Cheyenne+Nail-+Diann+Rohull

Adult: Diann Ruholl Student: Cheyenne Nail Book Title: //The Wish// By Gail Carson Levine Pages Read: 137pgs.

Week 3 In this section I think that Wilma’s feelings are changing about being popular. I think she’s realizing that popular kids will do anything to keep themselves popular even by cutting their friends down. I also think Wilma noticed that the other kids that were just like her are fine, like they’re the only nice ones in the school that just need people to talk to. Wilma reminds me of my sister when she was younger than me maybe 8. She was always the outsider because she was big. People made fun of her all the time and she always wanted to be popular and skinny. I found that out because I found her old diary while cleaning the house. Now since she’s older she lost all the weight and now a lot of people like her because she’s fun to hang out with more than ever. Also I agree with Jared when he said that the popular girls were always locked in bunches and you can’t separate them. I agree to that because it’s so true. Also what he was telling her I think made her realized that popular girls like to keep friends in the group and whoever isn’t in the group won’t have a chance. I really think Wilma’s feelings are changing just a bit in the book and they might even change further into the book. Until we read the rest I’m going to be thinking two different ways the book is going to end like maybe she’ll change into a popular girl forever or she’ll go back to normal and be friends with the ones that are not popular.

Partner Chat!!!

A lot of people change and I think Wilma’s feelings are kind of uneasy about being popular now. I still think she wants to be popular but she just maybe doesn’t feel the same about it as much as she did. You’re also right on how a lot of people are Hispanics now. I wanted to take Spanish my freshman year but they won’t let us because I think it’s for sophomores or juniors and seniors. They won’t let freshman take it yet but a lot of us are pumped for high school. I can’t wait for high school to start because sometimes people I go to school with can be really annoying which is some of the 7th graders because some 7th graders are not mature yet but they’re lucky because they have one more year to change (haha). There also is a lot of kids as 8th graders that need to grow up as well. Did you like high school? How many people were in your high school? I’m just curious because just hearing how many kids were in your junior high I’m just wondering if there is more in your high school. Did you guys get to do certain trips for your 8th grade trip? Were getting ready to go to Chicago Thursday for our band trip and then on May 7 were going to Six Flags for our 8th grade trip. It’s going to be a blast. Though days are going by fast I was hoping this year wouldn’t go by fast. Though Wilma’s 3 weeks just might go by fast for her because she’s popular or maybe not. Just hopefully she makes them worthwhile. If some of what I’m saying doesn’t make since is because I’m not really awake right now because I stayed up to late.

Your Reading Partner, Cheyenne Nail

Adult: Diann Ruholl Student: Cheyenne Nail Book Title: The Wish Pages Read: 65-137

In this section, Wilma is enjoying her popularity but is also dreading graduation day when she thinks it will all come to an end. She is discovering more of the real personality of her friends. Wilma can stand up to Suzanne ’the gossip’ and help Daphne ‘the nobody’ feel better. She sees that Ardis is really a nice person. Wilma helps Ardis with schoolwork and getting over her dogphobia. She accepts BeeBee and Nina for who they are. When Jared and Wilma are together, Wilma learns that the physical characteristics she is most critical of, are points of interest to others. Instead of seeing Jared’s unibrow, she appreciates his poetry in the yearbook. Jared’s good sense of humor rubs off and Wilma has learned to lighten up. She seems to place a high value on having a boyfriend. Wilma is learning to see the ‘real’ personality of her friends and is in the process of choosing how her personality will be. She is becoming a genuine friend to those she knows, and learns about superficial celebrity status with others at Claverford.

