Letters About Literature

Arielle Jackson

1301 E. Walnut Street.

Carbondale, IL 62901

Dear Jandy Nelson,

            I read your book the Sky is Everywhere in my English class this year. We have been reading of a reading list called Read for a Lifetime. I liked the plot summary of your book and felt that it was interesting. Little did I know that I was going to have such a strong connection with the book itself. While reading your book I really fell in love with Lennie the most. I could really feel her sadness and every other emotion she was feeling in the book. Not that I would ever wish losing a loved one on someone, but I do think that losing Bailey in the beginning of the book helped Lennie grow and see the world in a completely different way.  I to have a little sister named Alex. We are three years apart and although she is bigger and taller than me, people still think we look a lot like twins. She and I are quite close and do a lot of things together. Reading your book, The Sky is Everywhere, I realized just how much my sister means to me and my life in general.  There was a time when we were younger that I was hospitalized because of a back surgery. I was around 14 at the time and Alex came to see me in the hospital a few days.  The first couple of days were pretty blurry for me and I don’t remember much, besides getting to see my sister and parents. Alex would go to the store and buy me magazines and candy, of course at this point I was grateful to get just about anything. Alex was only around 11 at the time so I myself could only imagine how she felt going to school every day without me. If I compare Alex and I to your book, Alex would be a lot more like Bailey and I a lot like Lennie. Alex was the star athlete of the house and she loved sports, just as Bailey loved theater.  I liked sports but never found a real need for them either. I was the sister who did all her homework and liked playing the clarinet, which was why I feel so connected to the character of Lennie. Anyway, there were times while I was in the hospital that I felt as if Alex didn’t care. I felt as if she thought I was just the weird sister with back problems and she was the healthy one who got to do as she pleased. There were also times when I felt as though Alex could live her life without me. She was always a very independent girl and liked to do things for herself.  So to look back at the book and think, if I left my sister on Earth, could she go on with her life? That was a hard way for me to look at this but it was soon changed by the time I got home. Alex had made a huge timeline poster that had pictures of us together from the times we were babies to the present. It was all colorful and she had put a lot of time into it. That was the exact moment that I realized that Alex would be fine if I never was here again, but she would be better if I was.

            So reading the Sky is Everywhere in English this year was a huge déjà vu moment for me. I was able to get into the book in a completely different way than I think any other reader could. Your book helped me see a new way of looking at life, and at family and friends in general. I’m glad I chose this book to read. I felt it gave me a new insight on life itself. I am hoping to find free time in my school year to read any other books that you have written; I enjoyed this one.

Sincerely,

Arielle Jackson

Vlog... Again!!!

To Read or Not to Read? That is the Question!

     So I'm pretty sure most people if not all students in high school have heard about sparknotes.com. It's usually the last minute website you search for when you didn't read your English assignment. I must admit that I have done this for a few assignments myself. Soon I realised that reading these short excerpts of material that random people put on the Internet are not helpful. They might help people decided if they like the plot of the book and help them make the decision of buying it or not. But, in my situations I would read these short summaries and go to school the next day to fail the quiz. That's because most of these summaries only told me the beginning of the story with a good cliff hanger. It wouldn't tell me much of what happened in the actual story. So when I had tests and quizzes asking what character did this in whatever chapter, I wouldn't have a clue.
       There are a few reasons why reading sparknotes and or Google would be a bad idea. One is , if you have never even touched the book much less read it, how would you know that the summary you were reading was the right one?! That becomes a problem when your talking to a classmate about what happened and you have a  completely different story. Another reason doing this research would be bad was if eventually you had to write a research paper on the book it self.  You would want to know some famous quotes along with the page number. This way people know you can source things correctly and give your author credit for the book. A research paper may be the hardest essay every just because you never read your book in the first place. My final reason for why students should not use sparknotes and Google to "read" their books is because you may be missing out of the greatest story ever. Like when I bought the first Twilight book. It wasn't very popular and I honestly thought it was super boring and long. When I finally decided to read it and try, I never put the book down. It was an amazing story and I read every book after that one!!
     So although typing in the title and getting a quick and easy summary seems harmless, it can turn around and give you major problems!

Twenty-first century English classrooms!

