A Wrinkle in Time book Review

A short introduction to A Wrinkle in Time

Meg Murry is a high school girl and when three other worldly creatures appear and sweep Meg and her brother Charles Wallace plus their friend Calvin O'Keefe on a mission to save Meg’s father, little do they know what they are getting into.

Conflict One

Meg’s Father is missing. Practically no one is involved except for one thing. That’s right, it’s not a person. The only thing involved is IT. IT is a brain preserved and it is trying to take over the world. IT captures Meg’s father. What happens in this conflict is that Meg’s father disappears and doesn’t come back because he is captured by IT. This happens on Camazotz where Meg’s

father is being held captive. It happens throughout the time he is on Camazotz. This conflict occurred because IT wants to take over the world and he especially wants Meg’s father because he is a brilliant scientist.

"Look, dope. Calvin shook her gently. I just want to get things straight, sort of sort out the fact from fiction. Your father's a physicist. That's a fact, yes? Yes. He's a Ph.D. several times over. Yes. Most of the time he works alone but some of the time he was at the Institute for Higher Learning in Princeton. Correct? Yes. Then he did some work for the government, didn't he? Yes. You take it from there. That's all I know. That's about all I know, too, Meg said. Maybe Mother knows more. I don't know. What he did was—well, it was what they call Classified. Top Secret, you mean? That's right. And you don't even have any idea what it was about? Meg shook her head. No. Not really. Just an idea because of where he was. Well, where?" Out in New Mexico for a while; we were with him there; and then he was in Florida at Cape Canaveral, and we were with him there, too. And then he was going to be traveling a lot, so we came here.
You'd always had this house? Yes. But we used to live in it just in the summer. And you don't know where your father was sent? No. At first we got lots of letters. Mother and Father always wrote each other every day. I think Mother still writes him every night. Every once in a while the postmistress makes some kind of a crack about all her letters. I suppose they think she's pursuing him or something, Calvin said, rather bitterly. They can't understand plain, ordinary love when they see it. Well, go on. What happened next? Nothing happened, Meg said. That's the trouble. Well, what about your father's letters? They just stopped coming. You haven't heard anything at all? No Meg said. Nothing. Her voice was heavy with misery.”(part of page 35 & the full page of 36 & part of page 37)

Conflict Two

IT wants to control people. The thing involved in making this conflict occur is IT and a human who works for IT; the Prime Coordinator . IT plans to control everyone in the world and starts by controlling everyone on his planet. What happens is that when you look into the Prime Coordinator’s eyes, IT takes you in and controls you. This conflict occurs on Camazotz and every time of IT’s life. Why this conflict occurs because IT is greedy and selfish and wants to be the ruler of everyone in the world.

This quote happens after Meg finds her dad and her dad realizes Charles Wallace is being controlled by IT.

Mr. Murry released Meg and knelt in front of the little boy. Charles, his voice was tender. Charles Wallace. What do you want? I'm your father, Charles. Look at me. The pale blue eyes seemed to focus on Mr. Murry's face. Hi, Pop, came an insolent voice. That isn't Charles! Meg cried. Oh, Father, Charles isn't like that. IT has him. Yes. Mr. Murry sounded tired. I see. He held his arms out. Charles. Come here." (part of page 116)

Conflict Three

Meg doubts herself too much and has a lack of self respect for herself. Who makes this conflict occur is actually Meg herself. She doubts herself throughout the book. What happens is that Meg thinks she can’t do something and then she performs poorly in it. This conflict occurs everywhere Meg is; in school, when on Camazotz. It occurs any time of the day. It happens because Meg doubts herself and deems herself incapable of doing what needs to happen.

This quote occurs after Meg gets back from school

“A delinquent, that's what I am, she thought grimly. —That's what they'll be saying next. Not Mother. But Them. Everybody Else. I wish Father— But it was still not possible to think about her father without the danger of tears. Only her mother could talk about him in a natural way, saying, When your father gets back—" (part of page 2)

This quote occurs after Meg decided to leave her attic bedroom

"Go back to sleep, Meg said. Just be glad you're a kitten and not a monster like me. She looked at herself in the wardrobe mirror and made a horrible face, bearing a mouthful of teeth covered with braces. Automatically she pushed her glasses into position, ran her fingers through her mouse-brown hair, so that it stood wildly on end, and let out a sigh almost as noisy as the wind.” (part of page 2)

Lesson learned from A Wrinkle in Time

It only matter about what your heart is like and what is on the inside, not how you look. I got this because Meg blames her looks for everything bad happening to her at the beginning of the story. However, learning that Calvin likes her looks Meg eventually realizes this lesson.

