Full of Heart- a must read book :)

Jennifer Rehm

Full of Heart

Full of Heart is a true story about Jr Martinez. He was born in Louisiana, he grew up without a Dad and his mom’s boyfriends were abusive to the both of them. He was very athletic and played football in high school , football was almost a way to get him out of the bad things going on in his life. His goal was to become a pro football player. But pretty soon Jr’s life will change, making his dream almost impossible. When Jr was nineteen years old he joined the army, on one normal day, like any other day in the army, something terrible happened. Jr was a humvee on a field when his front tire made contact with a roadside bomb. The bomb exploded with Jr still in the car, the car was on fire and Jr couldn't get out. He noticed his clothes burning into his skin. His friend noticed the car and helped him out of it. He remembers skin peeling off of his body and all he thought to himself was “he was going to die”.

Jr wakes up in the hospital, he was put in the burn unit at the hospital. The doctor told him he had worse than 3 degree burns over ⅓ of his body. He laid in the hospital for more than 3 months, without knowing what he looked like. Finally he asked the doctor if he could see his face for the first time. He looked at the mirror and couldn't recognize himself. He thought “How will anyone love me”.

The book goes through Jr’s life after his accident and talks about the challenges with having to deal with his new face and how trusting someone became a real issue in his life.

I read this book because I heard about his story before and I think he is very inspiring in how he dealt with himself. I wanted to know more about his life before his accident and how his life changed after it.

I think once you this book Jr will make you see life differently and appreciate the things you have. It will make you change your attitude on things, like if you wake up with unwanted pimples on your face or you are having a bad hair day it makes you realize that out there in the world people have gone through much worse.

Anonymous

Posted November 30, 2012

This book made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me realize that

This book made me cry, it made me laugh, it made me realize that there but for the Grace of God go you or I. J.R. overcame overwhelming pain and adversity, yet he never lost the will and spirit to live the best life he possibly could after devastating injuries. His smile, even tho it may be crooked, inspires and cheers everyone who comes into contact him. I would recommend this book to anyone who needs an uplifting story, and if you saw him on Dancing with the Stars, you know why!!!

- Someones opinion on the barnes and noble website after reading this book.

Final Short Story- The Picture

Jennifer Rehm

The Picture

I stare blankly at the dark sky, the big circle moon is just sitting their with the stars dancing around it. I shooting star flies by and I make a wish. I make the wish while holding a black and white picture in my hand. Its a picture of my parents but its hard to tell what they look like, I never knew who they were, never met them or even got to talk to them. They are only a piece of paper that I hold in my hand.

You guys are probably wondering who I am being raised by, since I was 3 years old I have been living with my Auntie Anne and my Uncle Kyle, I have been living with them for so long I started to call them Mom and Dad they don’t mind it when I call them that. But it feels like something is missing, I wish I could wake up every morning and say that to my real parents. My Auntie soon walks into my room, “time for bed Aubrey” she says to me. “Ok I said back. There has been so many times when I wanted to ask my Auntie or Uncle about them, but I was always afraid when I wanted to do it because I didn't know how they would take it. I didn't want them to get mad at me for asking. But tomorrow I'm going to do it, I am going to ask what the question I have wanted to ask for many years… I was ready to find out who my parents were.

I woke up the next morning and I could hear my Auntie and Uncle down stairs I put on my fuzzy slippers I got and went down stairs. They both said hi to me as I sat down in my usual chair I always sit in. I take a big deep breath, but nothing will come out “Are you ok” my Uncle asks me. “Yea im fine, I was um I was just wondering something”. “What is it, what's on your mind?” my Aunt asks me. This is kind of a hard question to ask and I dont know how you will you will take it. But I was wondering if you guys knew anything about my real parents, like their name, what they looked like you know stuff like that. My Auntie sat in the chair next to me and said, Aubrey, you know your father is my brother. Yea I know, what about that. Well Aubrey even though he is my brother I haven't talked to him in many many years. He had a very hard life while living here and one day he just left and no one has heard from him since. No one knows what happened to him and if he is even still alive I tried to reach out to him and I called the apartment he was living in but they said he moved out of the apartment. They don't know where they went to I said, he didn't tell anyone anything. Im afraid so we don't know anything.