     Facebook, blogging, Twitter, and video chat. Text messages and cell phones, writing papers and reading books. These are all of the things that are incorporated in the English classrooms of the 21st century. I think by incorporating all of these new technologies into the classroom, we can make our own learning styles; also we might be able to understand things more differently. I must admit that I am a huge Skype and Facebook fan, I'm on one of the two almost everyday. I do find it helpful to know that I have access to all homework and school material online. It helps me not procrastinate as much as usual.
     By putting facebook and twitter, along with blogging in the classroom , students don't have to feel so self conscience about what they are writing. They can go on someones blog or facebook and read about how other people are responding to the teachers requests. They can also have someone they can converse with about the books they are reading. Blogging helps you express your feelings on books and other things, without giving stage fright to most people. I feel like I am approaching my second quarter blog with my own decisions. I like the freedom I get for my creativity and my own thoughts. I love that classes in high school are keeping up with the new technologies of their students. They are making everything easier to learn and discover this year. Reading my second quarter book has been a new experience for me. I feel more at ease with the fact that everything can be done on my own time. The teachers doesn't tell you what to write about and everything can have your own twist of creativity.Usually there when teachers decide to teach a book out loud in a classroom, there are lower grades and test scores by the end of that book. I would say that is because there is a lower amount of students that have the ability to pay attention. Now I'm not saying that learning a book through blogging and Facebook make my attention span longer (because it surely doesn't ), but for the amount of time that my attention does stay I learn way more than I would reading aloud.
    With all of that being said, I can finally say that I'm glad we have blogging, Facebook, and Twitter to do our English homework with. Some may say its a waste of time and not needed, but I vote otherwise. I feel this technology use in my English classroom has helped my learn in a way that my mind is more adapted to, not forcing me to read in a way that the teacher thinks is necessary.
    

My thoughts expressed in Poems

     Hi guys!!!!! Im going to be post a few blogs that are not my typical "by the book" format. Today I am copying some poems off of writersalmanac.org to compare to the book I'm reading: Three Black Swans. I hope you like them!!

November Rain

by Linda Pastan

How separate we are
under our black umbrellas—dark
planets in our own small orbits,

hiding from this wet assault
of weather as if water
would violate the skin,

as if these raised silk canopies
could protect us
from whatever is coming next—

December with its white
enamel surfaces; the numbing
silences of winter.

From above we must look
like a family of bats—
ribbed wings spread

against the rain,
swooping towards any
makeshift shelter.

This poem, November rain, reminds me of the sadness that these three girls are going through. Clarie's dad has lost his job and can barely afford to support his family. Missy's parents hardly pay any attention to each other or her. And Genevive hardly has parents at all. This poem shows the misery and pain that all these girls are going through and how alike they are, even thoough they dont know each other.

When the War is Over

by W. S. Merwin

When the war is over
We will be proud of course the air will be
Good for breathing at last
The water will have been improved the salmon
And the silence of heaven will migrate more perfectly
The dead will think the living are worth it we will know
Who we are
And we will all enlist again

This poem represents the feeling of relief that these girls will feel when they figure out their situations. At the end of the poem it mentions how  everyone will finally know who they are. I feel like the girls in the book feel  like they dont really know themselves because they dont know their "sisters". They will get their lives back in order and be ready to live life again.

Comments and More!

Melinda,
First I would like to say that I feel the same way  about the blogging concept. I feel like it is sometimes just long and boring. On the other hand I did love your blog from last quarter. I feel like you put a lot of thought into each of them and i hope you feel more confident with them this quarter. I know its hard to explain feeling half the time but hopefully we will both get better at this stuff. I hope you are enjoying the book you are reading this quarter. Good Luck blogging!
-Arielle

Emalee, Again I have to compliment you and how opena and honest you are on your blogs. It honestly makes my day.Since we are best friends it doesnt surprise me that we are both MAJOR procrastinators. I always wait until the absoulte last day to do a five page essay. I have to agree with you on your comment about reading two books. Im having a hard time keeping my reading equal for both books. The Scarlet Letter is lengthy and confusing. Therefore I tend to spend more time on that one. Anyway, I hope you find this quarter a little more entertaining. I am looking forward to more of your honest comments!! :)

Simone,
First of all I would like to agree with what you said about responses. Im just the same with trying to not ramble about things and just tell the person what I thought. So hopefully my comments wont be that bad!I'm glad that you have noticed not only the mistakes but the correct things you did in your blog last quarter. Dont let the grade get to you! Even though we havent really began blogging to an extent, I'm kind of excited for some of the post you have though up. The one about the playlist based on the book and character seems very interesting. Anyway, I'm not giving my two cents. I hope your blogging goes well for you and you achieve the goals you set.

Wow! Second Quarter Already??!!!

