For this month’s reading, I read Rebel With A Donut by Chrissy Q Martin.

Emma is a nobody back at home in her school. She is sent away to her grandmother’s house in Florida to break her habit of following the rules at all costs, and to branch out a little and make some friends. Her grandmother has also invited her friend’s kids who are also in high school along with her. The five teenagers began their habit breaking adventures as they go on trips with their grandmothers together. She begins to take particular interest in a boy named Tyler, who he unknowingly went to school with her in their freshman year. As she begins to make friends with him, she soon realizes that you can’t always be scared and run from the truth!

What I liked about this book was its simple, sweet storyline that is very cute and easy to follow. Sometimes it is nice to just read a book that is happy and makes you feel good inside. I liked how all of the characters at the beginning seemed like such a mixed batch of people – Ravi is the ultimate nerdy school guy, Tyler is the popular people pleaser, Cole is the ‘scary’ one who wears gothic clothing, Hannah is the popular girl who wears fancy makeup and is constantly on her phone, and Emma is the nobody. But together, they all find ways to bond with each other in ways that they never knew before and built lasting friendships in their grandma’s retirement community in Florida! It made me feel warm inside and said that friendship can be found everywhere.

Grandma was my favorite character because she loves and cares for her granddaughter and wants to show her that change is good and can make you happy! One of her character traits is open-minded. A quote that supports this is on page 28, the Grandma states sincerely, “You’re so afraid of what people and of getting in trouble that you hide and run away. That’s why breaking some small rules might be good for you.” This quote demonstrates that Grandma truly cares and wants Emma to have a happier life and build some strong friendships.

My favorite quote from the story is “‘and you’re worth breaking the rules for.’” (Page 357). This is my favorite quote because it is really nice and shows how friends and relationships can sometimes make you feel uncomfortable and make you do things that you may not want to do. For Emma, this was breaking rules. She always focused on being obedient to everyone because she doesn’t want to do something wrong, and because of this she missed out on so many things. Sometimes it just takes someone to push you out of your box so that you can break habits and experience o many amazing new things the world has to offer.

The possibilities are endless when you are invisible for 24 hours! With my invisibility, the first thing that I would do is sneak into Knott’s Berry Farm! Once I make it swiftly past security, I will speed through the line at GhostRider and hop aboard. I quickly switched off my invisibility just ion time so I don’t get sat on by someone. “Whew!” I said, just as a lady almost sat on me before I appeared in the seat. This ride was so much fun! The exhilarating twists and turns caused me to scream with delight! Before leaving the park for my next activity, I grabbed a cinnamon churro which I ate contently. Yum!

The next thing that I would do is go on a free shopping spree for myself! I went to Irvine Spectrum and kicked off my shopping in the Apple Store, where I secretly smuggled a new phone without anyone even noticing! I will admit that I did feel a little guilty for taking phone, but a new phone is too good to pass up for my invisible self. After this, I went to Nordstrom Rack and got some new clothes. Finally, I finished off my time at the mall at Sephora. I tested out all of the free samples – from lip gloss to blush to lotion!

The last thing that I would do is go on a relaxing hike through the woods. Without all the people noticing me, I was able to have a calming, uninterrupted hike. I walked through the elegant winding path and listened to the peaceful birds chirp in the trees. Even though all of the other activities that I had done previously through the day were really exciting, this was my favorite because it put my mind at ease and I was able to just be myself!

Being invisible was so much fun, but it is nice to now be back to myself so people can talk to me!

When I woke up, the taste of hot sand lingered in my mouth. I had so many questions as I lay there face first in the sand! Where was I? Who had brought me here? I opened my eyes to see a beautiful scene. The elegant clear water splashed softly against the soft sand. Pink seashells were laden across the shore. A warm breeze tickled the back of my neck. Palm trees bursting with coconuts were dancing in the breeze above me. As soon as I saw this picturesque place, I knew this was going to be my home.

