Memoir

          The turf and air seemed moist and wet after the night rain. It was foggy and I could smell the air. It was Saturday and was about to play the undefeated soccer team in our league, Barboncito and as they were all big and tall, except one kid who was really small. They all were Latinos and seemed older than we did. But we weren't scared of them and we believed that we could easily beat them. When the game started there was only one surprise before the game, the one and only small kid was goalie and couldn't reach the top of the goal. When the game started we started off with the ball and we just passed around until I got the ball and passed to Tabo who instead of passing to Nico, who was wide open near the goal he tried to shoot. Luckily the goalie tried to hit it away and Nico jumped over the keeper (because the keeper was small) and scored a header. Then, just minutes later on of the players on their team out muscled our biggest defender and scored. We were a little shocked and scared of the kid because he was huge.

            Near the end of the first half the huge kid fouled me, and my coach told me not to go into the penalty box because if Tabo (who was taking the free-kick) tried to cross it Barboncito would probably get it because they are bigger than we are. So I walked over to the edge of the penalty area and faced towards our goal in case Barboncito got it. I really don't know what or why Tabo tried to cross to me but he did, and as the ball traveled through the air for what seemed for a long time, I decided to do an over head kick, so when the ball finally reached me I didn't have to move because I already was facing toward my goal. I kicked the ball over my head and fell backwards looking at the ball traveling toward the goal.

            Do you still remember how I said that the only small player on their team was the goalie, and how he couldn't reach the top of the goal? Well I guess that that day was my lucky day because the ball floated high and teased the goalie by going right over his out stretched hand and into the very top of the goal. At first I didn't really know what happened, then all at once I realized I scored a bicycle (over head) kick, also I  was surrounded by my teammates. Then and now I still think that I did the impossible.

Book Report on Shadow of the Wind Part 1

  This week I have been reading a great book called The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. The book is about a boy who is brought to his father's bookshop which is called the "cemetery of forgotten books." He picks out a book and loves it so much he wants to find the other books by the same author. But barely anyone knows who the author (Julian Carax) is. He tries to find out who the author is but as he is looking he meets a man who says that he will buy the book from Daniel (main character). Daniel asked the man what he would do with the book, and the man replies that he will burn it. Then Daniel got a glimpse of his face and it was all burned. Later in the book Daniel finds out that all of Julian Carax's books were burned. I think that the book is about how Daniel's quest is similar to the book that Daniel is reading.
    Daniel is living the life of the main character in the book because in the book the main character was trying to find his lost father. Daniel is trying to find the lost Julian and his books. Another example is when the person who is trying to burn the book goes any the exact name as the devil in the book. Also he was stalking Daniel at his balcony with his face covered by the darkness. It was the same in the book, but the man was the devil. Right now in the book Daniel is trying to find more evidence of where Julian went. He is also is finding out what happened in Julian's life and where he might have gone. This is what I have found out so far in the book.
   Next week, I will cover part two of the book in my blog. Until then...

Book Report on The Last Olympian

        I read an amazing book called The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan. It is a fantasy book based on Greek Mythology. It is the last book in the Percy Jackson series. The Last Olympian is about Percy Jackson, a demigod who is son of the god   Poseidon, the sea god. He leads all his friends from Camp Half-Blood which is made for all demigods, to guard Mount Olympus which is on top of the Empire State building. The Titan Kronos wants to get revenge on the gods so he tries to crush Olympus. Kronos used Luke Castellan’s (a demigod) body for a temporary body for himself, and he was planning to burn Luke’s body later and turn into his real form that is unbeatable. Luke was Hermes’s son and he went to Camp Half-blood  but then joined Kronos's side and turned evil.
        The camp lost a lot of demigods because they joined Kronos’s army as Luke had done.The kids from Camp Half-blood fought with the kids from Kronos's army in Manhattan because the kids from camp had to save the Empire State building. In the end, Percy Jackson and his friends really helped the gods defeat Kronos. After Kronos was defeated the gods said that they would give him one wish or to be a god. He didn't take the offer to be a god because he was only a teenager and he still had his life to live. Instead his wish was to be that all of the gods had to claim their kids when they turn 13. I think he wanted to do this because the war wouldn't have happened if the demigods were claimed by their father because a lot of kids who didn't have a god parent turned to the other side because they felt abandoned. He also wanted every single god to have a place at camp, not only the big ones. 

