A night in the maze

         Thomas scared and exhausted trying to find something or somewhere he can use or hide in but there was nothing. Just walls. Then he finally figured it out. Thomas came up with a plan that he knew would work to help them survive the night, survive the grievers. The first thing they have to was find somewhere to keep the injured kid. Thomas looks up and saw the vines hanging of the wall so he pulled them. They seemed strong enough so the tied the injured kid up the wall and covered him with a layer of the vines. He was hidden to the eye. Then they left. They needed to keep moving, couldn’t afford staying still and being caught by the grievers. That didn’t work to well because they saw one. It chased them climbing the walls jumping from side to side. Furiously chasing them all while the walls were shifting back and forth. Thomas thinking quickly saw two walls closing, knowing the grievers was behind him ran through the closing walls and so did the griever. The griever didn’t make it. Thomas was the first person to ever kill a griever. After being chased all night they finally made it, the first people ever to spend a night in the maze and it was only his third day since the metal box brought him there.

Being a hero

         Thomas finally discovered what the maze was and his first instinct was to become a runner. The people that go throughout the maze to find a way out. Runner had to be able to run very fast to keep up with walls movements and to be able to get back to the glade before the walls shut and trapped them outside with the grievers and no one has ever spent a full night on the other side of the walls that’s hasn’t died. Thomas being curious starts to look into the maze not passing the walls but just looking, wondering where it could lead, why he was there, and how could he escape. Then all the sudden a loud alarm starts going off with a series of click and clack and metal clanking. Then the doors start slowly closing, then he sees them two runners. The one kid is carrying the other kid on his shoulders trying his best to get there before the doors shut. Thomas is screaming for help now as everyone surrounded the entrance back into the glade. The door is almost shut. Thomas doesn’t want to leave them out there. By themselves. So he did it, he ran through the door. As it was closing on him inches away from squishing him in between the ginormous walls. He made it. Now what, as Thomas was trying to think the boy who he bravely tried to rescue started yelling at him saying “nice job greenie you just got yourself killed.

The maze

     As the boy got hauled out of the metal box he heard laughter, boys yelling at him and everyone taunting him. As he walked through the crowd he realized that there is no girls at all, following the person who pull him out of the dark box. As they kept walking he started to remember his name, it was Thomas. Thomas tried as hard as possible to remember anything but the only thing that came to his head was his name. As the day went on he just sat there confused, then all the sudden one by one random boys who he hasn’t seen yet start to appear behind the big walls surrounding him. They ran into a small shack on the other side of the of this area they called their home. Thomas was curious so he started asking the kid next to him that’s the leader sent to watch him. His name was chuck he was a short stubby kid who was very friendly, he began to say that on the other side of the walls were a series of maze that trapped them inside this place it is called the Maze. The people who were running back in to that shack were called runners and they searched for a way out everyday studying the movement of the walls. Every night the giant doors that lead to the maze shut and creature called grievers come out to prevent them from escaping by stinging them with poisonous needles sticking out of their body. As chuck was still explaining Thomas realized that’s what he wants to because he wants to escape.

The Wrong Train

I decided to read The Wrong Train, by Jeremy de Quidt. It starts off with a boy realizing that he has gotten on the wrong train home, and decides to get off at the current platform. But the platform the train stops at is just a dark, foggy slab of stone with one lone bench. As he approaches the bench, he notices a strange old man wearing a thin raincoat with greased tie, holding a gas lantern, along with a small scruffy gray dog on a leash. The man approaches the boy sitting on the bench and sits alongside him. When the boy asks the old man when the next train is coming, the man responds that this “isn’t a train station, it's a Permanent Way Post.” and that he shouldn't have gotten off at this Post; otherwise the man wouldn’t be there. 

