Billy Lau the AMAZING Writer

        The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini is about revenge, love, forgiveness, friendship and many more. I could go on forever talking about all the categories this book fits in with.  The Kite Runner is a fiction novel about a boy who lives in Afghanistan during an invasion by the Russians and about how the hard events that he encounters are solved. The thrilling historical novel talks about how Amir (the main character) has problems with himself and other people. He encounters numerous bumps in his life to be good and clean again. Throughout the book, Amir experiences the loss of family and relatives, a rape, courageous acts by Baba and the finding of a long lost nephew. 


        Amir is "friends" with a Hazara named Hassan. In Afghanistan, Hazaras were considered people of lower class. He is his servant but also his only friend.In one part of the book,  Amir watches as Hassan gets raped, but Amir could not do anything due to their lack of friendship. They are friends, but in reality you can not become friends with your servant and have a good life with them. In this book, social rank and racism stops Amir from helping Hassan out. After the rape, Amir and Hassan slowly drift away from each other to the point where they start live half the globe away from each other. Shortly after, the Russians invade and during that time, Baba's old friend (Rahim Khan) called Amir to ask him to fulfill his life and to complete what he has left in Afghanistan.  He told Amir to come back and pick his nephew up and to bring him to America with him. Rahim Khan intently tricked Amir that there was a shelter for his nephew, knowing that there is no safe orphanage, Amir has no choice but to take his nephew back with him to America. This book teaches about how you must finish something you started. The purpose was to tell how a single child could do so much harm to his friend, but at the end fix it all back up. In reality, the purpose is to talk about how Afghans have been struggling to overcome violence and how hard everyday life was after the invasion. The purpose was obviously clear in this book here:

"Khaled Hosseini gives us a vivid and engaging story that reminds us... people have been struggling to triumph over the forces of violences...threaten them even today."

This book has powerful and inspiring messages that are not just to tell a story, but to tell of a story of how family, friendship, and betrayal all work in one boy's life that changes him forever.

"Would he do the same for you? ... Because to him, you're nothing but an ugly pet... Don't ever fool yourself and think you're something more."

In this quote, Assef has blocked Hassan's way and asked him puzzling questions. He asked him if Amir would be this nice to Hassan if he was in need. He asked him if Hassan really thinks that Amir is his friend. When Amir hears this he feels like a bolder just hit him and that he can not escape if the question is not answered. To Amir, Hassan is really just a friend. Amir really thinks Hassan is a friend but he is not willing to stand up for it because of their class differences. They play together 24/7. How could they not be friends? To Hassan, Amir is the only friend he has got. Hassan is not afraid to admit that his friend is like a king compared to him. He is not afraid to say that Amir is his only best friend in the whole wide world. Their friendship is like a rope. Hassan on one end and Amir on the other but in the middle is a big wall that says racism and social rank. They both look at each other differently, but as time goes on Hassan still loves Amir and Amir starts to see what he has to do to make up for his friendship.

The final is finally here and I am still surprised that the ending ended happily. Amir and Soraya finally gets a son after many years and all who died: Baba, Rahim Khan, Hassan, Hassan's wife and many more resolved happily.  I think it is mainly because Amir starts praying. Religion hits him hard like a rock and awakes him up. In the end, everyone is happy or will start to get happy.


Religion was a really important theme towards the end of the novel. I do not think Baba was a religious person, but Amir started to become one at the end.The only way for help when he becomes independent and after Baba dies forces him th turn to religion. Religion is the only thing that is willing to help him. It clearly shows that religion works and Sohrab is saved. He asks God for forgiveness and God helped him give up all his sins to God. I remember when Sohrab almost dies he promises God that he will pray everyday, fast, and do his rituals when it needs to be done. .

Religion was also important to Assef. He claims that God has awakened him in his life. After he got out of prison, Assef joins the Taliban and starts punishing people. He starts killing the Hazaras and anyone he does not like or someone he thinks did something wrong. I completely think this is a lie. He was bad in the beginning and now he claims to be doing God's work. He is just making up excuses to kill more people. If you believe in God, you will at least start to think twice about killing someone. I believe he did not get a spiritual awakening. 


I am a Christian and I now what it feels like to be awakened. Amir has been awakened for sure, but Assef is totally the same person. In conclusion, I really enjoy this book. To be honest, this is the best book I ever read in my life. This book has made me continue to search for other similar books like this. 

I found a quote from Karissa's blog that I can relate to

 I had a very good talk about this with one of my friends who goes there and she encouraged me to keep asking. She also agreed with me on the fact that if parents don't let their kids do anything, they'll most likely end up rebelling later on. Her mom even agreed with me. I told her i would keep asking if I could come with them  but I don't know what to do to change her mind. If you have any ideas let me know. ......maybe I'll ask my dad if I can go next week. He's a lot more reasonable...

     My parents are exactly the same. They barely let me leave the house if I do not have parent supervision. I am 14, I do not need parent supervision. Just the other day, I saw a girl about 8 who was standing by the bus stop alone waiting for a bus to come. She was perfectly fine and her parents did not care. So why do my parents always lock me in the house. I think it is because our parents care for us.
    My parents think I am stupid and that I can not ride the bus home or even sometimes walk home. I think that they worry too much about us. I wonder what they would do once I have to go to college. They probably would put one of those tracking devices on me so they know that I am safe and that I won''t get lost. My parents and other parents seriously have to take a break and let there kids do whatever they want, and if the outcome is good then the parent should let the kid continue what he/she was doing if not then do not let the kid continue.

