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You may say “Land of the Free and Home of the Brave,” but the only thing I hear when you say these words are ¨Land of the Racist and Home of the enslaved.¨ Violence doesn't have a specific name, it doesn't target a certain race and it never looks for a face. Some people may be offended by the words I just spoke...But you can't look at our world today and tell me I'm not speaking the truth. Beaten, Bruised, Killed, Gunned down, Chained...All of these things still currently happening today and they even happened hundreds of years ago.
“Look at me when I'm talking, boy.” “Hands behind your head back towards me.” “Get on the ground right now!” These phrases have scared our Black kings and queens for years. Youth violence is a very disturbing, crucial, and heartbreaking topic. You may want us to write about it, but our writing hasn't made an impact on youth violence. Do the Write Thing has been happening for almost three decades and you have yet to do the right thing in reality. I hope that this will be the last youth violence letter that you will have to read. One of the main things that spike youth violence is racism. Racism is a way to ensure white survival. Police brutality is a huge part of youth violence. If you want youth violence to end, you have to actually make a change. I know I won't be the first child to say this, but I want to be the absolute last. The most abused person in America is a Black American woman. The most unprotected thing in America is an African-American man. We have to stop abusing and start protecting. A wise math teacher that paid more attention to black history more than any eighth-grade teacher I know once told me, “speak your truth even if your voice trembles.” I don't want you to just listen to me speak these words. I want you to feel the pain hear the roar and see the struggle. My people struggle with youth violence the most. We literally fight to survive and make it everyday. Many of us can't walk around with a black hoodie on. We can't walk into a store without people instantly thinking we are going to steal. I don't know how to make it anymore clear that you can't just push these things into the dark. I won't let these things be pushed into the dark anymore. I will bring these things out of the dark no matter how hard, brutal, and painful the journey may be. If your reading or listening to this letter you have now been brought into the light. You can’t turn away, you can't just brush it off. You can’t look over it because this burden is so big that it goes right over your heads. I bet you didn't get what I just said did you...I’m not saying you as in one person I’m saying as the population in America and the government let these things just happen and exist. You need to step up! Speak out and make it known that you are here and you will force a change! You don’t know what's behind a closed door until you open it. Your eyes are the doors, the world is behind them. You have to open your eyes and see the truth. If I die from knowing, remember me for speaking. Story by Aniya Griffin  What is a subliminal message? A subliminal message is a technique used in advertising that are meant to influence people without being aware of it. Some include flashing lights, hidden messages, subtle cues, and more. A common technique is a brief flash of words, brief meaning less than half a second. Many companies attempted this but just failed, while other companies were very clever. Psychologists say that these messages can have a small influence but it does not greatly affect consumers. They believe it is best to nudge a consumer towards where they were headed in the first place.
Subliminal advertising done right can be subtle until you’re told. Once you see it, it’s impossible to forget. One example would be Coca-Cola vs. Pepsi, the ad is clearly pointing out Coca-Cola to be a “hero” also meaning to be superior. Another example would be the Tostitos logo. The “t-o-s” is meant to look like two people enjoying some chips and salsa. Some more are the Amazon logo, the FedEx logo, and some Disney production logos. The Amazon logo is an arrow that points from A-Z symbolizing that they sell everything from A-Z. The FedEx logo also has an arrow but it is inside the E-X and is meant to represent that they deliver. A clear Disney movie is Pirates of the Caribbean, if you look closely the skull with crossed bones kind of looks like mickey mouse with a twist. A few more examples are Toyota, NBC, Baskin Robbins, and the HFAC Initiative. The Toyota logo hides each letter of the word Toyota within it. NBC is a rainbow like logo but if you look closer it outlines a peacock. The indent in the purple part if the beak ad from there it becomes obvious. The Baskin Robbins logo is made up of two colors, pink and blue. Half of the letters BR are in pink and shout out the number 31 which was meant to represent that there are so many flavors to choose from. Finally the Hope for African Children Initiative which you might not be familiar with, the organization is meant to make the problems that children have in Africa known. The logo is clearly a picture of Africa, but look closer and you can see two faces from side view. Story by Ariella Valdiviezo Sources: https://www.antevenio.com/usa/10-advertising-and-marketing-examples-with-subliminal-messages/ https://www.psychologistworld.com/influence-personality/subliminal-advertising https://ignitevisibility.com/7-examples-effective-subliminal-advertising/  February 9th was the 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, which was held in the Dolby Theatre, Los Angeles, California. Only eight away from a hundred ceremonies, these were the nominations for Best Picture. They were announced on January 13th by actors and producers John Cho and Issa Rae at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills. The nominations for Best picture were Ford v Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Women, Marriage Story, 1917, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Parasite.
