''The Lightning Thief'' Them Piece

Authors Note: I am going to be writing about the overall theme of " The Lightning Thief".

Percy Jackson never felt like he fit in. His life finally made sense when he got to the camp for children of the Gods.

"The Lightning Thief' by Ric Riordan, is mainly about a boy named Percy Jackson who gets put on a quest to find Zeus's master bolt. One of the books' main themes is betrayal and how it can change someone. 

The theme betrayal factors into the story an awful lot. One of the events that clearly shows betrayal is when Percy gets his prophecy. His prophecy states that he will be betrayed by the one who you call friend. Percy decides to keep that to himself to keep his friends from being worried. The first sign of betrayal happened when the god Ares told Percy and his friends to retrieve his shield for him. Little did they know it was a trap to embarrass them. Percy could only hope that this was the friend that betrayed him from his prophecy.

While Ares' betrayal seemed bad, nothing can compare to what happened at the end of the story. Throughout out the book Percy thought that Luke was a true friend. He thought that right up until the moment when Luke summoned a killing scorpion out of the ground to try and kill Percy. Before Percy has a chance to kill the scorpion Luke leaves. percy just manages to kill the scorpion, but not before it stings his hand. Luckily Percy Lives to tell the story. 

Another story that includes betrayal is " The Scorch Trials ". Thomas, the main character, gets betrayed by his girlfriend Taressa. Being betrayed has a similar affect on both characters. Both Thomas and Percy go through several times of betrayal. The affect on both of them would have to be the fact of their trust level decreasing. Both of the characters must face their challenges without thinking about getting betrayed again. It may be hard be if they succeed things will become a whole lot easier. 

Betrayal is probably the biggest factor when it comes to trust. It was really hard for Percy to get over the fact that any of his friends could be the one to betray him. Once Percy overcame the fear his road ahead became a lot easier. After Percy overcame his fears, he found the master bolt and accomplished his goal just in time. 

"The Lightning Thief" Prediction piece

Authors Note: I am going to be explaining my prediction for the book "The Lightning Thief"

Percy Jackson didn't think his life could get any harder. That was before he he got put on a quest to find the Greek God Zeus' master bolt. The main problem is the fact that Percy and his friends, Annabeth and Grover, need to get to the Underworld within 10 days. They have a lot of problems they will have to face. My prediction is that Hades, Zeus'brother, took the master bolt. 

I could see Hades taking the master bolt due to the fact that he would probably want to start a war. Hades would want to start a war to get revenge on his fellow gods for sending him to the underworld. The thing that makes me think this is when Percy Jackson got his prophecy. His prophecy said that he would fail to save what matters most. I think that it means the master bolt. Hades plays into this role considering he only gets to go to the home of the gods twice a year. This would make him anxious to steal the bolt.

While Hades want to start a war; there could also be another reason he would steal the bolt. That reason would be to help regain the Titan god, Kronos, from his death. He might do this to try and get power. I think that Hades might do this referring to the part when Percy had his weird dreams. In his dreams was a deep voice talking to someone next to him about destroying the gods. I think the person Kronos was talking to would be Hades due to to all my background information.

The prediction I made for the book '' The Lightning Thief'' is similar to the prediction I made in ''The Vipers Nest". The thing they have in common the most is the fact that both of them have someone who got accused of stealing something. For '' The Vipers Nest'' I predicted that one of the characters stole something from Dan, the main character. This is similar to my prediction that Hades stole the Master Bolt. 

My prediction that the Master Bolt was stolen by Hades was a good prediction due to all the background information. The main event which made me think Hades stole the master Bolt is when he got banished to the underworld. I had to figure that he would want revenge on his brothers for doing such a thing. My final conclusion about Hades would still have to be that he stole the master bolt.

Thomas from " The Scorch Trials"

In the story The Scorch Trials a boy named Thomas and a group of boys get put into the Scorch, a sizzling place in Mexico,  with a mission. Their mission is to get to the mountains on the other side of the scorch. The reward is the cure to the disease that they supposedly have. Thomas is an immense part of their survival in the mission. He may not be the leader, but he sure does solve a lot of their problems.

Thomas is a very brave boy who won't back down from a challenge. He isn't formally known as the leader of the group, but he sure does place a big impact on the other boys. During the book Minho, one of the boys, gets in a fight with someone they just met named Jorge. Thomas breaks it up so that he can discuss his problem with Jorge. Thomas is free willing to try and get as much help as he can get to get the cure. Overall Thomas’s attitude at the beginning of the book is outgoing and fun to be around.

While Thomas may be brave, nothing can conquer the fear of a gun. Thomas and his friend Brenda’s luck was running out. When they woke up from their rest in the city they were ambushed. One of attackers had a gun which made it practically impossible to escape. They were held for questioning in a secret underground. Before they could ask many questions Minho and the rest of the gang barged in to save them. Unfortunately  on the way out of the bunker the guy with the gun managed to shoot Thomas in the shoulder. After a few long moments of pain he blacked out. The last thing he saw was a hovercraft in the sky.

