Different Concept, Same Author

    Hey everyone! As you can tell, The Book Thief by Markus Zusak is currently what I talk about constantly because it has been my favorite book so far. And also, I have finished I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak and I was wondering, "How are they different, but they come from the same author?" I think you can answer this easily because he wouldn't want his work to be the same and bore his readers. But I feel that there is a connection between these two books even though they both have a different concept.

   Now to start this off by seeing what they have in common. The main characters Ed and Liesel have a hard family connection. In the Book Thief, on page 21, the author writes, "It was January 1939. She was nine years old, soon to be ten. Her brother was dead." And in I Am The Messenger on page 353, the author writes, "" I killed your father, Ed."" This shows that when Ed and Liesel were little kids, Liesel and Ed lost very important family members in their own books. But the only difference was that Ed never saw his father hung, but Liesel has seen her brother die in her arms two days before he was buried by gravediggers. Ed recalls in the book that others told Ed that his father died while sitting on a chair in a moving van (because Ed's father worked for a moving company) being hangover because he drinks a lot. But in reality, it was a murder that someone (who is open to interpretation) has killed Ed's father. I felt that there wasn't a lot of things that were similar between The Book Thief and I Am The Messenger.

   Now as to how they are different, there are a lot of features that makes these books unique from each other. Firstly, The Book Thief took place during the time period of the Holocaust in Germany while I Am The Messenger doesn't have a time period or country set. Also in I Am The Messenger, not many people have been killed, however in The Book Thief, it describes millions of people dying in multiple ways because the time period was the Holocaust. Also, none of Ed's friends die, but for Liesel, someone important to her dies during a bombing in Germany.

    Even though Markus Zusak has written these wonderful books, they leave you with something to ponder about.

 Vs. 

First Time in Forever

I am really happy about how my Monday went because I got to meet my blog buddies Bledina and Sana for the first time (and please don't sing For the First Time from Frozen)! It was really what I didn't expect this experience to be. Bledina and Sana are really great people to have conversations with. One of my blog buddies Sana was really relatable to be because we like about the same things (examples: Supernatural, Girl Meets World, Fifth Harmony, Eminem, etc.). And my other blog buddy Bledina is what you would consider as sporty. She loves basketball and so do I. I wanted to write this because not only I have created a friendship between these two wonderful people, I have created a bond that can last a lifetime that I would never trade for the world. It was really fun to get to know both of you Bledina and Sana and hopefully we can meet up again in the near future.

Tough Questions for "The Message"

   Hi everyone. Because I have recently finished I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak, I wanted to discuss something differently about this book. Because I have discussed the conflicts and lessons that Ed has been through in the book, I wanted to discuss difficult questions that I've had about this book.          

                       (This blog is obviously filled with spoilers. You have been warned.)

   So, on page 319, the author writes, " The girl got pregnant. Not unusual in these parts, but obviously not condoned by the Boyd's. The family left town. Nothing was ever said, and the Boyds were never really missed." What I never understood about this was that Suzanne (Marv's lover) left suddenly because her family "disappeared", but they never say in the beginning of the book that Suzanne never got pregnant and near the end of the book, they finally mention Suzanne getting pregnant but with who? I feel that Marv was the person that had Suzanne pregnant but I feel that we can only predict who we think that Suzanne got pregnant with.

  Also on page 353, the author writes, ""I killed your father, Ed. I organized the bank bungled bank robbery for a time when you were there. I instructed that man to brutalize his wife." What I obviously don't understand from this part of the book is that as a personal question for all of you, would you get angry if you found the person that did something horrible to someone you loved? I know I would, but I wouldn't kill myself for them just like in Romeo and Juliet. But the problem is that Ed didn't get angry with the person who told him that they killed Ed's father. Doesn't that seem odd to all of you? Because I still ponder about Ed not being mad at the person who killed his father. 

  Even though I have finished this book, the message that I will take away from this book is that there is always a spark of hope there waiting for you in the darkest of times.

More for The Messenger

   Hi everyone! As you might recall from my last blog, I was talking about the conflicts that Ed had to go through in I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak. Now for this blog, I want to talk about the lessons that Ed has received while being the messenger throughout this book. If you haven't read I Am The Messenger, then you have two options. Yo can either read my previous post (Trouble as the Messenger), or you can go to Amazon to get a summary. Your choice.