Jojo Rabbit is a coming of age story about a boy struggling to find his place in World War 2. The movie is a drama/comedy about Jojo who has a blind nationalism for Nazi Germany, but when he discovers that his single mother is hiding a Jewish Girl named Elsa in their walls, he is split between what he should do. The movie is an anti-hate film as told by Jojo Rabbit’s writer and director Taika Watitia, who also is known for writing and directing 2017’s Thor Ragnarok. The movie was also nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Production Design. Marriage Story is about the struggling relationship between a stage director and his actor wife, going through a coast-to-coast divorce. It was written and directed by Noah Baumbach, who also wrote the screenplay for Fantastic Mr. Fox, and wrote, directed, and produced While We’re Young. Adam Driver was nominated for Best Actor for Marriage Story, Scarlett Johansen was nominated for Best Actress, and Laura Dern was nominated for Best Supporting Actress. Joker is planted in pop culture ever since his debut in Batman #1 in 1940. The movie hit the titles in October of 2019 when the clown prince of crime got $1.069 billion in the box office. Joker is an American psychological thriller film directed by Todd Phillips, who co-wrote the screenplay with Scott Silver. It's about Arthur Fleck, who is a neglected stand-up comedian whose plunge into madness and chaos sparks a severe revolution versus the wealthy in a crumbling Gotham City. It's nominated awards were Best Actor which was Joaquin Phoenix, Best Original Music Score, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing, Best Costume Design, and Best Sound Editing. Parasite is a 2019 South Korean Film dark comedy thriller film. It was directed by Bong Joon-ho which he also co-wrote the screenplay with Han Jin-won. It is about when greed and class discrimination endanger the newly formed symbiotic connection between the wealthy Park family and the impoverished Kim clan. It made $148 million in the box office, with a budget of only $11 million. Bong Joon-ho also directed and wrote Okja in 2017 and his oldest screenplay being Motel Cactus. Parasite is a movie that the less you know about it, the better it is. It was nominated for Best Director, Best Foreign Langauge Film, Best Original Screenplay twice, and Best Production design twice. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is famous director Quentin Tarantino’s 9th film, the last one being The Hateful Eight in 2015. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood made $373.1 million in the box office. It's a fairy tale ending with the hint being the title of the film. Rick Dalton an actor played by Leonardo Dicaprio, and Cliff Booth the actor’s stunt double goes on an adventure in Hollywood that they don’t recognize. They happen to be neighbors with Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate, the filmmaker and actress whose destinies will forever be altered by members of the Manson Family. It was nominated for Best Actor which was Leonardo Dicaprio, Best Supporting Actor which was Brad Pitt, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing twice, Best Costume Design, Best Production Design twice, and Best sound editing. Ford V Ferrari also titled Le Mans ‘66 in some European territories, is an American drama film directed by James Mangold and written by Jez Butterworth, John-Henry Butterworth, and Jason Keller. James Mangold also wrote and directed Logan. Ford V Ferrari made $216.3 million in the Box Office. It's about an American automotive designer Carroll Shelby, and bold British race car driver Ken Miles battle corporate intervention, the laws of physics and their demons to create an innovative vehicle for the Ford Motor Co. Together, they plan to compete against the race cars of Enzo Ferrari at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in France in 1966. The Irishman is based on the 2004 novel I Heard You Paint Houses. It's incredible visual effects transform the actors through multiple decades, to tell the story. Directed by Martin Scorcese and written by Steven Zaillian. It made $8 million in the box office. It takes place in the 1950s, a truck driver Frank Sheeran gets associated with Russell Bufalino. As Sheeran rises the ranks to become a head hitman, he additionally goes to work for Jimmy Hoffa. It was nominated for Best Supporting Actor twice for Joe Pesci and Al Pacino, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design twice. Little Women is a historical period drama, it is written and directed by Greta Gerwig. It is adapted from the 1869’s Little Women that was written by Louisa May Alcott. It made $132 million in the Box Office. It takes place in the years after the Civil War four sisters live life doing their careers, but when Beth develops a crushing illness that brings the family back together. Little Woman was nominated Best Actress for Saoirse Ronan, Best Supporting Actress for Florence Pugh, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Costume Design. 