When he woke up he was laying on a table with lights all around him. He heard people talking about him. He heard things like “Should we have done that?” and “let’s hope it doesn’t affect the variables”. Thomas had to figure it was Wicked, the people who gave him the mission in the first place. He wasn’t very happy with them. They erased his memory and took his girlfriend Teresa away. He knew that he would have to get revenge on them. They had changed him from a fun outgoing person into a trustless boring person.

Thomas' personality is a lot like Katniss's from the hunger games. They are both very brave people with great personalities. One of their similar qualities are their hunting skills. They are both good athletes. One of the other things they have in common is the feeling of loss. Katniss lost her dad when he died in a mining accident. Although Thomas didn't exactly lose his dad, he just didn't know who his dad was due to the fact that Wicked erased his memory. The last thing the two have in common is their great leadership. Their leadership skills include organization, bravery, and responsibility. Overall these characters are similar in a lot of ways.

The Scorch has a lot of problems for Thomas and the rest of the group to conquer. These events have defiantly changed Thomas. Thomas shouldn’t have had to take a bullet just for Wicked to gather information about people. Wicked is a gruesome company who shouldn’t exist. They changed an innocent boy from a good person to someone who couldn’t even trust his girlfriend. Overall Wicked needs to be destroyed so Thomas can get back to his normal state.

Patriots Pen

Authors note: I am writing to the Founding Fathers about what I think they did right and what they

did wrong.

Dear Founding Fathers,

I understand the magnificent deal of stress you were under. You had an entire country to put together. One question I have is why you had to have slavery? Over half of you leaders owned a slave at some time, which wouldn’t set a good example for the rest of the country.

The Declaration of Independence stated that every person was equal. This obviously wasn’t the case when it came to slaves. It shouldn’t matter if someone looks a little different. Just because their skin is a different color, it doesn’t mean that they aren’t the same on the inside.

While you comprehend the fact that the African American’s shouldn’t have been slaves don’t forget about the women. All women weren’t allowed to vote for the president unless of course their husband died and he owned land. This wasn’t fair due to the amount of hard work they contributed to the making of our civilization. Without women a lot of things wouldn’t get done. For instance women tend to be more organized then men. Being organized we’ll keep a town running smoothly.

Although you guys made some bad decisions, there is nothing that can overrule the fact that you made our country a better place to live in. You all made some very important laws. One of those laws was the right to vote for the leader of the country. This was a delightful law even though women couldn’t vote. Another great law was that every citizen had freedom of speech. This law made a ton of people happy. The last thing that made America a superior country was the road ahead. There was many things to look for in America varying from gold to exotic animals.

Overall the start of America was a work in progress. There was a lot of good things going for it. There were also a lot of bad things. The main problem were the slaves. Once we got rid of slaves our country became a whole lot better.

My Cause and Effect

Authors Note: I am going to be explaining the main effect of Melinda calling the cops at an end of the year party from the book "Speak".

 Melinda went to an end of the summer party with her friends.Her and her friends went to this party to try and become more popular. It was probably a bad idea to go to the party due to the fact that it was a senior party with alcohol. Melinda got a little drunk which made every thing seem odd. Melinda going to the party is what led up to the climax.One of the older guys asked Melinda to dance.She thought he was just being sweet. That's when it happened. He raped her. She tried to tell him no but couldn't find the words due to the alcohol she had drank.This was the climax of the story. Melinda didn't know what to do so she called the cops. The party got busted for alcohol. Melinda left the party before the cops could ask what happened. 

Melinda calling the cops effected her whole ninth grade year. No one wanted to be her friend due to the fact that she busted one of the biggest senior parties of the summer.Rachel her old best friend also ignores her basically the entire year. They talk at the end of the year and start to become friends until Melinda accuses Rachel's boyfriend of raping her, which was the truth.Overall the main effect by Melinda calling the cops is the fact that no one wants to be her friend. Melinda's life would have been a lot different if she didn't call the police. For instance she would have had a lot more friends which would have made her year a whole lot better. The down side is she probably wouldn't have became friends with one of her new friends Heather.

The Maze Runner Conflict and Resolution

Authors Note:I wrote this essay on the main conflict on the main conflict in the book ''The Maze Runner'' and how it gets resolved.

In the book '' The Maze Runner'' there are a ton of conflicts. Some of the little conflicts include children's memories getting erased and not knowing how they got to the mysterious village which everyone lives in. Overall the main conflict is the fact that all of the children are basically trapped in their village. There is a big wall that opens everyday. On other side of the wall is the maze.There are runners that will go out into the maze to see if they can find an exit to the real world. This is really hard considering the maze changes its shape everyday.This is a person versus person problem. This is the maze children versus the makers of the maze. The conflict is similar to one of the conflicts in "The Mocking Jay". In the Mocking Jay the people in district 13 have to hide from the rest of the public just like the children in "The Maze Runner.

