Book Review - Ms Brogan

The book I have read is called the Summer I Turned Pretty by Jenny Han. It is the first book of a trilogy I read a few years ago but went back to read again as I enjoyed them so much.

This book is about a girl called Belly (Isobel) who spends every summer in a beach house her family share with the family of close friends of theirs. During one particular summer the boys of the family they share the house with begin to actually notice Belly for the first time and we get to see how their relationships change so dramatically over the course of this summer. Throughout the book we also see flashbacks of previous summers spent in the beach house as children when they just treated each other like siblings. The book also deals with the boys' mother's struggle with cancer and chemotherapy and how that also begins to alter the group and family dynamic during that summer.

I truly love this book as I spend the majority of my summers in our family mobile home in Wexford and I can relate hugely to the idea of escaping from normal daily life to somewhere so calm and different. Whilst reading the book when Belly was looking back on her childhood memories of playing on the beach or having barbeques I felt as if I was almost looking back at my own memories. This was not only because I have similar memories of my summers but because Han's writing is so subtly detailed and authentic that it has the power to make you feel nostalgia for a place you have never even visited or events you have never experienced. It is the type of book that you become so totally engrossed in that you feel like you know all the places and characters on a personal basis.

I would recommend this book for any girls aged between twelve and seventeen as I enjoyed reading it just as much now as I did when I was in sixth class. It is perfect for anyone looking for a light read that might even be a bit of a tear jerker.

Spanish blog - for mr mcgraine

Mi mejor amigo se llama cathal. Es un año mas jóven que yo, tiene quince años. Su cumpleaños es el dos de noviembre.

Cathal es un Chico bajo ( pero, es mas alto que yo) y delgado. Tiene los ojos verdes y el pelo rubio, corto y rizado. Es un un persón nut divertido y me disfruto mucho pasar tiempo con Cathal.

Nos hicimos amigos hace once años, cuando tuve cinco años. Vivo en celbridge y Cathal vibe muy lejos en Dublin. A veces, conocimos en el ciudad de Dublin y vamos de compras no vamos al cine. Tambien, pasamos nuestros veranos en Wexford juntos. En Wexford vamos a la playa cada día y nadamos en el mar. En el tarde andamos en la playa y hacemos fuegos.

El pasatiempo favorito de Cathal Es bailar y cantar, tiene much talent.

Cathal Es mi mejor amigo porous siempre Me llevo muy bien con Cathal.

Charity Ball

On Friday 27th November I attended a charity ball in the Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth along with many other people from my year and school. The ball was to raise money for the Sickle Cell Society of Ireland as a girl from Kings Hospital school suffered a stroke as a result of Sickle Cell Disease in June and had been in hospital since then. Luckily she was well enough to attend the ball, making it the first time she had left hospital since her diagnosis.

Sickle Cell Disease is a condition that affects red blood cells causing them to become stiff and sticky, meaning they sometimes get stuck and clog blood vessels. This can result in infections, organ damage, strokes or blindness.

My friends and I all met up before the ball to get pictures together and everyone looked great. We had a fab night although it was hard enough to dance in our dresses, but more importantly we contributed to a very good cause.

Halloween Dress-Up

The last day of school before October mid-term was our annual Halloween dress-up day.The theme for Transition Years was superheros and villains so three of my friends and I decided to dress up as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was Donatello and I think I really committed to my character. I wore a green top, a shell, a belt and six pack as well as a purple eye mask. I also brought in a wooden bo staff which is Donatello's weapon of choice, which I really think made my costume authentic.

We got to walk in the fashion show at lunch time and I think we gave an exciting and action filled performance as I did tumbles and ninja kicks. Sadly we did not win the dress-up competition but I know that I am a winner on the inside. 

JC Results

In September all of my friends and I received the results from our Junior Cert exams that we sat last June. The morning of results we were all very nervous about finding out how we did but once we got the envelopes with our results in them we were all fairly pleased with what we got.

After I got my results my mam and I went for lunch in the orchard cafe and I got a scone and pink lemonade :)))

My friends and I then went to get ready for Wright's later that night. I curled my hair and felt like a magical princes :))) Wright's was good and I didn't fall in my heels.