Main Character in Delirium

    Lena is the narrator and main character of the novel. Throughout the entire book, Lena tells the reader about all of her thoughts and emotions. Lena, currently 17, is very emotional and wary of her mothers recent, horrific suicide. She sees herself as ordinary and short, someone who blends into the background and who is unlovable. Lena knows that her mothers suicide must have had something to do with deliri, or love, which is why she is so resistant to even the idea of being with someone and she cannot wait until her operation. She sees her mother's suicide as an abandonment, and both her sister Rachel and her aunt Carol are distant from her. Due to this, Lena feels she isn't worthy of anyonw and has incredibly low self-esteem. She even questions whether her best friend Hana would be happier with another best friend.
    Lena is afraid of what may come when she falls in love with Alex. She knows that it is wrong, and that this may have been the same reason that she had no true mother anymore. But she can't help it. In Delirium, the symptoms of love are described as "cannot think clearly, or make rational decisions about your own well-being." These symptoms, begin to describe Lena perfectly after she meets Alex. This may even change her opinions about the operation from life-saving, to fatal.

Setting of Delirium

    The new book that I recently started reading is Delirium. If you have never heard of it, Delirium is another book, like Divergent, that is based off of a dystopian society. In this society, over years of research, scientists have concluded that love is a deadly disease that needs to be cured. Love can only be cured by an operation that you recieve when you turn 18. Lena, the main character, is almost 18 and is only months away from never having to worry about suffering from love, when she does the unthinkable and falls in love with an Invalid (a person over 18 who has not taken the Cure and lives in the Wilds) named Alex.

   The story is set in Portland, Maine, in an alternate present. Civilization is concentrated in those cities which escaped the severe bombings of decades past. Travel between cities is highly restricted. Electric fences separate the city from the Wilds—unregulated territory which was presumably mostly destroyed by bombs. The Wilds are considered extremely dangerous and deathly, but could these just be rumors to keep the people in? Alex has lived in the Wilds for a long time now, and he just may be convincing enough to get Lena to rebel and move there too.

    If you are interested in reading some quotes from Delirium to see if you may be interested, Click Here.

Letter to Veronica Roth

**Warning: I tell part of the ending of the Divergent series in this post (this part is underlined)**

Dear Veronica Roth,
    A couple days ago, I finished the entire Divergent series, and have entered a book withdrawal. That series was honestly the best that I have read in a VERY long time. I loved all of the detail and emotion that you put into the books. You made it feel like the characters were truly alive and a part of me. I became attached to Tris and Four by the time I was halfway through the first book. This is why the ending of the last book was so hard for me. Although the ending was terrible and made me want to cry, you wrote it in the most amazing way and I thought that it showed how strong Four was emotionally and how much he really loved Tris.
    Some of my favorite things that you did in the book, all had to do with the way that you wrote it. In many series books, after the first one, the suspense sort of dies off and all of the books lose their grabbing factor that makes readers want to keep reading. Even though this is true for many of the books that I have read, you added suspense to every chapter so I was never bored while reading it. The characters were, by far, my favorite part of the entire series. You made them come out of the book and made me feel like I was right in all of the action. Tobias/Four was my all time favorite character in the book and movie, and its not just because of his looks in the movie  (seen in the picture below). You made him seem mysterious, romantic, strong, and cold all at once and I really liked the way that you did it. As for my least favorite part of the series, I honestly can say that I don't have one. This series were the best books I have ever read and I hope to read other books that you have written in the future.



Sincerely,

    Caitlyn Wilks

The Best Thing About Insurgent

    The book that I am currently reading, Insurgent, has a lot of extremely vibrant characters taking part in it. I think that the best part about the entire book is the strong bond that you make with the characters. An example from the book where you can visualize one of the characters, Four, or Tobias as some call him, is, "He brushes a stray hair away from his face and avoids my eyes. I didn't know his hair was so thick-it was hard to tell when it was buzzed short, Abnegation hair, but now it's two inches long and almost hangs over his forehead. It makes him look less threatening, more like the person I've come to know in private." (Roth, 288) This quote that I chose gives you a very clear image of what Four's appearance may be like and also gives you a bit of an inside to his beginning personality that you saw a lot in book one of the series, Divergent.

    Another thing that Veronica Roth does really well to enhance the books reality and makes readers not want to put the book down is creating suspense. Throughout the book, you come to fall in love with many of the main characters. With all of the suspense weaved into the plot of the story, Roth puts a few of these select characters' lives on the line, which makes you feel as if you have to keep reading or your favorite characters may die or become something less than what they are now.

    She not only intensifies multiple near-death-experiences, but also relationships, whether between two friends, family members, or lovers. I, personally, believe that the tension of a possible relationship conflict can often be more powerful than the uncertainty of war or a death. This is my opinion on this because the entire series seemed to have been building this major relationship between Tris and Four, and yet it is still so fragile that it could be utterly destroyed in the snap of a finger.