The conflict gets resolved when they find the exit to the real world located in the maze. The conflict that cannot be fixed is the fact that all of their memories have been erased. Some of the kids try and get stung be the mystical creatures in the maze due to the fact that it will give you flashbacks of your past. Thomas , the main character, discovers something horrible from his past in this process. Although the main conflict had been solved by escaping the maze, this doesn't mean there aren't going to be worse problems in the future.

The Haunted Hay RIde

Authors Note: I will be informing you about the time me and family went to a Haunted Hay Ride.

To begin with my legs were shaking, my breathing was rapid, and not to mention my heart was racing as fast as the speed of light. Why was I so nervous? I've  been to plenty of haunted attractions before, why should this one be any different? It might have been the fact that all the people leaving had a weird look on their faces. Even though I was nervous I was sure it was going to be a fun filled ride.

While conquering my nerves about the ride I could sense that my sister Jess was also nervous. Jess, my mom, my aunt, and I had time to spare before our ride departed. In the mean time we decided to take a visit to the miniature sized petting zoo they had. There was a wide variety of animals varying from a horse to a donkey. On the other hand there was a creepy person walking around with a red mask on. The mystery person would come up to you and look straight into your eyes. It was finally our turn for the haunted hay ride.

Once you take your seat on the gigantic wagon you feel like there’s no going back. We headed down a path along the edge of the woods. The first thing I noticed when we entered the woods was a suspicious noise coming from one of the bushes up ahead. When we made it to the bush a guy dressed up as Freddy Krueger jumped out.Ahh!!, screamed basically everyone on board. Out of nowhere another dressed up person jumped onto the back of the wagon which scared everyone on board half to death. The ride only got scarier!

As the ride continued the scenery got more intense. There was one area with a ton of dead baby dolls. That made a chill go up your spine. You could easily drown out all the silence with all the constant screams from some of the younger girls. My favorite part of the whole ride was when a person randomly flew over our heads on a zip-line. The last thing that happened on the ride in the woods is when our ride ‘’randomly’’ broke down. Then for the last time some more characters jumped on board. You could tell that it was part of the ride. Finally when we left the woods our ride went back down the straightaway to the starting point.

I’m so glad I went to the Haunted Hay Ride. Conquering your nerves is the hardest part, but once you do it the ride becomes a whole lot more fun. I’ll never forget that moment when that guy magnificently flew over our heads on the zip-line. 

The Maze Runner

Authors Note: This is my retelling about the book ''The Maze Runner''.

The Maze Runner is about a boy named Thomas who is trying to escape the mysterious land that he and others live in. No one knows how to escape this world or where this world even is. All they know is that the escape may be hidden in the human like maze outside there small town.

Vanished

 Authors Note: This is about a girl who witnesses the disappearance of a girl at a Halloween party. No one knows how it happen.

 It was a foggy Halloween night. The full moon in the sky sends a chill up your spine. 13 year old Anna Walker was at her friend Janine’s party. It was time for the Skeleton search. The skeleton search is a fun event at night where groups of two look around the woods for a hidden skeleton. This year Anna got paired up with a girl named Karen. They started searching around the woods closest to the house. No luck. There was still no luck 20 minutes later. Both of them decided to give up and head back to the house. All of a sudden Anna heard a noise from a nearby tree. When she turned around Karen was gone. She Vanished!

Anna immediately ran back to the house to find help. They all rushed to the scene of the disappearance equipped with flashlights. “ I found something!” said a boy named Adam.  He held up what he had found. It was Karen’s shoe! This left them clueless. No one could figure out how Karen disappeared. Janine called the police. Unfortunately they  weren’t going to come until the morning.

The police department called Anna up and told her to come down to Janine’s house for questioning. ‘’What happened?’’ said officer Rivers. ‘’ We were walking back to the house when suddenly I heard a noise from a tree. When I turned around Karen was gone.’’ Said Anna. Officer Rivers decided he would go and question the next door neighbor Mr. Winston. Before he could even ring the doorbell there was a noise which came from the side of the house and that’s when Officer Rivers noticed Mr. Winston taking off.

Of course since he was an older man he was caught before he left his property. He was taken to the jail instantly. When asked why he ran away he replied with nothing at all. When the cops searched his yard they found a net. Located in the net was Karen’s shoe. They went in and searched his house. That’s when they found Karen sitting in a locked bedroom.

When police officers asked Mr. Winston why he did it. He said that he was tired of all the kids tearing up his corn field looking for the skeleton. They then asked him how he did it. He responded with a laugh and then said ‘’the net was set up to trigger when someone stepped on it. That person would go in the air and get pulled over to my yard with my fishing rod’’. The police told Anna what happened. “That would explain why her shoe fell off” said Anna. Now she knew that the famous skeleton search would go on.

By

Nick Fonte