Entry 4

Alaska young would always ask that question,
and once she died people started to put
everything together that she had said including
 this and realized that she kinda did want to die.

I chose Looking for Alaska because John Green wrote this book and he also wrote The Fault in Our Stars, which I absolutely loved and could hardly put it down. I was hoping I would feel the same way by reading Looking for Alaska, to my surprise I was. I kept wondering what was going to happen next, mainly to Alaska. John Green has this way of pulling you into the story and I have only felt that way with one other author, Nicholas Sparks. I defiantly want to read more books by John Green because he makes them about life and all the ups and downs in life instead of a fantasy. Don't get me wrong I love a perfect story but sometimes it's good to change it up a little bit. I didn't find any personal connection between myself and the novel but that is because I don't break the rules like the teens in the book do. They would party, drink, smoke and play pranks which I would never in a million years think to do. The only connection is that I am in high school just like they are. I think anyone who likes nonfiction books would like this book because it's something that could possibly happen in real life. I think girls would like this more than guys because there is some slight romance in it. This book also has some mystery if you like mysteries you will like this, even though I don't like so mysteries I still really liked this book.

Entry 3

When I read the following couple of paragraphs I almost couldn't believe what I had just read. This is why I chose it as one of the most hooking parts of the book. '"Please sir," I said. "Can we please wait for Alaska?" I felt all of them staring at as, trying to understand what I now knew, but didn't quite believe.

The Conell, Alaska and Pudge

The Eagle looked down and bit his lower lip. "Last night, Alaska Young was in a terrible accident." His tears came faster, them. "And she was killed. Alaska has passed away."'

While reading this part of Looking for Alaska it grabbed my attention because it's the first part in the 'after' section, so I was finally able to see what the 'before' section was leading up to. Although I did have my predictions as to what happened to Alaska throughout reading, I thought she had gone missing and ran away to her boyfriend because she felt bad that she cheated on him. I was somewhat correct in my prediction but I did not think he would have died. The whole book leads up to this part and once you read it it's a huge surprise because you finally find out what happened to Alaska, but you still keep wondering what is going to happen in the remainder of the book.

Entry Two

I can already see changes in the characters personality's as the book goes on, and it is quiet interesting to see those changes based on the people they hang around with. The characters change just as much as a real person would if they started hanging out with a new group people because its natural for people to want to fit in.

• And that is exactly what Miles(aka Pudge) is going through when he changes high schools. He used to be the kid no one talked to and he had no friends but once he moved schools he met his roommate 'The Colonel' he quickly made friends, but not necessarily with the right people. When his parents dropped him off they had told him to not smoke or drink or do anything illegal. What is the first thing his roommate has him do? They go down to the end of the hall to meet Alaska, they talk with her for a bit and then buy some cigarettes from her and that is where it all started. Soon after that he was sneaking around with Alaska and The Colonel smoking and drinking as well as playing pranks. When Miles (Pudge) changed school all he wanted to do was make new friends and get good grades, and so far he has done just that.
• The Colonel on the other hand knows he way around and how to break the rules without getting in trouble. Even though he also cares about school, and would like to keep his 4.0 GPA. The Colonel would also like to help his mom out but right now does not have enough money to do so. He says one night that the best day of his life will be when he can buy his mom a house with all expenses paid on it. He acts all tough but he also has a sweet side to himself that I think will start to shine though in the After section of the book.
• Alaska has quiet the character and acts exactly like any teenage girl would. Except her past plays a huge part on how she acts and responds to things. Alaska also has a serious boyfriend of whom she says she loves and will never cheat on but i suspect something will happen between Miles and her and that is where the after part will come in. Alaska loves to read and constantly asks this question "How will I ever get out of this labyrinth?" and I think her main want or desire in life is to some how find an answer to that question and i have a feeling she will do anything to try and find an answer.

This is a different cover and I think it
really represents Alaska because more
towards the end of the book you find
out the significance of the daisy.

As I kept mentioning above about the After part of the book that is how this book is structured. It doesn't have chapters instead it has two big sections a before and an after. In these sections on each new day it will say something like "one hundred eight days before" or "thirteen days after". I found this structure to be very engaging because I keep wondering before what, and that really has pulled me in as a reader.

