Honesty Hour

Truthfully, I don't even know why I'm still reading this book. It goes against everything i would normally enjoy. I'm pleasantly surprised because I have no idea why but I actually like Beautiful Creatures.

Its definitely a fantasy type of book. It mentions spells and spirits and stuff. There was this one ghost part that was just weird. There's a lot of suspense because most of the book is building up toward Lena's 16th Birthday. Instead of having a sweet 16, her life is altered forever.

I really like how the authors incorporate history into the book as well. It makes it seem more reliable because she uses events and facts that actually happened. I also am very impressed that 2 people wtoe this book. They must be really close because I know I wouldn't be able to do that with just anyone.

All in all, I really like this book. The authors do a wonderful job of keeping you on the hook.

Beautiful Creatures

Lately, my book has been very vague and mysterious. Other than the reoccurring flashback that jolt Ethan and Lena every time they tough the pendant, there is the reaction from Amma. As soon as Amma heard about the pendant she screamed at Ethan and brought her magic cloth to hide it in. Yeah, little weird. But, I didn’t think too much of it because Amma is an eccentric woman with some really weird quirks.

 

            I still haven’t gotten to the plot yet which frustrates me a little. I have kept on reading because the events that happened so far have been interesting but, if the plot doesn’t start to appear soon I’m going to get bored. So far its just been a lot of random events and flashbacks jumbled together. I still enjoy reading it though, granted im only at 16% im not sure how long I can still read this.

Connections

In Beautiful Creatures, there is a couple of brief paragraphs talking about a flashback. The flashback took place in the south, during a war. The confederates and Union soldiers are fighting to the death in the town of Gatlin. It talks about how many soldiers deserted and ran away from their commanders. Garcia writes, “‘Ethan Carter Wate was one of ‘em’. All three of them lowered their heads as if the shame was just too much for them.”

            In history class I learned how many soldiers could not bear the war and deserted their position. Normally this was not honorable for a soldier to do and was frowned upon. They were considering traitors. This directly connects to how the 3 aunts were ashamed because of Ethan. The women even neglected to place him on the family tree.

            So far I have liked this book, oddly enough. This really just isn’t my normal genre. I’m not into fantasy stuff; I used to be though when I was younger. But the fact that I’m starting to enjoy reading this makes me happy that I can expand my palate once in a while. Im really looking forward to finishing the book, as it is rather rrrrreeallly long. Its super long which does worry me a little bit, I hope it will be engaging throughout.

First Impressions

Alright, so I am a little mad that I couldn’t get my hands on Dorothy must die.  That book must be the bomb because it’s checked out in both the libraries I went to.  I picked up a new book called Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl.

            So far it’s about a typical young teen named Ethan Wate. Ethan lives in the south and he absolutely hates his town.One time he mentions that, everyone in his town is the same and they punish people socially for going against the "norm". He loathes the way rumors spread and the meager size. Ethan counts down every day till he can leave that place forever. Ethan’s mom died in a horrendous car crash last summer and his dad has turned into a recluse ever since. It’s kinda sad because I can tell that he wants to have a deeper relationship with his dad.

            A new girl moves into town and the whole town is abuzz with gossip. Ethan distuingishes her from the dreams he’s been having. Here’s where I lost a little interest in the book because I thought it seemed a little cliché. The song he keeps on hearing in his head, it just got a little strange at this point. Anyway, the author seems to mention MANY times the color of her eyes, it’s kind of annoying....and awkward. Ethan whispers, “She had the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen, so green they could be considered a new color altogether”(Stohl 32). I’m sensing some foreshadowing here, like maybe she turns into a werewolf or something. Man, I hope this book doesn’t turn out like Twilight.

Plus, this book has been turned into a movie also, so it’s got to be pretty good right?

 

The trailer is below if you would like to watch it.

Trailer

 

Dorothy must Die

Recently, you could say I have lost interest in the "Divergent" series. It really just never appealed to me and I eventually had to drop it. So, I’ve been in the market for some new books.

