Key Confusion

On page 87 Elise discovers the first key.  After receiving her last birthday letter from her father at age twelve he had left her a hint.  He had told Elise in the last letter that he was leaving something else for Elise to unlock and discover.  Elise had made the connection that the key she found in Uncle Hugh’s barn with her name was a present that her father had left for her. 

Secretly Elise takes the key to the second floor of the barn and tries to unlock the first door that comes to sight.  In this room Elise finds a teddy bear that had been her mother’s a child, in the bears lap there is a note that asks Elise for love and care.  The bear has also been sitting in her mother’s favorite pink reading chair.  The walls of this room are lined in pictures of Elise’s mom throughout her life.  This is just the first door but once she finds the items inside the room she finds no sight of the second key.  Elise is questioning how she is going to get into the second room because there is no sight of the next key. 

One morning Elise wakes up and the first thing she notices is that the second key has appeared on her windowsill.  She thinks she is living a dream because she doesn’t know how the key has arrived in that location.  She sticks the key into her pocket and throughout the day is checking that the key is still there and making sure that it hasn’t evaporated.  When Elise gets home she still feels the key so she runs upstairs to the second floor of the barn.  Elise has to try two or three doors before she can find the door in which the key belongs.  When Elise reaches the door for key number two her reaction is quite surprised. 

Elise finds a bunch of books.  There are books all over the walls in big huge book cases.  There is no note that was left in this room.  To be honest I am a little shocked too.  I’m puzzled on how Elise is supposed to find the purpose of this room.  The only objects left in this room are books, and many of them.  I predict that these are all of her mother’s favorite books.  The books were possibly left behind for Elise to read and enjoy just like her mother had throughout her lifetime.           

Goodbye Franklin!

Goodbye Franklin!  Elise is piled up with so much stress and she is so overwhelmed that on page 76 she lets Franklin go.  She throws her best friend, her one and only friend out of her life.  The only person who has been there for her for her whole entire life whenever she has needed something is, gone.  Is she going to find someone else who will be there for her like Franklin was?  The chances are highly unlikely.  If you ask me, it was not a wise decision that Elise made.  Franklin never let her down and was always Elise’s shoulder to cry on. 

Elise has multiple issues with Franklin and they are all just starting to pile on top of each other and eventually they were going to concave.  Elise thinks that she is being bullied because of Franklin.  She blames everything on Franklin which isn’t the right way to handle the situation she was put in.  According to Elise the kids at school make fun of her because she hangs out with Franklin.  He is nerdy and that’s the reason Elise is being made fun of.  It’s also Franklin’s fault that Elise fell during the game of Knights and got scars all over her legs.  Leading to the fact that its Franklins fault the kids at school are bullying Elise.     

Elise may have just been overwhelmed at the time when she snapped at Franklin.  I think that when she starts to lose stress she will regret the decision she made.  Have you ever heard the saying ‘you never know how great your life is until something’s gone’ I think Elise is going to be really lonely without Franklin.  He was her only friend and once she realizes what she did, I think she is going to miss Franklin and then she is going to real him back into her life like you would with a fish.     

Could Things Really Get Much Worse?

There have already been so many bad experiences for Elise in the sixth grade; you may be wondering could things really get worse?  Well, yes things for Elise have gotten even worse.  Aunt Bessie's sister Annie and her baby are now going to stay with Aunt Bessie, Uncle Hugh, and Elise.  Elise is really concerned about Annie and her baby coming to live with her.  Elise doesn't really like babies.  "Babies make me nervous.  If they're screaming because something's wrong, they can't tell you what to do about it.  I'm afraid I'll break them when I touch them.  And they make me think of my mother (LaFleur 53)."  Not only is Elise 'afraid' of the baby, but the baby seems to get all of the attention.  

     

            When Annie and the baby arrive Aunt Bessie takes into the baby and starts talking to it in a high squeaky voice.  Aunt Bessie hollers for Elise to take all of Annie's bags to the extra room downstairs forgetting all about Elise's bummed thumb.  It takes Elise over five trips to get all of the bags into the room downstairs because she is only able to use her left hand.  This weekend is also Elise's birthday. 

