Letters About Literature

1301 East Walnut Street,

Carbondale, IL 62902

Letters About Literature

Letter to Julia Hoban, author of Willow;

            During the first quarter of my junior year I was assigned to read a book and then blog about it. I chose to read your book Willow. At first I was a little uneasy with the topic of the book, being about self inflicted harm. I did not initially think that I would have anything in common with the main character Willow. However, I decided to go ahead and give your book a chance, and by the end of the book I was shocked by how similarly mirrored mine and Willows lives were.

            When I began the book, I could not relate to Willow in many ways. Thankfully, my parents are still alive, and I have never cut myself. One thing I envied of Willow though was that she was able to fall in to the type of love that literally altered her life.

The way that Guy cared for her, is the same way I hope a man will care for me in the future. I’ve had my fair share of love, and with love comes heartbreak. I have not been lucky enough to find a love that mirrors the type that Willow and Guy share. I still hold out hope that one day I will.  

            When I started to get to know the character Willow more I started to realize we’re much more similar than I originally believed to be so. Willow struggled with a lot of guilt, and self reliance.

            Just like that devastating rainy night that changed Willow’s life, last year I had a very similar day that completely altered mine. My parents did not die in a car crash, but my family was not the same. I was recognizing those past few years that family dynamics were changing. My mom and I tended to stick together, and my dad and brother tended to be side by side. This wasn’t exactly unusual for us, but the tension began to grow and grow. One night my brother told me that he and my father were moving; leaving me and my mom behind. My mom is such a strong person, like Willow’s brother Dave that it was almost impossible to talk to her about the way the family dynamic now was. I felt so guilty that there was nothing I could do. Like Willow, there was no way for me to bring them back. I had never felt so useless in my life.

            During this time I had to become an even more independent person. Willow was able to take care of herself, and function almost without any help. I had to become that person. Like Willow, I began to feel numb, not being able to feel any emotion, good or bad. I tried to find a way to feel something again. While Willow found feelings in cutting, I found mine in pretending that everything is perfect. I ended up doing the exact opposite of what Willow did. While she physically disgraced her body, I marked mine up with eyeliner and jewelry. Even though I’m not cutting up the outside of my body, the inside of mine was tearing every moment. I didn’t realize I was doing so much self harm to myself, until it got to the point where I needed medical attention. Just because Willow and I used different weapons, the crime we committed on our bodies ended with the same result.

            Even though Willow had different circumstances than I did, the story of her journey really affected me. Knowing that I’m not alone in certain feelings really helped me through a lot. I didn’t think that anybody could mirror my life so exact that it’s always a good feeling knowing there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Sincerely,

Macie Wheeler

The Sky is Everywhere-Animoto

Make your own slide show at Animoto.

Twenty-First Century Classroom

          This year in my english III class I was introduced in to a new type of english. This english was not one of pencils and paper, but of keyboards, and iPhones. I was introduced to a virtual classroom, a modern twist on everything I previously recognized as "normal english". In this twenty first century english classroom I was introduced to blogging, twitter, facebook, and to a school from across the state. I was new to the blogging world, as well as the twitter world. By being introduced two twitter, I am now addicted! Since being introduced to blogging, I'm not addicted yet, but I might be on my way.
           Through blogging there are certain ways to where I was able to obtain a higher understanding of the text I was reading. I believe this happened because I was more in control of my own learning. There was a more hands on approach to reading the text. Instead of just reading everyday and doing a research paper, or answering questions, I had to activate my mind to discover my true thoughts. When blogging you are not just regergitating information that you have learned, but having to really think and use your mind. I would much rather have to use my mind than just tell someone what I think they want to hear. By blogging I have encountered a much more personal approach to my own learning. Having these new found skills, I am much more capable of understanding the text I am assigned.

Linking up to the sky

http://www.recover-from-grief.com/7-stages-of-grief.html
This website discusses the seven stages of grief after a loved one is loss. This could have been helpful to Lennie after her sister Bailey died.

http://www.griefspeaks.com/id46.html
This discusses how to deal with the loss of a sibling.

http://www.experienceproject.com/groups/Lost-My-Sister/6480
This website discusses personal experiences that deal with the loss of a sister.

http://www.juilliard.edu/
This website introduces people to Julliard, Lennie's dream school.

http://www.clarinet.com/
Lennie loved music, and her instrument was the clarinet. This website gives all different types of information about clarinets.

http://www.jandynelson.com/
This website is all about Jandy Nelson. She is the author of The Sky is Everywhere.

http://thebooksmugglers.com/2010/03/book-review-the-sky-is-everywhere-by-jandy-nelson.html
This gives an accurate book review of The Sky is Everywhere.

