Reading Ladder (Hardest to Easiest)
This Is Where It Ends by Marieke Nijkamp
- The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
- A Very Large Expanse of Sea by Tahereh Mafi
- With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo
- Where She Went by Gayle Forman
Why this order?
I found This Is Where It Ends to be the most challenging book out of the five I read this quarter. Often times I choose to read books told by only one narrator, however, this book is actually told by four narrators. Not to mention, the plot was difficult to understand at times since all of the characters are in different places throughout the story. Next, The Hate U Give deals with a very sensitive subject and there are quite a few gruesome scenes. Both A Very Large Expanse of Sea and With the Fire on High were told from the perspective of high school girls experiencing hardship, and although I personally haven’t experienced the levels of hardship either one of those characters did, I was able to see where they were coming from. The plot of Where She Went was the easiest to follow and the characters were much simpler than those of the other books. In the past I’ve watched the movie and read the book If I Stay (the first book in the series), having this background knowledge made the story much easier to comprehend. It also made me want to continue reading the book to find out how Mia and Adam’s story would end.
Book Reviews
My favorite book this quarter was The Hate U Give, without a doubt. I truly enjoyed everything about this book. It gave me perspectives that I hadn’t ever considered before. My eyes were truly opened knowing that I am the same age as Starr and have never experienced any trauma that would be even comparable to the things she witnessed. She goes through things no kid should ever have to go through but remains strong throughout it all, which is why she’s such an admirable character. Seeing how Starr navigated through both her life in the inner city and her life at the private, mostly white school in the suburbs was quite interesting to me. I also really liked the family and community dynamic in the book. They all loved and cared about one another so much, something that I haven’t seen in many other books. Overall, this book was outstanding and I would definitely recommend it!
My second favorite book was A Very Large Expanse of Sea. I really felt for Shirin; the way she was treated at school completely angered me, but at the same, it was an overall enlightening story. Her self-actualization throughout the book was quite a captivating journey. Shrin’s struggles throughout the story evidently portrayed the extreme prejudice innocent people had to deal with due to their race and religion after the 9/11 bombings. I loved Mafi’s writing in this book so much that I definitely plan on reading her Shatter Me series in the future.
The Fire on High was my third favorite book out of the five I read this quarter. I absolutely loved the main character, Emoni. Despite the fact that she was only a senior in high school, she always remained resilient and did whatever was best for her family. Being a single mother to her three-year-old daughter, not having her father around, and her mother being deceased never once slowed her from doing what she loved most; cooking. Successful teen moms are so underrepresented, so I really enjoyed reading Emoni’s story and seeing how her passion led her to many wonderful, new opportunities. Additionally, it was nice to see that her teachers saw her as more than just a mother, and actually wanted to help her. This was truly an amazing story and I really hope Acevedo writes a part two!
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Total Pages Read
444+388+336+310+260= 1,738 pages
Average Pages Per Week
1,738 pages / 8 weeks = 217.25 pages per week
This quarter I read far beyond my reading rate goal. I am actually a little surprised that I read as much as I did, considering the amount of homework and studying I have to do every night. However, I have definitely been making it a priority for me to read whenever I have any extra time whether that be at school or at home. I’ve never done this amount of reading in the past since the books we have read in my previous classes never really sparked much of an interest in me. That being said, I am actually glad that it is a requirement to always be reading a book of choice in Mr. Harris’ class. I am satisfied with my reading up to this point and hope I am able to keep it up.
Reflection on Quarter 1 Goals
Though my reading goals for quarter one weren’t the most challenging, I am pleased to say that I did achieve all of them. One of my goals was to read every single day, I will definitely continue to do this, but will not be including it as one of my quarter-two goals. Since reading was not something I did prior to this school year I made that one of my goals to make it a priority to me. Making it a goal to read With the Fire on High is something I don’t regret by any means, I thoroughly enjoyed every second of that book. In consideration of the fact that I have read as much as I did in quarter one, my quarter two goals will be slightly more challenging.
Goals for Quarter 2 and Beyond
My quarter two goals and beyond are…
- Read Tahereh Mafi’s Shatter Me series by the end of the school year.
- Read at least 6 books during quarter two.
- Read one nonfiction during quarter two.
How much of my 10% recreational reading grade do I deserve?
Taking into consideration my progress throughout quarter one, I believe I deserve 100% of my recreational reading grade. Despite the fact that I definitely need to expand on the genres of books I read, I have put a lot of effort into making my reading a priority. I exceeded the required two hours a week, my reading rate, and I met all of my goals for the quarter. With all of this in mind, I believe I should receive the full 10% for quarter one.
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