Blog Post Number Five - 'Tilt' by Ellen Hopkins

In the book 'Tilt' by Ellen Hopkins,

There are three different characters. But they are al connected in different ways. They also have different issues. All different from one another.

One of the characters, Mikayla, is a high school senior with good grades, great looks and a perfect boyfriend. But one day, when Mikayla and Dylan (her boyfriend) start fooling around without protection, Dylan thinks that they'll be fine. But he was completely wrong! He got Mikayla knocked up. And he wants her to get an abortion. But she wants to keep the baby. So now, she has to make a decision: get an abortion, or keep the baby and lose Dylan forever.

Another character in the book is Shane. Shane is a homosexual and his father hates him for it. His mom is dealing with more important things to worry about. Because Shane's sister Shelby is only four years old and has Type 1 SMA (spinal muscular atrophy). His family is extremely lucky that she's still alive. But because Shelby has that terrible illness, Shane's father doesn't want to deal with all of the family's issues. So he is almost never home. And his mother is always tending to Shelby and that leaves Shane all alone. Until he meets Alex. But Alex has HIV. But that doesn't stop him and Shane's relationship. When Shane is with Alex, he is happier and feels less alone. But when Shelby dies, all hell breaks loose. Not only with Shane's mother, but Shane as well. Because after the funeral, he realized that he didn't get a chance to say goodbye. 

The final character in this book is Harley. She is Shane's cousin and Mikayla's sisters best friend. Harley has a hard time being noticed. For one thing, her best friend Bri gets all of the attention and Harley is also a bit overweight. It's now summer and she wants to change her appearance. So she goes on a diet. But she also has other problems. Her parents are divorced and her father is dating someone else already. And her fathers girlfriend's (Cassie) son is extremely attractive (according to Harley). And now that she has lost a lot of weight. She thinks that she might be able to get his attention. One day Harley asks Chad (Cassie's son) why he isn't interested in her. And he tells her because he thinks of her as his sister. So Harley goes to find someone else to catch her attention. And Chad's friend Lucas is very interested in Harley. But when Harley starts going out with Lucas, he makes her do things that are inappropriate and disturbing to her. And one day, he gets her so drunk and high that she is unconscious and then he takes advantage of her. But does Lucas care? Of course not! And the day after, he breaks up with her - over text. 

Blog Post Number Three - Respond to one of the Critical Thinking Reading Questions for Social Action - Choice 1; Is this story fair? Why or why not?

In the book 'Fallout' by Ellen Hopkins,

Kristina's kids are still living their lives without her. But when Christmas comes, she'll come back as a surprise for the kids. Hunter already knows that she's coming over. And so does Summer because, she keeps in contact with her. But of course, Autumn still doesn't know anything about Kristina.

I don't think that her kids will be excited when she comes over because thay never really met her. And she hasn't been there for them for almost all of their lives.

I think that this story can be both fair and unfair because Kristina left all three of her children but she's coming back for Christmas. But her coming back still doesn't make up for the other times she was gone and she could have came back to visit her children. I think that if she were to come back earlier and take care of her children herself, they would have a better relationship with each other. And also, each child would have a better life. And they would get to know Kristina better and find out why she did what she did.

Blog Post Number Three - Respond to one of the Critical Thinking Reading Questions for Social Action - Choice 8; What really hard things are happening in this text? Are these things happening in the world now? Where?

In the book 'Fallout' by Ellen Hopkins,

The story is told by the perspectives of Kristina's (main character from 'Crank') three children. The children Hunter, Autumn and Summer are all split up. They have no idea who each other are. But Hunter and Summer know that there are three of them in total. Autumn has no idea that she has any siblings at all.

Hunter is the oldest of the three. He also has the best life of the siblings. He has followed in his moths footsteps by taking drugs. But he refuses to take meth (monster) that way, he doesn't end up like his mother - an addict.

Autumn is the middle child. She also has OCD and panic attacks. She is the only child that doesn't know about Kristina. But she does know who her father is - Trey.

Summer is the youngest of the three. She is the only one who knows the truth about both of her parents.

I think that difficult things that are happening in this book are disowning because after Kristina had her children, she left them. And separated then from each other. I don't think that was the right choice because why wouldn't she want to see her kids ever again?

I also think that things like this happen to children everyday because Kristina had these children when she was young and she didn't know what to do after she had them. So usually people who also have these issues give their child up for adoption. But she gave one to adoption, one to her mom and the other to the child's grandfather.

Social Awareness Writing Project - Choice 4; Write a reading response on a social issue in a literary work (on independent reading book)

'Burned' by Ellen Hopkins

 

In the book 'Burned' by Ellen Hopkins, the main character Pattyn is a part of a Mormon family. But Pattyn doesn't believe in the Mormon religion anymore. She doesn't want to be forced to have numerous babies and not have any say or control in her own house when she becomes married. In other words, she doesn't want to end up like her mother. Who is always being beat by her husband (Pattyn's father) because every baby she has is a girl. Pattyn's father is so upset at her decision to not want to be Mormon anymore that he beats her just like he does to her mother. He then disowns her and sends her to live with her Aunt J. When Pattyn's there, Aunt J teaches Pattyn about the true meaning of love.

