Reading Journal

ENG 308: Study of Children's Literature

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

Summer reading first book

To start my summer off, I read a book I had never heard of before called: The Misadventures of Benjamin Bartholomew Piff, You Wish. Overall a cute book, but certainly not one of my favorites. The lightheartedness, easy to read writing style, and setting in a world with magic make me think that I would have really liked this book as a kid. However, as an adult, the book was painfully predictable. I had considered not finishing it, but I’m rather stubborn, and as I’d already spent a decent amount of my time reading this book I was determined to see it through. So in a word, this book was meh. Not atrocious, but not one I’d recommend to a friend.

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

Summer Reading

So, initially this reading journal was an assignment for my course: Study of Children's Literature. However, I find that I actually enjoyed keeping a reading journal in this format, and I feel like it would be such a waste to just let this journal die! Therefore, I've decided to continue updating it throughout the summer with the books I'm reading for fun :) who knows, maybe I'll even continue updating after that! So, without further ado: my reading journal summer edition starts now!

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

the perks of being a wallflower end

Second time reading through this book and I honestly can’t decide if I love it or hate it. I thoroughly enjoy the writing style. The way the book is broken up into letters give you this feeling of suspense like “what if he just stops writing the letters?” It also makes you feel like you are a part of the story since Charlie never says who the person he’s writing to is. The first-person limited point of view permitted by this style is also interesting. We get to see the world through Charlie’s eyes, which is a unique way to view it for sure! Since Charlie is a wallflower, the descriptions we get of his life are vivid and authentic feeling. He’s not the kind of character to embellish a story, and the result of his honesty is a book that pulls you in and makes you feel like you are right there in the scenes he describes. Which brings me to the part of this book I hate: the feels.

the perks of being a wallflower really hits your emotions hard. Which is both beautiful to read and difficult to process.

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

Let me start by saying that I read this book on my own a few years back because I had heard such great things about it. The first time I read it, I couldn’t put it down. I read the whole book in one night, and I cried as soon as I was done. This is the kind of book that you feel yourself relating to and that makes you feel afraid because of how much you relate to it. It touches on very sensitive subjects and gets up in your head. I had been wanting to re-read the book for quite some time now, so when I saw the perks of being a wallflower on our reading list for class, I jumped on it.

Reading the perks of being a wallflower the second time is such a different experience. [Spoiler alert!] The first time I read through it, I felt that something was off with Charlie, but it wasn’t until near the end of the book that I thought it may have something to do with his Aunt Helen. Reading it through the second time, I realize that they hint at the ending right from the start of the story. It’s strange because when I first read it I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with Charlie until the book told me, but reading it now it seems so obvious! This story really pulls me into it. It’s an easy read, but it paints such a clear picture of what’s happening in the story, and even more importantly it paints a clear picture of what’s happening in Charlie’s head. The combination of the two makes you feel like you are right there in the story. From the POV of a reader I can see that Charlie is hurting and in need of help, and as a reader there’s nothing I can do about it. It feels remarkably frustrating, and even more so knowing how the book ends.

I am almost done re-reading this book, and I look forward to reflecting on it as a whole. To sum up my feelings thus far of the perks of being a wallflower from both the first time I’ve read it and from what I’ve read of it thus far:

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

The Strange Case of Origami Yoda

The book genre this time was “detective stories,” and the book I read was The Strange Case of Origami Yoda. 

I was really excited to read this book because I’ve actually seen kids in middle school classes reading it! It was a very easy read; I got through the book start to finish in one night. It also helped that the story was actually pretty interesting! The writing style reminds me a lot of the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series, largely because it is told from the perspective of a kid. I also feel that this is a large part of the appeal of the book. Of course, I also love the Star Wars references

(reference made in the book).

I also like the artistic styles of the book. On every page there are doodles done in a middle-school style. There’s also differences in font styles used to designate different authors. The framing device of the book is also interesting. The main character is making  case file to determine the validity of “Origami Yoda” and the “chapters” of the book are arranged accordingly. Each chapter has a story about Origami Yoda followed by comments from both Tommy and Harvey. Tommy, being the main author, and Harvey acting as the antagonist. The climatic ending pins Harvey’s fake origami Yoda against the original

So maybe the battle didn’t involve light-sabers...but it did involve dancing! Which is almost just as good ;)

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

Riddles in the Dark

Adventuring party disbanded.

