Post B

Mara Eliza and Jacqui are headed for the Hamptons to spend the summer away from everything. Mara is spending time with her boyfriend Ryan who has taken her out on his yacht for some of the summer. She was also premoted as the gossip columinst for the magazine she works for. Mara gets to join all the celebs at the VIP parties. Her first real assignment didn't go well. She had to leave Ryan on their first night together on the yacht. She found out after ditching her boyfriend for the party, that her article didn't get printed. She was replaced by someone else. But, she was instead offered the gossip colum. Jacqui is working as a nanny for the Perry's kids now in the Hamptons. She also found out she didn't make it into NYU, and isn't sure what college she will go to since she didn't apply for any others. She expected her connections would get her in. The Perry's have been having a lot of fights and decided to get a divorce. Eliza has had to comfort the kids and help them through it. Eliza is enjoying her work for Sydney's new line of clothes. She didn't really expect her changes of clothing on the models and accesorizing to pay off. Instead, Sydney actually liked her work. She has decided that as an intern she actually would enjoy going to work. All the girls are looking forward to meeting eachtoher in the Hamptons and spending the summer together as bestfriends, because it might be their last.

Post A

Vocab:
Jovial-endowed with or characterized by a hearty, joyous humor or a spirit of good-fellowship

Malicious-full of, characterized by, or showing malice; malevolent; spiteful

Figurative Language:
Imagery- "She eased out of her heels, pulling down the straps and massaged the balls of her feet" (66). This is an example of Imgery because it creates a mental image for the reader to imagine.

Metaphor-"The room was as dark as the nights sky. Not to mention it also smelled like mildew." (63). This is an exmaple of a Metaphor because it compares an object to another.

Irony- "Here!" Paige said throwing it down causing Eliza to cut into the fabric with her scissors." (61). This is an example of Irony because it is the oppisite of what she meant literally to do.

Quote:
"She'd never worked so hard and felt so good in her life! The collection was amazing." (69).
This quote signifies that Eliza's job was going well and her boss liked her work.

Theme-
I think a theme emerging throughout the book is cherishing what you have. The girls in the book are learning to accept reality and learn that if they want something, they have to fight to get it.

Post B

Summary of book:
The main characters are 3 friends Mara, Jacqui, and Eliza. The 3 of them are going on a trip with the Perry family, a rich mother and father. Jacqui is the babysitter for their kids. The Perry's paid for Jacqui's college plus a studio apartment just to nanny the kids around for the summer. Also, Mara is dating Ryan Perry. Between graduation partying and packing for the hamptons, they all find a little drama. Mara has been dealing with not having a lot of money and she's nervous about not getting into the college she wants. Eliza is working really had as an intern at a fashion magazine. She made a huge step when she changed one of the models outfits. She doesn't want to be the girl who packs boxes, she wants to actually make it into something. Jacqui, taking care of the Perry kids all the time is stressing her out. She just wants to relax in the hamptons without any distractions. All the girls are trying to deal with their own boy problems. All 3 girls are just relaxing and enjoying the summer because next fall they will be in college. It was Newyork, Dartmouth, or any other college the 3 girls are nervously waiting to find out which they will be going to.

This book is semi-intresting. It kind of relates to a lot of teenagers i guess which makes it more interesting than any other book. Its kind of about nothing really, but it will probably get better.

Post A

2 vocab words:
Tantalizingly- To excite (another) by exposing something desirable while keeping it out of reach. (34).
Perennially- lasting for an indefinitely long time; enduring (46).

Examples of fig. lang:
Irony- "Eh-lie-zuh!"
"Are you listening to me?" this is an example of irony because it shows excitement in her voice even though it's not meant to.

Imagery- "She spied a white, purple, and orange cardboard box viberating in the corner" (35) This is an example of imagery because it shows detail of the object being described.

Imagery- "Which blended ski bunny coquettishness with Hamptons-style aristocratic summer hauteur" (37) It explains the detail of the fabric and clothing style which is an example of imagery.

Quote:
"Paige! Did you do this? This isn't how the dress is suppsed to be presented!"
This quote explains the hard work of her new intern job and she knows she wasn't doing the best to her ability.

