Choice Book Report Quarter 2

           The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket


  
   In the book, The Reptile Room, one of the main characters is Violet Baudelaire.  Violet is the eldest sibling in her family.  She has two younger brothers and sisters.  Their names are Klaus and Sunny.  Violet is 14 years old. 
   She is a great inventor and thinker.  Violet has created many inventions such as a lock pick, a pencil sharpener, and a grappling hook. 
   Violet is about five feet tall and skinny.  She has long black hair and wears it in a pony tail. 
   At the beginning of the book, Violet was very happy that she was in a safe environment with her siblings at Uncle Monty's house.  Towards the end of the book she and her siblings were depressed because Stephano (Count Olaf) was hired as Uncle Monty's assistant and was trying to get a hold of the Baudelaire fortune once again.  Violet's goal was to get rid of Stephano so that he cannot take the fortune.  This was very difficult because if Olaf knew that Violet told someone who he really was, he was going to hurt Klaus or Sunny with a knife.  Violet was really scared when she saw the tattoo on "Stephano's" ankle.  She knew that it was Count Olaf right away. 
   Violet is a very smart girl.  She has created plans to get rid of Olaf and ideas for new inventions.  Violet and Klaus are a lot alike.  They both are very intelligent.  Klaus loves to read and does it all the time.  Violet loves to invent new things.  Together they can do almost anything with Klaus' reading and Violet's inventing skills. 
   Uncle Monty was going to take the orphans and Stephano with him to Peru to search and research new species of snakes.  Monty had ripped up Stephano's ticket to get to Peru because he was getting suspicious of him.  Olaf kills Uncle Monty and takes his ticket so he and the orphans can go to Peru.  Violet has to prove to Mr. Poe that Stephano is really Count Olaf and that he had killed Monty.  Violet needs to create a lock pick so that she can get into Olaf's suitcase.  Violet has to make one really quick so that no one catches her.  She makes it out of a bent coat hanger, tape, and butter so that it will fit into the hole.  She is a very witty girl and will do anything to keep her family safe from Count Olaf.   



   I think one of the themes in the book is once you see a criminal, call the police or tell an adult.  When Stephano had arrived at Uncle Monty's house, he had stepped out of the taxi and bent over to grab his suitcases.  Violet and Klaus had been watching nearby.  When Stephano had bent over, his pant leg rose and Klaus and Violet could see a tattoo of an eye.  Right away they realized that this wasn't a real assistant- but it was Count Olaf.  Instead of them going and telling Monty that this was not a real assistant, they just stood there awestruck at what they had seen.  They should have run straight to Uncle Monty to tell him that Stephano was really Count Olaf.  Klaus also could have yelled at the taxi driver to tell him that he had dropped this man at the wrong address or that Stephano was a criminal.  This happens in many sequels of books.  The bad guy or villain returns and tries again to either kill the main character or to finish the job that he/she was trying to do before. 
   Another theme is don't trust anyone until you know them pretty well.  Uncle Monty had just lost his first assistant, Gustav and had gotten a new assistant a few days after without meeting him in person.  Uncle Monty had only talked to Stephano on the phone.  For all Monty knew, Stephano could've been a serial killer.  Stephano did turn out to be a killer.  He had murdered Gustav the old assistant and Uncle Monty.  Monty should've met Stephano in person before even considering giving the job of an assistant to him.  If Uncle Monty had done this, then he would still be living.  It is just the little things that can keep you alive.  Monty should have cancelled the trip since he didn't have an assistant he knew very well.  Instead he was killed in his own house by his assistant- Stephano.  This I have not read in any other books- a man/woman putting on a disguise so that they will not be recognized as the criminals they are.  There are many little things that Uncle Monty could have done differently that would have saved his life.  These are just a couple themes from the book The Reptile Room.

Choice Book Report Quarter 1

           The Bad Beginning by Lemony Snicket



   In the book, The Bad Beginning, one of the main characters is Count Olaf.  Count Olaf is the new legal guardian of the Baudelaire children after the Baudelaire mansion goes up in flames and their parents are killed in the monstrous fire.  He is an evil mastermind because he devises a very complicated plan to take control of the Baudelaire fortune.  Count Olaf is a very tall, skinny man with wavy black hair.  Throughout the book, Olaf is conjuring up a plan to get a hold of the Baudelaire fortune- which is his goal.  Count Olaf is very confident that he will be in charge of the fortune because he is a witty adult and the three people he is trying to get the money from are only children.  Olaf acts very obnoxiously towards the orphans because everyday he leaves them a giant list of chores to do while he is at the theater.  Once, he told the Violet, Klaus, and Sunny to make dinner for him and the theater troupe.  They had made Puttanesca sauce and when Olaf had found out that that was what they had made, he freaked out at them.  They were supposed to make meatloaf; but no one told them what they were supposed to make.  Olaf is part of a theater troupe and in the book his troupe are also his accomlices.  They make sure that Sunny won't get let go out of the bird cage until Olaf and Violet are legally wed.  Once they get legally wed Olaf will tell one of his accomplices to let Sunny free out of the bird cage.  The rest of his troupe had to make sure that Violet and Klaus don't foil Count Olaf's plan to take over the Baudelaire fortune.  Count Olaf is a very evil man because he had locked Sunny in a bird cage at the top of a 40-foot tower and he wasn't going to let her go until he had the Baudelaire fortune.  This Count thinks that he is a lot smarter and clever than these young orphans but he is proved wqrong towards the end of the story.  Count Olaf is a very vicous and cruel man to the children throughout this book.  Olaf is a mad-man and he will keep trying to get his hands on that fortune.

