The Book Thief

I crept quietly into my sister's room, careful not to wake her. It was pitch black and instead of using my eyes to look for the book, I had to grope around the room with my hands. After silently searching for a while, I found the book on her nightstand. As I grabbed the book and the pages rustled, my sister turned in her sleep. I got out of the room as fast as I could without waking her. Once I was in my living room, I flopped down on my red couch and opened the book to the page where I had stopped reading the previous night. I had been sneaking in and taking Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling for quite some time and was almost done with the book. I had become the book thief.

The reason I had been sneaking the book at night, when my sister was asleep, was very simple. I wanted to read it. I was about to start reading the series when all of a sudden I had come home from school one day and my sixteen year old sister (who had never read the books either) was sitting at the table with her nose in the book. At first I didn't really care. In fact, I was pretty happy and I continued to ask her, "Is it good? I heard it was amazing." and occasionally "So what part are you up to?" I was content. Then I realized I really wanted to read the book and was too eager to wait any longer. I asked her, "Can I take the book to school to read at project R.E.A.L?" But of course she had to go and say, "Oohhhh no Janee. I'm reading it and I want to take it to school!" So I had to deal with it until one night I spotted it in her room and realized I finally had a chance to read it! It worked out pretty well and she never found out that I was reading it until she was finished and didn't need the book anymore. It was a very exciting read and I had never underestimated the praise given to the series of books by my peers.

I'm currently reading the third book, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and I'm completely hooked, I never want to put the book down and I'd definitely rather be reading it right now. I'm surprised I have never read any of the books sooner, it's almost like I forgot about them lying in my bookshelf. I love the movies and the books very, very much. I'm not sure if I can judge fairly yet though, for I am only in the middle of the third book. I would definitely recommend the Harry Potter series to anyone of any age who hasn't read it yet. The past week I have been streaming through the first few books (not to worry, I'm a very slow reader and I didn't rush) and I can't wait to finish the series. At the same time, though, I know I'll be sad when the series is over and I have to go back to reading books that could never compare to Harry Potter.

DON'T PANIC

"In many of the more relaxed civilizations on the Outer Eastern Rim of the Galaxy, the Hitchhiker's Guide [to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams] has already supplanted the great Encyclopedia Galactica as the standard repository of all knowledge and wisdom, for though it has many omissions and contains much that is apocryphal, or at least wildly inaccurate, it scores over the older, more pedestrian work in two important respects. First, it is slightly cheaper; and second, it has the words DON'T PANIC inscribed in large friendly letters on its cover."

Much like the way Norton Juster (author of The Phantom Tollbooth) writes, the brilliant Adams takes literalness to a whole new level. In the story of the Hitchhiker's Guide, you think about things that you had never really thought about before. And the things that you thought about before, you look at in a whole new way. I have to admit, I didn't quite understand what was going on in this book in the first few chapters. I was extremely tempted to close the book and put it back in my jam-packed bookcase. I noticed that the way that the story is written is in a very different style of writing. There are a lot of awkward moments, confusing sentences you might have to reread, and paragraphs stuffed with information about "life, the universe, and everything".

This story sucks you in immediately and you soon find yourself  wanting to find some way to get on the heart of gold. You want to venture off to places unknown and maybe get chased down by the galactic government. I know that's how I felt when i read this book. I finished it a while ago, but now I'm reading the sequel, The Restaurant at the End of the Universe.

I think that even though this book is hilarious, it still has some parts that aren't necessarily serious, but make you think about the bigger aspects of life. This story is really funny and eye-opening, so I suggest that anyone who likes a  good laugh every once in a while (and has enough patience to try and understand these confusing concepts) should read this book. In fact, you should read the whole series!

Until the next post!
--> Janee B.

Chapter 8 - ELA collaboration with Nina and Amanda

Mack went crazy. He couldn't take the fact that Andy hadn't survived, and that Melinda didn't love him. 

So he kidnapped and raped her.

And he killed Trudy for being somewhat of a witness.

So fifteen year old Rosalyn Hastings Abernathy killed him.

Then she ran away, getting away from the cops only because she was a young, pretty girl.

Rosalyn realized that she was grinding her teeth (a habit she had picked up a couple of years before) and quickly stopped. She looked up and stared around the cabin at all of the different people on the train, all having a different reason for being there, all having a different story. She spotted a tall man who looked generally pleased with himself, holding a girl in one arm. She saw a woman with three young kids tugging at her dress. 

Suddenly Ray's heart skipped a beat. Across the train car was a beautiful woman with reddish brown, shoulder length hair. She was wearing a gorgeous dress that hung at her knees. Her deep brown eyes looked longingly out the window, the same way Rosalyn's did. As Ray examined her defined face in disbelief, Melinda looked up and their eyes met. Without warning, a silent tear fell from Ray's cheek. 

She mouthed out the word,

"Help".

END

Chapter 7 - ELA collaboration with Nina and Amanda

Her father was drafted into the war a while back, and was a handsome soldier. Her mother was a beautiful nurse during the war, and she saved many lives and helped many men. But she only fell in love with one; Andy. They loved each other so much, and they were perfect for each other. Everybody thought so, except for Andy's brother, Mack Abernathy, who was also a soldier. He loved Melinda just as much as Andy, but she didn't love him back. Every time the boys went out to war, Melinda waited for Andrew, never taking her eyes off the horizon. They always returned, Andy always getting a passionate kiss and Mack getting a quick hug. The quick hug was always enough for Mack, though. At least for now. 

