Looking for Alaska Summer Project Blog By: Jackson Taylor

Warning Spoilers ahead

This summer I have read John Green's  Micheal L Printz Award winning book Looking For Alaska. Many of you may know John Green through his Youtube Channel: CrashCourse or some of his other works such as Papertowns and The Fault in . I was also very excited to find out that there was a movie being made based on Looking for Alaska here is the link http://youtu.be/e8qa-7kgjr0. Well I decided to read his best selling book out of interest in him and the summary made the book sound like an interesting read, and it was. Looking for Alaska is about a 17 year old boy named: Miles "Pudge" Halters must go from his boring life in Florida and transfer to the most prestigious boarding school in Alabama, Culver Creek, where he gets involved in all kinds of shenanigans. Miles' first days at Culver Creek are some of the most interesting in the first act of the book, One week before school starts and Miles is moving into his dorm room he meets his roommate known as "The Colonel", The Colonel is the strong silent type who is lacking in height but makes up for it with his wit. The Colonel gives Miles his new nickname, Pudge, because he is so scrawny. After the nickname is given, Pudge is told about the number one rule at Culver Creek, DON'T RAT, for just last semester before the summer break, before Pudge was transferred to Culver Creek, someone ratted out two of Alaska Young's best friends and got them expelled. The Colonel and Pudge quickly become friends and the Colonel introduces Pudge to two other main characters, Takumi and Alaska. Takumi is a quiet and laid back guy with absolutely no table manners and unlike the Colonel and Alaska, is not a heavy smoker. Alaska is arguably the most influential character on Pudge because she always references a book titled "The General in his Labyrinth", from this book Alaska always talks about a "Labyrinth of suffering" and how there is only one way to escape it. This is the major theme of the book because through out the novel Miles is always trying to figure a way out of his own personal Labyrinth. From the title I predicted that Miles would have to search for Alaska in some spiritual or emotional way.

Looking for Alaska has many dynamic and round characters and our main character Pudge is the most fleshed out in my opinion. Pudge in the first act is quiet and he just follows around the Colonel and meets his friends. Once Pudge meets Alaska though, this is where his character begins to change, his emotions become more powerful and he starts to harbor romantic feelings towards Alaska but the problem is, Alaska already has a boyfriend named Jake. Alaska and Pudge spend more and more time together as the story progresses and this is when Alaska tells Pudge about the labyrinth of suffering and that if Pudge can tell Alaska the right way to escape this emotional maze, she will find Pudge a girl to have sex with. This is the first major event of Pudge's journey, we can begin to see his intentions and desires. Pudge wants to be with Alaska as a boyfriend and girlfriend. About one third of the way through the book this is where the Colonel says that Pudge is playing a dangerous game because Alaska is the craziest girl in the school and she already has a boyfriend. After Pudge's first few months at Culver Creek he has developed an addiction to ciggarettes which he gets from Alaska and he starts getting drunk with Alaska and the Colonel. This is another change in Pudge's character because he no longer feels guilty for smoking and drinking even though those were the only  two things his parents instructed him not to do. After this event we see the rise of emotions from the more static main characters Lara and Takumi. Takumi is becoming a slightly bigger part of the group and helping more and more with everyone's shenanigans of getting drunk and pranking. Lara wasn't introduced until a third of the waythrough the book, but Lara's character is that of a sweet, compassionate foreign student from Romania and she quickly becomes friends with Alaska and Pudge's new girlfriend. Just before the half way point the group decides to pull a prank on the dean of the school known by the students as "The Eagle". The prank is simple, distract the Eagle by lighting off firecrackers in the woods and luring him away from the dorms. And then while the Eagle is distracted sneak into the dorm room of a rich kid named Kevin who had previously pranced Pudge and the gang and put blue dye in his hair gel. The prank worked and Kevin asked the gang for a truce to which the Colonel refused.  This is only a minor subplot however, a few nights later after Pudge got intimate with Lara, Pudge and the Colonel walk over to Alaska's dorm room for a night of drinking. This is the most important event in the book for it is the major turning point. After the Colonel and Alaska get drunk, the still sober Pudge kisses Alaska. Immediatly Pudge has an emotional split, he just kissed the girl of his dreams but he already has a girlfriend, Laara. Later that night though Alaska makes a phone call and then wakes up the Colonel and Pudge telling she has to escape and asks them to distract the Eagle while she drives away. The next day, the Eagle calls an assembly where every student attends. The Eagle informs everyone of terrible news. "Alaska has passed away" (page 139). After this tragedy we see our characters embark on a spiritual journey to find out what happened to Alaska the night she died in the car accident and how they can find peace.

