Krista Ramsey : The Columnist

Jail Program Needs Volunteers Willing to Listen 

In the article above, Krista talks about how she has tried to avoid anything thing that had to do with inmates or a prison. Soon to realize that she would have to cover a story on the topic and when she does she comes to learn that these people may have done some terrible things, but they are still people and they shouldn't have to be cooped up. She then finds out about the program where volunteers come in and talk with these inmates for a good 20 minutes about anything from Bengals games to their rough childhood. (Click on the link above to find out more). 

"He who enters here leaves not hope behind"
This quote is important to this article because it shows that even though they are in prison for a crime and that they may or may not be proud of they should still carry hope and never leave it. There is syntax present in this sentence. The order of words is not sound like a normal English sentence. The author uses this syntax to make the sentence pop and stand out to the reader so it draws attention and shows a stronger importance.

Krista has a certain writing style like much of other columnists but hers portrays something different. It makes you feel connected to the world. Krista uses not big news highlights but tiny things that are happening around the community. In her article about the over use of electronics she states, " The kid who used to walk home from school looking at houses and trees now rides home staring at a screen not much bigger than his hand...". Also she uses syntax and diction to draw the reader in. In some of her other columns such as the one about QB's scoring great points for style she uses diction to make the sentence more dramatic, " That's why Russell is very adamant about taking a shower..." Words such as the one that is bold above are what make the column more interesting. Though in some of Krista's articles syntax is the key to interest. You can find evidence of syntax in her article about the inmates, "...  I’d written the statistics a hundred times, but the obscene cost of trying to contain and restrain thousands of inmates – some for decades, some for lifetimes – finally hit me" The way the sentence was stuctured adds a different level of  understanding about the topic and not only makes the reader want to finish but to understand the column. 

3 Questions For The Author

• What inspires you to write? Is it a family member or is it just what you love to do?
• What college did you attend? What was your major?
• Do you purposefully add diction or syntax or does your writing craft just come naturally?

Heaven Is For Real Review

SUMMARY: 

**SPOILER ALERT**

This story starts off with a family in a rough spot and they are just struggling to make it by but as long as the have the lord on there side they will always make it by. The dad Todd Burpo works many jobs and raises two kids with the help of his wife. Along there journey there son has a amazing experience that the family will never forget. His son Colton visited Heaven and came back to tell his story. At first it took a while for people to believe this story but slowly it gained publicity and was known nation wide within a few short months.
*Read Heaven Is For Real to find out what happens next*

RATING: 
I give this book a 9. I loved this book and every lesson that came along with it. I also love how well it was written it made me feel like I was a part of the story. I would recommend this book to everyone and anyone who would like to read about a mind blowing event. The reason I didn't give this book a 10 was because it didn't challenge me to have to really think and comprehend while I was reading. Other than that I was thrilled with this book.

Review:
" A beautifully written glimpse into heaven that will encourage those who doubt and thrill those who believe" 

~Ron Hall

"Heaven Is For Real is a wonderful book. It reaffirms how important faith is in our lives-for children as well as adults"

~Timothy P. O'Holleran, MD 

   

Why I chose Heaven is for Real

This book so far has inspired me and has allowed me to improve my faith. Before I started to read this book I had already heard so many great things about it such as it would make you view the world differently and give you the ability to believe in miracles again. The way this book is written is just another reason to why it is so good. I am not super far into the book but I am far enough to the point where I know what is happening and what is going to happen.

I am inspired. The way Colton, the main character, deals with all his traumatic experiences at such a young age shows that he has a great sense of life already. Also the dad has to persuade people to believe Colton’s journey. The story the dad is willing to tell about what Colton tells him is unbelievable and that is the main reason why people in the book have trouble believing the story.

My faith has been strengthened. The things that are described in this book are not only mind blowing but if you chose to believe them (which I did) they can be life changing. When Colton leaves the hospital bed he has experienced something like no other. He claims to have encountered God. He also describes some events that he could only know if what he is saying is true. This book so far has allowed me to believe that anything is possible as long as you have God in your life.      

Heaven Is For Real

Author Background: 

The author of, Heaven Is For Real, is Todd Burpo. 

