"Julius Caesar" Book Review

Julius Caesar is a tragedy written about Julius Caesar and the events around his death. This play was very different than anything I have ever read.

Shakespeare has a unique writing style. I find Shakespeare's writing style difficult to read because he used many words that are not used today. I often had to read the side notes or look up what words meant. Also, he uses iambic pentameter. Iambic pentameter makes the speaker sound more formal. Because this is a play, iambic pentameter is a good choice of style.

The main characters in Julius Caesar are Caesar, Brutus, and Mark Antony. These characters are actually people that lived a long time ago. Shakespeare used these people and important events in their life to produce this drama.

Julius Caesar tells the story of Julius Caesar's murder and his killers actions after Caesar's death. Many people, including Brutus, plotted against Caesar and killed him. This backfired on them because a civil war broke out and many of Caesar's killers ended up killing themselves in the end.

The theme of the play is "think before you act." Brutus, and the others that plotted to kill Caesar, thought they would kill him and everything would be okay. They did not think Mark Antony would turn everyone against them.

I did not enjoy this play, so I do not recommend Julius Caesar to anyone that enjoys an easy read. I would recommend this play to anyone that likes Shakespeare's work or enjoys a difficult read.

209 pages

"Water for Elephants" Book Review

When everything you have is taken away from you what do you do? This is what Jacob was thinking the moment he found out his parents were dead.

The setting of this book is in two places. One place is at a circus when Jacob is 23. The other is in a nursing home when Jacob is 93. I have never been to a circus but in this book the author made me feel like I was experiencing everything Jacob was. The vivid details the author used made the reader be with Jacob.

After Jacob finds out his parents are dead, he leaves college. He went to Cornell to be a veterinarian but left right before he was finished. When he left he jumped on a train and decided to go wherever the train took him. This train happened to be a circus train. Jacob now worked for a circus. When people found out he was pretty much a vet, they made him the circus vet. He found himself falling for Marlena. Marlena was one of the circus performers but she was also married to a man with anger issues. August, the animal trainer is Marlena's husband. Marlena performs with a bunch of horses. When her lead horse has to be put down, they buy her an elephant. Uncle Al, the circus owner, told Jacob the elephant was the best there was. But, for a while, she was the stupidest elephant Jacob had ever seen. After a while Jacob realized she was just different.

I really liked the author's style of writing. Even though most of the book is set in the 1930s, she makes the story easy to read.

I recommend this book for anyone that loves a great story that will captivate the reader. I could see that this book would be more of a girl book than a boy book, but there are plenty of qualities boys would like about this book too.

350 pages

Great Leaders

Every group needs a leader. In schools, the leaders are the teachers and principals. In countries, the leaders are the presidents or dictators. Leaders can also be normal people with no power at all. Leaders have many traits that make them a true leader. Leaders always try to do the best thing for their group. Leaders are very strong mentally and are inspirational. Some people I consider to be great leaders are listed below.

1. Jesus-He was a great leader that did everything he could to spread the word of God. He also helped many people along the way.
2. Teachers
3. My parents-They have always been there for me and taught me how to be a good person.
   
4. Mufasa (from Lion King)
5. Abraham Lincoln
6. Bela and Marta Karolyi-They are the coaches of the national gymnastics team and have led the team to many victories.
7. John F. Kennedy
   
8. Martin Luther King Jr.-His speech that led to integration did amazing things for this country.
   
9. Will Shuester (from Glee)- He built up the Glee club from nothing, got them to Sectionals and they won.
   
10. Gandhi
    

Obsessions :)

Everyone has their own obsessions. Sometimes I feel like I have way too many and I probably do, but that does not mean that I can just stop being obsessed.

I am obsessed with Carrie Underwood, just ask Georgia. :) Carrie Underwood is practically my idol. She is absolutely amazing and she has the voice of an angel.

I am also obsessed with the internet. I can entertain myself for hours on the internet. The main sites I visit are facebook, YouTube, the Carrie Underwood fan club (oh yeah, you read right, I am in the official fan club), fanforum, and mylifeisaverage. I know I know, that is a lot of websites to be addicted to but I am trying to break this addiction.

