Post #3

     In the book Stir It Up! by Ramin Ganeshram, it's a book about chasing your dreams. It is about a girl named Anjali whose family works in a roti shop, and she wants to be a celebrity chef. But her parents doesn't agree on her dream of being a celebrity chef. So when Anjali is given the opportunity, she goes for it, even if her family discourages it. She perseveres to find out if she was meant to be a world-famous chef or not. I think that Anjali affects other characters in the book because of her determination.
     One way that she affects other people is how she affected her father. For example, in the book he wants the best for her daughter,so he wants her to go to the Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan. But then he softens and sees that he has betrayed her by not letting her chase her dream. I think that means that he knows what his daughter wants, but he worries and does not allow her to work toward her dream. Then he sees what Anjali will not stop until her goal is accomplished. This shows that he knows now that Anjali is determined and he respects that.
     Another way to show how she affects other people is her mother. For instance, in the beginning, all she does is study and work during the day. She neglects her son and her daughter a bit, but not a lot. She usually doesn't work in the family business, which is a way to show how connected they are. When Anjali shows her the letter that could be the chance she was waiting for, she shows a little bit of happiness for her daughter. And like Anjali's father, she wants her to go to Stuyvesant so she could go to a good school. Later in the book, she is also softened by Anjali's grandmother, and sees what it means to her. This means that she was quite distant from Anjali, and because of  her spirit, she comes closer and celebrates with her.
     This book relates to the world because there are many parents who want the best for their kids and pushes them. And that makes them feel under pressure. If they show that they can do it, but need some time to get it together, it can change.

post #2

       One of the responses I read was Madelyne's response to A Long Walk to Water. I thought that it was interesting that she wrote it from two different points of view and that the description of the book was very detailed. It talks about how people in southern Africa were having really dirty water and some like Nya and Salva wanted to have clean water. So Salva went to persuade some people to pay him to hire drillers so they can dig for fresh water in the US. It turned successful and they finally got to drink clean water. I t was also moving when Madelyne said that "And one of the those people in the crowd was Nya." It seemed that  she finally got her dream and that the story has come to one of those happy endings.

      Another one of the responses I read was Emily's response of The Future of Us. I thought that it was very descriptive and it describes what the main character had reacted to Facebook. Her book is about how two people in 1996 found out about Facebook which wasn't invented yet. On Emma's computer, which looked like it came from the future. They see that it was a social networking site, and that they got to see the future in fifteen years. One of the main characters, Josh, didn't want to interfere with his future, but Emma,on the other hand, wanted to change her future because she didn't like it. Then one of her changes affected Josh's life, and he was upset with it. I think that it's sad that Josh gets into Emma's problem even if he didn't do anything and that it must have been tough for Emma because at first you think your future will be alright, when yu find out that it isn't.

Reading Response: Sources of Light

      The book Sources of Light by Margaret McMullan is told by a girl named Sam. She moved to Jackson, Mississippi in 1962 when her father died in the war. While she spends time there with her mother, she gets a camera from Perry, a friend of her mother. And she witnesses segregationists being violent to black people and prejudice in Mississippi. She feels that it was wrong to treat people like that.

     In the beginning, she was taught by her mother that everyone is equal. Later on, she sees that prejudice is spread throughout the town and feels that it was not right, but other people in her life, such as Stone, persuade her to follow the rules for her own safety. I thought that it was nice that she was taught that everyone is equal because not many people believe that during 1962. As time progressed, violence and protests continues to take place as registration in voting starts.

     Sam soon finds out that the father of a close friend, Stone, is a member of the Citizen's Council, which is a group similar to the Ku Klux Klan. She feels a bit unsure of the situation, and I would have been too, if I were her. The next day, they discovered that Perry got hurt because of segregation and registration to vote. Later they found who had injured him and things settled down. Sam's mother decided to travel to Boston, Washington, D.C., and Greece. And things turned out all right for Sam.