1917 is a drama/action film set during World War 1. It has photorealistic visual effects creating a stricken environment. It was directed by Sam Mendes who co-wrote the screenplay with Krysty Wilson-Cairns. Sam Mendes also directed Skyfall and Spectre. 1917 is Sam Mendes’s first film he wrote. It made $147.5 million in the box office. During World War 1, a pair of British soldiers, Lance Cpl. Schofield and Lance Cpl. Blake receives impossible orders to cross over into enemy territory to pass a message that could potentially save 1,600 of their comrades including Blake's brother. It was nominated for Best Director, Best Original Music Score, Best Original Screenplay twice, Best Cinematography, Best Sound Mixing twice, Best Visual Effects, Best Production Design twice. Story by Taylor Franklin Sources: https://oscar.go.com/news/nominations/oscar-nominations-2020-list-nominees-by-catego https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7286456/ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marriage_Story_(2019_film) https://www.boxofficepro.com/ https://www.littlewomen.movie/ https://www.google.com/search?q=1917&rlz=1CAYJSI_enUS865&oq=1917+&aqs=chro https://www.dccomics.com/ https://www.netflix.com/ https://www.foxmovies.com/movies/ford-v-ferrari https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000233/ https://oscar.go.com/ https://www.goldderby.com/article/2020/oscars-nominations-1917-joker-the-irishman-onc  There are many complicated tricks and flips that competitive female gymnasts do to impress the judges and entertain the audience. Not only do they have to be incredibly talented, but they have to be willing to follow very strict rules to prevent from getting deductions and getting the highest score possible.
1. Always Seem to be in Control No matter how complicated the gymnast’s routine is they must look completely in control at all times. Even if they make a big mistake in their routine they have to make it looked planned, they can't react at all no matter how upset about the mess up they are. 2. They Must Stick to Grooming Regulations Gymnasts are always seen in tight buns, braids, and ponytails while competing but there are reasons for that. According to Vogue their hair must be pulled away from their face to spot important landings. Gymnasts are also not allowed to wear any jewelry except for one single pair of stud earrings. Also they are only be allowed to wear subtle nail polishes. 3. Approved Leotards Gymnasts have a Big say in the leotards they compete in but the leotards have to be approved by their coaches and they have to follow certain guidelines. For example the neckline of the front and back must be no further than sternum length. Parts of the leotards that have lace must be lined. The straps of the leotards must be wide unlike strappy dance leotards. 4. Must Keep Routines Secret Gymnasts obviously want to impress the judges while competing but that won’t happen if the people that are scoring you know what's going to happen in your routine and there is a good chance that you won’t walk away with any medals. That’s why keeping your routines secret is very important. Another obvious reason to keep your routine secret is so competitors don’t steal key components of your routine. 5. Clean Diet and Lifestyle While having extremely long practices multiple times a week gymnasts also have to have a healthy and clean diet. While they need enough nutrients and energy for their body to train and perform their complex routines they can’t have too many calories according to Mashed. The average calorie intake for an olympic gymnast is 2000-2500 a day. 6. Undergarments Can’t be Seen Although while competing gymnasts must wear tight leotards, there are no undergarments allowed to be shown even if it is an accident. No underwear or bra straps can be shown some gymnasts even get custom made undergarments to wear while competing. There is a good chance that if a bra strap shows while competing the gymnast might get a deduction. 7. Paying to Appeal their Score If the gymnast or coach disagrees with the score they are given they can submit and appeal. Now along with the appeal comes with quite a bit of money. If a competitor wants to recount their score, their coach must go up to the judges table before the next routine, then they must write an appeal within four minutes. After they write the appeal the coach has to give the judges $300 if they want another appeal they must pay $500 and if they get a third appeal they have to pay $1000. If they win the appeal they get the money back but if they lose they lose the money. 