            For Elise's birthday all of her cousins and friends come over to see her and they have the 'Biggest Sloppy Joe Fest'.  Although all of the attention is supposed to be towards Elise it is focused on the new baby.  "'Look at you girl!  All grown up!' she shrieked as she gave me a hug.  'There's a baby in the house right?  I'm dying to meet her!'  She ran up the porch steps.  Whose birthday was it, anyway? (LaFleur 66)" The guests have just arrived and the attention is already focused towards the baby.

            Elise and Aunt Bessie always send time in the kitchen together.  It's there thing, and it's a time where they bond and create a lot of memories and fun.  When Elise walks into the kitchen she not only finds Aunt Bessie but she finds the strangest combinations of food.  There is butternut squash, a banana, an avocado, and a bag of apples.  Elise comes to find they are not making food for themselves; they are making food for the new baby.  Now Elise and Aunt Bessie can cook while bonding over the new baby.  After preparing food for the baby Elise asks Aunt Bessie if they were going to cook dinner for themselves.  Aunt Bessie replies and said she had already prepared their dinner and it was waiting for them in the refrigerator.  As you can see Elise's experiences of being eleven have not gotten much better.        

Romeo and Juliet

            So far the play Romeo and Juliet is, I think pretty great.   Although, there are a few things that I don’t really like.  One thing that I don’t like about this play is that the words are from olden English and are hard for me to comprehend.  All of the words that I don’t know become overwhelming and I start to lose focus.  My brain shuts down and intern I don’t know what is going on in the play.  It would be better if there was a more up to date version that had a different choice of words.  Words that would not take away from the main ideas of the text but would allow me to stay focused and interested in the text.  Also, I really didn’t understand the beginning of the story and some parts can become overwhelming such as the Queen Mab section.  Although, with the help of my classmates they are able to explain it to me and I am now able to understand difficult parts in the play.    

            One last flaw I have with the play Romeo and Juliet is that it isn’t realistic.  When Romeo and Juliet first meet they think they have already fallen in love.  It is way too sudden for many reasons.  One reason being is that Romeo has always already thought he has found true love.  After seeing Juliet one time he suddenly switches his feelings and now believes his love is for Juliet.  Romeo and Juliet have just met for the first time and have only said about three words to each other.  They have no idea of each other’s personalities or views for the future.  There is no way that they have fallen in love this fast.  The scene, I believe went to fast and was so unreal. 

            Other than the unreal love and misunderstanding of complicated words I have really enjoyed this play.  I also really like how we watch the first made movie and the most recent movie made.  I really like getting a good visual of what is going on.  After reading it and watching it two times I think it is a lot easier to understand what is going on.  This play has a really intriguing plot and I can’t wait to find out what happens at the end.      

Things Get Worse.

            Things get worse for Elise.  Her sixth grade year is not going as planned and it is putting her through absolute misery.  The first day of school she had scars from falling when playing Knights with Franklin.  Kids bullied her and the popular girls made fun of her.  Elise is really shy and doesn't have the confidence to speak up for herself.  When kids make fun of her she doesn't speak up so they continue to do it.  Elise isn't your average teenage girl.  All of the other girls in her school wear little skirts and tight shirts.  Elise on the other hand wears jeans, gym shoes, and baggy sweatshirts.  Elise doesn't do her homework and on Monday she comes to find that her grade is already starting out as a zero.  She is experiencing she has to do her homework because this is no longer elementary school.  When walking into school on Monday kids still remember her scars, now word has gotten around and basically the whole school has found out.  The kids continue to make fun of her and be mean to her about the games she plays with Franklin.  To make matters even worse Elise and Franklin were messing around in Uncle Hugh's barn and building castles.  Elise goes to hold the base and walls together while Franklin hammers in a nail.  Franklin misses the nail and smashes the hammer right into Elise's thumb.  Elise is rushed to the hospital.  Her thumb looks worse than ever, she has to get a shot because there is rust from the nail that has gotten into her cut and she has a broken thumb.  Elise is required to wrap up her thumb and have her arm in a sling.  On Monday morning when she arrives at her locker, the popular girls are there waiting for her once again.  Wish Elise good luck when she takes on the wrath of her classmates.               

