Hannah’s Comments (group member since Aug 20, 2014)

Hannah’s comments from the BDCHS Advanced Reading group.

For my choice nonfiction read, I chose The Diary of a Young Girl, by Anne Frank. It is the influential, beautiful, and tragic story of a girl kept in hiding to avoid the cruelty of the holocaust during World War 2. In my opinion, it is one of the most important stories ever written.
Anne begins her diary on her birthday, April 12th, 1942, when she received the gift. The diary starts out as a friendly letter addressed to 'Kitty", Anne's truest friend with whom she could share her deepest thoughts. It is that of a typical teenage girl's: crushes, friendship drama, et cetera. However, early on, Anne acknowledges the impact that anti-sematic laws have had on her and her older sister Margot. Since the frank family is Jewish, they flee from persecution in their native Germany in the earlier years of World War 2 and head to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. There, the two Frank daughters attend a separate Jewish school and face anti-sematism daily. When the Germans invaded the Netherlands, Anne and her family were forced into hiding with another family, the Van Daans and, later, Mr. Dussel. In July of 1942, they move into a tiny section of Otto Frank's office building that is walled off and hidden behind a bookcase. this becomes known as the secret annex where the Franks and the van Daans live for two years. The employees at Mr. Frank's firm help hide the families and keep them supplied with food, medicine, and news from the outside world. They also receive news of the war by listening to the radio whenever they can. During her stay in the annex, Anne writes about her feelings of loneliness and sadness. Her relationship with her mother is rocky, and Anne feels as though her mom is lacking in the love and affection department. She adores her father but is frequently scolded by the other adults in the annex. Anne finds solace in Peter Van Daan, the teenage boy with whom she lives with. However, the relationship doesn't go very far past a close friendship. Anne also confronts her own identity within the pages of her diary. she doesn't understand why many of the dutch have turned on the jews like herself nor why they are being persecuted and killed in the first place. Anne deals with confinement and all the worries that come with growing up as a jew during the holocaust. On August 1, 1944 the diary comes to a sudden end. The Frank family is unknowingly betrayed to the nazis and are arrested in the annex after two years of hiding behind the little bookcase in Otto's work building.
I find this incredibly hard to rate due to the fact that it's a diary and many of the things written felt too personal to be shared with other people, let alone given a rate. However, since I have to, I'll rate the Diary of a Young Girl 5 out of 5 stars. Anne's thoughts about the world around her were deeply moving. I can identify with Anne in the personal sense. She was about the same age as I am now when she wrote all of this, so we are both in that weird stage of trying to figure ourselves out and fit in within the rest of society. Another way I can relate to Anne Frank is the fact that I am Jewish, like she was. Even now, I still sometimes get singled out for my religion and, I'll admit, it kind of hurts. However, it feels wrong to compare myself to her because she was going through hardships ten times as worse as my own. It's just hard to think about someone so close to me in age and maturity going through something as horrible as persecution during world war 2. While reading this book, I felt incredibly connected to Anne, as though I were the "kitty" she was talking to in her diary, and not just because it's written in that sort of format. Her words really made me...feel, I guess. All in all, I loved this account and I would sincerely recommend it to anyone and everyone.

I would like to give Snow flower and the secret fan, by Lisa See, four out of five stars. Through the meticulous detail and the strong relationship between the two main characters, i found myself loving the story.
