The Hunger Games Choice Book Report #3 Part 1

I read The Hunger Games by Suzann Collins. It’s a story that takes place in the ruins of North America, a place called Panem. Panem is made up of a giant Capitol surrounded by twelve districts. Each year a boy and a girl between 12 and 18 years of age are taken and forced to compete in the Hunger Games. In the arena, the 24 contestants are caught in a battle to the death, trying to survive the skirmishes and environment controlled by the Game makers.
The Hunger Games Takes place during the 74th games, when 16 year old Katniss Everdeen’s little sister Primrose is selected as the female tribute of District 12. Katniss immediately volunteers to replace her. Joined with Peeta Mellark, Katniss makes her way to the capitol, where she is plucked, painted and fed more than ever in her lifetime.
Dressed in fire, Peeta and Katniss are revealed to the citizens of Panem. Soon after, training commences. When the pair’s mentor purposefully tells them to stick together and hide their true talents, Katniss and Peeta learn valuable skills like camouflage, knot tying and knife throwing.
The last thing to happen before the official start of the games is interviews. Caesar Flickerman interviews each tribute, laughing at lame jokes and helping them in their attempts to seem confident. In the last interview, Peeta reveals his undying love for Katniss. As romantic as it is, love one of the biggest weakness in the arena.
Finally the Hunger Games commence, starting with the ‘bloodbath’. A golden cornucopia sits in the middle of the arena, and a chance to obtain supplies to survive is presented. Katniss has been instructed to run away, but she second guesses both herself and her coach. Split-decision causes one of the first deaths.
In the arena, a large group has banded together, obtained most of the supplies from the cornucopia, and has set out to destroy the competition. When they trap Katniss in a tree, Rue, a small brown eyes beauty and one of the smallest tributes helps her out. In the end Rue and Katniss are allies.
When Rue is tragically murdered, Katniss gives her the best funeral, breaking one of the unsaid rules of the games. Soon after, a new rule is added. Two tributes can win if they are from the same district. Meaning, Peeta and Katniss could both make it home. But, all the surviving tributes are after them, so is it really possible for both to live?

Book Report #2

For my second choice book, I read The Bad Queen: Rules and Instructions For Marie Antoinette by Carolyn Meyer. This book is about Marie Antoinette's life starting shortly before her engagement to Louis XVI. I thought it was a great book, and I got to know the 'bad' queen well.

Marie's physical appearance changed quite a bit in the beginning.She has her hair piled on top of her head, her teeth straightened in the way that was custom in the 1700's. Her mother says tells her that she was "no beauty, certainly". A couple of chapters later, she was full chested and beautiful enough to marry the crown prince of France.

Through the story, I learned about Marie Antoinette's personality too. She was very frivolous, and preferred to do many things that had been deemed improper by the royal court. She not only shocked her family, but set the way she was going to have things.

Early on, she disliked France, and the court disliked her. Her grandfather by marriage, the current King of France was practically wrapped around her finger and granted her every wish. Maybe that's one of the reasons she became so spoiled.

Marie was greatly troubled when her husband wouldn't make her a 'real' dauphin, and uses her connection to the King to remedy it. She starts riding horses, much to the displeasure of her ladies and shock of her mother. Marie also works to have the king's mistress sent away from the court.

When the dauphin must become king, and Marie becomes queen, Paris is turned upside down with love for them. Marie loved all the attention, and was filled with happiness when a thousand people show up to see her.

The king of France catered to the every need that Marie had. She was never without beautiful dresses or huge hair. When asked to cut back on her spending, she simply shrugs it off, giving proof to her frivolous nature.

Marie doesn't have many close friends except for the Princess of Lamballe, who was widowed a year after her marriage. She seemed very boisterous in public, but was a fairly reserved person. She disliked the way the court had people to do everything for her, all depending on rank and station. So, while she spent more than she had, she did eliminate tons of unnecessary jobs.

One of the depravities of Marie Antoinette was that she craved her mother's approval. Even though she was a queen and had everything she wanted, what she needed was some acknowledgement from her mother. It shows that Marie wasn't some godlike being. She was human like us.

I learned that Marie Antoinette wasn't the as stupid as she is made out to be and that she probably didn't deserve to have her head chopped off. I loved this book, and I would recommend it to girls who love history. I don't think boys would enjoy it at all. It's a little slow paced, but worth the read!

