speechless part three

        In the direction the story line was heading I could predict that something was going to happen between Sam and Chelsea at the end of the book. But there was a particular special surprise at the school dance, that I was not expecting to be there. Noah, the guy that got beat up because he was gay. Chelsea, vow of silent broke when she saw Lowell the popular guy bullying Garrett. She couldn't control herself, she had to do something. Lowell was the very first person she had talked to since she took the vow of silent, since the night of the party. Chelsea friends and especially her parents were very happy that she was finally talking again.

                                    "Hate is easy, but love takes courage" ~Noah

         I wonder how she went about writing this book? Was is based on a experience she endured or did it happen to one of her friends. I just wanna know how and where she came up with this story line.

My Life Next Door

One of the main characters in my book would be Jase Garrett. They are everything Samantha Reeds family isn't. The Garrett family is loud, messy, unorganized, carefree and affectionate. Samanthas' mother hates that they are so messy, she finds it unflattering and disgusting. When Jase and Samantha meet she makes it very awkward because Jase knows she has been watching him from her rooftop, but he doesn't mind. He thinks this is adorable. So, once Samantha really gets to know Jase and his family she doesn't mind how loud and obnoxious they are and never really cared when they were. She finds out Jase is a very loving and affectionate guy. He loves football, his parents have a plan for him to go to college but he was a fast muscle car. I love Jase as a character, it makes me want a boyfriend like himself, and I think as I get more and more into the book I will discover more about him. I think his actions about trying to date Samantha are adorable and they are such a cute couple. Jase doesn't remind me of any characters because most guys aren't as compassionate towards a girl and Jase really is.

Do Hard Things. The authors, Alex and Brett Harris, list five kinds of hard things. The first two are things that are outside of your comfort zone, and things that go beyond what is expected or required of you. These two ideas are a challenge to our young culture. Brett and Alex use many examples to explain these two ideas. They say that if people, not just young people, want to better themselves, then they always push themselves to do more. I agree with this statement, we need to strive to do our best and go beyond what is expected of us. There is so much that people can do if only they would go out and do it.

blog post #2- Combat Trauma

Throughout the book "Combat Trauma", there is not a specific character that is focused on, in this book they focus more on multiple points of view of different soldiers that have experienced different things.  Some people who talk about their trauma they go through every day are John Adame: who was a radio operator in E/3/60th Infantry, Terry Gander: who served as a rifleman in B/3/60th Infantry, John Iannucci: who served as a rifleman in B/3/60th Infantry, James D. Johnson: who spent 20 years in the army, and then was a therapist/pastoral counselor for fifteen years, and so much more.
These combat veterans served for our country and experience flashbacks everyday of what they consider "hell".  They explain their stories of what they saw, what they did, and how they survived.  They all talk about their stories of combat and what they tried to do to keep their minds off of what they witnessed.  They also talk about why they retired from their career after the war, a phrase they used a lot in this section was "did what I could until I blew up".  Which means they accomplished what they could before they couldn't deal with the combat trauma anymore, everything kept on reminding them of war and would go back to the day that has been kept in their minds for 40+ years and "blow up".

Speechless Part two

    Chelsea, Who doesn't know Chelsea she's POPULAR in her school everyone at least knows of her... NOW the entire school body know her for betraying her so called "friends". Chelsea no longer has popular friends because she turned in Kristin boyfriend and another guy from Chelsea school for beating up this kid, Noah for being gay. Now everyone knows her as betraying the populars and all of the rumors the group is making about Chelsea. Ever since that night Chelsea has taken a vow of silents.
     Are Chelsea's action reasonable? yes, she is finally finding her way in life. With the help of her new real friends Sam and Asha, who really do care about her. With Chelsea taking a vow of silents she is able to get a handle on her homework and actually is starting to pass her classes, she is thinking of others. She is filtering everything that she is thinks about and it helps her to come to an understanding.
      Chelsea has to face the POPULAR students everyday at school. The first week they egged her car, she has dealt with verbal abuse. Chelsea's NEW friends Asha and Sam work with Noah and his partner which makes Chelsea feel very uneasy, she doesn't know how react around him.
     I admire Chelsea for her vow of silent, she has gone through a lot with her dad losing his job, and her with the problems at school. Teens aren't always the nicest. I really think this is the best thing for her.