"Todd Burpo is the pastor of Crossroads Wesleyan Church in Imperial, Nebraska where his sermons are broadcast locally every Sunday via the local radio station. He volunteers at Chase County Public Schools as wrestling coach for Junior high school students, as well as serving as a member of the school board. In emergencies Todd can be found working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Imperial Volunteer Fire Department as a fire fighter. He is also the chaplain for the Nebraska State Volunteer Firefighter's Association. To support his family, Todd also operates a company called Overhead Door Specialists. Todd graduated from Oklahoma Wesleyan University in 1991" 

Todd Burpo Article  

Todd Burpo is a very successful man. Along with this he has a very unique family. He later in his life writes a book about his son's trip to heaven (Heaven Is For Real) and in this book it describes his son's experience, the family's experience and the affect that all of this had on the people around them.  

My Thoughts:

Even though I have not read this book yet I have heard great reviews and I am very interested in the topic. I do also have an understanding of what happens in the book because of my research on it. I am very excited to read this and hopefully it is as good as I am expecting. 

  

Review of Lovely Bones

Summary: 
              *SPOILER ALERT* 
   Murdered by her next door neighbor Mr. Walker at the age of 12, Susie Salmon finds herself in a beautiful land, not quite Heaven, where she can observe and comment on the lives of her family and friends. Her body is never discovered and her parents suffer an unimaginable pain. The strain is far too much and her mother leaves. Her father continues to investigate and over many years maintains contact with the police officer in charge of the investigation. Susie also gets to watch Walker and learns of his long list of victims. She also sees him prepare for his next victim, her younger sister Lindsey. To find out what happens next read Lovely Bones. 
Rating:
   I rate this book a 8. This book shows great word placement/ diction and this also helps the reader understand if the chapter is taking place in the in-between or on Earth. I also enjoy the descriptions in the book. The setting of the in-between is a somewhat fantasy place that would take a lot of detail to get the reader to be able to picture this place in their mind but Alice does a great job of filling peoples minds with a sense of joyful bitterness about this place and creates an everlasting image that allows you to visually picture the scene. The only thing I didn't really enjoy about this book was that Alice dragged on some non-important events that could be described in a couple of chapters.  

Review: 
"Mesmerizing" - New York Times Book Review

"Don't start The Lovely Bones unless you can finish it. The book begins with more horror than you could imagine, but closes with more beauty than you could hope for" -Christian Science Monitor

"Savagely beautiful" - San Francisco Chronicle

"Haunting." - Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Lovely Bones: Quotes with Importance

"She was standing in my path that night when my soul shrieked out of Earth. I could not help but graze her. Once released from life, having lost it in such violence, I couldn't calculate my steps... In violence it is the getting away that you concentrate on." (Sebold 41).     This quote describes the moment when Susie is leaving Earth, her soul has left her body. When this happens she sees a girl named Ruth and when she sees this girl she touches her, making Ruth have a dream about what has happened to Susie. The next day she tells her mom what she sees and Ruth describes what seems to be so real. Her mother doesn't think anything of this and told Ruth to leave it alone. I think that Ruth has some importance to Susie that hasn't been told yet.
     This has importance within Susie's death, I was wondering, why Ruth?  Why did Susie's soul encounter this girl before she made her way up into the in-between? I am now starting to think that Ruth might be helpful in the investigations of Susie. I can start to conclude that Ruth met Susie in this way for a very specific reason. I predict that Ruth helps find Susie's murderer and helps the police complete the investigation so that Susie can finally rest in peace.

Lovely Bones : The Investigation

In my book the girl Susie Salmon gets murdered. As they look for Susie they find multiple clues leading them to believe she is dead. I also believe that each of these pieces of evidence is a symbol.
     The first symbol I came across was a piece of evidence, her elbow. The elbow gave her family devastation but hope. The elbow symbolizes the pieces of Susie that will never return, It also makes sense that the elbow would stand for the smallest part of Susie, the elbow shows the amount of HOPE Susie had in her life, she didn't have very much. There are many ways that the author of the story hints this to us. The author states various flashbacks that happens during Susie's life, all of them showing her insecurities and her biggest insecurity was her lack of hope.
     The second symbol I found was also another piece of evidence, her book. As the police go further and further into the investigation they find more and more evidence making it ore apparent that Susie is dead. The book that the police found in the corn field was "To Kill A Mocking Bird" . Not only does the title show symbolism but even why she had the book in the first place. In the story it says that in order to receive this book you must have completed the other books on the class list. Since Susie has possession of this book it shows that she was very smart. Also this smartness lead to curiosity.
     In conclusion the two symbols I chose, if put together are what resulted in Susie's murder. The reason Susie went into the cabin with this man is because she was curious and she didn't follow her mothers instructions and let the man manipulate her into staying with him in the cabin. Also since Susie was not hopeful she didn't try to live even if she could have she just gave up her fight to early.