Soderstrum,+Jesse

Have you ever gone from being the most popular girl at school- the one that made homecoming queen, the one that everyone wanted to be like- to being the fattest, most unpoular girl, in the matter of months? Lara Ardeche has. The book I just finished reading is called "Life in the Fat Lane" by Cherie Bennett. It was an extremely eye opining story! Lara Ardeche has a perfect life. She was smart, skinny, rich, had two great parents, and amazing boyfriend, and scads of friends. Everyone wanted to be her. She particapated in beauty pagaents, and usually won them. The story starts during her junior year of highschool, just a few days before the Homecoming dance. She wins the title of Homecoming Queen! Everything is going according to plan...until it isn't. Lara starts to gain weight. Her mother- who is all about 'image'- freaks out, and sends her to several doctors and diet specialists. Lara is barely eating anything, and working out constantly, when finally, they find one doctor that tells her what is going on with her body. Lara has a rare disease by the name of Axel-Crowne disease. There isn't anything that you can do about it, but that didn't stop Lara and her parents from trying. Gone was Lara's petie, 90 pound frame, hello to her over 200 pound body. //Analysis of Setting:// In my opinion, the setting is a huge part of this book. Lara's home life isn't as picture perfect as everyone thinks it is. Her mom is obsessed with the way she looks and always has to keep her perfect image up. She's married to a workaholic man, that is never home. He always seems to be on extended business trips. Lara's dad is also pretty obsessed with looks. He works out when he's not working, and encourages Lara to work out and eat right too.Her brother is a total rebel, which puts more pressure on Lara to be "perfect". I really don't think this is a good environment, for anyone. Especially someone that has a disease. Throughout the book, you can tell her parents start to get frustrated and disgusted by her, especially her father. He starts spending less and less time at home, and more time at the office. Her parents start fighting, which stresses Lara out even more. On top of all this, her parents decide to move away from her childhood home. Lara doesn't want to move, because people at her school 'know that this isn't the real her'. She thinks thatif she moves to a new school, she'll just be seen as the unattractive, fat loser. This setting greatly impacts this story because you learn so much about Lara and her family. You see how stressful some families really are! //Rating//: On a scale of 1-10, i would give this book an 8. I only give it and 8 because it gets to depressing t times. It's a great book, but it's so sad. Lara's family falls aprt, and-so it seems- so does her life.
 * Final Blog! 12/4/11:**

Thanks for reading! -Jessie Hey, this is Jessie Soderstrum. The book I read was "Amy and Rogers Epic Adventure" by Morgan Matson. Randi Hahn reccomended this book to me, and said it seemed like a book I would enjoy. I checked it out from the high school library. I finished the book the night I got it. I found that it was very hard to put the book down! Amy was moving from California to Conneticut. Her mother was already in Conneticut, and wanted Amy to drive the family car there, in four days. The only problem was that Amy hasn't driven since her father died. Her mother arranges for her friends son, Roger, to travel with her. Amy's mom plans everything out, down to where they will stay the night. As Amy and Roger start driving, they decide to take a "small detour", which takes them from Raven Rock, California, to Yosemite National Park, through Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Pennyslvania, and finally to Conneticut. It took a lot longer than four days, which was what her mother had originally planned on. Meeting several people along the way, Amy learns to open back up, and let people in, a thing she had found hard to do since her father died. That's really all I can say, without giving the whole book away (hey look! I rhymed!) While I liked Amy, I would have to say, Roger is my favorite. He's quirky, and has a great taste in music, just like me! The book gives you the several playlists Roger makes throughout the trip, and I found that I either knew the songs, or liked them when I listened to them. In the last few chapters, Amy starts making the playlists, which consisted of either Elvis, or musical soundtracksm which are pretty specatacular too. This book was appealing to me, just by looking at the cover. I'm sooooooo glad I read it. It inspired me to start saving money for a 'detour' of my own, someday. :)
 * Entry 1- 10/4/11**