Human Trafficking by Becca and Chambree

*Warning some material may be disturbing.

http://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/11-facts-about-human-trafficking

http://www.humantraffickingsearch.net/

http://www.vanityfair.com/politics/features/2011/05/sex-trafficking-201105

http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2012/192360.htm

http://wqad.com/2013/10/15/iowa-survivor-of-human-trafficking-speaks-out/

http://www.ted.com/talks/sunitha_krishnan_tedindia.html

http://www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/fs/2013/211624.htm

http://www.interpol.int/Crime-areas/Trafficking-in-human-beings/Types-of-human-trafficking

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/11/05/teen-sex-trafficking-victims-share-stories-with-cbs2kcal9s-melanie-woodrow/

http://stophumantraffickingny.wordpress.com/a-survivors-story/

My Life Next Door

I am reading My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick. The book so far is pretty good. I am about half way through it so I am getting to know the characters a little more. I was immediately engaged in the book because when I read the back of the book it says something happens and either Samanthas family will save her or her boyfriends. So, I thought that was very interesting. I just really want to know what is going to happen, so when I start reading I can't put the book down  :) Samantha is the main character in the book along with her boyfriend Jase. They are next door neighbors and her mom hates them. Her mom is a neat freak and Jases family is far from neat freaks. His parents have a large family, so cleaning is a hassle to them and is uncommon. If Samanthas mom ever found out that they were dating or hanging out during late hours, I am wondering what would happen? Samanthas mom is also dating a really odd guy, so it'll be interesting to see what happens with him...

House of Sand and Fog

I picked this book, and expected it to be good. Why? Because Oprah said it was an amazing book, and kind of peaked my interest when I read about the families back ground. They came from Iran, and my dad's adoptive family came from Iran. They bought a house, and when I was 5, my father bought a house on a "spur of the moment" kind of thing. So I figured this book would be a good one, and I could emotionally connect to this book. Well I was wrong. This book has been draggggggging on, and it's not peaking my interest one bit.
While reading, I read, just to get the 1/3rd assignment done. I am making no emotional connections to this book, and I just want to throw it at the window in my room, and hope it's open! But I don't want to risk breaking my window. It's definitely a book that I wouldn't recommend if you have a mind like a squirrel.

So far in A Season of Miracles is about these kids play little league baseball. They get in third place every year. So this kids on the team found this other kids that hits line drive all the time. He is trying to get him on the team so that they can be in first place this year. The hard thing about this is he is trying to hind this kid from the other teams. I can't wait to find out what happens next.

When reading this it remineds me when I played little league when I was a kid. It was fun, and I enjoy reading this book because of that. I thought this book is well writen and the story is great. I just want to keep reading this book. I miss playing little league and I feel that I am in little leauge again when reading this book.

Seal Team Six 1/3

In my book I Am A Seal Team Six Warrior, while reading I am rushed with a bunch of different emotions. With battles being highly detailed and life obstacles being overcame it really caught my eye how organized and well put together the events are. Wasdin uses the power of words to give people an amazing and almost crystal clear idea of how things went in the military. Being pulled deeply into battles and training stories I sometimes forgot that i was reading. Feeling completely engaged I would have to set timers while reading and every time I finished I was motivated to go to the gym and physically accomplish something.

A couple of chapters into this book i began to notice that he would take us forward but still return to past events and describe events that occurred during training and things that happened in the lives of other SEALS. But i still feel i have yet to come across the best mission or battle in this book. I can't wait to finish this book,but when i do be on the look out for the next blog!

Combat Trauma 1/3 Summary

In my book "Combat Trauma" so far I love everything about it.  Learning about how people that were in combat in the 1800's have the same trauma as the people ion the war today.  After reading the first chapter the book caught my eye and pulled me in until I found myself reading until 2:00 in the morning and not realizing it.  Every page made me want to read more and more until i could not keep my eyes open anymore.

Throughout the first couple of chapters it has interviewed veterans that have experienced war and have been out of war for 40 years.  It talks about how veterans cope with their trauma and what the experience on a day to day occurrence.  Some veterans life to talk about what they saw during combat and others hold it in until they die and nobody actually knows how they feel.  I cannot wait until I have more free time and finish the book.

In my book so far, a mother gets a call from a stranger saying he kidnapped her daughter. He threatens to kill her daughter if she doesn't follow his rules of the game. If she calls the police, or anything her daughter will be dead. It's a race against time. It was hard for me to get into the book, but after awhile it got interesting and I'd like to know what happens in the end.

Exit Here

So far my book has been about this kid who went to Hawaii and he didnt talk to any of his friends from back home. he didnt return there calls or anything. Something bad happen down there and he dont talk about what happened. So he comes back home and everyone is mad that he stop talking to them. So now he has seen how much his friends have changed what the drugs did to them. But he gets caught up doing drugs again an he got back with his girlfriend that he left. And now the question is what happend in Hawaii

A call for action. A call to not only except and meet, but to exceed the low expectation our culture has placed on us. These word describe "Do Hard Things" in a nutshell. This book is not only an exciting read but challenging one as well. Sure the words and idea are easy to understand but the real challenge of this book is the execution of these ideas. The book focuses on the low expectations our culture has put on young people. It challenges young people to brake through the easy limitations and excuses our culture places on us and expects us to do.

I really like this book. It brings old common ideas I've heard over the years into new light. I feel excited and empowered as I read Do Hard Things. I can not wait to finish this book and read the second one in the series.

Speechless By: Hannah Harrington

Speechless, is just a few words that come to my mind while i'm reading this book. Not because there is nothing to say about it, by no means is that the case...

