The title of my book is called Cruise Control. The author of my book is Terry Trueman. The date of publication was on November 1, 2005 , but it was first published in 2004. I think that the genre of my book is mystery and non-fiction. The reason that i think it is mystery is because almost in the end of the book Paul's mom confesses to Paul that his father didnt run out on them. She finally confessed that she told him to leave. During the whole book it was just saying how he had ran out on them, whichwasnt true. The reason that i think it is non-fiction is because he had hopes on getting an athletic scholarship and going to Geogetown college. He also was a very good basketball player. Anyone can be. The book "Cruise Control" has not won any awards or critical acclaim. This book has 160 pages in it. It took me about three to four weeks to finish it. The character in this book are Paul, which is the main character, Cindy which is Paul's sister, Shawn which is Cindy's and Paul's brother that has a dissability. Also tim who is Paul's best friend. The setting of my book is at  Anne Hill in Seattle.
        The setting of my book is in Anne Hill in Seattle. The good guy in my book is Paul and his mom. The reason that i think this is because ever since paul's dad had left them, he has become the man of the house and does everything to support and make everyone happy in their home. The reason that i think the mom also known as Lindy, takes good care of her son Shawn who has a dissability. She would do anything to make him feel special and happy. Same as Paul. If anyone makes fun of Shawn he will protect him. Some of the choice that my main character Paul has made was that he had stood up to his father and told him everything that he has done wrong. He also denied every college offering that he got just so that he can stay with his family and protect them. The major conflict in my book was that Paul was mad because of how his Father had ran out on them and didnt do anything to help or support him. Also, the other problem was that Paul's brother had a disability and needed special help and he would be the one there. The bad guy in this book was Pual's dad Sydney McDaniel. He was the bad guy because he had ran out on his whole family. He didnt try to communicate with them or spent anytime with them either. He was to worry about being famous and not ruin his reputation. The other characters in this story are Lindy which is Pual's mother and cindy and shawn who are Paul's siblings.
          The themes that are presented in this book is that you should never judge while not knowing the whole story and ven though your parents have made a big mistake in the past yopu should judge or make them feel less. They are still your parents and raised you. They did everything to make you feel special and for you to have everything possible in ife. They gave you a good childhood and a great education. The message that the writer is trying to communicate is that you never judge while you dont know the whole story that had happened. Remember to keep your comments to youself and dont say things that you know it wont be nice and can cause problems. The characters helped because they showed what happens when you dont ask about the past. For instance, Pual always thought that his father had walked out on them but the real story was that his mom had told him to leave. That was one of the biggest way that they showed the message. I think that one of the characters had made some bad discisions in the book. One was that Pual and his friend Tim were drinking and started driving. I wouldnt of even tried to touch the wheel. They could of got into and accident, they could of reallyed hurt themselves. The actors help us better understand because they know what they didi was wrong and told what would of happened if they would of gotten hurt. Another was that Tim had ended up in jail because of fighting with his stepfather. Now they know what concequences they could have if they ever tried any of those things.
           There a lot of thigs that i liked about the book. One thing was that in some parts it gave you a couple mysteries for you to solve. Instead of them telling you everything they would leave you in suspense and would make you wanna read more and not stop. Secondly, i liked how it gave examples on personal problemas that anyone could have in the future or are now going through it. Most of the event were in order and well organized. One thing that i didnt like about the book was that it had some complicated vocabulary and made it more complicated for me to understand some parts of it. My last opinion is that it didnt have as much real facts as i though it would. Over all it was a great book for me to read.
           I highly persuade you to read this book because it gives you a couple real facts into family issues. Not everyone goes through these problems but would help you understand more if it, if sometime in life you do have a problem like them. I honestly loved reading it. I didnt get bored in any part of it because it gave good examples and made the text more interesting.I truely recommend you this book. It has some funny parts but also serious comments. Why not try reading this, maybe after reading it , it might change your mind and actually surprise you. Like everyone says never judge a book by its cover.

Alexia Ramos

November 14, 2011

Mr. Williams and Ms. Ronketty

Period: 9  English

        I.            The teacher will offer better ideas to my work.

A.)   Read -read my projects and writings.

B.)    Make me research for better examples.

      II.            The teachers will make me do more work to improve in anything.

A.)   Give me writing assignments.

B.)    Give me projects to realize that I understood my project.

