Brooks+Journal

1/7/15- I don't think that August is making a big deal about birthday parties because it's a fun activity that he never had an opportunity to do. I have been hurt by someone over a party invitation. All of my friends had received invitations during school right in front of me and my feelings were hurt because I didn't get an invitation to that party.

1/9/15- I think August mom is more scared than he is because she wants him to fit in with the other kids in his class. Also because she wants Auggie to feel great and proud about himself because he made it this far. From this I could tell that August's mom is one of those protective parents. Maybe his mom was thinking that August will have a pretty big advantage of making friends since they were hand-picked by a teacher and they seemed friendly.

1/12/15- My feelings at the end of this chapter is that Jack Will, Charlotte are nice people, but Julian on the other hand is a little bit rude to Auggie. I think maybe Julian is one of those bullies who are nice sometimes and the other times not so much. Overall the tour was great. From Auggie's perspective, I think it could have gone better, but that's the way life is.

1/12/15- What surprises me about August at the end of the chapter is that he lied to his mom about the kids at school. Also what surprised me is that Auggie ended up wanted to go to school after Julian was mean to him at the end of this chapter called "Home."

1/16/15- At the beginning of this chapter, Jack Will was the one who always stood up for August and told everyone else to back off and stop insulting him. After seeing how Jack Will really is at the end of Part I was surprising because who would have thought that Jack Will would be the one insulting him!

1/16/15- I think the way that people are taking about August could change his mind about school. For example, they way everyone is treating him. If I were in Auggie's position I would go back to school because I would have to learn to be strong and learn how to deal with people like that. I don't think he should tell because the key is to not be a tattle tell.

1/16/15- What I have learned is the true meaning of 'Don't Judge a Book by its Cover.' One example of this is when Jack Will insulted August about his appearance. He was looking at Auggie's face and not his personality. The meaning of the saying 'Don't judge a book by its cover' means that you don't judge someone by how they look.This is relevant because of how Auggie was being treated by almost the whole grade,and in my example, Jack Will. Just because he is different on the outside doesn't mean he is different on the inside.

1/26/15- When Via says that this year there is a shift in the cosmos, the galaxy is changing, and planets are falling out of alignment, I think she means that every year she had to do everything by herself and never really had help from her parents. Maybe she just wanted help or she wanted to spend time with them, but maybe things are different from her perspective and she'll be getting to spend less time or more time with her parents since August has been doing ok lately.

1/26/15: Since Via and August's grandmother died, Via has been holding a secret that her grandma told her a little bit before she passed away. She had told Via that she loved her more than anything in the world. At that time Via was thinking, How can she pick a favorite? Grandmothers aren't suppose to pick favorites. I guess Via felt pretty glad and happy about this, but knew it shouldn't be said to anyone and especially August. When grandmother passed, Via held on to this secret and she was the only person alive who knew. Whenever Via thought about this secret it made her feel warm inside as if she were wrapped up in a blanket.

2/2/15: From my perspective, I think that Summer left the party because Savanna, the popular girl, was making her choose between a dating life and more of a social life and a friendship with August. Another reason for Summer leaving the party, I think, was because if she were to pick Julian over August, I do not really think she would want a boyfriend who is mean to her friends and eventually mean to her. If it were me in Summer's shoes, I would stand up for not only me, but for August too, and tell her I'll be friends with who I want to be friends with and nothing you say will change that, and if she or Julian doesn't like it then its to bad for them. I also then I would have left the party like she did because my philosophy to myself is "Bows Before Bros," but in this case, for me, I would put my friends before any boyfriends that I ever have later in life.

2/9/15:
What I learned about the texts, Facebook posts, letters, and emails was that Melissa Albans is one of those moms who is very full of themselves. I think that Mrs. Albans was thinking of her son at the moment and not about anyone else. Even though August doesn't know that Julians mother photo-shopped him out of the picture, in a way she hurt his feelings by doing that. I think that not only is it just Julians mother, but the whole Albans family is being very prejudice and rude to August about things they have said and done. While reading this I was thinking how could someone be so mean to a little kid? If I were Julian's mother I would be very embarrassed about what he had done and what I have said. Mr.Tushman surprised me in this chapter. Honestly, I thought he would have been more angry and would have thought that and said in the email that her actions of using August as a 'bad' reason for Julian's behavior was repulsive. I didn't think that Mr.Tushman would be so formal and professional of telling Julian's mom that it was very wrong to use August as examples like the way that she did.

2/9/15: I would have forgiven Jack Will because I think that everyone deserves second chances in life no matter what the cause is. What was important was that Jack came to August and tried to apologize and make up for it. I also would have forgiven him because I know he was just saying those things because he was with Julian and I knew he never meant anything by it. He may have made a mistake or two in the past, but everyone has to learn to forgive and forget.

2/9/15: I don't see myself on any side or any side of the war for that matter. I think it is very unnecessary to have a war in the 5TH GRADE! I don't think there should be ay sides because a piece of paper doesn't determine who you hang out with or who people want you to hang out with or who you should hang out with. People are perfectly capable of choosing their own friends and no one needs input from the peanut gallery.

2/19/15: Honestly there are a lot different ways to go on this and I can't choose just one. I think that August and Jack should tell Mr.Tushman or an adult about the notes because they want them to stop and if they tell someone they will for sure stop. If this process happens then August will gain self-confidence for himself and not just stand around when someone is bullying him and trying to ignore it. Also Jack and August could regain some of their friends back. It is very hard to pick only and I had a different point of view also. I think that August and Jack should NOT tell anyone because their only in the 5th grade and they need to learn how to stand up for themselves. Their whole life isn't going to be surrounded by teachers and parents constantly telling you which route to go in your life. This way is also effective because if he tells Mr.Tushman, than he might find out why Jack had punched him and maybe Mrs. Albans would press charges against Jack and his family. Overall I think this can go both ways, but if I were in August's place I would choose to not tell anyone about for August's sake of it.

2/23/15: From reading August's part of this story, I learned that no matter how much family sometimes upsets you or annoys you, your family is basically the most loyal thing in the world you will ever need and have in your life. When I learned this I thought it was important because family won't judge you if you do something wrong and they will always forgive you no matter what it is or what it is about. Friends and Family are really different. For example, Via and Miranda think of each other as friends, but with Miranda and August it is a very different story. Miranda thinks of August as her little brother and August thinks of Miranda as his big sister which is family. Miranda has shared about her family and they way that she shared it makes it seem as if both of her parents are far too busy to do anything that Miranda likes. In this novel Miranda has also shared that she felt happy and safe in the Pullman household. I think that the Pullman household is where Miranda she be.