Post #4: Visiting a classmate's blog

I visited my close-friend Jennifer's blog. Her posts were interesting but the one that caught my eye was the one about the significance of a certain event in the book Looking For Alaska by John Green. I have read that book in the past so I was interested to see what her thoughts about it were since many people seem to have mixed thoughts about the book (including me.) I enjoyed reading her thoughts about it, it seems that she has an understanding of one of the main ideas of the book, so I'm excited to see what comes from her after reading the entire book. 

Check out her blog! 

http://jennydominguezeng2.blogspot.com

IR Blog Post #3 - Questions

Four questions for the author of the current book I am reading: 

• Why was it necessary to bring a girl into Craig's life? Would the story have chaned without her, because she is not really brought up and as important as one would think, in my opinion. 

• Does Craig's perfect family symbolize something? He mentions often that he should be okay and that he feels as though he's over reacting so with his family why is it that he portrays them as perfect. 

• Do you believe Craig's bestfriend was the cause of his problems? Before he met him he never did the things he does now, such as smoke and drink. 

• Why did you make Craig have such common mental disorders yet not make his situation that he's in as relatable to a lot of people? Does this have a purpose? 

IR Blog Post #2 - Significant Section

The most important part of my book that I have so far read is the main character (Craig) being admitted into a mental hospital because of his suicide attempt. Craig was diagnosed with depression and he started taking medication but since he felt that he could live without them because he felt better, he stopped taking them. Craig was under a lot of pressure coming from friends and school and he felt like ending his life would resolve everything. He knew that it was not the right thing to do so he called a suicide hotline number to get help but ended up going to the hospital himself since it was a block away from his house, and there he gets moved to the floor for adults with mental health problems for atlas 5 days. He meets new people and experiences a lot with his family and friends from within the hospital. That's up to where I've read so far.
Now, while this is a great book, I really hate the fact that make the suicidal episode so cookie-cutter and an ideal situation. It's not romanticized but it's kind of like touching upon the tip of the iceberg when theres so much more to suicidal episodes. Craig is privileged to the max and of course that does not invalidate his illness or his situation but sometimes I wish that there'd be a better portrayal of mental illnesses other than "I'm stressed from school so I'm going to commit suicide."
On another note, this scene is significant because I personally believe that going to the hospital for something as serious as suicide attempts is something that'll change someone's life, I say it from experience. Craig has to obviously get better in a way that'll allow him to go home. He makes friends within the hospital he's in and loses some friendships which essentially has the power to change someones life, but in all honestly I can't decide that since 1) I didn't write the book and 2) I haven't finished reading the book. I look forward to continue reading it though.