I just started reading the book Godless by Pete Hauman and i am already thoroughly interested in it. It is about a boy named Bock or as he likes to pronounce it. The author has not released a lot of information about him yet but that he is a pretty chunky person. The first scene in the book was him and his best friend Chin getting approached by a bully named Henry Stagg. Bock does not describe Henry as the typical bully though he described him a very small. So at first I did not know why he was getting bullied by a little kid considering he was so big but later in the book Bock says what Henry has that he doesn't.

     Bock basically said that Henry had confidence and he didn't care what happened to him. Bock also said that if he were to punch Henry that Henry would not care because he has so much confidence in himself. I think that this is an issue in real life as well. Some kids that other kids bully have confidence which could take them a long way. Because if the bully sees that the kid does not care then he probably wont bother bullying him anymore because it wont be as fun for him anymore. I think that if we all had this trait bullying would not be an issue in the world but obviously we can not do that.

     As the book continues I think that Bock will develop as a character. I think that he might be very self conscious about his body shape, so I think that maybe the book will be a following of his road to try to be fit. Also since the books title is Godless I think that maybe he is going to persuade his parents that they can live life without god. We have already been introduced to his parents and the author has revealed they are very religious so that is why I think that. I rally hope that the book keeps on sucking me in because so far it has been a really good book.

     I recently read the book Paper Towns by John Green. It was a really great book, probably one of my favorite books this year. It is about one main character named Quentin. He has two best friends named Ben and Radar. The whole story is a lead up to one night being prom and graduation, but at the last second the story takes a dramatic twist and they all end up not going. Quentin has had a crush on this girl named Margo for a very long time. One night she goes and talks to Quentin and they spend the whole night together. The very next day Margo runs away from home. For the rest of the book Quentin's goal is to go find her from the clues that she left behind.

    I think that the author makes Margo run away from home just to see how deeply Quentin feels for her.  After the story develops it is very obvious that Quentin feels very strong about her because he goes all the way from Florida to New York just to find her. He drags all of his friends with him to New York instead of letting them go to graduation. When they get there they are soon to find that Margo has changed from the sweet person she was to kind of a jerk. Quentin's friends give up on her but Quentin himself finds a way to turn her back into the real Margo.

     I think that this story's theme is very often in real life. The saying "you cant judge a book by its cover" applys to this story. Because at first Margo seemed like a sweet person but deep down inside of her she had some issues. I think that in real life people jump to conclusions to easily. And that is exactly what Quentin did, he thought that Margo was perfect but then as he became closer to her she was not so appealing anymore. This is why I think Paper Towns is such a great book.

     In Romeo and Julliete, The character Tybalt has a lot of interesting characteristics about him. He is Jullietes cousin and the Kingsman of the Montagues. Throughout the story Tybalt keeps his eye on Romeo because he does not want him interacting with any of the Montagues. During the party hosted by the Montagues, Romeo and his friends sneak in to try to crash the party. Instead Romeo finds himself falling in love with Tybalts cousin Julliete. Tybalt sees the two of them interacting and he wants to have nothing of it. He immediately tells Montague what is happening.

     To start off the play Shakespeare uses a fight scene between the Montagues and the Capulets. Tybalt is not involved originally in this scene but then little into the fight scene he is introduced. He is the one who really provokes the whole fight. Benvolio, the Capulets kingsman wants to make peace but Tybalt refuses and  only excepts battle. I think of Tybalt as the battle starter in this play because he is always looking for trouble with any of the Montague friends and family.

     Later on into the book eventually Tybalt dies. He is killed by Romeo after he killed Romeos best friend Mercutio first. Romeo is completely steamed and decides to commit the hardest punishment of all which was having to kill Tybalt. I think Tybalt is a very interesting character because  he is put into the play as almost the evil character and I think he can display both good and bad sides. He is always constantly looking out for his family but also is always looking to start any fight that he can get into.

     In conclusion I think that Tybalt plays a very important part in the play because he almost represents the evil good in the story so I think that Tybalt is a very outstanding character in the story.

      Currently we are reading Romeo and Juliette, one of the main themes in the book is love. In the play love is described in many different ways. It could be dangerous love, fun love or even evil love. But in this book there are so many secret ways that it is described and I think that the two people that express it in the most interesting way is Romeo and his best friend Mercutio. In the early stages they have a very heated talk about love. Romeo is heartbroken by a girl named Rosaline. Mercutio is trying to get Romeo to go to a party so Romeo can stop thinking about Rosaline and experience other fun things. So this also shows that best friends can have two completely different opinions on things and especially love.

      Early in the book in fact the beginning of the book, Shakespeare opens the book up with a fight between the Capulets and the Montagues, I think that this might mean that there are better things to come between the two rivals. This is another interesting way that Shakespeare symbolizes love, between the two houses. When Romeo meets Julliete at the party he is under disguise. So basically the two main characters are forbidden from each other. Another thing that I  like that Shakespeare did was to introduce the character of the nurse. She is the only one that treats Juliete with respect and also treats Romeo with respect.