Theme:
One emerging theme of the book I think is hardwork and fashion. The main character has learned a lot and she gets blamed for a lot of the faults at the work.

Post B

The au pairs sunkissed, is mainly dealing with a girl named Mara who just graduated highschool. She was a perfect student throughout highschool. Now she is trying to have fun her last summer before she's off to college. "This summer was going to be the best one yet-she didn't have to au pair anymore since she'd gotten a job as an intern at Hamptons magazine through a connection of Anna Perry's. It was a standard eye-leval post-fetching, fazing, and answering calls for the editor in cheif, but it tantalizingly promised a few writing opportunites" (4) the significance of the quote is describing her job as in an intern. She thinks it will be an easy way to score points to someday become a writer. She also is just doing it to outdo some of the girls in her class. She wants her summer to be the best one ever and is looking to try to have a better one than her so called friends. Mara is trying to get into Dartmouth college. She was put on the waiting list, even though she managed to win a schloarship for college. She would figure out later if she was accepted into the college or not. She is planning on spending the whole summer long with her boyfriend Ryan who already goes to Dartmouth.

Post A of Sunkissed

2 vocab words:
1. belligerently- pertaining to war or to those engaged in war

2. menial- lowly and sometimes degrading


Figureative language:
1. The t-shirts, silk screened with the designers photoshopped and markedly slimmer than life silhoutte, would be given away for free. (8) This is imagery because it explains every little detail about the shirt and paints a picture for the reader.

2. "a 2 dollar schmatte, an eyesore of epic proportions, an insult to the name of couture" (8) This is imagery as well because it describes the object very well.

3. Her eyes were as tired as though she hadn't slept in a year. This is a metaphor because it compares her eyes to not sleeping.

Quote:
"I got an email from NYU," Jacqui said flatly (42)
This is significant in the book because she had been waiting all summer to find out if she was going to be accepted into NYU for the fall.

Theme:
I think the theme of the book is mostly how to survive once your done with highschool and all the hardwork it takes to fufill your dreams to make it. Another theme is also trying to find out who you really are.

End of GirlBomb

At the end of GirlBomb by Janice Erlbaum, Jan finally quits using cocaine. She gets better and doesn't have tantrums anymore. Since Jan had been ditching her bestfriends Alice and Hope most of the time since she has been with Sebastian she started to hang out with them again. She met them at a bar with the boyses, college boys who still hung around town. She had been in love with one of the boys, Leland who finally began to notice her at the end of the memoir. He had fallen in love with her. The night at the bar he told her she decided to cheat on her boyfriend with him. Every night while her 23 year old boyfriend was working to try to get money to pay for their rent, she went to Lelands house and had an affair with him. Leland wanted her to leave her boyfriend and her boyfriend wanted her to stop seeing Leland. Either way she had to make a decision. She wanted both. At the last chapter of the book, she chose both, and ended up in the end with nothing. When her boyfriend found out she had been cheating on him he kicked her out of the house and Leland never talked to her again. Jan moved back home with her mom and brother and got ready for college. As her friends moved away and she didn't have her whole world anymore, who she thought was Sebastian, she started writing. Her mom gave her money and she bought her own apartment and was planning on going to college in the fall.

The Sea Inside

I think the movie The Sea Inside was okay. It was kind of repetative where as his answers about life were pretty much always the same, he wanted to die. I thought Ramon's plea to the court to die was his own disicion. I thought the court handled his case in a smart way. The court didnt let him commit a crime himself. I think if the court would have let him have assisted suicide, other quadraplegics, or anyone in general, would think the only way out of a life like that is to kill yourself. With Ramon's friends willing to help him, I thought it was their own choice whether to take that risk and do that. I think helping someone die is not the right thing to do. Just because he wanted to die doesnt mean his friends who loved him had to help him.

The Sea Inside compares to The Diving Bell and the Butterfly because both were quadraplegics and felt like they had no impact on the world and there was no point in living on. They were different because Bauby, in The Diving Bell and the Butterfly, didn't commit suicide. He eventually died. I thought it was selfish of Ramon to want to die. He could still talk, while Bauby could not do any of that and he still cherished his life. In my opinion, the most powerful comparison was that they both had given up on life. Bauby and Ramon felt no need to carry on with their lives and as if they meant nothing to the world.

