused with her stupidity, and maybe he liked her beauty. I think that the marriage was really bad, both to Mr. Bennet and his daughters. At one point, Elizabeth is pretty much humiliated at the fact that her Father just lets her mother and 3 other sisters besides her oldest sister, Jane, run amok and not really discipline them in the ways to behave, thus reflecting badly on her (Elizabeth) and her family.
   

The Tail of Emily Windsnap

The Tail of Emily Windsnap
By: Liz Kessler
Terri Thampan 804

   I have recently read the book "The Tail of Emily Windsnap". It's about a girl, Emily, who finds out that she can become a mermaid when she is submerged in water. The rest of the story is all about her great adventure in finding out about her father, and her being a mermaid, and the mermaid society.
   I think, as this is a children's book, it's not the best, but it's okay. It's a pretty simple plot, and the only thing that kept me going was that it was written in such a simple way, it just didn't let you go, but if anything, I usually can get through simple books, even if the plot is not bad. I just am going to say this: besides it being a bit of a boring cliche, with an easy plot, it wasn't constantly dull enough to get me to put it down.
   I find Emily's personality sort of like Tess' in the book about Algebra and stuff. She's really plain, and if anything, was made that way so that girls or whoever read the book could fit in with the character (so basically girls, as the character is a female herself). I find the main character quite, to say it politely, I found the main character as a not bright person. She's not really good at being stealthy, I mean she literally gave it away to her little nemesis that she was doing something she wasn't supposed to, which caused her to get caught. Also, I'd like to think that if an a creepy man, who is somehow giving your mother drugs, gave her donuts every week, would cause normal kids to think he's drugged the donuts. If anything, I find that man's character so... Cliched it's not even funny. Creepy, old, "lonely" dude, who visits your mom for company. He gives you the creeps, he's obviously a suspicious character. I mean, that's the type of guy most kids would not feel comfortable around, or feel comfortable having their mother around. At sixth grade, or whatever grade she's in that is in middle school, I would probably think this man creepy and warn my mom. I think, if to make him less suspicious, make it so that she grew used to him because her mom has always seen this man, and he has attempted to be friendly and she has seen him as a confidant. I think that would make his whole "revealing" part seem a lot more tragic, as this was someone she trusted, and not some creepy old guy who stalked her at times.
   I find so many disappointing things done to the old creepy guy, who I will now refer to his as his name, Mr Beeston. I think, it would be so much better if the author worked with his character. I think it would be amazing if he actually was Emily's father who somehow found a way to watch over his wife and daughter even though he couldn't. I think that the fact that he wasn't handsome, but in fact was a really creepy looking old guy would show so much about how a loving, kind person can be found within the hearts of a person whose outward features don't show off their heart's true beauty. I also think, that if it was going to stay the original way, to improve his acting, like I said before, and make him seem like a trustworthy guy. Though I do think that if he was going after someone in a murderous rage, he wouldn't suddenly be all touchy-feely back-story on them about his own childhood. It makes him seem like a desperate character, which may have been the intention, but it seems not so thought out as well. If you like simple stories though, here's a good one!

There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom

There's a Boy in the Girl's Bathroom
By: Louis Sachar
Terri Thampan 804

  I read this book in 6th grade (as a read aloud) and I thought it was wonderful. But reading it yourself gives a better experiencing somehow. As I read it, I realized how well developed the characters are. I also loved how well Mr. Sachar used the terms "show not tell".
  In the book, you can tell Bradley has a problem. I love how you realize how alone Bradley is. He's so alone that the only friends he has are the plastic figurine animals that live in his bedroom. When I realized that, I felt so bad for Bradley. If anything, the whole fact that he was in the third grade made it even more sad for me as it was something that was close to me personally.
   I used to get bullied in the third grade and felt so terribly lonely. To read about Bradley's loneliness made me empathize with him so much. It also shows how much Bradley cares for his figurines. They were his only friends, the things that helped him out. They told him he was right when everyone else said he was wrong.
   I love how you can see Carla cares for Bradley. She gets tears in her eyes when she finds out why he "can't" do his homework, and seems to genuinely like him. It's she who gives him a chance. And I love how realistically Bradley depends on her so much, because in reality, if we were to meet someone who finally treated you nicely and then good things started to happen, you would think it's all because of them. You would have a dependence on them.
  I think this is an amazingly well written story, and I love it so very much. I have always like stories written by Louis Sachar because his amazing works and I hope others read this book as well.

