RED

The book RED: the next generation of American writers--teenage girls-on what fires up by: Amy Goldwasser was my second favorite book. I enjoyed how it was stories from teenagers and not just an adult writing about teenagers. My favorite teenage story was The Beautiful Cause of Death That Had Me Dying for a While. It can relate to my life because my best friend died my senior year of an eating disorder. She was both bulimic and anorexic. She was not that thin but went to Oregon for rehab for six months. She suffered since fourth grade when her classmates called her fat. It took her life in 2008! Girls see in magazines these beautiful thin girls and don't realize that they are airbrushed and fake. Even though I know for a fact that these women are fake I still obsessed over my weight and look. I just work out constantly now. I can relate to the girl in the story because I never eat in front of people. Especially the opposite sex. I don’t know what it is, but I feel like I should not eat in front of people. Once I get to know somebody I will become more comfortable and be able to. What struck me most about Red was that I'd be reading touching stories that made me smile one minute and be in tears the next. The essays were interesting, but too short and too far-ranging in their topics to have a significant impact on me. It made me remember my teenage years, not so long ago, and surprised me by how similar life is and how different it is for teenage girls these days.

Post 9

I would write a book about my life through adolescents because I have been through a lot more then the average teenager. Starting from age thirteen I went from going to an all white middle school to going to high school which was mostly black. I am not racist and look down on racism but It was a very new experience for me. At the age of fourteen I had many life changing experiences including a tumor that was 4 inches in diameter and had to have emergency surgery, I was life flighted because i was paralyzed after falling down the stairs, I had an eating disorder. That is a lot for a freshman in high school to go through. I battled through high school having no friends and keeping to myself, I never had a friend in grade school either so I was all alone. I did not mind and still don't mind because even though I seem outgoing I like to keep things to myself. At age sixteen I started dating a guy who I stayed with throughout the rest of high school and recently just ended the relationship with. I was engaged at the age of 18. My senior year in high school which is supposed to be the best years of a teens life, was horrible. My best friend died of an eating disorder, my fiance became abusive, and I got a horrible lung infection which took away my ability to run, the only thing that kept me sane. I think that I could give a lot of advice to young teens. I talk to my younger cousins all the time and they tell me I give them wonderful advice. As I thought things were getting better in college, I lost another friend due to a heart attack. You never realize how horrible somethings can be unless you experience it. All these experiences made me alot more mature for my age, especially growing up with no friends.

I would have some diary entries but I would just make chapters by my teenage years.

Part-Time Indian

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie is my favorite book so far! I actually enjoyed reading it, maybe it was because I could relate to this book. I am an American Indian and every summer my family and I go to an Indian pow wow. This is where Indians gather and sell their creations and food. When I tell people that I attend these I usually get the comments like "Why would you go, was it dirty, what was it like" and then I would explain to them that I was Indian and that is what my family does! I am mostly Italian but have Indian in my blood. There are many stereotypes that Indians are poor and all they do is smoke and drink. This is seen in the book and also seen through my grandfather. He goes onto an Indian reservation every other month to buy Indian cigarettes, but he likes supporting his own kind. Yes most Indians are poor but they are so close to their families that there is a hard bond to break. Everybody works together to raise money, everybody shares the money that they make. This is seen when even though Juniors dad goes out and drinks he still makes sure to save money for Junior to look like he has money. With Rowdy and Junior they have a very close bond, but Indians get frustrated easily and thats why he got so mad when Junior told him that he was going. Yes, Rowdy should have gotten mad, but should have still been friends with Junior. He still lives on the rez, is still the same person, but just wants to better himself. The fact that he offered for Rowdy to go with him showed that he really cares about Rowdy. Alexie shows that they have adolescent behavior thought the language, cartoons, and comics. This is what makes this book such an easy read. It keeps your attention and also helps emphasize on the point he is talking about.

betsey brown

The novel portrays Betseys growth and development as she strives to understand who she is. During this age frame 10-15 children and young teens learn to express their identity in a mature way. Its sad at a young age to have to put up with racial inequality. While reading this book I started to feel bad for Betsey Brown. At such a young age she has had so much responsibilities put on her that it is causing her abnormal amounts of stress. This is found very often in homes today where the parents do not have enough time to do chores so they are putting it on their children at young ages. My cousin is already doing the family laundry at age 8! Chores are ok, but its not normal for a young child to have as many responsibilities as an adult. Because Betsey has had so much put on her, she has grown up and matured really fast. When she ran away, I thought to myself about when I was a child and had all these pressures put on me. She felt like she did not fit in and that nobody liked her. I always did the chores around the house and yet I felt like I was the one who was always getting yelled at and made fun of. There is plenty of tension and conflict in this book, its a sensitive novel for a young child who is ready to begin becoming a women, and experience life as a different person. The book did not interest me much, but it defiantly should be shared with young girls ages 10-16.

