"Smile" by Raina Telgemeier

     I recently finished reading the book "Smile" by Raina Telgemeier, this book was about a girl named Raina who falls down and gets her two front teeth knocked out; and has to undergo series of treatments to get her teeth to look normal. When she comes back from all of her treatments all of her friends and peers look a her funny, and ask her questions about what happened. I can relate to her because I once came back from getting a surgery and everyone looked at me funny.
     I admire Raina's perseverance and how she gets through all of the tough things that happened to her. She had to live with everyone thinking she is weird because she had a really big problem with her two front teeth. She also gets picked on a lot in the story so I also admire the fact that she is able to get past whats happening to her, while being picked on.
     At one point in the story, Raina comes back to school after she got her teeth knocked out and had surgery. When she comes back to school her first day everyone asks her so many questions that she becomes overwhelmed and feels uncomfortable. The same thing happened to me. Last year I had a surgery and it was really hard to come back to school, I felt overwhelmed and i felt uncomfortable as well. I can understand how she was feeling during the story and relate to it well.
     Raina's perseverance and courage to be able to keep going when she feels uncomfortable and overwhelmed inspires me.
 

Swine Cells Could Power Artificial Liver

     I just read the article "Swine Cells Could Power Artificial Liver," it was about a scientist named Niel Talbot, who thinks that a line of special liver cells could change the fact that there is no effective therapy at the moment to deal with the toxins that build up in your body. He interviewed the American Society of Animal Science who he discussed with the functions of a pig liver compared to a human liver. He thought a pig liver could preform many of the same functions as a human liver could form. He calls pig liver cells PICM-19. The cell line can is called immortal because it can divide infinitely, this is because it is derived of cancer cells. With more research and more time and effort PICM-19 could turn into something that replaces artificial livers. PICM-19 also helped Talbot study malaria and toxoplasmosis. This is something that in the future could help save people's lives. 

Reading Responce due on 2/14

      My book is called " The Art of Racing in the Rain." It is told by an old dog who is going to die soon. He talks about his adventures with his owner. He started off the story by talking about his present state, and how he doesn't want to die because he will forget everything when he becomes re-incarnated as a human. The reason the book is called The Art of Racing in the Rain is because the dog's owner is a race car driver, whom is quite good. He teaches Enzo (the dog) his secrets about doing well when "Racing in the Rain." This excites Enzo who is very happy for his owner, until racing tears them apart. Enzo's owner has to go for a racing tour for 8 months. This makes it hard for Enzo because he has to live with Eve, his owner's wife, who gives him a less than adequate amount of attention.
    Enzo is some sort of philosopher when it comes to dogs. He compares himself to Steven Hawking. He says that if he had a machine just like Steven Hawking did he could be as smart as him. Enzo is starting to also have interests in the child, Zoe, who he would give his life for. This shows you something about dogs.

The Art of Racing in the Rain

    This book is unlike any book i have ever read before. Normally books are told by a person, but never by a dog. This dog's name is Enzo he seems very smart, and even refers to himself as a human trapped in a dogs body. He says the most interesting thing he has ever seen was a documentary he watched on tv about reincarnation. He learned that many cultures believe that after dogs are reincarnated then they become a human at some point. This has had him thinking about life lately, but he doesn't want to die yet because he knows he will loose all of his memories.

Exit Here, Finished

Pages 358-440

     I have finally finished the book, "Exit Here" by Jason Myers. This was an amazing book. At the end of the book Travis goes to turn himself in for a murder that he thinks he did, when he finds out that the girl overdosed on drugs; he is put in Jail for 18 months for not filing criminal activity. During his trial his lawyer tells him to fight the case, but Travis pleads guilty. He had no reason to do this, he could have fought the case and won, but he decided to go to jail. Travis did this because for once in his life he had to take responsibility for his actions. His best friend Cliff never took responsibility, and in the last chapter he ended up dead. This is an important lesson for everyone to understand. Taking responsibilities for your actions will do good things for you.

Non-Fiction Reading Response

    Baby Stress Can Last Decades
by Stephen Ornes

    This article is about a study that was made on babies. They found out that babies who had a stressful time in their 1st year of living tend to have worse behavior as adults. These scientists have found out that girls are more likely to have bad behavior when they grow up than boys. The first year a baby has is really crucial for them to be safe and not under any stress, because it has been proven.
   Anxiety is A feeling of worry, nervousness or unease, typically about an upcoming event or something with an uncertain outcome.  This is a really hard thing to deal with that many teens and adults have to  deal with. Now that we know that this is caused by trauma and stress throughout a babies first year, it is crucial we prevent it and we make sure that babies aren't under any stress in their first year of life, as it can permanently damage the child.
   I think that this article will open up the minds of many mothers and make them know how badly they need to take care of their kid. I never knew that stress is caused by the first year of a babies life.

Exit Here

Pages 290-358

     In the last few pages I read many things have happened. But the biggest thing that happened, is Travis and Laura broke up. It happened when Travis went to his friend Chris' house to talk to him about what happened with Chris and his girlfriend. Then they started fighting and Chris told Travis one thing about Laura that he couldn't believe. A few months before this incident Travis lent his friend Chris some money. This was while he was at College in Arizona. This money was for Cliff to pay for the abortion Travis;' girlfriend, Laura, needed to have because she slept with Cliff. Now Laura and Travis broke up and they both are out partying all night because they are so sad and depressed inside.