   Anyway, on page 226, the author writes, "Inside is a homemade Christmas card. All the kids have drawn on it. Christmas trees, bright lights, and kids playing. Some of the drawings are shockers, but still excellent. Inside are the words, also written by one of the kids:

"Dear Ed,

have a happy christmas! we hope you also have some beautiful lights like the ones you gave us.

From all the Tatupu family"

It makes me smile and I stand up and go into the lounge room, where the kids are all sprawled out, watching the Telly." This part of the page shows that doing something simp,e for someone can make both people happy. Ed usually helps and doesn't get appreciated often. But when he helps the Tatupu family, it not only makes the children happy, it also makes him happy.

   Also, on page 227, the author writes, ""No, Ed—you have to. You've given us so much. More than you'll ever know." He holds out the stone again and goes to the extent of putting it in my palm and closing my hand to hold it firmly." This shows that other people are grateful for the things that he has accomplished while being the messenger. Before Ed became the messenger, his mom and his passengers haven't respected I'm that he wanted. Because he had no one appreciate what he has done, this is all different to him.

    Even though we don't usually focus on small details, but those tiny details can make a difference for not just another person, but for yourself.

(Pardon for the bad grammar for the letter that was shown. That was how it was in the book and I wanted to use it for my blog.)

Trouble as the Messenger

   Hello everyone! For my new book I Am The Messenger by Markus Zusak (the same author of The Book Thief), I wanted to talk about the conflicts contained in this book. If you don't know what I Am The Messenger is about, then let me give you a brief summary. The book is about a 19-year-old cabdriver named Ed Kennedy. He starts receiving orders contained in playing cards by an anonymous person after he is claimed a hero after a bank robbery that he was a victim of along with his friends Marvin and Audrey. These orders in the cards are some things that he needs to save or do in order to be a hero for someone. But nobody knows who is behind the cards.

  Anyways, I've noticed that the main character, Ed goes through a lot of situations in this book. On page 120, the author writes, "She soon says, " You're my best friend, Ed." "I know." You can kill a man with those words. No gun. No bullets. Just words and a girl." What this qoute is representing is the personal conflict of heartbreak that Ed had faced with his crush, Audrey. Ed has liked Audrey for a long time but Audrey is always seeing other people and that makes Ed more unconfident with himself having a better life or better things. 

   Also on page 88, the author writes, "I begin to shiver. I begin to shake. I begin to lurch and quake at the thought of killing another human. The aura that surrounded me earlier is gone. The air of invincibility  has deserted me, and I'm suddenly aware that I have to do this surrounded by nothing but my own human frailty. I breathe. I almost break." This quote shows the internal conflict that Ed has because of becoming the "messenger" and being forced to do dangerous things and in this moment he has to kill someone who was mistreating his wife every night when he returned from work.

  This all shows in general that Ed has to go through a lot of conflicts in I Am The Messenger and if you want to know more of what Ed goes through, then read the book.

Diary of A Relatable Girl

      Hi everyone! So for my new blog post, I wanted to discuss the personal conflicts that Anne Frank encounters in Diary of A Young Girl and how we can connect to her personal conflicts in real life. If you don't know who Anne Frank is, she was a Jew during the time of the Holocaust which was a horrible time for people of the same religion as she was. So what her family decided to was that they were going to be in hiding in an attic that they would call Secret Annex until the WW2 was over. Unfortunately, she could no longer do the things that she would normally do anymore because she was a Jew (see my other blog called Struggles of Diary of Anne Frank: The Play for the adversities that she encountered while in hiding). And to make things worse, her family, the Van Daans ( another family that the Frank's took in to the Secret Annex) and Mr. Pfeffer were captured by Nazi police and were sent to concentration camps. Everyone except for Anne's dad, Otto Frank was the only survivor of the concentration camps because America came to rescue the prisoners in death and concentration camps. In search of his wife and two daughters he reunites with Miep (one of the people who helped the family in the Secret Annex) but Miep tells Otto that his wife and both daughters died before American troops came to rescue the prisoners. When they returned to the Secret Annexe, Miep finds Anne Frank's stories, drawing, and most importantly her diary. Anne's edited diary was finally published in 1947 and has been translated into many languages.

