Saturday, April 30, 2011

Basic Book Review Rough Draft

The Last Song” by Nicholas Sparks was an inspiring story. Like many other books of Sparks, the characters relate to his audience. The main character, Ronnie, started off as a sassy girl who despised her father. As the story progressed however, she became an independent woman and learned to cope with what life had to offer her. Throughout the novel, Sparks tells the story of Ronnie’s visit to her father and along the way adds drama and romance. Ronnie’s character is very dynamic with every flip of a page.

While reading the book, the audience finds themselves growing more and more attached to Ronnie.  I can feel the way she feels and understand how the story changes from viewpoints. Sparks does a good job emphasizing how Ronnie copes with the troubles she faces as she spends the summer at her father's house.

Ronnie's character interested me because she is very strong. She is able to go about every day doing things that average teenage girls would not think of doing. For example, when she arrived at her dad's house they went to the carnival/ fair and instead of staying with her dad and brother she ventured off by herself. Even though this city was new to her she wasn't afraid of getting lost and almost seemed like she knew where she was going and what she was going to do.

As the novel goes on, Ronnie encounters a new group of people who she begins to associate with. Along the way she makes close ties with a gothic girl named Blaze. Blaze is currently dating a rebel, Marcus. Marcus is then attracted to Ronnie and tries to flirt with her many times. Ronnie's character seems like a strong and brave character at some points but sometimes she can feel very vulnerable. There are times when she is rebellious towards her father and other times when she is a caring daughter.

Ronnie was previously a great pianist that had much talent. Following in the footsteps of her father until he left her which caused much hate for her father. In the book, Ronnie's father is constantly playing the piano. She suspects this action as a hint that he wishes for her to return to playing the piano as well. In the end her concious is wrong and her dad is the one left heart broken.

"She put her hands on her hips waiting for him to stop. He didn't. [...] 'You can't keep me locked up all summer,' she said. 'It's not going to happen.' Her dad glanced up, though he continued to play." (73)


Here, Ronnie finds her dad playing the piano, (once again) and suspects that he is trying to persuade her to play as well. She feels no shame in giving her father attitude because her excuse is him leaving the family.


Ronnie's character is complex. Sometimes the audience can feel empathy for her but other times her actions cause her to have a bad reputation. As the story goes on, Ronnie's character changes dramatically. In the beginning, Sparks creates her character as a metal/punk rock type of girl that hated the idea of spending time with her dad. She gets in a lot of trouble with the authorities and another crime could put her in greater trouble. As a reault, she does get herself into a situation in which she was the victim/suspect. Being framed for shoplifting, Ronnie came to a point in her life in which she was not able to do everything by herself. She needed help.

Along the way her father supported her no matter how hard it was to allow her to go out every day and not come back home till the very last hours of the day. When this incident of shoplifting occured, Ronnie's father was forced to believe that her argument that she didn't do it was true. He did. This turned things around in the book dramatically. Why has Steve, Ronnie's dad, created such a big trust for her? Isn't it bad parenting to allow your child to roam freely everyday. I mean that is how she first got in to the shoplifting incident. Steve allows Ronnie to do these things because he wasn't there in her life and to show his sorryness (I'm having a brain fart and can't think of another word but I know there is one) he lets her do basically whatever she wants. Also in the book Sparks emphasizes many times Steve's love for Ronnie.
"He fell asleep almost immediately but woke an hour later.Tiptoeing outside again, he went to check on the daughter he loved more than life itself."(122)
When Ronnie encountered the support from her father telling her that he believed she had not committed the crime, it gave her more trust for her dad. Later on in the book their friendship began to grow and it changed the way Ronnie acted. She was no longer a rebellious girl. She changed and became more soft. This helped later on when meeting Will, the boy she loves..

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Book Review - The Last Song #2

Analyze a Character.

As the story goes on, Ronnie's character changes dramatically. In the beginning, Sparks creates her character as a metal/punk rock type of girl that hated the idea of spending time with her dad. She gets in a lot of trouble with the authorities and another crime could put her in greater trouble. As a reault, she does get herself into a situation in which she was the victim/suspect. Being framed for shoplifting, Ronnie came to a point in her life in which she was not able to do everything by herself. She needed help.

Along the way her father supported her no matter how hard it was to allow her to go out every day and not come back home till the very last hours of the day. When this incident of shoplifting occured, Ronnie's father was forced to believe that her argument that she didn't do it was true. He did. This turned things around in the book dramatically. Why has Steve, Ronnie's dad, created such a big trust for her? Isn't it bad parenting to allow your child to roam freely everyday. I mean that is how she first got in to the shoplifting incident. Steve allows Ronnie to do these things because he wasn't there in her life and to show his sorryness (I'm having a brain fart and can't think of another word but I know there is one) he lets her do basically whatever she wants. Also in the book Sparks emphasizes many times Steve's love for Ronnie.
"He fell asleep almost immediately but woke an hour later.Tiptoeing outside again, he went to check on the daughter he loved more than life itself."(122)
When Ronnie encountered the support from her father telling her that he believed she had not committed the crime, it gave her more trust for her dad. Later on in the book their friendship began to grow and it changed the way Ronnie acted. She was no longer a rebellious girl. She changed and became more soft. This helped later on when meeting Will, the boy she loves..

