Danielle’s Comments (group member since Aug 21, 2014)

Danielle’s comments from the BDCHS Advanced Reading group.

For my non-fiction book, I read “Hey, Let’s Make A Band!: The Official 5SOS Book” written by the member of 5 Seconds of Summer, Calum Hood, Ashton Irwin, Luke Hemmings, and Michael Clifford. This book is about how 5 Seconds of Summer went through becoming a small band in Sydney, Australia, to becoming known world wide.

All from a small town in Australia, these four boys would’ve never imagined being famous. 5 Seconds of Summer officially formed in December 2011. It all started with Luke Hemmings (the lead singer and guitarist) posting covers of songs onto YouTube. About two months after releasing his first video, Calum Hood (the bassist) and Michael Clifford (lead guitarist) posted a video about joining the band. A week before their first gig at the Annadalle Hotel, they needed a drummer. That’s when Michael Clifford messaged Ashton Irwin to be a drummer at their first gig. Ashton Irwin knew of the other three but didn’t know them as well, since he was two grades higher than them. Ashton agreed, and immediately knew he wanted to join the band.

After practicing and doing a few gigs, all the boys knew they wanted to keep doing this. They were all into athletics, especially Calum Hood. Calum Hood had went to Brazil, during the time the band started getting more serious, and he got picked to represent Australia in soccer. After being away from the band for a couple days, he immediately knew that he wanted to do music. His sister, Mali Koa Hood was also into music. When Calum told his parents about his decision, they were disappointed and didn’t support the band choice. Michael Clifford and Calum Hood had to drop out of school since the band got more serious. While Ashton Irwin and Luke Hemmings graduated.

Posting more and more videos on their YouTube channel, they became more recognizable. Especially by Louis Tomlinson from One Direction. Louis tweeted their new music video “Gotta Get Out” telling everyone to check out 5 Seconds of Summer. After that moment, they were more popular than ever before. Their management, handed them a list of One Direction Take Me Home Tour dates. They were in denial, but found out what they saw was accurate. They were going to be the supporting act and tour with One Direction. Before this arena tour, the amount of people were from 10-300 people, but the arena tour would be 10,000 plus. They found out they had to go stay in London, away from their home, so that they are used to the area. When moving to London, the boys were absolutely scared. They were on their own, not even knowing the area. While staying in London, they wrote two songs a day, since they haven't had anything officially out yet. 5 Seconds of Summer wrote with a bunch of artists they admired, especially Alex Gaskarth, from the band All Time Low. After One Direction’s Take Me Home Tour, they were able to head back to Australia and continue writing songs. They also had a headline tour in Australia. After that tour the band had announced they were going to tour with One Direction again, on the Where We Are Tour.

5 Seconds of Summer released a couple EP’s, but only having it available on iTunes Australia. They officially released their third EP, “She Looks So Perfect” everywhere, on March 23, 2014. Their song “She Looks So Perfect” is the song that “made them more well known”. After a year of writing and recording, they finally released their debut album, on June 27, 2014, going number one in thirteen countries. Which was a big accomplishment for them. A small band from Australia had people actually listening to their music. After releasing their first album, they announced an Australia and New Zealand, UK and Europe, and North American 2014 and 2015 headlining tour.

To this day, they are still grateful for everything they have, especially their fans. They dedicated a whole section of their book because of their fans, and how far the fans have gotten them.

Overall, I loved the book. I thought it was a quick read, because their story is really intriguing. From the story, I learned that anything is possible if you keep trying. I would give this book a 5 out of 5 stars, which may seem biased because they are one of my favorite bands, but other than that, I actually enjoyed the book.

It's 1987, and fourteen year-old June Elbus is a shy girl who is in love with the medieval times. Her uncle and godfather Finn, has developed a disease that even her mother won't dare to say. But once Finn dies, June meets Toby, Finn's lover of nine years. June outraged at Finn and her parents for not telling her about Toby. Every week she visits Toby, for feeling sad about Toby having no one. Greta, June's older smart, popular, and talented sister, invites June to a bonfire with Greta's cast mates at her play. Late one night after the first performance of the play, there is an after party, but June is grounded, even though she promised Greta she would go. During that night, a storm passes by, worrying June. And the only person she calls is Toby, to save Greta. Greta has never encountered Toby, but once Toby does, June knows it's a mistake. That night drew Greta and June even closer, filling a void that was once empty, now full of answered questions.

