Megan

"http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/5073101/Things_That_I_Am" People are always affixing labels to one another, and I would get quite a few: Nerd/Geek/Hipster/Bandie/Whovian/Brat-Packer/Teenager/Girl/Potterhead. But I'm not a fan of labels.
 * About Me**

I live with my mom and my sister and my dog sometimes. I live with my dad and my uncle and my sister and my other dog and my cats sometimes. I enjoy band (sometimes), Academic Games, writing, reading, and being with my friends. I possess a delightfully multifaceted personality, brimming with social awkwardness galore. Try being friends with me. It's quite the adventure.

Also, I like squirrels.


 * The Book That I Read**
 * Title:** //Marcelo in the Real World//
 * Author:** Francisco X. Stork


 * Genre:** realistic fiction (young adult)


 * Publisher:** Arthur A. Levine Books


 * Publication Date:** Spring 2009


 * Hardcover/Paperback and # of Pages:** Hardcover, 312 pages


 * First Paragraph (Well, mine doesn't start with a paragraph; it starts with a sentence):** "Marcelo, are you ready?"


 * Stand-Alone or Series:** stand-alone


 * Where I Got It:** New Castle Public Library


 * Why I Read It:** I naturally gravitate towards books about kids with autism, or, in Marcelo's case, something like autism. My little sister Lauren was diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome when I was two, and even though I was never officially diagnosed, I'm probably the same.


 * Review:** This book was really quite good, but not brilliant. It is a moving, utterly believable portrait of a seventeen-year-old boy with a mysterious way of thinking about the world. //Marcelo in the Real World// is not your everyday book, challenging the world's concept of "normal." Marcelo's voice is flawless in its consistency- the characterization is perfection. However, the action dragged in parts and it often felt like a replica of //The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time//. Also, I disliked the ending. It was one of those endings where the main characters just discuss what they are going to do next. Those endings always feel like cop-outs.

> “Routine. Whenever I hear that word I think of a route that is not a full route, only a tiny route.” > > "All I can think of now is that it is not right for me to be unaware of that pain, including the pain that I inflict on others. Only how is it possible to live without being either numb to it or overwhelmed by it?" > > "But deep at the bottom of our conflicting desires and confusions there is the sense of what is right and what is wrong." > > “‘Cognitive disorder’ is not an accurate description of what happens inside Marcelo’s head. ‘Excessive attempt at cognitive order’ is closer to what actually takes place.” > > "In some way, the strange-looking streets are simply a reflection of my thoughts. It seems perfectly natural to be lost outside when that’s the way I am inside. No landmarks anywhere."
 * Notable Quotes:**

Yes, there are no page numbers. The book needed to be returned to its home at the library or else the librarian mob would have come after me and I would be sleeping with the fishies. So the location of these quotes in the book is a bit of a mystery. Hey, Easter's coming up, and everyone loves an egg hunt...
 * Literary Elements:** “The deep blue of the sky reminds me of the word azure--like Jasmine’s eyes." Hey, that's a simile, right? It's a comparison (with "like") between the sky and Jasmine's eyes. Since I no longer have the book itself in my possession, I can't do much more here.


 * Author's Purpose:** To entertain readers with the story of Marcelo's jaunt into the real world.


 * Themes:** Autism, friendship, love, law, work, father-son relationships, coming-of-age


 * Additional Thoughts:** Autism lit needs to learn how to break the "//Curious Incident"// mold. Somebody needs to write a good autism/Asperger's book that isn't like "//Curious Incident"//. At the very least, try a female protagonist for a change. Heeeey...


 * Rating:** 7 out of 10

[]
 * Reading Next:** 11/22/63 by Stephen King. I got it for my birthday (11/22/11), and it has been a fine paperweight ever since.

Okay, I really didn't want to do the YouTube part for this because the whole copyright crackdown kind of scares me. I mean, I don't own the photos or the poem, so the fact that the owner of the song already gave me permission to use it is only part of it. But I did it anyway.
 * POETRY PROJECT HERE!**

That's the words part.

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__//**BURNING HOUSE**//__ Here is what I would take: 1. My lovely Sony Vaio laptop. It is a superhero. It helps me with my homework and to keep in touch with all my friends from the Internet. 2. My baby blanket. It is frayed along the seams and has been mended more than once. For it to succumb to a fire would be a tragedy, considering how much it has survived already. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if it came out of an atomic bomb blast okay. 3. My notebook in which I am starting a novel. I already have a large portion outlined, and if I were to have to start over, I would be very upset. 4. My stuffed cat from when I was very little. I named him Dodgy (short for Dodger, as in the Artful Dodger in //Oliver Twist//) and carried him everywhere. 5. My purse. And this is how I cheated. It contains all of these important things every day:
 * My beloved copy of //The Catcher in the Rye.// When I have it with me (AKA always), I don't feel so alone. Good books do that.
 * My iPod Touch. I like to have it. It plays pretty music for me.
 * My camera, a simple Canon point-and-shoot. As an amateur shutterbug, I always have it around.
 * My cell phone, so I can call 911 and get someone to put the stinking fire out.
 * My wallet, which in turn contains some money (sometimes), a business card for an Italian restaurant in New York City which I would very much like to find again, my AAA card, a hotel key card from someplace, and, most importantly, a school photo of my uncle, who died in 1977 at the age of 18.