Phina

Our class just finished our Freak The Mighty project! My project is a letter to the editor telling him my thoughts about his book. Freak The Mighty is a very good book, you should all read it!

Take a look at my letter!

March 21, 2013 Phina Chiang

Dear Mr. Rodman Philbrick, Hi! I am Phina Chiang from Shanghai American School. I loved the book “Freak the Mighty”, and a lot of my friends enjoyed reading it too, even my Language arts teacher says its a master piece. Even though I enjoy reading this book, I have a few suggestions that I want to give you, I also want to tell you about what I think about your book, and ask you a few questions. First of all, my teacher, Mr. Cooper, pointed out that on page 117, Killer Kane reached out and “tussles” Max’s hair. After we talked about it, we don’t know if you made this mistake by accident or on purpose. Maybe you want to show us that max wrote this book. But the correct word here would be tousle, the word “tousle” means to make something example hair untidy. But “tussles” means engage in such a struggle or scuffle, we didn’t know which one you meant to use.

My favorite character in the story is Max, I like him because he’s very tall, and very strong. I think he changed a lot in the book. In the beginning of the book, Max thinks that he is very stupid, and doesn’t have a brain. But after Freak came along, Max changed a lot. He became a lot smarter, and his improvement was significant! Even enough to get himself out of the LD class. He was now trying to see the bright side of the world, not just look at the negative side of everything. Even though he is still shy and feels out of place and insecure, it is obvious that he spoke more often in class, and socialized with more people. I think he sort of changed into a brand new person because he made a friend. It’s amazing how much difference in a person a friend can make! If he didn’t meet Freak, he would have never changed.

I think the theme for this book is friendship is everything, I think this is the theme because if it weren’t for friendship, this story won’t happen. After I read this book, I finally get how friendship is important. Before, I thought that friends are just people that understand you, and people that you can share secrets and spend time with. But now I know that friends can stand up for each other, and would always give you the best that they could give you. In the book, after Max and Freak became best friends, they were really enjoying the presence of each other. Max was always happy because he finally had a friend to talk to and express his feelings. Many people say that smiling and laughing will make you healthier and younger, I think that symbolized in the story. Because Max and Freak were such great friends, they accomplished much things together. They found Loretta’s lost purse, sent Killer Kane back to jail, and most importantly, they pulled each other up when they felt down, and shared their happiness when they felt joyful. The power of friendship is invincible!

Now, I want to ask you a few questions about the book...

In the end of the book, when Freak was almost dying, he gave a blank book to Max. Does that mean that the book is written by Max, or by another person? If it was written by Max, how did he know so many good words? I also want to ask you how did you come up with the idea of Freak the Mighty. Was there something that happened that was related to what you wrote in the story? I predict that somebody around you that is very important had Morquio Syndrome. I made this prediction because while I was reading Freak The Mighty, I felt like I was a character in the book. The book was so realistic that I nearly cried when I found out that Freak died. I think the only way to write a book as realistic as this was to have it really happen. I found out that Morquio Syndrome, the disease that Freak has had ever since birth, is very scary, since when I searched it up on Google, I was shocked: the pictures were horrifying, and the description was even more horrifying! I really wish that nobody will get this kind of disease ever again.

Why did you add the historical facts about King Arthur? That is one of the biggest question marks I had when I was reading the book. First I thought that it might be because you, Mr. Philbrick liked the history of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. But then at the end of the book, my opinion totally changed. Before Freak died, he was pretending that nothing is happening to him, and that he is not afraid to do surgery, which has a direct connection to chivalry: show courage and bravery at all times. Being brave and courageous is the inherent to the stories of King Arthur and his knights. Maybe that’s why you wrote about King Arthur in your story.

I really enjoy reading the similes and metaphors that you used in your book to describe a person. That really gives the reader a vivid picture of how the person is really like. I figure that I could use those similes and metaphors that you have used really well to put in my writing to make it more interesting and enjoyable.

Lastly, I want to ask you, Mr. Philbrick, why didn’t you make Freak the Mighty longer. Maybe write about how Max was acting after freak dies, and the process of Max writing in the book that Freak gave him. That was why I was sort of disappointed at the end of the story. I want to know more! I also think that you really should write a few more books about Max, and what happened to him, maybe even make a trilogy! Or, maybe you could write something about Freak and Max that we didn’t know. That would be very interesting!

Sincerely yours,

Phina Chiang

lmedia type="custom" key="22008078" This is my iMovie chivalry project. My group members are Marianne, William, and Daniel.Our iMovie is about the death of king arthur. Hope you learn some new things!! Enjoy :)!!!!

Before, Now, and After By Phina C1 8/27/2012

Yesterday... I hated to have to be on time, but I loved to spend time with my friends. I didn’t believe in santa, but I believed in wonder. I was nervous about speaking in front of a lot of people, but I was confident about making new friends.

Today... I hate to clean my room, but I love to disarray my room. I don’t believe in magic, but I believe in doing your best. I am nervous about going on stage, but I am confident about myself.

Tomorrow... I will hate to go to work, but I will love to be chatting with my friends for hours and hours. I will not believe in what happened in cartoons, but I will believe in the lessons teachers taught me. I will be nervous about getting in trouble, but I will be confident about the goals I have accomplished. The Sea

The sun is rising The sea is flowing slowly In the summer wind

Hobbies

I love to read books and listening to music and playing outdoor

Dreams my dream is to be good at spelling and writing and be a writer

My Dreams
 * M**y dreams is to travel around the world
 * Y**elling on the mountain peak
 * D**eep inside the caves
 * R**ain stopped, sun came out
 * E**ager to go outside and look at the rainbow
 * A**lone on the mountain
 * M**akes me feel relaxed
 * S**o, it’s time to go to another place!

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