Dear Dumb Diary #4: Never Do Anything, Ever by Jim Benton

     I've finished yet another Dear Dumb Diary, this one is about the cruelty of P.E and the inner beauty. I love this book like the other because it's imaginative and it's a good mural.

     Jamie Kelly have a problem with P.E, she don't like working out and she hate the lousy trust exercise. One day, Jamie and her best friend Isabella ran into the most popular girl in school, Angeline. They disguise themselves and follow her to see if they can find out the secret to how she keeps her hair so perfect. They found out that she bought a simple. . . When Jamie mom decided to have a garage sale, the Walk-A-Thon came by. Jamie spotted Angeline and the next day, She found out the her popularity rival is on the FRONT PAGE! Isabella concluded that Angeline is trying to show off her inner beauty so she can boost her popularity. They started to hatch a plan and decided to put it into action. The next day. . .

     Want to know what happen next? Then you should check this book out at the library and find out what mischievous surprises Jamie Kelly and Isabella have up their sleeves. I promise it'll glue your eyes to the book and make you jump through the roof. 

Class Novel

     I really enjoyed the class novel "When My Name is Keoko" because the story line is very interesting and exhilirating . I love the way the story is told from two perspectives, I love it because I could see different opinions and feelings. I especially like it when Ms. Patrice read out loud to us because it was so funny and emotional. My favorite part of the story is when the war was over and Sun-hee gets to see an American for the first time. Her describtions are hilarious!! I'm very surprise how children in Korea back then never know what gum is or have never eaten grains, I could not imagine live without those things. I also pity Jung-shin because she did nothing wrong but was driven away from the town. The time I spend reading this novel with my class have shown me how harsh World War II is and that a lot of children are still living a miserable live like Sun-hee and Tae-yul or even worst. 

Dear Dumb Diary #3: Am I the Princess or the Frog by Jim Benton

    I'm really enjoying this series because it's so funny, I see things that normally couldn't or wouldn't happen in the real world. I've also read things that someone would only write in a diary.

    In this book, Jamie Kelly has a new English teacher, who's doing a unit on fairy tales. They have to do a project on one of the many fairy tales told around the world, plus in art class they have to think of creative art project that can be put up in the cafeteria. Speaking of the cafeteria, there's a new cafeteria monitor, Mr. Prince, who have won Jamie and her best friend Isabella's heart. Jamie tried to win her secret crush, Hudson River, over by using "zone shampooing" (Invented by Angeline, Jamie's rival), Isabella grew jealous when she sees pure love squirting out of Hudson's. Isabella decided to do a project how pets look alike. Isabella knew that Jamie have an ugly beagle named  Stinker. To make things worst Jamie haven't figure out which fairy tale she's going to do a report on. Can she deal with all of these problem without losing her popularity or will see crumble under the pressure? The only thing that's making her life better is. . .

    If you want to find out the rest of this fantastic story then read the novel for yourself. I promise that there will be a lot of wacky surprises and unexpected plot twist plus tons of imagination so hurry up and check this book out today at the school library!! 

Goosebumps: The Haunted Mask by R. L. Stine

      I've read the sequel of this book and I loved it so I wanted to read this one. When I found it in the library I checked it out right away. The story starts in October, just a few days before Halloween when the main character, Carly Beth, bought a really scary mask from a new Halloween store. The strange thing is that the store owner didn't want to sell the mask even though Carly Beth offered a pretty high price for it, he finally gave in to her begging and sold the mask. After that the store disappear forever. Carly Beth planned to scare her friends with this new mask when they go trick or treating tonight. On Halloween night Carly Beth put on the mask without regarding the mysterious store owner warnings. She never expected to be the next victim of the vicious Haunted Mask. Carly Beth put on the mask, at first everything was find, until the evil within the mask awakened and turned Carly Beth into a demonic angry monster. The only way to get the mask off is by using the symbol of love but is there really such a thing? Will Carly Beth ever escape the Haunted Mask's grasp or will she die an bitter, evil beast with no soul? Read the book and find out. 