Your character Baggins has acquired a new item!

Item name: Mysterious Metal Ring

Item attributes: Unknown

Baggins stored Mysterious Metal Ring in his pocket!

Baggins remembered that he is carrying a weapon!

Baggins equipped Elvish Dagger

     +10 defense

     +15 attack

      +special attributes: Goblin Detect & Faint Glow

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

Chapters 1 & 2

When reading The Hobbit thus far, I just can’t help but feel like I’m in an RPG (specifically, Skyrim). You’ve got your character, Bilbo, whose race is Hobbit and class is Burglar. We know that this particular race is suited to the Burglar class since they have high stealth in wooded areas, high speed and dexterity, increased sight/hearing (detection),and are generally small in stature. He’s just starting out, so his stats are pretty low but I assume they’ll be leveled up as the plot progresses. For instance, his communication skills need a lot of improvement (as is evident by his inability to convey important information to the dwarves, e.g. him being unable to hoot like an owl) and his pick-pocketing skills need to be leveled as well (how can you call yourself a burglar when you get detected while simply pick-pocketing a low INT creature like a troll?). On the upside, Bilbo has managed to increase his weapon stats by acquiring and equipping a short-sword, and having raided the Troll’s hideout the whole group has obtained stat recovery items (food). And of course, if this really is anything like Skyrim, once our hero levels up enough I expect to see him fighting a dragon!

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

New book genre: MAGIC

The next genre we’re looking at is magic!

And the next book I’ll be reading is J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit!

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

The Chocolate War End

Well, if you like stories with a happy ending, then this book is not for you.

Throughout the novel things aren’t particularly chipper, but you always have this sense that somehow the main character Jerry will manage to overcome the odds--that he’ll rise against the corruption in his school and change it for the better! Then you read the last chapter and *spoiler alert!* Jerry gets beaten nearly to death in front of the entire school, the teachers do nothing to punish those responsible, and, perhaps worst of all, Jerry gives up. He gives up the fight, gives up going against the Vigils, gives up following his own path: “Don’t disturb the universe, Goober, no matter what the posters say.” -page 248.

Though the ending is far from happy, it does leave you with a lot to think about.

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

The Chocolate War Chapters 10-17

I think that the strength of this book so far really lies with its characters. The plot itself is character-driven; the interest from the book is not in some epic story, but rather in the novelty of seeing the daily life of a bunch of school kids told from multiple perspectives with great authenticity. The book introduces a large number of characters, often shifting the point of view when doing so. It then weaves the individual stories of each character into the overall fabric that is the plot.

P.S. Brother Leon is excessively frustrating, not only as a teacher, but as a human being in general.

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

The Chocolate War

I’ve read the first 9 chapters thus far and am pretty interested in this book. Between chapters, the point of view changes. Sometimes you’re reading Jerry’s pov, other times it’s Obie, or The Goober, or Archie. Speaking of Archie, he is a truly interesting character, like something straight out of an anime. He’s clever, quick witted, even sadistic at times. As the head of the Vigils, the whole school admires, and fears, him. Despite all that, he’s also authentic; he second guesses himself, is insecure, is frustrated by how much work he has to do, and worries about what the other students think of him.

Also, I’d just like to mention how absolutely beyond frustrated I was when reading about Brother Leon. He is the worst kind of teacher. And sure, he tried to play off his display of self-serving machismo by claiming he wanted the students to learn a lesson from it, but it’s evident that he was simply using the humiliation of a student to demonstrate his dominance over the class.

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

Coming of Age

Well, with Warriors: Into the Wild finished, it’s time to start a new book. The theme this time is coming of age stories, and the book is The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormler. I honestly had never heard of this book until it was put on my reading list, but just about everyone I’ve mentioned it to has enthusiastically told me how much they loved it!

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

Warriors Ending

So it occurs to me that I never actually posted my thought on the final chapters of this book...oops. Well better late than never right? Here we go!

