Reading Response #2: Article 5

 

In a futuristic society, the world we used to cherish is now abandoned. Life in the United States used to be so different.  Instead of the Bill of Rights there is the Moral Statutes which consist of Articles. If broken, the soldiers can arrest the violators.  Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is arrested along with her mother. Ember has to cope with the flawed system as she struggles to stay alive.

 As Ember goes through multiple challenges, she feels herself beginning to change. She is forced to do things she wouldn’t think of doing in her old life. She struggles to find a line between right and wrong when it comes to survival.

 

“I focused on the gun. I would show him what needed to be done.

“Like you even know what to do with that,” he mocked

I glanced down, flicking the safety off.

“It’s a nine millimeter, isn’t it? I just pull back the slide, aim, and fire.”

With a steady hand I chambered the first round. Click.” (Page 353)

 

If placed in hard situations, I believe it is a natural instinct to fight. People change, but not through will. People change through circumstance. If the situation gets rough, people become what they wouldn’t dream of becoming. Witnessing this transformation is something a lot of authors depend on because its interesting and says something about the human condition. Where is the breaking point when unthinkable things are necessary to move on?

Article 5 is different in a way that it doesn’t have a major goal. While reading the story, I noticed that it’s just a transition from day to day, not over the course of months or years. I was easy to follow and very captivating. Overall, it's an amazing book and I cannot wait to read the sequels.

 

 

 

Reading Response #1: Starters

 

In a future Los Angeles, sixteen-year-old Callie discovers the body bank. Seniors from all over rent the bodies of teenagers so they can feel young again. Callie realizes that not everything is as it seems, and is wrapped up in a plan that is much larger than the want for a carefree lifestyle.

This book begs the question “What is the value of a life?” or “What is considered murder?”

                                “If you or I are in someone’s body, it means that girl will never get a break. It’s not like she’s out for a month and then gets her life back. She’ll never know what it’s like to go to college, fall in love, get married, have children. You might have those experiences –again- but she won’t. Her brain will be asleep- forever.” (Page 209)

As the story progressed, I didn’t think twice that the teens were selling their lives. Even more so, I never stopped to think that people were purchasing lives.

In the story, Callie is in a unique situation in which her renter can communicate through her thoughts. She learns about her renters story and begins to question her motives as well as the body banks.  Callie begins to wonder which side is the good side.

I related this story to a movie I saw as a kid. Howl’s Moving Castle is an animated Japanese film where the main character, Sophie, is turned into a 90-year-old woman by the Witch of the Waste. She travels with Howl, Markl, and Calcifer, the fire demon, to find a way to break her curse. Sophie, like Callie, can still think freely and has to go through an adventure to get her original body back.

 

 

Starters is so far one of my favorite gateways this year. Overall the book was fast paced and very well balanced. It had the perfect amount of slow, thinking moments and packed, heavy moments. There were surprises and plot twists all along the way, but I was happy to see where the book brought me in the end. The book was genuinely interesting and thought provoking.  It’s almost hard for me to move on to a new book after I’ve had the taste of this one.

101 Things About Me

1. I was born in Santa Monica, on July 12th, as well as my twin sister Carissa.

 

 

 

 2. I have lived in California most of my life, and moved to Springfield, Missouri when I was 11 years old.

 

 

 3. I was raised in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, and have been a member ever since.

 

4. In my family there are five children, including two sets of twins.

 

 

5. My best friend is Laney Allen.

 

 

 

6. My favorite things to do is read, hang out with friends, take photos, and watch movies.

 

7. I enjoy super-hero movies, as well as Disney movies.

 

8. My favorite holiday is Christmas, because I enjoy the food and family.

 

9. My favorite season is fall, because I enjoy the style of clothes (cardigans, boots, scarves, sweaters) and it's the most comfortable temperature.

 

10. Elephants are my favorite animal.

 

 

11. The only pet (other than fish) that I've had, was an outdoor turtle named Bug. He ran away a year after I had him.

 

12. I have been in choir since I was little, and I am currently learning to play the piano.

 

13. My favorite school subject is English, but I also enjoy History.

 

14. Over the summer, Laney and I saved up money to visit Orlando, Florida.

 

 

 

15. The college I am planning to attend is BYU Idaho.