Writing Girl(WG)

A Wrinkle in Time cover page

Stargirl Book Review

Short Introduction to Stargirl

Stargirl Caraway has been home schooled her whole life, has a pet rat, wears strange dresses, and plays the ukulele. This is the first time Stargirl is going to a real school and her classmates don’t know what to think of her.

Conflict One

Stargirl is treated like an outsider by the students at her high school. The main person who made this conflict occur was Hillari Kimble. She spread bad things to other people about  Stargirl. She says Stargirl is a fake that the principal has put in just to spread school spirit. There is also a school show called the “Hot Seat.” By what Hillari says, one of the boys who runs “Hot Seat” is convinced to put Stargirl on it and expose her as a fake just for high ratings. The other boy, Leo Borlock becomes a main part of Stargirl’s life in the story. What happens in this conflict is that people ignore Stargirl, don’t talk to her, avoid her and say mean things behind her back. This conflict occurs in Mica Area High School which is the school Stargirl goes to. It occurs any time Stargirl is at school. The reason this issue is there is because Stargirl is accused of making the Electrons, the Mica Area High school basketball team lose. She is accused because she cheers for both teams not just Mica High.

This quote is in Leo’s perspective after he begins to hang out in school with Stargirl.

“And then one day I began to discover that we were more alone than I had dreamed. It was a Thursday. Normally on that day, after third period, Stargirl and I would pass each other on the second floor around the teacher's lounge. We would smile and say hi and continue on our way to our separate classes. On this day, impulsively, I fell in alongside her. How about an escort? I said. She grinned slyly. Anybody in mind? We touched little fingers and walked on. Her next class was on the first floor, so we went down the nearest stairway. We were walking side by side. That’s when I noticed. No one spoke to us. No one nodded to us. No one smiled at us. No one looked at us. A crowded stairway, and no shoulder, no sleeve brushed us. Students climbing the steps veered to the railing or wall. Except for Stargirl jabbering in my ear, the usual raucous chatter was absent. Mostly what I noticed were the eyes. Faces turned up from the steps below, but the eyes never connected with us. They went right on through us as if they were gamma rays. Or they nipped our ears and rattled off among the walls and other eyes. I had an urge to look down at myself, to make sure I was there.” (part of page 95 & 96)

Conflict Two

The students at Mica High only look at what is different about Stargirl and what they didn’t like; rather that looking at what is the same about Stargirl and what they did like. Practically everyone at Mica High was involved; other than Leo Borlock. What happened in this conflict is that people started to ignore the good stuff Stargirl did; such as pass out goodies to everyone on holidays and cheer for people who were doing something good. They started to look at the weird stuff about her; such as wearing strange dresses, having a pet rat, and playing the ukulele. This conflict occurred at Mica Area High School and at every time Stargirl was at school. The reason this conflict happened was because after it was accused that Stargirl made the basketball team lose, people started to think Stargirl was bad luck everywhere and to prove it, only pointed out the bad stuff about her.

This quote happens after Stargirl wins the State Finals for the Oratorical Contest

“She won. As she had said she would. The silver plate they gave her twinkled like a starburst in a galaxy of flashing cameras. Two TV crews washed her in lights and interviewed her backstage. Strangers mobbed her, citizens of Phoenix gushing, telling her they had been coming to the contest for years and had never heard anything like it. Schoolchildren thrust programs in her face for autographs. Every parent wanted her for a daughter, every teacher for a student. She was so happy, she was so proud. She yelped and cried when she saw us. She hugged each of us in turn, and I thought she would squeeze the breath out of me.” (page 157)

This quote happens after Stargirl comes back to Mica High after winning the Oratorical Contest

