Glass by Ellen Hopkins (The beginning)

Glass is a sequel to Crank by Ellen Hopkins. These books are narrating the life of Bree/Kristen. So far in Glass, it tells Bree's continued tricky life in Nevada with her mother and family. Bree just had a baby named Hunter. She is surrounded by the same people and substances in her life like Crank. She has the choice to either follow the path where she uses the "crank" or to save her family especially Hunter. In the last scenario, she tries to give herself a break and decides to visit Robyn, her former friend. There she did some drugs to cool herself down. Also, she met Trey, this guy who she finds interesting. When she came home, she lied to her mother telling her she went to a college fair instead. Although, her mothers buys it, she is only hurting herself and Hunter. She has the responsibility, now as a mother, to take care of her child.

In the book, it shows herself listening to Bree's thoughts and then he other half of herself listening to Kristen's thoughts. For example, "The small part, the Kristina part, keeps whispering what a fool the other, Bree part, is. "Not only were you stupid to sneak back to the monster,"she mumbles, "but ten to one you're going to get caught. Mom and Scott will know. " "The Bree part just stares contentedly at the ceiling..." This quote reveals the difficulty she has to go through, either she listens to Bree or to Kristen opinions. I know for a fact, that she will be mentally damaged, if she keeps on doing this drug and having double thoughts.

I really enjoy reading this book. The beginning of it, is very entertaining to read. It really does make the authors point come across. I will recommend anyone who likes poetic books and works of fiction to read it. Since, this book is based on a true story, I understand how the character's are feeling a bit better. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I do.

To buy Glass by Ellen Hopkins:
http://www.amazon.com/Glass-Ellen-Hopkins/dp/1416940901

A book review:
http://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/Glass.html

Other books by Ellen Hopkins:
- Crank
-Burned
-Impulse

Blog Reviews and Goals

Review of my past blogs:
Looking back at my past blogs, I see good and bad in my blog writing. There is a common focus in all my blogs. In the first couple of them, I provided a short summary to make the reader understand what is going on. Also, I answered a bunch of questions from this sheet that tells some suggestions for writing a blog. I tried to include my opinions in my writing. In my blogs, I noticed that I write my reading progress, tell the difficulty of the book, a suggestions for who should read the book. Also, I tell my likes and dislikes of that particular book, my favorite quote, and my reactions to the characters. Lastly, I noticed that for each blog, I state the internal or external problem going on with the character. Overall, I think the blogging experience is very beneficial because each week it helps me write my thoughts and opinions about the book. Also, it helps me connect with the book in a better way.

My goal for the second quarter:
After writing the blogs for the first quarter, there are several things I want to improve. For the blogs, I tend to write about the same story plot repeatedly because I feel that no one will look at the past week's blog and understand it. So, I repeat things over. But, for the next quarter, I will try to generalize my ideas. Another thing, I will improve is to get further involved in the book. I could do this my reading more per week and giving more details about it to make my blogs more interesting and exciting. Also, I should give more opinions with examples from the text to make it is more clear and detailed. If I accomplish these goals, my blogs will give more interest to people.

Crank by Ellen Hopkins Entry #3

The book Crank is entertaining. It tells so much about the character Kristina and her transformation from Kristina to Bree. In the book, the inner thoughts of Kristina's perspective and Bree's perspective is heard. So far in the book, Kristina came back home to her mother's house and leaves Adam behind. Throughout the way, Adam send letters to her explaining how life is going on and everything. Later on, she meets these two boys named Brendon and Chase. She gets into a relationship between these two people. She tries to see who she favors more. But, she gets guided into the wrong direction. On one of the pages, she started cursing with her mother. This is very strange coming from Kristina. Now, she starts using "crank" more often. Bree is literary killing herself with this monster. One thing, she tries doing is making "some decisions: like appreciating family more, focusing on school and hunting for Kristina" (327). She stays on top of her schoolwork, family and focuses on her goals for the first week. Later on, she starts changing back to her bad habits. Usually in day to day life, peer pressure is a factor that changes people's focus or direction. This is clearly evident in Kristina/Bree's life. Since others around her like Adam and Brendon started doing things, she started following. Now, she is "struggling through hell for her mind, her soul, and her life".

The book is getting interesting and in-depth. It gives internal thoughts and how Bree copes with her family, her "new friends" (Chase, Brenden, and Adam) and her schoolwork. I hope that Bree follows the right path. She should take away this "monster" from her life to find peace. This book is very informative and entertaining. It is helpful for people to read this book, if they deal with these problems. Since, this story is based on a true story, it gave me a more interest to read it. Also, if others read this book, they will enjoy it and understand life in a better way and the value of it.

An excerpt of Crank:

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://jacketsandcovers.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/crank1.jpg&imgrefurl=http://jacketsandcovers.wordpress.com/2009/02/10/crank/&usg=__tW8b3LRF76aLwPhc5_XIfpGGxTc=&h=600&w=420&sz=114&hl=en&start=1&sig2=u3wzg8wSaOaeTxCmaQOiuQ&tbnid=0kBlv7PZAMIF5M:&tbnh=135&tbnw=95&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dcrank%2Bby%2Bellen%2Bhopkins%26gbv%3D2%26hl%3Den&ei=cT7qSv-DOJG9lAey65yABQ

Crank by Ellen Hopkins Entry #2

Crank is an amazing book to read. It is different from most stories, because it is written in poetic forms. So, far Kristina Snow, the main character, is visiting her father. While she visits him, she meets this boy named Adam. He is also called Buddy. When, Kristina goes and meets him, she changes and becomes a new person, with a new personality and character. She is referred to as Bree. Buddy introduces her to the monster, "crank". Throughout her visit, she transforms into this new person who falls for the needs of drugs. She can't control herself. Now, she comes back home to her mother from her visit. When she talks to her siblings and her mother about her visit, she tries to avoid talking about Adam and her addiction to things.

