Hemingway’s dull and lifeless tale between man and fish

Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway. Scribner Paperback Fiction, 1952. Fiction.

Santiago was an old fisherman who loved what he did. One day he went out to sea to catch a big fish for food and money. He caught a big fish called a marlin, but not without a fight. He was out at sea for three days straight. When he got back to shore there was nothing left to the marlin but bones. The sharks had gotten to it first, so he returned home with only bones.

"THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA is truly simple, a story about a simple man, with simple ideas, with a simple life, with a simple, elemental encounter with the natural world..." By Robert MooreI chose this quote because I agree with it. The Old Man and the Sea was an extremely simple book to read. It was very short, with easy vocabulary. In the book everything was explained well. For example the book talks about the boy. Then a few pages later Hemingway explains the relationship between the old man and the boy, and the history between them.

"They were as old as erosions in a fishless desert."(page 1) This is an example of a simile from The Old Man and the Sea. It made me think of a dry desert, were there is nothing but sand, and sun.

The Old Man and the Sea is the shortest book I've read since 5th grade. It reminded me of the book Alice in Wonderland. the were both very short and to the point. Alice in Wonderland was more of a fantasy compared to the Old Man and the Sea.


“A man can be destroyed but not defeated.”(page 38) I think that this quote means that you can try to destroy someone, put them down, but they will always get back up, you can never defeated them as long as they have the will to continue. I agree with this quote because I am an example of a person who will always get back up and try again.

I remember that when I was younger I was always determined to be the best big sister ever. then as my sister got older she stated to want to be just like me. She start to but the same clothes, wear her hair the same way, and go were I go. I thought it was really annoying but then my mom told me that all she want to do is learn, shes just trying to be cool like her big sister. After that I always liked how I was looked up to by someone younger than me.

1 Paw = Don't Leave the Den

Everwild~ The dead alive again

Everwild by Neal Shusterman. Genre dystopian.

Everwild~ The dead alive again

Nick is trying to free all of the souls from Everlost and send them into the light, but his love Mary Hightower, is trying to imprison all of the children in Everlost to keep as her own subjects. Ally and Mikey join a group of skinjackers and head towards Memphis. Ally wants to find her family and the one person keeping her sane is Mikey McGill. Soon Ally finds out that not everyone in Everlost is dead. Nick and Mary go head to head, and Mickey loses everything he ever loved. Now Mikey must find Ally before its to late.
"Shusterman has once again created a world that is beautiful and imaginative yet increasingly eerie and grim....A fascinating read penned by an expert hand." -Kirkus Reviews
This is the second book in the Skinjacker Trilogy. The first book Everlost was exciting and scary it made me want to read more.  I also read another book by the same author called Unwind. He now has a second book for that trilogy also, it is called Unholy. I cant wait to read Unholy he always makes the books interesting by making an unsuspected event occur.
"Beneath the crystal dome that once housed a vast variety of plant life, were children- hundreds of them, all asleep and curled in fetal positions. They were dead, yet not dead. they weren't quite afterlights, for they didn't have any afterglow."(207-208)
I love the way Neal Shusterman writes. Its like it could really happen but no one has ever seen it before. He writes as if he has experienced it all before, and when I read it feels like I to lived it. He makes his pieces life like but in an eerie way.
I give Everwild 5 Paws- Devour it!

The Hunt

Authors Notes
Is there a message that stands out to you? I think that in this piece the friendship the characters have work the best. It was easy to think of the characters and their personalities. Do you think I should change anything? Does my story make sense to you? How can I change it to make it better? It was hardest to think of the characters background stories. It was also hard changing from one scene to another. The weakest are of my short story is most likely the end of it. Can you think of a way that i can change or add on to the ending of my story?
                                                 The Hunt

Its almost daylight and Conner, Annie and little Leah have been running all night. Just when they're about to fall with, exhaustion, they come across an old brown barn. As they approached the barn they hear a voice call out

“Who’s there?”

“My name is Conner and this is Annie and Leah was looking for a safe place to hide. “Who are you?”

“My name is Seth, and I’m hiding to.” As he said this he carefully leaked out of the shadows. It turns out that Seth was also hiding from the hunters. “My father was once a billionaire, he gave money to the poor, and he funded in small companies trying to get bigger. Then the money got to his head. Instead of funding in companies he bought them. Then he got greedy, he wanted the white house and he would do anything to get it.When the government wouldn't sell it to him he planned to overtake it. His plan never executed. Instead he was arrested along with the rest of my family because they were afraid they would try and do the same. I was lucky enough to get away, but know the government sent the Hunters to find me and kill me if they have to. That’s my story.”

“Wow that’s some story.” Exclaimed Annie

“Now that I told you my story, you should tell me yours.”

Conner sighed “I wish we knew our story. All we know is that when our dad was on his deathbed he told us to run, hide, don’t trust anyone, and as soon as you think its safe find your way back home to Maine. Always remember home is where the answers are not with the hunters.”