I've started another book! This book was called "Prom" by Laurie Halse Anderson. It's about and urban Philadelphia high school, and, of course, the students that go there. Most of the students in this school are poor, except for a very few. Their school has security guards, metal detectors, and cameras in every hallway. The main character, Ashley Hannigan, is a catholic, half Irish eighteen year old, with a loud family. She has three younger brothers, and her mom is pregnant with another kid. Her parents got married right out of high school, and had Ashley. Her dad drives a cab, and her mom drives a bus, so money is always pretty tight. Even though they mihgt not have enough money for everything they want, they're happy, and you can tell that they are all really close. Ashley works at a restaurant to help her parents out with money. Her best friend and next door neighbor's name is Natalie Shulmenksy, a russian immigrant that lives with her crazy grandmother and her father. Natalie is obsessed with Prom, and everything that goes with it. I got to a critical point in the book, and really can't wait to read more!
 * Entry 2- 10/8/11**

Last entry, I was reading the book called "Prom". I've finished that book, but I still want to summarize it a little more for you all. Ashley Hannigan was against the Prom at her school. She thought it was a waste of time and money. Her best friend, Natalie, definitly did not feel the same. Natalie lived and breathed Prom. Tragedy strikes when the Prom Commitee supervisor stole all of the Prom funds. natalie and all of the other Commitee girls are trying to figure out a way to still make the Prom happen, when Ashleysteps up and offers to help. She runs around on Natalie's every order, and finally pulls off the Prom.
 * Entry 3- 10/16/11**

This entry is two weeks late, but, I have started a few new books in these two weeks! I always find time to read, but I just forget to blog about it. :P I've read several books lately, so it's hard to choose which book to write about. I just finished "The Priniciples of Love", which is a seven book series. I loved this series, and was so sad when I read the last word. Knowing that I wouldn't get to know what happens next Stinks! I always get this way after I finish a series. These books are all about a prep school student named Love. Her dad is the headmaster at Hadley Hall in Boston, which is the only reason she's going there. The first book is about her sophomore year at Hadley. It takes you through the whole year, from her first crush, to her second crush, who turns into her first boyfriend, And her first kiss. Throughout the whole series you get a glimpse into her amazing bond with her Aunt Mable. Love and her father have tension between them, but are a lot closer than most fathers are with their daughters. I think that the only reason Love is so close to her dad and Mable is that she has never known her mother. Love is always curious, about her mom, which is a huge part in the book. The rest of the books follow Love until the fall of her senior year at Hadley. The author takes you to London, Boston, and Martha's Vineyard. She also takes you through Love's love life. You meet Robinson, Charlie, Henry, Asher, Jacob, and Dalton through all seven books. I like how the author makes Love come to life, and how her problems are pretty "real-world". Another reason I think I loved these books so much, is because music is a huge part of the series. Love is a singer, like me. One of the other main characters, Jacob, is also very musical. I loved that the author made that a big part of the book, because it made it that much more interesting. As I said, I'm extremely sad that I finished the series so fast! A part of me wishes that I would of taken a bit longer.
 * Entry 4- 10/22/11**

I always have several books going at one time. I can't seem to help starting a book, even though I have two others waiting for me elsewhere. So while reading "The Principles of Love", I was also reading another book (or two). The book I'm blogging about now, is called "Jake and Kyra". It's about two high school students, that seem very different. Jake is on the basketball team, your typical popular jock. He's good looking, has scads of friends, and of course a beautiful girlfriend! Kyra is a brain, or, as some would say, a nerd. She's quiet, focused on school, and not very focused on looks. Even though this book is pretty predictable... I can't put it down! I started a few weeks ago but haven't had too much time to read it. I can't wait to keep reading, and I'll fill you all in next week! :) Since my last entry, I have finished "Jake and Kyra", but I will still summarize it for you! The story started when Jake and Kyra were assigned to do a research paper together. They were both not looking forward to working together, but of course did it. They realized that they both liked being around eachother, and they couldn't deny their feelings for eachother. They soon started dating, and realized even more how different they were from eachother. Not only were Jake and Kyra different in social circles, but they were also different in their family backgrounds and their past relationships. Kyra had never had a boyfriend, while Jake had had several girlfriends. While I think Kyra is a little more mature in general, it's clear that Jake knows more about relationships. Their family backgrounds were, as I stated earlier, very different, too. Jake's mother had died a long time ago, and his father was always away for business. Whenever Jake's father Was home, he was always angry and very cruel to Jake. Kyra's parents were still together, both very smart, and always very loving. Jake and Kyra seemed to be from different worlds, but they still worked.
 * Entry 5- 10/31/11**
 * Entry 6,7, and 8- 11/19/11**