     Hey guys!! Well the first quarter of blogging is over, and as unhappy I was with the fact that I actually had to blog, I'm pleased with my grades!! Yay!! So here I am with another book for the second quarter. First things first, my first quarter blog. On my blog I was actually pretty nervous as to what the grading would be like for these things. To my surprise, I should of never felt that way. I got an A on the blog and the Animoto. I was so amazed and excited I almost couldn't contain it. I did have some grammar errors, like not capitalizing my I's. I'm sure I have a few of those in this blog already! There were a few things that I fell I could of put into the blog to give it more depth. For example I just went with the prompts. There was no creativity, just going by what the teacher told me to do. I hope that in this new quarter of blogging I can help you all see where I'm coming from with connections.
     A few goals would be simple for me. One would be to check, check, and double check all spelling. I tend to type faster than my eyes can read and there are some grammar and spelling errors. My next goal is to put more thought and feeling into the blog. I hope this new book will allow me to connect easier. Finally, I would like to hopefully change my attitude about all of this blogging. Maybe it will help me type better blogs. Speaking of changing attitudes, my attitude is somewhat the same. I still don't really understand why we are blogging , I'm not catching the connection to the reading. Sometimes I feel as though this is just busy work, and other days I feel as though its a great project to do instead of having a lecture. I guess it will all take time to get used to. I don't think I can just change my mind in a matter of minutes!
     This quarter I am reading Three Black Swans by: Caroline B. Cooney. I must say that I have not read as much of this book as I would like to, but I am trying to catch up. In my English class we are also reading the Scarlett Letter by: Nathaniel Hawthorne. So between reading my English homework and my blogging homework and keeping my grades up in six other classes, I'm exhausted. From what I have read this story is about two cousins. They are similar in appearance and totally different in personality. They come together to play a joke on one of their classes and tell them all that they are twins. What they don't know is that they actually are. Somehow the only people who know about it are their parents. They never spoke of it, but they knew. The story goes on to talk about how their lives will change and the struggles they will go through. I hope I can keep everything updated! Wish me luck!!

My Animoto

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Websites, Websites, Websites! Oh My!

     In this blog entry there will be 20 different websites that are in some way tied you my book, The Sky is Everywhere. They hopefully will help you figure out what my book is all about. Enjoy!

1. http://www.bn.com/- This is the website to barnes and noble. Its a pretty awesome book store that can help you find any and all the books you are looking for.
2.www.amazon.com- This website is like Ebay almost. You can get products for way cheaper than in stores.
3.http://www.theskyiseverywhere.com/- This is the actual author website. You can see comments from other readers and the authour as well.
4.http://sueysbooks.blogspot.com/2011/09/review-sky-is-everywhere-by-jandy.html- This is a woman named Suey. She reads different books and blogs about them. She read my book, The Sky is Everywhere, and made very interesting comments.
5.http://www.kkmusicstore.com/woodwind-clarinets-c-2_7.html?gclid=CJXdgIeg0qsCFaEBQAodBkiyVQ- This website sells clarinets. The character in my book, Lennie, plays this insturment very well. She is even challenging another girl for first chair in her school band.
6.http://www.bachbrass.com/instruments/trumpets.php- This website sells trumpets in different styles. Another character in my book, Joe, plays the trumpet. His father makes different customized trumpets as well. Joe and Lennie are in love in this book and play their instruments together.
7.http://groundtoground.org/2011/02/03/how-to-grow-amazing-roses-with-coffee-grounds-on-sustainablog/- In this website, its talks about how roses will grow better. Gram, Lennies grandmother, grows beautiful roses in her garden. Although the story doesnt tell us how they become so wonderful, this website could help you.
8.http://helpguide.org/mental/grief_loss.htm- In my book Lennie looses her sister. She takes it hard and grives in ways probably never done before. In this website it teaches people what the grieving process is and how to cope with loosing someone or something dear to you.
9.http://www.brainaneurysm.com/- In my book Bailey, Lennie's older sister, has a brain aneruysm and dies. Not many people get this at all. With that being said, this website will teach you what it is and why it may happen. It will also tell you how its treated.
10.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skateboarding- This website is history about skateboarding came to be what it is today. In my book Toby, Baileys boyfriend she left behind, was a skateboarder. This is how Toby won Baileys heart.
11.http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/wuthering/section1.rhtml- Wuerthing Heights was the book that Lennie read at least 23 times. She loved the characters and the plot all together. This website will not let you actually read the whole book for yourself, but will at least give you a summary of what happens in each chapter.
12.http://www.poemhunter.com/poems/- During all of this love drama that goes on in my book, Lennie writes poems. Even though they arent the same ones, this website gives you poems of all kinds.
13.http://www.robinfrederick.com/write.html- Joe and Lennie would write songs to each other. This website will help you write a song of your own.
14.http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html- When Lennie and Baileys mother left them with their grandmother at a young age, Gram was devistated. She would paint and draw pictures about the color green, because thats the color their mom was wearing the day she left. This website will tell you what the color green stands for.
15.http://www.marching.com/- Lennie was in the marching band at her school. This website give you events and ideas to starting your own marching band.
16.http://www.nytimes.com/pages/theater/index.html- Bailey loved the theather and wanted to go to school to act. This website tells about plays and things that are on Brodway.
17.http://www.julliard.edu/- Julliard is the school that Bailey wanted to study to become an actress. This website is the schools homepage, so you can learn more about the school.
18.http://www.seventen.com/- This website is of a book store on campus. It will most likely sell the same book im reading.
19.http://www.ebay.com/- If you dont want to pay regualar price for this book. Look on Ebay and maybe you can buy it from another owner for cheaper.
20.http://www.bookfinder.com/- This website will help you make sure you get the right book everytime. You can even find new and used books.