An epic end to an epic book:

Firepaw, Graypaw, and Raven paw all head out after Yellowfang, the rest of the clan may not trust her, but our heroes know better! Along the way poor Ravenpaw goes to live with Barley since Tigerclaw has effectively turned the whole clan against him (Tigerpaw and Greypaw also assure him that they’ll tell the clan he had died until they can fix things with Tigerclaw). Upon meeting up with Yellowfang, they discover that she left to help the kits, not hurt them (knew it!). They meet up with the ThunderClan Warriors, rally support from within ShadowClan, and mount an attack!

Tigerpaw fights with Clawface, nearly killing him out of vengence (since Clawface killed Spotted Leaf), but Whitestorm stops him. It is also revealed that not only is Brokenstarbasically the worst clan leader in Warrior history, but he’s also the worst son; he killed his own father!

Despite all his evilness, they let him run away. *cough* coward *cough*

Anyways, the book ends on an amazing note when Firepaw and Graypaw are made into full-fledged warriors and receive their Warrior names. Graypaw becomes Graystripe, and Firepaw becomes Fireheart! <3

It was such a sweet chapter to see the two apprentices  earn their Warrior rank. I somehow felt so proud of them!

Overall, this book was fantastic! I honestly expected it to be cheesy or only appealing to children, but I found my self genuinely enjoying reading it. I intend to finish the series at some point in the future.

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

Chapters 18, 19, and 20

Tigerclaw has been deputy for less than a day and he’s already on a power trip: he’s assigned his biggest supporters as bodyguards to Bluestar, essentially preventing anyone from having private conversations with her, he’s dropping hints that Ravenpaw is a traitor that works for Shadowclan so that nobody will believe him if he ever gets the courage to tell people what he knows, he sends Ravenpaw to hunt in Shadowclan territory, and he is conspiring to get rid of Ravenpaw altogether! Man this cat is getting on my nerves!

There were some good things that happened in this chapter as well though. Yellowfang has been inducted as a full-fledged Thunderclan member, and Firepaw finally gets to train with Bluestar! Plus Spottedleaf tells Firepaw about the prophesy she saw. Speaking of Firepaw, can I just say how intensely frustrating it is that he has gotten multiple opportunities when he was alone with Bluestar and could have warned her about Tigerclaw but for one reason or another he decides not to?

And of course the chapter has to end on a crazy emotional point; Spottedleaf is killed, Frostfur’s kits are missing, and everyone is blaming Yellowfang who is also missing.

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

Chapter 17

Our heroes return to find their clan attacked by ShadowClan. They manage to drive them out, but at a cost: both Rosetail and Lionheart are killed in the battle.

As per Warrior tradition, at the death of her deputy Bluestar must appoint a new deputy before moonhigh. Of all the people she could have chosen, she chose Tigerclaw.

Firepaw seriously needs to do something about this soon! Especially considering that Ravenpaw is dropping hints that Tigerclaw may have actually killed Readtail!

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

Chapter 16

New character time! In this chapter, we meet a loner cat named Barley. He doesn’t belong to any clan, but he’s not a kittypet either. Upon his advice, the group takes an alternate path back to camp to avoid the dogs. Unfortunately, this leads them into a pack of angry rats. Tigerclaw, being his usual grumpy self, accuses Barley of leading them into a trap, despite Barley fighting bravely by their side. But the most shocking thing about this chapter is that Bluestar dies!

But worry not! As a clan leader, she has 9 lives and assures us that she has 4 more lives left.

[supersonicstrawberrysunshine]

Chapters 14 & 15

Firepaw has a nightmare, and if I know anything about books, it’s that anytime a character has a dream it is foreshadowing! I sense something bad on the horizon. My apprehensions seem to be confirmed by Bluestar in chapter 15 who has also experienced a bad dream whilst sleeping by the moonstone.

Also, can I just point out how suspicious it is that Tigerclaw couldn’t stand to be near the moonstone and was so afraid that he ran out of the cave? Now sure, if it were just about any other Thunderclan cat I probably would have let it slide, but this it Tigerclaw we’re talking about here. You know, Mr. stereotypical-villain-in-disguise, always in a poor mood, antagonist to the main hero. Not to mention that we recently found out that he may be hiding something about Redtail’s death and is using fear to shush up Ravenpaw. Yeah, that Tigerclaw is now afraid to hear what Starclan, suposed resting place of fallen Warriors such as Redtail, has to say? Somehow that just doesn’t add up. I’m watching you Tigerclaw.