Here is an excerpt from my favorite part of the book: "Well, Now it's war." The Colonel shouted the next morning. I rolled over and looked at my alarm clock: 7:52. My first Culver Creek class, French started in 18 minutes. I blinked a couple times and looked up at the Colonel, who was standing between the couch and the coffee table, holding his well-worn, once white tennis shoes by the laces. For a long time he stared at me, and I stared at him. And then, almost in slow motion, a grin crept across the Colonel's face. "I've got to hand it to them" (Kevin and his friends) he said finally "that was pretty clever" "what?" I asked. "Last night before they woke you up, I guess-they pissed in my shoes" "Are you sure?" I said, trying not to laugh. "Do you care to smell?" He asked... Page 29.
This is my favorite excerpt as this is when I began to be personally hooked by the novel, the way that John Green can portray the conversation and make it feel normal is amazing. The humor is what made me like this book so much but the story which is fantastic is what kept me going. The context of this paragraph is the morning after Pudge was thrown into a lake on campus by Kevin for being roommates with the Colonel. The reason behind this is later revealed as one of the greatest plot twists in the book.

Of all of the choices on the Micheal L Printz list, I chose Looking for Alaska because of a few different reasons. First, my Brother recommended the book as he previously read it and said that I would enjoy it. My second reason is that I know the author, although not personally I have seen many of John Green's educational videos on his Youtube Channel: CrashCourse. And my third reason for reading this book is that when I read the summary for it at Barnes & Noble, it sounded very interesting and I knew that I would enjoy because I could relate to Pudge. Especially after I read the book I could se a little bit of myself in Pudge. I would specifically recommend this book to other teenagers in highschool who are looking for a quick read with an amazing and memorable story with a humorous cast of characters. I would officiallly rate this book with a 9/10 and I plan to read it again in the future, it was that god of a read.

IQ Blog Post

I, Q Blog Post

Blog by Jackson Taylor

  I have read my all time favorite novel for the fourth time recently, I, Q by Roland Smith. J love everything about I, Q from the amount of detail put into the smallest things like what the main character Quest is looking at to the larger things in the novels like its many action scenes. All of the characters in I, Q are well developed and hard to forget Quest is humorous and a magician of all things or atleast he wants to be.

  Quest's parents are currently traveling around the country on a musical tour so most of the story takes place in different parts of The United states so the setting is always changing. Quest also has a stepsister named Angela but more on her later. They meet a man named Tyrone Boone along the way, he is a rodie for Quest's parents so whenever we see him is fiddling with some kind of equipment, a perfect quise to cover up his true role.

  While his parents are away at a concert Quest and Angela run into to trouble and Boone rescues them after all is said and done Boone explains how he is a secret agent working under cover for the SOS (Some Old Spooks). Boone's job is to protect Angela and her family from a terrorist organization called the Mossad. The Mossad are after Angela because her birth mother Anmar was with the secret service and was caught meddling with the Mossad. Anmar was believed to be dead but since the Mossad are after Angela, Boone believes there is more at stake than Angela.

  I have not yet finsihed the novel and while I am familiar with what happens I do not wish to spoil this amazing novel for anyone who wishes to read it.

Twilight Blog

Twilight Blog

  I was recently given a copy of Twilight by cousin which was a very kind gesture but I couldnt help but comment on that the book had received a lot of "hate" for being such a strange and boring novel but she told me to read it and I am glad I did.

  Twilight is series of about a teenage girl named Bella who falls in love with Edward Cullen, a vampire. Bella is at first ignored by Edward but she cant get enough of him and eventually Edward starts to be kind to her. Bella soon notices that Edward has some strange friends, and enemies. It is obvious to Bella that Edward is hiding something big and Bella starts asking him questions about his sparkly skin and unexplainable strength. 

  But before he ever gets back to her Bella leaves and meets Jacob Black, her second love interest whom is a werewolf. He tells Bella that Edward is a vampire And that he despises vampires. Bella has found herself caught in a dangerous love triangle. For if she chooses one boy the other and his companions will hunt them down. Edward's vampires and Jacob's werewolves fight but Bella gets them to stop and we have to see who she chooses in the next few books and what the fate of the love trianlge is.

The Hunger Games Blog

The Hunger Games Blog

Blog by: Jackson Taylor

  I recently reread another of my favorite novels at home, The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. You have all at least heard of the hunger games and probably know that it is about a 16 year old girl named Katniss Everdeen. Katniss lives in a economically poor region called District 12 in the dystopian country of Panem. And every year the Capital hosts a Hunger Games, where a boy and a girl from each district is thrown into an arena and they are forced to fight to the death. If someone wins then their district is rewarded with riches. This is to remind the districts of their crushing defeat in the rebellion almost 75 years ago.

  As you could guess either from or from the trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4S9a5V9ODuY, Katniss is selected to fight for District 12 along with a boy named Peeta Mellark. Together they travel to the capital and experience the true beauty of it. Katniss is astounded by it, The slums and towns and cities of the districts all work toward feeding the capital. Once Katniss lands in the capital she is immediately taken to a training facility where she will have 3 days to show her skills and impress a series of judges whom will give a rating of 1-12, a higher rating will naturally attract sponsors who will send Katniss supply drops during the games. Under the advice of her mentor, Haymitch, the district 12 victor of the 50th Hunger Games, she managed to impress the judges with her archery and achieve a high rating. Finally Katniss is lifted up into the arena and the 74th Annual Hunger Games begin.