Oh My God, it's a Vlog!!

The way I see it

Simone, I love how you put humor into your first blog post. Im glad to know that this blog will give me more information than just when you eat a sandwich! I find it interesting how your brother is trying to get you hooked on blogging also. Your book seems very mysertious and interesting, i may just read it for the next quarter. Well keep up the good work!
-Arielle

Emalee,
It feels great to finally read a blog that isnt just what the teacher asked you to write. I love the fact that you werent afraid to put your real feelings into the blog, it makes it more your own. I understand how you picked this book. I also could only see myself reading a few books. I hope your book turned out interesting for you!
Keep up the good work!
-Arielle

Hannah,
I have already read one other blog about this book and it gets more interesting everytime. I love the pictures you got of those two twin girls, they are super cute!! I can also tell from the pictures that these families are going thru a lot of distress. I hope the book ends well!
-Arielle

Sounds of Life

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     Well here I am, blogging for the third time. Above is a link that will take you to a song i have choosen off a list of classical music. The song is called Romance in F major.By: Ludwig van Beethoven. So far in the book im reading, The Sky is Everywhere, Lennie is starting to fall in love. The only problem is it's with two boys!! So there is Toby, Bailey's boyfriend whom she left behind, and Joe a musical genius who moved to Lennies home town. I think that this song by Beethoven really expresses all of the feelings that Lennie is trying to deal with on a daily basis. I can't imagine it being very easy for her either. She is falling in love with two boys and her sister has also died on top of everything.
     When the song first starts out it is very dramatic. I feel like that betrays the exact feelings that Lennie had when she got that call from the hospital saying Bailey had died. She was broken pretty much. Once everyone had paid their respects and gone away there was nothing left of Bailey but her clothes and boyfriend. Lennie had lost a very important part of her. Then she soon finds out that she has feelings for Joe that she never noticed before. This song shows the love and emotion that Leenie feels at the time and may always feel.

The Sky is Everywhere.

heaven: Bailey died

Sisters

Sisters Love

Bailey loves theater

lennie now writes her sister

Lennie plays clarinet.

New kid in ban plays trumpet.

 Juilliard is bailey's dream school

 Bailey is into theater     Bailey
  Lennie      Lennie is a book worm.

 Lennie and Bailey's Grandma      Uncle Big

 Gram loves to garden      Joe is new in band

 Joe plays trumpet     Lennie lives with Gram and Big.

 joe is a musical genius      Toby: Baileys boyfriend

 After everything that has happend, Lennies heart is broken.

My First Blog!

     Hey guys!! My name is Arielle Jackson and I'm a junior in my high school. I am on the tennis team at my school and am really involved in clubs. Most things i enjoy are hanging out with friends and watching movies. I live in a small town that doesn't have much to do but my friends and I make the best of things. The things that interest me the most are Facebook and texting, but on occasion i do read a book. I love action and drama, also most fiction books. Even though i like reading, if the book is boring it is unusual that I will finish the book.
     The purpose of my blog is to reflect on the book that i have picked from a Read for a Lifetime list. For each quarter i pick a new book off of this list and blog about it on here.Even though I'm not so excited about this project I'm kinda stuck with doing it . The first book i choose is The Sky is Everywhere By: Jandy Nelson. This is a sad story about a younger sister who lost her older sister to a brain sickness. She ends up finding comfort with her older sisters boyfriend that she left behind. Soon they become more close than just friends, and the love story goes on. I chose this book for a number of reasons. First, I like to chose books based off their titles. In a way I read a book by its cover. All interesting titles catch my eye. Secondly, i chose this book because i have a sister of my own. Although I would never wish to leave her like the sister in the book did, I like the sisterly connection that the author gives off.Finally, love stories are always a good read. Whether sad or happy they always fill you with some kind of emotion.
     The types of blog prompts that would be easy would be just to write a paragraph of what you read, although that wont happen. Another interesting thing that would be good for the blog would to be a whole story on pictures that describe something in the book. Doing that would take the boring typing out of it and add some color and eye catching. Also adding comments of other people on the Internet that read the same book. You could take it and reflect off of what that person said. When writing on here I would like to think that i was writing a story not doing my English assignment.