My newest obsession is Glee. Glee is the best TV show I have ever seen, seriously. Glee is about a glee club in Ohio and their rise to fame. Yes, it sounds corny but trust me, the show is amazing!

I am also obsessed with food. I am pretty sure I should weight at least 300 pounds. I am not even joking I eat all the time.

These obsessions along with many others keep me happy. I should probably stop being so obsessed with all of this.

Thankful...

My life is really good so I am thankful for a lot. I am thankful for my family, friends, a house, a job, good health, Jesus, and a whole lot more.

1. I am thankful for my family because they are always there for me. My parents support me in everything I do. They always encourage me to do what is right and I am very thankful for that. My siblings are my friends and they love me no matter what.
2. I am thankful for my friends because they can cheer me up all the time. No matter what kind of day I am having, they lift my spirits and make me happy again.
3. I am thankful for a house with heat. There are many people in this world that are homeless. I have always had a home and I am very grateful. I could not imagine sleeping outside every night.
4. I am thankful for my job. My job is fun and lets me have a way to spend time with cute little kids. Also, my job gets me money and to survive in this world, money is crucial.
5. I am thankful for my health and my family's health. My whole family is happy and healthy. I love to be able to say that, because a lot of people do not have very good health.
6. I am thankful for Jesus. I believe that without Jesus we would not be how we are today. He died for our sins, and gave everyone the opportunity to be forgiven.
7. I am thankful for food. I never go without a meal and I am truly grateful for that. I could not imagine starving.
8. I am thankful for my education. My school has good teachers that teach me a lot. This will prepare me for the future when I am trying to get a job.
9. I am thankful for random acts of kindness. Random acts of kindness are great because I am never expecting them. They make me feel good about myself and boost my self-esteem.
   
10. I am thankful for our soldiers. Everyday our soldiers are putting their life on the line to keep me and everyone else free. Without them America would not be free like we are today.
    

I am thankful for all of this and a whole lot more. I know I am not even scratching the surface on all that I am thankful for.

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey is a book about being a better teen. The book helps teens have a better attitude and become who they want to be. The seven habits are be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win-win, seek first to understand, then be understood, synergize, and sharpen the saw.

My favorite of these habits is put first things first. This habit makes the reader think about what is important in their life. Then, put those important aspects first. My "first things" are family, religion, and values. I try to always put these things before everything else.

The habit that I need to work on the most is be proactive. This habit is really hard for me. I am a reactor so if something happens to me I react before I think. This is not smart so I really need to master this habit.

The habit that I am the best at is begin with the end in mind. I am always thinking about what I need to accomplish to succeed in life. I need to do good in school so I can get a scholarship for college. Then, I need to get good grades in college so I will be prepared for the real world.

This book has some great tips. I believe that if someone really tried to apply themselves to each habit, they would change their life.

I recommend this book to any struggling teen that is looking to get their life on track. I would not recommend it to teens that are doing well because the book is not really that interesting.

Coaching the Little Tots

I am a gymnastics coach! I teach kids between the ages of two and six. There are many events and tasks we have to finish each week. To accomplish this we much follow a schedule, sort of.

1. Trampoline Time-I have found that the kids usually do better during the class if they have about five minutes to just jump on the trampoline. This lets them get some extra energy out while I take attendance.

2. Stretch- This part is easy. We all sit on the red carpet in a big circle and stretch. We always do the same stretches in the same order. We start with straddle and end with back-bends. There are about ten stretches. We try to make this fun for the kids by pretending that we are animals or that we are cooking, because sometimes they get restless.

3. Events- There are three events that kids at this age do: beam, bars, and floor. As soon as we finish stretching we see which event is open. Usually beam is open first so we go there. On beam we do many exercises to help the kids develop balance. After beam we usually go to bars. On bars the main goal is to hang on and develop upper body strength. After bars we go to floor. On floor we learn to do forward rolls, backward rolls, handstands, and cartwheels. Sometimes teaching floor can get frustrating because most kids do not get the concept of a cartwheel and that skill is hard to teach.

4. Stamp Time- At this time, if the kids were good we give them stamps. If the kids were really good they get to jump in the moon-bounce. The kids love to do this, but there usually is not much time so they only get to jump for about a minute.

