Reading Response 3: Lock and Key

I am still finishing Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen. One major moment happening now has to do with Ruby and Cora's mom. It turns out her mom wasn't in Florida. She was in a rehab clinic, and found unconscious. She isn't dead, but is in treatment. I mean Ruby has enough to deal with. Her mom could of been dead. Ruby believed she was dead when she heard the news from Cora and Jamie. Everything was starting to lead its way with Ruby's life, too. She found herself a job, new friends, and Nate. Slowly, Ruby learns to adjust the new life she has been given, and develop friendships in the most unlikely places. Ruby has always kept on the fringes and avoided being indebted to anyone. But as she grows and evolves, she realizes that maybe others need her just as much as she needs them. 

One day at Perkins Day,(the new school that Ruby goes to), A class assignment to define "Family," Ruby understands that the word has many meanings, and most of them don't necessarily mean blood relations. Ruby misses her mom. She was relieved to find out she wasn't dead. She was happy that her mom was safe. After all, all Ruby ever did was care for her mom.  Her mom has to go to treatment, and after that stay at a rehab clinic. Cora tells Ruby that, "If she's going to do this, she need to do it on her own", referring to Ruby's mom. (page 379)  Ruby didn't  know if her mom was going to stay in the program. My opinion is that even if her mom comes back, Ruby should stick with Cora for a little longer. On the other hand what if her mom doesn't stay in the program, who will help her out?

Ruby is trying to keep it all in but it's hard to. I'm almost done with Lock and Key. Its an amazing book so far. I love how Sarah Dessen really explains the moment, and its so easy to read in between the lines and understand and relate to the character/s. I really feel like I'm in the book. Agreeing with the characters or disagreeing with them. This book makes me really think about how you may have it bad, but there is always someone out their who has it worse.

Reading Response 2: Lock and Key

I am reading Lock and Key by Sarah Dessen. In one part that I'm reading, the main character, Ruby, is feeling homesick.  Ruby tries to hide the fact that she’s underage and living by herself, but, eventually, her landlords find out, and the state sends Ruby to live with her older sister, Cora. Ruby and Cora haven’t seen each other since Cora left for college, years ago, escaping their mother and abandoning her younger sister (as Ruby thinks so). Ruby has to live with her sister Cora, because she isn't a legal adult yet. Things have been a little weird between the two. With Ruby's mom missing, Ruby has no choice but to live with Cora. Ruby and Cora don't have any sister bond.

Ruby is living with Cora and her husband Jamie. Ruby and her mother move around a lot, and their life is rather unpredictable. It’s not unusual for her mother to disappear for days at a time, but Ruby knows something is different when her mother doesn’t come back for months, leaving Ruby on her own. Ruby has to go to a fancy private school, and now she has a whole different life with Cora. Ruby goes to visits her house with a new boy she met, named Nate and believes she sees her mom, but it turns out it was nothing. I think Ruby wants to believe her mother is there, but her mother is never coming back. Ruby wants to be home again. Even though her mom wasn't the best, she would rather stay home alone than live with Cora. Cora gave her a big room, bathroom, and anything else she could possibly ask for. Ruby would rather have almost nothing, than everything that Cora offered her. Ruby would rather be isolated from her family. One quote that made me think that was when Ruby was talking to her older sister Cora, and she said,"I'm almost eighteen. And I was doing just fine on my own". This make me feel like Ruby doesn't want Cora's support. Even though Cora believes she needs to be helped, Ruby just wishes things could go back to normal.

Cora and Ruby don't know a lot about each other. Ruby admitted her mom was a drinker, but Cora thought she was "living without heat or water in a filthy house". Cora and Ruby know almost nothing about each other, she doesn't even know what her sister does for a living. The two barley get along so far. Since Ruby just started at Perkins Day, she starts getting a ride from Nate. Nate is Cora and Jamie's neighbor. Ruby hates having to be on a schedule. She can't find any close bus stops, and Cora disagreed with Jamie with letting her use their car. Nate and Ruby start talking more. Nate even backed up Ruby a few times. They start to form a bond together. A bond that should be more than a friendship.

