Fake ID Review

Walter Sorrells, who is the author of Fake ID, creates a tenacious character who finds herself tangled in a web of lies and fake identities. Chastity Pureheart, who doesn't even know her real name, finds herself in a quandary when her mother disappears and she is left to figure out who she is. Taking place in the rural town of High Hopes, Alabama, Chastity is left to fend for herself as all of her friends desert her. I'm currently enjoying this read due to the ludicrous actions of this determined teen. If you enjoy suspensful thrillers, Sorrells Fake ID is a must read!

In the clouds..(Salem Witch Trials)

From the clouds, I can see everything. The women, children, and infants piled into the jail cells I once occupied. Just a few days ago, me and several others filed out of the jail house toward the gallows. This is why I'm in the clouds...

The shaking, the crying, and the spit is how it started. She's a witch, is what they said. The neighbor was, and then her sister. It was a chain. One witch took over you, then you took over someone else. It was horrible. When I was accused of being a witch, I denied it. I was scared, furiated, and hurt. How could I be a witch, when I didn't even know?

My eyes stung as I sat on the floor of the jail cell. I stared. All these people I had grown up around. They were good, faithfully religious people. A blood curtling scream caught raised my attention to an object flying around the room. Was I going crazy!? I squeezed my eyes tightly, tears over spilling, so I would lose these thoughts. The warden came then, and I was escorted to the court house. My family, neigbors, friends, and foes gathered into the tiny room. I sat at the very front. When they asked me if I was a witch, I thought about it thoroughly. If I said no, I would die for lying, but I had learned that if you said yes, they would keep you around for the witch hunt. As I was contemplating, their questions came at me like a hundred burning arrows, stabbing into my body. The sounds of their voices blurred together, the stomping of feet, the cry of women, the tears. My adrenaline pulsing through my veins, I finally said, "No, I'm not a witch." The room was filled with people, acting as hornets. Screaming, throwing things, being absolute animals. I was then led out of the court house along with four other people. Down to the gallows. I stood there with pride, knowing I hadn't lied. I was going to Heaven, and if only I knew it, so be it. As they dropped the latch for the floor to fall, I closed my eyes and floated into the clouds...

Twilight Book Talk

Things I've Learned

Being in Mrs. Huff's English 11 class has been a huge step since last year. We have learned many new skills this first quarter that are helping me grow as a reader and a writer. One skill I have learned to boost my reading skills is journaling. This skill helps me connect my books to my self, other books, or world problems. It also helps me become more organized, because I have to keep and actual journal and keep it up to date rather than just writing it all down at once. I've grown as a writer in my ways of using different sentence structures. I believe this makes you seem more intelligent, along with a wider vocabulary, in writing any type of paper. I plan to learn many new things next quarter. I hope to learn many things that will help me become a more mature writer and a more mature person.

-KateyW

Lit Circle 9/25

Although my lit circle group wasn't very successful today, we did have a few interesting conversations. One thread of our conversation was all of the text to text connections we had. We connected our book to Hatchet and Holes. All three of these books deal with survival. I have read both Hatchet and Holes and I hope that Touching Spirit Bear is just as good.

Looking Beyond the Stars

Have you ever sat back and wandered, how do celebrities do it? In all truth, I'm sure everyone these days has had that thought. The thought that says, "I wish I was that thin", or "Why can't my skin look like that?". Living in todays world, everyone looks up to celebrities, when in actuallity they should be looking deep inside themselves. Realizing what you've been missing, may just put you over the edge enough to find yourself.

Cut begins with a girl, Callie, reminiscing about her past. She wants to know why this happened and why she is at "Sick Minds". She is surrounded by people with problems of all sorts, but none have the same as her. She is a cutter. All the other girls with their eating disorders have no idea about what Callie does. One night, after she thought everyone had drifted off to sleep, Callie went to take a shower. When she arrived in the bathroom, Tara was standing at the sink, washing her mouth out. "The smell of vomit lingered in the air". Although they were all at "Sick Minds" to get better, Tara seemed to be doing the exact opposite. Never feeling thin enough, trying to appear perfect in someone else's eyes.

The world today is full of people who do the same thing as Callie and Tara. It's all because our celebrity world has created a so-called "model" of what every woman should look like. Not too thick, but you can never be too thin. Throwing up their food as to not retain an ounce of fat. Cutting themselves to relieve the pain they feel in their hearts. All this pain, suffering, rehab, all of this for what? Nothing. You will never be the person you envy most. So why do it?

"Have no fear in perfection, for you will never reach it."
-Salvador Dali.