"The Princess Diaries" by Meg Cabot
Blog post by: Natasha S
"The Princess Diaries" by Meg Cabot is about Mia Thermopolis, a regular girl. Or so she thinks. When a limo picks her up from the airport, she suspects something is up. Then, she finds out that her dad is the Prince of Genovia! This means that her REAL name is Princess Amelia Mignonette Grimaldi Thermopolis Renaldo! This also is a big surprise, because Mia is just a regular girl. Then, she finds out that she might have to MOVE to Genovia!!! She's shocked and she hates it. On top of all that, she finds out that she has to take LESSONS from her grandmother (on how to act like a princess!!). She immediately refuses, but she ends up having to do it, because her dad can't have kids and she's apparently the best for the throne. She's having problems by herself too, like she has school to think about, as well as the people at school. She might secretly like her best friend's older brother, but she's not sure about anything anymore! What will happen to Mia?
The theme of this book is be yourself, but be open to other customs. This is because in the book, Mia hated it, but then she knew that she had to take the lessons from her grandmother. From this, she embraces it (with hate most of the time), but she still does it. She made many bad decisions (like not coming to class, etc.), which is something to learn from: be open to other customs.
I would rate this book a 4/5 because it was interesting to read, but at the same time, the introduction was slow and kind of boring. Once it got into gear, though, it was exciting to read!
My favorite part of the whole book would be when she found out that she was a princess because it really showed what her personality was. She slammed the door and was curious but also upset at the same time, which I'm sure that a lot of people can relate to that.
I would recommend this book to anyone who thinks that they are still finding their inner self, because that is what this book is REALLY about. Mia is just an ordinary girl, who has something "great" happen to her. It showed that anyone can really be just like Mia.
Wednesday, April 8, 2015
Monday, April 6, 2015
"There's No Place like Home" by Jen Calonita
"There's No Place like Home" by Jen Calonita
By Natasha S
This book by Jen Calonita is the last book in the series. It's once again following the life of Kaitlin Burke, and this was the best book in the series, according to me. It's about how she got into a car accident, because the paparazzi was following them, and they were trying to get away from them, but crashed (Kaitlin and Austin) and her mind wanders to an alternate world, where she's not a movie star, but just a regular girl. She's hated by a lot of people, even Austin. She has to travel all the way to New York City to find Nadine, her "old" friend that helped her during her "other" life as a movie star and actress. No one in this world knows who Kaitlin Burke is, even Nadine. She then wakes up, and it seems like everything's fine again. She's in the hospital, and all the things in her dream were things that her mom, Austin, Nadine, Liz, and everyone was saying. She's relieved. What will happen to Kaitlin's life after this? Read to find out!!!
I would rate this book a 6/5, if I could. It was intriguing, because you never knew what was going to happen next. and it always kept you engaged in what was happening. You wanted to know what happened next, and what would happen to Kaitlin (whether she would make it back or not, etc.). You also didn't know what was happening, which made you want to read more so you can figure out what was happening to her.
The theme of the book is to be grateful. That's because Kaitlin had a great life, and this tragedy happened, so afterwards, she was so happy that she was "back." It taught her to be grateful for what she had and that even though there are bad things in her life, she still has to be grateful that it's her life.
I would recommend this book for anyone who likes the "Secrets of my Hollywood Life" series and who likes a good book about gratefulness. The age range would probably be any high school student, because the setting is in high school.
By Natasha S
This book by Jen Calonita is the last book in the series. It's once again following the life of Kaitlin Burke, and this was the best book in the series, according to me. It's about how she got into a car accident, because the paparazzi was following them, and they were trying to get away from them, but crashed (Kaitlin and Austin) and her mind wanders to an alternate world, where she's not a movie star, but just a regular girl. She's hated by a lot of people, even Austin. She has to travel all the way to New York City to find Nadine, her "old" friend that helped her during her "other" life as a movie star and actress. No one in this world knows who Kaitlin Burke is, even Nadine. She then wakes up, and it seems like everything's fine again. She's in the hospital, and all the things in her dream were things that her mom, Austin, Nadine, Liz, and everyone was saying. She's relieved. What will happen to Kaitlin's life after this? Read to find out!!!