I think I could be a friend with Wilma. I have a tendency to be critical of my looks and drive myself to perfection at home and work. I also have a friend who helps me ‘lighten up’. I wish I could stand up to some one who gossips, but I usually don’t. My high school class started with over 200 students, but some dropped out (or got pregnant). We graduated with 183, so I really didn’t know all of them very well. I wish I had made more social friends, people on a casual basis. Instead, I had a few close friends. I don’t remember anyone being shut out, just a small circle of girls. I dated Ralph my junior and senior year, so I think I missed out on weekend girlfriend times. Now, my friends are not any of my school friends or classmates. We have all gone our own way in life. My friends are people from church, parents of my children, and girls from 4-H and summer softball. It’s kind of a weird combination. We should probably do more socializing with our brothers and sisters. We sure have a lot to choose from, but they have different interests, and some are 18 years younger. We do see them on holidays, but not enough to feel like ‘friends’. When we got Daniel, his behavior was so bad we just stayed home. It hurt Matthew and Maria’s social life. I wish I would have gotten a babysitter for him and continued to visit relatives and go places without Daniel. I just wanted him to feel like a member of our family. I didn’t know his mental disability would keep him from bonding with anyone. He really doesn’t care about us or miss us. Looking back I would have done a lot of things differently. But, ‘Live and Learn’ is a motto, too. I look forward to reading the rest of the book and meeting on May 11. Sincerely, Diann Ruholl Reading Rocks! Week 4 Adult: Diann Hohull Student: Cheyenne Nail Book Title: //The Wish// By Gail Carson Levine Pages Read: 197 - finished book She’s noticed that she can help the other kids that were known as loners too since she is popular and hopefully help them make new friends. She has become closer to Jared actually really close and also very close with all the popular girls because they mainly have become her best friends. She’s afraid now what is going to happen when this wish is over because she’ll miss them all so much. She got closer and closer to Jared she even saw what people did to people like Daphne and she didn’t like it. One the day of the Grad night dance she danced her feet off with Jared and Daphne because she didn’t want her to be left out of anything since they were going to graduate the next day and she thought about how she never liked any of the dances but now since she was popular she liked it and wanted to help Daphne like it as well. The next day right after that was graduation. She was so nervous she didn’t want to sleep, eat or anything. When she watched her friends go up on stage to get their diplomas she realized they were still smiling and waving at her and she thought maybe the spell really wasn’t ending but then when she invited everyone to come over the same day at a certain time the old lady showed up in her kitchen then told her that the spell was over. She couldn’t take the things all the girls were saying but Daphne was standing up for her just like she stood up for her once. The girls all thought they were being tricked into liking her but she wasn’t tricking them. They finally realized that maybe she wasn’t tricking them and that was her the whole time. The said they would give her another chance if she didn’t trick them to like her again. They all became friends again and promised to talk to each other during the summer while they were away. Then the next person she was worried about was her boyfriend Jared or if he still was her boyfriend. She told him the story and he also believed her. He said that the feeling mainly just shaken off but it still made him feel weird. They stayed together after all and then when she was walking home towards the bus stop she ran into the old lady again and talked to her for a minute then before she left she told a boy about the same age as her to help the old lady onto the bus it just might be worth it. Enjoy the Book?! Actually I enjoyed this book very much. It made me think about a lot of stuff. Like popularity is not always what you want it to be and it’s not always what you’re hoping for. I mean I know a lot of kids that want to be popular and want people to like them but they don’t know how to become popular in the first place. It also made me think about the people that I could help and maybe talk to more or even help kids that get made fun of stop getting made fun of. I have stood up for plenty of kids when they are getting made fun of in front of me but some things I know that they are getting made fun of but I can’t stop it because I didn’t hear what the person said like if it was true or not. If kids are getting made fun of in front of me I go out of my way to try and help them as much as I can. I hate bulling because my cousin was bullied since he had physical and mental problems but he can still understand people and if people make fun of him it still does hurt his feelings and you can tell if he’s sad. I think kids that are suppose ably popular should read this book maybe it will help them think on what they’re doing to others and how the things they say or do affect the other kids around them. Maybe they just might find out who they really should be hanging around with instead of the kids they’re already hanging around with. How does she Change?! She changes from wanting to be popular and everyone excepting her to the one that wants to help other people to be accepted and to just keep the new friends that she made. She didn’t want to lose any of her friends at the end of the book and I can relate why because losing my friends would put me down into a huge whole with no light because they were my light. They show me the light through bad times and they probably also were the lights for her. Lesson I learned! The lesson I learned was to accept people the way they are no matter what. Don’t let other people bully the smaller people around. Stand up for the ones you see around you. Become friends with strangers that need a friend. Get to know people well and it will help you through life instead of popularity because popularity may not get you through life like you hoped. Questions? The only questions I have are they going to still be friends? Also are thing going to change for her in Elliot? Hopefully no one will make fun of her as badly as they did about her imagination and about her. Ending I would actually not change the ending of this story because it is a good ending to me! Hopefully she will have new friends that actually like her for her and not because of popularity. Also hopefully that her years in Elliot would be the best years she ever had and that she may help kids by the lesson that she learned, that are loners like she was become friends with the other kids in the school. Thank you for being my Reading Rocks partner. I really, really enjoyed it. You’re a very kind and generous women and I hope that we can still be friends after this. I can’t wait to meet you in person. Sincerely, Cheyenne Nail

week 4

It was cool when the girls were all getting ready for the grad night dance. They each learned that differences in themselves and their style was OK. I thought that was very nice that Wilma included Daphne in the dance. Wilma is learning to use her popularity to include others in the activities. Wilma was so nervous about the spell ending that she didn't fully enjoy her graduation ceremony. I enjoyed reading this book. Sometimes I have to deal with catty girls on the bus. If they would all read this book, they could see the other side of how it feels to be left out. My daughter could be a mouthy person, I don't think she realized how a few simple words could really hurt a person. If a person isn't given a chance to be included, then the other girls won't find out how nice a 'nobody' can be. I also am glad Daphne stood up for Wilma. She 'gets it'. She knows how the social structure of junior high girls can be. Wilma also understood, even though she had to use the 'wish' to get into the circle. When the wish was over, Wilma stood her ground and kept trying to explain the unfairness to the other girls. Maybe the author thought if lots of girls read her book, junior high wouldn't be so bad for the unpopular girls. I think Jared likes Wilma with or without the spell. I think they will still be friends at Eliott, because they have so many interests in common. I wonder if the other three girls would start including unpopular girls into their activities? I would keep the ending the same because it leaves you wondering how it will be for Wilma next year. Or, the reader can make up their own ending, or several different endings!

Reading this book reminded me of when Maria was in junior high. She and her girlfriends would get together and dress up and do their hair. I have several pictures of them at the dances. It brought back some good memories. I will see you at the get together for READING ROCKS! **:-) Diann Ruholl**