The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner

"I had to get to Diego. Drag him away if it came to that." The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner by Stephenie Meyer is a fantasy novella. This book is an addition to the Twilight series book Eclipse. The book is about the newborn vampire Bree Tanner and her relationship with the vampire Diego which then leads to her death.

I read all of the Twilight books in a matter of about three months. I loved them! I could never put them down and when I finally finished them I was so upset because the story of the vampires was over. I had seen many other vampire books but I never wanted to read them because I felt they would ruin Twilight for me. Then, one day I got home from school and my mom had gotten me The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner. I was so excited to get started reading it.

When I began reading I immediately fell back in love with Meyer's writing style. I love the font of her books and also just the way she tells the story so well so you can picture it and most of all, the love story. The only problem was that at the time I was really busy with school work that I couldn't really get into the book. For a while I wasn't reading it but then, my family went on vacation over Christmas break and so at night when we were all relaxing I would read non-stop. I have to admit as much as I loved reading another Twilight book... it just was not the same. There was no Bella and Edward and that was what majorly made my love for the series so strong. I think the reason I just couldn't get so into the book was that because I read Eclipse, I knew Bree was going to die in the end. It was sort of like Romeo and Juliet in the way that in the prologue it tells you how they both end up dying, but in this case the book Eclipse tells me that Bree dies in the end. Another reason I couldn't get into this book was that I haven't read the Twilight series in a while and lastly, that it was such a short book.

It was really good to read a Twilight book again though, I was really starting to miss Meyer's writing and I liked being able to have a quick read instead of reading one of the four big books. Another thing I absolutely loved about this book was being able to read from the perspective of a newborn. I did get to see what it was like to be a newborn from Bella's perspective in Breaking Dawn but it wasn't the same because she knew what she was going to have to face before becoming a vampire. Bella had clear thoughts and could divert them from blood but Bree couldn't. She was unaware of vampires and thought they were make believe like every other human and so when she turned into one she was majorly confused. All she could ever think about was blood until she really got to know and eventually love Diego. They talked about what they becoming vampires had to to with their creator, Victoria, and her enemies. It was knew for them talking to someone else about their thoughts because they never had spoken out loud to anyone why the rules were what they were and the reason for their being. I loved watching Bree and Diego fall in love. That is my favorite part of this series... the love. It was awful when Bree's love for Diego set herself up for her own death. I just kept wishing she would somehow find Diego and escape but I knew it would never come.

I loved this book. Although there were things I would have changed, I still very much enjoyed reading this book. I would recommend this book to any fans of the Twilight series. Also I would recommend the entire series to anyone into fantasy books and or love stories. They are very well written and you will fall in love from the very start. If by any chance you have not seen the movies yet I would definitely recommend that you do not see them before you read the books. The movies do not do them justice.

Six Word Memoirs

Goal Keeping, 
A 
    heart 
            stopping 
                          position.

Sports mean a lot to me. My favorite sport is soccer. In soccer I am the goal keeper.
When I am playing in goal my nerves don't calm down. When a shot is fired
my heart stops until I know I have saved the ball.

Determined student

inside school

and out

 In school I always try my school. My education though doesn't stop when I leave the building. I try to learn as much as I can out of school. This includes things like sports that I try to excel in and also if I get a chance to learn about our world or current events on the news I am always paying attention.

Family, I will love them forever.

My family means so much to me. I don't know what I would ever do if I didn't have them. 

I am so close with my sister and my mom. I don't think anything 

could come between our relationships.



Don't let boys

interfere with

friends

I hate when my friends pick boys over me. I feel it is very disrespectful because the friends are the ones who will always be there for you. I try my hardest for my relationship with my boyfriend to not get in the way with my relationship with my friends. I wish everyone tried to do this.

Don't stop your emotions from flowing 

 I always let my emotions flow when situations occur. I hate it if i have to keep my emotions bottled up for some reason. I don't like the feeling. I wish more people showed their emotions 

then there wouldn't be so much stress in this world. 

A Child Called "It"

http://www.davepelzer.com/

This book will forever be with me. A Child Called "It" by David Pelzer is a memoir of David's childhood. It tells about how much his childhood was ruined from an alcoholic parent who abused him physically and mentally.

I became interested in this book when Mrs. Basko told the class of all the new books she had bought. In my family there has been minor cases of child abuse among my older sisters, so this book immediately appealed to me. Mrs. Basko said how it was one of the worst cases of child abuse in California history, but nothing could warn me of how intense this book was. I knew when I started this book that it was a memoir, and so the boy, David, would survive... But it was still comforting to have the beginning show him getting rescued and be able to know that he escaped from this horrible childhood.