“We swung around back to the parking lot and-yes-there was a car, and another car. And people, three of them, shading their eyes in the sun, watching us. Two of them were teachers. The other was a student, Dori Dilson. She stood apart from the teachers, alone in the black shimmering sea of asphalt. As we approached, she held up a sign, a huge cardboard sign bigger than a basketball backboard. She set the sign on edge and propped it up, erasing herself. The red painted letters said: WAY TO GO, SUSAN WE’RE PROUD OF YOU. The car stopped in front of it. All that was left to see of Dori Dilson were two sets of fingers holding the sides of the sign. We were close enough now to see that the sign was trembling, and I knew that behind it Dori was crying. There was no confetti, no kazoos. Nothing cheered, not even a mts of fingers holding the sides of the sign. We were close enough now to see that the sign was trembling, and I knew that behind it Dori was crying. There was no confetti, no kazoos. Nothing cheered, not even a mockingbird.” (part of page 159 & 160)

Conflict Three

Stargirl is encouraged to become normal so other people like her; even though she wants to stay herself. Leo actually makes this conflict occur because he gives Stargirl the idea to change herself so she can become popular. The only other friend of Stargirl’s; Dori Dilson, tells Stargirl not to change herself. What happens is that Stargirl changes back to her real name; Susan, stops bringing her rat to school, wears makeup and doesn’t wear weird dresses. This conflict once again occurred at Mica Area High School and when Stargirl changed herself to become normal. This occurs because Leo tells Stargirl if she wants anyone to like her, she had to become normal.

This quote happens when Leo tells Stargirl to become normal

“Forced to face her, forced to talk, I felt my gumption rising. Something’s gotta change, I said. That’s all I know. You mean like change clothes? Or change a tire? Should I change a tire on my bike? Would that do it? You’re not funny. You know what I mean.” (the end of page 133)

    This quote happens when Stargirl changes herself to become normal

“Coming out of the lunchroom, I heard laughter behind me. And then a voice, Stargirl’s: What do you have to do to get somebody’s attention around here? I turned, but it wasn’t her. The girl standing, grinning in front of me wore jeans and sandals, had burnt-red nails and lipstick, painted eyes, finger rings, toe rings, hoop earrings I could put my hand through, hair… I gawked as students swarmed past. She made a clownish grin. She was beginning to look vaguely familiar. Tentatively I whispered, Stargirl? She batted her chocolaty eyelashes. Sargirl? What kind of name is that? My name is Susan. And just like that, Stargirl was gone, replaced by Susan. Susan Julia Caraway. The girl she might have been all along.” (part of page 139)

Lesson Learned from this book

The lesson I took away from Stargirl is dare to be different. I got this from Stargirl doing all these strange things, such as playing the ukulele, carrying a pet rat and singing birthday songs to people she didn’t know.

B

Writing Girl(WG)

Stargirl cover page

The Old Man and the Sea Book Review

                                               Small Note

For explaining the plot structure, I will explain the setting of the quote, where the quote is located in the book, and the characters in the setting.

Passage 1

“Everything about him was old except his eyes and they were the same color as the sea and were cheerful and undefeated.”

1. The setting of this quote is on the banks from where the skiff was hauled up. This quote is found at the beginning of the story and after the old man was described. The characters are the old man and the boy he taught to fish. This passage is important to the story. The characters are the old man and the boy he taught to fish. This passage is important to the story, because it shows that even an old man has some cheerfulness in him. Also, it builds over why the old man never gives up. It shows as well why the old man always gets destroyed but never defeated. He keeps on trying and staying calm because he has the spirit and he is always cheerful. This is why the passage is important to the story.

Passage 2

“Fish,” he said, “ I love you and respect you very much. But I will kill you dead before this day ends.”

2. The setting of this quote is in his boat which is on the sea. At the moment the old man is lost in the sea. This quote is found in the middle of the story and after the sun had risen higher in the sky. The characters are the old man and the huge marlin on his line. This passage is important to the story because it shows that he respects everything but he will also do anything to accomplish his goals. It also shows how much honor he has because he talks to the fish. A person who had his honor for everything but didn’t have that much would have probably just thought what the old man said. Finally, it is important because it shows how the old man sets goals. This is why the passage is important to the story.

Passage 3

“Then the fish came alive with his death in him and rose high out of the water showing all his great length and width and all his power and his beauty.”

