The Secret Story of Sonia Rodriguez

          The book The Secret Life of Sonia Rodriguez by Alan Lawrence Sitomer is about the life of a Mexican-American girl who is stuck between the two different cultures. Sonia Rodriguez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and even though Sonia was born in the United States, she can't resist the fact that she is Mexican and the stereotypes that follows. In the book, Sonia wants to become the first in her family to attend college but throughout the book, she faced many racism and stereotypes.
          First of all, a situation happens throughout the entire book which frustrates Sonia a lot and became one of her problems. Because that Sonia is a girl and the only daughter of her parents, she is expected to take care of the entire household even it meant dropping out of school. Sonia is constantly forced by her mother and aunt to cook, do chores and babysit her younger brothers. Despite the fact that Sonia needs to go to school for educational needs which she stresses a lot, her family still make her get up early in the morning to cook and do chores such as washing the clothes and cleaning the house. Then Sonia would arrive at school late and continue with her stressful schoolwork. However, even after she gets home, Sonia isn't able to do her homework until late at night when everyone is asleep and there is no one else to take care of. All this work is being Sonia is the only girl and daughter. She is expected to complete everything need to be done in the house. This is stereotype because females are always expected to stay home and do chores. No one would expect a girl to go to school and get an education.
          Another stereotype that occurs in the book is when Sonia appears in public with her twin brothers. Despite the fact that Sonia is still young, people consider her already a mother even though she didn't even finish high school yet. People expect her to become pregnant at a young age and drop out of school. The reason people would think this way is because Sonia is Mexican. Usually, people would consider Mexican women useless other than producing babies. This is a stereotype imprinted in their heads and hard to change,
         In conclusion, Sonia faces many hardships throughout the book such as stereotypes. But she manages to face them bravely and work hard to prove her value. She proves she is capable of graduating from high school and into college without becoming pregnant. This is important because she can prove herself without interfering in any violent actions.

Blog Review

             For this blog review, I read Megan's blog post on her independent reading book, The Girl With The Pearl Earring by Tracy Chevalier. The post is written really well and has a unique focus. She explains the struggles Griet faced throughout the book and connects her thinking to the story.

             I read this book before and I totally agree on Megan's points about Griet. Throughout the whole story, Griet faces different problems because of her poor family and her attraction to the 'new' family. The book constantly rotates around money and how much influence it can bring to people based on their ranking. Megan perfectly explains how because of money, Griet faces pressure from her family and also her guiltiness for not wanting to bring a better life to her family.  Just like what Megan said, the symbolism of 'my back' shows how Griet has to be loyal to only one family and not the other. 

           In Megan's post, money and power seems to be the problem for Griet. Because of poverty, Griet is forced to work for another family which led to an explosion of different problems. Griet has to decide whether to follow what she believe in or her family's wishes. Of course at the end, Griet choose to be loyal to her own family. I think money is really an influential issue. Because of money, people are willing to take chances and face destruction in their family. The Girl with the Pearl Earring is a good example of that. Money often forces people to take chances, good or bad. 

         Lastly, the structure of Megan's post is done well. It is done in a good sequence, with a brief but straight to the point summary and informative details to support her thoughts of the book. Megan's response is well written and inspires me as a reader of issues in the world.

       http://meganwatersblog.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-book-girl-with-pearl-earring-by.html

            

" Should The U.S & Canada Merge?"-- Non-Fiction Critical Analysis

In " Should The U.S & Canada Merge?" by Diane Francis, the author want to convince readers Canada should combine with America to become one massive country because of the cultural, economic and political benefits each country can bring to each other. One thing the author does is cite examples of the similarities Americans share with Canadians; for example, the two countries share the longest unprotected border which is about 5,525 miles long, the amount of tourists flowing over the border to visit, and favorite celebrities shared. She also includes the political advantages America can provide Canada. Because of the large amount of undeveloped resources and large amount of landmass Canada holds, China has targeted Canada for a long time. However, Canada's inability in protecting its huge landmass, America's 1.4 million people in the military can benefit Canada well. She also provides examples of how the two countries can benefit each other economically. She says, "In 2012, almost 74 percent of Canada's exports went to the U.S., and 19 percent of U.S. exports were sold to Canadians." This shows America is Canada's biggest customers and would benefit them the best. Lastly, the author shows the enormous amount of undeveloped resources in Canada can solve the dilemma of more than 9 million jobless Americans. By using these details, the author can persuade readers Canada and America match well together economically, politically and culturally.

Diane Francis hopes to persuade readers Canada and America should merge together to become the strongest and the most powerful nation on Earth. One way she achieves her goal is by intentionally including a list of Canadian celebrities that had appeared in popular American TV shows or movies. By doing it, she is constantly reminding readers that Canadians are among Americans and they are similar.  Another way the author achieves her goal is by bringing sympathy on Canada and making it sound helpless against China. "However, it is becoming more accurate to regard Canada as another province of China." This shows how Canada counts as one of China's property and China almost has full control over Canada. However, the author later brings in how the U.S can help "save" Canada. By doing this, the author makes the article more persuasive and convincing to readers.