As soon as I read of Davids rescue, I had to know how he got to where he was that that point. I couldn't put my book down. It is a very quick read because of the font and just the storyline itself makes you want to read it. I finished this book in less than a week. Throughout the whole book I couldn't stop relating it to myself. I was so proud of David for thriving after he got out of the awful situation he was in. I know it takes a lot to strive after this because I have seen my sisters struggle through getting over it. I had to wonder throughout reading this book what it was like to be the other boys in the family and watching this abuse because like them, nothing happened to me... but unlike them I never knew about it. Unlike their father David's siblings could do absolutely nothing to stop it, probably for fear they would then be the ones abused. I wonder if they ever felt bad for David or at least wanted to help him in anyway. I cannot believe some of the things his mother did to a child... let alone her own flesh and blood. One of the worst parts about reading this book was trying to struggle through some of the abuse scenes. I had to put the book down sometimes and come back later.

As if the abuse of his mother was bad enough I feel it would be as equally depressing for David to know that at the end of his awful childhood life, his father gave up on him. His father just left. I don't know where my family would be if my mother wasn't as strong as she was and instead didn't step in. I am so proud of my mom for being as strong as she was and I just wish every person who knows of any abuse would just step in a do something about it. They won't understand how amazing the outcome will be.

I love this book so much. I would recommend this book, but with precautions. If you can't stand abuse and anything of that  sort do not read this. When I wanted to tell my mom about what I was reading she wouldn't listen because she cannot stand to hear about any form of abuse. If you like survivor stories, memoirs, or abuse cases this is an amazing book to read. I can't wait to start the next book in the series, The Lost Boy.

Nineteen Minutes

"In nineteen minutes, you can get revenge." Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult is a realistic fiction novel. This book is the story of the effect of a school shooting on the town of Sterling, and how it effected each and every person that was involved.

The first way I became interested in this book was when my sister told me how amazing it was. I always wanted to read it but I just never found the time. When Ms. Basko one class was recommending books, I saw it in other people's piles and I remembered how much I wanted to read it. After I finished my first book I immediately started Nineteen Minutes. The book starts with a note from Peter Houghton, the boy who was the shooter at the high school, which immediately caught my attention. These little notes from him are found before some of the chapters. Also the first paragraph of the first chapter made me hooked with how well the author emphisised how short a time it took to change the town of Sterling, forever.

The book starts on the day of the shooting and it is actually really confusing because it switches from character to character and since you don't know any of them yet, it is hard to understand. One you figure out all the characters though, it is a really an amazing story. After the first chapter, I couldn't put the book down. I never knew that I could become so attached to these characters. Even the shooter of the school. The boy Peter has a very interesting past and I can't help but eventually feel for him. I believe in every way he was wrong for what he did, but in some crazy way he did make a very big point about bullying. The end of the book had a twist that all the arrows pointed to, but you would never expect the author to actually do it. SPOILER! I can't believe that Peter didn't actually shoot Matt first. Josie, Matts girlfriend, did. And even better she ended up going to jail for four years. At the end I never could understand what truly happened to Peter and if the last scene I read about him was really the end of his life.

My sister was right, this was the best book I have read in a long time. I would defiantly recommend this book for anyone interested in high school stories or interested in the effects of bullying. This is not the quickest read, so when you start reading be prepared to read for awhile. Also don't give up on the book just because it has a sort of slow beginning... trust me it is worth it.

The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas

When a friendship can overcome political ties... it is truly amazing. The Boy in the Stripped Pajamas by John Boyne is historical fiction. This book is told through a narrator, but from the perspective of one of the protagonists, Bruno.

I chose this book because one night my mom my sister and I rented the movie from Blockbuster and I loved the movie very much. I thought a lot about reading the book when I found out it was based on a book. When Ms. Basko recommended books for our class, this book was in the pile of my friend Rachel. She told me I could have it.  I started this book at the end of September and I loved it.

I finished this book so fast because I couldn't put it down. When I read it I felt as though I was reading Romeo and Juliet because I knew that at the end both Bruno and Shmuel would end up dying.This is because of seeing the movie, but every part of the story I kept hoping something would change. I really enjoy this book because I am a fan of reading about the Holocaust. It gave a great visual of how life was for the many people involved. Such as the family of a head soldier and a little boy who was Jewish in a concentration camp.

Over all, for the first time ever, I enjoyed the movie better than the book. As good of visuals as the book gave, I liked actually being able to see it in the movie, such as the last scene that the boys were alive. The book didn't fully explain how they died, but the movie showed it very well. Even though all of that, I would still definitely recommend this book to anyone that is a fan of the Holocaust, or is confused about it because it gives such a great descriptions throughout the entire book.