 

I think that the issue in this book is child abuse and disowning. Because during the whole time Pattyn was living with her father, he would always beat both her and her mother. Even if they didn't do anything wrong.

 

The message in this book is to find the true meaning about yourself. Because her family is Mormon and pushing Pattyn to marry a "good Mormon boy" and follow the Mormon religion, etc. But she doesn't want that for her future. But when she moves in with her Aunt J, she learns about the true meaning of love and that God won't hate her if she doesn't choose to follow the Mormon religion.

 

This book makes me think a lot about child abuse because that seems to be what Pattyn's father does a lot. I also came to the conclusion that the father believes that men control women and also that women must completely obeh\y their husbands. I think that is sexist.

Blog Post Number Two - 'Burned' by Ellen Hopkins

In the book 'Burned' by Ellen Hopkins,

The main character Pattyn is a Mormon, she is one of seven children - she is also the oldest. All of which are girls. And her dad is a alcoholic who abuses her mother because out of all of the kids that she has, they continue to become girls. Her mother believes that her job is to have as many children as possible, especially a boy to carry on the family name. Because that is what her husband wants. But Pattyn disarees with the Mormon lifestyle she has been living by her whole seventeen years of life. I think that it is a good thing that Pattyn has a different opinion about her religion. Because it seems to me that she is being forced to live in a way that she is uncomfortable with.

Since Pattyn now doesn't believe in the Mormon religion, she wants to experience things that "normal" teens experience. So she starts dating Derek - a non Mormon. Which is against the Mormon religion. But Pattyn doesn't care anymore. She and Derek start to hang out and go to parties. But then they start drinking and also start to get stupid. But eventually, Pattyn's dad finds out and forbids her to see Derek again. He also threatens Derek to not see Pattyn either. Derek then starts dating another girl, who Pattyn later on punches in the face. Pattyn also does even more reckless things such as breaking a window in school, which her dad then has to pay for. As well as the girl Pattyn punched in the face because Pattyn broke her nose. I think that both Pattyn and her dad went a little to far with their actions. Because Pattyn didn't have to punch the girl in the face or break the window. And her father didn't have to threaten Derek to not see Pattyn again.

Pattyn then gets sent to her Aunt J's house in the country side, because of Pattyn's previous actions. While she's staying there, she meets a so-called "beautiful" boy named Ethan. Eventually Pattyn and Ethan start going out. They also fall in love with eachother. The two plan to move away together when Pattyn turns eighteen. Pattyn also winds up becoming pregnant with Ethan's child. But he doesn't leave her. When the two decide to leave with the still unborn baby, Pattyn's father finds out about everything. He then chases them in his car. Resultin in Ethan and Pattyn getting into a car crash. Both Ethan and the baby don't make it. And Pattyn cannot forgive her father for what he has done. I think that it was sweet that Ethan didn't leave Pattyn after she told him she was pregnant because most boys do that after they find out. But I also think that it was awful that Pattyn's father chased them around in his car. I thought that it was heartbreaking to find out that Ethan and the baby didn't survive because I wanted to know what would happen in Ethan and Pattyn's lives together.

Blog Post Number Six - 'Tricks' by Ellen Hopkins - Eden's Story (Blog Post Number Five) REVISED

"When I am, God forgive me, I want to know what it means to give myself to him so completely. Want to know what it's like when it's absolutely right."

In the book 'Tricks' by Ellen Hopkins, I think that Eden wants to try certain things out and go to a different side of humanity, because her mother and father are over protective and very religious so they won't let her date anyone who isn't going to be her future husband or isn't Christian. I also think that Eden wants to try out the other side of humanity because she has no teen girl experiences. Such as her first kiss, or her first boyfriend. Before she met Andrew, she would just live her"normal" boring life that she is sick and tired of. When she met Andrew, she became as bright as the sun, and she was always happy when she was around him. But she had to keep him a secret, away from her parents. But when her parents found out, they thought that she was possessed by demons and sent her to The Tears of Zion, to think about what she has done and to try and get the demons out of her.

One conflict that Eden faces is that her parents are extremely religious and won't let her go out and see the world. In the beginning of the book, Eden wonders about what other teen girls her age do (sixteen year old girls). She would like to think the way that they think. And have normal, teen experiences. But she knows that she can’t because of her parents.

"No, not at all. Andrew is pretty much perfect. Not gorgeous in a male model kind of way, but he is really cute, with crazy hair that sometimes hides his eyes, dark chocolate eyes that hold laughter, even when he's deadly serious.

... 

No, he's not even a little wrong for me except maybe - maybe! - in the eyes of God. But much, much worse than that, he's completely wrong for my parents."