I would rate this book a 6/5, if I could. It was intriguing, because you never knew what was going to happen next. and it always kept you engaged in what was happening. You wanted to know what happened next, and what would happen to Kaitlin (whether she would make it back or not, etc.). You also didn't know what was happening, which made you want to read more so you can figure out what was happening to her.
The theme of the book is to be grateful. That's because Kaitlin had a great life, and this tragedy happened, so afterwards, she was so happy that she was "back." It taught her to be grateful for what she had and that even though there are bad things in her life, she still has to be grateful that it's her life.
I would recommend this book for anyone who likes the "Secrets of my Hollywood Life" series and who likes a good book about gratefulness. The age range would probably be any high school student, because the setting is in high school.
Friday, March 27, 2015
"Paparazzi Princess" by Jen Calonita
"Paparazzi Princess" by Jen Calonita
By: Natasha S
"Paparazzi Princess" by Jen Calonita is a book once again following the lifer of Kaitlin Burke, top actress, maybe. It's a continuation of the series "Secrets of my Hollywood Life", which I have reviewed before. This time, Kaitlin meets Lauren and Ava, two other actresses who have evil intents, but Kaitlin doesn't knoe that. She starts to hang out with them, which causes tension on her best friend relationship with Liz. When Ava and Lauren hang out more and more with Kaitlin, hey start to ask her to steal clothes and merchandise, just for the fun of it. Not knowing what to do and seeing that there were no paparazzi, she does it. No one notices, but she feels guilty about it. When it becomes their regular schedule now, she thinks that its weird that she is doing it because she never would've done if it wasn't for a Laura and Ava. Liz finds out about thin though and it gets weird between them. Their friendship is falling apart, and she can't do anything about it. She lets go of her friendship wroth Liz, which kills her inside. When the paparrazi find or about what she had been doing, she feels like her life is gone. What will happen to their friendship? Read to find out!!!
This book was the worst of them so far because it wasn't really interesting to read. It is definetely not the worst book I have ever read. It was still attention grabbing, but just not as attention- grabbing as the rest of her books. I would still rate it a 4/5 because it was good read. This book didn't really play to your emotions as much as the others, but was still good.
I would say that the theme is "Don't let your peers influence your thoughts and actions." This is because throughout the whole book, Ava and Lauren were peers to Kaitlin and they made her do bad decisions that she wouldn't have done if it was Liz (because Liz would never do that).
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a funny read with lots of serious topics (like stealing and theft). The age range I would say would be any middle school or high schooler who likes a humorous topic associated with a serious kind of deeper-level topics.
I how you will read the series and hope you liked this blog!
By: Natasha S
"Paparazzi Princess" by Jen Calonita is a book once again following the lifer of Kaitlin Burke, top actress, maybe. It's a continuation of the series "Secrets of my Hollywood Life", which I have reviewed before. This time, Kaitlin meets Lauren and Ava, two other actresses who have evil intents, but Kaitlin doesn't knoe that. She starts to hang out with them, which causes tension on her best friend relationship with Liz. When Ava and Lauren hang out more and more with Kaitlin, hey start to ask her to steal clothes and merchandise, just for the fun of it. Not knowing what to do and seeing that there were no paparazzi, she does it. No one notices, but she feels guilty about it. When it becomes their regular schedule now, she thinks that its weird that she is doing it because she never would've done if it wasn't for a Laura and Ava. Liz finds out about thin though and it gets weird between them. Their friendship is falling apart, and she can't do anything about it. She lets go of her friendship wroth Liz, which kills her inside. When the paparrazi find or about what she had been doing, she feels like her life is gone. What will happen to their friendship? Read to find out!!!
This book was the worst of them so far because it wasn't really interesting to read. It is definetely not the worst book I have ever read. It was still attention grabbing, but just not as attention- grabbing as the rest of her books. I would still rate it a 4/5 because it was good read. This book didn't really play to your emotions as much as the others, but was still good.
