Post No. 3--- Remember, Remember

                1997, Britain. All culture has been eradicated, and everything is controlled by the corrupt

police and military. A strange man who calls himself "Fate" broadcasts sanitized news around the

clock. As the police are about to kill Evey Hammonds, a masked man who goes by "V" steps in and

fires tear gas, and in the midst kills an officer. This is just one of the steps V takes to bring justice in

V for Vendetta by Alan Moore.

                 Before V's surfacing, citizens were terrified. They were afraid of the police who are

supposed to protect them. They knew that the justice system was being derailed, but were too scared

to do something about it. As police murder erupted all over London, they didn't know if they were

next.

                    After V is noticed, citizens have mixed emotions. Some are hopeful that the masked

vigilante can overthrow the corrupt government and from the ashes, create a new democratic one.

Not only that, but they also hope that thanks to V, they may once again be the cultural people they

once were. On the other hand, some are still worried for V and themselves. They think the

government will blame them for V's coming. As you can tell, V has a lasting impact on London's

people.

Post No.2---Violet VS. The Feed

Hello again! ♪
                       
                       Now, imagine this: there is a computer chip in your brain called a Feed that streams ads, games, shows and chats 24/7, and everything you think and feel is sent one massive corporation or another. What are you going to do about it? This is a struggle Violet Durn goes through daily in the book FEED by M. T. Anderson. She has made the conscious decision to resist the feed---no ads, no games, no chats--- just thoughts. I think that Violet feels stifled by her feed and wants to speak out.
                       First off, she is agitated by the actions of others. For instance, her friends Titus and Link were used feed-inspired terms like "meg,""null," and "unit." And they didn't even talk--just chatting. That's why most quotes are in italic letters like this, instead of "quotation marks, like these."
Furthermore, on page 96, this quote, "I stared at her as if to chat, and she just said, 'What?'" explains that people do not even ACT human anymore.
                       Now, you may be thinking, "Why should you resist the feed? It's like a iPhone in your brain!" Well, this isn't about me. It's about Violet and her opinion on the feed. Regardless of the readers thoughts, the character is not influenced.

Post No.1---Blue is for Nightmares: Stacey's Story

SPOILER ALERT!!!! This post contains heavy SPOILERS.

Hello readers! ♪

                   I would like to begin by asking you a question: What would happen if your nightmares came true? This is the norm for Stacey Brown in Blue is for Nightmares by Laurie Faria Stolarz. Every night, she has nightmares about a mysterious psycho-stalker stalking her and her best friend Drea. What's more, she receives strange, eerie notes every day. One such notes reads, "STAY AWAY FROM HER. I'M WATCHING YOU." Over the course of the book, she learns the identity of the stalker and stands up to him. Through reading the book, readers can learn from Stacey's exploits that we must not be afraid to face our fears.
                   A provocative quote to support this is, "I've got my magic to keep me safe, and my friends to keep me sane." Now, I used to think that this shows that Stacey is content with her life despite inner struggles. However, I realize that this actually shows that she savors what few solaces she has in her life. In other words, Stacey is troubled and traumatized by the events in her life. However, despite this, she is not afraid. Instead, Stacey presses on and works to end this trauma. She treats the stalker as an obstacle, not a superior.
                   Another quote to further elaborate is, "I wish I could cast a spell on him, but it'll come back 3 times to me." Now, this might sound unimportant, but it actually foreshadows by bringing to light the subject of karma. If you don't know, it's a word in Eastern religions describing how actions connect to results. In the end of the book, the stalker gets arrested. Before this, far earlier in the book, Stacey states, "It's like he's arresting me." The stalker had "arrested" Stacey, and he got literally arrested as a result.
                   Now you may be wondering why I went through the time, trouble, and toil of writing four paragraphs just for a single character. Well, it's because characters are the scaffolds that hold up stories, and themes are the scaffolds that hold up characters. Each character shares a special theme that can be related to. Please comment--how does it relate to YOU?
                   

POST No. 0 ---- More Than Just A Book

Hello! For those of you who don't know me, I am Will Grogan. I like art and literature, and I spend much of my day reading. Some of my favorite genres include teen drama, dystopian fiction, non-fiction, and of course, manga. As a young kid, I had always been striving to gain knowledge, but no method was quite as engaging as literature.I aspired to be an author (I still do now), and I have always had a sort of knack for writing. As I read, I began challenging myself with "smarter" books. And so began a life ripe with books. Now, I read hours a day and take particular interest in young adult and teenage drama novels.

 Over the summer, I read Crispin: The Cross of Lead, The Eye of Minds, and many more. Crispin: The Cross of Lead was about a young peasant who runs away from his village with his guardian, Orson "Bear" Hrothgar, after being framed by the steward of the village. What's so great about this book is that it's so filled with rich vocabulary and pivotal moments, you just can't stop reading. The Eye of Minds is about a boy named Michael and his experiences on a full-dive game system called the VirtNet.All is well until he and his friends Bryson and Sarah are tasked with defeating the cyber-terrorist Kaine. This book can be easily visualized, enriching the book significantly, and it would make the best movie. Both are amazing books that simply cannot be replaced or replicated, and if all goes well I may have a shot at telling more about them one day.

                                          Yours truly,
                                                   Will G