Coaching gymnastics is fun but repetitive. Doing the same routine day after day and week after week gets boring at times but the kids usually keep my job interesting.

"The Time Traveler's Wife" Book Review

"It's hard being left behind." Clare is always being left in the present while Henry time travels. Although time traveling is not always pleasant for Henry, Clare has a harder time. All she can do is wait. Audrey Niffenegger's The Time Traveler's Wife amazed me.


The author's writing style is very unique. There is not just one narrator, so the point of view chages throughout the story. Part of the story is told by Clare and the rest is told by Henry.

Henry is a time traveler. In this book time traveling is a genetic disorder. Henry cannot control when he travels or where he goes. Sometimes he goes into the past, and other times he travels into the future. Clare is Henry's wife. She is very patient.

The Time Traveler's Wife takes place in Chicago, most of the time. The author does an excellent job of making the reader picture the setting by using many vivid details.

In the story Clare meets Henry when she is six. So Clare knows Henry almost her whole life. Henry does not meet Clare until he is 28. When Henry is older he time travels back to see Clare when she was a little girl. Clare and Henry get married because they are meant for each other. They have a complicated marriage though, because Henry is always leaving and cannot control when he comes back. One time he is gone a very long time, so to make it up to Clare he wins her the lottery. They use the money to buy a big, wonderful house and decide to start a family. They try many times buy keep having miscarriages. Finally, in an unconventional way, they succeed and have a girl. She is a time traveler too but is a little better at time traveling than Henry is. Henry continues to time travel and eventually runs into trouble.

This book was similar to a few other books I have read because the point of view changes. I loved this book, but I do not recommend The Time Traveler's Wife to anyone immature.

536 pages

"That Summer" Book Review

Many parts of Haven's life are changing, her parents got a divorce and her dad is remarried, her sister is getting married, and her mom is going to Europe. Haven feels like she is not important anymore. Sarah Dessen's That Summer is a story about Haven finding herself.

The theme of That Summer is be yourself and comfortable in your own skin. Haven is fifteen years old and 6 feet tall. She feels out of place all the time because she is not comfortable with who she is.

I like the author's writing style the books that she writes are easy to read. She uses common terms and makes the characters sound like they are real people.

There were many characters in That Summer. I have already mentioned one, Haven. Haven is fifteen years old and unusually tall. She feels like her world is falling apart, because so many aspects of her life are changing. Ashley, Haven's sister is short and pretty. She is getting married to Lewis. Haven's mom is very stressed all the time. Sumner, Ashley's ex-boyfriend, is Haven's go-to person. When Haven is having a bad day she goes to Sumner and expects him to make everything better. These characters are believable as real people because their emotions are so real.

In That Summer, Haven is having a horrible summer. Her parents got a divorce, her dad remarried, her sister is getting married, her mom might be going to Europe, and her best friend has completely changed. Ashley has had many boyfriends, so many that instead of marking big events by dates, Haven marks them by which boyfriend Ashley had at the time. Haven's favorite of Ashley's boyfriends is Sumner. There was one summer that Haven's family went to the beach with Sumner. Haven remembers this summer as her favorite because everyone was happy. Now that she is having a horrible summer, she tries to hang out with Sumner as much as she can. Haven is a peace-maker. One day she wakes up and decides she is not going to put up with anything anymore. She throws a shoe at a rude customer at work, then storms out and runs away. While she is out she runs into Sumner. Haven talks to him for a while and realizes he is not who she thinks he is.

This book is similar to the other Sara Dessen books I have read. I recommend this book to someone that likes Sara Dessen books, this book is not her best one but is still interesting.

198 pages

"The Time Machine" Review

Time travel is a mystery to us. In The Time Machine, H.G. Wells and the time traveler try to explore this world we know nothing of with an adventurous story.

The theme of The Time Machine is be careful what you wish for. The time traveler wished he could travel through time, he got this wish but was led into trouble.

The writing style of H.G. Wells is much different than the writing styles I am used to. H.G. Wells wrote this book a long time ago, so the slang has changed. This made The Time Machine hard for me to read. Another different part of Wells' writing style was the lack of names. Hardly anyone in this book had a name, the characters were referred to as "the time traveler" or "the professor."