Detailed outline

Bad Good Boy- Looks good on the outside but bad on the Inside.

1. Introduction

A. About my topic-Characteristcs of a Bad Good Boy, What is a Bad Good Boy? How is it seen in American teens and Literature

B. Charlotte Temple By Susanna Rowson. BAD GOOD BOY =( Montraville and Belcour)

C. Thesis Statement - The Bad Good Boy is seen very often in American Literature including Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson, In teenage relationships, and what urges teenage girls to be with a bad boy.

2. TOPIC 1-Charlotte Temple including Montraville and Belcour
A. Montraville (Leaving her when she is sick, she is seduced by him, abandoned in America, has a baby and dies. Antagonist)
B.Belcour ( Not giving her the money Montraville gave her, not watching over her when he promised Montraville he would)
C. Their Good looks on the outside and Bad attitude on the inside. What does that mean?
3.Topic 2. Teenage relationships
A. Life Being with a Bad Good Boy
B. Experiences being with a Bad Good Boy
C. The pro's and Con's with being with one
4.Topic 3. Why is there a urge to be with a Bad Good Boy?
A.What makes them look so good?
B. Why are young girls attracted to the Bad Good Boy charm? (If you ask any single girl what type of guy they are looking for they always say a nice guy with a sense of humor who will treat her right, but always falls for the guys who use and abuse them)
C.Characteristics that attact young girls. Why does being mean make a girl fall for you? Why is it so hard to leave you? Why do we choose you over a nice guy who treats women with respect?
5.Conclusion
How Montraville impacted Charlottes life and how most Bad Good Boy teens do the same to their girlfriends. Why they do it, and why we put up with it.

Huck Finn

I had a very difficult time reading the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. It did not really catch my attention and when Jim would speak it was very hard to understand. I want to focus on how this book shows independence but at the same time it showed respect and responsibility. Since Huck grew up in a bad family environment, which is more likely seen in America today he was forced to live on his own at a very young age. He was very Independent and did not rely on anybody except himself. When Jim and Huck ran away he had to learn to work together with Jim so that there escape was a success. Huck learned a lot from Jim and I think towards the end of the book he looked upon him more as a father figure then a runaway slave. Jim had good intentions especially when he came out to save Tom and ended up getting caught for it. They had to have respect for each other and take on certain responsibilities to be able to be successful. Being selfish is something we see in America quiet often. People in today's time only care about whats good for themselves and not the good of the community. Littering, pollution, poverty is all acts of selfishness. In the book when King told of Jim's location for forty dollars was very selfish. Today's possibilities were also seen in the book. If you put your mind to it and are willing enough to go through with it you can do anything! Even though it would be pretty easy for Huck and Tom to break Jim out Tom being an adventurous boy wants to make everything difficult. He wants to make everything look very difficult and complicated. He even stated that he wanted to saw off Jim's leg, dig a moat, and make a ladder out of sheets ( Twain). Instead of using tools that they have available they decide to use case-knives. Tom is more driven to do complicated things due to the books he reads and what the prisoners in the books do.

Charlotte Temple 21st century

Charlotte Temple is just 15 years old. She is a beautiful and attractive girl who has good intentions. She is beginning her first year at a boarding school in Ohio. She has been home schooled for her whole life. Her parents are afraid because she will face many temptations but they trust her and believe in her so they let her go on her way. Charlotte gets good grades and avoids going out. She is quiet and keeps to herself. The principle of the school assigns a R.A named La Rue to help her experience life away from her parents. What a big mistake! La Rue is a crazy person and a very bad influence. She gets Charlotte into drinking and smoking. La Rue is supposed to be protecting her and keeping her from danger. One night they go to a party right outside of the boarding school. They sneak Charlotte out because she is too young. As they are at the party she has a little too much to drink. La Rue introduces her to a handsome charming senior Montraville. He is the captain of the football team and also runs track. He is the most popular senior in the entire school. Little does Charlotte know that he is just using her to get his ex girlfriend jealous. Since she had too much to drink and La Rue was nowhere to be found she gives into sexual temptations. They stop talking after that night until Charlotte approaches Montraville and tells him that she is pregnant with his child and refuses an abortion. She will not turn to her parents for help so she turns to the only person she knows, La Rue. (Montraville already approached La Rue for help) La Rue tells her that she should marry Montraville so that her parents would be less disappointed.

Later Montraville decides to take Charlotte to Vegas to get married so that he does not get in trouble for rape. Since she already has a fake ID all they need is a witness, so La Rue goes along with them. They drive down there one weekend and stay in a hotel. Montraville freaks out and wakes up La Rue. He does not want to follow through with that because he does not care about Charlotte. Montraville wakes up Charlotte and tells her that he wanted to go have a celebration drink so they all go out. Montraville puts something in Charlotte's drink and she passes out and dies. They get scared and they ……….

To be continued