That was how I remembered my first day on the deserted island, and its magic still stays the same. Everyday I wake up in my hammock bed between the two biggest palm trees on the island beside the little freshwater pond, filled with colorful rocks and plants. I have my breakfast, which consists of mangoes, coconut milk, and some eggs that I get from the wild birds on the island. After this, I tend to the plants in my garden. These plants are sweet potatoes, passion fruits, and other edible plants that are easy to grow on the island. Then I get my daily exercise in by surfing in the small, tropical waves. Then I go fishing for my lunch in dinner. After this, I take a quick nap in my hammock before sunbathing. Finally, I eat my dinner and fall asleep underneath the stars. I love this island so much, and intent to stay here forever!

For this month’s reading, I read Girl in Pieces by Kathleen Glasgow. This book is a fictional story about a girl who’s “already lost more than most people do in a lifetime.” She says she has lost her best friend and her mother. To relive her depression, she breaks things and sadly uses them to cut herself! With each painful cut comes a new scar and a new bad memory that’s almost impossible to forget for most people. One night, when she goes too far, she is taken to a hospital where hopefully she will learn that causing pain won’t change anything.

I thought that this book was ok, but I think it was WAY too sad for me! But if you like deep books that leave you with a very emotional feeling, then this is the perfect fit for you. It is really well written, but I personally would not read it again. Although I didn’t love this book, the author did do an amazing job making all of the characters feel real like they are right next to you. The characters will definitely take you into their emotional life!

Casper the nurse was my favorite character. Even though she was sort of a background character, she dedicated her life to helping the girls in every way she could. One of her character traits is kind. A quote that demonstrates her kindness is on page 6, when the author says, “Casper always tells us to breathe…don’t we feel better when we just breathe?” This demonstrates her kindness because she wants all of the girls to be happy, calm, and at ease.

My favorite quote from this story is “I’m willing to fly you all the way here just so I don’t have to fly back all by myself.” (page 382) This is my favorite quote because it is really sweet. you will have to read this book to understand what I mean. This quote happened at the end of the story, when she is flying on the airplane for the first time. I interpreted it as showing that even in the darkest of times, everything can still work out in the end. This part of the book is where she finds a job and starts her life back up, without having to cut herself. Because hurting yourself won’t change anything, and Charlotte finally learns to enjoy life while we have it.

Once, there was a puppy named Fred. One day, he woke up to a loud noise in his home. He was just adopted recently, so he wasn’t used to loud city sounds! He was very startled and perplexed about what he was hearing. There were loud whooshing noises in the house. Could it be a giant vacuum cleaner? Or maybe just the wind. He tried to ignore his thoughts and fall back to sleep, but his curiosity began to overtake his mind. With this, he was up on his feet. As he looked around, his house looked like it had transformed into a circus tent. There were blue and yellow stripes across his whole house. The puppy imagined a creepy clown with a feather popping out from behind the door, and instantly regretted thinking of that! This must be a bad dream, thought the puppy. He closed his eyes and opened them again. It wasn’t! This could only mean one thing… The circus just came, (which didn’t seem right), or his house was being fumigated! The little puppy was up on his feet. He stumbled out of his house just as the toxic mist started to spray everywhere. He burst through the doorway, coughing and dizzy. He took a few more steps forward and fell into a hole! He was to tired to move, so he settled for this to be his subterranean resting place. Poor Fred was tired and lonely. He wondered if his owners ever remembered where they left him…

The Dumbledore quote that relates to me the most is the one that says, “Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, when one only remembers to turn on the light.” This quote is very special to me because a lot of times when people find themselves lonely or sad, they need to remember that there is lots of good in everything, you just need to make the choice of whether to look for it or not. Sometimes the joy may seem impossible to find, and I think almost everyone can relate to that in some point in their life. Remember that there is beauty in everything, and when you feel lost you can always step into the light and help it guide your way out of the darkness. This quote relates to me very much because during the 5th grade I was going through a lot of friend issues and sometimes I didn’t really know who to be friends with and who to trust. But then I remembered that this was my last year, and that I should make the best of it! I started talking to some new friends, and I was so much happier.

Somebody that I look up to as my hero is Taylor Swift. I look up to her because she has great music and she is a powerful figure for all women.

