Olivia was in pain. She felt alone. Her twin sister had died and her parents barely noticed her anymore, and now she had to start a new life in a new school. She is overwhelmed and scared of living without her sister. The book “Wish” by Alexandra Bullen shows  readers that taking risks can help you become independent and strong.

Olivia didn't realize how much she depended on her sister until she was gone. Her sister was always the outgoing one and loved to take risks. She realized that her “friends” were actually Violets friends. So when she had to start in a new school she didn't know how to make friends. Not taking risks in life can really affect people. Olivia was too dependent on her sister. So when Violet came back as a ghost after Olivia wished it, her sister Violet slowly started pushing Olivia to take risks to help her “live one her own”. She guided her sister in school and in time Olivia started doing stuff on her own. This also shows that having someone pushing and supporting you instead of just doing stuff with u can help u become independent.

Also, taking big risks can always be worth it in the end. Olivia had was scared to go after the boy she liked because it was a very big risk but in the end it was worth it because they both ended up in love with each other. She fought for what she wanted. So therefore no matter how big the risk might be and what the consequences might be taking a big risk can be worth it in the end.

Overall, the book “Wish” shows readers that taking risks can help you become independent and strong. Also having someone at your side to push you can help you out. People shouldn’t be afraid of taking risks because they help us realize that we can do anything if we really try.

   Mia had lost everything. So why should she stay? Why should she continue to fight for her life if her family was dead and all she had left was pain? "If I Stay" by Gayle Forman shows readers that even when everything seems lost there is always something to fight for.

         Sometimes pain can feel overwhelming. Mia was emotionally in pain and she wasn't sure if she should continue to fight for her life. However, although she was in a lot of pain and wasn't sure if she wanted to live she still did argue with herself about it which shows that there was some part of her that did want to stay, and in the end she did. Her love for Adam ( her boyfriend) gave her something to fight for. She overcame her pain.

         There is always something or someone to fight for. In the story, Mia was "running the show" She decided if she got better or not. So when she was emotionally in pain she would physically worsen. When she found out that her brother had not survived the car cash, her physical self became unstable and needed surgery. However even with all this pain she was feeling she still survived. In the end, she used all her emotion and strength to come back and hold Adam's hand. She had decided to stay. She had found something to fight for.

         Overall, "If I Stay" teaches readers that even when everything seems lost, there is always something to fight for. Mia had lost her family and was overwhelmed but in the end she saw what she still had and fought to stay. It might not be obvious at first but there is always something or someone worth fighting for.

Speaking Up

Imagine being hurt but never telling anyone, and the guy was at your school ready to do it to someone else. That’s how it was like to Melinda in “Speak” by Laurie Halse Anderson. Melinda tried to pretend that everything was normal, that she never got raped, but “IT” was always there. She was hopping that things would change and get better but, teens can’t expect changes for the better if they don’t do something about it.

Keeping a secret, secret, can be hard on teens. Melinda’s secret was overwhelming her. Every time she saw “IT” (the guy who raped her) she was paralyzed with fear and she couldn’t do anything because she was to terrified to speak up.. Her secret isolated her from other people. She had no friends and people thought she was weird. This shows that it is important to speak up. To speak up, you free yourself from what’s keeping you miserable.

Speaking up can allow you to be free from fear and guilt if something happened to you. If you don’t, it could keep you from enjoying life like it did to Melinda, who lived being terrified all the time and lived isolated from the rest of the world. She felt guilty because she was drunk when she got raped but she did say no. She thought it was her fault but it wasn’t and she couldn't tell anyone because she wouldn't speak up.Speaking up could help you live freely.

Overall, “Speak” teaches readers that in order for things to change for the better, you need to do something. Not just wait around hoping for the best. “My stomach is killing me. The room isn’t big enough for this much emotion” Melinda had too much emotion buried inside her because she wouldn’t speak up. She had noone to tell how she was feeling. Readers can prevent from feeling like this by doing something like speaking up or fighting back for the change they need.

                                                                                                                                                                                       

summer Reading

This summer I read the whole Hunger Games series. It is one of my all time favorite series. I also watched the movies so it was interesting comparing the two. My favorite book out of the series was Catching Fire.It was my favorite because it was the one where they announced the quarter quell in which the tributes were picked from the existing victors from each district.Not only that but the alliance with Finnick really made the story much more interesting. He was a fun character to read about. Finally I loved the ending in which katniss blows up the arena after remembering what Haymich said about remembering who the real enemy is. I feel like that was the moment where everything fell into place;when she finally understood what she had to do. As a reader I love reading fantasy and sci fi which is also why I love the Hunger Games so much. I love scifi because it introduces crazy and fun ideas of what the future might be like. Finally, I like fantasy because I could read about stuff i never even thought of.Sometimes I try reading non-fiction and historical fiction but I usually stop. However I do really like realistic fiction alot.I like realistic fiction because there are some books in which I could relate to some chatacters and also I could learn how to get through some situations I might have to face later in life by reading about characters who go through them.Therefore this is how I am as a reader.