       As I was saying, Anne goes through personal conflicts in her life that girls today can understand so easily. On page 45 Anne writes, "I'm not jealous of Margot, never have been. I don't envy her good looks or her beauty. It is only that I long for Daddy's real love: not only for me—Anne, myself." This shows that with girls that either have an older brother or older sister, you would be used to having the older sibling getting the most love from your parents than you would get. I can even relate to this because I have an older brother who is in college and sometimes he gets more attention that I do that sometimes, I feel invisible to my parents. So normally I would normally hide in my room and pretend that I am asleep, but I have my eyes open. Even though we can relate to Anne's personal conflicts, some of us may never know how it would be to hide just because of your religion.

Class of 2016 is Almost Here!

I can't describe to you how excited I am for June 1st. As you can tell by the title, on that day I will finally finish my education as a middle school student and enter the wild jungle that is know to be high school. I am excited to go to a new school, but the problem of starting high school is that you will become the target for seniors. If you watch any movies that set in a high school (except for High School Musical) you can see that the freshman would always be picked on by the senior jocks. And also it would be hard to choose the different clubs to join because it will identify who you want to be further in life after graduation. When I go to high school, I want to do marching and concert band, along with drama club and photography/yearbook club. I still remember that when I was in 6th grade, I already want to leave because of the pressure. But now, I still feel the pressure to be a smart person and because 8th graders are supposed to make good role models for 6th graders, yet I don't want to leave because of the good memories that I made, new teachers, new experiences, and most importantly my new friends who I will miss so much if they go to a different high school. I know that they will do great in life and I will be proud of them.

Book Love, But Different Worlds

   Hello everyone! With this new blog post, I want to talk about my new favorite book (so far) The Book Thief by Makus Zusak and the current book that I'm reading, Inkheart by Cornelia Funke. If you don't know what The Book Thief is about, then read my other blog post called Person vs. Book, where I talk a little bit of what The Book Thief is about. If you haven't read Inheart yet, then let me tell you. The story is about Mo, the father of Meggie (Mo and Meggie are the main heroes of this book) and as he was reading a book called Inkheart one night, he releases an evil ruler whose name is Capricorn and his world is now present in the world of Mo and Meggie.

    Anyways, as I am reading Inkheart, I noticed that Meggie and Liesel share their fondness of literature contained in books. For example of page 39 of Inkheart, the author writes, "He added something else, but she wasn't listening anymore. She was just staring at the books. The shelves on which they stood smelled of freshly sawn wood. They went all the way up to a sky-blue ceiling with tiny lights in it, hanging there like stars." This shows that Meggie isn't focused on what Mo was saying previously and was more fascinated with Elinor's (another character in Inkheart) library. On page 121 of The Book Thief, the narrator says, "The heat was still strong enough to warm her when she stood at the foot of the ash heap. When she reached her hand in, she was bitten, but on the second attempt, she made sure she was fast enough. She latched onto the closest of the books. It was hot, but it was also wet, burned only at the edges, but otherwise unhurt." This shows that Liesel loves books that she literally steals books even if they were in a fire because of her love for literature.

     Even though Inkheart and The Book Thief's main characters love books, there are other things that are different between these two books. For example, The Book Thief set in 1939 Germany, the time period of The Holocaust. While Inkheart is set in a different time period with events that didn't happen in real life. Even though The Book Thief is completely different compared to Inkheart, I would recommend all of you to read these two books.

Struggles of Diary of Anne Frank: The Play

As I finish reading the play version of the Diary of Anne Frank, I notice that she has to face through a lot of adversities just for a teenager. For example, she couldn't be able to do things that we have the opportunity to do. For example, she couldn't go outside, ride a bike, go out with her friends, laugh, and she had to share a small room behind a bookcase with her family and with other people that she doesn't even know at all. She tries to be energetic, but she needs to learn when she can't in order to not have her family be caught and be sent to a concentration camp and have her family be separated from each other. I don't think I can compare my own adversities with Anne Frank's because we are from different periods of time. But I feel that the adversity that I face is that I feel that I'm suppose to be this great child for my family and I feel that I'm suppose to be this perfect child that they want. But I feel that title's impossible to be perfect, but be the best person that you can be for yourself.

Unknown Resolved Romance of Liesel

As I finally purchased my own copy of The Book Thief by Markus Zusak, there was a part in the epilogue of The Book Thief that had me confused. On page 544, the narrator says, "In her final vision, she saw her three children, her grandchildren, her husband, and the long list of lives that merged with hers. Among them, lit like lanterns, were Hans and Rosa Hubermann, her brother, and the boy whose hair remained the color of lemons forever." While on page 535, the narrator writes, "The tears grappled with her face." Rudy, please wake up, Goddamn it, wake up, I love you. Come on, Rudy, come on, Jesse Owens, don't you known I love you, wake up, wake up, wake up...."" What I don't understand about these two quotes is that Liesel says that she love Rudy. But as she goes on with the rest of her life until she dies, she married someone else. Does she still remember saying that she loved Rudy when he died. If she did, I personally think that Liesel wouldn't want to marry anyone but Rudy. Even though Rudy died, I would have thought that Liesel would never love anyone else until she would die.