I love this book so much is because it has a lot to do with Greek mythology and I love how the Greek mythology with the present are mixed together. Not only do you learn about Greek mythology, but the Percy Jackson series are fun to read. This book is in my opinion the best in the series because it is the final book and everything comes together in the end. This book is so interesting because it is fantasy, adventure, action, mythical mixed together and just a great book. I wonder if anyone will make another book that is as good as the Percy Jackson series, except based on another culture's mythology?

This I Believe

  

            I believe that sports can help you make friends. When you play on a sports team you are almost guaranteed to make friends because you go through happy and sad emotions together. You may not have much else in common but sports can bring different kinds of people together. I remember when I first joined my soccer travel team. I didn't know anyone on the team and I thought everyone was better than I was. Even though I wasn't as good as some of the players they still tried to be my friend because they knew that at one point we were going to have to become friends because we were both staying with the club. Even now I'm still friends with the players on that team. This shows that sports can help you make and keep lifelong friends.

            I think that if you aren't that good at sports but you’re on a sports team you can still make friends. I can prove this because when I started playing soccer at age 7, I wasn’t experienced and didn’t know how to play. I liked to pick the ball up with my hands which is illegal. Thank God I wasn't the only one. Three other of my teammates did the same. All of us were afraid of the ball and stayed in a little pack. We began to make friends with each other because we were together most of the time during games. With the group I felt more confident and I became less scared of the ball. When my confidence grew, I was able to learn and teach myself how to play because I now wanted to play and was no longer afraid. I became friends with the people who actually knew how to play soccer.

            In conclusion, it doesn’t matter if you’re good at a sport or bad at a sport. You can still make friends with people who play the same sport even if you’re nothing alike in other ways.

Book Report on Hunger Games

   This week I read the first book of the Hunger Games series. In the book, Katniss (the main character) was sent to an arena with 23 other people to kill each other until there is only one person left. She is really good with the bow and arrows and might be able to win the Hunger Games. I believe that Katniss tried to win the Hunger Games for her friends and family and not only for herself.
    I believe this because when she was being sent to the capitol to fight, her sister said to try to win it for her. Then during the Hunger Games she was always thinking of winning for Prim (her sister)because without Katniss, Prim wouldn't get food unless she learned how to hunt. Katniss also admitted that she would try to win it for Prim. This is why I believe Katniss tried to win for her friends and family.
    Katniss also tried to win the Hunger Games for Gale (a friend). This is because when Katniss got to the final eight in the Hunger Games, all she thought about was Gale and how she was going to see him again. Also when the last person (besides Katniss and Peeta) was being chewed up by wolf dogs, Katniss was thinking "YESSS,  I get to go back and see my family and Gale!" This is why I think that Katniss tried to win it for her friends and family.
    In conclusion, the Hunger Games was a great book and very exciting. It shows that teamwork can help you win or accomplish something. Katniss also needed more than teamwork to win the Hunger Games and that was her friends and family which motivated her even more to win the Hunger Games. If it wasn't for her family and friends, then she might have died in the Hunger Games.

Revolt of the evil fairies

    Three weeks ago my class read a short story called “Revolt of the Evil fairies.” The story was about a school for African Americans and even within the school there is discrimination and unfairness in the school because the yallers (aren’t dark skinned but are considered African Americans) think that they are better than the people who have dark skin and that makes discrimination and unfairness through the school. That is why I think that the theme of this book is unfairness.