Eight Keys Confusion

I am currently reading the book Eight Keys.  On Franklin and Elise’s first weekend of the school year they had asked Aunt Bessie to make ice cream.  There are two parts of this scene that I am a little confused about.  The first part of confusion is that Franklin is lactose intolerant.  Aunt Bessie said there is a way around everything but how do you get around ice cream without using milk?  One of the main ingredients in ice cream is milk and I think it would be impossible to make ice cream without it.  If Aunt Bessie did find a way to make ice cream without milk, was it guaranteed to taste good?  In my opinion they should make something else that doesn’t allow Franklin to not be able to eat it.  Baking or cooking something else would still allow the young children to have a great time in the kitchen, and it would also allow Franklin to have a normal food without any major changes being applied.   

The second scene that I am confused about is that Franklin and Elise have been waiting all day to make this ice cream with Aunt Bessie.  They have had to find other things to do until the evening when Aunt Bessie was finally done with her catering job.  This was the highlight of their day.  When making the ice cream all goes well.  Elise and Franklin had a wonderful time just like they were hoping.  When the put the ice cream in the freezer for a while and then remove it to eat Elise doesn’t immediately eat her ice cream.  She waits until her ice cream re-melts so she can eat it.  Why would you wait all that time for the ice cream to freeze up and then wait for a while for it to melt?  Why didn’t Elise just eat her ice cream before it was put into the freezer?  In my opinion she wasted her time when she was able to enjoy her ice cream much further up in the day.     

Characters- Eight Keys

          In the book I am currently reading; Eight Keys there are two characters that play a big role in the story.  First there is Elise.  Her mom died when she was born and her dad passed away when she was three.  Elise says that her parents are an empty space inside of her and she never really thinks about them much.  Elise lives with her Uncle Hugh and her Aunt Bessie.  She really enjoys living with them and they are really close to Elise as if she was their own child.  Elise has a best friend Franklin that she has known for forever.  In the beginning of the story Elise is really close to Franklin, they play a game called Knights together and they don't really care what people think of them.  They play this game because its fun and it's what they like to do.  During a round of Knights before their first day of school, Elise was running away from Franklin and tripped on a tree branch.  She fell and tumbled down the giant hill.  For her first day of school Elise has scratches and marks all over her legs.  The kids in her class made fun of her and she became really embarrassed.  This game has changed Elise and she is now really self conscious.  Now Elise cares what people think of her and she is letting the world bring her down.  Elise now never wants to play this game again; the game that meant everything to her childhood.  "I'm not better from the last time we played Knights,"  I said, feeling the smooth sheets against my rough, scabby legs.  And I wasn't better from getting made fun of.  This was the weekend; I wanted to push school out of my mind, to forget that yesterday had ever happened (LaFleur 12)."  This character Elise really advances the plot because she is really adventurous.  She is curious and really likes to have fun.  Without her as a part of this story this book wouldn't actually be a book.  There would not be a best friend for Franklin and there would be no adventure or curiosity.     

            Next, there is Franklin White.  Franklin is best friends with Elise and they have been friends for all of their lives.  Franklin needs Elise, they are like partners in crime.  Franklin brings excitement and action to this novel and he is into science and the environment.  Franklin loves to have fun and explore, although his mom is very controlling.  In the beginning of the story he doesn't really speak what's on his mind.  Franklin keeps his feelings to himself but you know he really wants to tell Elise how he feels.  Franklin begins to open up to Elise and he tells her what he thinks and how he feels. ""You know what the best thing about the summer was?"  I asked. 

