Humanities
This year, in humanities, we are studying formal essay writing (structure, writing terms, timed writings, etc.), reading (character analysis, literary tools, poetry analysis, etc.), writing (creative writing, poetry, etc.) and world geography (Mexico, Europe, Central and South America, Asia, Africa, Ancient Greece and Middle East.) Books we will be reading this year are The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros, Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz, Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare, Dear Zoe by Philip Beard, The Alchemist by Paul Coelho and Of mice and men by John Steinbeck. I'm very excited about the novels we are going to read and to learn about writing with my wonderful teacher, Jill Chiodini.
Literature
The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros.
The House on Mango Street is a novella, told in a series of vignettes, about the life of Esperanza. Esperanza is a Mexican- American girl, who is about 12 at the beginning of the book, living in a neighborhood in Chicago where many poor Latino's live and are racially segregated. Throughout the book we meet many characters who all seem to be held back from their dreams because of their gender, ethnicity and socio-economic level; they all play a big part in Esperanza's development and growth. A lot of the women in the novella show Esperanza that the only way out of Mango Street is to marry a rich man who will sweep you off your feet and take you to a new house. Although many of the attempts to leave Mango Street in this way failed. They would leave to a new home but their husband would treat them terribly, not allowing for their friends to come over or for them to leave the house. Esperanza witnessing this, realizes she can only depend on herself to leave Mango Street and be successful. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The House on Mango Street. I highly recommend for young adults and adults to read the story of Esperanza. Its a very interesting book that uses a lot of symbolism to showcase the struggles of a Latina in that time period. Cisneros plays a film in your head as you read the novella, her writing is phenomenal and timeless. All in all, I give the novella 5 stars.
Sammy and Juliana In Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz.
Sammy and Juliana In Hollywood is a story told by Sammy Santos, a senior high school student who lives in a barrio in New Mexico. Throughout the novel Sammy is constantly knocked down by saddening events. The reader will see him change throughout the book because of the series of events he has to suffer through. Right when he finally thinks he has found happiness he gets knocked down again. Sammy finds support from his friends and father who are always looking out for him and causing him to grow throughout the novel. I loved reading this book. You feel Sammy's pain, anger and tears in every chapter. Reading the story of Sammy Santos is inspiring because you realize, if Sammy can go through all these unfortunate events and still find happiness and be successful, there's nothing I can't do. Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood definitely receive 5 stars from me. I recommend for all young adults and adults to read the inspiring story of Sammy Santos.
Antigone by Sophocles
This play written with dialogue by Sophocles tells the story of a girl named Antigone doing justice for her family, but looked at as injustice for disobeying the king. Antigone tries to stop her brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, from killing eachother in a war to rule Thebes. But by the time Antigone makes it to Thebes both her brothers have already killed each other and her uncle has inherited the throne. She finds out that the king, her uncle, gives Eteocles a proper burial and bans for Polyneices to receive a proper burial, he sees him to be a trader. In this period of time many believed that without a proper burial, a bodies soul could not rest. With that, Antigone knew she had to find justice for her brother, defy the law and give her brother a proper burial. Creon, the ruler then puts her in jail and she kills herself. This story was a nail-biter! I really like Antigone because many could relate to her caring heart. Man can see her as caring for wanting to help her brother but others could see her as rebellious for defying the law. She risked her life for the care of her brother, that is a hero. I recommend for all young adults to read this heart tearing story!
