Summer Reading Assignment Entry Four

I picked the book The Earth, My Butt, and Othe Big Round Things because the title was very different and made me want to read the short preview of the book omline. I thimk that if you are ever going to write a book, make sure the title is intriguing because it is the first impression. After reading this book, I couldn't make any major connections because I'm not self conscious about my weight, nor am I popular. The smaller connections I made were often getting mad at my parents and wishing my older silings did fun things with me like they used to. I wouold recommend this book to anyone suffering with weight problems or anyone witnessing bullying on a daily basis. But overall, anyone who reads this book will find SOMETHING to relate to. The book has many different topics in it.

Summer Reading Assignment Entry Three

"Well, you should see him now," says Brie. "Oooh la la!" He's a sophomore at Colombia and totally filled out. We flirted for four stops on the local train." As Briar and Brinna oooh and aaah and Oh my God, I begin to relax. But then i hear something that makes my stomach lurch. "Doesn't his sister go to Brewster?" Brinna asks. "Yeah" says Briar. "Virginia." "Virginia who?" asks Brie. Ouch. I know Brie and I reside in different universes, but still. We've been going to Brewster since sixth grade. And we're in three classes together, for God's sake. "Virginia Shreves," says Briar, cracking up. "That chubby girl." "No way!" Brie shrieked. "I never knew they were related." "Of course they are," says Briar. "It's not like Shreves is a common name." I bite down on the flesh inside my cheeks, That chubby girl. After a moment Brie says, "All I can say is, if I were that fat, I'd kill myself." "Totally," murmur Briar and Brinna in unison." (pg. 27-28 The Earth, My Butt and Other Big Round Things). This is one of the most memorable passages from the book because you can really see how rude some people are. These words hurt but somehow Virginia gets through it. It's very hard to reboound from this but Virginia does. Keep reading to figure out how.

Summer Reading Assignment Entry Two

What each character wants: Virginia: to be skinny and beautiful. Froggy: to have a real relationship with Virginia. Byron: to get hot chicks. Her Mom: to have the perfect family. Shannon: to make new friends but stay in touch with Virginia. Bri-girls: to make "the normals" feel awful about themselves. The theme for this novel would be lonely because Virginia feels alone in this struggle even though she's not alone. She has support from her firends, teachers, and family. This novel has the normal narrative structure with the exposition as the introduction of characters, the rising action as the start of her diet and new life, the climax as the surprising phone call and the problems with her diet. I have yet to find out the falling action and denouement.

Summer Reading Assignment Entry One

I am reading the book The Earth, My Butt, and Other Round Things by Carolyn Mackler. The major characters are Virginia Shreves, Froggy Welsh the Fourth (her-boyfriend-but-not-so-boyfriend), Byron Shreves (her perfect brother), her mom (a workout junkie), Shannon Newman (her best friend that just moved to the other side of the country), and the Bri-girls (A.K.A. the populars). Virginia is and overweight sophomore in high school and cannot stand to be noticed. She goes to crazy measures to avoid people. She has just started a diet and its not going so well. She also feels like she's adopted. All of her family is skinny, beautiful and they all have promising futures. She feels her family would be perfect without her. Until one day a phone call changes her for forever. The probem is, dieting is hard and it's a real struggle especially when dealing with something involving your brother. She did well the first week or so, but the hunger was too much for her to bare. She ditched school, walked down the street in the pouring rain, and went to a movie theater. She pigged out on snacks, popcorn and soda and ended her healthy streak. I think her diet will continue but weekly binges will halt her progress. I also predict her and Froggy will get more serious. I even wonder if virginia will stert to self harm? She's definitely heard suicide stories and have thought about suicide before but she has never taken action against herself.