Dynamic Character

A dynamic character is someone who shows change from the beginning to the end of a book. In the book there were many characters that altered who they were. One person that really stood out to me though was Pete. He wasn't the main character of the book but I think he should the most significant change our of everyone.

At the beginning of the book he was the sensitive one of the group. When the group got stuck at school he started to break down. As time went on, he became less scared and took more risks like going to the bottom floor when it's pitch black and going alone to find food. The biggest change that I saw in him was that he became courageous and brave. At the very end of the book he took a poorly functioning snow-kart. He ended up sacrificing his life to get help for his group and hopefully get rescued. Full definition of Dynamic Character

Columnist HW

This column was about how preschool is very important for a child and that children should have a say in if preschool should be mandatory.
Click here to view the column

A line that I think is important is, "Now think about children who have every advantage stripped away – no books, no dependable adults, no conversation, no music, no art materials, no structure, no emotional warmth". This line shows the importance of education and what would be taken away if there were no advantages. Also this line stood out to me because it sums the main point the author is making in the column, in one sentence, children need education early on. Since this quote is a long sentence, it gives a detailed description on why kids advantages will be stripped by providing the reader specific examples. Also using the word no over and over again in the sentence adds emphasis in saying that those advantages will be taken away. 

After reading three of Ramsey's columns, I would say that her writing style is very casual. She uses very casual diction which help the readers understand what is happening in her writing. Also her writing flows as if you would have a conversation with someone.

Three questions I would ask would be:

• Why do you chose to write about the topics that you do?
• How long does it take you to write one article?
• Where do you get your ideas from?   

Trapped Summary

The book I started reading was Trapped by Michael Northrop. It is about seven students who get trapped in their school during the biggest snow storm ever. The book takes place at Tattawa High School in the Northeast where they get a lot of snow. Since it is winter the weather was, as expected, going to be stringent but it was worse with a lot snow.

The main character of the book, Scotty Weems, was a rising basketball star at the school and lived a habitual life. He had many friends at school but his best friends were, Pete Dubios and Jason Gillispie. One day they decided to stay behind to work on a project together even though the snow was clinging to the windows and the school had announced a snow emergency. This would prove to be a detrimental decision.

In the beginning chapters, the snow continues to fall and adds up to be eight feet tall. This means that no one can go anywhere and the students are trapped inside the school without anyone to help them. All they did was eat, sleep, and hope. Soon the power goes out and the heat stops working making them cold. Also they get hungry and go to the cafeteria to look for food. Here is a quote of when they find food; "We were hungry, and the prospect of food was exciting, like Christmas morning and Thanksgiving dinner combined,". This quote displays imagery by comparing the amount of food you receive during these holidays to now when they haven't had food for a while.The perspective of the book, Scotty's, helps readers understands just how hungry the students are. Also it shows just how hungry everyone is that they think of finding some food as a feast.

Ally Condie: About the Author

Ally Condie is a writer who currently lives in  Salt Lake City, Utah. She is the author of the New York Times bestselling trilogy, Matched. This series contains Matched, Crossed, and Reached. Condie is a new author of books and her first book, Matched, was published recently in 2010. Immediately after her book was released, she began her way to becoming a popular author. Currently her books have won many titles including Publisher's Weekly Best Children’s Books of 2010 and YALSA’s 2011 Teens’ Top Ten.

Aside from writing, Condie enjoys running, reading, and playing the guitar. She was a former English teacher and has always had the passion to write books. She draws her book ideas from the activities occurring around her as well as other books. Whenever she edits her writing, she plays music to get into the right mood. This has, since the beginning of her writing career, become a tradition of hers.    

Thematic Statement

Be a survivor and dont live in the past. This is the theme for the book, Fever 1793. The main character, Matilda, has to learn to cope with the loss of her grandfather who was the only person she had left. The loss made her sad but also made her realize that she has to continue moving away from the city in order to not catch the disease. It is hard for her to leave Philadelphia because it is the city where she grew up, the city with all her memories and she doesnt want to leave those behind. With leaving, she has become permanentally scarred with the expierence of seeing her loved ones die in front of her while she couldnt do anything but watch like a lost puppy.    

Also she refuses to catch the yellow fever and give up. She posses the characteristics of being brave and strong. After she is by herself in the lonely city, she begins to help other victims of the fever. For example she helps girls like her that were abaondoned by their parents. She not only becomes great friends with many but also becomes their role model by telling them to never give up.

Matilda can not only teach readers to be a survivor but to always keep you head up. Although she has suffered tremendously, she still remained fortified and watching her deal with the horrific experiences taught not only her, but also us, valuable life lessons. 

About the Author

The author of Fever 1793 is Laurie Halse Anderson who was in Postdam, New York. She mostly writes for the young adult audience but also writes many picture books. Some of her notable work include Speak, Fever 1793, and Twisted. She was recognized in 2009 for her numerous contributions with the Margaret Edwards Award. Her first attributed book was Speak which quickly became popular from her creative way of portraying her topics.

Many of her books include themes connected to honesty. Many people argue that they are to controversial for the young readers but she claims that the books with the more meaningful themes make more of an impact on readers. She likes to get feedback from her audience and reads through all the emails and letters adressed to her. Her most popular criticism that she recieves is to write some books with a brighter topic than she usually writes.