“At first we didn't know what that meant, but know it makes sense. We are wanted dead,” whispered Annie. at some point during the stories little Leah had fallen asleep.

“maybe its time for all of us to get some sleep.”  Conner whispered as  he laid down for a days rest.

the next day they were awaken by hoof  beats. they seemed to be getting closer and closer.

“we need to move, now.” exclaimed Seth, “i’ll lead you to the back exit of the barn.”

as fast as they could they ran for the exit.they could see the little when Leah screamed.

Conner ran back over to her. She was on the ground babying her ankle.

“What happened?” rushed Conner nearly out of breath.

“I don't know, i tripped over something.” cried Leah

“Can you stand?” Leah tried to stand up but cried out in agony once she put weight on her leg.

“i'm going to have to carry you know,” said Conner

“its going to slow your pace,”Seth explains, “ I'll stay back and delay the Hunters.”

“we can't let you do that”, said Annie

“its fine i'm done running, i'm done hiding, I can't take it anymore. I already know my story, go find out what yours is.” said Seth

“you would do that for us even though you just meet us?” asked Leah. Seth nodded.

“now go before its to late” encouraged Seth. They all thanked Seth and gave him their blessings. they moved as fast as they could, as far away as they could get. Two days later Leah's leg wasn't getting any betterHer knee was as big as a grapefruit, her hole leg were horrifying shades of green and purple. Even though we knew she was in pain, she didn't show it. On the bright side we found a road and decided to follow it but still stay hidden in the woods. Miles and miles later we saw a sign that said ‘1 mile to Maine..

head over heels

                                               head over heels

The dictionary definition for value is that the worth as measured in usefulness or importance. I define value by how something makes me feel.  There are two different types of value, they are priced and priceless. Priced values are things you can put a price tag on. Priceless values are things you personally can not put a price tag on. Other people may value one over the other but I value both equally.  

A priceless value can be a moment in time, memories, or something you personally can not put a price on. For me I value when I tumble. I love how it makes me feel free going forwards and backwards. I enjoy the feeling of the floor transfer from my feet to hands, and my body rotating through the air. I see the blue ground beneath me and look for it again when I land. I hear myself pounding off the floor and the air whip past my ears. And the satisfaction of sticking it.

One day I was having a really hard time going for a trick. My coach was helping me but I still wasn't going for it. Then he said “Once you're going to go for it do not hold back, no matter what. If you think someone's going to walk in front of you, run them over. If you think I'm not ready, go because I will be ready whenever you are ready. No matter what.” after he said that I went and tried the skill again. This time I didn't hold back.

    A priced value can be something you buy, something you want, it can be expensive or it can be inexpensive. For me I value my socks. They aren't very expensive but they are still valuable to me. I enjoy the feel of cotton under my feet. When I walk its the layer between my the cold air and my feet. When I open my the drawer I see a rainbow of colors. I see blue, stripes, dots, yellow, green, stars, zigzags,purple,tie dye,smiley faces. My favorite pair of socks are my blue fuzzy socks. I like the warmth on my toes. Socks my not be something other people may value, but to me that just makes them that much more valuable.
    The things I value are similar in some ways. You may ask, how can socks and tumbling be similar at all? But to me in some ways they are. They both mean alot to me and they make me happy. I can change both of them. I can change which sock I wear on which day in a different color,I can change if I want to do a forwards or backwards tumbling pass. But for either one of them the choice is all up to me.
    The items I value are also different in many ways.  with socks  I can mix and match  whichever socks I wish to wear, long ones , short ones, ones that say Monday if its Thursday, blue and yellow ones. Tumbling is different from socks because when I tumble I  get an adrenaline rush. Tumbling takes concentration. You don't need concentration to pick out socks,but you do need creativity.

    I think if my life didn't have socks and tumbling in it then it would be very dull. With no socks my feet would always be cold and not colorful. If I didn't have tumbling  then i would sit around all day. I would always be bored and grouchy. I love both socks and tumbling and I wouldn't trade them for the world.

Reached ~ outside reading book

Reached- a new beginning to the end
second quarter outside reading book review

Reached by Ally Condie. Penguin Group.    Genre:dystopian

Cassia,Ky, and Xander have now joined the rising.they may not know it but everything is about to change.The society is falling apart. Slowly being taken over by the Plague. The society created the plague but they didn't realize it would spread rapidly and grow beyond their help. Thats why the pilot, the leader of the Rising, took Cassia, Ky, and Xander to an outer provenance not affected by the plague. They was soon known as the Soter, the Body, and the physic. Together they will find a cure.

“A fierce, unforgettable page-turner.” ~Kirkus

This is the third book in the Matched trilogy. I like how she writes so that we can see many characters points of views.For example if one character is trying to figure out something from another character, then we could already know the secret, so that gives us more information.

““they have changed. We’re allowed to change.”(pg. 504).”

I enjoyed this book. I liked how the author had normal teenagers change the society. It just shows that anyone can change something. It could be small like in your town, or it could one day change the world. I think that is a really great message to send to the readers.

I give Reached 5 paws-Devour it!