garfielf

TRUST NO ONE

Detroit 2030. Peri Reed, a renegade escaping her conflicts, gets double-crossed by both the person she loved and the government organization that recruited her. She can't trust anyone. Her crush, her agency, her family, herself.

The Drafter is a book about Peri. She holds a poweful skill that allows her to change time, although it makes her forget both the history she changed and the history she edited. Peri lands not in a normal job, but a job that tasks her with changing the past. She kills and deceives and brainwashes and steals.

She's a silent ghost in the night.

When Peri discovers that she is on a list of corrupt operatives to be killed she realizes that she has been manipulated, she has been used, she has been exploited, she has been controlled. Peri uses her ability in this sci-fi piece to show readers how important trust is in human relationships. The Veil similarly uses characters with special abilities in a different setting to also show use a similar message.

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3rd Quarter Independent Reading Reflection

The books I read this quarter were:
The Drafter by Kim Harrison
Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Cruise Control by Terry Trueman
No Right Turn by Terry Trueman

My goals last quarter were to read a total of 4 books. I met that goal. I met my goals probably because I read shorter books that were easier to read. One goal that I have for my 4th quarter independent reading is to read more books by Terry Trueman like Stuck In Neutral or Life Happens Next. Another goal I have is to read 4 books by the end of the quarter. They don't have to be lengthy books, but like last quarter I want to read any 4 books.

Point of View - Steven Johnson

The columnist I chose was Steve Johnson, from the Chicago Tribune, whose point of view is lifestyle. In the two pieces I read, “5 things to watch for at tonight's Grammys, on CBS” and “What’s wrong with the new Starbucks loyalty plan? The answer is simple,” Johnson uses small side sentences, pop culture references, and elevated diction to talk about things that most people have experienced or seen in their life.

Johnson’s use of small side sentences or comments adds the most to his lifestyle point of view. When he wrote his “What’s Wrong” article he compares Starbucks to a 7-eleven saying that the Frappuccino is like the slurpee, and that the scone is like the greasy donut. But he adds at the end that, “There is no lottery-ticket parallel, unless, perhaps, you count the cards entitling you to a free song on iTunes” (What’s wrong 2). When Johnson writes about this most people remember seeing those cards and maybe picking up a few. That enforces his lifestyle feeling in his pieces. In the “5 things” article Johnson talks about Trash Justin Bieber and how maybe he can turn us into ‘Beliebers’. He says that, “In a week during which scientists have finally discovered gravitational waves, anything is possible” (5 things 2). Everyone knows Justin Bieber and how he is literal garbage a star. Johnson knew that. He added him on purpose and added that small sentence to make fun of a popular topic adding to his lifestyle like writing.

2nd Quarter Poetry Journal Reflection.

The orange is orange

The red of an apple

The flowing sand

Covering the land

Like brown Snapple®

The kidnappers were not cats

That struck last month

Wearing fancy hats

Stealing the king

And his thing

I chose this poem because it was the only one that was actually something and not just badly constructed paragraphs with weird rhyming schemes. I liked it though because it was just some silly poem written one day in English class that I enjoyed writing and coming up with random words. I didn't change anything because if I did the words would not have followed the "rule" of the rhyming.

2nd Quarter Independent Reading Reflection

This semester I finished 3 books if you include The Color of Water, by James McBride, and my memoir, Gang Leader for a Day, by Sudhir Venkatesh. The other book I read was The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime, by Mark Haddon. Last quarter I read about two books. My book choices were not that rigorous but The Curious Incident of the Dog of the Nighttime was written in a "curious" way (Lol, I'm so funny). In all seriousness though, the chapters were prime numbers and the narrator wrote with lots of and's and without contractions. For example, "...Then, when I have got a degree in Maths, or Physics, or Maths and Physics, I will ever able to get a job and earn lots of money and I will be able to pay someone who can look after me and cook my meals and wash my clothes..." I didn't choose the level of challenge because I just picked up the book and started reading it but it was a good read. I'd have to say that the best book I read was Gang Leader for a Day because of how informative and suspenseful it was. I discovered that the biography-type books are not a bad choice.

My goals from the 1st quarter were to read more books with a greater vocabulary, more discussion topics, or longer books. I don't think I met that goal. I could have been because we read our memoirs. Some measurable goals that I have for my 3rd quarter independent reading are to read a total of 4 books even if they are shorter or less complex. I also want to read some more fantasy or fiction books such as The Drafter by Kim Harrison.