The novel takes place in nineteenth century China and is told in First person point of view by Lily Lu, an eighty year old woman who has outlived most all of her loved ones. She has "nothing left to lose and few to offend" so she recounts the story of her life in flashback style. The story begins when Lily is five years old. She lives in Puwei, a secluded village in Hunan County. Lily longs to be loved by her mother, who rarely ever acknowledges her existence until the day when the local diviner comes and inspects Lily. He sees something special in her and calls on the county's most famous Matchmaker, Madame Wang, to take a look at her as well. This is the era of Foot-binding, a terribly painful process by which a girl's feet are reduced in size to have the appearance of being more delicate. The foot-binding journey begins for a girl at the age of six, however this will not be the case for Lily or her cousin, Beautiful Moon. Madame Wang notices that Lily has been undernourished and suggests she put the Feet-binding ritual off for one more year. She is sure that Lily will have golden lillies, the perfect sized feet (7 centimeters) long, once the bonding is done. The matchmaker also suggests that Lily have a laotong or "old same", another girl of the same age and birth month (year of the horse) with whom she can share a sisterly relationship that will last a lifetime. After a bit of resistance from the rest of Lily's family, they finally agree on the decision and Lily gets her first message from Snow Flower at the tender age of seven. Snow Flower introduces herself to Lily by sending her a silk fan that contains a message in Nu Shu, otherwise known as Women's Writing, on one of the folds. Nu Shu was a language created by chinese women that helped them communicate privately and out of reach of the patriarchal rest of society. The pair soon become incredibly close and share their hopes and aspirations with each other. They both endure the pains of foot-binding and learn of one another's lives. Snow Flower is of a significantly higher status than Lily, but Lily's "deep-heart love" for her "Old Same" helps her see past this. As they go into their hair-pinning days they begin to reflect on their arranged marriages and motherhood. Lily is now married to the eldest son of the wealthiest man in Tongkou, a village relatively close to her home village, and Snow Flower has married a butcher in Jintian. Their married lives are completely different. Snow Flower often faces abuse from her abrasive husband while Lily and her husband have a more nurturing relationship. Both women have children, although Snow Flower loses many babies. Soon, faced with famine and a rebellion, Lily and Snow Flower and some neighbors find shelter in the mountains above their province, where they live for three months. Once the fighting has ended, they return to their towns sick and malnourished, but Snow Flower has once again experienced a great loss: her eldest and favorite son has died. Things start to go downhill as Snow Flower becomes more detached from Lily and refuses to take Lily's advice to help herself get better, like leaving her husband, which is shameful and unheard of in that time. Snow Flower has begun eating less and her skin gains a pale, translucent look. One day , during the xianfeng reign, a friend of Lily's who had stayed with her up in the mountains delivers a message from Snow Flower. In it, she says that she can't be what what Lily wishes and that she has found three "sworn sisters" who can love her for who she is. Lily thinks that Snow Flower is abandoning their laotong relationship and Lily feels betrayed. She angrily ignores Snow Flower's attempts to communicate with her and even sings her a letter of Vituperation at the wedding day activities for a girl in the town. In her letter of vituperation toward Snow Flower, Lily reveals all of her secrets, thus shaming her. Snow Flower walks out of the room and Lily realizes that their friendship has finally been severed. After eight years pass, Snow Flower's Daughter shows up at lily's door and claims her mother is very sick and wishes to see Lily. Forgetting her hurt and resentment toward Snow Flower, Lily goes to visit her and finds her weakened by a massive tumor that will inevitably claim her life. In the following days, Lily forgives snow Flower and reminds her about their lives together as little girls. Snow Flower dies peacefully with Lily right by her side. Now, in the present, as a widow, Lily realizes that snow Flower was the one person who truly mattered to her and that she had unfairly judged her and tried to control her. The book ends with Lily praying to Snow Flower for forgiveness.
Overall, I really enjoyed Snow flower and the secret fan. Although the use of some traditional words was slightly confusing and sometimes difficult to keep up with, the relationship between Lily and Snow flower was heart- breakingly beautiful. I could feel that their connection was a strong one. Some of the main themes in this novel were friendship and love. The characters stuck with each other through hardship and ultimately loved each other until the end of their lives. Another theme is gender inequality. In nineteenth century China, most women were treated as "worthless branches" of their family trees and only useful to bear sons. Men were more respected and women had to be confined and unwaveringly loyal to their husbands, no matter what, which is disgusting. However,through this secret language of Nu Shu, the women experience a sense of freedom. All in all,this story was gorgeously crafted and the attention to detail makes it a well-executed historical piece. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

For my fiction book, I decided to read "Life of Pi", by Yann Martel, and I couldn't be happier with my decision. I give this book 5 out of 5 stars . it was beautifully written and completely terrifying, because, honestly, who wants to be trapped in a life raft in the middle of the ocean with a Bengal tiger? this is the type of book that really makes you think.
"Life of Pi" tells the story of Piscine Molitor Patel, a young Indian boy who was named after a pool in France. the story is told in the first person by Pi, who is narrating at an older age about his earlier life as a student in Toronto, and as a small child in Pondicherry, India. He explains that he has suffered a great deal throughout his life, and finds comfort in religion and zoology. In the early stages of his childhood, up until he immigrated to Toronto, Pi's father ran the Pondicherry Zoo. Pi loved the zoo and marveled in the way that the animals coexisted together. the zoo was his sanctuary, that is...until he discovered religion. Brought up as a Hindu, Pi discovers as a kid Christianity and Islam. though his parents and the rest of society find it strange and wrong that he practices three religions, Pi does not see the fault in what he is doing. This open frame of mind and spirituality lends a hand to how he deals with being in a less than satisfactory situation later on. Soon, due to India's political conflict, Pi's mother and father decide to pack up and move the family (and the zoo animals) to Toronto Canada. they make their journey aboard a Japanese cargo ship named the Tsimtsum. Unfortunately, things take a turn for the worst.