In the movie, The Sea Inside, most of the movements were fast paced. There were a lot of close ups that signified it was a dramatic moment. The camera would closeup on the actor's face to show the intensity of the scene. Also the message being sent by the director was well played. The director tried to make each shot more dramatic using the closeup and longshots of the scene. If there was a longshot it was mostly to show meaning or show backround information to the viewers watching the video.

End of girlbomb

The next section of chapters i've read, Jan has had an addiction to cocaine. With her new boyfriend Sebastian, they both do coke a lot. Jan is becoming more and more addicted. She ditches her friends to be with her boyfriend because he gets the hookups with drugs. Since Janice has been using more substances, she has had less focus on school and friends. She has also been selling drugs so her and her boyfriend can have enough money to pay rent for their apartment. Ever since Jan moved back in with her mom, they have had a good relationship. Now, Jan hardly talks to her mom because she knows her mom wishes things were different. Jan is starting to get really sick from doing too much coke. She has tantrums and black outs. Things are starting to get serious with her addiction and Sebastian is tired of dealing with it. At the end of the chapter she passed out in the shower and almost died.

I think in the final chapters she will quit, and her boyfriend will dump her because of the situations he has encountered with Jan.

End of the memoir

In the further of the book, Jan's life is going well. She has a new boyfriend, she has 2 best friends and her mom finally respects her and lets her do what she wants. Jan's mother met with Dave, her ex husband and they are now going over costody papers because her ex is trying to get their son back. Jan jumps to conclusions and assumes her mom is getting back together with him so she runs away again for the night. Jan is skipping less school and trying to pass so she can just be done with school. She also has been spending a lot of time with her 23 year old boyfriend. He wants Jan to move in with him. Jan is always having to go by her mothers rules and he doesn't like the fact that she's still a teenager. He influences her to live her own life. So Jan tells her mom shes moving out. Although she loves her boyfriend Sebastian, she knows their relationship won't workout forever. She wonders what she will do if they break up.

Section

In Girlbomb, Jan has moved back with her mom into a new apartment. Her mom finally devorced her abusive husband and is now living with her son Jake, and daughter Jan. Jan is so happy to be home and not live in the shelter anymore. Her and her mom have worked things out and they now get along fine. Jan will almost be a senior in school. She has become heavily involved in drug use with her friends. Jan thinks her friends use her just to have another person in their clique. Jan and her mom are still having legal issues with Dave, the father of Jake. He is trying to win custody of his son Jake. Jan's mom is doing a lot better. She takes pills for her stress and is now happy to be living with her daughter.

"I shambled behind my mom all day, Jake pouting his stroller, my mom nibbling the sides of her fingers, anxious without her meds. I could barely lift the groceries, much less carry them up the stairs. My mom was alternately concerned and pissed off" (134).

Jan was having a hard time dealing with drugs. She had a lot to deal with peer pressure from her friends at school to fit in, now she was always on drugs.

Girl Bomb

In the next section I read of Girl Bomb, Jan has become more independent. Her mom called the shelter she has been living at for almost 4 months and said she wanted Jan to come home. Her mom claimed to have broken up with her abusive ex husband and is moving out. Jan knows that in a few months they will be back together. What Jan really wants is for things to go back to the way they used to be before she ran away about 6 months ago. Jan realized she has no friends at the shelter after all of them got drunk and told her how they really felt about her. They thought she was the goody two shoes of the house and she was fake. On top of the drama at the shelter, she had more with her school friends. Her friends Hope and Alice had become closer and started to forget about her. She also had a new boyfriend and was focusing a lot of her time in theater at school.

'My friend Domenic's in love with you,' said Genie
"I joined her at our bedroom window. We'd learned, over the past 2 months of rooming together, that if we squished alongside each other, we could both stick our heads out and smoke at the same time" (73).