After reading this article, I feel Canada and the U.S. shouldn't merge because it would bring a disadvantage to other nations. If the two nations combine, then it would become the biggest and the largest nation on Earth. The large amount of resources in Canada provides supplies to America's military and can make America stronger. What if one day the two nations started an attack on other nations, then no nation can survive.

The Child Called It

              The Child Called It is an astonishing and shocking memoir written by Dave Pelzer. Dave Pelzer wrote in gruesome details of the physical and emotional abuse his mother gave him throughout his childhood. Even though some question the authority of the book, it still brought attention to child abuse and the severe consequences of it. Throughout the book, child abuse is an ongoing issue and the cruelty is shown through Dave Pelzer’s perspective.

 In the book, Dave Pelzer reflects on his childhood and the abuse he received from his mentallyill mother. The ongoing abuse not only affects Dave physically, but also destroying his image of a mother. His father sense what was going on, but he decide to not acknowledge the issue and left Dave on his own. Dave lost the only help he can look forward to, but he never lose the hope that one day his mother would become well again and treat him like her son. The complex thing in the book is that even though Dave’s mother treated him like a “thing” instead of a human, Dave never lost the faith that one day his mother would heal and be nice to him. However, it is clear that his mother would never treat him well again in the book. His mother gave him rotten scraps that even dogs refuse to eat for meals, burned him on a gas stove, made him eat his own vomit and stabbed him so badly, Dave almost die. In conclusion, even though Dave never actually explain what cause his mother to do such actions, he never gave up despite the cruel treatments he received.

 Throughout the whole book, the story was told from Dave’s perspective. It make sense because it is his story to tell, but he also made what sounds gruesome and inhuman more a temporary issue his mother had. Despite how his mother treat him like a dog, Dave still treated her like his mother. Dave recall everything his mother had ever done to him in exact details, but at the end he always made up an excuse for her to convince himself to forgive him. In addition, the perspective the story is being told makes Dave sound helpless and also brave at the same time. 

In conclusion, Dave went through extreme conditions from his mother and continue to believe in his dreams. Child abuse in any form is cruel and damaging to children. Some may not be able to survive and continue their lives like Dave, so therefore child abuse is an issue that needs to be stopped. Victims should be relived from these nightmares and deserve what is best for them. 

Emil and Karl

            Emil and Karl is an astonishing novel about two boys growing up during World War II in Vienna. Only one of them, Emil is Jewish while the other Karl is a regular boy. Emil's father is displayed murdered by the Nazis while his mother went crazy with grief. Karl's parents are "dragged" away because they are socialists. Therefore, the boys are left behind with only each other. Throughout the whole story, the boys went through multiple complicated dilemmas and experience issues because of who they are. Jewish discrimination is a major issue in the book.
           In the book, Jewish discrimination is portrayed as a serious problem. Jews were trapped in Vienna and there are no where to go. Horrible incidents often happens in the book, " Jewish shops being looted, Jews forced to scrub Vienna's streets with their bare hands and to act like animals in a public zoo." Having their parents being taken away, the two boys have difficulty understanding why the Jews are treated so badly. They are even forced to face these humiliations from the authorities. This shows how severe discrimination is and one can be Together, they go through cruelty, courage, desperation and love. Kind people like Hans took the boys in and taught them how to pick the right choice based on their heart.
            However, the author doesn't include the perspectives of soldiers and civilians who hated Jews. The whole novel is written from the perspective of two boys, one that is Jew and one that is friends with Jews. Both boys are young, and have difficulty understanding how serious Jews being discriminated can be. Even though both of them faced separation with their families, because either they are Jews or have relationship with one. The chosen perspectives by the author shows how innocent Jew kids are during World War II and their innocence in doing nothing. The author first depicted the boys as best friends and all they want is to stay together. However, enemies continue to pick on them. Severe consequences came to those who are Jews or related.
            In conclusion, there are many conflicts evolving around Jewish discrimination. The discrimination fit in really well with the novel, because of the chosen time period. War is really horrible, especially when it can influence so many people. Innocent civilians are affected in many ways, either ending up in with a sad ending or dead.

Should YA Fiction Be Limited?

When books and novels were just written, attention-grabbing stories were carefully crafted by writers, who want to comfort and bring pleasure to readers. Yet, over the past years, books had transformed from calming and soothing to more profane and gruesome. Books like “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” demonstrates many essential components of life, but also gives memorable lessons in harsher ways. As a result, many adult question these books and protest certain books should be banned from the book section read by their children. Yet, teens argue that young adult books are written for teens, and that parents should not take away their reading privileges.Therefore, access to YA fiction should not be limited because it is those, shocking books that provide teens experience with real-life situations, and also create a shield from the real world.

