My Sister's Keeper: 3rd quarter

SUMMARY OF KATE FITZGERALD

Kate is the older sister of Anna Fitzgerald. Kate is sixteen and has been dianoised with APL (Acute Promyelocytic Leukimia) since she was three years old. Part of the purpose of Anna's birth was to be a bone marrow donor for Kate. APL is one of the worst kinds of leukimia and one of the most fatal. When the reader first meet Kate, she is at the point where her kidneys are starting to fail and the doctors are advise her and Sara's mother that Anna should donate one of her kidneys to Kate. Kate is tired of living with leukimia and she just wants to be a normal teenager, as does Anna. But both can't get there way. There will always be a consequence with any action they make.

CHARACTERISTICS FO KATE

Depressed :"I'm just sick of waiting for something that's going to happen away. I think I've f***ed up everyones live long enough, don't you?" (388)

Sarcastic : "I've been saving Third World countires, splitting a few atoms, and finishing up the Great American Novel. In between dialysis, of course" (38)

Emotional : "Kate covers her mouth with her hand. She backs out of the kitchen door, bumping into my father who fumbles but cannot catch her as she scrambles upstairs. I heard the door to our room slam shut" (91).

Bony : " I pick her up into my arms She's nothing but bones, poking sharp through the skin of her t-shirt" (96).

My Sister's Keeper: 3rd quarter

SUMMARY OF ANNA FITZGERALD

Anna is the main character in "My Sister's Keeper" by Jodi Picoult. Anna lives with her mother [Sara], father [Brian], Jessy[ older brother], and Kate [older sister]. Anna's parents genetically made Anna so she could be an exact bone marrow donor for her old sister, Kate, who has APL, a form of leukimia. With an donor with the exact same chromosome structure, there is a greater chance of Kate living and recovering from the leukimia. Anna is tired of getting all these medical procedures to help Kate, and she decided to sue her parents for medical emancipation.

CHARACTERISTICS OF ANNA

Tom-Boy : "I played hockey," Anna says. "I used to be a goal tender" (110).

Obediante : "When she [Kate] is tied to the bed, I am her eyes and her ears" (49).

Wise : "Kids think with their brains crackd wide open; becoming an adult, I've decided, is only a slow sewing shut" (299).

Intelligent : "She's a smart kid. She can read people very well" ( 328).

Caring : "I don't want her to die, but I know she doesn't want to live like this, and I'm the one who can give her what she wants" (389).

Selfish : "In addition to the piece of me thats always wanted Kate to live, there's another, horrible piece of me, that sometimes wishes I were free" (391).

Quart 2 Outside Reading Blog: #1

Epiphany (p.26) - A sudden, intuitive perception of or insight into the reality or essential meaning of something, usually initiated by some simple, homely, or commonplace occurrence or experience.

Paunchy (p.54)- Having a large and protruding belly; potbellied.

" I took out the purple-and-gold welcome packet and held it up like the holy grail" (p.52).
-This is a simile because two unlike objects are being compared, and the word "LIKE" is used to compare them.