   I liked and also disliked the book The Bad Beginning.  I liked it because the ending kept me guessing on how Violet would get out of being wed for real so that Count Olaf would not be in charge of the Baudelaire fortune.  I also liked it because Olaf was getting angrier and more mean throughout the book- from holding kids in the air by their shirts to locking infants in birdcages outside of a tower 40 feet tall.  Another reason I liked the book is because Klaus, Violet, and Sunny had to figure out how Violet would avoid the fact that she and Olaf were going to get married and the play, The Marvelous Marriage.  Mr. Poe wouldn't help the orphans out because he had thought that Olaf was doing the kids a favor by adopting him; but instead he was being sneaky and was trying to take control over the Baudelaire fortune.  I didn’t like the book because the story talked a lot about characters that didn’t have anything to do with the plot.  This made the book really confusing because the story talked a lot about random people such as Mr. Poe’s family and Dr. Strauss.  I also didn’t enjoy this novel because it kept telling of Klaus and Violet reading long law books and different excerpts from Nuptial Law.  I think that Count Olaf is a huge creep because he has paintings and carving of eyes all around the house.  This symbolizes that the orphans are always being watched- even when Olaf isn’t around.  I was confused about why Olaf waited such a long time to try to take control of the Baudelaire fortune.  He had had many chances to get the fortune, but he had never made the actions that would leave him with the very large Baudelaire fortune.  I think that he wanted to make the orphans feel at home and safe before he tried to get all of the money.  I would recommend this book to people that like books with suspense in them.  Also, anyone that wants a quick read should consider reading some of the books from the series, Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket.  I would love to read the sequels to this book.  

St. Cloud Blue Sox vs. Champlin Park Rebels

  
   It was a great day for baseball.  The sun was out and glimmering, the birds were singing, and the St. Cloud Blue Sox were getting ready to play their first game of the tournament against the Champlin Park Rebels.  Champlin Park had won many tournaments before this one, and they were determined to get another first place trophy.


   As our team was throwing the baseball around, John Quinlan is warming up to be the starting pitcher of the game.  He was being very unaccurate that day.  He was pitching way off to the left, off to the right, and even over the catcher's head.  One of the last pitches he threw zoomed right by the catcher at full speed, bounced- getting a lot of backspin, and hits me right in the mouth.  I was in a lot of pain.  I had to just walk it off and get ready to play in the upcoming game.


   St. Cloud was the home team and Champlin was away.  The Blue Sox hit the field right away with confidence.  The Rebels came out quick with a 4-0 lead after their first at bat.  Now it is our turn to come back with some runs.  Our leadoff hitter strikes out swinging. It's my turn up to bat.  My lips are swelling up.  It comes out to a full count right away and I had fouled off about fifteen balls after that.  The next pitch that was thrown was right down the pipe.  I had made hard contact with this one and I started sprinting towards first base.  The ball falls over the outfield fence and I score.  It was my first homerun that year and I had just started a rally for my team. 


   Both teams were battling back against each other the whole game but there was only one winner.  The St. Cloud Blue Sox had come out on top by the end of the game defeating the tough Champlin Park Rebels 8-7.  The Blue Sox now had the momentum to take the whole tournament and we were ready to fight every team off to win it.

The Hockey Game

   It was the best day of my life.  Its 16 degrees below zero in Duluth, Minnesota.  It's the middle of February and the last hockey game of the season.  I am about to play the greatest game of my life and I didn't even know it.  I had stepped onto the glassy ice and skated out to warm up.  This was the toughest game of the tournament, St. Cloud vs. Duluth East.  Two very evenly matched teams about to start the game.


   The puck had dropped and both teams were off to a quick start.  Duluth had come hard right off the bat and got their first goal within 4 minutes.  St. Cloud was battling hard to hold the opponents off but just couldn't do it.  They scored for the second time in a row just before the period had gone out of time.  At the end of the first period the score was 2-0.  The coaches were giving a pep talk.  Someone had to step-up and be a leader to get the team going.  Right away off of the face off Duluth takes the puck down the ice, beats out the goalie, and puts the puck in the back of the net for the third time.  St. Cloud is down 3-0.  I decide that I didn't want to go down without a fight.  I win the face off and pass it off to my right wing.  He takes the puck down and gets a hard shot on net.  I go in to get the rebound, and put the puck in the net.  Duluth is now ahead 3-1.
  

   Our team is pumped and now has the momentum to take the game.  I pull the puck back from the face off and hand it off to the defense.  We come down for a rush to try to score once again.  The puck is taken into the corner to look for options.  The puck is passed to me out in front of the net in the slot; I make an attempt to get the puck in the net.  I shoot as hard as I can.  The puck sails in right under the goalie's glove.  The crowd goes crazy.  Duluth East is now only leading by one.


   After a shift off of the ice, I get back out and try to score another goal.  There is a 2 on 3 rushing down the ice.  We get closer, and closer to the goalie.  The puck gets passed off to me; I juke out the goalie, and put the puck inside the net, as my neck collides with the crossbar.  My teammates help me out of the net as we celebrate.  I had scored a natural hat trick in under 2 and a half minutes!  It was the end of the second period with the score 3-3.  Coming into the third period, St. Cloud had the momentum to take the game.  About halfway through the period Duluth East scores their 4th goal of the game to come ahead, 4-3.  St. Cloud had battled back hard but couldn't pull through.  It was the end of the game and Duluth East won over St. Cloud, 4-3.  Even though we lost, it was my proudest moment of hockey.

Introductioun.

I'm Jason Omann, and I like to play hockey, soccer, and baseball.  Hockey is my favorite sport because you need to learn a new way of moving which will take skill. I'm the fast one so I can take the puck wherever I want.  I love throwing Fritz Crackers to geeze.  Bye for now.:]