http://www.poemslovers.com/love_stories/my_first_love/33.html
Lennie experienced her first love during the case of the book. This website gives real life first love experiences.

http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/home_family/grandparents.html
Like Lennie and Bailey, many kids live with their grandparents.

http://www.empoweringparents.com/blog/divorced-parents/helping-a-child-cope-with-an-absent-parent/
This gives information on how to deal with a missing parent.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yqim02tVu3U&noredirect=1
This gives a good video outlook of the book.

http://www.ehow.com/list_6836787_types-affect-people_s-mood-smell.html
While Gram thought her roses had magical powers, this website gives the types of affects flowers really do have on humans.

http://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/2982266.Jandy_Nelson
These are Jandy Nelson's top quotes from The Sky is Everywhere.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Know-re-Really-855/2008/2/feelings-good-friend-confused.htm
While Lennie was confused about her feelings, this gives information about confusing first love.

http://www.catalogs.com/info/books-music-dvd/how-does-music-affect-people.html
Lennie believed music had a profound affect on people, this article agrees.

http://www.online-family-help.com/music/how-music-can-change-your-mood.php
Music always seemed to change Lennie's mood. This website describes how.

http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/3-keys-to-realizing-your-dreams-and-goals/
Towards the end of the book Lennie finally discovers her goals, this website describes ways to acheive this.

http://www.clarinet-now.com/famous-clarinet-players.html
Lennie strives to be a professional clarinet player, this list actual professional clarient players.

http://ehealthforum.com/health/torn-between-two-men-commitment-passion-t228233.html
Lennie is torn between two men. This website gives advice and support.

http://dailyfreedom.com/2009/06/how-to-deal-with-feelings-of-confusion/
After Bailey's death Lennie becomes very confused, this website discusses how to deal with these feelings.

VLOG :) These are my favorite!

I'm sorry the quality of this video is poor. I shot the video on my iPhone so transferring it made the pixels a little mixed up. This is a short skit of the overall summary of the book, The Sky is Everywhere. I hope everyone likes it!

I tell it like it is...

Jack-

Jack I loved your animoto! You did a really good job of introducing the book without giving a whole plot summary. This is something I struggled with when I tried to make my own animoto. I know blogging is not your favorite assignment, but did you enjoy making this animoto? The music you picked seemed to go very well with the book you had picked. Both the music and the background seemed very exotic. Also, the pictures you chose to use flowed really well with everything else. Did you trick Jared in to being in this? If you did it worked out well. I liked how you used Carl who is French himself, and quite worldly. Coincidence?!? I hope I get to see more of these that you make!

Jacob-

In the famous words of Will Ferrel "Capture the Dream". If I could get a slow clap going for you right now I would Jacob! If your really set on fixing the problems you had last quarter, then capture that dream, and do it! For starters I would have to agree with the man who tore my hearts to shreds when he said I had no soul. You need to start capitalizig, and do some more gramatical things correct. Besides that though I love your charisma! I would agree with you that creativity is one of your strong points. However, you have so much of that creativity bouncing around in your little head of yours, it seems like it over powers your writing skills at times. This is not because it is bad at all, but at times it just get to busy. I love the fact that your creativity is so apparent in your writing though, it makes it much more appealing to read than others! Keep it up Jacob and "Capture the dream".

Stevie-
Stevie, I thought your first quarter blog was very well written. I'm surprised you didn't get a very good grade. Anyways, I'm glad you are more optimistic about this quarters blog. Are you excited to start following kids from another school? Do you think this will get you more interested in blogging? I agree with you that your links blog was very good. All of the links gave me a really good idea of what your book was about. I'm even thinking about reading it next semester. What book are you reading this quarter? Also, which one do you perfer?