All in all, I know I can totally relate to Ruby. I mean she hasn't seen her sister for years. Things must be a bit awkward between them. Especially with Ruby's mother. She just left Ruby all alone. Her mother must have not been thinking. Did she have any idea what Ruby would of done by herself? Even though Ruby didn't want to stay with Cora, at least she pulled through. Ruby didn't always stick to her gut, but she listened to her heart.

Two Blog Post Read

1) http://lovelymads.blogspot.com/

The first response I read was Maddy's. She wrote about a book called "A Long Walk to Water" I like how Maddy explains the characters conflict and how Salva tries to save his family and friends. Salva truly becomes a hero. He traveled around to spread the word about the filthy water. He told many people about how they didn't have clean drinking water and how they wanted to drill into the ground to receive clean water for all of Africa. I found it interesting how his new family encouraged Salva to help his country. I thought it was very nice they bought him a plane ticket back to Sudan just to visit his family.  I found it interesting that just one dream could really come true.

2) http://ameliabedelia13.blogspot.com/

I read Amelia's reading response. She wrote about a book called "Make Lemonade". Its about a girl named Verna who is looking for a job and bumps into a seventeen year old girl, named Jolly, who has two kids. Jolly lives in a bad neighborhood, has a dirty house, and isn't very rich. After meeting her, Verna babysits for free. After Jolly gets fired from her job, Verna tries helping her get her life back on track. I've read the book before in the beginning of seventh grade. Amelia gave a great description on the book and setting. I can really picture the life style Jolly lives.

Reading Response: The Future of Us

After reading the phenomenal book, The Future of Us by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler, the characters discover themselves 15 years into the future. The future where they find their very own profiles on Facebook. Facebook still hasn't been invented yet in 1996. The characters became confused and unsure about the situation that they were about to deal with. What was Facebook? What did it mean?

      

The main character, Emma Nelson just received a computer  as a birthday gift from her dad. After her old friend Josh Templeton found out he gave her an Internet C.D ROM. Once Emma tries logging into AOL and creating an account, she is officially logged into Facebook 15 years into the future. The two characters fight together to figure out the truth about this "Facebook" website. They still didn't know that they were about to log onto their futures. The book is told from both point of views from Emma and Josh. 

       

One problem they came across was about if this website they found was real. After searching the Facebook website, the characters were confused and unsure. Was it really their futures? Was it really how their lives would soon be in 15 years? Everything about themselves was on the online website. Their spouses, careers, homes, and status updates. It's all there. Its not at all what they expected. Soon they both discover that obsessing with their future can change the present. Every time Emma clicked the refresh button, the page refreshed and so did her life. Soon they both discover that obsessing with their future can change the present. From living in Columbus,Ohio, then  living in London, England; just with the simple click of a button. Once they find out that the website is real, Emma wishes she could change it. She isn't happy with how her life is going to turn out. How is it fair that Josh gets the perfect life, the beautiful wife, and the cutest little kids. Emma doesn't want to believe it, but soon enough all of this Facebook information was going to be real someday. Emma became really nervous when she found out the information on her life in 15 years. Especially, after finding out her best friend Kellan has a daughter that's fourteen years old.  Emma is the only one who knows about Kellan, and no one beside herself and Josh can find out about Facebook. If Kellans daughter Lindsay is fourteen like Kellan posted on her Facebook wall, Emma came to conclusion that Kellan is pregnant or soon is going to be. Emma starts asking Kellan questions like "Why did you go to the doctor?" After Emma found out that she just went for a check up, the next day at the Bonfire Party, Emma gave Kellan a sweater and inside the sweater was something that she should use before her and her boyfriend went off. Instead of telling Kellan why she gave it to her, she told her to put her hands in the pockets to keep warm. Emma tried keeping her family and even best friends away from the situation, once she found out the truth about it.

     

The characters soon learn about their new family, friends, and life 15 years ahead. Even though they didn't want to believe it, everything was going to change. They weren't ready for it. Even though Emma and Josh haven't been talking to each other ever since November, six months ago. At first Josh didn't believe it one bit, but Emma was all for it. She didn't think it was a joke. It end up not being a prank. They got transferred to this new place. The two discover themselves in an entirely different world called Facebook.