Page 111 - 122

Marisa starts a new job at Claires, and one day when she is working Nash stops in. She asks why he is in there and he says to buy some earings, and then gets to the point that he is dating Rachel. Marisa is set off by the idea that Nash is dating one of her bestfriends and why she wasnt informed..but then she questions herself as to why she is so bothered by it.
Marisa notices that everything is really tense in her family and her mom and dad aren't talking. So she goes to search her parents closet and realizes that all of her dads belongings are gone. She goes to ask her mom where everything is and finds out that her mom and dad are no longer together. Her dad had an affair.

Page 101- 111

It official that Derek and Sierra broke up, so Marisa starts a countdown in her head to how soon Derek should ask her out. She gets a little more frusterated everday when he doesn't make his move and she's afraid he never will. Marisa's friends seem to think that Derek actually like Marisa. Something funny happenss in orchestra that makes Marisa and Andrea laugh and when they run into Sterling they are still laughing and dont explain what has happened so Sterling thinks they are laughing at her so she leaves them. That night, Marisa talks to Sterling on IM and discovers that Sterling is upset because she feels like Marisa and Andrea are now bestfriends.
For Marisa's 16th birthday, she doesn't want to have a party, so her family makes her a big dinner instead. Her mom made her the wrong cake and Marisa comes to realize that everybody has changed and she feels like she is in a 'twilight zone'.

Page 87-101

Marisa's Dad has almost finished her dark room where she will be able to go for her alone time. After sitting in there for awhile, she goes searching through her parents closet for a box of old pictures and she realizes that something is different. Marisa feels herself falling deeply in love with Derek and thinking about him non-stop. In Art class the next day, she is talking to Derek about where they see themselves ten years for now. Derek wants to own his own landscaping buisness and Marisa mentions that her aunt owns her own now and maybe he can do an internship through her buisness and learn a lot. Derek takes her offer and mentions that Marisa is his friend. In Biology class, Marisa and Nash find it hard to talk to eachother. They are at the Annual Harvest Festival and Marisa goes over to Sterling's baked goods booth. Marisa tried to remend her friendship with Nash by hanging out with him down on the dock, eventhough he isn't even talking to her. And there is gossip going around that Derek and Sierra might break up..

Page 72 - 83

Marisa and Sterling go to the school's annual Wii Compitition. When they get there Marisa notices Derek right away and takes a seat in the next section over. Marisa catches Derek looking at her and she has a spaz attack. They leave the school when they see Derek's girlfriend Sierra walk in with all of her obnoxious friends. Marisa asks Sterling why no boys like her and she says they do, just not the right ones. So as they are fed up with boy drama, they go home and listen to Dirk.
The next morning, Marisa goes to Nash's and finishes their project. When they are done, they sit there talking and Nash tries to kiss Marisa but she pulls away and has to explain to him that she doesn't like him like that. She feels bad and they both feel akward sitting there.

Page 60-72

Marisa goes over to Sterling's house to try and work out her problems she has been having. Marisa feels that Sterling is the only one who understands her anymore. Sterling tells her that she made them special treats and she got their favorite show recorded and the new season as well. The letter the Nash wrote, which Marisa thought she would be recieving, he gave to one of the most popular girls in the school. Marisa watched the whole thing blow up right infront of her and she got instantly sick to her stomach. Marisa, the next day in art class is working on her artwork and Derek comes over and says that he really likes her pastel and he recomends the theme "figi." Later that night, Marisa and her sister are arguing over the bathroom and again, her dad is the peace maker.

Page 49 - 59

Marisa's Aunt Katie is over her house and they are reviewing the matches her Aunt got on eHarmony. Marisa is quick to criticize all of the matches. Her aunt tells her that she is to picky in her taste for boys and maybe thats why she hasn't had a boyfriend yet, which isn't normal because she's a teenager and she should've had multiple. They talk about boys they both could've had chances with, but turned down. They both figure that its time they both find somebody to be with, so they can both be happy. The next day in Orchestra, Marisa is laughing about something that previously happened in chemistry class. Her teacher calls her our on her disterbance and she is immediatly embarrassed infront of everybody.