3. The setting of this quote is once again on the sea, getting even more lost and getting pulled by the marlin. This quote is found towards the end of the book and after the old man shoves the harpoon into the fish to kill it. The characters are the old man, the marlin and two fish swimming next to the marlin. This passage is important because it represents all the old man’s goals and dreams. In this passage, it specifically shows how the sea is beautiful and full of all types of power. It shows how the sea can be small as in one fish and the sea can be big as in thousands of fish. This is why the passage is important to the story.

Passage 4

“The shark closed fast astern and when he hit the fish the old man saw his mouth open and his strange eyes and the clicking chop of the teeth as he drove forward in the meat just above the tail.”

4. The setting of this quote is still on his boat, in the sea getting still pulled by the marlin as the sky gets darker. This quote is found almost at the end of the story and after the old man sees the shark. The characters are the old man, the marlin, and the shark which is eating the marlin. This passage is important because the shark represents everything that is destructive. It is a symbol to stop the old man from achieving his goals. Even when he loses the fish he was trying to catch to the shark, he doesn’t get scared because he believes that the sea is beautiful. It mainly shows how the sea can be cruel; stealing a position that took a long time for the old man to get to. This is why the passage is important to the story.

Passage  5

“He pulled the blanket over his shoulders and then over his and then over his back and legs and he slept face down on the newspapers with his arms out straight and the palms of his hands up.”

5. The setting of this quote is on the old man’s bed in his house. This quote is found at the end of the story and after the old man sails back to his home. The character is only the old man. As you can see, in this part of the story the old man is alone because everyone else has gone to sleep. This passage is important to the story because it shows how the old man stays very calm and is always relaxed. Most people after a journey like that, would come back home and cheer loudly because they made it back. Finally, it is important because it shows how simple the old man is. This is why the passage is important to the story.

Lesson learned from this story

People shouldn’t depend on luck. I got this from the old man never thinking luck would get him a fish. He knew he would have to do the hard work to get the fish himself. Other fisherman might have depended on luck and blamed not getting fish to unluckiness. However, instead of hoping for luck, the old man focuses on believing in his ability because he knows it isn’t unluckiness that stops a person from a getting a fish.

Writing Girl(WG)

Old man and the Sea cover page

Hoot Book Review

Name of Major Character:

Roy Eberhardt

One trait of that character(adjective):

Curious

Supporting Quote with page number:

“The running boy was way ahead of him, but Roy figured he could stay close enough to keep him in sight. He knew the kid couldn't go full speed forever. He followed him for several blocks-over fences, through shrubbery, weaving through yapping dogs, and lawn sprinkles and hot tubs. Eventually Roy felt himself tiring. This kid is amazing, he thought. Maybe he’s practicing for the track team. Once Roy thought he saw the boy glance over his shoulder, as if he knew he was being pursued, but Roy couldn’t be certain. The boy was still far ahead of him, and Roy was gulping like a beached trout. His shirt was soaked and perspiration poured off his forehead stinging his eyes.” (part of page 15)

“On two different days, actually, Roy said. I saw you running and I got curios.(part of page 55)

Circle one type of conflict seen in this novel:

Person vs. nature/higher power

Describe the conflict:

Mullet Fingers is trying to stop people from making a building on top of nested owls. But the people who he is against are in a lot more power than him. He is not even supposed to be known about because he is an outlaw. Those builders know about the nesting owls but they don’t care. Mullet Fingers tries to stop them along with Beatrice and Roy, but the children are in less power than the builders who are making the building.

Support quote with page number:

“Here Mr.Ryan interrupted firmly. Hold on, Roy, what do you mean it’s not legal? You need to be careful when you’re making those kinds of serious allegations. Excitedly, Roy explained that the burrowing owls were protected by state and federal laws, and that it was illegal to harm the birds or disturb active burrows without getting special government permits. All right. Fine, said Mr.Ryan, but what does the pancake company have to say about this? I’m sure they got the proper permission-

The file is missing, Roy cut in, and the foreman tried to tell me there weren’t any owls on the property, not a single one. Which is a lie”(part of page 247)

Circle one of the following topics that relate to possible themes in Hoot:

Morality

List three specific moments in the novel where that topic shows up:

1. When Roy dumps out the bag of cottonmouth moccasin snakes on page 51.
2. On page 271 when Chuck Muckle threatens to start the bulldozer when Mullet Fingers is in one of the owl burrows.
3. On page 283 where Kimberly Lou Dixon quit her TV role as Mother Paula, declaring she couldn’t work for a company that would bury baby owls just to sell a few flapjacks.