The characters in this book were hard to imagine. The main reason for this was the lack of names and detail. Also, many of the characters are not people. Most of the characters are the creatures from the future.

The setting of The Time Machine was great. The world that the time traveler was in is much different than my world, but the use of detail made reading and imagining where the story was taking place easy.

The time traveler is an inventor. He invented a time machine and desperately wanted to try to travel through time. He hosts a weekly dinner party. One week he was telling the guests about his machine. The next week he was no where to be found at the time of the dinner party. When he arrives he tells the guests about his time travel experience. Almost the entire book is the time traveler telling his dinner guests the adventures he experienced in time travel.

This book is nothing like any book I have ever read. I do not read science fiction novels so I cannot connect this book to any other book I have read.

I would recommend this book to adults that like old science fiction novels. The Time Machine was difficult to read, but overall, not a horrible book.

83 pages

"Along for the Ride" Book Review

"It's never too late to have a childhood." Auden never got the chance to act like a child. She was forced to be mature. Auden never got to ride a bike or go to sleepovers. All she ever did was study. The summer before her first year of college she went to live with her dad, step mom, and step sister. Her summer turned out to be different than what she expected. Sarah Dessen's Along for the Ride kept me reading to the very end.

Many kids become what their parents want them to be. That is exactly what Auden did and she was not happy. The theme of this book is to be yourself and have fun because life is short.

I like Sarah Dessen's writing style because it is easy to read. She does not use formal terms, she uses common language for teenagers. The narrator in this book is Auden. Auden was unique because she was so mature.

The characters were very different from one another but most of them got along. Auden's parents claimed they spent all of their energy on her older brother Hollis, so they made her act like a grown up all her life. She never got to participate in normal activities for kids. She did not get to go to prom or hang out with her friends. When her parents were together, they would stay up all night fighting. Auden could not go to sleep when they were fighting so she got in the habit of staying up all night. Eli is a mystery to Auden. He keeps to himself and tries not to talk to many people. He also has a habit of staying up all night. Maggie is the type of girl that has many surprises. She is pretty, very smart, rides and jumps bikes, and knows a lot about fashion. Leah is a party girl. She loves to go to clubs and date older guys. Esther likes to go to coffee shops and listen to poetry. Even though they are very different they are best friends. Heidi is Auden's step mother. Auden used to think that she was shallow and dumb, but during her stay she realized Heidi is much more than that.

Auden decides to change her summer and go spend it with her dad. When she gets there she keeps to herself and studies for her classes she will be taking in the fall. One night her dad and Heidi were fighting and Auden was upset, Maggie noticed and comforted her. After that night she became friends with Maggie, Leah, and Esther and started to hang out with them at nights. Then she met Eli. They started hanging out every night, all night and doing basic childhood activities. Eli made it his mission to give Auden a childhood. Eli and Auden became involved and Auden changed. She became less mature and realized who she really is.

This book takes place in a small town on the beach. The place is a lot different than where I am from because I live no where close to the beach. Sarah Dessen makes me feel like I am in this small town on the beach.

I loved Along for the Ride and I recommend this book for any girl.

383 pages

My Amazing Life

My life is great! I have a great family, good friends, and a fun job.

My family is pretty cool. I live with my dad, mom, brother, and two sisters. I am the third child. I am 13 years older than one of my sisters. She was quite a surprise but we love her. I love to spend time with my family. We enjoy going to amusement parks. Almost every summer we go to a new amusement park and spend a week. It is a lot of fun.

I have really good friends. I have moved a few times in my lifetime so I do not have a friend that I have had all my life. I have had many different friends throughout my life. My friends right now are crazy but fun. They are all pretty different but we get along.

I work at Stars and Stripes Gymnastics Center. I teach little kids basic gymnastics. It is really fun but gets kind of crazy. I try to make gymnastics fun for the kids so they wont act up. If one kid starts to act up, the others do too so we try to keep things organized. I have always loved gymnastics so coaching is really fun for me.

My life is pretty average but great! I wouldn't trade it for anything!