She Said Yes By Misty Bernall

Book Blog by Sarah Beatty

This book's genre is nonfiction. I havent read nonfiction stories in awhile, but i can tell that this book is the best true story book i've ever read.

I chose this book frankly because I just needed something to read for this book project, and fast. But after reading this appalling story about Cassie Bernall, a victim from the infamous Columbine High School shooting, this was a great book to only accidentally come across.

Many have heard about the tragic Columbine High School shooting, but this book takes a unique, in-depth look into one of the victims lives prior to April 20th, 1999.

Cassie Bernall was one of the victims shot in Columbine, but what makes her story so different from others, is how her beginning was so different from her end. Today, she is labeled as a martyr, but no one would've expected that from her, if they knew what she was like just a few years prior.

She had bad influences, leading her to horrible choices, suicidal thoughts, and violent plans she couldn't even dare to pursue. Becoming even more rebellious and headstrong by the day, she had her parents extremely worried. They seeked out legal attention, and invaded all her possible privacy until she regained their trust. After a church retreat, she was "reborn" into her christian faith, and quickly made a hard u-turn into her new life.

So on April 20th, under a table in the high school library, with a gun to her forehead, she was offered her life or her faith. Then she did what someone who had believed in Christ their whole life wouldn't have dared to do. She said yes.

The significance of this book's title is as crucial and significant as it gets. If she hadn't said yes, it wouldn't be a Christopher Award winning book. It wouldn't be described as "One of the most gripping stories to come out of the shooting at Columbine High School."

If I could ask the author three questions...

1. What was the main reason that drove you to write this book about your daughter?

I was wondering this since she began writing it so soon after Cassie died.

2. While writing this book, did find more closure between you and Cassie?

Throughout the book, you could tell that the author was still stuck in the past, until the end, where she writes a lot more about her relationship with Cassie.

3. Do you regret any event from this story now that you look back at it?

Since Cassie struggled and often had falling-outs with her, since she's gone, I was wondering if she would've acted differently.

1. "Cassie" by Flyleaf

I read the summary of this book to my friend, and she talked about this song by Flyleaf, and how the lyrics sounded just like the story. I had heard it before awhile ago, but never really thought much of it. So it turns out that this song was actually made for Cassie Bernall and her legacy.

2. "You Found Me" by The Fray

This song seemed appropriate to the theme of this book, especially at the part where Cassie finds and restores her relationship with God, after long months of disconnection with her family, and under her friends bad influences. The lyrics say, "Lost and insecure,
you found me" and, "where were you? Just a little late, you found me". This relates to Cassie because she could have been wondering where God had been during her previous dark stages, when she was "lost and insecure".

3. "There For You" by Flyleaf

This is another song by Flyleaf, and its lyrics relate most to what Cassies mom may have felt like when she was struggling to communicate with Cassie. She had probably felt like she wanted to be there for her daughter.

4. "Conspiracy" by Paramore

This songs lyrics convey what Cassie may have been thinking when she was confused about herself while she was in her friends troubled world. "Where can I turn? 'Cause I need something more, Surrounded by uncertainty, I'm so unsure, Tell me why I feel so alone..."

5. "My Heart" by Paramore

The lyrics to this song can portray what was going on in Cassie's mind while she was rediscovering her faith, recognizing that she had done somethings wrong, and that she thought she should give up her heart to God; "I am finding out that maybe I was wrong, That I've fallen down and I can't do this alone..." and "This heart, it beats, beats for only you. My heart is yours."

6. "This Is Your Time" by Michael W. Smith

I personally don't like this song, but it suits Cassies legacy perfectly, since this song was written for her. The first stanza of lyrics in this song sum up the whole purpose of the book, and the highlight of her life; "It was a test we could all hope to pass, But none of us would want to take. Faced with the choice to deny God to live, For her, there was one choice to make."

Hatchet By Gary Paulsen

BLOG BY:
LOGAN GRINDY

GENRE: Fiction - Adventure

I was having trouble finding a novel to read for my independent reading project so i asked my mom for help because she has read many books. I told her that i wanted to read a book about adventure that will always keep me on my toes. I love reading books that make me want to keep reading on to find out what happens next. She instantly suggested that i read Hatchet. When my mom told me that it was by Gary Paulsen i was sold. Gary Paulsen is the author of one of my favorite books, Brian's Hunt, so i knew it would be smart decision. Also, Hatchet is a Newbery Honor award-winning book so i knew i would not be disappointed.

After surviving a plane crash into a lake in the middle of the woods, Brian Robeson is lost and alone in the Canadian wilderness. The plane he was flying to visit his father lies at the bottom of the lake with a dead pilot inside of it. When a search plane flies over Brian and doesn't notice him, Brian starts to get severely depressed. However, after failing at attempting suicide Brian realizes that feeling sorry for himself doesn't work. He now realizes what he must do to survive.

The only tool Brian has is a hatchet his mother had given him before he had left on the plane. Using this tool he must learn to provide food and shelter for himself. Considering that he has no background survival skills this could be a tough task. Overcoming his often troublesome flashbacks of his parents divorce is a challenge for Brian, but as time goes on the less it hurts him. Brian encounters way more setbacks and frustrations than successes while coming up with survival tactics. Survival will not be easy for Brian. Luckily, he has great perserverance and will do anything it takes to survive.

The title "hatchet" has great significance. In the beginning of the story, Brian's mother gives him a hatchet to take on his visit. However, the hatchet becomes Brian's greatest survival tool. Without the hatchet he would have never been able to survive. Brian uses his hatchet to gather materials to build his shelter as well as food for himself to eat. Also, Brian uses the hatchet as a type of weapon to protect himself. Most importantly, towards the end of the book Brian builds a raft and floats over to where the back half of the plane is sticking out of the water. This is because he remembered the pilot mentioning something about keeping a survival kit in the plane. Brian uses his hatchet to cut through the steel to get inside the plane because he could not get in the plane using just his bare hands. Inside the plane he finds the survival kit. Inside this survival kit he finds a transmitter and he puts out a rescue signal. He is rescued the next day by a man who had recieved the signal. Therefore, the hatchet is the reason that Brian was able to be rescued.

I would ask Gary Paulsen:


"Do you enjoy the wilderness?"

I was wondering this because throughout the story such great detail was used to decribe things that Brian encountered while he was in the wild. I wondered if you had spent time in the wilderness while you were growing up as well because i could tell from reading the book you have a lot of knowledge about the wilderness.

"Were you ever put in a situation where you were required to use survival skills?"

Throughout the story Brian kept using skills and tactics that were extremely clever. I knew that I would never have been able to come up with the ideas that Brian had. I wondered if you were writing about some of the survival skills that you had learned growing up and if you had used them at a point in your life.

"Did your parents divorce when you were a child?"

I noticed that in the book you always expressed Brian's feelings about his parent's divorce. The feelings he felt were so deep and vivid that it seemed as if you had experienced the same type of thing during your childhood. I was wondering if maybe you had those same feelings when you were Brian's age.