Me and Earl and the Dying Girl - Setting

I just began the book Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jesse Andrews. In this book, the main character is Greg. On page 5 he says, "I was a senior at Benson High School in lovely inner-city Pittsburg, Pennsylvania." Here, you can tell what his age is, and since he is in high school, it is relatable to other people in high school. Also, he talks about televisions, cell phones, and making movies, so we know that it is present day.

Another time Greg describes the setting is also on page 5. "So, Benson is on the border of Squirrel hill, an affluent neighborhood, and Homewood, a non-affluent neighborhood, and it draws about equal numbers of students to each." This helps us understand some of the characters, and also infer about some of the future conflicts that may occur. Since he mentions that there are people that go to the school from affluent and non-affluent neighborhoods, that may cause some disagreements and tension.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Krista Ramsey Column

Locking into the Magic of Legos is about children's love for Legos, and how parents are willing to pay a lot of money for them. Legos actually help children learn and be creative with the things they build, whether it's from instructions or something they make up by themselves.

My favorite line is, "The first time a kid constructs a new set, he'll sit on the floor, contents before him, and pore over the instruction booklet spread out before him." I like this quote because you can visualize kids concentrating on building a new creation. I also like the long sentences that pay attention to details and shows the long hours kid spend building with Legos. The casual diction shows how fun Legos are and how they are a great pastime for kids.

Ramsey's writing style is casual, making her columns fun and easy to read. The casual diction also shows her voice well though her writing. Also, she incorporates long sentences to give the reader lots of detailed information.

If I were to ask Krista Ramsey some questions, I would ask the following...

1. What is the best way to incorporate voice into writing?
2. How do you get ideas on what to write about?
3. What kind of stories are your favorites to write about?

http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/02/15/krista-locking-into-the-magic-of-legos/5521245/

Before I Fall Summary

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver is about a 17 year old girl named Sam. Up until high school, Sam was unpopular and made fun of. But when she became friends with Lindsay, one of the most popular girls at the school, her life was turned around. She spent every day with her group of best friends, consisting of Elody, Ally, and Lindsay, as well as her boyfriend, Rob. She had a crush on him since elementary school, but wasn't cool enough to date him. Because of all of this popularity, she became arrogant and self absorbed.

On Cupid Day, her life changed forever. Driving home from a part that night, the car crashed, killing Sam. After the accident, Sam wakes up, but things were strangely familiar. Throughout the book, Sam relives the day that she died over and over again. Each day, she slowly starts to realize the mistakes she had made. You'll have to read the book to see what happens afterward!

Overall, this was a very good book. Since she relived the same day multiple times, it could move slowly at times. But the majority of the book was interesting. Throughout the book, you begin to relate to some of the characters, love some of them, and hate some of them. You feel a lot of emotion as the events happen, especially when they do something that you know they shouldn't have done. I would recommend this book to mainly teenage girls, but anyone would enjoy it.

Letter to the Author

Dear Ms. Oliver,

I am almost finished with your book Before I Fall. I have really enjoyed the book so far, as well as the other books I have read by you. The main character, Sam, is very interesting, and I like seeing the story through her point of view. You can see how she has changed throughout the book, and even though I didn't like her in the beginning of the book, the way she changed made her more likeable and relatable.

My favorite part was when Sam started to see the whole world differently, but the thing that changed the most was the way she saw her classmates: her friends and enemies. I like the quote on page 370 that says, "I've been in high school with all these people forever, they look different, unfamiliar, and when they smile at me I just see teeth everywhere, like piranhas getting ready to eat." This is a nice indirect way of showing how she didn't pay attention to much before, but later not only was she paying attention, she saw the problems with people that she associated herself with. On page 371 Sam thinks, "I feel like a curtain has dropped away and I'm seeing people for who they really are, different and sharp and unknowable." She realized that she hadn't made the best choices in the past and that these people weren't exactly who she thought they were.

Another quote I really like is on page 394. "I remember a story I once heard about drowning: that when you fall into cold water it's not that you drown right away but that the cold disorients you and makes you think that down is up and up is down, so you may be swimming, swimming, swimming for your life in the wrong direction, all the way toward the bottom until you sink. That's how I feel, as though everything has been turned around." I really like the comparison of drowning to how Sam was feeling. I think that it help the reader understand how differently she sees the world, and how it can also be kind of confusing. Overall, I really like this book and think it is very interesting and it makes you think.

Sincerely,
Allison Miller

Author Lauren Oliver