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

The Last Song- Basic Book Review


  1. pick a character that interested you and write about them in depth. You can also analyze a relationship between two different characters.
    • Hint: If you just retell the events that happen to your character, that's not "in depth." You will need to zoom in on certain critical moments that truly show your character's nature, and explain how they do
As I read the book, "The Last Song" by Nicholas Sparks, I grow more and more attached to the feelings of the protagonist of the book Ronnie. I can feel the way she feels and understand how the story changes from viewpoints. Sparks does a good job emphasizing how Ronnie copes with the troubles she faces as she spends the summer at her father's house. 

Ronnie's character interested me because she is very strong. She is able to go about every day doing things that average teenage girls would not think of doing. For example, when she arrived at her dad's house they went to the carnival/ fair and instead of staying with her dad and brother she ventured off by herself. Even though this city was new to her she wasn't afraid of getting lost and almost seemed like she knew where she was going and what she was going to do. 

As the novel goes on, Ronnie encounters a new group of people who she begins to associate with. Along the way she makes close ties with a gothic girl named Blaze. Blaze is currently dating a rebel, Marcus. Marcus is then attracted to Ronnie and tries to flirt with her many times. Ronnie's character seems like a strong and brave character at some points but sometimes she can feel very vulnerable. There are times when she is rebellious towards her father and other times when she is a caring daughter. 

Ronnie was previously a great pianist that had much talent. Following in the footsteps of her father until he left her which caused much hate for her father. In the book, Ronnie's father is constantly playing the piano. She suspects this action as a hint that he wishes for her to return to playing the piano as well. In the end her concious is wrong and her dad is the one left heart broken. 

"She put her hands on her hips waiting for him to stop. He didn't. [...] 'You can't keep me locked up all summer,' she said. 'It's not going to happen.' Her dad glanced up, though he continued to play." (73)


Here, Ronnie finds her dad playing the piano, (once again) and suspects that he is trying to persuade her to play as well. She feels no shame in giving her father attitude because her excuse is him leaving the family. 


Ronnie's character is complex. Sometimes the audience can feel empathy for her but other times her actions cause her to have a bad reputation. 



Friday, April 1, 2011

Doo Da Doo It's All Goooood.

Many of my peers feel the same way I do on many occasions, after writing vignettes based on important or daily events on our lives, I realized we are more connected as a group of teenagers than some of us realize. It was really cool to read through my classmate's blogs and seeing how they cope with the many struggles in life. Three vignettes that stood out to me were, Elton's, Cristian's and Ashli's. 

On Elton's blog, he wrote three vignettes that were important topics in his life. One that struck me was, Procrastination. I like the way he worded his vignette on procrastination because it gives it a tone in which the reader can find more interesting than just a straight forward tone of voice. Also procrastination is a daily for me, I find myself always taking 5 minutes breaks after 5 minutes of work. These breaks turn out to be very distracting since I end up going over my supposed time to return to homework. Elton has the same ideas when stating, 
"I came home from school and I was sleepy because last night I didn’t get enough sleep so I took off my shoes, put my back pack on the couch, and laid my body down, the couch and took a nap because I when I get around to my homework."
When Elton says this, I can tell that he has already started procrastinating. I too feel exhausted thoroughout and after the school day since I normally sleep late, (mainly because I stay up procrastinating on homework) For example, tomorrow is the biggest tournament of the season for my Division I soccer team. We are heading halfway down to Los Angeles to play three games. Tomorrow I have to wake up at 6:00 a.m to make it in time for my game. I guess I should be sleeping right now, but obviously I'm procrastinating. It would also be a good idea to start packing now too. Anyways, Elton does a good job of showing how he acts when procrastinating, and I can relate to how he feels because I usually go through the same process.

On Cristian's blog, he talks about his experience on one of his first day's of school. I like how he frames his emotions with different questions. I think many people struggle with ideas of how the first day of school will turn out. Some scared, others excited. There are mixed feelings about this idea but Cristian does a good job in outlining his worry on his first day of school.
"Firsts. First steps. First words. First day of school. I felt afraid and alone in the world, walking up those wide and steep steps that seemed to travel along forever."
These first sentences in Cristian's vignette already embraces his fear of being in school. I usually always feel this way when attending my first day of school, and I think many can relate to this feeling. Who knows what will happen? A new year, new friends, new teacher, even new ways of acting. Each year people can change, I do it all of the time. I guess change can be good unless it is negative change. Negative change, something that changes in ones life for the wrong reasons. I think Cristian had many ideas about what negative change was to come on his first day of school.

Another vignette that interested me was Ashli's. She talks about her dilemma in facing the scattered items that fill her room. I can definitely relate to Ashli's vignette because my room follows the same routine.
"Also, when ever my parents walk into my room,or  even walk pass it, they would look around, from  the left to the right and down at the ground. [...] But, I would think, what is the point of cleaning it up when it gets messy within a week or so."
This quote is exactly how I feel! Ashli talks about how her parents walk by her room and stare at the mess in it. This happens to me all of the time, except my dad usually gets really angry. Usually, I clean my room and make it look really pretty. Until I have a day where soccer practice and homework don't cope. This forces me to leave my clothes on the ground and scatter my homework on the floor. It's amazing to see how fast my room can change after a day of cleaning it. What I know for sure is it will never stay clean.

Well.. it is now 11 p.m and surprisingly I finished before 11:59 p.m. Since I procrastinate a lot I don't normally start my blogs till 11 or later so I am actually pretty happy. However, I have a soccer tournament tomorrow and I still need to pack my clothes. Wow.. this is lame.

I am now the world's #1 procrastinator.