8. Can’t Fix a Wedgie When in the middle of a routine gymnasts may not pick any wedgies. That’s where custom made leotards come in. Every gymnast have very different body types so a certain leotard cut may not fit everyone on the team. If gymnasts pick wedgie when doing a routine they will get deducted. To prevent wedgies many gymnasts use sticky spray so the leotard does not slide. 9. Practice makes Perfect In order to be the very best you must train hard. Most gymnasts train multiple times a day every day. Simone Biles said they had to do cross training they swam over a mile and then they had to either bike or run and that was all before they went to the gym. Most gymnasts practice everyday. 10. Pointing Toes Gymnasts get 1/10 of a point deducted from their score every time a judge sees an unpointed toe. That is why gymnasts must always remember to keep their toes pointed on vault, bars, beam, and floor. The gymnast could have a nearly perfect routine but if they don’t point their toes one time their score can drop. Story by Rowen-Dollar Reynolds  There were more mass shootings in 2019 than days in the year according to CBS News. 2019 was one of the years that had the most mass shooting since research groups started keeping track. The worst mass shooting in U.S history was in Los Vegas on October 1st, 2017 that killed 58 people and left 700 people injured. Gun violence is a huge problem in the U.S and needs to be stoped. According to Philidelphia children’s hospital in 2015 2,824 children ages, 1-19 died by guns and 1.7 million kids live with loaded or unlocked guns in there home. People should not be afraid to go places because they are afraid of someone shooting them. Or people should not feel like they need to have a lot of security because they are scared.
"We are now at almost every two weeks, an active shooter in this country," Christopher Combs said. Christopher combs is a special agent in charge of the FBI field office in San Antonio, Texas at a meeting after the shooting in Odessa, Texas, where seven people were killed on the last day of August. In 2019 there were 14 deadly mass shootings in the same nine-month period. And an average of one every 15 days. 33,636 people die from firearms each year and 417 mass shootings in 2019. The GVA said there was a total of 15,381 gun deaths including homicides, suicides and accidents and 29,568 injuries in 2019. There are a lot of kids in America with loaded guns in their home which is very dangerous for everyone. Philidelphia children’s hospital says 89% of unintentional gun deaths happen when children are playing with guns. There are 33,636 people who die from guns each year which means that 88 people die from gun deaths per day. After the sandy hook shooting president Obama proposed to change gun laws and make them better. The proposals included universal background checks, new and expanded assault weapon and high-capacity magazine bans and other measures to prevent mass shootings. Several months later, it failed to pass the Senate. Some people can reduce gun violence by seeing doctors, passing better gun laws, ETC. Story by Hazel Weisner  The cons of aquariums- Going to the aquariums may be very fun and you may always have a good time seeing all the beautiful creatures swimming around. Or getting to pet the stingrays or watching a show of dolphins performing their great tricks. But for the animals it's not as fun as you'd think. After reading thought co every day they are fed the bare minimum and they have to share with all the other creatures when some of them are more aggressive than others, causing them to be very underfed and not getting the nutrition that they need. They are all crammed in small cages and not enough room for them to even turn around. They are forced to do tricks and if they mess up they get hit and beaten and if they do a full routine all there rewarded is a small fish frozen solid. they are put into small aquariums forced to swim in endless circles causing severe head injuries, brain damage and even problems to their offspring. Seaworld Orcas- Seaworld seems to be like a great place and they seem to treat their Orcas well due to who they act in shows or on commercial. but on the other hand the way that they are treated is practically torture. According to Peta Kids there sunburns are covered up with Black Zinc Oxide which can burn their skin, but the seaworld workers still use it to cover up all the orcas wounds and scars before shows. In the wild using sunscreen or zinc oxide isn't necessary because they can swim as far down as needed to get out of the sun's harmful rays but whenever there trapped in a cage swimming endless circles they tend to get affected by the rays. Collapsed dorsal fins are what seaworld