The winds howling, leaves are falling and this grandeur building standing in front of you, portraying itself like a castle. Except it’s nowhere near a castle or something that majestic. It’s a haunted asylum. The story takes place in Danvers State Hospital. The hospital itself is real and is rumored to be the birthplace of pre-frontal lobotomy also not to mention, haunted. In the book there are six teenagers who sneak into the building. All having their own reasons but are there for one purpose, to make a movie. I believe because this book was written about a real facility it spoke out to me. I felt like the things listed in the book about the patients really might’ve happened. So it was suspenseful therefore I feel like readers into thriller books will like it.

    There was one main theme in the book. If something doesn’t feel right from the start then don’t do it. Other than that there were many underlying themes due to having so many characters. They all had their own kind of theme they related to. But all of them felt weird about going to the asylum and until the very end they all regretted going there. To pick an asylum was the best setting for this book. I mean this whole book revolves around an asylum so if the setting was anywhere else nothing would make sense. It would just be like a mash-up of a scary idea without a proper setting.

     Out of the six characters, Mimi, a Gothic girl had the most impact in the story. In the beginning she is goofy and tries to scare people and just have fun. Soon after she starts finding these clues and hints about a dead girl, whose spirit still haunts the asylum. From that point forward Mimi tries to solve the mystery and changes her attitude from being goofy to very serious. Another character that had the most impact isn’t part of the main six characters. She is actually the ghost named Christinne. In the beginning she is calm and peaceful and leads Mimi to her journal, her painting and gives her several hints about her. After these events take place the other characters are scared and they try to leave. That’s when Christinne’s behavior changes and she becomes violent. However because of Mimi’s will to help her, she calms down and helps the whole crew solve her mystery. If it weren’t for these two characters in the book there would be no suspense or a storyline and honestly this book would’ve been a flop.

    Structure was one of the best parts of the book. Every chapter of the book was set up from the point of view of one of the six characters. They all had their own perspective of the situations so it was nice to know everyone’s thoughts. It was a clever way to write the book and it was simple to understand as well. Along with the structure, the syntax usage was very descriptive and portrayed a lot of imagery. Ex: Pg 39, second sentence: “I cup my hand around Tony’s neck and kiss along the nape.” That sentence shows that they are in a romantic mood and the reader can infer something sexual is going to happen in the next sentence. Which, it does. The author also uses slang terms in her writing. Ex: Pg 47, 5th sentence: “Don’t worry babealicious, I’ll be there to protect you. I’ll always be by your side babycakes.”  The slang usage show that the characters are close to each other or otherwise they wouldn’t use such terms. Another thing the author did a lot is that she made the characters swear a lot. I didn’t find that appealing but it did show the frustration of the character when they were under certain situations. Ex:  Pg 172, the walkie-talkie stops working and Derik goes “Shit! This piece of crap is out again!”

    One of the major events that caused the whole direction of the book to change was when Mimi found Christinne’s journal. The things written in it spooked everyone out and they all just wanted to leave the place. Another major event was when Mimi and the crew went to Christinne’s room. They found a painting on the wall which caused them to verify that the asylum was haunted because the painting was crying. The biggest event was when they actually found the doll which was possessed by Christinne’s spirit. The whole crew was trembling in fear because when Mimi took the doll, the whole place went bizarre. All the windows flying open, wails coming from the hall and that experienced changed everyone. They all hurried out of the asylum but they are still haunted by the thoughts of that day.  On Amazon the book got a rating of 4/5 stars which wasn’t too shabby. Here are some of the reviews I agreed with.  “Project 17 is a page-turner. Once I started reading it I couldn't stop until I was done at one in the morning. Even after I was done I had to keep the light on for a little longer. Most of the events in this book aren't openly scary like a crazy axe murderer chasing everyone around. It's more of a subtle creepy, so that you can almost feel someone unseen behind you, breathing down your neck. That, in my opinion is, much scarier because you’re never really quite sure what to expect. This book will keep you up, reading wide eyed, late into the night.”  “I couldn't put Project 17 down until I was done! I am a fellow YA writer and a huge fan of Laurie's. Her characters are so real and flawless. She never has a single plot hole. And the plot was a real page turner. I had to find out what was going to happen, staying up much past my regular bed time and with the risk of creepy dreams in order to finish it! Highly recommend this to teens and adults!” “Well, that was definitely something. The book is about a boy who was making a movie about a trip to a old mental hospital. In the trip a group of 6 kids travel to the mental hospital and spend the night there. But while they are there the spirit of a girl who used to live there haunts them to find her doll. The book is full of suspense and adventure. BEWARE IF YOU DON'T LIKE HORROR STORIES DON'T READ THIS BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!”