Do you remember what he looked like I asked. My Auntie smiles, he was very tall and often liked to kneel or sit so he wasn't a giant. I remember he always hated being tall when he was kid but he eventually grew out of that. You got his height, he was that tall when he was your age, I remember he had very dark brown hair that turned to a shade of black in the summertime he had hazel eyes that sparkled green and brown in the sunlight. What was his name. His name was James but everyone always called him Jimmy, his middle name was Rico after your great grandpa. Was he smart, did he play any sports. Oh yes he was very athletic he played football, ran track and played baseball. Baseball was always his favorite he wanted you to play so thats why we signed you up, he wanted you to be like him. He was a good student payed attention well and got good grades in most of his classes, but after high school something happened and he was never the same. But I remember he was always a kind person, like you. What about my mom what was she like, Your mothers name was courtney, thats how you got your middle name you were named after her. Her middle name was rose and everyone said she was just a pretty as one. She had golden blonde hair and in the summertime when she came to visit it would turn a light dirty blonde. She had freckles that ran across her face. She was a theater person we would always go together she danced and did gymnastics, just like you. On fridays we would go to a restaurant and she would do the karoke. You remind me a lot of her, you guys are exactly the same, I wish she could see how much you resemble her. Will you guys help me find them, I would like to finally meet them. It might be hard but we would love to help my Uncle said to me.

I was getting ready for bed when my Aunt and Uncle knocked on the door, come in I said when the knocking stopped. They walk in and they sit on my bed and the tell me to sit on the chair I have in my room. Whats going on I asked them, nothing we wanted to give you something. All of a sudden my Auntie talks something out of her coat pocket, it looks like a note wrapped in a purple envelope- my favorite color. My Auntie hands me the envelope and says here, this is for you. I have been waiting for the right time to give this to you and I think you're ready to read this. I slowly take the envelope from her hand and I see them get up and walk out of the room, the door closes and once I hear them down stairs in the kitchen I open the card, tearing it opened very carefully making sure it wouldn't rip. There was a bunch of writing written on the paper and it said the following.-

Dear Aubrey, since you are reading this it means you are curious, you want to know who I am and where I have been in your life. You probably want to know why its not me watching you blow out candles on your birthday, watching you open gifts on christmas or why i'm not there to hold your hand when you are crying. I am your mother, I met you once on October 5th 1996, its know 2008 and I wish I could be with you. You probably want to ask me why we gave you up and you might be mad at me but I hope you can forgive me and understand I did this for the both of us. When you were born we were a very poor family we didn't have much, your dad was never really around and often was getting into trouble with the police. We thought it was the best for you to go live with your Auntie and Uncle. They took you in when you only a week old. You probably think of them as parents more than me and your dad and we both understand that. You might want to know where your father is but I don't know where he went. 2 days after you were born he got arrested for getting into a fight and I haven't heard from him since the police said he ran away. I would love if I could finally get the chance to see you again. My number is 868-3405 please call and tell me you are ok.

Love, Mommy.

I felt a tear run my down my face, I can't believe she would write something like that. It was beautifully written. I picked up my phone and looked at it, im ready I said to myself. I slowly dial the number. I hear a soft voice say Hello on the other end. Who is this she asked. Mo-mom I said. There is a pause for moment. Aubrey, Aubrey is that really you. Yes mom, yes it is. Aubrey its so good to hear your voice. You to Mom, I really miss you and I want to see you. I want to see you to Aubs. If you want to see me, every day at 1:00 I sit by the wishing fountain my address is on the envelope. If its ok with your Auntie and Uncle I would love to see you. I would love to see you to, let me go ask, I hope they say yes. I do to my Mom said she said by and hung up the phone. I went down stairs to tell my Auntie and Uncle it took a while before they finally agreed on it.

