Guided Response Blog

I want to get more in depth on the character Tyrell. Here he is at age 15, and experiencing an unbearable living situation where his mother is depending on him to be a supporter of the family since his father is locked up. He feels the pressure to provide for them seriously weighing out the options of selling drugs. His main concentration is on his 11 year old brother who he believes have a mental problem. He thinks his mother is a screw up and all she does is want to have fun. She couldn’t afford to pay the rent on her own when Tyrell’s father got sent to jail. So they have been in and out of shelters for the past couple of months. Tyrell is fed up and desperate for money all has signs of doing whatever just to make a buck. He finally has a plan to come up on some cash by throwing a party. Tyrell has a sweet girl friend that lies to her mother about him so she can be able to date him. He really don’t like that the fact she is lying to make him sound good so he don’t feel good and is kind of embarrassed. He feels like he’s not good enough for a girl like that. His vision is to take care of Novisha while she attends college and get a degree. They will get married and now he can do all the nasty things he wants to her. Novisha loves Tyrell no matter what he thinks. She is basically honest with him in their relationship and want the best for him. She doesn’t pressure him about school understanding his struggles. She does however do certain things to try to get him back interested in school.

Free Choice Blog Week 3

The book I am reading is called Tyrell. Looking at the cover of the book you can see a young black man with braids behind a New York City background. That’s what caught my eye on first impression. Then I discovered that the author is black as well. Her name is COE Booth, she began writing novels in second grade, and did work with teens and families in crisis. I instantly became interested to read this book and find out his struggles and how he overcomes adversity. Here’s a little about Tyrell, he is 15 going on 16, his father went to jail for what he calls “providing by any means necessary.” His mother struggles to maintain a stable home, he has a 9 year old brother who is a little retarded. Novisha his grilfriend is the joy of his life. She is 14 years old and herself for marriage and Tyrell respects that. Novisha mother feels bad about Tyrell and his whole situation with his family. They both do little things for him that he appreciates at times, but still I believe he is embarassed. Reading through this book I share with Tyrell some of the same struggles he deals with. For instance we both have had parents in jail, we both had to adjust to a totally different lifestyle when the main parent is gone. He often contemplates the fact that they’re broke and homeless. He needs to do something for money to get them out of their horrible situation.

Guided Response Blog Week 2

True or False

1. Novisha is Troy girlfriend?
2. Novisha parents are married?
3. Tyrell father lives in New Jersey working as a construction worker?
4. Tyrell is 18 years old?
5. Tyrell lives down the street from Novisha?

Multiple Choice

1. What’s the girl name Tyrell meets at the shelter?

a. Novisha
b. Jasmine
c. Keisha
2. What’s the author’s name of the book?

a. Steven Hill
b. Sista Soulja
c. COE Booth
3. What’s the name of the novel?

a. The World’s stress for a Black Man
b. Tyrell
c. A young man’s pain
4. What is Tyrell’s brother name?

a. Chris
b. Teven
c. Troy
5. Who is Jasmine’s parent or guardian?

a. her mom and dad
b. her auntie and uncle
c. her sister

Matching

1. ___Novisha mother
2. ___Tyrell age
3. ___Hotel the shelter sent him to
4. ___Where they had dinner at
5. ___Tyrell mom’s friends

Short Answer

1. What are Tyrell’s struggles?
2. What does Novisha think about sex with Tyrell?
3. What does Tyrell think about Jasmine?
4. Why doesn’t Tyrell go to school?
5. What does Tyrell’s mother say to him in an argument of theirs?


Answer Key

(T/F) 1. False (Multiple Choice) 1. B (Matching) 1. C
2. False 2. C 2. A
3. False 3. B 3. B
4. False 4. C 4. E
5. False 5. C 5. D

Short Answer

1. His father is in prison and left him, his brother, and mother behind. They can’t pay the bills because his mother doesn’t know how to survive with the father out of their lives.
2. She was waiting on having sex until she is married.
3. That she has a cute face, and think she is Puerto Rican with her light skin and long black hair.
4. School is not for him, and all he does is fight and get suspended.
5. She wants him to step up and help the family even if it means selling drugs to get money.

Reading Blog Week 2

Week 2 Blog (Guided Response)
I started off reading this book 13 Reason’s Why, sort of interesting, and definitely a book I would have ever picked out to read for myself. As far as the book text it’s not hard on my eyes so it doesn’t blur up as much. The author Jay Asher seems like a respectable author among his peers. I’m not really sure yet if the main character is a boy or girl yet. The way the story starts off is a dead woman who recorded her life story before killing herself and passing the tapes to those who supposedly had something to do with it. It kind of threw me for a loop but I eventually figured out the reason why Asher would write this book. From reading the back of the book I guess Clay is a guy. I have no clue why I was thinking maybe a girl. So now my thoughts on him are put in my perspective because I am a guy. When he first received the tapes he thought it’s a mistake or some sort of joke. That’s exactly how I would have reacted in that situation. Well I can’t necessarily say that either because I would have taken it a couple of steps further. I would have been calling friends like who playing man, quit you too old for this. In saying that I wouldn’t give Clay that much praise from what I read so far. I don’t know maybe I could change my stance on it.

For those who don’t know this is my second time taking this Reading 104 course with Mrs. Scott as the teacher. I’ll say my reading process then to now has increased dramatically. Certain opportunities opened up for me that required critical reading. It’s like I didn’t pass the class but used the information that I did learn to the real world. I agree with the saying everything has a purpose in the fact that I’m using knowledge from this class and using it with others classes. Going through it once before now puts me at a somewhat advantage. Not because all of the assignments may be the same but just knowing the expectations and executing my work to my full potential gives me such joy. Other ways in which my reading process has grown I think I’m starting to get interested in reading on my own. See at first I just read when I had to and that was that. Now I could look around a library and search for a book that interest me and read it. It’s like I have a new outlook about things; I take things serious such as college, complete all assignments, I also built a confidence about speaking up in class if I’m not sure about something. I believe with all my new tools and plus the ones I haven’t mastered yet there’s going to be surprised looks on my family face. This is what I ultimately want.

Blog test

There are many types of reading I experience now then what I was used to before. The majority of my readings now come from facebook, twitter, etc. I also try to slide in my assigned readings from time to time for homework. Even though it is not an enjoyment for me. I still retain the mindset of reading when I have to and not because I want to.