   This book was an awesome read. It kept me up at night past my bed time. Anyone with interest in horror, thriller, and paranormal books will love this book. As you can see I am not giving a bias opinion, other people agree too. Read this book and you will not regret it.

Roni, Rabin. "Legalizing of Marijuana Raises Health Concerns." New York Times. 1.7.13 http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/07/legalizing-of-marijuana-raises-health-concerns/
 This article is listing the pros and cons of marijuana in general. It's mainly focused on the cons. In my opinion however I agree with the cons. Teenagers are becoming dumb. Marijuana is killing the brain cells hence the growth rate of the stupidity in our society. In the article it says that even though Marijuana isn't addictive, teenagers are however vulnerable to addiction. Not the substance itself but the "High." Which may cause them to strive for a better high and try more powerful drugs. After a research it is shown that 1 out of 6 teenagers will become addicted to that feeling. Last but not least I agree with the statement made in the article "We have better things to worry about than legalizing marijuana."


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I have always seen people with amazing talents, that is quick and expressive. I envied those talents they had. Such talents included singing, juggling a soccer ball like it was nothing, doing tricks with a skateboard and much more. All of those things had one thing in common. They were all quick and to the point. People were in awe when they saw something like that. I had no such talents like that though. Every time I tried emulating someones talent, I ended up failing. That made me even more envious. However my latent talent did show up one day in 6th grade. While being bored in class, my hand picked up a pencil and started moving on its own on a sheet of paper. After the class was over, I looked down at my paper and saw my friend's face. I couldn't believe my eyes. Did I really draw him? It wasn't a stick figure either, it was actually his face. I was so proud of myself. I finally had a talent. It might not have been quick and to the point but it was elegant. I had the ability to literally draw anything I envisioned in my mind. It was a great talent. Ever since that day, I have been practicing my artistic abilities trying to hone that skill in everyway. Do you feel like you don't have a talent? If so then you aren't looking hard enough inside of yourself because trust me everyone has a unique talent. If you ever find out then won't you tell me? I'm Curious.

Describe a stressful situation you had to endure. How did you calm yourself down? What are some other coping strategies you regularly use? For two years me and my brother were just raised by our mom. By far that was the most harshest thing I've experienced. We didnt have enough money to do anything. I wasn't of legal age to work and my brother was just a child lost in his imaginations. He would always come to me and tell me how he would buy toys and clothes when our dad would get back. I swear everytime he said that my eyes got teary, yet i had to hold those tears in. I couldn't break down at that time. I was basically the one who gave my mom hope and gave my brother a reason to smile. Coming from a culture where the house wife is almost like a slave, my mom was treated the same way when we took shelter at my aunts house. By slave I mean she was really mistreated. Not to mention, so were we. Whenever something would go wrong me and my brother were always the first to be blamed. I will never forget those two years and the agonizing pain I experienced. Even after everything, my mom tried to provide us with all the essentials we needed. I used to be a child with only one pair of pants. Not only was I verbally tormented at the house but I was also made fun of when I was at school. Some how with my mom's words  of wisdom I got through. She always used to tell me "Even though times are hard, enjoy life. I mean no one gets out alive anyways." Those words really gave me wisdom. I used to cry now and then when everyone was sleep but those were only on nights when things got really hard from me. I basically pondered about my situation and just thought how things could get better, that usually calmed me down. Now I usually play soccer to take my mind of off things or I draw and take pictures. Have you ever had a situation where breaking down was the only answer?

Imagine a world with no leadership that is filled with chaos. A world where you are constantly under threat. Well that's the situation Ethiopia is in right now. After the death of their leader Meles Zenawi, the Ethiopians are in a mournful state. We have no clue what is in store for Ethiopia now.

Meles Zenawi was a very important figure to the Ethiopians. He was also a key U.S. ally in the war on terrorism. The pain of his people are almost tangible. He achieved great accomplishments while being in power. In fact in the interview it was said "A Ethiopia that only made headlines because of its poverty and famine changed into a prosperous country and its economy tripled in size." In 1991 he also over threw the dictatorship in Ethiopia. But his death could pose huge threats against Ethiopia. During his reign of being a prime minister he was already under threats of the Somalians and the jihadists at the horn of Africa but he some how contained the violence from spilling over to his side of the border. Now that he is gone there is no one to protect these thousands of peoples. So you can almost feel their pain if you put yourself in their place.

He was a man of great caliber. Although I didn't know him personally, it felt as if I did by the way him and his feats were described in the interview. I can somewhat feel the pain of his people because if a person of that high importance went missing from my life then I'd be pretty hopeless. What do you think? How would you feel if some one like him was gone forever from your life?