  The hunger games is a thrilling novel and I highly recommend it to anyone who likes a good story or action and suspense in their books. The Hunger Games is a 10/10 for me and it is personally one of my favorite novels. The sheer amount of detail in each sentence is mind boggling, The story is amazing and the jaw dropping suspense will keep you from putting it down, I am glad that I gave the Hunger Games another read.

Farenheit 451 blog

Jackson Taylor Blog

Names: Anna Harris, Alekya Raghavan, Isabel Marotta, Jackson Taylor and Claire Wilson

Bell 6

Theme: People should take action rather than watch a society fall and crumble.

Quote 1: “… he flicked the igniter and the house jumped up in a gorging fire…while the flapping pigeon-winged books died…” (Bradbury, 1).

Quote 2: “We have everything we need to be happy, but we aren’t happy. Something’s missing.”(Bradbury, 78).

Quote 3: “...Montag shot one continuous pulse of liquid fire on him… Beatty flopped over and over, and at last twisted himself like a charred wax doll and lay silent.” (Bradbury, 113).

The theme is important to our understanding of the story because the whole story is about how Montag took action, by stealing the books, to ensure people would eventually be able to read them and understand what they were saying.

The theme connects to modern day society because in the news today you can see so many reports on people that do things to help improve someone’s life. It is important to study this theme because whenever you see someone or a group of people that needs help you should try to help them the best you can.

Game of Thrones blog

Game of Thrones By: George RR. Martin

Blog by: Jackson Taylor

  Yes, I am in fact reading the infamous Game of Thrones series. This is the one book I have ever read where I have seen the Movie or Tv show before I read it. And I have to say that I love the show and the book equally.

  As you know Game of Thrones is a long series with multiple books and seasons along with around 100 major and hundreds more minor characters. (Long list of characters provided at the bottom). Game of Thrones is a slower paced novel whilst its cousin in television form was very fast paced taking no extra time for slackers who ignore detail. The book is the opposite, it is slower with mountains of more detail and background crammed in. Here is an excerpt from GoT to prove how much detail is in this monstrous novel. "By  then Ser Gregor Clegane was in position at the head of the lists. He was huge, the biggest man that Eddard Stark had ever seen. Robert Baratheon  and his brothers were all big men as was The Hound (Gregor Clegane's younger brother), and back at Winterfell there was a simpleminded stable boy named Hodor who dwarfed them all, but the knight they call The Mountain (Gragor Clegane) towers over Hodor." (Page 313). As you can see, George RR Martin clearly took his time when detailing and perfecting Game of Thrones when he easily could have just said that Gregor Clegane was a big man. 

  Game of Thrones is a thrilling novel full of detail and characters in a vivid setting with a rich lore. I would highly recommend this novel to fans of fantasy and action novels because Game of Thrones is full of it along with a great story and several sequels to keep you reading. 

Blog #2 The Outsiders

                                                                       The Outsiders by: S.E. Hinton
                                                                            Blog by: Jackson Taylor

   I decided to reread my favorite novel ever, The Outsiders. In this novel by SE Hinton, a group of "Greasers" struggle to survive their unfortunate circumstances. The book starts off by giving lots of background as to how the main character Ponyboy Curtis' parents passed away leaving he and his two losers brothers alone. It also emphasises the struggle between the greasers and the "Socs" teenage boys from the rich side of town who love to jump Greasers.

  Ponyboy is on his way back from the local drive in theatre when a blue mustang rolls up next to him. Pony was about to get jumped. Before he knows it he is bring held down by 5 Socs. One of puts a knife to Ponys throat after he called for help but the Socs book it when they hear the thunder if footsteps. It is then that we meet Pony's brothers and some of his friends. It is here that we see the bond that Ponyboy has with brothers. Darry, the oldest, is firm, and shows Ponyboy a lot of tough love hoping to make him a man. And Sodapop is caring and kind, always looking out for Ponyboy's best interests. The night after Ponyboy is jumped he goes back to the movie theatre again but this time he brought his friends Dallas and Johny. And there they meet two Soc girls who left there boyfriends and we see Ponyboy make a new friend. After the movies Ponyboy comes home late and Darry is waiting for him. Darry hits Ponyboy out of anger and Soda try's to calm the situation. But Pony loses his wits and bolts out the door. He runs immediately to Johny and they run off together. They stop at the park and realize the mistake they made; They just walked into Soc territory at night.

  Johny and Ponyboy were the two youngest of their group of friends, they were also the smallest. And at the park they see the same blue Mustang pull up to the sidewalk. It was then that Pony remembered that Johny was jumped by these same Socs and how badly he was cut up. 5 Socs sprint towards Johny and Ponyboy and from there they brawl until Ponyboy is forcefully submerged into the park fountain. Ponyboy starts fades away into unconsciousness. And what Ponyboy wakes up to, will change his life forever.