Supporting quote with page number that shows the topic/moment connection:

“What are you guys doing? Roy said. Skippin’ school,  Garrett replied merrily, but, dude, this looks like way more fun. Roy turned to see that Beatrice had been joined by the entire soccer team, linking arms in a silent chain. They were tall strong girls who weren’t the least bit intimidated by Chuck Muckle’s blustery threats. Chuck Muckle realized it, too. Stop this foolishness right now!, he begged. There’s no need for an ugly mob scene. Roy watched in wonderment as more and more kids slipped out of the crowd and began joining hands, forming a human barricade around Beatrice’s self-buried stepbrother. None of the parents made a move to stop them.”(part of page 271 & 272)

Writing Girl(WG)

Hoot Book Cover

A Video Game Marathon

The weekend before my spring break ended on April 12th, I decided to have a video game marathon. Just before I started, I figured I could write a tiny post for sharing my experience and viewpoint on each game. Below are the games I played, and my review for each.

Jetpack Joyride: The challenging part is; getting very far and beating missions that require you to collect no coins for a certain length. I would recommend this game because the hard missions teach you patience and a lesson that things don’t come easy. I like that you can buy cool objects that do amazing things. I  would rate this game 7.99 on a scale of 0 to 10.

Subway Surfers: I like it because the game makes you want more and you can’t stop playing. The challenging part is the way you have to go through lots of obstacles early in the game. I would recommend this game because it helps your imagination and creativity grow. I would rate this game 10 on a scale of 0 to 10.

Temple Run 1: I don’t like this game because there are many monkeys chasing one person. It should be one on one just like it’s in Temple Run 2. I like that there are different stages, like bridge, mountain, and wood. I think the challenging part is getting off all of those stages safely. The mountains are really the hardest. I would recommend this game because it teaches people that sometimes a group of other people will be after you when you are the only person in your group and if you are in that situation you just have to stand up for yourself. I would rate this game 9.87 on a scale of 0 to 10.

Temple Run 2: I like than you can catch items like treasure chests to win a prize. This game teaches you that you have to work hard to get something. I don’t like that you have to buy some of the people. I think the people should come free. Also, I think that you should have more than one person to start off the game. I would recommend this game because it helps you think big. Unfortunately, I have to rate this game 6.35 on a scale of 0 to 10.

Pocketcraft: I would not recommend this game because it is very confusing to operate. I hate this game because you can’t do anything but dig holes. After you dig a hole you get lost in it. Even if you find the entrance out, your tank can’t go forward. Also, there are no directions to tell you how you play. In survival mode, you can’t kill a cow. I tried to kill one and even though I stuck my tank into it, the cow didn't die. The cow even started bleeding, but it wouldn't die. Instead the cow blew my tank up into a thousand pieces. I hate this game and would rate it 0 on a scale of 0 to 10.

Angry Birds Go: I like this game because you can race other people’s cars and own things. You can also race the computer. You can buy strength. I would recommend this game because it teaches you about real life. In life you have to race people in inventions just like you have to race people’s cars in this game. The people in real life want to invent something before you. It’s the same thing in this game, except with cars. I hate that there are many bugs (software bugs) in this game. When I was trying to race, it didn’t let me launch my car. Instead dancing pigs were everywhere. On top of that, it made me lose a cupcake, the object that allows you to race. I would rate this game 9.35 on a scale of 0 to 10.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the game marathon! At least now I am not tempted on a daily basis to play video games. One thing though is that these games give you a false impression that all video games are good and we may get addicted to video games which is a bad habit indeed.

Summary Rating for Video games
Game Name	Rating by Writing Girl	Rating from internet
Jetpack Joyride	9.00/10.00	93/100
Subway Surfers	10.00/10.00	80/100
Temple Run 1	9.87/10.00	83.57/100
Temple Run 2	6.35/10.00	80.00/100
Minecraft	0.00/10.00	85.00/100
Angry Birds Go	9.35/10.00	80.00/100