Tasting the Sky Pt. 2

Tasting the Sky continues with the family moving again. They don't think much about it because this is now a natural occurrence for them. This is truly sad. Knowing that being forced from one home to another is "the norm" is pretty terrifying. Its sad that there are people in this world who find this normal. I hope one day that this will no longer be normal for us and that war will be a rare occurrence. After they move, two Israeli soldiers start to harass Ibtisim's mom. Ibitism talks about how her home in Ramallah will always be her one true home. Ibitism is so young when they move the final time. She is only in second grade. In a couple of years, she has survived a war, being a refugee, and having to move from home to home. She experienced things a six year old should never have to. Its sad to think about what she experienced but I think that's the point of the book. To shine light down on what war does to everyone, especially the young. Overall, I found the book intriguing but it hit that chord that makes everyone feel something. This could be guilt for living in a country that doesn't accept refugees, or feelings to try to help these people, or anger for the people who caused the war. I found the book to be a good read and I am glad I chose it for my lit circle.

Tasting the Sky Pt. 1

Tasting the Sky is an interesting story of a young girl's life in Palestine. It is written by Ibtisim Barakat about her experiences as a child during the Six Day War with Israel. Their father is extremely worried of a war between Palestine and Israel at the beginning of the book. When war breaks out, the family flees to escape the violence. The family tries to escape to Jordan along with others. Upon reaching a camp, only the women and children are allowed to stay. All men are forced to find refuge elsewhere. The war lasts Six Days. The families stick together and afterwards they try to return home. There, they find their homes riddled with bullets and the invading Israeli troops train nearby. The mom takes the family to the orphanage and claims that their father died so they can get in. Ibtisim's brothers are sent away from the orphanage for fighting. Afterwards, their father returns and convinces Ibtisim's mom to try again at a life in a normal house. From the beginning of the book, Ibtisim said she would never forget the war and she hasn't. Her memories of her life and the war makes the book very sad and goes to show that civilians are always the ones who are hurt the most by war.

Aristotle and Dante Pt. 3

The ending of Aristotle and Dante isn't surprising in some ways but it can also go in a direction you didn't expect. I was surprised by many of the things that happened when Dante came back from Chicago. There was a lot more tension between Ari and Dante and it seemed as if their friendship was breaking apart. There was also a lot of action that took place after Dante returned. Dante gets mugged, Ari and Dante smoke joints together, and Ari beating up Julian.
I didn't expect a lot of the action scenes that happened in the book. While some may be a little unrealistic they are written from a very realistic point of view. Ari beating up Julian is an example of this. He doesn't remember much and simply reacts to his rage. I also find Ari driving to the hospital to see Dante very realistic. He forgets everything that his brain deems as "unimportant" and doesn't remember anything until he is by Dante's bedside.
I was shocked that Ari never figured out that he was gay on his own. His parents had to tell him that he was gay and he still didn't accept it at first. I was very surprised that his parents noticed it considering he didn't follow most stereotypes of being gay. Ari never thought he was gay and always thought he was straight. Since the story is written from Ari's point of view, you can see that he never thought he was gay and wondered why he did what he did. That's one of the reasons why I was surprised with how the book ended up turning out with Ari and Dante getting together. My prediction that I made at the start of the book stating that at least one of the two main characters would be gay ended up being true.

Aristotle and Dante Pt. 2

The second part of Aristotle and Dante is mostly about Ari's recovery from his injuries after he dives in front of a car to save Dante. Ari wakes up after being unconscious after surgery for over thirty six hours. Everyone is concerned for him and Dante gives him his sketchbook which Ari doesn't open. Shortly before Dante leaves, Ari and Dante finally look through the book together and Dante tells Ari he's gay.
While Dante is gone he consistently writes to Ari about his experiences in Chicago. He talks about how he goes out to parties and how he experiments with drugs and alcohol. He also talks about how he kisses girls but doesn't really care for them and would rather be kissing guys. Ari also writes to Dante about things that are going on in his life.
Overall, I am enjoying this book so far. The book does a great job at building the characters and you can really understand them. The book is also relatable to struggles than many people undergo, focusing mainly on an identity crisis during youth. I feel that the book is extremely relatable in showing what happens for high schoolers in their everyday life. Their balance of school, work, and social interactions such as partying are pretty accurately represented in the book.