Entry One

For my summer reading book I chose to read Looking for Alaska by John Green, who also wrote the novel The Fault in Our Stars. When I  started reading Looking for Alaska I could hardly put it down which is nothing like me... especially during summer. I had to take a break from reading so I could make predictions before I got too far. While reading the same question repeated through my mind and that it 'before what?', because instead of chapters Green says something like "one hundred nine days before" and I keep wondering before what, what is going to happen. With that I think that someone is going to die and something really bad is going to happen to them, or maybe even disappear. I have a feeling it will be Alaska because the title of the novel is Looking for Alaska so I think something will happen to her I'm just not quite sure what. I have just finished reading The Fault in Our Stars also written by John Green and I have found a connection between these two books. Even though John Green wrote both of these there are still many different things but one very similar thing that I noticed and that is that Green does not sugar coat real life and he makes his book how real life is instead of like most books that end in a happy fairytale way like most books do. That is why I have really enjoyed reading both Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars.

A letter to the Author

Si and his wife Christina

Dear Silas Robertson (also know as Si),
I am a big fan of the show Duck Dynasty and so is my sister. In fact, I bought her a Willie bobble head for her birthday last year and she also got a duck call for graduation last year. You could say we are pretty big fans. Anyway I have really enjoyed reading your book Si-Cology 101! I love how you tell stories up until now and how you start from when you were a child moving towards college, enlisting in the war, meeting your wife and having children! But your stories about each of those things always make me laugh! Especially the one about your tea cup because anyone who has seen Duck Dynasty knows very well that you never put your tea cup down. Im curius as to why you have made a facebook page and twitter for your tea cup but I find that very amusing. I also found it interesting how much you enjoyed being in the army to the point where you moved your whole family to Germany  and had your two children there! I also loved how you live your life through God, like when your wife Christina couldn't have children and you said "'If God wants us to have children, we'll have children. If he doesn't want us to have children, we'll adopt some kids'"(Roberston 147). I also enjoy reading this book because you have such a strong writters voice which makes it much more enjoyable to read your hilarous stories! Great book and great stories, I can hardly put it down!
                           From,
                                Madison Giessler

Final Blogging Assessment in English 1B

Text-to-Self Connection

I can honestly say I would have never thought I would be able to make a connection to Si. I mean he wears camouflage everyday while I would prefer to wear a dress. He is able to hunt, which we all know I would not be able to hunt for the life of me. But I was reading a chapter he wrote about snakes- funny thing is is that he is afraid of snakes- which you would think if you are in the woods everyday you would get over that fear but apparently not. This is what Si said, "As you may can guess, I don't like snakes. The only good snake is a dead snake! If anyone tries to mess with me when it comes to snakes, they're going to have a fight on their hands."(Robertson 43) when I read this I thought this is exactly like me. You can ask any of my friends I am deathly afraid of snakes (to the point where I can't even look at a picture of one)! I couldn't agree with Si more about the only good thing about a snake is when its dead! If I see a snake I will freak. period. It could be in a cage and I would still run away in fear! I don't know how Si does it!Even though he has to face his fear of snakes everyday and has been bitten 27 times I can still connect to his fear.


I also noticed some verbal irony (sarcasm) while reading that chapter. Si says, "Northwest Louisiana, where we grew up, is one of the few places in the United States that is home to all four of the venomous snakes of North America: the copperhead, cottonmouth, coral snake, and rattlesnake. We're even blessed to have two kinds of rattlesnakes: the canebrake and the eastern diamondback. Boy, aren't we lucky?"(Robertson 44) obviously he's being sarcastic when he says they are blessed to have two kinds of rattlesnakes- considering he is scared of snakes I doubt he's happy about that. Also the last sentence in that quote "Boy, aren't we lucky?" he's not saying they are lucky he is using sarcasm once again to get his point across that he's not happy Northwest Louisiana is home to all four venomous snakes that live in North America! :)

Text-to-Self Connection

I realize that I have already made a connection to this book but I found another and I couldn't help but share it! I also can't believe I was able to connect to this book again since Si is so much different from me! This connection is a little different than my previous one though. Si was just starting out in the military and he was sent to Vietnam, he had just arrived and some of the soldiers gave him advice on how to survive. One of the most important things they said "was to make sure all of my personal belongings were locked down at all times because the Vietnamese loved to steal from Americans". I was a little amused by this because lately people have been steeling stuff from the girls locker room including phone cases, clothes bags and a lot of other stuff. People in the locker room have never locked up our stuff because we feel like we can trust everyone, but in reality you can't fully trust anyone because anyone can walk in the locker room while we are practice and take our stuff. I was just as shocked as Si was when he found out people will steal your stuff because I grew up learning the same this he did: that stealing was bad and against the law. Here is a little lesson you can learn from this: always lock up your stuff just it case because you can never trust everyone!!