I would say that the theme is "Don't let your peers influence your thoughts and actions." This is because throughout the whole book, Ava and Lauren were peers to Kaitlin and they made her do bad decisions that she wouldn't have done if it was Liz (because Liz would never do that).
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes a funny read with lots of serious topics (like stealing and theft). The age range I would say would be any middle school or high schooler who likes a humorous topic associated with a serious kind of deeper-level topics.
I how you will read the series and hope you liked this blog!
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
"Family Affairs" by Jen Calonita
"Family Affairs" by Jen Calonita
Blog Post by Natasha S
"Family Affairs" by Jen Calonita is the third book in the series. It once again, follows the life of Kaitlin Burke, an actress who's co-star is Sky Mackenzie. Surprisingly, Alexis, their new co-star, is even worse than Sky! How can this be? Well, with the new attention she's getting, it has put a hold on Kaitlin's reputation, also because they know the 'real' Alexis, who is really a bully and just puts on her 'puppy-face' in front of the crowd and paparazzi. Alexis also shows interest in Kaitlin's boyfriend, Austin, which puts an even bigger strain on their relationship. All of a sudden, Kaitlin and Sky get their new scripts saying that their characters have been cut off the show! They are very angry and immediately set up a meeting with the director. On the way to the director's office, they overhear Alexis and the head writer talking. The head writer said, "'You said this was between us! You promised that it [the script] wouldn't get out!'" (Calonita, 70%). Alexis was crying and apologizing and the head writer hints that he was the one who changed the script from Alexis persuading him too. With this new news, they rush to the director's office so that they can tell him. When they get there, they are 20 minutes late, and they rush to tell him. Surprisingly, he already knew it from Kaitlin's brother, who was getting close with Alexis, but then saw her 'real' side. She accidentally told him that it was her idea to change the script and that she had persuaded the head writer to write it. Thankfully, the director cuts Alexis and her character off the show, and everything is back to normal... or is it really? Read to find out!
I would rate this book a 5/5 because you could feel Kaitlin's frustration towards Alexis, but you know that they can't do anything about it due to the fact that everyone loves Alexis, because of her fake 'outer-self.' It had emotion, especially when Matty (Kaitlin's brother) explained to her that the reason that he told on Alexis was because Kaitlin was his sister, he will love his sister more than anyone else, and he couldn't stand to see Kaitlin be cut off when he was still there, even if she did have the bigger trailer. It shows the power of love triumphs all.
Blog Post by Natasha S
"Family Affairs" by Jen Calonita is the third book in the series. It once again, follows the life of Kaitlin Burke, an actress who's co-star is Sky Mackenzie. Surprisingly, Alexis, their new co-star, is even worse than Sky! How can this be? Well, with the new attention she's getting, it has put a hold on Kaitlin's reputation, also because they know the 'real' Alexis, who is really a bully and just puts on her 'puppy-face' in front of the crowd and paparazzi. Alexis also shows interest in Kaitlin's boyfriend, Austin, which puts an even bigger strain on their relationship. All of a sudden, Kaitlin and Sky get their new scripts saying that their characters have been cut off the show! They are very angry and immediately set up a meeting with the director. On the way to the director's office, they overhear Alexis and the head writer talking. The head writer said, "'You said this was between us! You promised that it [the script] wouldn't get out!'" (Calonita, 70%). Alexis was crying and apologizing and the head writer hints that he was the one who changed the script from Alexis persuading him too. With this new news, they rush to the director's office so that they can tell him. When they get there, they are 20 minutes late, and they rush to tell him. Surprisingly, he already knew it from Kaitlin's brother, who was getting close with Alexis, but then saw her 'real' side. She accidentally told him that it was her idea to change the script and that she had persuaded the head writer to write it. Thankfully, the director cuts Alexis and her character off the show, and everything is back to normal... or is it really? Read to find out!
I would rate this book a 5/5 because you could feel Kaitlin's frustration towards Alexis, but you know that they can't do anything about it due to the fact that everyone loves Alexis, because of her fake 'outer-self.' It had emotion, especially when Matty (Kaitlin's brother) explained to her that the reason that he told on Alexis was because Kaitlin was his sister, he will love his sister more than anyone else, and he couldn't stand to see Kaitlin be cut off when he was still there, even if she did have the bigger trailer. It shows the power of love triumphs all.
