The Girl Next Door, post #2

           I can't completely personally connect to Sam in this book. Someone she really cares about is dying of cancer, and i've thankfully never in my family had someone close die from it. Although, I have had close friends lose members of their family to cancer, and it's a horrible thing. I've seen how strong they had to be through the whole process and how much it hurt them. I can picture how Sam must feel about Jesse losing the battle of cancer. I've seen people lose and also win the fight of cancer. For the past two years i've done Relay For Life with the American Cancer Society to help raise awareness and the fight for a cure. Even though noone in my close family has been effected by it, i've seen so many other people fight it. Sam doesn't completely understand how serious Jesse's condition is. All she has is hope for him.
          I'm not yet sure whether Jesse fights the cancer or unfortunately loses his life. All I know is Sam is really wishing the best, which any person would do for someone they love. It's very unfortunate that people everyday have to struggle with such a horrible disease. I honestly don't know how I would be able to handle someone I love so much fighting for their life like this. The book is emotionally hard to read because you can feel alot of the pain through the pages as you read. Jesse is only in high school, he shouldn't have to be dying so young before he even gets a chance to really experience life. He hasn't even lived yet, and he's already dying. It's something that I would never want to personally connect to, it would be far too heart breaking.

The Girl Next Door

          Sam is falling in love. That's something that people long to do at one point or another. Problem? She's falling in love with her best friend Jesse who is being treated for cancer. Jesse had it all; he was the star of the baseball team, all the girls liked him, class president, and everyone knew his name. Now he only is told to have 7 months left to live. Sam stays over there most nights, but his mother isn't approving of it lately. Jesse swears to his mother there is nothing going on and they are just friends because he doesn't know how Sam really feels about him. Maybe she's just scared that the feelings won't be returned, or maybe she's scared because she knows how little of time they have anyways. She doesn't want to admit he's dying, but he's becoming more accepting of his short time left. He's fighting, but there isn't much more he can do.

          It leaves you wondering what it would take to make Sam tell Jesse before it's too late. If she really loves him, wouldn't she want him to know? Or would it just hurt to much to let him know with such short time left? They've been friends since they were 2, and have always been neighbors. Maybe she's just afraid that if she tells him and the love is unreturned, it will crush her always. I feel like she should open her eyes and realize this before it's too late. I think that i'd rather know if he feels the same way, then live the rest of my life never knowing the truth.
         
          "And I've been up for days, I finally lost my mind and then I lost my way. I'm blistered but I'm better and I'm home. And I will crawl, theres things that aren't worth giving up I know. But I won't let this get me I will fight.You live the life you're given with the storms outside somedays all I do is watch the sky."

          I chose this quote because I think it reflects both Jesse and Sam. He's stuck in his bed all day, just left to think about life with the time he has left, he's still fighting this cancer everyday. It also reflects Sam because she's not giving up. She really believes that he will get better and that he won't die. She doesn't want to believe that he only has 7 months of life left and she will fight right along with him through all the struggles they are about to overcome.

Sherlock holmes

The movie Sherlock Holmes relates to the book The Curious Incident of the Dog in thew Nighttime. In the book, Christopher is trying to be a detective and investigate the murder of a dog in the neighborhood. In Sherlock Holmes, he's always trying to solve crimes and find the criminals. Christopher is alot like Sherlock in those ways.
I really like the movie Sherlock Holmes, it has alot of action and solving mysteries. Mystery novels are my favorite kind to read, so reading them are alot more enjoyable. You can really see in The Curious Incident of the Dog in thew Nighttime how much Christopher like adventures and trying to solve the crimes.
In Sherlock Holmes, he faces alot of obstacles which try and keep him from solving the crime. This is alot like Christopher because he also has to face challenges in his investigation. Christopher is being told to stop getting in other people's business by his father, which is an obstacle he must face. This is like Sherlock because he gets put in jail and the guy he thought was helping him was really against him. The similarites between the two are mainly just trying to solve a crime while trying to face a big challenge.

Book Review!

           The Curious Incident of the Dog In The Night-time is about a teenage boy with a disability called Aspergers which is a form of autism. He can't tell emotions when it comes to facial expressions. Christopher has to go around his town trying to figure out who killed Wellington, a neighbors pet dog. Throughout the book, Christopher's father is trying to restrict him from bothering people looking for the killer of the dog. Even though his father told Christopher to stop, he goes behing his fathers back to write about his experiences and find the killer.
          I think this book was a little hard to understand in a way but it made alot of good points. Christopher has to mature through the book and learn about growing up. It was probably just harder to understand the book because of how Christopher is trying to write it. He changes the subject alot and jumps from thought to thought then back again to what he was originally talking about.
          I think the ending was kind of what I expected but not fully. I figured from the beginning who killed the dog, but I didn't really suspect the relationship between the mother and Mr. Sheers. I don't like how the father lied to Christopher about it. Yes, it was wrong of the mother, but she tried to communicate with Christopher. I do however like how Christopher makes it on his own to find his mother and learns about growing up throughout his quest. I think the author could of changes somethings to make it a little more interesting for the reader to enjoy.
        Even though I didn't get into the book a whole lot, it did have a good theme and meaning. Even though Christopher has his disabilities, he pulled through and took a big step in his life to grow up. He solved one of his goals: who killed Wellington. He grew up, and found out the truth about what really happened to his mother. In the beginning you never really would see Christopher on his own or traveling further than his own town, but he did it. He finally learned that he could do things by himself and accomplish his goals.

      

Henry David Thoreau quote

I really would agree with Henry David Thoreau because I personally don't believe that material goods can truely create happiness. You could honestly be the richest person in the world with the most material objects, but never fully be content with your life. You have to appreciate what you already have, or real things. Most of the time, items just get used and thrown away with no thought about it. Now, if you would going to "throw away" something real, like a friendship, you would probably think twice about it. You learn to live well with what you have, and people who can make you happy. What you're really worth should be based on how you act, if you're more willing to give to others then recieve for yourself, and how much you can care for people instead of objects. Some people become so consumed with what they buy, that they forget about the real importances of living.
The quote is something everybody should think about once and a while. You can really take a second to think about how much you care about material goods. Honestly, you can enjoy stuff sometimes, but you shouldn't let that overwhelm you. You have to just really appreciate everything else in your life. Everything that makes you happy, keep it. Don't forget the people and relationships you've made and lost, because those also give you lessons in life that you will always remember. I would honestly prefer all my friends and family over anything that money could buy, anyday.

Prime Numbers

What I think he is trying to say is that life comes at random. There really is never any set pattern to live by. Yes, there are such things as "routine" by even that is never 100%. With patterns, you can assume what will happen next and when it comes to life you would always be prepared. But, without patterns, you live each day moment by the moment. You can never really know what is going to happen next.
I would have to agree with him. I don't think a person can ever really know what comes next in life. It is so random, and good and bad things come unexpectedly. You could think you have everything all figured out, but then, the equation could change and you're left guessing. So yes, in a way, life is like a prime number.