Everyday by David Levithan

                    In the book, Everyday by David Levithan, justice was not served. Justice was not served in the book because the main character, A, did not get what they wanted. A wanted to end up with the girl he had fallen in love with, Rhiannon. Justice was definitely not served because by the end of the book, A had to join someone who was trying to corrupt him. Reverend Poole was trying to get A, to join him and free him of the 'devil' inside him. Reverend Poole thinks this because he found out that A, goes from body to body, everyday. The Reverend had someone else inside - He wasn't himself just as many other people weren't either. The person inside the Reverend says something that gets A thinking about how he could really stay with Rhiannon forever. This leads to a bit of a conflict.

        In the end A went through all the thinking process to come to one decision; he was going to join in with the Reverend. A really wanted to see if he could stay with Rhiannon forever - Not just see her in a different body, and not having to drive to wherever she was. The only way this would be able to happen would be if he listened and stayed with the Reverend. I don't think justice was served but A made this decision to see what could really give him the happiness he wanted.

         In conclusion, A's choice was not one that was justified for him/her. I say this because by the end of the book, we don't really find out if A and Rhiannon do end up together. I feel that it was the right choice to make Rhiannon wait and see if there was a way to stay with her - But A just didn't seem happy about the choice that was made. 

Argument Essay: Should Access To YA Books Be Limited?

      Have you ever read a book where the character is struggling with an eating disorder? Or maybe an abusive parent? Young adult books contain any topic you can think of. Books all around are being banned for containing gruesome or mature content. Young adult books are portrayed as disturbing, explicit, and many more. But here’s what they don’t tell you about these misjudged books; they can help teens with their lives. Teens who have troubles in their rough lives can find comfort in these young adult books. Rational teens can be mature enough to grasp and understand complex texts. The content people are calling gruesome is written for a purpose. The gruesome content is written in books to help the mind develop and think profound thoughts. The books are written for educational purposes. Banning books that are meant to help the reader’s mind isn’t legitimate. Young adult books shouldn’t be banned.

     Intelligent teens can be mature enough to read and understand complex texts. Adults assume mature teens won’t be able to grasp the more perplexed ideas. In, ‘Teen Fiction Plots Are Darker and Starker’, a source states “I think adults shortchange teens and their ability to take in complicated material and make deeper connections.” Adults expectations for teens seem low considering they think teens won’t be able to interpret or infer with their own thoughts. “They’re not going to go out and do the dark things they’re reading about.” says another source. Young adult books don’t affect someone’s actions. “As kids, they want fantasy, but when they enter their teens, they want more realistic and darker books because they’re struggling with those issues and ideas,” says Shelly Wilhelm of the Bookies. The source is supporting the idea that grim content is what teens want in their lives sometimes. Young adult books are written for teen minds to start developing and having more advanced thoughts. If the books are helping teens think, why should they be banned? Would you want to ban educational elements?

    Although young adults books shouldn’t be banned; They have changed over the years and the content is clearly a topic that causes controversy. The content is obscene, disturbing, morbid and many more.Some books can even be triggering to teens if they’re too graphic. In the article, “Darkness Too Visible,” the author states, “But the calculus that many parents make is less crude than that: It has to do with a child’s happiness, moral development and tenderness of heart. Entertainment does not merely gratify taste, after all, but creates it.” This line is implying that young adult books will affect readers thoughts if teens read these lurid books. Here’s something though: These gory books can HELP teens! In the article, “Teen Fiction Plots Are Darker and Starker,” a source says, “The genre has the ability to change with the times and always seems to have a pulse on the teen heartbeat. It reflects what’s going on in their lives.” The article also states,”It takes this fearful thing and makes it approachable. Teens can explore these themes and use them to deal with issues in their own lives..” says David Levithan. The “grim” books could save a life for all you know. They shouldn’t be banned if they’re helping teens. Teens struggle but they can read young adult books to feel comfort and know that the problems they're having are normal. They aren't the only ones struggling and they should know that.

     The question still stands, do you think access to young adult books should be limited? Teens read books to feel comfort or to learn more about a certain topic. Some say they should be banned because the content is too much for teens to handle - But, here’s the thing; Yes, young adult books can be explicit, but they’re meant to educate and get teens to see deeper into a topic. Teens who aren’t ready to read more advanced books obviously shouldn’t. Young adult books should not be banned or limited because teens can be smart and make their own choices and to choose wisely about what they read; don’t you think so too?

Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell

         Themes are mostly main parts of books. There can be many themes in a book and themes are what describe what the main character(s) are struggling with. In the book, Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell, the themes I focused in on were growing up and love. But of course those weren't the only themes. They varied from family problems and not being able to make friends.

        Growing up is a theme in Fangirl because the main character, Cath, is moving on up to college and her life is changing fast. She's moving out of her house to stay at the dorms in college, and her sister Wren doesn't want to share a room anymore; after 18 years. And her boyfriend, (technically?) Abel breaks up with her once he meets someone new at his college. "We've shared a room for 18 years." Wren argued."And it's worked out great." Cath said. "This is college," Wren persisted."The whole point of college is meeting new people." "The whole point of having a twin sister," Cath said,"is not having to worry about this sort of thing. I don't need new people." "That just shows how much you need new people..." Wren squeezed Cath's hands. "Cath, think about it. If we do this together, people will treat us like we're the same person. It'll be four years before anyone can even tell us apart." Cath isn't very content with Wren's decision throughout most of the book.

       Love is definitely a theme in Fangirl. Love is a theme because Cath deals with a not so affective breakup, and she develops feelings for her room mate's (ex) boyfriend, Levi. Their relationship is a main focus throughout the entire book as well. "I like you here," he said, squeezing her. "With me." She smiled and her eyes started to drift downward.
"cather..." Backup to his eyes. "You know that I'm falling in love with you, right?" There was many more scenes where it was just Cath and Levi because they were the main couple. "I'm fine," he said. "I just told you last night that I was fine." "Well. Yeah. I know. But it's different on the phone." He sounded startled. "That's exactly what Katie said." "Who's Katie?" 'Katie is the reason I'm calling you Cath. She's, like, every reason I
m calling you." "Cath cocked her head. "What?" "Cath, I've met someone. And it's um, she made me realize that...well, that what you and I have isn't real." Abel wasn't mentioned much after this - This being Cath didn't really care about the breakup. She didn't have emotions towards it because she knew that Abel was right, and she later starting dating Levi.

Critical Analysis

      In "Teen Fiction Plots Are Darker And Starker," by William Porter, Porter wants readers to know that YA books and teen fiction have developed into darker and more mature plots. Porter also explains that even though the plots are indeed dark, they can have a value to a teens life. Porter quotes many sources on why they also think YA books affect teens lives as well. "The genre has the ability to change with the times and always seems to have a pulse on the teen heartbeat. It reflects what's going on in their lives." says Jill Adams, who teaches young-adult literature at Metropolitan State College of Denver.It takes this fearful thing and makes it approachable. Teens can explore these themes and use them to deal with issues in their own lives." sad David Levithan. "As kids, they want fantasy, but when they enter their teens, they want more realistic and darker books because they're struggling with those issues and ideas." said Shelly Wilhelm of the Bookies, a Denver bookseller. All of these sources and their quotes obviously tie together because they are all saying that teens have issues in their lives and books help them in a way, the topics in YA books relate to teens and that can be comforting.

      Porter hopes to inform and persuade readers that YA plots have become darker and mature overtime, and how they help teens. He wants people to agree that teens do benefit from the books.Porter uses specific words to try to inform and convince but in a more complex way. "An anorexic girl watches her best friend die from the same illness. A sexually abusive dad is turned in by his daughter's classmate." The vocabulary he uses makes the statement more complicated. "Young-adult fiction has always touched on themes teens find compelling." He also cites Patricia McCormick's novel, "Cut."...Compulsive self-mutilation, a disorder found in some adolescents. Dark as books can be, they tend to be leavened by redemptive endings.There are many other examples in which Porter uses certain words to elaborate his statements.

    After reading, "Teen Fiction Plots Are Darker And Starker,' I can conclude that I agree with Porter. I agree that YA books can help teens through their own issues. I feel that if a teen reads about a character who is having the same problems as they are, they're going to feel comfort in a way. If teens see the way a character resolves the problem they have, they might find a way to resolve their own problem as well because the book inspired them. Overall, I can understand how Porter was trying to inform us about teen plots, and I can understand and agree with his point about the value YA books have.