"What?"

"Not having a to-do-list." 

Franklin was quiet for a minute.  "We have one more day," he pointed out (LaFleur 23)." 

            There are three minor characters in the novel Eight Keys, Uncle Hugh, Aunt Bessie, and Mrs. White.  There are also characters such as the classmates that bully Elise.  Uncle Hugh is a carpenter.  He renovated the old barn in their backyard.  Now there is a bathroom and electricity.  Uncle Hugh has had custody of Elise since she was three and his nickname for her is Cricket.  He really wants the best for Elise and he does whatever he can to make her happy.  When he is refinishing furniture he allow Elise and Franklin to help him and when there is no more work to be done he lets them mess around with his leftover scraps.       

            Aunt Bessie has had custody of Elise since she was three also.  Aunt Bessie is a chef that wears a black chef's clothes.  Aunt Bessie wears black for a better look.  Elise and Aunt Bessie cook together every Saturday as long as there is no catering job to be done.  Since Aunt Bessie is a chef their kitchen has all of the newest and up to date appliances.  She is a very smart chef and she really finds a way out of every situation.  Aunt Bessie even figured out how to make lactose tolerant ice cream for Franklin.  Aunt Bessie is so caring and will to anything to keep Elise happy. 

            Mrs. White is Franklin's mom.  Mrs. White is one of those very overprotective kind of parents.  She knows where Franklin is at all times and she sits down to make sure he eats all of his food.  Franklin has many allergies and this may be the causing to her over protection.  "Well, I'm heading out.  You can play with that stuff if you want.  You know never to touch anything else in here.  Just don't tell your mother Franklin, she wouldn't like you in here alone (LaFleur 15)."  This is a quote said by Uncle Hugh.  Mrs. White is also not so great of a cook.  Elise claims that even her attempts at frying eggs are better than the eggs Franklin's mom cooks.              

Eight Keys

I have just recently started the book Eight Keys by Suzanne LaFleur.  So far this book has been okay.  It has started off a little slow but I’m not really far enough into the book yet.  The beginning was not a real cliff hanger for me.  It did not really grab my interest with an interesting topic, and I found it rather boring.  I think the book is starting to pick up though because already in chapter two, the main character Elise, has found out about the keys.  Elise lives with her Aunt Bessie and Uncle Hugh.  They take really great care of Elise and she seems proud to call them her 'parents'.  She knows from when she was a child that she is not allowed into the barn with the locked doors upstairs.  Ever since that experience Elise and Franklin have been curious. 

          It is Elise and Franklin’s first weekend of the new school year and they are rehashing everything they did over the summer that they enjoyed.  One of the things on their list was making lactose intolerant ice cream for Franklin.  When Elise and Franklin meet up with Aunt Bessie she tells them that she has a catering job today.  She told them that later in the night they could make ice cream together just not right now.  The next thing on their “fun things to do” list was refinish furniture with Uncle Hugh.  Meeting up with Uncle Hugh in the barn outback he told them that he had already finished all of the work for today and he was going inside to relax until more work was thrust upon him.  He told Elise and Franklin they were more than welcome to mess around with the leftover scraps if they didn't tell Franklin’s mom.  Elise and Franklin didn't feel like messing around, they wanted a real job.  Instead of using the old scraps found in the barn they went to their last idea written on the list.  Elise and Franklin were going to catch frogs in the pond behind Franklin’s house.  This was one thing they both really enjoyed doing over the summer and they wanted to relive that experience.  When they arrive at the pond they don’t hear frogs nor do they see frogs.  What are Franklin and Elise going to do?  They have tried everything on their "things to do list". 

          I predict that Elise and Franklin will somewhere locate the keys to the eight locked doors up in her uncle's barn.  I predict this because they have nothing else to do and nothing else to cover their minds with.  They have always been curious to what is behind those eight doors.  Now with Aunt Bessie away and Uncle Hugh out of the barn they have a perfect opportunity to solve the puzzle.