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Fahrenheit 451 Theme Blog Post
Fahrenheit 451 Theme
Group Members: Josh M., Emily T., Bailey B., Natasha S., Sukhi K., and Almas M.
Theme Statement: Censorship causes diminished individual thought.
Timeline:
- Montag met Clarisse and she made him think about why he burnt books
- Montag keeps a book from one of the home fires
- Montag shows Mildred his collection of books and they start to read them
- When the government found out that he had books, Montag had to burn down his own house
- The government chases him because of his possession of books
- He escapes the government and meets Granger
- Montag is introduced to a society where books are accepted
3 quotes that show how theme developed:
1.) “‘They took him screaming off to the asylum.’ ‘He wasn’t insane,’ Beatty arranged his cards quietly. ‘Any man’s insane who thinks he can fool the government and us,’”
Bradbury, Ray. "The Hearth and the Salamander." Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon
and Schuster, 1967. 30. Print.
2.) “‘They just might stop us from making the same...insane mistake! I don’t hear those idiot … in your parlor talking about it. God, Millie, don’t you see?’ ... The telephone rang. Mildred snatched the phone. ‘Ann!’ She laughed.”
Bradbury, Ray. "The Sieve and the Sand." Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. 70. Print.
3.) “The fugitive cannot escape if everyone in the next minute looks from his house, Ready!”
Bradbury, Ray. "Burning Bright." Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. 132. Print.
1.) The theme of censorship causes diminished individual thought helps us to understand the story because the censorship represents the society banning books and the people in the society are unable to have their own views. The characters start to discover that books can open their eyes to new thoughts and ideas.
2.)This theme relates to society because the media portrays how people should act or look, which causes people to think differently about themselves, but this is not how they should view themselves. We should be aware of this theme because individual thoughts are important to who someone is and how they live their life, so it is a major issue when this is prohibited.
Friday, March 6, 2015
"On Location" by Jen Calonita
"On Location" by Jen Calonita
Blog post by: Natasha S
"On Location" by Jen Calonita is a sequel to the previous and first book, "Secrets of my Hollywood Life." They both follow the life of Kaitlin Burke, the movie star and famous celebrity. She gets roles in a new movie, and she has two co-stars, her ex-boyfriend and Sky Mackenzie, her rival who announced to the press that she had tried to have a normal teenage life. Her boyfriend, Austin Meyers, gets jealous and suspicious when Kaitlin's ex-boyfriend gets close to her when they are with the press and Kaitlin is mad at her ex-boyfriend because he cheated on her and only used her to get ahead in the celebrity "chain" and to get himself more popular. Even on top of that, Sky's new manager is looking suspicious and suddenly the press is getting secrets about Kaitlin's life that she doesn't want the press to know (personal, private secrets). Who's doing it? Read "On Location" by Jen Calonita to find out what happens next on Kaitlin's complicated journey!
I would rate this book a 5/5 because it made you want to see what happens next in Kaitlin's life. It makes you know that even in a celebrity life, there are still ups and downs and you have to fight through it and keep strong throughout it all. It also shows how everyones life isn't perfect no matter what "status" you're in. It also portrays the different feelings of not only just Kaitlin, but also the ther characters, because Jen Calonita added their face expressions, physical expressions, and dialogue to show the other characters' feelings, which I think is important to have because then you don't only get the perspective of one person, you get the perspectives of multiple people, which makes the book have more depth and makes it more interesting.
I think the theme of the book is no one's perfect. It was centered around the theme of "no one's perfect" because when Kaitlin said "Sky?!" when she learned that Sky was her co-star, she was upset and surprised, but she fought through it and in the end, she succeeded.