Eleanor & Park

      Themes are always important aspects in books. Themes can be written to describe someone's experiences or be a main idea of a book/story. In Eleanor and Park, there is a variety of themes such as bullying, sexual harassment, poverty, body image, domestic abuse, and of course love. I focused on 3 themes; bullying, poverty, and sexual harassment.
    
     Bullying is a very clear theme from the beginning of Eleanor & Park. Eleanor is harassed from the day she steps foot on the school bus and into her school. She is bullied for her body image, choice of style, and looks in general. "Watch it, Raghead." Tina pushed roughly past Eleanor and climbed onto the bus. She had everybody else in their gym class calling Eleanor Bozo, but Tina had already moved onto Raghead and Bloody Mary. "Cuz it looks like your whole head is a on the rag," she'd explained today in the locker room. "...Eleanor opened up her locker. It was empty. She tried the one above it. Nothing. And nothing below. No... Eleanor looked down at the toilet. Even though she knew what she was going to see there, it still felt like a wet slap in the face. Her new jeans and her cowboy shirt were in a dark pile in the bowl, and her shoes were crammed under the lip. Somebody had flushed the toilet, and there was water still spilling over the edge." There are many other scenes in the book where Eleanor is bullied. I see bullying as one of the main themes in Eleanor & Park.

     Poverty is a theme in Eleanor & Park as well because Eleanor's family is struggling with fitting 7 family members in a small home. Eleanor's family also has little money to depend on when trying to shop for food; They have to buy their clothes at thrift shops as well. "There were only five rooms in the house, and the bathroom just barely counted. It was attached to the kitchen - like literally attached, without a door. Somebody, probably her mom, had hung a flowered sheet between the refrigerator and the toilet. When she woke up in the middle of the night, all three of her brothers were asleep on the floor... There wasn't even room in the dresser for Eleanor's clothes." Eleanor's family clearly struggles with not having enough money to live an easy going life, and during holidays, their special dinners aren't really special. Money is a big problem in the story as well.

    Sexual harassment is a theme that I thought was clear in the book. I thought sexual harassment was a theme because someone kept writing horrible things in Eleanor's school book and it is brought up repeatedly. Eleanor's step-dad wrote the notes. "Do you think you can make a fool of me? This is my house do you think you can hore around my neighborhood right under my nose? I know what you are and it's over." As well as, "Suck me off. Pop that cherry. Do I make you..?"  The notes are inappropriate and I think they are considered as an act of sexual harassment towards Eleanor.

Baseline Argument Essay

       According to, "Insult or Honor?" Indian mascots are being portrayed as racist to fans, Native American groups, and law makers. It's causing controversy because the NFL teams are being stubborn and won't change the team's name or realize that it's causing trouble. The article discusses how many people have a problem with the Washington Redskins team name and other situations that have occurred with other teams that were also offensive. I think that the Indian mascots can be racist and offensive. The controversy being caused would easily go away if the team just changed their name.
   
    Some may not find the Indian mascots racist or offensive because a tribe let a university use their tribe name. "...The Seminole Tribe granted permission to Florida State University to keep using its Seminoles name- and its popular Chief Osceola mascot, who rides triumphantly onto the field on the spotted Appaloosa horse before every home football game in Tallahasse." The Seminoles tribe chairmen says, "We Seminoles embrace the mascot. They honor us." These could be prime examples as to why people would think the mascots are okay, but not all tribes and everyone think that the mascots are honorable or respectful. "In June, the U.S Patent and Trademark Office agreed: It stripped the Redskins of its trademark registration, saying that "this racial designation based on skin color is disparaging to the Native Americans." While one team and some tribes may be okay with the teams using their name but others are severely bothered by it and just want change.
    
   The Indian mascots are racist and offensive, "Many Native American groups, law makers, and fans are pressuring the NFL team to change it;s name and mascot. They say it's offensive, even racist, and have targeted the team with lawsuits, letters, a prime-time TV commercial, and a Twitter campaign." The problems people are having with the teams makes you see that they're taking action, and will do anything to make the team change their name. They're taking a stand for something they believe is wrong, and that really shows how much of an issue this is.
   