     The main idea of “Revolt of the Evil Fairies” short story is unfairness because in the text the narrator and other African Americans are treated unfairly because of their skin color. One example of this is in the first paragraph the narrator says, “the first two rows of the orchestra were always reserved for our white friends.” This shows that lighter colored skinned people got the better of things. Another example is when it said, “And strangely enough most of good fairies usually turned out to be extremely light in complexion, with straight hair and white folks’ features.” This also proves that lighter skinned people got the better of things which is unfair.

    The theme of the short story is unfairness. One example of unfairness is when the narrator is talking about the play.”There was never any doubt about Prince Charming and Sleeping Beauty. They were always light skinned.” Another example is, “I made the best grades in my class, I was leading debater, and a scion of a respected family in the community. But I could never be Prince Charming, because I was black.” These pieces of evidence prove that lighter colored skin people had advantages and that there was unfairness to darker skinned African American people.

    The main idea of the short story is unfairness and the text shows us a lot of evidence. One example is when they picked Roger Jackson, “Roger was not only dumb; he stuttered. But he was light enough to pass for white.” Another example is when it says, “The yallers had the best of everything. They held most of the teaching jobs in Booker T. Washington colored Grammar school. They were the negro doctors, lawyers, the insurance men.” This proves that the lighter colored skinned people got treated better and got better things like jobs and lead roles in plays. This proves that dark colored skinned people were treated unfairly.

In conclusion, this short story is about unfairness and discrimination throughout the same race. It also shows how racism and discrimination is still going on. It shows us many examples of how darker skinned African Americans were treated like they weren’t as good as lighter skinned people. People even within the same race will try to be better than other people because of skin color. Why would people judge each other because of their skin color even if they are really nice or really smart? I wonder when racism is going to stop, or will it ever stop?

Book Report on No Limit

 

  This week I read No Limit by Pete Hautman. The book was about a boy named Dennis Doyle who wanted money so he could get a car. One day some of his peers asked him to play poker and he did. That game he won and got a lot of money so he got a book to make him get better at poker.  Soon he was playing at a casino and winning. The only problem was that he didn’t care for anything but poker. In the end he was rich and owned a fancy restaurant he didn’t have any friends. The point of the book is to show you that friends are more important than money.
    Your friends are more important than your money because in the book Dennis wasn’t happy after he was rich and he didn’t have any friends. Also, another example is when he was winning in poker he tried to call his friend because they haven’t talked in a while, but his friend would talk to him. This proves that you will probably always be happy with friends but without you will not be happy. This shows that friends are more important than money.
    Friends are more important than money because in the book everyone thought that he was a jerk because he never hung around with his friends and he only played poker. When he went to a fancy restaurant with his girlfriend she dumped him because he wasn’t socially interacting with anyone and was being a jerk. He could make friends with money. This proves that friends are more important than money.
    In conclusion, Dennis was a jerk after he got a lot of money. Before that though he had friends and a girlfriend, but he thought money was more important than friends. He was rich and and was an amazing poker player, but without any friends he was a jerk to all of his ex-friends. If I was him I would just keep my friends and occasionally play poker.

Book Report on Tears of a Tiger

 

