Sunday, June 10, 2012

Divergent

Divergent (Divergent, #1)Divergent by Veronica Roth


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I took a break from the dystopia genera for a bit, but this read was a nice welcome back. Imagine living in a society where only 5 virtues remain, and at the age of 16 you must proclaim your faction, the virtue you will live by for the rest of your life. While most people choose the faction they were raised in, some choose to convert, and in a rare case they find themselves Divergent. Faced with the choice of abandoning her faction of selflessness and following her heart to the faction that embodies fearlessness, is only compounded when her faction are being scrutinized and blamed, bringing the society to the brink of a revolution.

When Beatrice discovers that she is Divergent she has no idea the danger she is in or the impact she could have in the revolution. Making her choice to join the fearless, she soon realizes that there is a fine line between being selfless and fearless, while seeing the truth behind her divergent nature.

Excellent young adult read, full of rebellion, thrills, and even love.




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Monday, June 4, 2012

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time IndianThe Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie


My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Think diary of a wimpy kid + crass hormonal high school boy + a lot of surprisingly deep meaning of life lessons.

It was funny, funny enought that I chuckled out loud multiple times.

I'm not sure I can recommend it to my students though, as I think the only thing they will get from the book is this dude talks about masterbation (only like 3 times in the whole book), but that is what a middle school boy is going to remember.





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Ranger "Danger" 12/28/2005- 5/31/12

He is gone.

I dropped him off at the vet early Thursday morning, I thought they would be giving him an IV and breathing treatments.  I thought Brian would come home and pick him up and in a few days he would be back to normal.

I thought wrong and he is gone.

It all happened so fast, it took all of us by surprise. Even the vet was ready to send him home with us (after giving us nebulizer training) to nurse him back to health.  As Brian showed up to bring him home, he was told "I thought I was going to be giving you your dog, instead I have to tell you that he has passed."

We are shocked, he is gone.

En rout to Park City, passing over mountain peaks, I received a call, one I thought would tell me that he had made great improvement, and was coming home.  Instead, I learned of our loss.

In harmony Madison and I wailed in grief, he is gone.

A weekend filled with soccer, gave a decent distraction for the two of us.  Reality crept in with the darkness of night.  I could fold up my sorrow and tuck it away, but knew it was temporary, I'd soon be home and faced with reality.

Our home had a gaping hole, he is gone.

It was cancer that had devastated his lungs, making them unable to fight off the pneumonia.  He wouldn't have made it much longer, and the reality is he only suffered a short time, and we never had to make the decision to let him go.

It was so fast, he is gone.

Brian said how fitting it was, Ranger never did anything small, it was always huge; He'd find the stinkiest mud hole to wallow in, he'd escape from the yard by busting a hole clean through the fence, he didn't chew on toys, he instead chewed the stairs.  The cancer was massive, his death was speedy.

He went big, he is gone.

I didn't say good bye, I didn't think it was the end. But looking back, he knew.  He let me brush him for hours, he let me lay with him and hold him.  He didn't come inside his last night with us, he laid out , in his favorite place under the bush. Had he been able, I think he would have wandered into the wilderness and laid in a stinky mud hole for his final rest.

He knew, he said good bye, and now he is gone.

Ranger, our snow dog,
Snowshoeing 2010

Snowshoeing 2010

Snowshoeing 2010
Just Enjoying the Snow

Ranger, our fluff ball,
Mandison and Ranger at 8 wks

Ranger, our pillow
Could they get more onrey!
Madison's furry pillow.

Ranger our goof ball,
This is MY Spot!
Marti Gras Dog

Ranger our friend.

Trying to Catch fish at Bonita

Ranger

He may be gone, but his presence was a present.