Five Feet Apart, Blog #3

This blog focuses on pages 209-276

After what Will had done to Stella, touching her with no barrier between them, he realizes that his feelings have gone too far and has put Stella under too much risk. He decides to leave the hospital and transfer away from Stella. Stella, still heartbroken over Poe, finds out and decides to go out with Will one last time. They meet outside and Stella explains to Will that she wants to visit the city of lights she always saw from her hospital room window. The two set out in the freezing cold, walking hand in hand, yet still 5 feet apart. Back at the hospital, the nurses get a call saying that a pair of lungs have been made available for Stella to finally get a transplant. When they try and find Stella, they realize that she isn't there and neither is Will. They try and get ahold of her. While on their walk to the city, they stop at a frozen lake and Stella decides to try and slide around on the ice. She realizes that somebody is calling and texting her phone repeatedly and knows that she can get new lungs but chooses to ignore the calls. At this moment, Will and Stella both confess their love for each other and they both realize they can never have what they want from each other. Will grabs Stella's phone and finds out about the lungs. He urges her to go back to the hospital but she keeps refusing because she knows that the new lungs will keep her away from Will. Stella breaks through the ice and falls through into the cold, water. Her lungs can't keep up and suddenly she sees her dead sister Abby telling her she has to live. Will pulls her out and gives her mouth to mouth, risking everything. He calls for 911 and the hospital sets out to find them. Will, who is trying so hard to get Stella to start breathing again, realizes that his own lungs are giving out. He stops and just lays there, gasping for air. They both wake up in the hospital, Stella fighting against the doctors because she doesn't want the lungs to keep her away from Will. Will forces her to take the lungs and she goes under for surgery. While Stella was under, Will sets up a way to tell Stella that he is leaving him, and that he can't risk her new life with his Cystic Fibrosis. When Stella wakes up, she finds Will outside a window. Will explains that he loves Stella too much to try and risk her life to be together. Will kisses the window (Stella) goodbye. 8 months later, Stella and Will find each other at the same airport, they stand from each other, 5 feet apart.

The ending of this book truly was one of the hardest things to read. To see Will, who loves Stella so much, having to let her go to save herself was amazing to read. Given Will was this cocky, and sarcastic sick boy at the beginning of the book but now he was a soft and open boy who loves Stella so much. The character development overall was the icing on the cake for this book. It made the story better and worth the read. 

The poet x- pages 315-357

For my last blog, I read pages 315-357. At the beginning of page 315 X runs out of the house and tells Twin to meet her because she wants to talk. She gets on the train and gets off at 168th street. She smells Amans collonge as he reaches for her hand and leads her back to his place. They kiss again and she falls asleep at his house. The next day, X goes to school and apologies to Ms. Galiano for wearing the same clothes again. Ms. Galiano explains that she called X's parents and they seem concerned because they do not know where she is. X says that she did not call her mom because she hates her. After meeting with Twin and Caridad, she introduces Aman, and goes to pick up Father Sean, who meets with the family once a week to talk to them about their problems. Towards the end of the book, everyone goes and supports X at her poetry event. After the event, everyone celebrates at X's house and she dances with her dad.

I chose to blog this book because its a nice story.

The Arrival

Lucas Shaughnessy

The Maze Runner

By: James Dashner

             The book that I’m reading is The Maze Runner by James Dashner. This book starts off in a small metal box with nothing in it beside a boy who’s maybe 15 or 16. As the boy woke up confused not knowing where he is. He panicked, scrambling around looking for a way out then all the sudden there was a loud clicking noise and he started to rise higher and higher no idea what’s going on and no idea where he came from, he could barely remember his name. As this boxed carried him higher and higher it eventually reached a point where it made a nasty sound a and clicked one last time than all the sudden a loud piercing alarm went off. He started to hear chattering from outside the box so he started to scream “let me out, get me out of here”. Then out of no where the door were pulled outwards and he saw nothing but a bright light piercing through the sky he could see anything, then as it all cleared up he started to see about 20 kids looking down in this metal box all staring at him only to say something like “welcome to your new home, greenie”.

     

The Lost Causes of Bleak Creak pages 214-324

In the final portion of the book a lot of turns took place.
Rex and Lief met Donna and Janine at the funeral and over heard them talking about Whitewood School.  It was then suggested that all of them should go back to the Creak and try to make the lake go crazy again and the could film it for the new documentary Janine is working on.
When they arrive to the Creak Rex went in to swim to see if he could see anything under the water. It was too dark so they cut his and with a key to make it light up again. This time, Lief decided he wanted to go in, for Alicia. At this point Donna is having a panic attack due to the PTSD of the school. So Lief takes the camera and goes under. The camera is then snatched out of his hand and tried to grab him under as well. Leif's screams made loud notices that echoed all the way to the school. In no time at  all they saw a bright light running roads then through the field. It was Mr.Whitewood. They all realized what was happening an they knew they had to get out of there. Janine's camera shot back out of the water and she went to get it slowing them down a little. As they were all going under the fence to leave, Leif's shirt gets stuck and Mr.Whitewood got him. He would now be attending Whitewood School.
All of the kids want home in shock. The next day Rex's mom came in and told the news about Leif. He was a complete mess. His mom let him stay home from school that day. Ben and Janine come over and they reviewed the footage. They saw what looked like a rock, but it was Alicia's head. Then her eyes opened.
They then go to give more history to Mr.Whitewood. His wife killed herself due to the depression that had kept in due to his daughter having leukemia. Mr.Whitewood heard in a rumor that  the Bleak Creak could heal her. Desperate, he took her there. While they were wading in she stepped in a rock cutting her foot open, activating the water. Before they knew it she was yanked under water. He went under to save her but in attempt to get her out he "drowned'. He realized his body was alive but his soul wasn't. He was then told by the "keeper" if he brought his 7 strong children in 10 years he would give his daughter back, fully healed.He only had given 4 childern in 9 years and 11 months.
Leif in the school decided to rebel along with 2 other kids. J, who had been friends with Alicia and 1 other kid we never get introduced to. They end up throwing Leif in. He went with Alicia.
Rex and his group went on a mission to save them. He was too late to save Lief from being thrown in. They get captured and Whitewood throw's Rex in. And then Ben. They Manage to get Leif and Alicia's bodies out making them come instantly back to life.
In attempt to escape, J and Ben sacrifice themselves so they can escape. Donna shot Mr.Whitewood and pushed his almost dead body into the creak. The Whitewood school would soon be exposed from everything they've done and shut down.