Even though YA fiction may contain some terrifying and gruesome materials that is inappropriate for teens, they shape teens’ point of views in a positive attitude and provide comfort to teens when dealing with stress from daily activity of living. The teens are facing extreme pressure and intensive problems daily in their disturbed lives. Books present a way out by writing about adolescents with similar situations. “ And there are millions of teens who read because they are sad and lonely and enraged. They read, because they believe, despite the callow protestations of certain adults, that books- especially the dark and dangerous ones will save them.” This quote shows how numerous young adults who are struggling through dark feelings can get comforted from YA books. YA fiction may be cruel, but it is the cruelty that support teens. “... the YA section of your local bookstore can be a pretty damn grim place, rife everything from angsty vampires to sex abuse to bullying. And no, not all of it is great literature.” Life is compose of virtuous and corrupted parts. Some teens may never experience the frightening part, but a lot would eventually have to face those experience in the end. YA books provide guidance for teens on how to deal with those unwanted situations better. The made-up characters bring examples for teens to learn better coping skills.

         Also, another reason why YA fiction should not be limited is that teens are surrounded with literature characters like the big, bad wolf, teens became more used to similar content. Teens has faced dark content in their lives, many since they were young. Adults fed them with tales about big, bad wolves and poisoned apple, while expecting them to stay innocent. So YA fiction is the upgraded version of those tales. “ But there’s something almost comical about raising them with tales if big bad wolves and poisoned apples, and then deciding at a certain point that literature is too ‘dark’ for them to handle.” Teen should not be treated like fragile, vulnerable people who need to be protected and shielded from everything horrible in the world. In his article refuting against Meghan Cox Gurdon, Sherman Alexie says, “ I write in blood because I remember what it felt like to bleed.” The tiny little details in those books is what teens experience in their life while growing up. Therefore, YA books provide teens with firsthand experience. Teens slowly build up with experience that will help them survive in the real world.

However, there are opponents who argues YA fiction has negative effects on teen readers, causing them to lose innocence too soon. In the article “ Darkness too Visible,” the author Meghan Cox Gurdon argues, “ self-destructive adolescent behaviors are observably infectious and have periods of vogue.” This shows how fast the darkness described in YA books can spread to readers. According to her, readers would hurt themselves because those books are too effective and powerful in spreading darkness. However, she does not acknowledge the fact that teens are already experiencing stressful things in real life. These dark and gruesome matters are already going on in their lives, teens are less likely going to hurt themselves after reading those books. Just like what Sherman Alexie says, “they wanted me to profess my love for God without considering that I was the child and grandchild of men and women who’d been sexually and physically abused by generations of clergy.” He reflects on how no one had consider the fact that he had already been through these things.

          In conclusion, YA fiction should not be limited in any way because YA books provide a comfort zone and help readers survive through tragic events in life. The cruelty of books help transform teens into more mature and understanding. They learn about life and how to survive through it bravely. In addition, YA books is a good way for teens to express their feelings. They can overcome internal fears with the help from YA books, and become more independent without seeking help from adults. Being able to achieve this would benefit teens in the future.

What I saw and How I Lied

              What I Saw and How I Lied by Judy Blundell is a novel about the life of a 15 year-old girl named Evie Spooner living in the period after WWII. She goes through many difficult stages of life with her beautiful mother, and the lack of a responsible father. Then, her mother met young Joe, and they soon fell in love, presenting Evie a real father. However, Joe left to enlist in the army, leaving Evie without a father again. When Joe comes back, all Evie hope is to have a normal life. But the war had left Joe with dark memories that makes him angry and irritated all the time. In the novel, the theme growing up is always presented in parts of Evie Spooner's life, which makes her to become more mature.
            In the beginning of the book, Evie and her best friend Margie Crotty is presented to readers trying on candy cigarettes and talking about wearing lipstick. All Evie wants is to grow up, to become her beautiful mother who catches the attention easily. Evie says in the book, "the way she held a cigarette, the way she danced in the kitchen, they way she could make supper with a cocktail glass in one hand-- that was movie star glamour. You could almost forget she was just a housewife from Queens."  Evie is jealous of her mother's beauty, and want to become her. But her mother, Beverly is overprotective. She claims she doesn't want Evie to grow up too soon, even though Evie is almost 16. At this point, Evie is still a child.
          When Joe return from the war, Evie thought they would finally return to normal life. So when Joe suddenly decide to take the family to Florida for vacation, she is thrill. They met the rich Graysons, and one day Evie decide to dress up fancy like Mrs.Graysons. When Mrs.Grayson found out, despite her mother's protest, she dressed up Evie into an outstanding woman. This is the first time Evie had experience growing up. And because Evie thought she is glamorous, she went to a dance where she met a movie-star gorgeous man named Peter Coleridge. The 21 year old named her "pussycat" and gave her attention she had never receive from a boy, let alone a man. 
         In addition, Evie also experience deciding what's right or wrong. When Peter acknowledge Evie about Joe stealing Jewish people's property during the war, she felt that is wrong and know something has to be done. Therefore after knowing the Graysons are jewish, she decides to take the money and return it. By doing this, Evie can decide the justice in the world, and finally achieve the goal of maturing.
         In conclusion, by going through the many events in one summer, Evie slowly mature from a girl to a young woman. Growing up is slowly built up by experience. Even though Evie depend heavily on her family, she learn to grow up and become independent. She discover the true her and know what is right.