10/30/2013 Free Post: Book Recommendation

I really recommend the book Holes by Louis Sachar. This is a truly inspiring novel. The first time I read this book was when I was in 3rd grade.

This book starts with an incorrect charge of burglary on the main character, Stanley Yelnats. He either has the choice of going to jail or going to Camp Green Lake. Since Stanley was from a poor family he had never been to a camp before. He chose Camp Green Lake, which was a decision that would affect the rest of his life.

Camp Green Lake was not a camp, nor green, and there were no lakes in sight. It was pretty much a large piece of land full of dirt and holes. Every day, the "inmates" were to dig a 5x5 hole. They had only a small amount of water to drink during the day, and the shovels ate at their hands. Every now and then, someone would find something interesting but it had to be immediately given to the Warden. When Stanley first arrived, he was told that the only rule was to not upset the Warden. He met an inmate called "Zero". Nobody knew his actual name because he wouldn't speak. Stanley tried to befriend him but was rejected and given the silent treatment. After working for almost a year he witnesses Zero run away into the horizon. Stanley knows that there is no water or anything for the next 100 miles. Some of the inmates had told him about God's thumb, a large, tall mountain 100 miles away. It supposedly hosted the cleanest water and was a desert paradise. After pondering for a few hours, he decided the best thing to do would be to go after Zero. He filled his canteen and ran. The other "inmates" cheered him on, yelling and screaming his name, since he was only one there without a nickname. He finally discovered Zero under a small boat named the Mary Lou. Zero was alive! Inside the boat Zero found some jars of a fruity substance he called Sploosh. They grabbed 4 jars of sploosh and made the difficult decision to leave the shelter of the boat and set out for God's Thumb. Both of them had near death experiences on their journey but i cant tell you. Why? Because i'm not gonna give away the most interesting ending to the most thoughtful book I've ever read.


*****I BET YOU DIDN'T REALIZE YELNATS IS STANLEY BACKWARDS***

10/30/2013 Winger Characters

The main characters in my book are Ryan Dean a 14 year old Junior (and varsity rugby team member) at Pike Mountain High School, Chas Becker the biggest baddest guy on the rugby team (also his roommate), and Ryan Dean's best "girl-friend" (NOT a "girlfriend") Annie. Here's how they develop throughout the text.

Ryan Dean: At the beginning of the novel, Ryan Dean was just a puny 14 year old smashed into the Junior Class. Throughout the story he has gained respect through fighting, poker games, and how fast he can move across the rugby field. One fight started when he saw a group of some of the football players ganging up on one of his buddies. He ran up and kicked one of the football players straight in the nose. After that, no one has messed with him or his friends. After one midnight poker game, his roommates (that hated him)  learned that he was super daring and decided that he was tolerable after all. The other players on the rugby team used to make fun of Ryan Dean for not being as buff or as muscularly strong as them but after the first practice and watching him fly down the field they started to realize how much he was actually needed on the team.

Chas: In the beginning, Chas was probably the scariest guy Ryan Dean had ever met but throughout the novel, Ryan Dean realized that Chas was literally 200 pounds and the worst thing he could possibly do would either be to sit on him or punch out his insides. Ryan Dean thought, "if he ever comes my way, ill just run, there's no way he'll be able to catch me".

Annie: At the start of the book (during the summer), Annie is best friends with Ryan Dean. The first day of school was hours away when their relationship plummeted. Ryan Dean became enrolled in one of Chas' famous poker games the night before the first day. He became drunk for the first time. Chas made him go use the facilities in the girls dorm downstairs. He barely got out before being busted by the girls dorm monitor. Annie found out about this whole incident the next morning. She thought this was extremely irresponsible of Ryan Dean and has been angry with him since.

Winger Theme and Summary 10/9/13

The theme of Winger is if you mess up, don't give up because there will always be other chances. When Ryan Dean West gets charged with theft he feels like he can do nothing to help himself but really its not the end and he has so much more he can do.

My summary of chapter 8:

After losing the poker game and being forced to drink his first beer, Ryan Dean had to face the "consequences". The boys made him sneak quickly and quietly down to the girls dorm and use the bathroom and sing a song of his choice. Since he had never had a beer before, he was a bit drunk and couldn't even remember his phone number. He was singing pretty loudly and the girls dorm monitor heard him and raced to the bathroom. Ryan Dean had locked the door so she demanded him to tell her who he was. Ryan Dean ran to the window and the guys pulled him up and out onto the cool, wet grass. He had made it out alive.

Winger Tone and Mood 10/9/13

The tone of Winger varies from scared to anxious to excited. When Ryan Dean first goes to his new school he's scared because he is rooming with the biggest and scariest guy on the rugby team; Chas Becker. When he plays a midnight game of poker withe Chas and a few other guys, he is anxious to see if he loses or wins and what his consequences are if he loses. He is also really anxious to see if his friendship with his friend Annie blossoms into something more than just a friendship.
The mood of Winger is lonely because one altercation caused Ryan Dean to be separated from his only friends.
Ryan Dean swayed the beliefs of others when he conquered the consequences of losing the poker game. The guys made him go down to the girls bathroom and sing. He did but the dorm officer heard him. He had to quickly scramble out the window and thankfully, was never seen. His tone was frightened and it impacted his persuasiveness by getting the other guys to help him out.

Why I chose to read Winger By: Andrew Smith

I chose to read Winger because I always wondered what rugby was like and how its played. I learned that (in simple terms) rugby is football without padding, with a few more added regulations. Instead of just crossing the end-zone, you have to set the ball down in the end-zone and then the kicker comes and kicks it from wherever you set the ball into the goalpost. You can also have a scrum which is where packs of opposing players interlock themselves for possession of the ball. Andrew Smith did an amazing job at describing the sport by describing it in a way that anyone would be able to understand. He also compared it to other sports you may relate to, like football. In the book are also drawings of rugby by: Sam Bosma. This gives you a visual on the sport rugby.