Emily’s Comments (group member since Sep 17, 2015)

Emily’s comments from the Out of Time Series group.

Welcome all! So many new members since the last time I checked this! How are you all? Who is excited for A Time To Rise! ONE MORE DAY!!!

***Spoiler alert for those who haven't finished the series.***

Sweet, innocent, violet-eyed Willow. She is so amazing! Willing to fight for the rights of people not even her own.

Don't you just love Willow! What is your favorite scene with her? What do you think of the way she changed in book three?

***Spoiler alert for those who haven't finished the series.***

Hawke, known as Solomon by his closest friends. He is a beacon of light in the Enforcers, defending the rights of the people.

Talk to me about Solomon Hawke. Which name do you like better? Don't you love him as a boyfriend for Parvin?

***Spoiler alert for those who haven't finished the series.***

Ah, Jude! The man who can't stand silence. The inventor who changed the world through his creation.

What do you say of Jude-man? Lament with me...

***Spoiler alert for those who haven't finished the series.***

Parvin! Isn't she awesome? Her decision to trust God truly took her on an adventure. Can you believe all the things that happened to her? I mean, that hand thing?

Talk about Parvin! What do you love about her? What do you dislike? Would you make the same decisions in her shoes?

***Spoiler alert for those who haven't finished the series.***

We all know Skelley Chase as the man who can do anything. Council member, biographer, billionaire. But what do you think is really going on in his head? When he sends Parvin to her death? That stunt in the last book?

What do you all think of Skelley Chase?

Chapters 18-23:

What do you think of the beliefs of the Albinos? They seem to be a combination of overly radical nature worshipers and intolerance to anyone else's beliefs, if I understand it right... What about Alder's view on the subject? Is it like anything we have today?

Can you believe Nadine allowed Parvin to actually be seriously injured!? Is this different or similar than other books like this that you have read? Are there any ways this could be a good thing for Parvin? What do you think of her response? Is it realistic? Could she have responded better under the circumstances?

Who is Jude? Is he good or evil? Why do you believe he is hesitant to go to the city? What is his relationship with Hawke?

Isn't Willow the sweetest!? What makes her want to leave her village, even though she shares their beliefs, to join Parvin and Jude?

What changes for Parvin when she witnesses the birth of Ash's baby?

I found it interesting that (view spoiler)[ Skelley and the other council members were practically begging Parvin to come back. It is like Skelley did such a good job making Parvin awesome in the books that he went too far and made her a dangerous leader that could usurp the government if not reigned in. Maybe not that dramatically, but I do think it is partly his fault so many people look up to him and that Parvin hates the government so much. (hide spoiler)]

My response to the chapters:

Not a lot happens as far as plot in these chapters. Parvin is injured and travels a little bit, growing weaker and weaker from illness and infection. She is very delirious, but she begins to trust God more and realizes He might have a plan for her in the West.

When I first read this book, the way that the animals were attuned to the sound of screaming for their meal fascinated me. I had jut finished learning about scientific studies about that exact thing, where a dog or a child specifically would become accustomed to a sound, smell, or feeling accompanying something good or bad so much so that they would not realized that thing was there otherwise. I wonder how it would work with wild animals, though.

I liked Parvin's reworded prayer. It was her way to be personal with God.

Skelley is irritating. He was so cold and did not care at all if she lived or died. All he cared was that Parvin told a good story when she sent in her updates. I wonder, though, what happened to the money from the book, when it is published? Skelley helped, but it is Parvin's story? Shouldn't she and her family get some of the paycheck?

I loved how Parvin called the pine tree a spider tree. Once she named it that, she kept it up in her thoughts and updates, which was hilarious! One of the reasons I like this series so much is Parvin's sarcastic or random thoughts and side comment, of which the "spider tree" is an example.

So, I am posting the questions for chapters 12-17. I still intend to post the questions for the next week on October 31, only a few days from now, so be aware. You can continue answering the questions from today after Oct 31, if you want.

If you want, we can post images of a costume we want to wear or us in costume for fun this Saturday. I know not everyone likes Halloween, but if you are up for imagining costumes, perhaps costumes that the characters in this series would wear, have fun.

Without further ado, the questions:

Parvin finally decided she had a chance to live. Do you think she will survive her injuries? The injuries do seem pretty terrible, since she cannot even feel the needle when she stitches up her leg.

Is it true that Parvin is invincible as she thinks, since she believes the clock is hers? What if the clock is Reid's?

Do you think wild animals could actually become so accustomed to hearing a sound (scream) announcing a meal that they would forgo a meal that was right in front of them?

What do you think of Hawke?

What else did you notice? What is your favorite part?

What do you think the independents will be like?

Parvin has to live! There is no third book if she dies. Maybe the robot-thing in her blood will keep her alive? Gah! How will we know!