Dear Dumb Diary #2: My Pants Are Haunted by Jim Benton

  I've finished book two of this series and the idea of the haunted pants is really funny. In this book, Jamie and Isabella are working on an ultimate perfume that will make them popular. At the same time, Jamie has been finding her pants with big round holes. She assumes that her beagle Stinker did it because she didn't give him any left overs after dinner yesterday. Her mom took her to the mall and bought her the newest and coolest pair of pants ever. Ever since she got the pants her universe tip up side down as she and Isabella fall to the near bottom of the popularity scale. New girls have been popping up with unexplainable amount of popularity. Isabella reason that the pants are behind it because it was the only pair without a hole at the back. Things got really crazy when the girls tried to get rid of the haunted pants but is it really the pants that are causing all this problem or is it something else?  

Dear Dumb Diary #1: Lets Pretend This Never Happen by Jim Benton

   I really like this book because it's the first book I've that's written in the form of a diary. This diary belongs to a girl named Jamie Kelly and in her diary write about her life. She wants to be popular in her middle school so she hatch up plans in her head that would boost her popularity but she hardly ever use them. Jamie Kelly has a best friend named Isabella who has the same ambition as her, to be popular. Angeline is Jamie Kelly's arch rival and also the most popular girl in school. Jamie's diary contain wild things that only she could think of like a giant frog that swallows Angeline or earthquakes caused by the fat cafeteria monitor, Ms. Bruntfort. This time, Jamie tries to win her crush Hudson Rivers over but only to get foiled by non other than Angeline. Then, by a struck of luck, Jamie found Angeline's permanent record in the principal office but will she reveal all of Angeline's darkest secrets or will she let it go? Read and find out.   

Visualizasion

When I read When My Name Was Keoko chapter 27 and 28 I visualize Tae-yul flying an airplane with a instructor and Tae-yul drinking the cups of sake thinking about Sun-hee and Uncle. I can see that Tae-yul was really sad but also anxious because he's about to fly in a mission. I can almost feel the excitement of flying an airplane and just be free in the sky, that feeling must be amazing! I also imagine Sun-hee worrying about Tae-yul and wether if he have to fly a mission. It must be so depressing.

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

      I think Charlie and the Chocolate Factory is a great book because it's very imaginative and funny. The invention were wacky, hilarious, and amazing. I love the Oompa-Loompas and the squirrels. The author also made the readers sad because of how Charlie and his family have to live. I especial love the part where he found the golden ticket and when he was given the chocolate factory. Mr. Willy Wonka is a very nice man and I think the other kids are spoiled. He warned them but the never listened and the end up a disaster. Charlie is such a sweet boy and reading this made me wonder if how many children out their are in his situation or worst. He cherish a chocolate bar so much that he only take a little nibble every time, it's so sad to think that kids actually have to do that in real life. Roald Dahl takes a very serious problem like hunger or poverty and turn it into a cheerful, fantastic book that is love by children and adults everywhere.             

                                                                                                                  My Book

Journal Entry (Receiving Bad News)

     The first time I ever received was when my grandpa died, I was seven when it happens well, I didn't get why everyone was crying. I thought my grandpa was only sleeping with a plate of banana on his belly. When I found out that he was dead, I was sad but not that much, I was too young to realize the pain everyone else had. I found out he was dead when he was buried in his childhood home's backyard in the country side.

     

     Another bad news is when my dog Binky died in a car accident. He was a puppy, I bought him in a pet shop just a few blocks away, one day though, I forgot to put a leash on him and he ran out of the house and to the pet shop but sadly you have to cross the street to get to the pet shop. He tried to cross the street but well, you get what happened next, that was the last time I saw Binky. It took me a few days to get over because I was only eight and a half but after that I asked my parents for a new puppy but they said NO!!!

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

You may have seen Frankenstein in a movie but have you ever read the classic original? Frankenstein by the famous Mary Shelley is sure to blown you away. But first, let's all get to know the author. Mary Shelley and her husband the poet Percy Shelley were a part of the Romantic movement, Romantics are people who think we should embrace and fear the power of nature instead of trying to find every secret that it keeps. In her book she gave an example of how science can ruin ones live.