   There is controversy being caused because the NFL team's are too stubborn to change the name and realize that it's wrong and troubling. "...After decades of lobbying by Native American groups, the NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) identified 19 universities whose team names it deemed hostile or abusive to American Indians. The NCAA ordered teams to change their names or get permission from tribes to continue using them." Permission is something that would have made everything go easier from the start.
    
     In conclusion, the Indian mascots are racist towards some and cause controversy. Permission is definitely something that the NFL teams should have asked for because you never know who's going to take it into serious offense and get upset about it. 

Faithful Elephants Reading Response

           

              "Faithful Elephants," by Yukio Tsuchiya is a story about zoo keepers that are forced to kill their animals before the war happening in Japan, gets to them.Three of the characters the story is focused on are John, Tonky, and Wanly; Elephants that are destined to die even if it's the war that gets to them - or the forced death caused by the zoo keepers. There are many themes and messages in the story such as death/loss,peer pressure, and war being some of the themes.

              Death/loss is a theme in the story because John, Tonky, and Wanly are killed and so are the other animals as well. These tragic events lead to loss. Loss is a theme because the employees really cared about the animals; killing the animals was clearly a big and hurtful choice to make and watching them suffer affected them personally. One example of death/loss would be, "Therefore by command of the Army, all the lions, tigers, leopards, bears, and big snakes were poisoned to death." Another example would be, "...the keepers reluctantly decided to starve him to death. Poor John died seventeen days later." Reluctantly means to show doubt about doing something and not being eager to do something, the employees were clearly not eager or willing to kill their animals.

          Peer pressure is a theme in the story because the employees were pressured into killing and making the animals suffer. The employees cared for the animals and they didn't want them to be harmed. The only choice was to make the elephants go through pain was because the war would have gotten to them as well and severely hurt them. An example of peer pressure in the story would be the line, "All this while, the elephants' trainer loved them as if they were his own children. " You poor, poor, pitiful elephants!" Peer pressure is when you're forced to do something or when you're influenced by someone else to do something. The employees were pressured into killing their animals and this connects with the reluctantly.

           War is also a theme in the story because it is what causing the conflict. War is one of tghe main themes I guess I could say because if the war wasn't mentioned, then the plot wouldn't make any sense." At the time Japan was at war. Gradually, the war had become more and more severe. Bombs were dropped on Tokoyo every day and night, like falling rain." This line explains that the war was happening and later on in the story the author explains that the animals have to be killed before the war does.

         In conclusion, I think that the themes expressed throughout the story are very clear and very well supported. You do have to think more deeper for some things expressed in the story but overall the story is tragic yet touching.
         
             

Summer Reading Response: Eleanor & Park

          Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell is a young adult novel about two teenagers in the 1980's that manage to fall in love with each other despite their differences. There are two different points of views in this book.

         In Eleanor's point of view, it is described how she managed to fall in love with Park, her difficulties at home, and her struggle with her appearence. Eleanor's appearence makes her an easy target of bullying. Eleanor's family deals with poverty and they are always at risk with their step-father because he has been abusive.

      In Park's point of view, it is also described how he managed to fall in love with Eleanor, his struggle with keeping his father proud and off his back, and being bi-racial. Being bi-racial means Park has to deal with some teasing and the stereotypes; he is also the only asian at his school. Park's father can be pushy towards Park because he wants Park to be strong and make him proud like Park's brother, Josh.

     Through small talks and small exchanges, they managed to fall in love. By the end of the book Eleanor has to flee to Minnesota in order to be safe. This is important because Eleanor realizes that the nasty notes being left in her school book isn't a classmate or student's action - It is her step-father's. Eleanor and Park's communication begins to distance. 

    While reading Eleanor & Park, I realized that the audience can see that there will be times where you fall in love or have fallen in love and you think your life is spendid. Eleanor & Park shows you that sometimes that isn't always the case - There willl be times where you experience pain or even heartbreak because life isn't perfect. You will struggle with other problems in life and it won't be easy but you will get through it. The mentions and scenes of domestic abuse, profainty, child abuse, bullying, and body image help the audience see that these things do exist and life won't always be easy going; There will be lessons to be learned.