Don't Fear, the End is Near

Outside Reading Blog #10

Before I  Die

By: Jenny Downham

Since Tessa is slowly dying now, she tries to think about the things that make Zoey happy. She likes talking about the flat because it always somehow cheers her up. The council has agreed to give her a grant. She'll be able to sway vouchers for paint and wallpaper, she tells Tessa. Zoey gets quite excited and animated describing the mural she plans for her bedroom the tropical fish tiles she wants in her bathroom. Since Zoey had been like a sister to her, it was important that before she left, she made sure that she was happy because that's what she had always done for her. Ever since Tessa become diagnosed with Cancer, Zoey had been there helping her though every step even though she had so many problems of her own to face. I believe that a friend like this is a true friend. I feel that now a days friends, if this was to happen to a good friend of someone, they would just forget them and it's really unfair because people have become so materialistic and forgot all about the humans, feelings and emotions that really matter, because money cannot buy you back the memories you never made. I think that the bond between Tessa and Zoey throughout the whole entire book has represented a friendship that I personally only share with only a few of my friends.

Stuck Under the Blankets

Outside Reading Blog #9

Before I Die

By:Jenny Downhan

Teen cancer units are rare in hospitals, if Tessa and her dad could even think about awareness. The red light outside the studio flips to green and Tessa tells the world of the radio who is listening, all about the awareness the should have about teen cancer. They sound like a dinner party, I guess, as if they went to a ball. But Richard Green is no prince. As he half squats about his chair and puts out a fat hand for them to shake, Cal and Tessa slowly but surely do so. His hand is sweaty, like it needs squeezing out. His lungs wheeze as he sits back down. He stinks of cigarettes which is kinda contradicted by the fact that Tessa is suffering from cancer, because smoking is one of the leading causes of cancer. Since Richard is the talk show host, I think this is really disrespectful on his part because as he allows Tessa to spread the awareness of teen cancer, Richard seems to be causing it even more. Or even so promoting it. But definitley not preventing it, which is what he should be doing. After he tells them to take a seat Tessa begins on the air, recieveing callers from all over of all ages, as Mr. Green continues reeking of the cancer stick he smoked before he came into the studio. I believe this happens too much and too often in our society and it needs to be recgoinzed more, because girls who end up like Tessa, know this very well.

The List Goes On

Outside Reading Blog #8

Before I Die

By:Jenny Downham

As Tessa goes on with her list, she begins to face many problems, such as the fact that many things on the list are going to be very hard to accomplish. While her dad picks up the apple and holds it up to the morning. There are swirls of cream and brown in there that look like the core of a real apple; an impression on pips, blown in by the glassmaker. He spins it slowly in his hand. I've looked at the world through that green glass many times- it looks small and calm. I don't think he should be touching my things though. I think he should be dealing with Cal, who's upstairs yelling up about the aerial coming out of the back of the TV. I also think he should go down and tell Mum that the only reason he's asked her round is because he wants her back. Getting involved in matters of discipline goes against all her principals, so he's hardly looking for advice in that area. He puts down the apple and goes to the bookshelf, runs a finger around the spine of my books, like they're piano keys and he's expecting a tune. He twists his head to look up at the CD rack, picks one out, reads the cover, then puts it back. I really evaluate the way Tessa's dad is invading her space as something that she can't help and something that she has put on her list- to finally stand up for herself. 

Before I Die

Outside Reading Blog #7

Before I Die

By: Jenny Downham

(p.1-55)

Now that I have finished my old book, I have started a new one called Before I Die, which is about a girl named Tessa who has just been diagnosed with cancer. She knows that she is going to die, and she knows there is nothing she can do about it, so she makes a list of 10 things that she wants to do before she dies. So far, Tessa has only accomplished the first thing on her list, which is sex. After that she kind of gave up, but her sister

The Time to Live Life

Outside Reading Blog #6

It's Kind Of a Funny Story

By:Ned Vizzini

(p. 382-444)

As the end part of the book approaches, Craig has the biggest shift. He is discharged from Six North and into the real world. He has decided to switch from Executive Pre Professional because he decided that ever since he had started there, he had been faced with so much stress that he was depressed. He is now going to go to an arts school so that he can thrive to become a professional artist and show the whole world his Brain Maps. His parents and his sister, Sarah, come to take him out of the mental ward and he says goodbye to everyone, makes them their own personal Brain Map, and even gets some of their numbers. Most of them are going off to an adult housing center when they get out and Craig believes that he will eventually run into them out in Manhattan. His roommate, Muqtata finally leaves the room and that is when Craig decides that some day he wants to come back and visit everyone, even try and help them like the guitarist. There is a quote that is the last sentence in the book that states; "So now live for real, Craig. Live. Live. Live. Live. Live". The quote really sums up that to live for real, you have to have a real shift in your life, Craig had been though so many fake shifts in his life until when he left Six North, he experienced the real shift. This book was overall a wonderful book and can teach a lot about the way you can express yourself in diversity and truly live your live, no matter what you have been though.