GIRL BOMB

In the next section i've read of Girl Bomb, Jan has stayed and moved into the new shelter and made new friends and is liking staying there. She isnt thinking of leaving anymore. Although the thought of running away with her 2 best friends from school sounds like fun, she is fine with where she is now. Her friends at school have similar issues with their moms like Jan had. Jan is finding new ways to survive with her family problems and shelter.

Girlbomb

In the next section of Girlbomb, Jan was sent to an interview to see where she would be placed, a new group home or a foster care. She had been smoking pot before the interview so it didn't go well. At the interview her mother showed up and told the workers at the interview that Jan was on drugs and getting into promiscuity and truency. Jan had found out her mom was just fine without her living at the house anymore. Also, Jan's only friend Roxanne was sent to a foster home about a half an hour away from the group home. A few days later a few of the girls in the house ganged up on Jan and tried to strangle her and get her kicked out. She left the house but ended up coming back a few hours later. When she came back, she found the girl that had tried to kill her was getting kicked out of the house for having a weapon and Jan found herself even more hated by everyone in the house. She finally left the house and moved onto a different one farther away.
Living in a new home was a better start to Jan trying to start over.

Journal for Girl Bomb

In Girlbomb as the book progresses, Jan finds it harder to live at the shelter. The girls in the shelter are all mean to her and exclude her because of her skin color. Her and her only friend roxanne are nervous there not going to find a home after there time is up at the shelter. Not only is Jan getting into trouble but she is struggeling alot with fitting in and keeping up her school work at school. She wants to quit school and move somewhere far away. Her mother doesn't want Jan to come back anymore because she has failed to contact her mother and come home.
This part of the book makes me wonder why she doesn't go home and try to work things out with her mom. Even though she doesn't like her moms husband she still has a better life at her house than at the shelter.

"Well I have to find something siib, U'm past thirty days here. They could throw me out anytime." Jan thinks the nuns at the shelter will throw her out because she has been there for so long. She wants to live on her own, as an adult since thats what she has had to be, an adult for most of her life.

Girl Bomb By Janice Erlbaum

The second part of my reading has been better. Jan has now been living at the shelter home for about a month. She is now 15. She is not liked at the shelter home because she is one of the only white girls there. The other girls in the house threaten to hurt her and call her names. Jan is sick of it, but she doesn't want to go back home. Jan's mom called the shelter a few times to tell her if she doesn't come home she will throw her stuff in the garbage. Life is getting a lot harder for Jan and she can't deal with it. She smokes a lot and will do just about anything for the girls in the house to make them like her. It's been over a month and Jan still hasn't found a new house to live in. The shelter is trying to find her a foster home or anywhere else, but no luck. She wants to live on her own but she knows she could never handle it.

I think this book so far is really good. It makes me think into more things when i'm reading it. It has a lot of passion and the writing makes me feel like i'm there or like it's happening to me.

Memoir Reading

I'm reading the memoir Girl Bomb by Janie Erlbaum

Girl Bomb is about a 15 year old teenage girl named Jan who has a dangerous life at home.
Her mom has an abusive husband who beats her and her family. Jan struggles with her mom always getting back together with her husband, Dave, after he threatens to take her brother and harm her family. She finally gives up and tells her mom she's going to leave if her mother takes Dave back. Eventually this happens in the second chapter, and that's when Jane decides to leave. She knows she can't live and survive on the streets so she feels like she is forced to live at a shelter. Anything is better than home.

"Jan, I have something to tell you, and I don't expect it to be easy at first, but I think you'll understand that it's best for everyone."

This makes me think of times when parents use this line on their kids.
So far, Girl Bomb is a good book and it's very discriptive and uses words and examples that normal teens would go through as they are growing up. I feel like it relates to me a lot.

This I believe

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=8931602

Author: Andy Blowers
Title: The Person I'm Supposed to Be
Belief Statement: “I believe pain tells us something critical about ourselves and life: that developing strength and empathy and bravery is more essential than our personal comfort.”

I liked this essay because it relates to how everyone can feel at one point in their life. The author explains how hard it is to get through the tough times and how inner strength is everyone needs. It was sad to read this at first because it was about his depression, but it really just shows how strong of a person he is and he's trying to prove that everyone can do the same.

i love english class

hey?