describes as a normal tendency that always occurs but actually it only happens from 1-5% of the population of orcas in the wild. In captivity the Orcas almost always have collapsed fins due to unhealthy and unsafe living conditions causing their fins to act like jello. Orcas kidnapped from families at very young ages- most of sea world's prized possessions (Orcas) were almost all kidnapped at extremely young ages taken from all their family members whenever they still need The Conclusion- After reading this you may think that all aquariums are bad or abuse all their animals but that isn't true. If your worried or just curious there are a few signs that the aquarium is not good for wildlife creatures such as small enclosures or other aggressive fish biting or messing with the others. There are a few aquariums that are very fun and always make sure their animals well and make sure they get all their food and nutrition needed. Some aquariums are great examples of places and according to humane conservation Ripleys is a good example of this, if you go to there aquariums you can see that the cages are big and there is plenty of room for them to swim around and get away from other fish if needed. They keep the water clean, filtered and if fish pass away immediately the clean up crew is called. Ripleys always makes sure that they have food and that they don't give them too much. In conclusion to all this just beware that some of the aquariums you visit may be abusing or just overall mistreat their animals. Story by Stella Ballard  Let me tell you a tale that is widely unknown. It all starts in the year 1518, in the small town of Strasbourg, part of the Holy Roman Empire. A housewife by the name of Frau Troffea stepped out of her house and begun to dance. She danced for minutes, then hours, then a whole afternoon, and suddenly she collapsed of pure exhaustion. She rested, but then when she was full of vigor again, she went back out and continued to prance and dance. Her neighbors were baffled. This activity continued for the entire rest of the week!
Frau was not the only inflicted soul. During this week, another 30 people begun to boogie till they could boogie no more. And at this point, people began to get injured. The souls of their shoes wore off. They all sweated profusely. They must’ve smelled really bad. And their jigs turned into stumbles and hobbles. The local authority finally recognized the hysteria. Usually, the treatment for unusual behavior was bleeding or leeches. However, local physicians recommended a far worse treatment... Local doctors suggested to encourage dancing till you drop! They thought that the best treatment was to just let the samba die out on its own. So they kicked tanners and butchers out of their shops, built stages, hired musicians, and employed professional dancers to encourage the poor townsfolk. The dancers rolled in. And rolled out in stretchers. You see, encouraging exhausted people to tire themselves more isn’t a great idea. Most people just collapsed or fainted. But some unlucky folk perished of heatstroke or heart attacks. We don’t know the exact toll, but it could possibly be in the hundreds. That’s mostly how this story ends. The dancing fever ended once the government made people pray. This seemed to work well, and all was normal soon after. This wasn’t the only time an incident like this happened. It also happened in Germany, Switzerland, and Holland, but none were as deadly. Some historians say bread the citizens ate was infected with a mold that made you tango. Others say that the soul of a St. Vitus, a saint who could control people, was angry and wanted revenge. Some others say that the stress caused by such a myth of St. Vitus, plus agony over war and famine, made people lose it. The cause is still unknown to this day. So there you have it. This has been Old Man Neesh Kleen, your proud strange history storyteller. Story by Nash Klein Sources: https://www.britannica.com/event/dancing-plague-of-1518 https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/strange-case-dancing-mania-struck-germany-six-centuries-ago-today-180959549/ https://www.history.com/news/what-was-the-dancing-plague-of-1518  The 2020 Oscar nominees are finally here! Here are some of them: Ford v Ferrari, The Irishman, Jojo Rabbit, Joker, Little Woman, Marriage Story, 1917, Once upon a Time...in Hollywood and Parasite are all the nominees for Best Picture. The nominees for Best Actor In A Leading Role are, Antonio Banderas (Pain and Glory), Leonardo DiCaprio (Once upon a Time...in Hollywood), Adam Driver (Marriage Story), Joaquin Phoenix (Joker) and Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes). Cynthia Erivo (Harriet), Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story), Saoirse Ronan (Little Woman), Charlize