My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult
My Sisters Keeper is a novel, with each chapter the perspective of who's telling the story changes. Its all about a young girl named Anna who has an older sister named Kate who has leukemia. Anna has been donating bone marrow, blood and more to Kate since she was little. Now Anna is thirteen and wishes to be medically emancipated from her parents to have the rights to her own body. Its all about Anna's struggle to do the right thing, but what is the right thing? She continues to donate to Kate but she is miserable or she stops donating to Kate and lets her sister die. She struggles with this ethical vs. moral dilemma. I loved this book! It will make you cry, laugh and smile! This book will literally tear your heart apart! Picoult is such an amazing writer and the book is so well written. I definitively would give this book 5 stars! I recommend for all young adults and adults to read the story of Anna and Kate.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men is a novel about two men traveling to find work. The two men, George and Lennie, come upon a ranch where they find themselves in a lot of trouble. This book was written in the 1930's, Steinbeck makes it a point to show all that was wrong with society through his book. He uses symbolism and stories to show the injustice society was doing. He touches subjects such as women rights, the impossibility of the American dream, loneliness, discrimination to the elder and to those with mental disabilities. I thought this book was okay, I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous books we read like My Sisters Keeper and Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood. I think I didn't enjoy this book mainly because its not part of the genre I'm used to reading. It wasn't a bad book, it's just not my "cup of tea." I give this book a 4/5 stars because even though I didn't enjoy it that much it still was really insightful and had an interesting plot.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
This beautifully novel was written from the perspective of a dog, named Enzo. The main characters, a family of three, go through many tough situations and Enzo wishes so much he could help them, but he is only a dog. He believes one day he will reincarnate as a human and get to meet his owners as a human. This book is so amazing! It will make you laugh and it will make you cry! Stein wrote this novel so well and really captures the perspective of a dog. I really enjoyed this book and I give it a 5/5 stars. I definately would recommend for all young adults and adults to read this novel.
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
This play is a classic that most everyone knows about. Romeo and Juliet, two star crossed lovers, their love forbidden by their families end up falling in love anyways. This story always keeps you on your toes because you never know what's going to happen next. This story was sad but good. I give this play a 4/5 stars because I didn't enjoy it that much. The language used was unrelatable and hard to understand. However it still had a good plot and story line. I would still recommend for young adults and adults to read this play because its a classic.
Dear Zoe by Phillip Beard
This novel is about a young girl who loses her little sister, Zoe, and her journey to overcome her loss. It is written in letters to her little sister. Her family suffers tragic depression and sadness because of the loss of Zoe and the book is all about their coping with her being gone. This book will make you laugh and cry, it is written so well. It is very relatable and insightful. I give this book a 5/5 stars because I enjoyed it a lot, it had a really good plot and heartwarming story. I recommend for all young adults to read this novel of Tess's journey to cope with her sisters death.
The House on Mango Street is a novella, told in a series of vignettes, about the life of Esperanza. Esperanza is a Mexican- American girl, who is about 12 at the beginning of the book, living in a neighborhood in Chicago where many poor Latino's live and are racially segregated. Throughout the book we meet many characters who all seem to be held back from their dreams because of their gender, ethnicity and socio-economic level; they all play a big part in Esperanza's development and growth. A lot of the women in the novella show Esperanza that the only way out of Mango Street is to marry a rich man who will sweep you off your feet and take you to a new house. Although many of the attempts to leave Mango Street in this way failed. They would leave to a new home but their husband would treat them terribly, not allowing for their friends to come over or for them to leave the house. Esperanza witnessing this, realizes she can only depend on herself to leave Mango Street and be successful. I thoroughly enjoyed reading The House on Mango Street. I highly recommend for young adults and adults to read the story of Esperanza. Its a very interesting book that uses a lot of symbolism to showcase the struggles of a Latina in that time period. Cisneros plays a film in your head as you read the novella, her writing is phenomenal and timeless. All in all, I give the novella 5 stars.
Sammy and Juliana In Hollywood by Benjamin Alire Saenz.
Sammy and Juliana In Hollywood is a story told by Sammy Santos, a senior high school student who lives in a barrio in New Mexico. Throughout the novel Sammy is constantly knocked down by saddening events. The reader will see him change throughout the book because of the series of events he has to suffer through. Right when he finally thinks he has found happiness he gets knocked down again. Sammy finds support from his friends and father who are always looking out for him and causing him to grow throughout the novel. I loved reading this book. You feel Sammy's pain, anger and tears in every chapter. Reading the story of Sammy Santos is inspiring because you realize, if Sammy can go through all these unfortunate events and still find happiness and be successful, there's nothing I can't do. Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood definitely receive 5 stars from me. I recommend for all young adults and adults to read the inspiring story of Sammy Santos.