Overall, I would Tell The Wolves I'm Home by Carol Rifka Brunt a 5 out of 5 stars. The theme of this story would be coming of age. This book touched my heart, and is very different from other books I've read. Personally, I thought this was a slow-read because there is so much to take in.

For my nonfiction book, I read This Star Won't Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl written by Esther Earl, Lori Earl, Wayne Earl, and John Green. I would give this book a 3 out of 5 stars.
On November 2006, Esther Grace Earl, only at the age of twelve, was diagnosed with metastasized papillary thyroid cancer with extensive tumors already in her lungs, changing her life forever. Esther, was a huge Harry Potter fan and was an excellent writer. She also uploaded videos onto YouTube, vlogging (video blogging) about her life. During the book, I read and saw pictures about Esther's life. Later on, she befriends an author, John Green, who she met at LeakyCon, a Harry Potter conference. This established point, not only in Esther's life, but John's life also, since she was the inspiration for his novel, The Fault in Our Stars. Esther fought hard, having to go through treatments, chemotherapy, x-rays, and even having to carry a oxygen tank. Sadly, on August 25th, 22 days after her 16th birthday, she passed away.Esther Grace Earl left an impact on others, such as her own holiday, Esther Day, and her parents founding the This Star Won't Go Out non-profit organization. The theme for this book is to live your life everyday like it's your last.
Overall, I loved the book, which left me in tears. I did find this quite similar to The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, but without all the sappy romance. In the story I learned to be thankful for what I have.

I gave the book, "Monster" by Walter Dean Myers, a 3 out of 5 stars. Monster is an interesting book in several ways, the way it was written and the entire plot, making it a page turner.
The format of the book alternates between first and third person. In the first person point of view, which is like a diary entry, written by the main character Steve Harmon. While third person point of view is formed like a movie screenplay.
The basic plot of the book is about a robbery that happened before Christmas. Steve Harmon befriends James King, who is a leader of a group. James King and his friend, Richard "BoBo" Evans create a plan to rob a store. Steve was supposedly on the lookout, as well as, Osvaldo Cruz. The robbery ended up killing Mr. Nesbit, one of the workers in the store. All of them end up being arrested and on trial for murder.
Steve Harmon's lawyer, Kathy O'Brien are both fighting to defend Steve's innocence. Throughout the trial, Steve writes in his journal for a movie he is writing.
In the end, Steve is free, which seemed predictable to me. While James King and Richard Evans were sentenced for 25 years.
A lesson I learned from this book is be careful who you trust/hang out with. In this case you might think someone is "cool" until you go through ups and downs with them.
Overall, I liked the book but I felt like I couldn't connect with it. This book felt like a quick read, due to the way it was written, which made me quite intrigued. The end of the book seemed pretty vague and left me wanting more. When being written in third person, I felt lost and confused, having to re-read some parts over again. I feel that if the entire book was written in first person, I would have gave a higher rate.

Before her sophomore year, Hailey Harper and her family are moving to Hollywood, California, due to her father’s job. At her old high school, she’s always been “invisible”. While packing, she goes through her older sister, Noel’s belongings. Finding her old clothes and a diary she wrote when she was back in high school, “How To Be A Hater”. This diary is full of do’s and dont’s and self-empowerment advice, which she will live by for her sophomore year, to achieve popularity. On the first day of her new high school, she is already accepted with the most popular girls, Skylar and the others. Who are your stereotypical mean girls. Skylar sets the ground rules to Hailey, who is intimidated. During her first week of school, she befriends Anya. Later Hailey finds out that Anya used to hang out with Skylar and the others, until an unfortunate accident comes along Anya’s freshmen year, which forces her to drop out. Hailey leaves Skylar’s clique who is furious, creating their own group, The Invisibles. The Invisibles live by Noel’s diary, following most of the tips. Meanwhile, Hailey dates the super cute guy, who also went out with Skylar, but broke up during freshmen year. Throughout the whole book, Skylar’s group and The Invisibles prank each other, leaving someone in trouble at the very end. The theme of the book was, the lust for power (in this case popularity) is not as satisfying as you think it is.

Overall, I would give the book a 4 out of 5 stars. In general I could relate to Hailey, feeling invisible. But at the same time I felt like I couldn't relate, because she was much older. I felt like the plot was well thought out, but could be written by a fifteen year old. The ending felt a bit rushed, leaving some things that I felt was important to be included in the end. I enjoyed the story, leaving me with laughter and an insight for my next few years of high school