The Last Thing I Want To Be Is Forgettable

So I was looking through scrapbook the other day, and found the bulletin of Chase's funeral. I though that this little story was pretty inspiring. Read it through. It gives life a whole new meaning.

The Last Thing I Want To Be Is Forgettable

"I have to admit when I first walked in the X (Experimental Theatre at the University of Minnesota) last Monday, I was a little leery. For some reason, I knew right away we were going to get in a circle and hold hands. Not that I'm opposed to that sort of thing, or anything, I just need a little time to warm up. It's not always easy for me to embrace new things. In fact, that is one of the things that I like about theatre: the perpetual challenge, the ongoing dare, the prodding, the danger, the cliff. In a way I like that it is not easy ... and then, my fears were of course realized, and I was holding hands with people I didn't know and there was this profoundly sensitive man asking us to reveal to the group something that mattered to us. My heart started to pound. What was I going to say? Should I make something up? No, I'm not a very good liar (and I call myself an actor!). Should I say something that kind of matters to me, perhaps I could say something general, like the election and just sort of fudge my answer a bit so that everybody just nods in agreement (like, say something that everybody is supposed to care about) and then my turn would be over, and yes, I won't stand out, but this time that would be a good thing. I could blend in and be forgettable. No. That's not me. The last thing I want to be is forgettable. So, right there I decided. I am going to try this. I'll say what's really on my mind. [expletive] it. These people will know, but there's no freedom unless you're vulnerable first. So, I did it. Then I turned a corner. I realized that sharing something intimate or important to me or something that really matters to me doesn't necessarily have to be anything sexual or a profound weakness of mine or anything like that, it just needs to matter enough that I need to share it."~ Chase Korte

October Baby

I waited outside the hospital room with my father, trying to ignore the sterile smell that surrounded us. I played with my hair nervously. I was jittery with excited energy but completely afraid of what was to come.
A few months ago, My mom had informed me that I was going to be a big sister! The transtion from a family of three to expecting a fourth started slowly. My pretty bed was moved up against the wall and a little white cage was moved in. Girly baby clothes and toys found their way to my room too. As mommy's belly got bigger, more new stuff for the baby arrived. People came to our flat and gave us diapers and baby food, blankets and bottles, even a saucer. But the week before, people had stopped coming.
As we waited for my grandparents to arrive, Daddy and I discussed names for my baby sister. I wanted to name her Eliza Thornberry, after my favorite television character. Daddy just snickered at me.
Finally the nurse told us we could come see my mommy. She lay on the hospital bed, smiling down at at the basin at the foot of the bed.
The baby was small and pink with tiny hands and feet and big hazel eyes.
I grinned at my little sister.
"Her name is Caitlin."

Big Dreams

I feel silly getting excited over such a trivial thing, but I can now say I have been inside a Seven-Eleven! It wasn't as awesomely amazing as I expected, but I think I prefer Seven-Eleven to Holiday.
In other current events, my group of eleven took a tour around Hampton Harbor. It was so amazing. We saw Fort Wool and the naval base. I saw so many battleships, helicopters and submarines, and our super tour guide, Dave told us alot about the history and names of the vessels, as well as the history of Hampton harbor itself.
Yesterday, (monday) I went to the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, which was way more fun than it sounds. We saw british and colonial art and artifacts, along with an exhibit on the public hospital for the mentally ill. After looking at the exhibits, we headed into the auditorium to listen to an interactive speech for Martha Washington. It was fascinating, because the actress portrayed Marhta so realisticly, I felt as if Martha Washington was actually in the room.
Tomorrow, We plan to spend the whole day in colonial Willimsburg. I did make it to Williamsburg Sunday morning. We went to the cabinet maker, the brick maker, the printing shop, and my personal favorite of the day, the book binder. I watched them all make their wears by colonial methods, and I am now the proud owner of a hand-made calf skin bookmark that was made right before my eyes.
I will try to post again about my travels in Virginia, but no promises. See Y'all on Monday!

Buenos Dias, Atlanta, Good Afternoon Virginia

I spent almost the entire day either in a plane or in a car. I got up at four in the morning, and made the drive to Minneapolis airport. I spent two hours on a flight to Atlanta, Georgia; where I spent another hour waiting to board my plane to Norfolk, Virginia. After we found our rental car, my family and I drove to Williamsburg. It would have been fine and dandy, but it took a good forty-five minutes to get checked in to our condo. If I wasn't so excited to be in such a historicly rich area, I would be so upset. See you all in a week!