Antigone by Sophocles
This play written with dialogue by Sophocles tells the story of a girl named Antigone doing justice for her family, but looked at as injustice for disobeying the king. Antigone tries to stop her brothers, Eteocles and Polyneices, from killing eachother in a war to rule Thebes. But by the time Antigone makes it to Thebes both her brothers have already killed each other and her uncle has inherited the throne. She finds out that the king, her uncle, gives Eteocles a proper burial and bans for Polyneices to receive a proper burial, he sees him to be a trader. In this period of time many believed that without a proper burial, a bodies soul could not rest. With that, Antigone knew she had to find justice for her brother, defy the law and give her brother a proper burial. Creon, the ruler then puts her in jail and she kills herself. This story was a nail-biter! I really like Antigone because many could relate to her caring heart. Man can see her as caring for wanting to help her brother but others could see her as rebellious for defying the law. She risked her life for the care of her brother, that is a hero. I recommend for all young adults to read this heart tearing story!
My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult
My Sisters Keeper is a novel, with each chapter the perspective of who's telling the story changes. Its all about a young girl named Anna who has an older sister named Kate who has leukemia. Anna has been donating bone marrow, blood and more to Kate since she was little. Now Anna is thirteen and wishes to be medically emancipated from her parents to have the rights to her own body. Its all about Anna's struggle to do the right thing, but what is the right thing? She continues to donate to Kate but she is miserable or she stops donating to Kate and lets her sister die. She struggles with this ethical vs. moral dilemma. I loved this book! It will make you cry, laugh and smile! This book will literally tear your heart apart! Picoult is such an amazing writer and the book is so well written. I definitively would give this book 5 stars! I recommend for all young adults and adults to read the story of Anna and Kate.
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Of Mice and Men is a novel about two men traveling to find work. The two men, George and Lennie, come upon a ranch where they find themselves in a lot of trouble. This book was written in the 1930's, Steinbeck makes it a point to show all that was wrong with society through his book. He uses symbolism and stories to show the injustice society was doing. He touches subjects such as women rights, the impossibility of the American dream, loneliness, discrimination to the elder and to those with mental disabilities. I thought this book was okay, I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous books we read like My Sisters Keeper and Sammy and Juliana in Hollywood. I think I didn't enjoy this book mainly because its not part of the genre I'm used to reading. It wasn't a bad book, it's just not my "cup of tea." I give this book a 4/5 stars because even though I didn't enjoy it that much it still was really insightful and had an interesting plot.
The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein
This beautifully novel was written from the perspective of a dog, named Enzo. The main characters, a family of three, go through many tough situations and Enzo wishes so much he could help them, but he is only a dog. He believes one day he will reincarnate as a human and get to meet his owners as a human. This book is so amazing! It will make you laugh and it will make you cry! Stein wrote this novel so well and really captures the perspective of a dog. I really enjoyed this book and I give it a 5/5 stars. I definately would recommend for all young adults and adults to read this novel.
Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
This play is a classic that most everyone knows about. Romeo and Juliet, two star crossed lovers, their love forbidden by their families end up falling in love anyways. This story always keeps you on your toes because you never know what's going to happen next. This story was sad but good. I give this play a 4/5 stars because I didn't enjoy it that much. The language used was unrelatable and hard to understand. However it still had a good plot and story line. I would still recommend for young adults and adults to read this play because its a classic.
Dear Zoe by Phillip Beard
This novel is about a young girl who loses her little sister, Zoe, and her journey to overcome her loss. It is written in letters to her little sister. Her family suffers tragic depression and sadness because of the loss of Zoe and the book is all about their coping with her being gone. This book will make you laugh and cry, it is written so well. It is very relatable and insightful. I give this book a 5/5 stars because I enjoyed it a lot, it had a really good plot and heartwarming story. I recommend for all young adults to read this novel of Tess's journey to cope with her sisters death.