I looked around the internet for a while and everyone is talking about this new book. Titled “Dorothy must die”. It seems like an odd twist on the classical story of the wizard of oz. Everybody is raving about this book and it feels like a break from the stereotypical teen fiction books that turn out to be best sellers.

So the book is written from the perspective of a girl from Kansas, named Amy Gumm. And this book is kind of like a sequel to the original story in a way. The plot goes a little something like this: Dorothy has come back to Oz, and has seized control. All this power has gone to her head and she must be removed. It is Amy’s job to do so.

I found this quote from an excerpt an it really made me pause.

“I didn’t know what was worse: to have your shot and screw it up, or to never have had a shot in the first place.”

The way the author words this makes me think about it in a different way. It definitely foreshadows something to come in the book. So I’m guessing that Amy’s going to mess up in some way or form. This book would be great for someone who is familiar with the original story and enjoys it.

The cover of this book is...different. It's defintily eyecatching. It's just a little different. In fact the first time a saw the cover i had presumed this book would be somewhat of a horror story.

 

 

Divergent movie trailer

Since starting Divergent, I feel like it started off very slow. I’ve been told to hang in though, so that’s what I plan to do. As many people may know, the highly anticipated movie is coming out tomorrow.  So here are some of my opinions after watching the trailer.Im going to have to see it after i fisnish the book to see if it was a good movie adaptation.

The trailer is put together very well; the music augments the viewer’s experience throughout the whole clip. I feel like it actually helped me to picture the setting better. In the fast action parts, the angle is very choppy and that really adds to it greatly also. It looks like the actor chosen for Tris is a good fit .In the comments bar. I can see that many people are equating this book with Hunger Games. This is great because I enjoyed that very much. Also I have heard that the very last book this author wrote was not very great. Maybe it has a bad ending. So far though it has started slow but it’s starting to get to the good parts. Im really crossing my finger as i really look forward to reading this book.

In between books

Right now, I’m actually in between books. I have heard some great things about some new books that have been Bestsellers. One that I would really like to try is, Divergent by Veronica Roth. It seems like it’s the new Hunger Games. The book of the year. And you HAVE to read it, whoever you are. Well, the truth is I actually started that book last summer. I just found it so boring. 2 chapters in and I wanted to put it down. I actually wanted to like this book really bad. But the whole idea of this book, having groups for different people, didn’t seem appealing to me. It seemed like the far end of Sci-Fi. But now I’m hearing all these raving reviews and it makes me want to give this book another try. After all, everybody (or thing) deserves second chances.

 

So, far from what I understand this book is about Tris defining herself. It looks like the main problem in this book is figuring out who she wants to be. The groups are Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). And Tris (formerly known as Beatrice) is faced with the tough decision of choosing the group she will belong to. It’s sort of like picking your profession. Anyway, I have high hopes for this book and I hope I can actually finish it this time.

A book I enjoyed

Last trimester I was in Best Sellers. In that class we read books of different genres and try to expand our reading palette.  The book that I choose for the unit of Adrenaline was Room. This book was so stimulating because the way it was written was from the eyes of a toddler. This novel tells the story of Jack and his Ma, trapped in a outhouse by their abductor. Jack was born in the room and he has lived there his whole life. This book really resonated with me because of the way that Ma cares for Jack. She just wants him to have a normal life. The best part about this story is that Jack is just a little kid. He doesn’t understand everything that is going on around him. And the way he thinks is different than the reader would think. It kind of shows you into the brain of a 5 year old. For example jack was never really worried about how they couldn’t get out. He just wanted to have fun, which is customary for a boy his age.

For me, the highlight of the book was reading about their daily life in the room. How they still had responsibilities and house work but they improvised. They washed their clothes in the bathtub and they created multiple uses for anything. Ma’s character is very strong in this book because she has to care for Jack. She was forced to take the initiative. Ma could just lay in bed all day moping about how she was abducted. But, I think that Ma made the best of every situation. She made games for Jack to play and homemade toys so he wouldn’t get bored. She also made workouts so they would stay fit. All in All, this was a very eye-opening book and it’s an amazing read!

Click here to see what the room looks like!