Part two of "Life of Pi" begins with the Tsimtsum sinking into the Pacific Ocean. Pi had been awoken from a loud boom in the middle of the night. Itching to explore where the sound came from, Pi exits his room and goes up to the main deck of the ship. He soon realizes that the boat is sinking, as chaos of crew members and animals erupts. Pi is thrown into a lifeboat where he soon finds himself alone with a zebra, an orangutan named Orange Juice), and a hyena. All the animals seem to be in shock and wary of one another as they drift away to sea amidst a massive storm. Pi realizes that his family is gone. Once the storm subsides, the hyena kills the zebra and the orangutan, as Pi watches in horror. He is weak and knows that the hyena will come after him next, but to his surprise, Richard Parker reveals himself and kills the hyena. let me clarify, Richard Parker is not a human being. he is a Bengal tiger. The discovery that the animal had been under the lifeboat's tarp sends Pi into a frenzy. Pi and Richard Parker are now alone together at sea. As the days pass, and Pi becomes scared and hopeless, he and Richard Parker reluctantly come closer. Pi soon finds himself mastering and training the tiger. They coexist on the small lifeboat, always wary of each other. Soon, brought on by a bought of dehydration, Pi runs into another castaway. They seem to get along at first but when the man tries to attack Pi, Richard Parker kills him. this shows Pi's and Richard Parker's newfound bond. very soon after, the two find a mysterious island filled with trees that grow without soil. Pi and Richard Parker spend a few days there, exploring when it is light out and going back to the boat at night. There, Pi finds meerkats that drink from the freshwater ponds. He believes he has found paradise. One day, though, Pi finds human teeth inside one of the fruits of a tree. He comes to the realization that the island eats people and he and Richard Parker escape the island. They go back out to sea and end up washed on a shore in Mexico. Richard Parker walks away into the jungle and this is the last time Pi will ever see him. In the years to come, Pi will still wonder where Richard Parker went. As the tiger runs off, Pi is spotted by locals and taken to the Benito Juarez Infirmary.
In Part three, after Pi has been resting in the hospital for a little while, Japanese officials come to interview him about his time lost at sea. At first he tells them the truth, but they do not believe him and think he is delusional. So, he tells the story again, but replaces the animals with humans. A bloodthirsty cook as the hyena, a sailor as the zebra, and his mother as the orangutan. This satisfies the men, but they still do not understand how the boat sank. in the end, Pi is sent to live with a foster mother in Toronto, where he finishes school, and starts his life with his own family.
Along with Pi's narration, excerpts are written by a man who interviewed Pi later in his life in Toronto about Pi's experience. This gives us an idea of how other people perceive Pi Patel. the theme of Life of Pi is willingness to survive, even when the odds are against you. Do not let the horrible things that may happen in your life be the death of you.
Overall, I really enjoyed "Life of Pi". it was brilliantly written and executed, and made me view the world in a different way than I had previously seen it. I learned that I have to appreciate all the good things in life, because one day they could all be ripped away from me. I would recommend this book to anyone, really, I mean, people might not like it as much as I did but it is definitely worth the read.

For my Choice Nonfiction, I chose Three Cups Of Tea, by Greg Mortenson. Normally, I choose not to read nonfiction books because i usually find them quite boring. However, Three Cups of Tea was, in my opinion, inspiring and riveting. So, i give it five out of five stars.