On one day, Andy and Mack were away much longer than usual, and Melinda was beginning to feel scared.

They eventually came back, but not in the way Melinda had hoped. Mack trudged toward the door of the makeshift hospital, carrying Andrew on his back. They were both covered with dirt and Andy's blood, dripping on the ground behind them. Melinda ran out and helped them both inside. She sat Mack down on a bench and kissed him on both cheeks. 

"Thank you for bringing him back. Thank you thank you so much," she said through tears. Mack looked up at her and gave her a feeling-less nod. She ran over to the bed that the other nurses had set Andy down on and got to work. Two other nurses helped her to try and heal the young man, but winning the battle of keeping Andy's life began to seem impossible. After an hour and a half of hard work, the other nurses knew that Andy was gone.

"Come on, honey. Just leave him be, he's left us now," the other nurses coaxed. But Melinda wasn't giving up. She continued to try and help her one true love. After a while longer the nurses weren't being so nice.

"Deary, you've got to just leave him. There's no use trying to save him, he's going to die one way or another. We need these beds for other sick soldiers who still have a chance at life."

"Shut up," Melinda retorted. After two days Andy was pushed out of the bed, but Melinda still stayed by his side. She and Mack brought him outside to the back. After an hour of sitting, waiting, and crying, Andy woke up.

In a weak voice he said, "I love you both so much. Thank you for the best life a man could have." He coughed and continued, “Don’t miss me Mack. And Melinda."

"Yes dear?" she sobbed.

"Name her Rosalyn Hastings Abernathy."

Chapter 6 - ELA collaboration with Nina and Amanda

Rosalyn stepped off of the train platform and into the train that was headed to Boston. She took a seat near to the window alone and looked out at the bustling station on the other platform. After a few minutes of waiting, the steam engine started up with a roar, and the whistle blew twice. The car lurched into motion, and she was off, leaving behind a shattered life that had belonged to her.
When the train was out of the station, Ray didn't look back once. She was ready to leave Chicago. She waited until the ticket collector came to her bench. She got out her ticket and examined the words.
Alexander Railroad Company. Destination: Boston, Massachusetts. Departure time: 10:00 A.M. September 23rd. Arrival time: 1:00 A.M. September 27th. ONE WAY TICKET.
"Excuse me ma'am. Ticket please," the red burly man said smiling down at Rosalyn. She handed him the ticket without any emotion. Then he asked her, "What's wrong? You aren't running away are ya?" She looked up at him and frowned. He stopped for a moment and stared at her, then walked away.
While she sat she thought about everything that had happened to her in her life, specifically the most recent events. It had all started with a man she had never met. Her father, Andrew Abernathy. And her mother, Melinda Hastings, who she had also never met. She didn't know where Melinda was now, but she didn't care, at least not too much. She only knew as much as her mother had written in her diary, but it was still a lot...

Chapter 3 - ELA collaboration with Nina and Amanda

Detective Michael Smith pulled up to the front of the Red Rose Motel and glanced around at his colleague that had gotten there before him.

"So what's going on here? What happened to the female?" He said to his partner, Detective Nathaniel Davis. He stuck his hands in his pockets and looked up at Michael with a look that said I really don't want to be here right now and I don't give a crap what happened to this broad.

"Well," he started with a sigh, "She was shot in the mouth. There was barely anyone in the motel at the time, but one man called us from the front desk after he heard the gunshot from his room." He stuck a cigarette in his mouth. "You got a light?" Smith took out a match and scraped it across the wooden railing they were both leaning on. He held it up to Nathaniel’s mouth, and he nodded his head for a thanks.

          Michael continued the conversation, "So then we better have a look inside?"

"Already looked," Davis said to him as he looked off down the street for nothing in particular. It was starting to annoy Detective Michael. That is, the fact that Davis always treated him like the sidekick. "But you can go and have a look for yourself you know, see if you find any other clues..." he trailed off realizing he had said something wrong.

Michael pushed through the door and looked at the cold, empty office room.

          There were only a few things he had noticed right away, and only one thing he noticed that would help him solve the complicated murder mystery that was yet to come. There was a cold coffee cup on the desk that had been deserted. A small vase of orchids with a note that read; EMPLOYEE OF THE MONTH! GREAT JOB TRUDY! There was a little calendar with pictures of ------- for every month. The last thing that caught Smith’s eye was a crumpled business card that was lying in the tip of the front desk. It was for “the offices of the Alexander Railroad Company”. At the bottom of the card it said Mack -----, and a telephone number.

Michael picked up the phone on the desk and called the number. After a few minutes of ringing, the phone line hung up.

“Well no one picked up the phone, but maybe I can go to this address,” he said to himself. He stuffed the card into his coat pocket and walked past the desk down the hallway. After walking around a few corners through the motel, he reached an area with a few cops surrounding it.

“Excuse me,” Smith said to the cops while flashing his golden badge. He looked down at the ground in disgust, analyzing the blonde girl with bright red blood dripping out of her mouth, past her neck and onto the floor. Realizing that this wasn’t really his job, he walked away from the corpse and out back the way he had come.

Michael passed his partner on his way to the cruiser that was parked at the edge of the sidewalk.

“Where do you think you’re going, rookie?” Michael looked back at Davis and answered.

“Keep your pants on Nate; I’m just going to get lunch. I’ll be back in a while.” Nathaniel knew that they had both just gotten lunches together, which meant that Michael was lying and meant that something was up.

“Alright then, I guess,” Davis said unsurely. Michael got into his car and drove away, off to “the offices of Alexander Railroad Company”.