Theron (Bombshell) and Renee Zellweger (Judy) are all nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role. The nominees for Best Actor in a Supporting Role are, Tom Hanks (A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood), Anthony Hopkins (The Two Popes), Al Pacino (The Irishman), Joe Pesci (The Irishman) and Brad Pitt (Once upon a Time...in Hollywood). Kathy Bates (Richard Jewel), Laura Dern (Marriage Story), Scarlet Johansson (Jojo Rabbit), Florence Pugh (Little Women) and Margot Robbie (Bombshell) are all the nominees for best actress in a supporting role. And lastly, the nominations for Best Directing are, Martin Scorsese (The Irishman), Todd Phillips (Joker), Sam Mendes (1917), Quentin Tarantino (Once upon a time...in Hollywood) and Bong Joon Ho (Parasite).
You may have noticed that the majority of nominees are white. In fact, there is only 1 person of color nominated for any acting awards (Best Actor in a Leading Role, Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Actress in a Supporting Role) Cynthia Erivo, from “Harriet”. The academy has received a lot of criticism due to this. In addition to this lack of diversity in nominees, the academy is also lacking diversity itself. In fact, the academy is 94% white. Actresses who could have also been nominated are Akwafina (The Farewell) for the Best Actress award, she is Asian American. Another Actress who could have been nominated is Jennifer Lopez (Hustlers) also for the Best Actress award, she is of Puerto Rican ethnicity. In the paragraph above I mentioned that the academy is 94% white. It is also 77% male and 54% of the members are over the age of 60. To join the academy you must be invited, to be invited you must have previous nominations or have won a nomination in an award show. The academy has come under fire because of its lack of diversity before. The academy has taken steps to promote diversity it has taken away voting rights from actors who are no longer in the film industry anymore an attempt to bring more diversity to the nominations for the Oscars. The 2020 Oscar nominations were a surprise to a lot of people because the 2019 Oscar nominations had a lot of diversity. In conclusion, the Academy has taken steps to promote diversity but it is clear because of the 2020 Oscar nominations but it needs to do more. Story by Maddy Peeples Sources: https://www.liveabout.com/becoming-an-oscar-voter-4072165 https://www.cnn.com/2020/01/13/opinions/oscar-nominations-2020-are-a-bust-seymour/index.html https://www.cbsnews.com/news/oscars-2020-nomination-snubs-spark-outrage-over-lack-of-diversity/ https://oscar.go.com/nominees  You’ve probably heard of these five female authors. They pave the way for other female authors and writers such as myself and inspire us each and every day. I compiled a list of my top five female authors that motivate me to write and broaden my horizons every day. So here we go, in no particular order: Suzanne Collins Collins was born on August 10th, 1962 in Hartford, Connecticut. “Little Suzanne” was the youngest of four children, was the daughter of an Air Force officer and thus moved to several cool places in her childhood, including Brussels and New York City. Collins’s professional career started in 1991, writing for children’s TV. She worked on Emmy-nominated Nickelodeon show Clarissa Explains it All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo. Collins was thinking about Alice and Wonderland one day, her biography states, and “was struck by how pastoral the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in urban surroundings. In New York City, you're much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you're not going to find a tea party. What you might find...?” That was the start of her five-part fantasy/war series, The Underland Chronicles. The series has been sold into 21 foreign countries. Doesn’t everybody love an underdog? Katniss Everdeen, the winner of the 74th Hunger Games and the Mockingjay of the Rebellion was created by author Suzanne Collins. Her Hunger Games trilogy (The Hunger Games, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay) has spent over 6 years on the New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into 51 languages. Lionsgate released a four-part film adaptation of her series, starring Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, and Liam Hemsworth. In September 2013, Suzanne released a critically acclaimed autobiographical picture book, Year of the Jungle. It has been sold into 12 territories in 11 languages. Her first picture book, When Charlie McButton Lost Power, is about a boy obsessed with computer games, came out in 2005. It has been sold into 4 foreign territories. Here’s the link to Collin’s website. “It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together