    III.            The teachers will pressure me into talking more.

A.)   Make me get into a conversation to offer ideas.

B.)    Make me participate more.

    IV.            The teachers will let me stay after school to finish any assignments.

C.)    Let me organize my assignments better.

Let me stay to finish work that needs to be turned in on time.

      V.            The teachers will help me with work that I don’t understand.

D.)   Explain to me in better ways.

E.)    Give me examples on things that I don’t understand.

assignment

Alexia Ramos

November 14, 2011

Mr. Williams and Ms. Ronketty

Period: 9   English

       I.            I will get straight A’s this year.

A.) Turn all of my work into my teachers.

B.)  Study for anything that I need.

     II.            I will do all of my homework.

A.) Remember all of the assignments that I get.

B.)  Write down all the work that I have for that day.

  III.            I will achieve all my goals this year.

A.) Stay away from any bad influence.

B.)  Do not zone out in class.

  IV.            I will participate in class activities.

A.) Raise my hand to participate.

B.)  Offer good ideas in the situation.

    V.            I will tell offer better ideas.

A.)  Give my opinions on the subject or idea.

B.)  Give critical responses on presentations that we would do.

Goodreads book review #1-SPEAK by Laurie Halse Anderson

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


The title of the book would be speak and before reading it i didnt understand why they put that as the title, but after reading it i realized the meaning of the word "Speak". The author of the book is by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book was published April 1,2001. I personally think that this books genre is mystery and non-fiction. The reason that i think its mystery is because in some parts you really have to pay attention to what it is happening and right when you want to know what is going on you need to figure it out yourself. The reason that it is non-fiction is because the story that happened to the girl can happen to anyone in the world. The book "Speak" has won many awards. It has won National Book Award Nominee for Young Peoples Literature(1999), Golden Kite Award for Fiction (1999), Horn Book Fanfare Best Book (2000), BCCB Blue Ribbon Book (1999), Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult (2000) Edgar Award Nominee for Best Young Adult (2000), Printz Honor (2000), South Carolina Book Award for Young Adult Book Award (2002), ALA's Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults (2000, it has won many awards and i understand why. The book has 208 pages. For this book it didnt take me that long because i was actually into it. It took me about two weeks for me to finish it. The characters of the story are Rachel Honeybourne Ivy Hall, Heather, Nicole Case, Melinda Sordino, Andy Evans, David Petrakis, Mr. Freeman. The main character was Melinda Sordino. The setting was at Syracuse, New York.

The setting of the book "Speak," is at Syracuse, New York, in the middle of winter. The good guy of the book would be Mr.Freeman. The reason that he's the good guy is because he was helping out Melinda trying to let out all her emotions. Some choices that the main character had to do is keep quiet about everything that has happened to her and he would always tell her not to give up and to always keep trying. The major conflict of the story was that no matter what Melinda would say to Rachel, she never believed her. The antagonist or the "bad guy" of the book was Andy Petrakis. The other characters of the book are Ivy Hall, Heather, Nicole Case, Melinda Sordino, Andy Evans, David Petrakis, Mr. Freeman.

The theme present in the book is that you should never keep quiet about something that has happened to you that is very serious. The message that the author is trying to communicate is that no matter how serious the problem is, you should always talk to someone about it.

There is one thing that Rachel did that i didnt like. One thing that she did was that after Melinda had told her all the things about Andy she still didnt believe her. If that were to be me i would of figured out if all the things that she told me were true. The actions of the characters help us to better understand the message because it gives us examples of what not to do and gives us the solution of what is better to do in those situations.

I have many opinions of the book. One thing that i liked about the book is that in some parts there are some suspense. Once your getting to the good parts there is going to be one part that you really have the needs to read it. Also, there would also be a part where there is a mystery going on and you have to try to figure it out. Those were my favorite parts of the book. The thing that i didnt like about the book was that in some parts it had some confusing words and it will just mess up some of the suspense. But other then that i loved the book.

I highly recommend this book to anyone because it will give you a good lesson and will amuse you but also give you that suspense that you are trying to get. if you really interested into books that have mysteries in them then this is your book. Like everyone says dont judge a book by its cover. Give it a try and you would realize that you didnt waste your time on ready the book. Now im starting to read "Cruise Control" by Terry Trueman... Can't wait to tell you about this one!



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