Page 37 - 48

Darius is the biggest nerd Marisa knows. Her class is assigned a task to come up with an idea that will change the lives of three people at a time. While they are working on it, the people around Marisa start talking about how their parents dont get along and it makes Marisa realize she is lucky that he parents get along so well. When she leaves her class she sees Derek with Andrea, his girlfriend. Late that night she listens to the Dirty Dirk Show, which is a talk show where teens can write into and he'll talk about their problems. The next day, Marisa had a horrible day, everything that could've went wrong, did. She goes to Nash's house after school. They talk for awhile and Nash comes to tell Marisa that he likes somebody, but doesn't know how to come across telling her so he asks for advice. Marisa talks to him and comes to think of who he might like and it crosses her mind that it might be her...

Page 26 - 36

They have a guest over for dinner, which is Jack, a guy that works with Marisa's mom. Sandra, Marisa's sister, is having a debate with their guest over the dinner table. Her sister is younger, but very smart and can be a big drama queen.
Marisa and Sterling go out like they do every Saturday night. They go to the Notch, which is a shopping center and if you sit at the fountain in the middle you can see all around you. They see Tabitha, a girl from their school, sitting on a cute boy's lap. They are both jealous of how easily she can get a boy, when they have no luck. They dont want to think about how they dont have boyfriends anymore so they go shopping. They are both trying on jeans and getting frusterated because none of them are fitting.

I am liking this book a lot so far! It doesn't repeat itself like the last book i read did and it has a lot more in it that i can relate to.

Pg, 14-26

It's Marisa's first day of school and she is realizing that it isnt that easy to change the way that people look at you from previous years. She is in her chemisty class and her teacher assigns that the students get with somebody in the classroom to interview and find out somethings about that person they normally wouldn't ask. Marisa went with Nash and the first question he asked her was was 'if you were a shape, what shape would you be?' Marisa answers by picking two shapes and says that she is a very complex person. Marisa starts thinking of herself dating Nash but then realizes that he isn't boyfriend material..he is goofy and a lot more mature than all of the other boys her age. To her, he was an 'old soul'. Later, Marisa is talking with her dad about the lab she is doing over at Nash's house and how smart Nash is. Her dad realizes that she is changing her ways and reminds her that if she ever needs anything, that he is always there for her. The next day, Marisa is at Nash's house working on the chemistry project and she notices that he seems to have a passion for inanimate objects just like she does.
I think this is a kickoff to something between the two of them. Possibly her first boyfriend?

Waiting for You, by Susane Colasanti

I have decided to start a new book because the last one i was reading didn't have a lot of actions taking place in it, plus i didn't like how after ever paragraph they retold in more detail what the previous paragraph was about. So, the new book i will be reading is Waiting for You, by Susane Colasanti.

In this book, the main character, Marisa, wants to start her sophmore year with a new image. She doesn't want people to look at her the way they have in the previous years. She also thinks that this could be the year that she gets her first boyfriend.
(Pg. 3-13) Marisa gets back from summer camp where she went to learn more about photography and as soon as she gets settled in and back into the swing of things she goes to her bestfriend Sterlings house. Sterling is an excellent cook and for dinner she made Risotto. Sterling tells Marisa that she has decided to take up yoga as a new hobby, which is a shocker to Marisa because she knows that Sterling has an attention span of a fly. Sterling decides that 'this is our year!'. When they are done talking they go to thier friend Andrea's house for a peir party that is always a kickoff to the new year. It is there that she notices Derek, and after staring at him for awhile he looks at her, smiles and waves..which totally made her day. Then, as she was walking home she noticed Nash out on the dock. Nash is her neighbor, and they used to be really close but now it comes to her that she doesn't really know anything about him anymore. Which makes her wonder.. 'how time can change something you thought would always stay the same.'