I thought that Eden was really into Andrew and even she knows that she can't be with him because of her over protective parents. I think that her parents should at least let loose, just the slightest bit. Because what girl like her, isn't going to go behind their backs and try and get the guy anyways?

Another conflict that Eden faces is that she has to have a secret relationship with the man of her dreams - Andrew. Eden and Andrew's relationship has gotten VERY serious. They actually care and love about each other. And they never want to be apart. Andrew knows that Eden can't tell her parents about them, but that doesn't stop Andrew from telling his family! Eden doesn't mind and neither does Andrew's mother. In fact, she's glad that they're together. Eden wishes that her parents could be as flexible as Andrew's mother. But Eden knows that, that could never happen. I think that Eden and Andrew are really meant to be because, he is very protective of her and cares about her so much. And she is the same exact way about him.

"... I tense waiting for his response. It's swift. Oh God, Eden, I love you too. How did I ever live without you? It's like I was missing a huge part of me. ..."

I think that Andrew really meant what he said because he says it a lot in the book, before she got taken away. I also think that Eden and Andrew are the perfect couple because they take perfect care of each other. For example, when Eden's mother got very mad at Eden, and she called Andrew straight after, he came right away and asked her what was wrong. He took care of her. And I thought that was really sweet.

Another conflict that Eden faces is that her parents find out about her and Andrew's secret relationship and splits them up and puts her into an isolation camp, Tears of Zion, in order to get the "demons" out of her. Since Eden's parents don't approve of her relationship with Andrew, they send her to The Tears of Zion, where they send girls who disobey God. Eden's parents don't believe that she should be dating someone if they aren't to wind up becoming her husband. Especially is the boy isn't Christian! At the Tears of Zion, she is trying to break out. But in order to do that, she must sleep with one of the workers there, Jerome. Everyday, when the two see each other, he gives her a small gift such as food or shampoo. And after they sleep together, Eden scrubs it all off, to try and make it go away. But of course, it never does.

"... The second time takes longer, but when he's finally done, he says, I'll think about it. After he leaves, I lie in an aura of hope. Say a little prayer to Mary Magdalene."

I thought that Eden was very smart to come up with a plan like this. But it all must come with a price. Eden still must sleep with Jerome whether she likes it or not. It takes a while, but eventually, Eden escapes but with Jerome. But she must escape again. And thankfully she does. She travels to Vegas, in hope of reuniting with Andrew. Eden winds up going to a Teen Prostitute Helping Center that deals with other teens that have similar problems that Eden has faced in the story.

In Conclusion, in the book 'Tricks' by Ellen Hopkins, I think that Eden wants to try certain things out and go to a different side of humanity, because her mother and father are over protective and very religious so they won't let her date anyone who isn't going to be her future husband or isn't Christian. In the beginning of the story, Eden is very curious and wants to have a boyfriend. And she eventually does. The two are madly in love. But when Eden's parents find out, the couple is separated and Eden is taken into a isolation camp in order to get rid of the "demons" inside of her. She eventually escapes the camp, in hope of reuniting with Andrew, but instead is taken into a Teen Prostitute Helping Center that deals with the different problems that she has faced in the story. I think that Eden has had her experiences, but with the wrong people - Jerome. I also think that if her parents hadn't found out about Andrew, Eden would have been much happier and the two would have lived happily ever after. But all good things must come to an end.

Blog Post Number Five - 'Tricks' by Ellen Hopkins; Eden's Story

In the book 'Tricks' by Ellen Hopkins,

There are five different characters; Eden, Seth, Whitney, Ginger and Cody. Out of the five, four are straight and one is gay. But as I'm reading this book, I'm also starting to think that another character might also be gay. But that might just be because she thinks that no one else loves her.

Eden's story is that, her father is a pastor and once at mass, she met a boy named Andrew. But Eden is only sixteen and Andrew is nineteen. But they wind up going out anyways. Eden's parents forbid her going out with anyone unless it is going to be her future husband (her parents are very religious). And if it's not going to be, she is sinning against God and going towards the path to the Devil. So Eden and Andrew secretly go out and meet up with each other. And they are in deep love with each other. But still, Eden cannot tell her parents, because if she does, then they'll shun her and think that she's possessed. But of course, all good stories must come to an end, because Eden's mother eventually finds out and sends her to "Tears of Zion", a place where they exorcise demons.

I think that the theme for Eden's story is that she feels trapped. Because Andrew really is the love of her life. And when he told her  the same, he wasn't joking - he was serious. He really meant it. I also think that Eden feels trapped because she can't tell her parents or else they'll freak out on her. And as she suspected, they did. But her mother on the most part. I think that even if Eden did tell her parents about Andrew, they wouldn't understand. Because they only believe that she must marry someone in order to "make love" and have children. I also think that they wouldn't even listen to Eden, even if she tried to explain, because they want her to marry a Christian and since Andrew isn't, they don't even want to hear her explanation.