Reaction:
My reaction to Bree's character is very shocking. A couple of pages before, Adam put a tattoo on Bree of a heart. Also, he said this relation is not going to work and that they should move on. I feel bad that Bree got this addiction to crank because of Adam. She is ruining her life and those around her. Also, now she has an infection from this tattoo too. Whenever, she is talking to her sister about her visit, she is not being honest. Instead, she is trying to cover up the truth. She is being a bad role-model toward her sister. Adam brought her to this point where there is no turning back to this normal life. She is already in the deep whole.


Writing Style and Structure:
The book's structure is in poetry. There are no chapters in this book. Each page tells a new idea or parts of the story. What I find appealing is that whatever the page is about, the words in that page are written in the form to connect with the text. For example, one of the pages talked about church and God, so the words were written in the form of a cross. Another example, is when it talked about Adam and Bree's relation. So, the words were in the form of a heart. I find that technique very clever and brilliant.


Reading Progress:
Since this book is very interesting, I have been reading it every day. Crank is not considered a hard reading level. It is very easy to understand what is happening in the book. I have read other books by Ellen Hopkins. This novel, is both a non-fiction and poetic book. So, whoever likes these two genres, will definitely enjoy this read.

Crank by Ellen Hopkins Entry #1

Crank by Ellen Hopkins is a poetic and non-fictional book. The story is written through poetic terms to tell the true story of a girl named Kristina Georgia Snow. Kristina is the perfect daughter. She is a gifted high school junior, who is quiet and never gets in trouble. When she started visiting her father, there is a physical change that happens. It is that Kristina disappears and Bree takes her place. Bree has the total opposite character as Kristina. She is fearless. Later on, through a boy, Bree meets the monster, crank. This turn in her life is a struggle through her mind, soul, and life.

Writing Style and Structure:

I really like the author's writing style. Ellen Hopkins writes in poetic form to tell a story. This way is different from usual novels. But, this way is easy to understand and gives each page a deeper meaning. The first page tells us the whole point of the story. It said "Life was good before I met the monster. After, life was great. At least for a little while" (pg 1). It talks about the crank as someone dangerous and scary. Basically, the whole book revolves around this quote. That quote also has a deeper meaning behind it and it will provide more information.

I chose to read this book because the story plot was very interesting and that a couple of people said it was a good book. Also, I have read Burned by Ellen Hopkins. If you are interested in Non-fiction and poetic books, this is a book for you.

Other books by Ellen Hopkins:

- Burned

Some links:

To buy the book Crank by Ellen Hopkins:

http://www.amazon.com/Crank-Ellen-Hopkins/dp/0689865198

A synopsis and review of the book:

http://www.powells.com/biblio?isbn=0689865198

19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult Entry #4

19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult has been a good book so far. But, right now the book is giving me less interest in reading it. I enjoy the book very much, but the topics of court and denial gives me a little less interest in reading it. Overall, it has a good story plot. One of the quotes that sparked me the most was "Peter Houghton was just arraigned on ten counts of first-degree murder and nineteen counts of attempted first-degree murder, and various accompanying charges involving illegal possession of explosives and firearms in this recent tragedy". I thought this quote was so important and over-powering. This high school boy did so much damage, that no one can even imagine. Everyone, is afraid of him an his family. His did not only kill people, he also stole weapons from his own father.

Questions:

I was thinking why the book was called 19 Minutes? But, I realized that it had to do with the fact of timing to safe lives and also that Peter, the shooter, attempted nineteen counts first-degree murder. It takes only nineteen minutes to save many people from losing their life around you.

Reading Progress:

I hope to read much more and to update the information about the court case in the next blog. This book shows how "actions are louder than words". It is a book that everyone will enjoy, but it does have a difficult reading level.

19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult: Entry #3

19 Minutes by Jodi Picoult has a lot of messages, that everyone can learn. It talks about a main character, Peter, and how the story of the shooting comes and how people react to this situation in different ways. Another main character in this novel, is Josie Cormier. Josie was injured a little in this shooting. In the begining, Peter's plan was for Josie not to get hurt. But, Josie's mother is a judge. Her names is Ale Cormier. One difficult thing that Josie mother has to do is balance her motherhood life with her court life. So, Alex has to go to court and fight for this case. She is the prosecuter's defendent. How could Alex fight for this crime in court, when her daughter was injured in that same crime? I believe, this a difficult situation in Alex's part. She has to choose one side, either her family or her job. This decision is very hard for one to accomplish because one can not turn down their job too.

My reading progress so far is okay. This book is getting very difficult for me to read. It takes me a long time to read it. Overall, I really enjoy 19 Minutes and I hope you will too.

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Here are some link:

To buy the book, 19 Minutes

https://http://www.amazon.com/Nineteen-Minutes-Novel-Jodi-Picoult/dp/0743496728