The next morning I woke and followed my usual schedual I looked into the mirror, Im finlly going tp meet my mom. I got into the car and we started driving I could tell my Auntie new I was nervus because she kept asking mr quesrions to make me forget about it. I was holding a picture that was in the envelpoe in between my hands. When we got to the place my Mom told me about I walked around and then all of a sudden I saw a girl sitting on a bench. I hold the picture up next to her. I walk over and tap her on the shoulder. She turns around and I say… Mom.

Pretty Little Liars a book you will not regret reading

Jennifer Rehm

Pretty Little Liars Book Review

It was a normal summer day in Rosewood,and  five best friends were having their sleepover at the end of the summer. It was the summer between 7th and 8th grade, but this sleepover will be different from any sleepover they will have and the last one they will have with all of them.

Pretty Little Liars is about five girls named Aria, Hanna, Spencer, Emily and Ali. They all meet at Rosewood when their parents force them to help out at the charity- except Spencer who volunteers herself to help. Instantly these 5 girls become best friends and become the popular faces of Rosewood Day. During one of their sleepovers they were having Ali- the queen bee of the group they call her wanted to show the girls a hypnotizing trick her friends from field hockey showed her. They all agree to do it as Ali counts down from a hundred. Spencer gets nervous and says “wait hold on In anger Ali tells Spencer shes ruining the whole thing, Spencer opens a shade in the barn so there is more light Ali and Spencer start to have a fight as the other girls are still sleeping. Ali storms out of the barn and feeling bad about what just happened Spencer followers her so she can apologize to her. Aria wakes up as she hears the barn door slam shut. She wakes up and calls for Ali, but there is no answer. She wakes up Emily and Hanna and asks where Ali is and where Spencer went. They both dont know where they went. Spencer runs back into the barn and Hanna asks Spencer where Ali went Spencer says “I don't know, I thought…. I dont know. The whole room gets silent the next day they still hadn't heard from her. Three years have passed and the girls are juniors in high school, nothing in Rosewood is the same any more after Ali disappeared. The other four girls stopped talking, Aria left the year before to go to school in Iceland, but has returned. The other three have separated each other with other things like sports and Hanna has become friends with a girl name Mona who Ali use to make fun of. The police still don’t know if Ali is dead or alive the police keep looking for clues but they can’t find anything the girls are now looked at as the girls who friend mysteriously disappeared one night.

Then the girls all start to receive mysterious text messages from someone named -A.

-A some how knows all the girls secrets and sees anything they do and may know something about Ali the night she died. The girls try to figure out who this person is and if -A is the one who could have Ali or could have possibly killed her.

A quote that stuck out to me the most was “Where’s Ali?” Hanna asked quietly. “ I don’t know,” Spencer whispered. “ I thought… I don't know”. (pg 15) I like that quote because its the quote that sets off the rest of the story. Its the conversation the girls are having when they realized Ali has gone missing.

Excellent Read

I loved reading the series! They keep you entertained for hours. This book is one of my favourites! A viewer of this book said about Pretty Little Liars.

I watch the show Pretty Little Liars and i’m hooked to it, so I thought I would enjoy the book just as much. I loved the way the author made the characters in the story, they each have their own personality but are also similar in some ways. I loved the storyline of the book, the dialog in the book will make you not want to stop reading it.

I can't really relate to the topic of this book, even though I have had people I know pass away it wasn't as extreme as what the girls go through. The girls have gotten threatening messages and a person knows all their deepest secret, it would be interesting to know what its like to have this happen to me but I wouldn't like it to.

The Unknown Tapper and the Famous Ballroom Dancers

When you value something you should not value it because of the price of it. The real value is all the memories and feelings you had with the item or memory that you can't replace with any other valuable item or special moment. Two things I value are my Tap Shoes and the day I met two “Dancing with the Stars” pro dancers.