This book overall was amazing. Very suspenseful and has great details. My only complaint is that it comes be a little hard to follow due to all the plots and characters.

blog 2 the poet x pages 63 to 112

X sits next to this new guy in lab and notices him secretly looking at her all the time, they slowly become friends over the next couple days and eventually go on a "Date". The boys name is Aman. X is not allowed to have a boyfriend so she just wants to be his friend at first but eventually grows attached to him and spends every day with him. They talk about music and Aman listens to her poetry. X does not want her mom to find out what she does after school because she knows shw will get in trouble. Twin has somehow caught on to what is going on between x an Aman but doesn't say anything because it seems like he has his own secret too.

The Art of Racing in the Rain p. 201-end (Blog 3)

Because of the criminal charges against Denny, the Twins (Eve's parents) had been granted a temporary restraining order which meant that Denny wouldn't be able to see Zoe for several months. In addition, because of the fact that he had two legal things to deal with, the cost for Mark Fein was draining his pockets. But one day, Denny came home with Zoe, saying he had won every other weekend and every Wednesday with her. Soon after, Mark Fein was appointed to be a circuit judge, a non-refusable, lifetime appointment, so Denny had to find a new lawyer. Mr. Lawrence was his name, and he was slow, costing Denny more money. He eventually had to move into a very small apartment. One day, while Denny was teaching at his racing school, a Ferrari F430 pulled up, and his boss introduced him to the man inside: Luca Pantoni, who works for Ferrari. They had met before, at a dinner party hosted by Denny and Eve, and now Luca wanted Denny to show him the track. So Denny got in the quarter of a million dollar car with Luca and took him around the track, each lap getting faster and faster, until the car was a blur down the straight. After several laps, they stopped and Luca offered Denny a job at Ferrari, in Italy, testing the cars around their track with an apartment and a car. Denny would love to accept, but he can't because of the charges against him. Luca says he will keep the position open until those issues are resolved. He will not tell Denny why, saying he will only at dinner at his house in Italy. An unstated amount of time later, Denny sees Annika at a cafe while walking Enzo. He walks up and talks to her about what her allegations mean for him. How he can't leave the state, how he might have to register as a sex offender, or see he daughter. She doesn't say much, but she is crying. The day of the trial came, and basically everyone who was at the cabin testified against Denny. Then there was an unscheduled recess and after, Annika recanted and they dropped the charges. Denny was free and granted full custody of his daughter. But, the day he made the call to Luca to tell him, Enzo collapsed in the kitchen. He was very old, heart beat slow. Before he dies, he remembers how he watch documentaries on TV that said once a dog dies and his sole is ready, he will be reincarnated as man. There is an epilogue that is set many years later, with Denny being an F1 driver when two Italian fans come up to him, a father and a boy. The boy's name is Enzo, which startles Denny. The boy is a kart racer. Denny signes their program and writes his phone number on it, saying he will make sure Enzo gets proper driving instruction and opportunity. Enzo even repeats his motto that he told his dog so many times: The car goes where the eyes go.

       Denny's whole situation that he was in is really depressing. First, your wife dies, then, her parents sue for custody of your daughter, next, the person who tried to take advantage of you is accusing you of rape which destroys your chance at full custody of your daughter, and now, the expense for lawyers is driving you into poverty. Denny was extremely strong through all this, never even hinting at giving up. I think most people would have given up and some people would consider suicide. But thankfully, Denny didn't and some happiness came into his life through the job offering which morally helped him through the trial. The last scene where Enzo is a human is very powerful. Ever since the beginning of his life, he knew he would become a human after he died and was waiting his whole life for it.