Isn't the world in the Out of Time Series interesting? From The Wall to emotigraphs to the Clocks, this future world is way different than ours. And yet it is similar, because people never completely change.

What fascinates you about the world Parvin lives in? What do you wonder about? What advancements do you think might actually come to be?

How many of you have finished A Time to Speak already? I finished it ages ago - I beta read it in March - and have been dying to talk to someone about it!

Probably my favorite part was the scene depicted on the cover. (view spoiler)[ Parvin held on to the rope and prayed, letting go meant the rope would break and people would die. Parvin's hand print was even burned into the rope. It reminds me of another favorite book - From the Mouth of Elijah. Anyone read that book? When Lauren has to take a step of faith - literally, stepping barefoot onto hot lava. And yet, her feet healed with each step, leaving footprints to harden into rock that spoke of her faith for ages to come. Similar? (hide spoiler)]

Thank you. Don't worry, I totally understand being busy--last Saturday I was so busy I didn't have time to post anything on here until 6-7 pm and I had other things that needed to be done after that, which is why I never posted anything at all. Sorry about that. You don't have to wait for me to comment on the next week, but I will try to do better. It gets discouraging, though, when no one posts.

Also, I updated the schedule at the top.

Welcome everyone! It is good to have you!

So many awesome books! I have read and enjoyed most of the ones you mentioned. And, yes, I've read your books too, Jenette. I appreciate having you join us.

As for homeschooling, perhaps it is common in this group. I was homeschooled through most of elementary school and the Christian school I attended after that was only one-half step up from it, as there were usually only 1-4 people per grade and the classes were video-recordings of teachers. Weird, right?

Well, I see that few people are posting, even with two weeks for the last post. We will push the dates back a week because of the accident with the dates. Are you all interested in continuing to participate and post? We will continue for a couple more weeks, but if no one posts, we may have to call this read-through off.

If you are more comfortable without questions, just posting what you want, please say so. I thought it would help, but I may be wrong. I don't want you to feel pressure on that account.

Please respond to this post, so I know people are still interested.

Week 2! Wow, what a place to end! If you haven't read the series, I bet you read ahead ;)

Thank you for all your comments so far. So interesting! Plenty of things I had never considered. I hope you all are having fun!

Here are this week's questions. Again, answer the ones you want when you want to or write your own thoughts.

Isn't it horrible how the doctors have to refuse medical attention to patients with little time left or no clocks? Is there any way that could be considered ethical? Are there similar practices going on in real life?

Do you think God will answer Parvin's prayer to make her last months count? Will it be what Parvin expects?

Is Parvin's plan of writing her autobiography still sound like a good idea? Is she really thinking ahead? Didn't Skelley say he was going to publish it in 1 month rather than 6?

Now what do you think of Skelley Chase? Any good in him at all or is he merely out for the glory? What of his claim that he can "do anything"?

How different is it for Parvin when she is on the other side of the hearing?

How is her family reacting? Do you think they are all reacting normally?

What happened to the Newtons?

How about Parvin's belief that she will die when she crosses the wall? If she dies now, doesn't that mean Reid will be the one to die later? Will her stubborn belief cause her to do anything stupid?

What is your favorite part or something you are wondering about?

I was actually thinking about this earlier. How would people know whose clock it was if they had twins? Would they just guess and when one dies, know the answer? And, seriously, triplets do happen - wouldn't other triplets have the same problem of one too few clocks? Also, my thought was that, after a child was born, the authorities would give them a new clock in case they had another child...but maybe I'm wrong.

Hello! Good morning for the first week of the read-through! By now, I hope you have read chapters 1-5. I'm posting a few questions to start us off. Answer the ones you want or comment on anything. I will answer them myself after a bit. Just remember, answer the questions with only the knowledge of what you have read so far - no spoilers!

Isn't it crazy how someone figured out how to make a clock for everyone's lifetime? I mean, how is it possible for genetics to be able to tell you? Have any theories or anything? Could it actually be possible here?

What do you think of Parvin's desire to be remembered? Don't we all wish to be remembered in some way? Do you think she's going about it the right or wrong way?

What do you think of Parvin herself? Has she truly wasted her entire life? How about her relationships with her family? Do you think her relationship with her mother or other family members are strained? Why?

What do you think of Reid? Is he being selfish by leaving again? What do you think he is up to?

What about Skelley Chase? If it was impossible for him to meet Parvin before, why can he do it now? Is there something else going on with him?

What is you favorite part so far? Anyone think it is unfair that most chapters of A Time to Die end in cliffhangers? What does this say about the ending of the book itself?

Welcome, ladies! Glad to have you!

And I was just thinking of updating our profile pictures with a costume we wish to wear or a photo of us wearing one, just for fun, of course. I have been longing to dress up just for the fun of it.