I buckle up the strap on each foot and walk into the room. The clack,clack the shoes are making is one of the most beautiful sounds ever. I value my tap shoes for multiple reasons. One reason is that you can make sounds with your feet that are so unique and you can't make sounds like that in any other type of shoe. When I dance around in my tap shoes the outside world disappears and I am free to be me and not make a mistake. However, class can be very stressful when you can't get a step right no matter how much times you practice, or when a teacher is being extra hard on you. But it all works out at the end when you nail a step. Whenever I do a step correctly I feel good about myself and I can't help but smile. It boosts up my confidence when a dance teacher gives me a compliment in class. I have been a tap dancer since I was 5 years old and its my favorite style to learn, I never plan on quitting my training as a tap dancer.

We all dream of scenarios some may dream about wearing a gold medals around their neck, some may dream about passing their math test. Others may dream about meeting the people who tell them not to give up, even if its not directly to there face. So when the opportunity came for me to meet two of my favorite dancing with the stars pros I didn't think twice about the offer.  It all started about a week before the actual show and I was using my ipod and I found a link that said “Derek Hough, Peta Murgatroyd Reality check live at mohegan sun”. I double checked the article and made sure I wasn't going insane. I ran downstairs and told my mom about this event and she didn't give it a second thought her immediate answer was yes. I was so happy I couldn't stop talking about it. The day finally came June 24th 2012. Are we there yet are we there yet!! everyone in the car kept asking. Almost was there reply each time. We finally arrive and I can feel myself getting exciting, I couldn’t believe I was actually here. We went to are spot right away because there was a lot of people that were about to show up. We wait and wait in this one spot for ever and finally the clock hits 3:00. The screams of all the people while we watch them dance and the laughs when they answer a funny question. Finally at 4:00 its time for the meet and greet. We wait in a long line that seems like forever I think about what i'm going to say half the time I am waiting. Finally the line comes down to me. I go onto the stage and they both say hi to me I say hi and laugh (Which I always do when I'm nervous). I ask Peta for a hug and not to sound cheesy or anything but it was probably the best hug I have ever gotten. It was one of the best times of my life. Standing next to and talking to one of my biggest inspirations. All the votes I would use on them each monday and the nerves that ran through me when they were in the bottom. I never thought a day like that would happen. I will forever value that moment.

My valuable item and moment are similar in a few ways. One way being that I smile or get happy when I think about the day I met them or when I am in tap class. Nothing can replace the value in my tap shoes and erase that special moment standing next to the dancers. Although there are a lot of similarities in my item and memory they are also different from one another. My tap shoes are things I wear and my memory was with people that I only have pictures ( and a very strong memory) to remember.

I value these items for a lot of different reasons. I can't replace the memories that had with these items and I will never forget them. Both of these Items are really special to me.

You can't relive certain moments. So you should value everything you receive no matter what the price is or how big or small the memory is.

Off Balance a great read!!!!

Jennifer Rehm                           

Book Review

Off Balance By Dominique Moceanu with Paul and Terri Williams.

Touchstone, 2012.    Genre: Autobiographies

This book is about a girl name Dominique, She had very little money as a kid and her parents didn’t always get along, her dad was very strict towards her. At a young age Dominique found a love for gymnastics so her parents signed her up for lessons. What they thought was a just a hobby, soon would become her life. Doing gymnastics 45 hours a week at a young age soon was all Dominique new. This story goes through her life as a competitive gymnasts. She talks about her struggles with her coaches and all the pressure they put on her to never make a mistake. She said how they would get mad if she fell of beam during warm ups or didn’t do something they liked, she mentions how when she was at the olympics her dream was turning into a nightmare because she was scared if she did mess up and what her coaches and even her parents would say. To make her life even more stressful she finds out she has a sister she never met. She was angry with her parents because they told her 20 years later. Her parents tell her why they gave her up for adoption. Her sister’s name was Jennifer, she was born without legs and her parents couldn’t afford to take her to treatment or support her disability so they sent her to a family that would be able to provide that kind of service to Jennifer. But what confuses Dominique about this whole situation is she would have been 6 years when she was born and doesn’t remember her mom being pregnant or even a single mention about her.