Another Blog Another Day

     Hello everyone! Here we go again, round two of blogging! I know all six of my lovely followers are pumped for this.... Or not whatever, I'm pretty excited. Blogging is so much more appealing to me than writing a research paper. Today was the day my class got their blog grades back. While most  of my classmates weren't to thrilled over the grades they received, I got an A so I was thanking the Lord!  I did a number of things right on the first part of my blog, but to be honest we all know there are some things that could be improved! I'm assigned to tell you what all I did good on my blog, and of course what I did that, well sucked!     
     To begin, I had a pretty good intro to my blog. This was actually pretty important to me, to start things off right. I wanted to give my readers an inside look to the book I was taking on this blogging journey with me. Also, I wanted them to get a look into who I was. My favorite blog however was the vlog. While everyone else was freaking out about this assignment it was actually the easiest to me. I'm much more comfortable talking about a book and being on camera, then trying to write about it. I hope we get to make more of these in the future. The one thing I had going for me through the entire blog was my ability to make personal connections. This comes much easier to me than trying to analyze the content of a book.
     However, I did have many down falls. Apparently I had trouble staying focused in paragraghs...my socks are blue... I on the other hand could never see how that would happen. I need to work more on developing paragraghs, and back up my statements more than I originally had. Also, I had originally thought that paragraghs only had to be four to six sentences. I realized that now I need to start maturing in my writing and bump up the paragraphs to ten to twelve sentences. This is something I really struggled with in my first quarter blogs. On my music blog I really struggled. I had a hard time connecting with the classical music, and getting the mood I wanted. I needed to develop my thoughts and content more than I previously had.
    The book I am reading for the second quarter is The Sky Is Everywhere by Jandy Nelson. This is a story about a girl name Lennie Walker and how she was able to find herself. After her beloved sister died suddenly, Lennie's life seemed to take a complete turn around. Since Bailey, Lennie's sister, use to always be the center of attention, Lennie use to find happiness in the shadows. But now that Lennie is exposed she is able to really find out who she truly is. She even allows herself to fall in love. This quarter I hope to do more vlogs. I feel like these woule give a better look into the book.

WIllow Animoto

Untitled Project

continuation to blog #6

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=river+by+a+park&hl=en&gbv=2&biw=1024&bih=491&tbm=isch&tbnid=Ndqzr-qHGoJ3cM:&imgrefurl=http://the-crazy-one-xp.deviantart.com/gallery/&docid=Xvn1rAqUETix-M&w=150&h=113&ei=XcuLTqnWHMqAsgKX5OyWBA&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=437&page=13&tbnh=90&tbnw=120&start=114&ndsp=10&ved=1t:429,r:9,s:114&tx=24&ty=60This website leads you to a picture of a park bench by a river. When I think of the end of the book when Willow and Guy are sitting by the river and Willow lets go of the Razors this is what I picture. This moment in the book is so monumental because it is the moment she decides to quit cutting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKgq_yZJnyA
This is a great visual book review. This gives another look onto Willow and her relationships in the book. The reviews opinions are very honest and open about the book.

Websites of Willow

http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/feeling_sad/cutting.html
This website answers many questions about cutting. Throughout the book Willow continuly hurt herself by cutting. This website puts out information to many different reasons people put their body through this.

http://eqi.org/cutting1.htm
This website gives more information about the teens perspective on cutting. It also provides you with more background. I wonder if Willow would have seen it, maybe she would have questioned what she was putting her body through.

http://thedirtytshirt.com/willow-book-review/
This website gives a book review of Willow. Everything it says I completely agree with. It gives a good window into the book.

http://gettingtoknowwillow.blogspot.com/
This is the actual blogspot for the book Willow. Julia Hoban talks throughout it. Also, it gives you many more facts about the book.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tempest
This website explains the book that meant so much to Willow. The Tempest is something that is shared between Willow and Guy. This brings them together on a whole new level.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7zDSg3bRco
This is a picture trailor of the book Willow. The pictures represent a good image of the characters. Also the songs help set the mood.

http://teenadvice.about.com/u/sty/datinglove/teenage_love_stories/
In this website teens explain their first love. These are people who went through similar emotions that Willow and Guy experienced.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orphan
This website explains orphans. This is something that Willow became after her parents both died in the car accident. This gives a better understanding to Willow's life.

http://www.car-accidents.com/teen-car-accidents.html
This website give statistics on car accidents. While Willow was driving she got in to a very bad car wreck. From this she killed both of her parents.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tristes_Tropiques
This explains Willow's father's favorite book. Tristes Tropiques was the book that initally brought Guy and Willow together. In the library the first time Willow and Guy made a connection over a book.

http://www.aaanet.org/
This is the American Anthropological Association. I believe this is something Willow's parents would have joined. They were both very involved in anthropology, along with Willow and her brother.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anthropology
This website gives more background on what anthropology is. Willow was very interested in this profession. This was another way her and Guy bonded.

http://culturalanthropology.duke.edu/
This is an example of how anthropology is taught at a college. Willow's father was a professor at anthropology and I believe he would share some of the same views. Also, it gives a certain access to Willow's mind set.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mirror
One of the questions Willow asked herself was why the first mirror was invented. This question seemed pointless at first but when Guy answered it for Willow his answer was monumental. This website gives you more information.

http://www.swedauk.org/disorders/apaterson.htm
This website talks about anorexia. Even though Willow did not suffer from this when a girl was discussed who had it, it hit home with her. This was one of the stepping stones to get Willow to quit cutting.

http://www.jacketflap.com/julia-hoban/82740
Julia Hoban was the author of Willow. This gives more information about the other books Julia has read. Also, information on how to get updates on her.

http://www.readprint.com/author-14887/Julia-Hoban-books
This gives you more information on how to contact Julia Hoban. Also, it leads you to more ways to get one of her books. It lists more than just Willow.

http://www.ironwoodrtc.com/CuttingSelfInjury/residential_disciplinary_school.html?gclid=CIfd18izz6sCFcECQAoduFv4Sg
This is a place for other teens who cut to come and get help. These kids are relatable to Willow.