Written: September 30th

p. 149-201

Cupcake was 7 months pregnant when her foster mother had her other foster children jump and her and beat her in the stomach. They baby died, and after that incident, Cupcake ran away again. This time for a long time. She went to go live with her Aunt Becky, and her 4 3rd cousins. One of her cousins, named Fly, was in a gang called the Eight-Tray Gangster Crips. Eventually, Cupcake joined the gang and started getting into fighter, was involved in driveby shootings, and continued to drink and abuse drugs.
As I read the few chapters about how Cupcake is now in a gang, it feels like I'm reading about a different person. You understand how much Cupcake has changed in the past year and a half. She talks different, acts different, and she even dresses different. I think as we all are growing up, our image changes a lot. At a young age, we are still trying to figure out who we are as a person. We may think we know who we are, but during our adolescent years, we are trying to be things we aren't. We are living up to the standards of people of whom we are associated with. As we grow up, we eventually learn that there is no such thing as perfect and it's okay to be who we are. I think this is what Cupcake is going through right now. She is trying to figure out who she really is.
So far, this is my favorite part of the book because there are a lot of details and it is interesting to hear and learn about gangs. I know that may sound almost bad, but I have a friend who was once in a gang. He has told me a little bit about how his life was then and he is glad that he has gotten out of it. Being in a gang caused him a lot of trouble in his life. I think that Cupcake is gonna get into some kind of trouble, or something bad is gonna happen to her. Being in a gang will just cause Cupcake more tension and troubles in her life. I think the only reason why she is in a gang is to feel like she belongs somewhere, that she is a part of something. All she wants is people to count on, and to her, her gang feels like a family. To be part of the Eight-Tray Gangster Crip gang, you could only wear the color blue, and you had to hate the color red. Fortunately, Cupcake's favorite color was red. But, after being accepted into the gang, Cupcake explains to the reader, "It was then that i Knew that was long as they loved me and accepted me, I could learn to hate red. F*** it, I told myself. I'll find a new favorite color" (p. 184).

A Piece of Cake: Blog entry #2

Written: September 25h

p. 97-148

Cupcake was returned back to her abusive foster home by the police. After her first escape, Cupcake has ran away countless more times. Her alcohol and drug abuse problem has increased. Everyday, Cupcake is either drunk or high. She hardly would attend school and she continued to do tricks. At the age of 12, Cupcake became pregnant by a 25 year old man. I was shocked to learn that Cupcake became pregnant at the age of 12, but Cupcake didn't care. Actually, Cupcake was ecstatic when she discovered she was pregnant. She explains to the reader, "I was delighted at the idea that finally I was going to have someone who loved me and someone I could love" (p.84). This quote is important because it shows what Cupcake really wants in life. All she wants is love. She wants to love, she wants to be loved, especially since her mother died.
All that any person wants in life is love. Love is an amazing feeling that everyone wants to feel. Love just makes you feel good, but since Cupcake had no way of feeling love, the replacement of drugs and alcohol were the closest thing to feeling good she could get. Then, the thought of having a baby made her think that that would bring her happiness. When she discovered she was pregnant, she gave up drinking, but she continued to abuse drugs. A baby is a big responsibility and I don't think Cupcake realized that. Many girls don't understand that. Teenage pregnancy is still a problem today. I think girls get pregnant for the same reason as Cupcake did. After first, the pregnancy was a mistake, but then the thought of being loved and loving someone makes the girl keep the baby. The memoir of Cupcake gets more sad and tragic after every page you turn. The only think negative i have to say so far about this memoir is during certain parts of the memoir, Cupcake tends to drag on little things that are not important.

A Piece of Cake: Blog entry #1

Written: September 18th

pg. 1-96

I'm reading the memoir, "A Piece of Cake", by Cupcake Brown. At the age of 11, Cupcake and her older brother, Larry, lost their mother. They biological father, whom had just came into their lives after their mother died, sent the children to an abusive foster home. The abuse Cupcake endured caused her to run away. She was alone on the street for a few hours until a prostitute named Candy, picked her up. The prostitute gave Cupcake a piece of advice that would change Cupcakes adolescent life. Candy exclaimed, "No one cares about you...You gotta take care of yourself" (p.34). I think this quote is important because I think it will change Cupcake's perspective on her life and how people feel and act. Candy also got Cupcake to start drinking, smoking weed, and doing tricks (having sex for money) all in one night.
I was surprised to read this about Cupcake, because at the time, she was only 11. It's hard imagine a young gril drinking, smoking weed, and having sex but its not impossible. Many people have had or do have a life that Cupcake had. When I read about Cupcake being abused by her foster mother, I felt a lot of sympathy for her, and I was glad thats she ran away from the home. No child deserves to go through any type of abuse. Alcoholism, drug abuse, and rape in kids today are a problem. At any high school, you will find some alchohal, drug abuse, sexual activity and other problems. No one and no place is perfect and we learn this during our adolescents, as Cupcake did when she was growing up.

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