Family means a lot to Greg Mortenson, especially his younger sister Christa, who was diagnosed with Epilepsy when she was two. So when she dies of a massive seizure on her 23rd birthday, Greg is crushed. To honor her memory, he decides to climb K2, the second highest mountain in the world. However, after three months on the expedition, Greg is seperated from his group and finds himself lost in the dangerous, mountainous, Karakoram region of Pakistan. he figures death will soon claim him but eventually, he wanders into Korphe, an isolated village on the edge of a cliff; it's a place where no american had ever previously visited. There, he receives help from Haji Ali, the chief of the small village, and his people. Shortly before leaving Korphe, Greg asks Haji Ali to show him the one school in the village. He sees that the children are writing in the sticks with dirt and don't even have a teacher to teach them. An idea forces its way into Greg's head and he promises to return to Korphe and build the village a new school. Although Mortenson knows little about the difficulties of building a school, he is determined to fulfill his promise. So, he sends out more than 500 letters to popular figures asking for donations. He receives only one contribution; a fellow mountain climber and physicist named Jean Hoerni. Hoerni offers Greg 12,000 dollars to build the school in Pakistan with the request that greg send him pictures when it is completed. Ecstatic, Mortenson, who was living out of his car, sold all his belongings, traveled back to Pakistan and purchased building materials for the school. Certain that his goal is almost accomplished, Greg returns to Korphe only to find out that, before he can build a school, he must build a bridge over the deep river gorge that seperates Korphe from the rest of the world. Greg realizes that his idea was not properly thought out and goes back to America saddened and discouraged . Embarrassed, He contacts Hoerni again and is given even more money for the bridge. Soon, it is completed and greg begins the next stage of his plan: to finally build the school in Korphe. This isn't the end for Mortenson though. He decides that he wants to build more schools in Pakistan and starts to look for another location.in 1996,Against the wishes of Haji Ali, Greg travels by himself to Waziristan. it is a time when Osama Bin Laden, a name not yet known to americans, has recently arrived in Afghanistan, so the area is extremely dangerous. in Waziristan, Greg is kidnapped and held for eight days before being released. Thankful to be alive, he returns to the United States where Jean Hoerni endows the Central Asia Institute with $1 million dollars and names mortenson as the new director. Hoerni dies soon after but his enthusiasm still lives on in Greg. Feeling successful, Mortenson continues building new schools and develops a program with the CAI focused on the education of girls, which is rare in Pakistani and its neighboring countries due to the primarily Muslim religion there. things change quickly though. After the 9/11 attacks, Greg starts receiving hate from americans who say he is "helping Muslims". It only gets worse when conflicts arise with ultra traditional muslim groups who believe education should only be offered to boys. However, Greg's work finally gains positive national attention and the book ends with mortenson's deciding to expand the CAI's work with building schools into Afghanistan.
This book showed me that I have to fight for what I believe in, even if other people are bringing me down, giving me hate for it, or just aren't interested in what I have to say. It also shows that anyone has the ability to make a difference in the world, and that your future can change in an instant.
All in all, I liked Three cups of tea very much. The fact that greg Mortenson could overcome all these obstacles like, you know, kidnapping, and failure, was really inspiring. I loved how he took all these difficult things and spun them into something good and helpful to the world. In addition, I thought that it was wonderful that he learned the customs of these people that he had previously known so little about and he didn't judge them. Others might, but Mr. Mortenson didn't. I totally agree with his beliefs. Education is so important and it shouldn't be offered only to people in certain areas of the world, or to one specific gender. It should be equal for everyone and that's what Greg exemplifies in Three Cups of Tea.

Monster, by Walter Dean Myers, was a book that, because of it's unique style, hooked me like a fish and reeled me in. However, I give the book three out of five stars. While I really enjoyed how the story was told in alternating viewpoints and offered a good message of not being a follower and staying true to who you are, I couldn't really relate to the subject matter at hand.
Monster, which switches between first person POV and third person POV, is essentially a story about the repercussions of giving into peer pressure. Our protagonist is Steve Harmon, a sixteen year old African-American from Harlem, New York with a passion for film-making. Unfortunately, Steve finds himself in jail after posing as a lookout for a drugstore robbery that goes painfully awry. The attempted crime, led by James King and Richard "Bobo" Evans, ends badly when a shot is fired and Mr. Nesbitt, the store owner, takes his last breath. Now, steve and the rest of the guys, including Osvaldo Cruz (who acted as the other lookout), are on trial for murder. Steve meets his attorney, Kathy O'Brien, who is helping to defend him against the state prosecutor, Sandra Petrocelli. Although Steve and Ms. O'Brien's relationship is rocky at first, they end up working really well together to try to convince the jury that Steve is innocent. But things almost don't work out when Bobo makes the surprising decision to testify in a plea deal set up by his lawyers. As the trial, progresses, Steve writes about life in prison in his journal. He also chronicles a script of the events of the trial, showing us how much he truly cares about film-making. Steve gets more and more nervous as the end of his trial comes looming closer, desperately trying to convince himself he is not a monster, as Sandra Petrocelli called him. Finally, the innocent verdict is delivered and the story ends.
Overall, I thoroughly liked Monster. The fact that Steve's journey is told both in diary form and movie script form was captivating and I praise the author for giving us, the readers, something different from a normal young adult book. Steve's journal, to be honest, terrified me. Before reading this, I couldn't fathom how it felt to be in prison, especially at such a young age. His thoughts really made feel for him. Steve is an interesting character in this way. Even though he knows he is innocent, the trial has him facing an internal conflict about whether or not he believes this to be true. The theme of peer pressure is really prominent in the novel. Steve must face the consequences of him doing what James and Bobo wanted him to do. Steve must try to figure out who he really is and how his actions led him to prison. Another theme is about race and and racial stereotypes. Unfortunately, in society, young African American men are perceived as more likely to commit crimes. Some men make these wrong choices to fit these stereotypes. Steve needs to realize that a stereotype doesn't define him. He can make his own choices, and ultimately, Steve Harmon is not a monster.