again as it does to fall apart.” -The Suzanne Collins Stephenie Meyer Stephenie Meyer was born December 24, 1973, in Hartford, Connecticut! (In case you weren’t sure, Suzanne Collins was also born there) She was the oldest of six kids. I feel your pain, eldest sister. Vampires. Romance. Twilight. The four-book series, Twilight, has sold over 100 copies globally in over 50 countries. Her series follows Bella Swan and her vampire boyfriend, Edward Cullen. The first book, Twilight, was released in 2005. The other three were released a year apart; second book New Moon in 2006, third novel Eclipse (2007) and last book Breaking Dawn in 2008. Meyer was the top-selling author in 2008 and 2009 in the United States, selling over 29 million books in 2008 and 26.5 million in 2009. Her biography says, “USA Today declared Meyer ‘Author of the Year,’ citing that she had done something that no one else had in the 15 years of the USA Today bestselling book list– she swept the top four slots in 2008. Meyer also accomplished this feat in 2009, when The Twilight Saga once again dominated the top of the bestseller list. All together, her books have spent over 303 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list.” Mind. Boggling. Meyer’s romance novel The Host was also released in 2008 and debuted at #1 on The New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Her Twilight series was made into a set of 5 movies featuring Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart, and her novel The Host was released in 2013 starring Saoirse Ronan. You can visit her website here. “I like the night. Without the dark, we'd never see the stars.” -Stephenie Meyer J.K. Rowling We’ve all heard of this famous name. Joanne Kathleen Rowling, the creator of the world-famous Harry Potter world. J.K. Rowling was born on July 31, 1965, in Yate, United Kingdom. She had a younger sister, Dianne Rowling. Rowling had the ambition to be a writer from a young age and tried to write several stories. However, nothing came of her earliest efforts. Her mother was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when Rowling was a teenager and died in 1990. After college, Rowling moved to London and worked several jobs, including one job as a researcher at Amnesty International. As the famous story goes, J.K. Rowling was sitting on a delayed train in 1990 when she first thought of the idea for Harry Potter. Her website’s biography writes, “Over the next five years, she began to map out all seven books of the series. She wrote mostly in longhand and gradually built up a mass of notes, many of which were scribbled on odd scraps of paper.” She took her notes with her and moved to northern Portugal, marrying Jorge Arantes and had a daughter, Jessica. She divorced Arantes a few years later. Her first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone (US edition Harry Potter and the Sorceror’s Stone) Her other six books, chronicling Harry’s magical life as a wizard (Ha-Ha, see what I did there?), achieved record-breaking success. J.K. Rowling is currently the wealthiest female author in the world. The eight-movie collection starring Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint. You can visit her official website, https://www.jkrowling.com/ “Happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” -J.K. Rowling Angie Thomas Angie Thomas was born in 1988 in Jackson, Mississippi. As a kid, she was a teen rapper and her greatest accomplishment as a child was to have an article published about her in the Right On! Magazine. She graduated from Belhaven University and was the first black student to graduate with a BFA in creative writing. While Thomas was in college, she heard about the shooting of Oscar Grant of the news, which combined with other shootings, was the inspiration for her debut novel The Hate U Give. The Hate U Give was originally a short story. The novel debuted at #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list within a week of its release. Her second book, On The Come Up, is about a teen rapper who becomes a viral sensation and has connections to the Hate U Give, so I recommend reading Thomas’s first novel first before reading On The Come Up. Angie Thomas’s official website writes in her biography, “Her award-winning, acclaimed debut novel, The Hate U Give, is a #1 New York Times bestseller and major motion picture from Fox 2000, starring Amandla Stenberg and directed by George Tillman, Jr.” You can visit Thomas’s super-duper awesome website right here. Yes, golden Oreos are superior. You’re welcome. (Check the FAQ’s if you have no idea what I’m talking about) “What's the point of having a voice if you're gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn't be?” -Angie Thomas Laura Hillenbrand It’s OK if you don’t know