Why is Spring Break Not Here?!

As we all know, we all want Spring Break to happen soon because we want to get out of school, have a week to ourselves, and not worry about anything about school. Except if your teachers give you homework during Spring Break which would be devastating. The reason that I love Spring Break is that it's a perfect time to go outside and do something fun. For example, you can go biking, running, and play sports. Personally basketball and soccer is the sport that I love doing especially during spring because you don't have to be indoors all the time. Even though knowing myself I would wake up at 11 in the morning because I am lazy during weeks or days that we don't have school. What I also like doing is creating a playlist of music that I love to listen to because I love music so much that I make up excuses to make a playlist for myself just so I can personally pick the music myself. Lately, I have been loving an acoustic cover of I Want It That Way by Boyce Acenue. I love this so much that this has been my go to for all of my playlists that I create for myself.

Unlikely Friendship with a German and a Jew

As I finished The Book Thief by Markus Zusak,  I noticed that a theme that I will personally use for my life is that you might make friends would would never think you would have. For example, on page 220, there is an interaction between Max,(the Jew that Liesel's adoptive family is hiding) and Liesel. They talk about the nightmares that they both have while they are sleeping. "The girl: "Tell me. What do you see when you dream like that?" The Jew: "... I see myself turning around and waving goodbye." The girl: "I also have nightmares." The Jew: "What do you see?" The girl: " A train and my dead brother." The Jew: "Your brother?" The girl: "He died when I moved here, on the way." The girl and the Jew, together: "Ja-- yes." This quote shows that Liesel is opening her emotions up so Max wouldn't feel left out about having nightmares. I think this would be a characteristic of a good friendship because with this quote Liesel tries to make Max feel not alone by sharing about the nightmares that she has about her dead brother. If you can relate to a friendship like this, then The Book Thief is perfect for you.

Theme of Secrets from The Book Thief

As I almost finish reading The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak, I noticed near the beginning of the book that secrets has become a huge deal with the conflict in the book. For example throughout the book, it is being told in a narrator's point of view but there are hints given that it wasn't the main character Liesel Meminger. On page 349, the author writes, "I'll never forget the first day in Auschwitz, the first time in Mauthausen. At that second place, as time wore on, I also picked them up from the bottom of the great cliff, when their escapes fell awfully awry. There were broken bodies and dead, sweet hearts. Still, it was better than the gas." This shows that the author wouldn't be a German because some Germans who went against the Nazi would also be in the gas chamber with the Jews. So the narrator might be a type of spirit that appears a lot because there might be a lot of death 's involved in the book. I like how the author gives settle hints about the narrator throughout the book that would want to convince the reader to finish the book to see who was the narrator the whole. If you think your prediction is right about the narrator, find out in The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak.

Person vs. Book

As I am currently reading my new book The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak, I noticed that the main character Liesel Meminger, goes through a lot of conflicts in the book. For example on page 121 of the book, the author writes, "The book felt cool enough now to slip inside her uniform. At first, it was nice and warm against her chest. As she began walking, though, it began to heat up again. By the time she made it back to Papa and Wolfgang Edel, the book was starting to burn her. It seemed to be igniting." With this quote, I think that Liesel as going through a person vs. society because she stole a book that the Nazi's were ordered to burn. But with her desire for her new found love for books, she starts stealing books that the Nazi's don't approve of. But the problem is, she doesn't know that with the second book that she stole from the burning, was a book that was now against the law. I also feel that with this book, I think she would deal with person vs. self because she has to keep reading these books in privacy with her father and is now conflicted with her new life and what she now has to do in order to not get caught by reading books that the Nazi's didn't. The Book Thief is set in 1939 in Germany during the time of World War 2. And I feel that I can can somewhat relate to the internal conflict that Liesel is going through because she has to keep her passion for reading of sleeping, and sometimes I also hide my real passion so I wouldn't be caught doing my own passion. The Book Thief is also a movie that has been released in November 8, 2013.

