The Guardian Book Review

The Guardian, by Nicholas Sparks was an intriguing page-turner of a romance that takes a life threatening turn. I really enjoyed this novel, just as I have every other Nicholas Sparks that I have read. The plot line of love and jealousy in this story will have you turning page after page. Who will Julie choose, Richard or Mike? This story is about a woman who looses her husband at the young age of twenty-five. Before Jim passed, he made arrangements for her to receive a Great Dane she would name Singer. Four years later, Julie begins to open her heart to love again.

To anyone who enjoys a good romantic base for a story integrated with an interesting twist, I highly recommend this novel. If you have seen any of Sparks' novels that have been made into movies, the books are one hundred times better. Sparks knows how to pull at the heartstrings and develop a great story. This book was an easy; light read that was able to hold my attention throughout the novel. It had a great plot line coupled with characters that were easy to relate to and whose personalities made the novel enjoyable.

Media In Our Society

I'll admit that when I take a step back and think about the amount of TV that the younger generations are consuming it can be a little alarming. We read this article by David Nyhan called " Turn Off the TV Before it Ruins Us" in my English class. Although he made some valid points, he was a little more drastic in his approach to the topic. Yes, children are watching more TV today, but they have grown up learning that watching TV was okay and not bad. Also, it is up to their parents to limit the amount of TV that their children are watching on a daily basis. The parents have to make the conscious decision to not let their kids watch as much TV if that is what they choose. The media isn't "ruining us" in my opinion, that doesn't mean that I think that we should watch TV all day long, but in the same degree that we need to get ride of it all together. We all need to decide this for ourselves.

Sherman Alexie

Sherman Alexies novel, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, is a great light read. I really enjoyed this novel and recommend it for anyone who wants something light and good humored to read.  Junior is a perfect character to take you through he story and how he deals with it all. I really enjoyed this book, and aside from some of the swear words it could even be a book that maybe a ten year old could read.

5 Words

Hope
Death
Determination
Perseverance
Maturity

These are the five words that I would use to describe The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie. Junior is determines to find hope, so much so that he is willing to go to a new school where he will not fit in or be accepted. Junior also experienced more death than a fourteen year old should be objected to. Junior displays determination in everything he does, and preservers through all the trials and tribulations he has faced since he was born. And throughout the novel he matures by taking it upon himself to go to a new school twenty-two miles away, accept that his tribe will hate him for it, loosing the ones he loves, and taking on more responsibility than a normal fourteen year old could handle.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

We are reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie, in my English class and were discussing the themes. The main character Arnold/Junior moves from the school on his reservation, being the only thing he knew, to moving to an all white school twenty-two miles away. Junior is in pursuit of hope and believes he will find it at Reardan. Junior's determination to strive in an academic setting is inspiring to me. Why is it that we often find ourselves holding back because of societies out look what is expectable and what is not. We all conform and try not to break the mold that we have been set in our entire lives. Junior is fearless, on the outside, for making this decision, knowing for a fact that he will be hated on the reservation, and at Reardan. After a while he begins to become accepted at Reardan and has made new friends. After his grandmother's death, he stopped being harassed on the reservation but doesn't feel 100% normal. And unfortunately his best friend still hasn't forgiven him, believing that Junior left to hurt him, not to better Junior's outcome of life.

Tomorrow

After all..... Tomorrow is a new day.

This is an old saying, but is all too accurate. If you really think about it, it can solve the dilemma you may be struggling with today. You cannot walk around angry today because of something that happened yesterday. And, if something horrible happens today, tomorrow is a new day to start fresh and positive. Why would anyone want to be angry all day every day? My step dad always says "hate eats away at the container". And in all honesty, it does. Medical records have shown that those people with angry personalities are more susceptible to heart attach and heart disease.

You never know what can happen tomorrow, so why not start it with a smile on your face? Choose for the glass to be half full, and not half empty. I hope that by people seeing this post that they will remember this message and remind others as well. After all... Tomorrow is a new day.

Ad

I have never really paid much attention to ads in magazines much. But, after a discussion in my english class I began to look. I noticed this ad for COVERGIRL mascara for women. I have never really liked the fact that cosmetic companies "lie" about how their product is supposed to make you look. If you look closely you can clearly see "lash inserts were applied to add lash count prior to adding LashPerfection" The cosmetic industry shapes and conforms to how society believes women should look, so in turn we conform to it as well.  And we believe that if we use the product we too can be "easy, breezy, beautiful" and flawless like the COVERGIRL models. But what we must realize is we need to learn how to find the fine print in ads, and in life.