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 One - Hurricane Sandy Essay

"Hurricane Sandy, one of the largest and fiercest storms to menace the East Coast in years, lost some power but still packed a devastating wallop that slammed into New Jersey on Monday evening with torrential rains, howling winds and widespread  flooding. " 

-Fredrick Knuckle, Laura Vozzella and Jeremy Borden (Washington Post)

 For the past week, families have been trying to recover from the brutal Hurricne Sandy. Some families have lost their homes. A few have also last their lives during the storm. Even though the storm was a Category 1, it was a very wide and powerful storm.

"Part of Manhattan's storied skyline went dark as power failed for more than 250,000 customers south of Midtown, some of an estimated 7.5 million people on the eastern seaboard who lost power"

-Fredrick Knuckle, Laura Vozzella and  Jeremy Borden (Washington Post)

Many families in New York and New Jersey have lost power. But not just light, they have also lost water which is very devastating. My own aunt has also lost power in her home. Some cell phone companies have failed us. So we couldn't get in touch with our loved ones to see if they were okay during the storm.

" The storm also had an impact on politics, as candidates called off campaign events and election officials shut down early voting in some areas."

- Fredrick Knuckle, Laura Vozzella and  Jeremy Borden (Washington Post)

As started, Hurricane Sandy interfered with the 2012 Presidential Election. Some areas weren't able to hear the debate because they were in highly effected areas of the storm. Also, in some areas people couldn't vote because of the damage that Hurricane Sandy caused.

In Conclusion, Hurricane Sandy has severely effected many families. Some have even lost their homes and are now staying in shelters all over the city. Those who have lost power and water are also staying with loved ones that haven't been effected by the storm. I think that Hurricane Sandy has done much damage to many states and communities.