Brittany Hood
Period 2

The Secret Life of Bees

The Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd is an inspiring tale about a young fourteen year old girl named lilly who is living in South Carolina in 1964. Throughout the story the narrator follows Lily's journey of renewal. Lily lived with only her father and her housekeeper Rosaleen who had been thrown in jail and beaten by a few racist men. After lily broke Rosaleen out of the hospital they started off on their journey together in search of a new start where the two of them could be at peace and find a permanent place to call home. With this mindset they eventually come across a farm where three woman live as beekeepers. Lily navigated herself here by visiting an address on the back of a picture she had of the black Mary, which belonged to her now deceased mother, which had Tiburon, SC written on it. Lily and Rosaleen made their way to Tiburon and there they entered a small general store for lunch where they saw the same picture on a honey jar. The store clerk led them to this farm and there they lived with three women and learned the ways of beekeeping. There Lily discovers many truths and emotions that she never had expected. 

I do not believe that this book should have a specific age requirement to read because it is an absolutely wonderful and wholesome story following a young girl, which I think many people can relate to in one way or another. In chapter eight, August, once of the three beekeeping women, explained to Lily that, "most people don't have any idea about all the complicated life going on inside a hive. Bees have a secret life we don't know anything about." To me this quote is not only significant because it reflects the title of the book, but I also think it sums up the entirety of the point the book is trying to make very well. Lily had gone to these peoples home and they accepted her and let her in without knowing what her life really was, despite the lies Lily had fed them. They accepted her, white skin and all, and let her into their lives and have her a home. The south in the 60's was still a heavily segregated time and for a young white girl to be accepted into the home of three religious black women is a bit unusual. Overall 

Arvanitis Colour of Magic interpreted in dance

http://studio.stupeflix.com/v/Z2yJw6IXZw/

Leahs video

check out my video you guys :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gmz_HhhD3M

Arvanitis Colour of Magic Book review

The Colour of Magic written by Terry Pratchet is a fantasy book written in the style of an Odyssey. The book begins with the two protagonists of the story Bravd and Hublander standing on top of a hill watching several establishments in the town burn down and betting on what the cause was. As they are watching the flames engulf several parts of the town a wizard comes up to them and confirms Bravd's suspicion that the fire was caused by an explosion in one of the factory's which produced magic. The scene then shifts back in time to when a ship came to port in town on which the antagonist is introduced. This story continues then follows each of the character's stories listed above until they meet at sea several years in the future. This book is broken up into four different parts, each following a different section of the hero's and villain's journeys. This is a book which takes place in a universe which resembles the medieval ages in which the class system is very distinguished and technology is equivalent to Europe's 16^th century. Other than this, however, this story is one which is told in a completely different setting than earth. Magic is a commodity and Pratchet makes the story into one completely based off of fantasy with no real basis to it's universe other that to slightly resemble earth. This book is one that those who really enjoy fiction would enjoy, however many of the concepts are so different from what we understand that it occasionally feels as though only the one who generated those ideas would understand them.    

Should I? by Andrew Garcia

Should I?

I am without a companion.

without someone to stand by with.

I have no shoulder to cry on.

Is he really my friend?

Is she really me friend?

I still need to keep away.

But why?

I want to be closer,

but I can’t.

I love them.

and I can’t be with them.

Why not?

They said to keep away.

Do you want to see them?

but I can’t.

I need to keep away.

You need to act.

You can’t let the world pass you.

Act.

Be your own driver.

The book The perks of being a Wallflower is about teenagers and their journey through the coming of age. Charlie, Sam and Patrick are the main characters, who discover the problems of becoming teenagers. "You can't just sit there and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love." (198) This is my favorite quote in the book because Sam tells, the main character, Charlie that he is letting everyone else tell him how to live his life, but he does not do what he really wants to do in life. My poem goes more into depth on this, and how Charlie finds it difficult to show to people what he thinks is best, and what he honestly believes. We see Charlie’s passive nature as he is dating Mary Elizabeth, but actually does not like anything about her, and doesn’t want to date her, but has trouble telling her. In my poem it says “Do you want to be with them? but I can’t.” This represents Charlie and how he struggles to tell the girl who he actually loves, Sam, how he really feels about her.

The Girl in the Green Raincoat

          In the book, The Girl in the Green Raincoat by Laura Lippman, Tess Monaghan, a pregnant private investigator, is stuck in bed due to her doctor’s orders. Everyday she sees a woman in a green raincoat, on her phone, walking her dog though the park, but one day when the dog is roaming around with its owner nowhere to be seen, Tess knows something is wrong. From her bed, she unveils the mystery of the disappearance of the woman in the green raincoat while questioning aspects of her own life, such as if she is ready to be a mom and why her boyfriend has stopped asking her to marry him. Not only is the mystery solved, but the characters develop as readers explore the lives of each one of them. The Girl in the Green Raincoat is recommended to those who enjoy mysteries along with reading about characters' internal conflicts and watching them solve their problems. Although the plot is not very well developed, and it seems to skip around to different scenes without smooth transitions, this quick read is right for those who are looking for a short, simple novel. For the people who think that they may be interested in The Girl in the Green Raincoat, just try reading it. If you don't like it, put it down. Otherwise, join Tess and enjoy unraveling the mystery of the disappearance of the girl in the green raincoat.

Paper Towns Book Review- Jenn Martin

Jennifer Martin

English Period 2

11/15/13

Paper Towns

John Green's heartwarming, and witty best-selling novel Paper Towns, is yet another one of his engulfing reads that keeps readers on the edge of their seat throughout the entire story. Set in Orlando, Florida, the author describes the life of high schooler Quentin Jacobsen, mainly known as "Q", who has spent his lifetime obsessing over Margo Roth Spiegelman, the girl next door. On the outside she appears to have it all from being the most popular girl in school, to her looks and her personality. However, his whole vision of her changes when one night she arrives at his window and sneaks him out of the house so that she can have him drive her around for a night of adventures and revenge toward her ex-boyfriend and now ex-best friend. Their night consists of pranking, spray-painting, and "breaking and entering". Quentin’s view of Margo changes from the most perfect girl in school to a mysterious, unruly teen with evil intentions that are directed toward specific people. She is certainly not the person who he perceived her to be. Also, she brought out a rebellious, outgoing side of Quentin that he never knew he existed. After that night he truly believed that everything, including his social status, would be different the next day in school. However this was only an idea of his imagination because he soon finds out the next morning that Margo is not present in school and learns three days later that she had run away, leaving him with clues to her location. With the help of his friends and the clues she left him, Q attempts to find Margo and must face many obstacles along the way.  This intriguing mystery and realistic fiction novel explores the notion that "you can never truly know a person until you get to know them". As Margo describes, people are not made of paper or two dimensional, we have dimensions. This means that there is more to a person than what appears on the outside and people are not always what they seem. Margo expresses how, "That always seemed so ridiculous to me, that people wanted to be around someone because they're pretty. It's like picking your breakfast cereals based on color instead of taste" (37). She shows Quentin her true personality and teaches him this important life lesson.  Overall, although the middle of the novel becomes slow as when Quentin cannot overcome the obstacles that will help guide him to Margo's location, the plot is still extremely suspenseful and grabs the reader’s attention. The characters are extremely relatable and well developed. They deal with real life situations that teenagers in high school can relate to. It was also a really enjoyable story because you could get a feel for the character's emotions and thoughts. This book is for anyone who is looking for a quick and easy read because it is suspenseful, captivating, and a great work of writing.