     I think the nurse actually symbolizes love between Romeo and Julliete, because without the nurse Julliete would be helplessly lost and also definitely without Romeo. So Shakespeare introduces love in a very dramatic fight scene between the two forbidden households, and then as the story goes on he symbolizes love in a much calmer way with the nurse. Also other important characters are Benvolio and Tybalt, they are the cousins of the two households and as the story goes on they both help their cousins with help and respect, except Bevolio and Tybalt hate each other.

     Overall, Shakespeare uses love in various ways which is what make the story really interesting and i can't wait to see what other ways he uses it later on in the play.

     Recently I read a Non Fiction book called SoccerNomics by Simon Kuper and Stefan Szymanski, it teaches a lot of helpful tools but also teaches you a valuable lesson to keep your calm when your in a important situation. In this book it was about keeping cool in a soccer match but I think this revolves around a issue besides sports. I think that anyone can read this book whether a soccer player or not. Because every one can a valuable lesson on how to keep your cool. I think Simon and Stefan did a great job making this interesting for soccer but also for people who may not be involved in soccer but want to learn a lesson.

     One part in the book teaches you how to keep cool in a penalty shootout, this really made me think about the incident that you are in when you are actually taking the penalty because your in such a large environment that just the sounds could eat you up and make you choke. In the book it gives an example of a very famous soccer player John Terry slipping under pressure, literally slipping. When he walked up to the penalty spot he was under so much pressure that when he went for the shot he slipped and fell which caused his team to loose.

     This lesson actually relates to my picture book. In my book Welly is being picked on by some bully's and he is screaming for his best friend Gus to help him. But Gus just froze under pressure, this happens a lot in different situations and this book really shows you the situations that it can happen to you in. This book has helped me become more strategic because now I know how to keep me cool in a penalty shootout which could also connect to life situations.

     Overall this was a really intriguing book and anyone who wants to learn about keeping cool should not be intimidated be the title because even though there is a lot of soccer facts in this book it could be helpful to anyone of any age.

     Currently I am reading the book Glass Castle by Jennete Walls and I really love it. I am not positive what the message is yet because I am only about half way through the book. At times the book can be sort of tricky and misleading but that just cause you to be even more interested every time you read. The book is a bout a family who is homeless, they have 4 kids and are constantly are being chased down by the government. About every month they pack their things, get in their van and pack up for a new location where they find a new house.

     The dad of this family is a complex inventor, I would say he is the leader of his family and kind of orders them around on his demands. He has a very strong bond with his second daughter Jennete. They are always constantly building things together. The father has only one problem that he is a drug addict which sometimes causes a lot of havoc in the family. The children have learned a valuable lesson that you should be happy with what you have, a lesson everybody needs to learn. These kids know the circumstances that they are in so they have been taught to be happy with what they have. I think this is also why all the kids have learned to be so inventive because if you cant have something then why not invent it.

     A lot of people in the world are very greedy, a problem that is trying to be pointed out in this story. Because this family lives a very hard life and so do many other people in the real world. So when we cant get a toy or a shoe think about all the other people that would die for just maybe a sip of water. Some people cant see the real world and think that they have it easy going in their own home thriving off of their parents and this book is trying to say that you should buckle up for when you grow up because its not going to be easy.

   

     I chose the song Home by Phillip Phillips because it is extremely inspirational. The words encourage people to not give up and keep pushing forward. He really gets the point out that someone will always make you comfortable and be there throughout the tough journey. This song was also used in the London Olympics which is a very good pick, because if the athletes hear this song it will motivate them to keep battling and if they get knocked down then get back up. Phillip Phillips was also the winner of American Idol and sang his famous song on New Years Eve. I think everyone could learn a few things like how to believe in yourself.

      In Home a line that really stands out to me is when he says " The trouble it might drag you down, if you get lost you can always be found." I think this is probably the strongest line in this song. Its basically saying that if your struggling at something then you can always regain yourself. This could also help the Olympic contestants, because if they didn't do their best at one part of the competition then it would push them forward to do better next time. Another strong part is when he says "settle down it will all be clear, don't pay no mind to the demons they fill you with fear" this kind of telling people not to pay attention to the people that don't believe in you, just cross them out of your mind.

     Not only does this relate to the Olympics but to real life as well. If you were ever made fun of then what the song is saying is that you should ignore them because all they do is put you down. This connects to the Olympics because for all of the contestants there are a lot of critics for the competitors and often they see newspapers or articles that could offend them or put them down in anyway. Another way that you could describe this song is if you get knocked down then you should prove critics wrong by getting back up.  Which is why in the chorus he says " I'm going to make this place your home."

     Overall this song means a lot to me and I'm sure a lot of other people, it can help regain self esteem and build up confidence as well.