    To see more information regarding the main idea of Insurgent Click Here

The Very Poor Case for Arming Teachers

    Some schools feel the need to take further security measures in case of a life threatening attack, and are trying to pass laws that give teachers permits for concealed weapons as a form of defense, which Ramsey claims is very unwise. She says that teachers are already expected to do so much, like handling uncooperative students, that asking them to use a weapon in from of their class during a real emergency could be too big of a responsibility and become too overwhelming of a job for them.

    I thought that the most important line in her column about arming teachers, was actually one that was used as an entire paragraph right after Ramsey explained her reasons for not seeing this idea as that of a particular good one. The line is, "It's unrealistic and, in fact, insulting to think people who entered the profession of education should be turned into teacher-law enforcement hybrids." This line is of utter most importance because it is really emphasized in the article, since it is surrounded by sentences of different structures, which puts all of your attention to this line in specific. This line is so emphasized because it sums up all of the authors ideas into one sentence, or paragraph, in this case, and it really pulls all of her evidence against arming teachers together and makes you want to agree with her in an instant.

    The writing style that I noticed in this article, seemed to be pretty basic, but used in a really effective way. Ramsey began by explaining the situation that she was planning on writing about and subtly giving her opinion on it, without directly stating it with an "I think..." or "I believe...", and she instead just suggested that it could have the potential of being a very unwise idea and could have a lot of cons. She then used evidence that she gathered prior to writing to support the hidden claim. After she gave readers a reason to agree with her and want to take action against the situation, Ramsey finished with what they could do to make a difference. The author used mostly casual diction throughout the entire article, except when she wanted to put a lot of emphasis on a particular sentence or idea. I thought that this was very affective because it made readers want to further think about what she was really trying to say.

    Questions for the author:
1) How do you think a teacher would feel in a situation where they are forced to use a concealed weapon as a source of protection?
2) How long did it take you to perfect your favorite style and way of writing these articles?
3) Have you always wanted to be a columnist? When did you know for sure that this was the career for you?

Link to article: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/columnists/krista-ramsey/2014/02/22/krista-the-very-poor-case-for-arming-teachers/5744065/

Divergent Book Review

    The book that I have just finished was Divergent. I really loved it and can easily say that it is my new favorite book. Divergent is about a futuristic society in which there are 5 different factions. Each faction represents a different personality or a different group of jobs; abnegation is selfless, dauntless are brave, candor are honest, erudite are knowledgeable, and amity are peaceful or caring. The book is told from a girl named Beatrice's point of view. In the beginning of the book, Beatrice is in the faction abnegation, but she knows that she does not belong there, especially when she finds out that she is divergent (able to belong in multiple factions). Within the first few chapters, during the Choosing Ceremony, Beatrice, who now goes by Tris, changes factions and becomes dauntless. While Tris goes through dauntless initiation, her and some other divergents discover that the erudite leader has been trying to kill divergents and is also trying to take over the entire community. Throughout the rest of the book, Tris becomes very individual and does what she thinks will be best for the community, you will have to read the book to find out.
   I would give this book five out of five stars. I really liked all the suspense that the author added into the book. It really hooked my interest and made me want to keep reading no matter what else I had going on. I also became very attached to some of the main characters in the book, such as Will, Christina, Tris, and Four. The author used a ton of really good diction while describing the characters thoughts and actions, which made them all feel very realistic and you eventually became attached to them. The type of reader that would enjoy this book is someone who enjoys reading sci-fi books that have a ton of suspense and just a hint of romance. Even if you aren't really into that, I still highly recommend that you try reading it.

    To learn more about Veronica Roth Click Here

Divergent-Tris

    In the book Divergent, Tris is the main character that the book focuses on. She is a 16-year-old girl that was born in Abnegation, which is one of the 5 factions that exist in the futuristic, dystopian society. Abnegation is the faction in which everyone is very modest and selfless, which is just how Tris starts out as. Beatrice-which was her name before she switched factions on Choosing Day-was just a kind, loving girl, but she believed that she was not selfless enough to be in Abnegation, which was her reasoning behind her switching factions.  That, and the fact that her test results showed that she is Divergent, which means she does not think like the others. Tris has a mind of her own, she can think for herself, but will only do what is completely necessary to keep herself and those she loves alive.

    After she discovers she is divergent in the very beginning chapters of the book, she decides that it would be best to switch factions to Dauntless on Choosing Day. Within the very first few pages of the book, you could almost be entirely certain that she had always had a certain attraction to Dauntless. One of the very first glimpses of her appeal to the Dauntless can be seen when she says, "They should perplex me. ... Instead my eyes cling to them wherever they go." (Roth 6)  After she switched factions, her personality is almost completely altered. While she is training to become one of the Dauntless, Tris slowly evolves to someone much more daring and brave. She begins to become more aware of everything happening around her and she is no longer afraid to use brutal force to get what she needs in order to keep herself alive. Her physical appearance has also changed during her initiation into Dauntless. In the beginning few chapters, Tris is described as modest, small, and fragile. But, in the middle through the end, you can visualize her as strong and tough. This physical transformation can also be easily seen in the divergent movie, which has just recently came out. If you view the preview of the movie below, you can see how her appearance has changed.