VLOG! VLOG!

The new "twitter"

I started following Jack, Jacob, and Stevie.

Jack-
It's obvious you don't really like English, but this blog was actually very well written. I think you might be better than you give yourself credit for. I think you'll start to like blogging after a couple of weeks. You always have a lot to say, so maybe this will be a good way for you to put your thoughts into focus. You said that you really liked the movie about this book. Which one was better? Does the movie completely ruin the book? Or does the movie do it justice? Also, you said it was a shorter book, that being one of the reasons you chose it, but will you choose a longer book next time? Keep it up Jack!


Jacob-
Your personality definitely comes through in this blog! It made me laugh so congrats on that. Do you think by the end of the year you'll actually start to like blogging? Or do you think your just a lost cause? You wrote this really well, so I think your future ones will be really good as well. Of course you would have to use "maximum effort to pass”. Something I think you could do if you try! Keep it up Jacob

Stevie-
Stevie this book seems really sad! I hope it has a happy ending like in a Disney movie or something. I liked the pictures you chose for the blog. Each picture helped me understand a little more about the book. Do you like the book so far? Is it something you would recommend for others to read? Finally, I really liked the pictures of the buildings in your blog. It's someplace I would want to hang out!

Picture Story

Willow uses these razors to cut herself.


Books are a huge part of Willow and her family's life.


Willow works at a library.


This is the action Willow resorts to, to avoid emotional pain.


Willow's parents died in a car crash while she was driving.


This is Willow's favorite book, which she gave to Guy to read.


Willow and Guy spend a lot of time together in the park.


Willow's older brother is a professor at the college.


Willow's parents died together in the car crash.


Willow loves the way Guy's hand feel when he embraces her.


Both of Willow's parents were anthropologists.


Willow use to use watercolors before her parents died.


Guy rows every morning.

Willow keeps her cutting a secret.


After Willow's and Guy's first kiss their relationship took a monumental leap.


Willow feels as if she is breaking up her brothers family.


After Willow saw an anorexic girl she started to see herself as others saw her.


Willow has a hard time connecting with her peers after the accident.


Willow felt lonely and isolated after the accident.


Book Cover.

First Blog Entry

           Hello Everyone!, or the one or two people who actually will read this. My name is Macie Wheeler. I'm a junior at Carbondale Community High School. This year for my english class I have to blog throughout each week about the current book I am reading. As of now, I'm pretty excited for this assignment. I'm not the best at analyzing readings, or describing the facts and reasons to why others think the book was good or bad. However one thing I ususally have going for me is being able to develop my own opinions on the book, and being able to take a creative outlook on the meaning or events. I'm interested on what I will end up writing about each week and seeing if I will improve by the end of the quarter.
            The purpose of the blogs are to give an outlet to place our opinions of the book that we the class are assigned to read off of the Read For a Lifetime list. This gets us away from the usual analytical essays, and boring book reports most classes are assigned. Read For a Lifetime is a list of books given to students, as reading suggestions. This year I'm looking forward to getting to read more books on the list. The first book I chose is called Willow by Julia Hoban. The book is about a teenage girl named Willow who secretly cuts herself to deal with the pain of her parents death. She blames herself for them dying since she was the one driving when they died in a car crash. She also feels guilty that her brother had to take her in, and she feels as if she is a burden on his family. Willow then meets Guy, a boy who is just as complicated and sensitive as her. She continuley begins to discover it's hard to keep a secret that she has written all over her body. I chose this book because it's different than any other book I have ever read. I thought this book would give me a different persepective on many different things such as greif, guilt, self mutilation, and even love.
             Prompts I plan on doing this quarter, include a wide aray of things. I would like to do some personal connections to Willow. I want to be able to describe the different events she went through, and the way she handled what had happened to her. I want to talk to other people and find out how they handled greif, to see if it is at all relatable to Willow. I want to write about her relationship with Guy, and if it is or not relatable to most high school relationships. Another prompt I plan on doing, is to write about the possibility of a person having such an affect on another that it could literally alter some ones life. I'm sure I will develop more as I go along.

(Book Cover)