Blog post by: Natasha S
"On Location" by Jen Calonita is a sequel to the previous and first book, "Secrets of my Hollywood Life." They both follow the life of Kaitlin Burke, the movie star and famous celebrity. She gets roles in a new movie, and she has two co-stars, her ex-boyfriend and Sky Mackenzie, her rival who announced to the press that she had tried to have a normal teenage life. Her boyfriend, Austin Meyers, gets jealous and suspicious when Kaitlin's ex-boyfriend gets close to her when they are with the press and Kaitlin is mad at her ex-boyfriend because he cheated on her and only used her to get ahead in the celebrity "chain" and to get himself more popular. Even on top of that, Sky's new manager is looking suspicious and suddenly the press is getting secrets about Kaitlin's life that she doesn't want the press to know (personal, private secrets). Who's doing it? Read "On Location" by Jen Calonita to find out what happens next on Kaitlin's complicated journey!
I would rate this book a 5/5 because it made you want to see what happens next in Kaitlin's life. It makes you know that even in a celebrity life, there are still ups and downs and you have to fight through it and keep strong throughout it all. It also shows how everyones life isn't perfect no matter what "status" you're in. It also portrays the different feelings of not only just Kaitlin, but also the ther characters, because Jen Calonita added their face expressions, physical expressions, and dialogue to show the other characters' feelings, which I think is important to have because then you don't only get the perspective of one person, you get the perspectives of multiple people, which makes the book have more depth and makes it more interesting.
I think the theme of the book is no one's perfect. It was centered around the theme of "no one's perfect" because when Kaitlin said "Sky?!" when she learned that Sky was her co-star, she was upset and surprised, but she fought through it and in the end, she succeeded.
Thursday, January 15, 2015
"Secrets of my Hollywood Life" by Jen Calonita
"Secrets of my Hollywood Life" by Jen Calonita
Blog Post By Natasha S
"Secrets of my Hollywood Life" by Jen Calonita is a book about Kaitlin Burke, a famous actress who has been in the top ten list. She has all the luxuries you can think of. However, the one thing she wants most is to go to school like a normal girl. Her best friend, Liz, goes to a typical high school and when Kaitlin finally convinces her parents and her manager to let her go to school, they make her have a disguise. She changes her name to "Rachel,' puts in different colored contacts, and has a British accent. "The wig fits pretty snugly, which is good..." (Calonita, 33%). This shows how they had to put Kaitlin in a wig in order to disguise her so no one would recognize her. The first day she goes to school, the star lacrosse player, Austin, greets her, but she thinks he is arrogant. When Rachel and Austin study together, they get closer and closer, and "Rachel" starts to like him. When Austin's girlfriend, Lori, has a party and Austin invites "Rachel" to it, Lori spills juice on "Rachel" and so she leaves. Austin and Lori break up that night, but then Austin asks "Rachel" to the dance. She says yes, but her Hollywood co-star, Sky Mackenzie, reveals at the dance that "Rachel" is Kaitlin Burke, Austin is mad at her for lying to him. When she goes to his house later to say sorry and apologize, he turns her down. What will happen to Kaitlin and Austin? Will anyone say anything to Sky? What will happen to the friends Kaitlin made at the high school? Read to find out!
I would rate this book 5/5 because it was intriguing and I couldn't put it down. Kaitlin at school seemed like a real person with problems. It shows how even Hollywood stars can have real life problems too. It was the perfect book to show how a teenage girl star could want just the "simple" life of a high school girl. (Even though Kaitlin figured out that going to high school is NOT simple AT ALL).
The theme of the book is honesty. If Kaitlin was honest to everyone at school about her being Katilin Burke, then she wouldn't have Austin mad at her. On the flip side, if she was honest, everyone would love her but then she wouldn't know her real friends. I believe that Kaitlin made the right decision by keeping her real identity a secret because if she didn't then she might not have met Austin and her other friends at the high school.
The author made the book so that it was intriguing and you could see Kaitlin's thoughts and what she thought about each situation. The author adds the script of the play at the beginning of almost each chapter so that makes you think about how close or contrasting that is to Kaitlin's life.
The author made the book so that it was intriguing and you could see Kaitlin's thoughts and what she thought about each situation. The author adds the script of the play at the beginning of almost each chapter so that makes you think about how close or contrasting that is to Kaitlin's life.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about friends, high school problems, and honesty. This is the first book in the series of about 4-5 books), and so I'll keep you updated about the other books!
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