Learning From Fiction – Teens Can Write, Too! December 2014 Blog Chain

TCWT prompt for this month: “What works of fiction have taught you by example, and what did they teach you?”

Guys, I really, really, really like this prompt, because, to be honest, books have taught me more about life than 14 years of school will ever be able to.

Gather around the bonfire, children – I’m going to tell you about the lessons I’ve learnt.

I have learnt a LOT from a LOT of books, & I don’t think I’ll be able to write it all down here, wherefore tonight I’ll be telling you about the lessons I’ve learnt from my top three favourite books.

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling  <<might contain spoilers>>

J.K. Rowling is our queen. Such a brilliant plot and such brilliant lessons? Amazing.

Okay, so the first & the most important thing I learnt from this book is that, it’s okay to be a little different, & a little weird. Look at Luna Lovegood. She was a little different, & a little crazy, but that’s what made her awesome.

No.2 : Never, ever judge a person. Look at Snape. Not everything is what it seems.

No.3 : It’s not what a person is, it’s who a person is. Stereotypes are wrong. Remus Lupin? Yep, he was a werewolf. So? Did that define his behaviour? No.

No.4 : Your family doesn’t necessarily define you. Draco Malfoy’s family didn’t define him. Sirius Black’s family didn’t define him.

No. 5 : In the end, it doesn’t matter what you fought with, what matters is what you fought for. Draco fought with Harry to save his family.

No. 6 : The Weasley family taught me about how important family is.

No. 7: Neville Longbottom taught me about bravery. It isn’t about being fearless, but it’s about having fears & facing them.

No. 8: Fred & George Weasley taught me about how important laughter is, & that life shouldn’t always be taken that seriously.

No. 9: Hermione Granger taught me about standing up for ourselves, & how important proper education is.

No. 10: Ron Weasley taught me that it is alright to not always be perfect, & that loving to eat is perfectly acceptable. And remember that little incident before his first Quidditch match? Yeah, the most important ingredient in the recipe for success is believing in yourself.

No. 11: Dobby taught me about being loyal to one’s friends & the struggle many people go through for freedom.

No. 12: Harry & Hedwig’s relationship taught me about the love for our pets (guys I’m going to start crying).

The Look by Sophia Bennett

My best friend gifted me a copy of this novel last year on my birthday, & words can’t express my gratitude to her for introducing me to this amazing book & amazing author. I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH I CAN’T EVEN. Trisha, if you’re reading this – THANK YOU SO MUCH ONCE AGAIN.

Tiny summary-ish thing <<no spoilers>>

It’s about this girl Ted (her & I are sort-of the same age – parfait) who suddenly gets, um, thrown/whirled/involved in a career (it’s modelling, if you’re wondering) she had never considered. And then she is getting told by, like, half the people in the industry that she encounters that she’s plain perfect for it, but the rest of the people don’t feel the same way. Her mother is against modelling. Her best (& only) friend makes fun of the people in the industry. And Ted has always known that she isn’t gorgeous. Her sister Ava is the gorgeous one, isn’t it so? Yea, maybe, but the people at the modelling agency are fawning over Ted. Ted is confused. Then suddenly, Ava gets diagnosed with cancer, & she may or may not survive. Ted’s world gets turned upside down. Should she become a model, or not? What will the people around her think? And what about Ava’s condition? And her mother’s views?

(Eh, why did I even write a summary? I need to be talking about the lessons I learnt from this book.)

Okay, so the first thing I learnt from this book is that there will always be times when you have to take a huge decision & the people around you that you care about don’t approve of your decision (Daisy, Mum), & then there will also be a few people who encourage you to just go for it (Ava).

It also taught me (though I don’t think that taught is the best possible word here, but you know what I mean, right?) that we all have dreams that we are too shy to tell others about because we’re afraid that they will judge us, but we shouldn’t be, because they’re our dreams, & dreams are actually what make life worth living.

I think that it also deals with issues of body image (I’m probably the only reader of this book who thinks that) & confidence, especially the way young cancer patients start to look at themselves after undergoing chemotherapy & all, like it was with Ava once she started with the treatment.

Other than that, this book kinda shows the behind the scenes of the fashion industry, which was a huge help to me in writing one of my novels.

Basically, this book is amazing & it has taught me a lot (yeah, there’s more, but I don’t think that I’ll be able to put all that in words, considering the terrible job I did with the stuff I did write) & I’m really thankful for this book.

I might have to do a separate post just for this book. Anyways, let’s move on.

The Fault in Our Stars by John Green

This book is just – WOAH. When I first got obsessed with this book, I used to carry it around everywhere with me & I hugged it a lot (& I think that explains why my copy of this book has a sort of wrinkly cover). That’s just how much I love this book. It taught me a lot of things.

• The world isn’t a wish granting factory.  It isn’t. Things won’t always go like we want them to, but no one can help it. It’s just a simple fact of life.
• You don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world, but you do have some say in who hurts you. You are the one who has to decide who gets to hurt you & who doesn’t, who’s worth your tears & who isn’t. No one can take that decision for you.
• Love & friendship can be found in the darkest of times in the most unexpected places. Hazel met Isaac & Augustus at Support Group, a place where she dreaded going to.
• Always live in the moment. You never know when something good will end, so enjoy everything to the fullest. Hazel’s happy time with Augustus came to an end when she least expected it. Everything & everyone in this world has an expiration date.

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Go check out the responses of other blogs to this prompt! The day by day schedule for this month’s blog chain is as follows –

5^th – http://thelittleenginethatcouldnt.wordpress.com/

6^th – http://nasrielsfanfics.wordpress.com/

7^th – https://erinkenobi2893.wordpress.com/

8^th – http://introspectioncreative.wordpress.com/

9^th – http://semilegacy.blogspot.com/

10^th – http://kirabudge.weebly.com/

11^th – http://whileishouldbedoingprecal.weebly.com/

12^th – https://randomosityofeden.wordpress.com/ (That’s me!)

13^th – http://musingsfromnevillesnavel.wordpress.com/

14^th – http://www.alwaysopinionatedgirl.wordpress.com/

15^th – http://www.juliathewritergirl.wordpress.com/

16^th – http://miriamjoywrites.com/

17^th – http://horsfeathersblog.wordpress.com/

18^th – http://unironicallyexcited.wordpress.com/

19^th – http://theboardingblogger.wordpress.com/

20^th – http://stayandwatchthestars.wordpress.com/

21^st – http://unikkelyfe.wordpress.com/

22^nd – http://fantasiesofapockethuman.blogspot.com/

23^rd – http://lilyjenness.blogspot.com/

24^th – http://oliviarivers.wordpress.com/

25^th – [off-day]

26^th – http://butterfliesoftheimagination.wordpress.com/

27^th – http://missalexandrinabrant.wordpress.com/

28^th – http://www.pamelanicolewrites.com

29^th – http://jasperlindell.blogspot.com.au/

30^th – http://maralaurey.wordpress.com/ and http://theedfiles.blogspot.com/

31st – http://teenscanwritetoo.wordpress.com/

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Adios!

-Briar