Matilda *Spoilers

Matilda
By: Roald Dahl

Terri Thampan 804

 I read this book, "Matilda", to kind of analyze the book that inspired the movie that I watched so many times as a child. As I read it, I sort of got more of Roald Dahl's style, something I never really recognized when I was reading this story back as a kid (I read the book only because of the movie). Though, I feel the movie was a bit better in developing the characters like Mrs. Wormwood and Ms. Trunchbull, I think the book was better in developing Matilda's powers.
  One thing I realized was different from the book and the movie was the Mother, Mrs.Wormwood. In the book, she's a plump lady while, in the movie she's a skinny woman. Also, I like how the movie makes her character seem more caring towards her daughter Matilda, because to me it shows that the lady has at least some maternal instincts.
   I think that the brother, Michael, was portrayed as the more liked child in both the book and the movie. Only I feel like in the movie it's more pronounced that he is the favorite child.
   Something that really struck me in the book were the quotes. At first, it seems pretty innocent like, "Little girls should be seen and not heard," but then you- or maybe it was just me- read the quote "You chose books and I chose looks", in which Mrs.Wormwood says she has a better life because she's pretty and not book smart and that a woman will get nowhere in life with books, and realize the thinking people of that time had. It was fairly modern-ish, probably the early 1990s the date, but you see how women are limited to being like decoration and pretty things to "be seen and not heard". At first, I though it was Roald Dahl putting in his own views, and then I realized, he's not putting down women, he's sending a message for women to break through those social norms of women being decoration. I realized this just by looking at the characters. Matilda is a bright GIRL, who saves the people of her school by getting rid of the horrible Ms. Trunchbull. She is bright, and smart, witty, humble, kind, and clever, and she is a girl. Ms. Trunchbull, who although is the antagonist or villain of the story, is physically and emotionally very overbearing and strong. She instills fear into many adults and children, even though she might not be mentally stable. She is a strong character, who might be a bit of a feminist as she seems to not like that all the women in the poem "Mrs. D, Mrs. I, Mrs. F-f-i, Mrs. C, Mrs. U, Mrs. L-t-y," are all married. But she is strong and overbearing, cruel and vile, and she is a woman. She doesn't have to be a man to be cruel, and Matilda doesn't have to be a boy to be smart.
   Ms. Honey is also a character who helps promote the strength of women. She is said to be a bit meek and mild woman who fears Ms. Trunchbull, but she was raised by the woman in fear. Ms. Honey is a character who is strong because she ran away, albeit no that far away, but she does live peacefully by herself. She found a way, even though she was given very little money, to get a house and get away from her Aunt at home at least. That is bravery, as she didn't stay a meek little girl, she had enough as a human and got away, and she wasn't a boy either, she wasn't stronger than the Trunchbull, but she had her courage which is why I like her so much. I think movie kind of does her little justice as in the movie she lives in a nice house, and in the book you see, Ms. Honey is poor, she lives a life that is so restricted, with boxes as chairs, a portable heater, no tap (having to use a well), and a cramped in a small house, but she is free. I guess I understand that they didn't want small children to learn about poverty, so they didn't make her as poor, but it felt like they took away the strength of the character Ms. Honey had deep inside her.
   And lastly, I want to talk about Mrs. Wormwood again. She is a character that is also female, but doesn't show strength in the slightest. She lays bingo, and lets her husband bring in the money. At one point, she thinks (in the book) that her husband wasn't truly the "Dream man". I like how the book makes her seem a bit dissatisfied with her marriage, but I also like how the movie makes her seem to actually love her husband. In the book, it fits in with the whole women power message going on, as she lives by looks, and is not truly independent as she depends on her husband. It makes it seem like she only married Mr. Wormwood for his money and the promise of a life full of her material desires, and not truly out of love, and sort of regrets it. But I love how in the movie she seems to love him, because it fits the movie's whole "trying to deepen Mrs. Wormwood as a character" thing. It makes it seem like even though Mr. Wormwood is a horrible man (He is made a bit worse in the movie than in the book) to her daughter and to people in general, she still loves him, and he in his own way loves her, which gives the movie the more family appeal of a loving wife and husband. Though to say which I like more, the movie or the book, I can't decide. The the movie is very good, and quickens the events and sort of adds depth to some characters and certain parts, I like the book because of its secret message. Overall, this is a really great book and movie!