“A rousing, intimate memoir” The Vouge.com said about their review of Off Balance.

I have read a lot of autobiographies in the past few years and Off Balance is one of the ones that stuck out to me the most. The way Dominiques life is described in the book will make you be hooked to it. You will laugh and maybe even cry with the emotion that is on every page, you will feel as if you are part of the story.

I can sort of relate to the topic in this book. Dominique has to balance life as a gymnast along with her school work and family/friends. For me as a dancer sometimes I don’t have enough time for it all. So I have to plan everything out in advance depending on my schedule that week.

Finding Makenzie Leach…

Still progress

Hunger Games- Katniss

How Live Now- Daisy

Prolog  

I’m Katniss and I’m with Daisy, this is our story after the war, after my battle with the hunger games. When we thought everything was back to normal, we were dead wrong… litteraly. In this story you will read about mine and Daisy’s journey trying to find our friend Makenzie. Here's how it all began.

   Chapter 1- Before everything changed

Me and Katniss are best friends we do everything together, from sleepovers, doing each others hair and telling secrets. We are like sisters. Are life's were completely turned around when I, Daisy had to live with my never meet relatives all the way in England and then the war broke out, so me and my cousins had to fend for ourselves. When we thought are aunt was on a work trip, she actually got killed so we got sent to different houses. Where as I, Katniss took my sisters spot in the hunger games and had to fight for the chance to live. Then after me and Peeta both lived I had started in uprising. We thought to ourselves what else could possibly go wrong in our lives.

Chapter 2- That Night

Then on one cold October day, October 28th to be exact the unthinkable happened. Me and Katniss were sitting in my room talking about are halloween party we had planned. When all of a sudden we heard a fatal scream. We nearly wet our pants it scared us to death. We looked out the window and I saw my neighbors light on. So me, Katniss and Daisy’s mom run next door to see what in the world has happened. Katniss’s mom rings the doorbell over 10 times, shakes the door knob to see if it will open. Then all of a sudden we hear someone yell ‘HElP!!!’ Daisy looks at us and says “That sounds like Mrs. Leach, Makenzies mom”. Then Katniss says “I think there is a spare key behind the bush”, so all three of us dig through the tree and finallyDaisy's mom says “I found it”. She opened the door and we charged up the stairs like a herd of elephants, Daisy say “ Mrs. Leach where are you” Mrs. Leach’s response is “I’m in here, I need help!”. Daisy says “ Its coming from Kenzi’s room, we run into her room and Mrs.Leach is on ground. And you wouldn’t believe what was beside her…

Chapter 3- The Disapearence

My mom runs over to Mrs. Leach and says Kassadee are you ok she yells “SHE’S GONE, SHE’S GONE!!!, with a fatal cry in between. “wait whos gone” me and Katniss say at the same time. Please talk to us Kass you can trust us. Mrs. Leach stands up and my mom sits her on Makenzie’s desk chair. Mrs Leach then begins to tell us, “ I was downstairs cooking dinner and I heard a crash upstairs, I asked Kenzi if she was all right. No one responded. I call her down for dinner to see if she would. Still nothing happened. Then I start to panic, she always comes down when I call her. So I just tried to relax myself and thought maybe she is in the bathroom. So I gave her about 10 minutes and I hear another crash and a scream. It was Makenzie I tell you! someone was hurting her.” Before she finished telling us the rest she blew her nose into a tissue her eyes were bright red like cherrys. Then my mom asks “what happened next”? Mrs.Leach continued the story “I ran up the stairs, I ran for my life, I ran until I got to her room. I pushed open the door and no one was in there. we take a long pause. My mom is holding Mrs. Leach’s hand and me and Daisy are trying are best not to cry, no matter how much we want to. Daisy tells Mrs. Leach to continue on with the story.  Mrs. Leach then takes in a big breath and she starts to bawl her eyes out, over there she says, look what they did to my little girl.” The tears pour out of her eyes like a waterfall"