 This week I read the sequel of Forged by Fire, a book called Tears of a Tiger. The book was about Gerald's friend named Andy who was drinking and driving and was the cause of Robbie Washington's death. Rob was Andy's best friend. After that Andy was depressed and blamed himself for the loss of his best friend's life. All of his friends weren't depressed and they were acting normally but Andy was always hard to be around and sometimes started to cry at random times. Finally he couldn't take the pain anymore and he killed himself. I think that the theme of this book's theme is that you have to look into the future and try to forget the past.
    Andy was depressed and had to forget the past because he couldn't change the fact that Rob was dead. One example of when Andy couldn't forget the accident is when his class was reading Hamlet and  they were talking about the death of one of the characters, he had to leave the classroom. Another example of him not forgetting the past is when he was playing ping-pong with his girlfriend and then he just went over to his couch and started to cry. I think that happened because he missed Rob and maybe he used to play ping-pong with him. Andy should stop thinking about the past and just live life.
    Andy shouldn't think of the past because when he was walking near the place where the accident was, Andy almost committed suicide but his girlfriend stopped him. This would never have happened if Andy never kept on thinking of the accident. Also his friend said that he and Tyrone (another friend) got over it but Andy was always depressed and was always bringing everyone down. He also kept on saying that it was his fault that Rob died and he wanted to die instead of Rob.
    All in all, Tears of a Tiger proves that you shouldn't drink and drive and the shows consequences of doing that. But the deeper meaning is that you shouldn't look back at your mistakes because sometimes you can't fix them. Unfortunately, Andy couldn't do that and he committed suicide. It was a depressing end to a depressing book. If Andy did get over it and was still alive, would he still be happy?

Short Story Report on "Revolt of the Evil Fairies"

            This last week our class read a short story called “Revolt of the Evil fairies.” The story was about a school for African Americans and even within the school there is discrimination and unfairness in the school because the yallers (aren’t dark skinned but are considered African Americans) think that they are better than the people who have dark skin and that makes discrimination and unfairness through the school. That is why I think that the theme of this book is unfairness.

            The main idea of “Revolt of the Evil Fairies” short story is unfairness because in the text the narrator and other African Americans are treated unfairly because of their skin color. One example of this is in the first paragraph the narrator says, “the first two rows of the orchestra were always reserved for our white friends.” This shows that lighter colored skinned people got the better of things. Another example is when it said, “And strangely enough most of good fairies usually turned out to be extremely light in complexion, with straight hair and white folks’ features.” This also proves that lighter skinned people got the better of things which is unfair.

            The theme of the short story is unfairness. One example of unfairness is when the narrator is talking about the play.”There was never any doubt about Prince Charming and Sleeping Beauty. They were always light skinned.” Another example is, “I made the best grades in my class, I was leading debater, and a scion of a respected family in the community. But I could never be Prince Charming, because I was black.” These pieces of evidence prove that lighter colored skin people had advantages and that there was unfairness to darker skinned African American people.

            The main idea of the short story is unfairness and the text shows us a lot of evidence. One example is when they picked Roger Jackson, “Roger was not only dumb; he stuttered. But he was light enough to pass for white.” Another example is when it says, “The yallers had the best of everything. They held most of the teaching jobs in Booker T. Washington colored Grammar school. They were the negro doctors, lawyers, the insurance men.” This proves that the lighter colored skinned people got treated better and got better things like jobs and lead roles in plays. This proves that dark colored skinned people were treated unfairly.

            In conclusion, this short story is about unfairness and discrimination throughout the same race. It also shows how racism and discrimination is still going on. It shows us many examples of how darker skinned African Americans were treated like they weren’t as good as lighter skinned people. People even within the same race will try to be better than other people because of skin color. Why would people judge each other because of their skin color even if they are really nice or really smart? I wonder when racism is going to stop, or will it ever stop?

Book Report on Forged by Fire

    

    This week I read a depressing but hopeful book called Forged By Fire. The book was about a boy named Gerald whose mom was a drug addict and therefore wasn't a good mom. When their house burned down, he went to live with his aunt who was loving to him and Gerald loved her. But when his real mom got out of jail, he had to live with her because his aunt had a heart attack and died the day after she was released. When he went to his mother's home, he found out that his mother was married. And as he gets used to living in their new house, he finds out the stepdad was abusive. 