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe is an interesting book. This first part has been built around the beginnings of Aristotle and Dante's relationship with each other. Aristotle originally had no friends until Dante taught him how to swim. They then grew closer to each other and spent a lot of time together. They read poetry and literature and play games similar to a javelin toss. Ari soon gets sick and spend many days bedridden and delirious from a flu. After Ari gets better, Dante tells him that he's going to be moving to Chicago for a year and Ari is understandably upset. The chapter ends when Dante goes to rescue a bird in the street. While Dante is picking up the bird, Ari sees a car speeding towards him and Ari thinks that it must be a dream. The chapter ends right before impact.
This book is about finding oneself and also others in a world one is just starting to recognize. Ari still tries to find out who he is. He doesn't understand himself and doesn't realize some of the things that he does. He has nightmares and doesn't realize it until after he tells his dad while recovering from his fever. Ari also tries to understand his parents and Dante. He understands them to a point but doesn't understand them fully.
Since this book is about finding oneself, it has been dropping subtle hints. These hints indicate that Ari and Dante like each other more than normal. Since this book is about finding oneself, I'm going to guess that either Dante or Ari (if not both of them) are gay. I don't think Ari has realized this yet. I'm wondering how the next part of the book will go and if my prediction will be correct.

American Born Chinese Pt. 2

The second half of American Born Chinese ends in a way I was not expecting. In this second half, the Monkey King goes on a quest as the disciple of a man working for Tze-Yo-Tzuh. He became an emissary for Tze-Yo-Tzuh after completing the journey. Jin Wang transforms into Danny after renouncing his Asian heritage and breaking his friendship with Wei-Chen. It then travels three years into the future where Chin-Kee is visiting Jin-Wang/Danny for the third time. Chin-Kee and Danny get in a fight during which Danny unveils Chin-Kee to be the Monkey King. Danny then turns back into Jin-Wang. The Monkey King then reveals that Wei-Chen is his eldest son and that he has strayed from his path to become an emissary. Danny eventually rights this wrong and becomes friends with Wei-Chen again.
The ending of this book is pretty unexpected. I knew the story would come together somehow but I didn't expect it to be so literal about it. I thought each story would have a lesson that linked with the others yet the ending was written in a way I think I liked more.
My opinions on the book is that its a good quick read. The whole book didn't take me over an hour and a half. The story itself is interesting and the animations help the reader visualize. While this may not have been my favorite novel so far, it definitely wasn't the worst. I found the style the book had to be unique and would be surprised to see another book like it in this class. Overall, I give this book a 3/5. While the majority never had me extremely interested, I was never bored with the story and I greatly enjoyed the ending.

American Born Chinese Part 1

American Born Chinese is an interesting book. It is the first book of its kind that we have read so far in class. Its basically a large comic book. It uses pictures, speech bubbles, and other comic features and is the most unique book we have read so far. While not a big comic fan, I truly have enjoyed this book so far. It takes on a serious tone, especially for a comic, yet it still remains able to make a few bright and funny moments throughout. The pictures do a great job at illustrating what is going on. The book focuses highly around stereotypes and how they differ from reality.
The main character in the book is Jin Wang. However, there are a few other main characters in the book. The Monkey King is one of these. I don't know his main purpose in the book yet but I think it has something to do with underestimating people. The whole story of the Monkey King seems to revolve around people thinking less of others and being made brutally aware of it. Another two main characters are Chin-kee and Danny. Chin-kee is the extreme stereotype of an Asian person. He represents America's stereotype of a Chinese person by knowing everything and playing "jokes" on others. Danny is Chin-kee's cousin and simply wants Chin-kee to stop embarrassing him.
Jin does his best to be considered an American after moving to a new school. It follows his struggle to gain friends. At the end of the first half of the book, it follows his struggle to talk to a girl that he likes.
To be honest, I have never seen a book like this one before. The story is interesting and is given in a way I've never seen before. It has been a solid quick read. It is one of my favorite books read in this class so far.