Reflection of the Holocaust

In the past, we have known that good things had happened in history, while there are other events that caused the World to tear apart. For example, the time length of the Holocaust from 1939-1945 was a very devastating time for the World because millions of people have died because of their religion all because of the government that Germany had with Adolf Hitler. You might be thinking: Where there other people to help the Jews from this event? The answer is that some did, but most didn't. Some reasons might include that they wouldn't want to be in trouble for helping the Jews, or that they didn't think it was a big deal, until it was, and when it was too late it becomes a bigger problem that one person can't accomplish. And for the people who actually did stand up against Hitler, I think it was because that they didn't want to have people killed just because of their religion or how they were born as. Also I think, it was because they wanted to protect the children that were just walking by looking at what is happening because they would know that the child watching will die because they would know what is going on. If I was in that time period, I would try to help the Jews even though I am in a different religion, even though I might get killed for this, I would at least help.

A Trip that is Meant for Me

The gondola tours in the water, the colorful houses that are found near the water, the fancy restaurants with customers eating. If you didn't know what country I's thinking about, it's Italy. Where the Leaning Tower of Pisa is located, where Romeo and Juliet is set, and where pasta is most eaten. I always loved how very difficult designs in a simple home can make something more interesting. I also love how very historical the cathedrals in Italy look because it gives you a very antique vibe that I like. Because I like antique stuff from the past, I feel that Italy is filled with history that I want to discover. Also their artwork that I have seen is very antique and looks beautiful and I feel that with all of that artistic personality, it might inspire me to be more creative with music.

The Lost Hero vs. As I Grew Older

As I am reading The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan, I somewhat noticed that this book is somewhat similar to a poem that I read which is called As I Grew Older by Langston Hughes. Just like the three main characters Jason, Piper, and Leo the character in the poem tries to escape the fate that they have in the moment. In the book, The Lost Hero, the author writes, "" Hail Piper McLean," Chiron announced gravely, as if he were speaking at her funeral. "Daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love."" Meanwhile, the author of the poem As I Grew Older writes, "Help me to shatter this darkness, to smash this night, to break this shadow into a thousands of lights of sun, into a thousand whirling dreams of Sun!" This shows that both the character in the poem and Piper don't want to be what others want them to be. The character in the poem wants their dreams to happen and is trying to escape the expectation. While Piper has been claimed as Aphrodite's daughter who is known as the goddess of love, but she doesn't want to become like her, but instead be who she was before. Even though the book and the poem seem the same, they are also different. For example, the book The Lost Hero uses Greek mythology, while the poem doesn't have a time period set, but this poem was written in the time of the Harlem Renaissance. Even though the poem and the book are different, they are still the same.

What I want in 2016

Happy New Years everyone! I know this is late, but I feel that it doesn't matter at all. My New Years Resolution is that I want to eliminate the stress that I have been developing during school because there has been important assignments being turned in and I haven't been receiving that much because of these assignments. So I will try doing my assignments earlier to eliminate stress and have frequent breaks so I can focus better on my assignments. Also I want to try to eliminate some time that I have been using on my phone to do something. I will try to hide my phone in an area of my house that I don't go to often, but I will only use my phone for emergencies. What I'm looking forward to in 2016 is that since I am in my 7&8th grade band, I will be able to play a song in my own graduation with one of my friends. And also, I will be going to high school which makes me excited and nervous. I hope that 2016 will go great for all of us.

The Eye of Minds has a connection to Harry Potter?!

As I'm reading my book The Eye of Minds by James Dashner, (the same author who wrote The Maze Runner Series), I notice that the main character Michael is somewhat similar to Harry Potter from the Harry Potter Series by J.K Rowling. Just like Harry, Michael is having a lot of pressure to do the right thing in order to save their worlds. In the book, the author writes, ""Tell your friends what I just told you. Bryson and Sarah. No one else. No one. Do you understand me? Tell anyone -- even your parents-- and we'll erase them."" This quote shows that if Michael wanted to complete the task, he would have to tell no one besides his friends, but if he tells anyone else, they would be erased forever. Also Harry and Michael have their trio group of friends. In Harry Potter, it includes himself, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. While in The Eye of Minds, the trio includes Michael, Bryson, and Sarah. Unlike Harry Potter, there are only 3 books in the series so far while Harry Potter has 7 books in the series and 8 movies. Even though the plot is completely different, I think that there is a connection between the two characters from different boos series. If you want to find out what they plot is about in The Eye of Minds, you have to read the book.