    He had a sister whose name was Angel. The stepdad was also a molester, and in the middle of the book Angel tells Gerald about being molested and they get Jordan (the step-dad) arrested. Then Jordan gets out of jail and is trying to be nice and good so he won't be arrested again When Angel is home alone, Jordan comes in and is drunk and tries to molest Angel, but when Gerald comes in, the house is on fire but Angel and Jordan don't know. So  when Gerald tells Jordan that there's a fire, Jordan and Gerald have a fight. In the end, Gerald gets Angel and Jordan burns in the fire. Then it's just Gerald, Angel and Monique (the mom). I think that the main idea of this book is that his life was like fire and he had to live around an abusive step-dad and a drug addict mom and a dead aunt. His life was shaped from all of his family's problems and his personality was forged by fire like the title of the book.

    The theme of this book is that his personality was forged by fire. One example is when his stepdad always was hitting him and he had to stop him from hitting Angel so he had to be strong so Angel wouldn’t get hurt. Another example is when Gerald had to stand up to Jordan in the end and he had to be brave but also he was really angry and he was strong enough to take him on. These two pieces of evidence prove that his personality was forged by fire.

    There are still a lot of examples of how Gerald’s personality was forged by fire. One example of this is when Jordan got out of jail, so Gerald stayed by Angel's side and was protective because he knew that Jordan could hurt her or do even worse things. Another example is when Angel is about to get hit by Jordan and Gerald sees it happening and he gets in between them and takes the punch. That shows that Gerald was brave and strong because he knew that he would take the punch because it happened to him before and he tried to always protect Angel. This proves that Gerald's personality was forged by fire.

    In conclusion, Forged By Fire is a great book and Gerald's personality was the way it was because of the family and environment. His personality was also that way because of his history and loss in his life. But in the end it was looking hopeful for them because there was no Jordan and Angel and Gerald still had their mom who was not a drug addict anymore. I wonder what is going to happen to them and if they actually do have a good rest of their lives.

Book Report on The Boy in The Striped Pajamas

   

    This week I read a great book called The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. The book is about a wealthy boy named Bruno who lived in Berlin in 1943 but moved to another house because his dad worked in the military. The new house wasn't as big or as clean as their house in Berlin. Right next to their new house was a concentration camp where Bruno met a boy his age named Shmuel who became his best friend for life. A year later Bruno had to go back to Berlin to live, so on the last day in their old house Shmuel gave Bruno a pair of striped pajamas. Bruno went on the other side of the fence by crawling under the fence because he promised Shmuel he would help find his dad in the concentration camp. While he was there he had to go marching and he got killed. I think that the main idea is that everyone in the concentration camp was treated awfully.
    The people in the concentration camps were treated awfully. One example of this is when it said, It seemed as if all of the soldiers were laughing and all the people in striped pajamas were sad and looking at the ground. Another example is when it said that when the soldiers told a group of people to line up some just fell to the floor and the guards just had to drag them off. This proves that people in the concentration camps were treated horribly.
    The next two examples will show how badly people in the concentration camp were treated. One example is when they had to go on a march, some people in the back couldn't do it so the soldiers shot them. Another example is that when Bruno put his hand up to Shmuel, his was really big compared to Shmuel's showing that Shmuel was starving. Also Shmuel said that he only had chocolate once before. This means that he didn't get much food. These facts from the book prove that people in the concentration camp were treated awfully.
    In conclusion, The Boy in the Striped Pajamas shows many examples of how people in the concentration camps were treated horribly. It also proves that Bruno didn't know about the war and didn't know really what the soldiers did to the people in the concentration camps every day and how unfair and cruel the soldiers were.

Book Report on Last Shot

   

 

  This week I read a book called Last Shot by John Feinstein. The book was about two kids who won a report on basketball. The prize was to see the final four (the best four college basketball teams play for the cup) and write reports on each game. But they overheard a conversation between a player and a coach in which the coach blackmailed the player named Chip Graber to throw the game in the finals. So the reporters were motivated to help Chip win the finals and get the blackmailer arrested. I think that the main idea is that you need to work as a team to win.