I really like her music because all of her songs are really cool, unique, and well written. Taylor writes almost all of her songs on her own and plays a lot of the instruments that she uses in them. Also, she has an all around amazing voice that is very nice to hear! My favorite song from her albums is Anti- Hero because it is so different from any other song that I have heard before and she also puts al lot of emotion and passion into the songs she writes.

Another reason that Taylor Swift is someone that I look up to is because she is a powerful person and represents women. Her music, actions, and success prove that women can do anything that they put their mind to! She also encourages women all over the world to make sure that their voice is being heard and that their thoughts and feelings matter just as much as anyone else’s!

For this month’s reading, I read The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon. This story is about a boy and a girl in New York who begin to fall in love despite the fact that they could never be with each other, because Natasha was an immigrant from Jamaica and was being deported just later that day. This is a heartfelt love story where two people who believe they were meant to be try to fit their entire love history into one day.

I recommend reading this book because it is about the true love that Daniel and Natasha have for each other and it is really sweet how they make the most of the short but meaningful time that they have together. It will really make you feel like you are part of the story with these truly realistic yet completely lovable characters!

My favorite character is Daniel. I really like this character because he is very persistent. On the night when Natasha was being deported, Daniel wanted to stay with her as long as possible due to his extreme love for her. According to the author, Daniel says, “I’m going to go with you to your house, and then we’re going to take a cab to the airport, just the two of us. Then I’m going to watch you get on a plane and feel my heart get ripped out of my f****** chest, and then I’m going to wonder for the rest of my life what could’ve happened if this day hadn’t gone exactly the way it’s gone.” (Page 306) This quote demonstrates this character trait because Daniel is not willing to let Natasha go. He wants to stay with her as long as possible and get to know her as well as he can because he wants to make the memories of her last.

My favorite quote from The Sun is Also a Star is when she finally sees Daniel again after arguing with him. The text states, “But the smile on my face needs to be measured in miles, instead of inches.” (Page 259) This is my favorite quote from the story because it demonstrates the overall feel good and happy feelings from the book. It visualizes her extreme happiness that she feels after being reunited with her boyfriend again!

Instead of making a New Year’s resolution this year, I am going to focus on one word. That word is flexibility. Last year, I noticed that I wasn’t very mentally flexible! This year I am going to remember that sometimes things are not going to go exactly as planned and that is ok. I like to control what happens in my life and know when it will happen. This year, I would like to learn to realize that that will almost never be the case!

In 2024, I will help train my mind to go with the flow and have other people make the decisions about what will happen for me from time to time. This is a very important life skill to have in the future because so many forces of nature, events, and people can affect my plans! Also, it can be more fun and adventurous if you change your plans because you can experience new people and places that I’ve never met or been to. I am looking forward to a new year in 2024!!!

Being principal for the day would be so much fun for me! The first thing I would do that day would be to cancel a random day of school. I would do this because all students (and teachers) need a mental break every once in a while! Secondly, I would change the school lunch to give kids more options. I don’t buy lunch very much because it’s always the same- American food. School would be so much more fun if we could be able to try different foods from different cultures and places so kids could experience new flavors and ideas. Also, kids could have a deeper understanding of their friends who may come from different backgrounds, while additionally expanding their taste buds! Instead of burger day, we could have sushi day! Third of all, we could develop new ways of testing students’ knowledge instead of tests. Tests give students lots of anxiety which is bad for their mental wellness. What if instead of a worrying science exam, we had labs or some type of hands- on activity that we did to replace it? Fourth, the school should have a vending machines with drinks. Lots of students are always very thirsty everyday at school. Let’s be honest… No one wants to drink from the gross water fountains that are clogged with gunk and grime! If we had a vending machine, students could buy drinks such as lemonade and tea to help keep them refreshed throughout the day. The school could also provide healthy options too, like smoothies and juices. Finally, we should have a longer lunch period. One of the most important parts about middle school is learning about friendships and building strong relationships with your peers. I feel that there is not enough time to do this, especially since a lot of our time is spent waiting in the lunch line or finding a good spot to meet at. Even if we just took a few minutes of time from each period, that could be so essential for some kids, like me who need time with friends.