Blog 10: Final Blog Post

The majority of people say they hate reading. When people say they don’t read or they don’t like reading I wonder how that’s even possible. Reading books has been in my life since before I could read myself. I’ve always read before going to bed and whenever I have the time to I grab a book and read. When I was younger my mom always took me to story time at the library. We would pick out books and sit there for hours reading them. When I could read for myself, I would always have books with me. No matter where I went, I was guaranteed to be carrying a book. Soon after, I wouldn’t carry just one book, I would have several books with me at all times. I look at my bookshelf and I see it bursting with books. I read one and as soon as I finish it, I pick up another.

Being an avid reader really shaped my view on the world because I had the opportunity to experience other lives through the characters eyes. Of all the books I’ve read, the one that stands out to me the most is Touch and Go by Lisa Gardner. It teaches the readers that a small simple mistake in life can have a catastrophic change in the timeline. Reading something like that opened my eyes to see what is between the lines and that’s what keeps fueling my love for reading.

My favorite genre, my favorite authors, all have to go under Science Fiction and Mystery/Thriller. J.K. Rowling, Lisa Gardner, James Dashner, Michael Grant and many more. Something about their writing style and the way to draw readers in intrigues me.

What bothers me with reading is the fact that people think electronic reading is the same as print book reading. It's not the same thing! E-Book reading doesn't give you the same feel with Print Books. When you read print books, you get to feel the pages in your hand, be satisfied with the physical evidence of how far you're in the book and the old book smell. E-Books can blind you especially when reading in the dark by the fire. It's not easy to snuggle, get comfortable and read by the fireplace.

You know those people that read like crazy, maybe carrying several books with them at a time? Yeah, that’s me. Maybe 2. Maybe 4. I don’t even know. The highest I’ve gone was 6 books at once. Was it hard to read and keep track of them all? Not really because each book was different from the other. The genre might be the same but content wise it’s drastically different which I like so it’s easier to read.

Reading makes my world easy. It allows me to live several lives and be in other people’s shoes. Things that most don’t understand.

x

Blog Post FINAL: Listicle

Have you ever wanted a superpower? How about if that superpower can kill people? Or even stop you from touching other people?

17 year old Juliette Ferrars has that superpower.

Her touch is lethal.

Her touch is power.

A group called the Reestablishment wants her to join their side to rebuild and shape the world.

Juliette doesn't want to.

The Reestablishment will come for her.

Juliette will come for the Reestablishment.

What will happen?

In comes Adam Kent. A boy Juliette had known prior to her kidnapping. A boy she loved. Adam Kent is the boy Juliette has a special connection with. A connection that allows him to touch her without killing him.

But the leader of the Reestablishment, Warner, also has that connection.

Juliette doesn't know why.

In UNRAVEL ME Juliette finally gets her questions answered.

Juliette, Kenji (another friend) and Adam fight for their lives. They train day in and day out. They become one with their powers and strength.

But is that enough to defeat the Reestablishment from their endgame?

Maybe. Maybe not.

In the book we see Juliette fighting for her life, for her friends, and for the man she loves. So the question is:

WHY IS ADAM JULIETTE'S WEAKNESS?

  

The answer:

1. He's a liability.
2. He's the man she loves.
3. He's her best friend.
4. “He looks away. And he smiles. It's the kind of smile that makes me forget how to do everything but blink and blink and I don't understand what's happening to me. I don't know why I can't convince my eyes to find something else to focus on. I don't know why my heart is losing its mind.”

Juliette can’t stop her feelings for Adam but she knows that she can’t focus if she’s focused on the wrong subject. As she pushes Adam away, she pulls towards Warner causing a love triangle between them.  

This quote summarizes Juliette’s feelings:

5. “He's looking so deeply into my eyes that I'm surprised I haven't buckled under the intensity and I realize then, right in this moment I realize that everything about him is intense. Nothing about him is manageable or easy to compartmentalize. He's too much. Everything about him is too much. His emotions, his actions, his anger, his aggression. His love.”

She doesn’t know how to deal with the love she gets from two men, one of who tried to kill her. Which is why she distances herself from Adam; she doesn’t want to hurt him or even kill him. In that she finds herself being sheltered by Warner which uses it to his advantage.

Would you want it even if you lose your friends because of the superpower? Would you want to run for your life? Juliette may have amazing powers that develops over time but she has challenges and choices to make to either better or worsen her life.

“The truth," he says, "is a painful reminder of why I prefer to live among the lies.”

Shatter Juliette.

Unravel Juliette.

Ignite Juliette.

Fracture Juliette.

Whatever you do, don’t hurt the people Juliette cares about.

Blog Post 9

The book I am reading is Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi. In my book there is a character named Juliette who is the main character. The story is told through her point of view. Juliette is this 17 year old girl who can kill a person with the touch of her skin.

In this book, you see Juliette struggle with her ability and her relationship with Adam. Adam was a soldier in the group that had held Juliette captive for several years.

So, what kind of character is Juliette and is she right in the decisions she made?

In my opinion, Juliette is this girl who whines her way through the day. She can never make a proper decision and everyone around her gets tired of dealing with her nonsense. But what I like about Juliette is that we, as readers, know exactly how and what she is feeling. Her emotions are shown on the outside. She also is in this love triangle between two guys who one she loves very deeply for and the other won't admit her feelings for. Adam being the one she deeply loves, tells her that they can still be  together even if there are complications but she tells him that it can't happen because she doesn't want to kill him. She, very much, wants to be with Adam but she believes that being away from him will protect him even though Adam has said multiple times he didn't care and that they would make it work.

I believe Juliette is incapable of making her own decisions because she either makes the wrong one or she has no idea what to do. Every time there is a decision to be made she starts going into a frenzy. She can't get her act together.

But when her life, or someone else's life depended on it, Juliette would become this strong, lead character that gets the job done. She's a character of two personalities. One is the quiet, shy girl and the other is the take charge, intense girl.

Honestly, Juliette is a lot like me. I see myself in her at times. She's the quiet, shy girl-- I'm the girl that doesn't like to draw attention to myself. But for the both of us, when someone's life is on the line, they will be saved one way or another. I have no love triangle. That's where our similarities stop.

We both want what is best for the people around us, even if it means making the wrong decision.