 This girl (Chelsea) has a BIG mouth, I don't mean size, I mean that she doesn't keep anything to herself, she has no filter. She soon found out that her "big mouth" can get her in to a lot of trouble and having her close friends turn against her. Since Chelsea knew her mouth got her in this mess the first place she decided to take a vow of silents. (like the monks). She was going to be absolutely silent... She convinced herself that no one would want to hear her side of the story anyway... But how does she know, she doesn't.

I was not expecting this book to be filled with drama. But I was engaged right when I started his book. "keeping secrets isn't my specialty. It never has been, ever since kindergarten when I found out Becky Swanson had a crush on Tommy Barnes... Managed to circulate that fact within our fifteen minute recess".(1)
Reading this book makes me think how I would react in her situation, it would be hard to deal with, it's confusing, why she wouldn't talk and it's kind of  distributing all at the same time.  It makes me want to keep reading to find out what will happen next with Chelsea.

Please don't tell

I actually like the book so far. It started out really good and I didn't have any problems getting into the book at first. The more I started reading more I started to hate one of the guys in my book, his name is peter and he kissed Sophie the last summer they saw each other on there family vacation. When Sophie showed up for this years vacation she had no idea peter was bring a girlfriend and his cousin Ethan. Honestly I think peter should have told Sophie that he was bringing a girl because she has waited a whole year for him because of the kiss that they had on the beach last vacation. I want to kept reading to find out more and see if peter or Ethan is right for Sophie!!!! Can't wait:) !!!!

I Am A Seal Team Six Warrior

I Am A Seal Team Six Warrior, to me seems like  a book about Howard E. Wasdin and his road to becoming a SEAL. It is a national bestseller and from a preview of the book I feel  as if it won't disappoint . I feel that in this book will be very detailed battles and it will really make you visualize what being a SEAL is really like. The road for Wasdin is long but not certain as he overcomes many obstacles in his life in order to become the best.  The cover of this book reminds me of Call of Duty, so i figured it would be action packed seeing that there is a very detailed picture of a soldier on the cover with an assault rifle.

Combat Trauma By James D. Johnson

Nightmares every night, depression, anger, and flashbacks about combat, these are the emotions and problems former soldiers face on a day to day life.  In the first couple of pages of the book a former soldier is having a nightmare about being shot in combat and not being able to do, not being able to scream for help, and not being able to move to safety.  It talks about how real the gunshots sound and how real the blood feels rolling down his side and when he feels like his life is over he wakes up in his own bed next to his wife.  He still doesn't know weather or not he is dead or it was just a bad dream.

Chasing the Dead

The reason I chose this book is because I love reading mysteries, and suspense stories. This book is about a mother who goes out of her way to save her daughter that has been kidnapped. The book is full of suspense and anyone who loves mysteries and thrill books I highly recommend this book. I think that the mom is being lied about her daughter being safe and that she's just going in a circle.

Mckennas book

My Life Next Door

This book is about a girl named Samantha and her mom is a crazy neat freak and she has very high expectations for Samantha. Next door lives a very odd family, the Garretts', where it's loud all the time because they have a large family. Samantha's mom tells her to stay away from them, what will Samantha choose? She is suddenly faced with a huge decision... Which family will save her?

speechless

the book picked was speechless. I picked this because somebody is going to revel there the truth about them selves. That they have never talked about. She learns the hard way that she need to stop talking about other people.

House of Sand and Fog

House of Sand and Fog, to me looks like a very mysterious book. It is a foggy cover, and a far middle of no where farm house. It is an Oprah's Book Club book, so that must mean it's good! While flipping threw the pages, and reading the back cover, I think this book is going to be about a married man who falls in love with his mistress, and then there is a tragedy of some sort. The cover didn't inform me what it is going to be about, but the way that they make it seem, it is a huge tragedy.

Exit Here by Jason Myers

i think this book is going to be about drugs an partying but something will happen that will change things with a group of people. the reason i choose this book is because one of my friends told me to read it and said ill probably like it shes mostly right about my book choices.

The book i am picking is called Please Don't Tell. The reason why i picked this book was because i like reading love mysteries. This book is about a girl named Sophie, and her family takes a trip every year with another family that has a son named Peter. Sophie and Peter have been best friends for along time, and on there family trip this year Sophie is going to tell Peter that she wants to become more then friends. Well things change when Peter brings his Girlfriend from college with him, and Sophie ends up   going island hopping with Peters cousin Ethan. Sophie's fait ends up changing after the long day on the island with Ethan.

The book I am going to read is Do Hard Things. The reason why I decided to read this book is because when I was in high school, one of my teachers recommended this book to me and i never got the chance to read it. After reading the back i think this book is going to be about how our generation is underestimated.

The book I picked is A Season of Miracles. The reason why I picked this book is because I like baseball and that it looks like a great story. After reading the back of the book I think that this book is going to be about a kid that plays little league baseball and it changed his life.