Blog Post #5

       In this ISU blog post, I wanted to summarize the novel, The Monkeyface Chronicles. The book is separated into three parts: his eighth grade introduction, his problems in grade 12 and then his recovery from a major motorcycle accident.
     In the first part, the novel introduces the main characters, which include the protagonist Philip, his twin brother Michael, his parents and the students at school. It also introduces the setting, which takes place in Faireville, Ontario in 2012. Moreover, it shows the everyday hardships that Philip goes through at school and how people behave with him.
     In the second part, the novel resumes 5 years later and Philip has a girlfriend, named Adeline, he has a group of friends and he plays hockey at school regularly. Sadly, Philips senior year turns horrible after his brother gets seriously hit during hockey. Michael faces many injuries including a broken neck, broken vertebrate, broken hip and a severe concussion, leaving him near dead in the hospital. During all of this, Philips home gets destroyed and he finds out that who he thought was his grandfather was, was really his father. After all of this happens, Philip tries to run away but gets into a terrible motorcycle accident which leaves most of his body shattered.
      In the final part of the novel, Philip spends two years recovering at The Hospital for Sick Children. After months of surgeries, treatments and therapy, he is released as a new person. He returns home to Faireville and finds out that his brother is on a wheelchair and he has no control over his body. Ten years later, he gets married, has children and lives a happy, beautiful life.
     This book was one of the best books I have ever read because I can make many connections to the novel. It is an amazing book that shows the ups and downs of a boy's life with many plot twists that will leave the reader wanting to read more. It is easy to connect with and it is very detailed, which allows the reader to be in Philip's shoes. It shows what life can throw at you and that you should always keep fighting. Lastly, the novel taught me that one should never give up, even at the worst moments of your life because life does get better.

Blog Post #4

Don't Stop Believin' 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k8craCGpgs

     For my fourth ISU blog post, I wanted to present a song that was related to my novel, therefore I picked the song, Don't Stop Believin'. This is a very powerful song and has multiple strong messages. For example, one should never lose hope and you should keep fighting no matter how tough times get. Also, the song is conveying that there are always going to be so many people that are going to try to hold you back and put you down, but you just have to ignore them go your separate ways. 

     This relates to my novel because this is exactly what the protagonist in my novel does. He never gives up and keeps fighting, even at the lowest points of his life. Even though so many people hate him and discriminate him because of his physical appearance, he looks the other way and walks away. Also, even though his accident breaks almost every bone on his face, he things positive and keeps fighting. This benefits him at the end of the day because he turns out to have such a happy life and the bullies that made fun of him are homeless.

     Songs like Don't Stop Believin' and books like The Monkeyface Chronicles should encourage people not to think about suicide and death. One should not get influenced by the things that people say, they should just turn around and walk away. There will always be haters, but they hate you because they are jealous of you. There are so many suicides in the world today, but people should know that things do get better, suicide is not the only option. Philip faced so many challenges, but he did not stop believing. Life always has ups and downs, but we all have to learn how to handle them and keep believing that things will get better because they will, just like in Philip's case.    

Blog Post #3

     I wanted to share this quote because this is very inspiring and it is closely connected to my novel, The Monkeyface Chronicles. In the novel, Philip is faced with many hardships and challenges because of the way he looks. He gets bullied both verbally and physically, strangers stare at him with dirty eyes, teachers put him down and nobody talks to him at school. He feels as though there is no light at the end of the tunnel and he wants to give up in life, but he keeps believing that everything will get better as time goes by. This is exactly what the quote is saying, to never stop believing, everything has a purpose and that your desires will come true one day. 

     As the novel comes to an end, Philip's wishes finally come true and he looks great. This all happens because he gets into an accident and he has to get multiple surgeries done, thus changing his appearance. Although he faced many challenges, he persevered and never gave up and got everything he ever wanted. He got a healthy body, nice wife and family and everyone started to appreciate him.

     This shows that when push comes to shove, you should always keep fighting because everything you want will happen one day.