    An example of this is when Stevie and Susan Carol are trying to meet Chip Graber so they can tell him that they can help with his blackmail problem, but the security guard didn't let them. Therefore they acted as if they were Chip Graber's cousins and then when they had to prove it, Chip had to improvise and act as if they were his cousins even though he didn't know them. Another example of needing to work as a team is when Stevie and Susan Carol had to break out of tied together chairs while the finals were going on, but then Jurgensen came and broke them out. This proves that you need to work as a team to win.

    The main idea is that to win you have to work as a team. One example of this is when they needed to find Chip Graber's room, they had to lie and say that they needed to get a drink in the team's hotel. You can't get around without your keys, so they ask for another reporter's keys so they can go up the stairs and find out where Chip's room is and get a soda. Another example of working as a team is when they were trying to find out who blackmailed Chip. Stevie said that they were cousins of one of the two suspects. Susan Carol asked the suspect to show her to the bathroom so she could remember the voice or if it wasn't her "cousin" it was the other suspect. This proves that they had to work as a team to win and help Chip Graber.

    In conclusion, Last Shot is a great book and proves that working as a team is better that trying to do something by yourself. In the book the problem is solved because of teamwork. I think that if there was no team and there was only one person than the problem would not have been solved.

Book Report on Catching Fire

  

 

  This week I read an amazing book called Catching Fire which is the second book in the Hunger Games series. The book is about the Capitol trying to hold back a rebellion started by Katniss Everdeen. The Capitol trys to kill Katniss so the hope of a rebellion stops. I think that the mockingjay means rebellion against the Capitol.

    The mockingjay means rebellion. An example is when Katniss met Twill and Bonnie. They had a piece of bread from District 8 which was having a rebellion and the piece of bread had a mockingjay inprinted on it. Another example is when Katniss was told she was the mockingjay because she started the rebellion and as long as she lived, so did the rebellion. This proves that the mockingjay means rebellion in the book.

    Another exmple of the mockingjay meaning rebellion is when Katniss met Plutarch, who is the head of the Hunger Games. He showed her his mockingjay watch and then later in the book he tells her that he was on her side of the rebellion. Another example is when District 8 was fighting back and started the rebellion, they used flags of Katniss and mockingjays in the rebellion. This again shows that the mockingjay means rebellion.

    In conclusion, it's been shown many times that the mockingjay means rebellion. And I think that when they helped her with the rebellion, it was a brave and it helped Katniss survive. But then I wonder what would have happened if she hadn't survived the Hunger Games. Would the rebellion go on or would it have died?

Summer Book Report on Crackback

    This summer I read an amazing book called Crackback (http://books.google.com/books/about/Crackback.html?id=NbrAcMXyNe0C) which is about a boy named Miles who's on his school's football team. Everyone wants him to be strong and big. His friends are taking gym candy which is also known as steroids to give them an extra edge. But he doesn't take them and in the middle of the season he is replaced and is sitting on the bench, but he still doesn't take the steroids at the end of the season he saved the team and got them into the playoffs.  Because he didn't take the steroids, I think that Miles is smart and doesn't cave into to peer pressure.
    
    Miles is smart because when his best friend started to use gym candy, he said he didn't want take the pills. Also when he refused, he lost his best friend but he still did the best thing for himself. Another example is when he was  replaced but he knew he would start if he took the pills but he still wouldn't. And in the end, he did good for his body and made the right choice. That proves Miles is smart.
    
    Miles doesn't fall into peer pressure. One example of this is when all his friends are drinking and taking the pills but Miles doesn't take any of the pills and leaves the party. Another example is when his friends tried to get him to use steroids but he said "no." This proves that Miles doesn't follow his friends and he makes the right choices.

    In conclusion, Miles is smart and doesn't fall into peer pressure and in the end he makes the right choice for himself. Then I wonder what would have happened if he had taken the pills and caved into peer pressure. If he had, would he still have his best friend and have gotten his team into the playoffs? I don't know about that but I do know that he made the right choice for himself.