Chapter 4- The Evidance

We get up and walk over to Makenzie’s bed. We all gasped and nothing stopped us from crying, as tears were pouring out of are face we were looking at blood on Kenzi’s matress. We couldn’t believe what we saw. Mrs. Leach started crying harder and harder. Daisy then looks at me and says “ who would do such a thing? Makenzie was one of the nicest people on the planet who would ever want to hurt her. Katniss then blurts out “maybe we should call the police, there the only people who could help us figure out who kidnapped Kenzi”. “We can’t do that”. Mrs.Leach says as she starts panicking and looking for more clues around the room. “Why not” asked Daisy, because I was the last person in the house with her and they might think I killed her. “We know you didn’t kill Makenzie and we will make sure the police know that” Katniss says back.

Chapter 5- The call“What if they don’t believe me” Mrs.Leach asked, “you have to make them believe you” Daisy said, tell them you wouldn’t kill your own kid. “Your right” Mrs.Leached said as she picks up the phone. Me and Katniss were telling her she could do it and to just stay calm. Mrs.Leach dialed the number and someone answered she stayed silent for a minute and Katniss says “You can do this just tell the person what happened”. Mrs.Leach then says “I would like to report a missing peson”. “A missing person” The policeman said “can you please come down to the station so we can ask you questions about this person”. “Yes I will leave now” Mrs.Leach Said “can you just tell us the name of the missing person so we can get it out there” The policeman asked. “Her name is Makenzie Leach, Middle name-Jane”. “Thank you the man said”. Mrs.Leach asked Me and Daisy to stay her incase Makenzie showed up. We agreed that we would stay and keep her updated. She then asked Daisy's mom to come down to the police station with her. My mom said she would go with her, before we Knew it they were gone.

Chapter 6- The idea

What seemed like years was only hours, we were in Kenzi’s room waiting. Me and Katniss were looking at Kenzi’s old stuff. When all of a sudden Katniss looks at me and says “Maybe we should look for Makenzie ourselves”, “your insane” Daisy says. “We could get killed” Daisy added. “Oh come on Daisy what is so dangerous about this. I mean you went to England during a war and I went through the hunger games, and look we are both here to tell the story”. Katniss Says. “But we almost didn’t make it” added Daisy “I ended up in hospital when I got back home and you nearly took your own life”. “Good point” Added Katniss. “ But after all we went through I still think we should give a try” Katniss quickly added. “I guess we could give it a try” Daisy said. “Are you with me” Katniss asked, “But you don’t have to do it if you don’t want to” she added. After a little pause and thinking Daisy finally agreed to Katniss’s plan. “I will do” Daisy said. “Omg really” Katniss said with a little joy. Daisy then replys “yea if it will help us find Makenzie then I’m all for it”.

Chapter 7- Where is Makenzie Leach

A little while later Makenzie’s mom and Daisy’s mom came home. We ran down stairs and asked them what took so long. Mrs.Leach replys and says “they asked us a lot of questions, from  her height,weight,eye color, birthday, that last thing I saw her wearing. They even asked me questions like her favorite shoe, things she does in her spare time, what kind of friends she hangs out with and so much more”. “when are they going to start searching for her” Daisy asked, “sometime tomorrow and they will keep me updated with any information they find”. Mrs.Leach said. Then Katniss tells the moms about are idea. “We want to try and search for Kenzi” she bulleted out. “Are you serious” Katniss’s mom says, “That’s far too dangerous for kids like you” Mrs.Leach added. “But come on, we have done so many other things over the summer remember”, Katniss added.