who this is. You’re about to know all about her! Laura Hillenbrand was born on May 15, 1967, in Fairfax, Virginia. She was the youngest of four children. Her favorite childhood book was Come On Seabiscuit. She went to college at Kenyon College but was forced to drop out after she was diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, which she has struggled with ever since. Hillenbrand rarely left her house in Washington, DC until late 2015, where she made a long and dangerous trip (because of her chronic fatigue syndrome) to Oregon and has lived there ever since. Hillenbrand’s debut biography, Seabiscuit: An American Legend, was released in 2001. The book about the racehorse Seabiscuit won the William Hill Sports Book of the Year in 2001. Hillenbrand’s second book, Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption was released in 2010, a biography of Olympic runner and war hero Louis Zamperini. Her two books have sold over 13 million copies. Both of her books have been made into movies; Seabiscuit in 2003 and Unbroken in 2014. Hillenbrand founded Operation International Children, a charity that provided supplies to needy children through American troops with American actor Gary Sinise. You can visit her website here. “Without dignity, identity is erased. In its absence, men are defined not by themselves, but by their captors and the circumstances in which they are forced to live.” -Laura Hillenbrand Story by Caroline Barton  Have you ever read a book changing the way you look at the world. Chance are you have or you will. Never again will I look at things the same way. I have John Green to thank his books opened a whole new door for me. His books have a way of making you feel like nothing else matters. The book takes the reader away and helps you understand that everyone you meet is fighting their own battles. Live your life, the best way and so much more. We can all learn something from his books.
John Green is an American author. This author has written many inspirational books including The Fault in Our Stars, as well as Paper Towns. John Green was born on August 24, 1977, in Indianapolis. He attended Lake Highland Preparatory School for elementary and middle school. He has said that during this time, he was greatly bullied and his life was miserable. Later, he went to Indian Springs School, which he later used as a setting for his first book, Looking for Alaska. After John graduated high school, he had a double major in English and Religious studies at Kenyon College, graduating in 2000. He then spent five months working at a children's hospital while enrolled at the University of Chicago Divinity School. In 2006, he won the Printz Award for his book “ Looking for Alaska”. After his first book changed lives he wrote his second one An Abundance of Katherines. The continues to write books and inspires readers. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green. This is a life-changing book and I suggest you read and if you have you such search for so more of John Green's books. In the book, the main character, Hazel was diagnosed at age thirteen with a terminal form of thyroid cancer that has since spread to her lungs. She goes to a support group in the afternoons. She doesn’t feel as though this is helping her it till she met the love of her life and falls in love. She will soon realize that you live your life to the fullest. Paper Towns by John Green. This is one of the best books John Green has written. It Paper Towns Young and shy Quentin is in for the night of his life when Margo the most popular student in high school, recruits him to help her play mischievous pranks on friends who betrayed her. The next day, however, the mysterious Margo is nowhere to be found. Quentin is now on a journey to find the love of his life only to find that she is not the person the knows and loves. This book of John Green shows that people change and will never stay the same and you will have to adapt to that. John Green changes lives through writing “My responsibility is to try to tell true stories.” John Green said “To me a true story is always hopeful, but never simply, uncomplicatedly happy.” These stories mean so much because of the insightful way they are written. John green gives you sad events and stories and looks for the good in them. The way he looks at the world make you want to look at it that way as well. Looking for the good is for the best. We all learn from John Green and look for the best in life and look for the best in others. Story by Taylor Amys Sources: https://www.famousauthors.org/john-green https://johngreenslife.weebly.com/biography.html The Fault In Our Stars https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/11870085-the-fault-in-our-stars |
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