     The chocolate war is one of my favorite books. I read it in 8th grade and it is a very good book.  The plot is very difficult to describe to. The story is about a boy named Jerry Renault who is a freshman at a private high school called Trinity. In the novel Jerry frequently asked himself a question that is posted inside his locker: "Do I dare disturb the universe?"  At Trinity a big man secret group called the Vigils have a lot of power and they often give other students assignments that are made to poke fun at other people or sometimes hurt someone. Another character named Archie Costello is one of the leaders of the Vigils, he is the most intelligent person ever and he never fails to do anything people ask him. His reputation is at its peak and he is a very important character in the novel. One day,the principal asked everyone to sell chocolates to raise money. He makes a smart move and he asked Archie and The Vigils to "help" out. Through out the rest of the story, Archie and the Vigils do interesting things that makes people sell the chocolates, all but Jerry.  The story ends with a boxing match, and in the end Jerry asked himself again "Do I dare disturb the universe?" 
   I think this book is the best and no other book can beat it except maybe Letters to Algernon, which is a whole diary of a mentally ill guy who can barely write and act correctly who turns into a genius. I totally think we should read the chocolate war and maybe Letters to Algernon. The Chocolate War talks about how a teenage life shouldn't be and when are the right times when you must not deny someone. In conclusion, I hope that you guys can go to the library and pick up a copy if we do not read this in class.This is an AWESOME book!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The second part of Kite Runner was very sad and many characters have died. The second part was more interesting then the first part. Amir has discovered things that happened in Afghanistan when he was in America. In America Amir gets married and Baba dies. Baba becomes more attached to Amir in America. One example is when they both go out to the flea market every Sunday and meet new people.  Baba was a major part of Amir's life and most of the decisions Amir has are made by him. Amir griefs over his death and I think his God is trying to punish him for what he did to Hassan.


Amir adjusts to America very quickly mainly because he finds a wife. Amir had bad memories in Afghanistan, and it was time for him to move on and forget about the past and to start a new beginning.  I think that the part where Amir goes back to the Afghan was a bad decision. He should not have to endure more pain about something that has already happened. He wanted to end that part of his life in Afghanistan and going to America is perfect. Everyone still does it. They move to America for a fresh start. In America, He goes to college, gets married, and gets a job as a writer and published four books already. America is like a dream country for most people. 


There is a lot of deaths in the second part and it seems completely different from the first. Im sure the last part will be very sad and even more intense. I think that every thing is going to work out in the end. Throughout the book, Amir feels happy, sad, angry, selfish, and shameful. He experiences loss of people, gifts, deaths, rape, and marriage, but I think he has been shaped by them. Overall, this book has given me more ideas of whats happening in Afghanistan and how people there are going through emotional times compared to the USA. Some questions I really want answers to are: Why is there a war in Afghanistan and what are they fighting over? Which side is the US helping? I hope as I read on these questions will be answered

As I am doing this blog post right now, I am on Facebook. FACEBOOK. FACEBOOK. FACEBOOK. The world has changed because of Facebook. On Facebook you can have a million friends but in reality only that one person is your true friend. The truth is everyone one is addicted to Facebook. Here is a quote I found on Andy's blog.

Facebook runs a big aspect of my life. Usually, the first thing I do when I get home is turn on the computer, and go on AIM and Facebook. On a regular school day, I typically spend around two or three hours on Facebook. On the days I do not have school, which include Saturday and Sunday, I would estimate that you can find me online for at least four hours of the day. 

The first sentence saids Facebook runs a big aspect of my life. How can a website run someone's life? How did this all start and how do we all avoid this? Here are some tips on how to avoid Facebook as much.




2. Stop the Facebook emails. You can switch the setting off any day. So do this today. Many people read their email daily, and they do get caught up on Facebook junk mail. They get tempted to click it and they eventually do.


3. Avoid games and stupid fake applications and quizzes. Playing games, taking fake quizzes, and doing those applications are very time consuming.

Why choose iPad ? Many have wondered about this and still have trouble finding why. Well, what is an iPad? An iPad is a tablet computer made by Apple. It is made for reading audio books,watching movies, browsing the web, listening to music, and most importantly playing games. An iPad is portable and a lot bigger than the Ipod touch or the Iphone, but it does mostly the same task like them. A iPad's starting price is 499 US dollars, a lot more compared to the Ipod touch, but also a lot better in many ways.The iPad has a multitouch surface, allowing you to touch the surface with two fingers and both fingers will work finely. The battery is said to last up to 10 hours of video, 140 hours of audio playback, or one month on standby. Here are two of the many features an iPad gives: 


IBooks 
One of the most awesome features the iPad has is their new iBooks application. iBooks lets you read electronic books on the iPad. If you are a book lover who uses an another electronic book reader, then you will like the iPad. Apple is planning to expand its books.  

     In the Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, Baba and Amir's relationship are very far apart. They were father and son and not master to servant. They should be closer, and they do bond later on in the book. I think it is sad how Hassan and Amir's relationship with one another is stronger than Amir to his dad. Unfortunately, over time the bong between the servant and his master gets split apart.
     Hassan and Amir are very close buddies. They read stories for each other and talk about movies. Hassan's only friend is Amir and Amir means alot to Hassan. In this quote Amir and Hassan bond together

"...I read him stories he couldn't read for himself... We sat for hours under that tree."

Amir to Hasaan is like a toy. People and things can take it away from you, but you should always cherish the time you spend every second with it.
     Amir's dad could never look at his son and be proud at least not before the kite tournament. His dad was so different from him. Baba was athletic but Amir likes sitting around and reading. Baba said he wouldn't have known Amir was his son if he did not see with his own eyes Amir getting pulled out of his mother's womb because they were so different.

"If I hadn't seen the doctor pull him out of my wife with my own eyes, I'd never believe he's my son."

This is significant because as the story goes on I think there relationship together will change.