36-46

Samantha and her friends are still in the cafeteria eating their lunch and talking about the party coming up. Rob leaves the cafeteria and tells Samantha he will talk to her later and walks off with his friends. Samantha and her friends start laughing at a girl across the cafeteria because she didn't recieve any roses, never has and never will. They talk about the times they put notes on her locker that say "maybe next year, but probably not" meaning she will never get a rose. They quickly jump conversations to talking about skipping their 7th period class, which they always skip because its the 'boring' class of the day. While they are skipping class they plan just to leave and go out the the TCBY downtown. They get off of the school grounds by sneaking out the "smokers hole" which is in the back feild by the tennis courts where nobody can see.

These couple pages weren't very interesting but i feel they are leading up to a key point in the story. There isn't much in these pages that i can relate to either, but i think the story is going to start getting more interesting because it is getting closer to the time of the big party.

25 - 35

Still recieving roses, Samantha gets one from her boyfriend and on the note attached he wrote 'love ya' and it comes to her that it doesnt mean the same as 'i love you.' She thinks about it for a while and forgets about it when she recieves another rose from a boy across the room. This boy was her bestfriend when they were little, her first kiss, but recently just another face you pass through the hall. On his note he attached to the rose he drew a picture of a couple sitting on a park bench and Cupid beside him shooting a bird flying over their heads. The comic shows that the bird was Cupid's original target, not the couple. She laughs and smiles to him across the classroom. After class he mentions that his parents are going out of town that weekend and he is having a party that he wants her to come to. She tells him that she will keep the party in mind if there is nothing else to do, as she is hoping something else comes up so she doesnt have to go to his party. She gets to the cafeteria and sees her boyfriend, Rob Cokran, across the way standing with a whole bunch of his friends and as he nods to her she thinks to herself why she fell for him in the first place. She remembers how it was before they were dating... the bubbling feeling in her stomach that made her so dizzy she had to sit down and all the crazy questions that ran through her head. She thinks about it for a moment longer and all the times they have spent together and is sure that what they have is love.

This book is starting to get more interesting the further I get. I can really relate to these past ten pages of the book because at a highschool age you are constantly questioning yourself on little things and sometimes maybe even bigger things. In the next couple of pages I think Samantha is going to go with her friends to get ready for the upcoming party.

Page 14 -24

In the next couple of pages I have read, Samantha is still in the car with her friends. They stop to pick up two more friends and enjoy a bagel and coffee that their friend gave them. They talk about the outfits they have on and whether or not they specifically like the clothing their friends have on. They talk about boys and all their first times, and come to realize that Samantha is the only one who still is taking baby steps and they all make fun of her for it and she feels pressured. They get to the school parking lot and Lindsy, the one driving the car, speeds around the corner to get the last open parking spot in the lower lot so they don't have to walk a block to school from the upper lot. As she does this, the girls spill their coffee all over them. In Samantha's first period class she gets 5 roses. When she gets to second block she realizes that she has a pop quiz which isn't a good thing because she has no clue what is going on in the class lately. She tries two different ways to cheat and finally comes up with telling the girl next to her that she needs a pen, so as the girl is digging through her purse she can copy down her answers.

As the book gets more into detail I am liking it a lot more than i thought i would. I like how her and her friends interact with eachother because we have people at our school that do the same things and it goes to show that it is happening all around us. I can relate to when they are in the car talking about their outfits and saying whether or not they like them because my friends do that all the time, and it really annoys me. In the next couple of pages I think that Samantha and her friends are going to go out and do something that they might regret after it is done.

Before I Fall

(Page 3 - 13) In the book, Before I Fall, by Lauren Oliver, I have been reading about this girl named Samantha Kingston, a popular highschool student at Thomas Jefferson High School. She is reliving her last day alive, going into detail on everything and what it means to her. She is driving to school with her friends, talking about a party the party later that night, and the roses they hope to recieve in school for Cupids Day. The flowers are bought by boys in the school that send them to the girls and they are delivered to them during class by the cupids, and the more roses you get the more popular you are.
So far i really like the book because it is based on people around the same age as me and it has a romantic twist on it. I think as the book goes on it will get more interesting.