The Graveyard Book *Some spoilers*

The Graveyard Book
By: Neil Gaiman
Terri Thampan 804

  I am currently reading "The Graveyard Book", by Neil Gaiman and I am loving it.
  The main character is this kid Bod (short for Nobody) Owens, who is raised by ghosts in a graveyard. Why is he in a graveyard? Well, it's a close call actually because he pretty much escaped from his house before he could be murdered.
   What I think is a pretty symbolic is the Gray Lady. She is like this figure of Death, but not out right saying it. I like that this figure is a woman because it seems to symbolize even more. I am being a bit feminist-ic (not a word, but I don't know how to say that any other way) because I myself like FEMALE POWER, but when things are in the form of a woman or a man, it's to take on certain qualities or traits that associated with that come with that kind of persona. I feel like the Gray Lady is supposed to be shown as wise as a mother of grandmother teaching the children how to grow, a mysterious kind of seductress, one that we will always meet, but who ultimately is kind. I feel like her white horse was sort of taken from the bible to show she is the bringer of death and moving on to a new plane of existence, like in the bible Jesus is supposed to ride in on a white horse to bring onto the humans an age full of prosperity in heaven during the end times.
   What I read during the Macabre Chapter gave the whole story some more depth. In the beginning of the book, many of the ghosts did not think that Bod should be raised in the Graveyard as he was still alive. I get that the Gray Lady made them change their minds, but I felt it was kind of fast that they accepted Bod. The Macabre chapter sort of showed the deeper part of this whole relationship Bod has with the ghosts. Even if he was raised with them, he wasn't truly one of them as he was alive and they weren't. It made me feel like though they tried to be nice to Bod, the fact that he was alive was what always stayed on their minds. He wasn't like them, and so there was a sort of segregation of living and dead. It truly shows in this chapter as not even his Mother (Mrs. Owens who adopted him) would tell him what was going on, and how he ended up at the Graveyard truly alone, and how he danced as one of the living.
     The Last person who I really want to address is Silas. I think Silas is a really cool, really mysterious character. I mean, that's how he's supposed to be portrayed, but like I think he's cool as in he has taken Bod in even though he never even knew Bod. I also think he's hiding a sadness as he is different. I think it's not that he hates himself for being different, but he's sad and wants to do things that those who are living or dead can do. This really makes me feel bad for his character and want to read more to find out about the mysterious Silas.

Fallen #2 *Spoilers

Fallen
By Lauren Kate
Terri Thampan 804

   I have just finished reading "Fallen", and I have to say, it's okay. I mean, I see the appeal as it is a supernatural love story and all that, but I'm at least glad the writing didn't bore me.
    I think that Cam falling in love is unrealistic. Unless of course, the reason is explained in some other book, I think Cam is just thrown in to put int a pointless love triangle. Which brings me to an even bigger topic. Throughout the book Cam seemed like the nice guy, the guy who would be good to a girl. Then at the ed, he gets a random change of personality that completely threw me off the loop. Apparently, Cam is the type of guy who likes violence and the like. Now, I never saw a hint of this inside the book and if anything, I would think Daniel would be the more violent character. Which if that happened, I think it would make their love (Daniel's and Luce's) so much more likable because she loves him despite the fact he isn't perfect, because he's a jerk, and is quite violent, but has a good side. Sadly, she just instantly falls in love with him even though he is a jerk, then he reveals this whole thing that would be a spoiler and starts to act kind.
   Now, I think the whole thing would be better if Daniel and Luce had like moments where he was nice, like more than the one time AFTER he got jealous of Cam and Luce.
   Overall I don't think it's that great of a book, but it's something that other people might enjoy.