The story happens right after a period called the Enlightenment, this was when science and discoveries took a tremendous step forward into the future,Europe became an advance civilise region where scholars gather to share ideas and argue about theories. One of the was young Victor Frankenstein, a science student at the university of Ingolstadt, Switzerland. He was brilliant and curious, too curious. He was desperate to find the secret of life and so he did, creating a creature that seal him a fate full of suffering and despair. His creation was meant to be beautiful but it turns out to be a hideous monster. Victor himself fled in terror by the sight of the ugly creature.

Although the monster was kind and gentle, the humans fled whenever they caught sight of it's hideous nature. This amount of terrible isolation, rejection and loneliness turned the gentle creature into an angry evil monster. Seeking vengeance on it's creator the monster became a lunatic, murdering Victor's love ones. Victor swore to track down his own creation and destroy it... If you want to know how the story ends you should read it for yourself.

Mary Shelley criticised the Enlightenment through Victor Frankenstein, Victor did not fear the world around him enough and he had to pay the ultimate price. The monster represent the things that science created but can not control. But Frankenstein isn't just about this still heavily debating subject, it's also consider the first example of a science fiction book which is followed by a long line of breath taking novels. This is a book that is worth reading and its monster has been adapted into famous movies and plays too! But always remember that Frankenstein is the name of the man who created the monster not the monster itself, the monster really doesn't have a name, people get that mix up a lot!

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

The story Lord of the Flies is a thrilling action packed novel. This novel is about more than just boys stranded on an island, it's also about the age old battle of good and evil. The conch is a symbol of order and restriction that we try to enforce to fight against evil. The beast represent the evil lurking within ourselves, it's also the symbol of our fear and what we don't know or understand. Last of all is Piggy, he represent the good and intellectual side of the human soul.

The story happens in the middle of an unknown war, the boy were being evacuated but their plane got shot down by fighter jets, while waiting for rescue they all met and decided that it is best to stick together. A boy named Ralph was elected chief of the group, Ralph pass a law that who ever have the conch, a white large sea shell get to speak their mind and everyone else have to listen. The built huts on the beach and made a huge fire to alert passing ship. Unfortunately, everything started to fall a part when the leader of the hunters, Jack, became envious with Ralph's leadership; he offered the boys the freedom from the responsibility that Ralph have put on them. They painted their face and dance around like wild tribes, the boys were also afraid of a mysterious beast that appear in the dark of the night. The hunters started to slaughter pigs that live on the island. It is a very interesting and exciting book, if you want to know what happens next, read and find out.

If you want to find out more about this book you can look it up on wikipedia or if you want to read it, it is available at the high school library!

"When My Name Was Keoko" Q&A

1. Onishi-san showed the students the film because young children believe almost anything they're shown to, he took advantage of this and build up the hatred for the Americans  in the students so they'll stay loyal to the Emperor in times of great needs.

2. The film depict Americans as brutal cowboys who despise anyone with black hair. The film show that Americans will slaughter even the babies with black hair, the film also show that Americans also shoot their own kin. 

3. The Japanese fear that the Americans are going to invade Korea.

4. The leaflet said that America will not bomb on Korean's soil.

The Best Book Series I Have Ever Read

    The best book I have have ever read is the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. This series contain five books about different adventures of the young demigod Percy/Perseus Jackson and his friends. The whole series is about the next Great War between the Gods and the Titans. 

   The reason why I think that this series is the best I have ever read is because it's full of adventures and actions as well as mysteries and puzzles. The books also have interesting endings. I can use my reading strategies like predicting and visualizing while reading the and summarizing when I stop, I can also use connecting while I'm reading and after I'm done.  

About My Novel

     I'm reading "The Sea of Monsters" in my English class and I want to introduce my novel to other people. The novel is the second book and a part of a five book long series called Percy Jackson and the Olympians, in this book is about Percy and his friend Annabeth trying to save their camp from being overrun by monsters, they must find the Golden Fleece to safe the camp's magical border and safe their friend Grover who is trap on the island where the fleece is hidden. Percy also finds out that he has a half-brother who is a cyclopes.