Mrs. Jernigan's AP Class discussion
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Outside Reading: Fall Book
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"Men like my father went in search of Eden, but they found a far more savage garden.
Foreign landscapes offer tidbits of culture and beauty outside our everyday experience. Following the ghost through John the Diggs haunted garden in The Thirteenth Tale ,trekking across Europe and into Translavania with Helen and Paul in The Historian , or standing in the tunnel in Florence with Professor Langdon in Inferno , books offer free travel to any place you wish to go. Mills' The Savage Garden is no different in that it transports you to Tuscany to investigate a famous, hidden garden.
The book follows Adam Strickland from England to Italy as he works on uncovering the secrets behind the design and significance of the mysterious garden of the Docci family. Adam's quest unearths puzzles both inside the family history and outside personified through the sculptures and landscapes of the 15th century garden. While he questions and investigates the hidden details, he becomes wooed by the players in the tale who also seek answers or seek to bury the truth in an everlasting grave.
I have read this book before - seen pieces of its labyrinthine mystery in The Rose Labyrinth and in the works of Kate Morton to name a few. WHile the garden did indeed present itself as a classical masterpiece, the writer struggled to weave significant threads throughout the work. Instead, he opted for stereotypical characters and objective evidence that exposed the truth long before the teller intended. For a avid reader, the story held no true secrets and withheld the joy of discovery. The idea of the garden offered promise but one that a stronger, more seasoned writer could have accomplished. Mills' book leaves much to be desired. To him, I would recommend some Jane Eyre , Sherlock Holmes , and Thomas Hardy. Better luck next time.
“I bet you could sometimes find all the mysteries of the universe in someone's hand.”
During the summer of Ari's fifteenth year, he meets Dante, a boy who knows anything and everything about the world and how it works. Though Dante is unlike anyone Ari has ever met, they quickly become friends, and discover what it really means to find your place in this world.
The story is devoid of plot, making it an easy read to pick up and put down; days of the story are entirely skipped over due to their unimportance, a refreshing decision as compared to some novels where every other sentence lacks importance. It focuses on Aristotle, commonly known as Ari due to his hatred of being named after an old philosopher, who finds little excitement in his life where all he has is his Mexican background, his parents, and an entire summer of nothing. Until Dante came into the picture, Ari had no friends other than the few he sees it school, who are of course never invited over to swim during the summer. Throughout the novel, Ari discovers the secrets of the universe, through sickness or gifts or Dante, and how he can perhaps learn to love his Mexican-American self. The beginning Ari is a drastically different person from the ending Ari, a Bildungsroman novel of the highest quality, with personal identity being lost and found on every page.
As I was reading Aristotle and Dante Discovers the Secrets of the Universe, I couldn't help but compare the novel to A Separate Peace. Both novels fall under the Bildungsroman category; two boys growing up together and finding themselves. However, Saénz does a far better job, not only exploring personal identity within self and sexuality but looking outward at the families of the two boys and how their parental love can help or hinder discoveries, and also how racial background has a say in how the world will perceive you. Overall, I highly recommend reading Aristotle and Dante Discovers the Secrets of the Universe, even if you are not a teenage boy going through the trials of puberty and parents. Anyone can benefit from the life lessons learned by a boy at the crest of manhood, although hopefully with fewer visits to the hospital than Ari.
The Lake of Dead Languages by Carol GoodmanRosie Gilman
Waters stir when Jane Hudson returns to her old school as the Latin teacher, causing the mythological to intertwine with her own twisted past, reminding the characters of the school's chilling motto: "The heart always comes back."
The rule of three as well as other mythological references dominate this book. The legend of the three sisters, three girls, three friends, the three hairpins which create the corniculum all exemplify and are used to explain that three is a magical number, yet it is proven to be a deadly one. Mythological references appear to parallel the dangers materializing in Jane's life, one of them being the maze of the entrance into the underworld, which shows her confusion and circumstance.
I believe this book to be written well. The language is captivating and each character is unique. However, Goodman's hints of her plot twists are hardly subtle and not actually proven until (a hundred pages or so) after the reader has made the necessary connections. Also, once Goodman reached her second to last plot twist, it is as if she rushed the rest of the story into the ending, causing it to become a bit forced and the final plot twist to be rather anticlimactic and disappointing. One example of this is through the characters. They were all developing nicely, the past and present mixing together and supplying the richness of balance, the obvious plot twists not spoiling their essence until the characters stopped developing. They feel unfinished, possibilities unexplored, character traits not fully there. They become simply two dimensional which is upsetting given the obvious potential that should have come, and would have altered the ending into a more satisfactory way. It seems that Goodman felt compelled to wrap the story in a neat bow, but with that came the sacrifice of rich, three dimensional, living, breathing, traumatized, humanly flawed characters for unfinished works of potential.
Dark PlacesIn Gillian Flynn's novel, she explores the life of Libby Day, the sole survivor of a "massacre" of her mother and two sisters when she was seven years old. She clamied to have seen her brother, Ben, do all of this, but after she comes into contact with a scret group of murder investigation enthusiasts called the Kill Club, she begins to wonder what all she really knows about her family's murders.
The story is primarily told through Libby's eyes in the modern day, where we see her experiences and coming to grips with the case and her past. Interwoven with Libby's accounts, though, are flashbacks from the perspective of her mother, Patty, and her brother, on the day of the murders, starting from the moringing of, and switching in between them in each chapter. Flynn uses these flashbacks as a way of progressing the story past whatever Libby may be able to tell, giving multiple characters to really examine and keep the plot moving. There is a progression in the story, with Libby trying to find all the information she can, try to catch up, but with what we see in the flashbacks, and the way the stroy progresses, she is always just a little bit behind, building this tension and desperation in the narrative tone. As we get to know the characters more from the past, there is an opportunity for the reader to draw their own conclusions and make assumptions and theories during the story.
This novel follows a pattern that I observed in the what I have read in the beginning of Flynn's third novel, Gone Girl. It is a charcter study and psychological thriller disguised as a mystery novel. Just by reading the synopsis and knowing a little about the story, it seems like it would just be a standard mystery, spending the 345 pages sifting through information and just thinking about the clues and the information. This novel is not about what happened to the Day family or who killed them, it is about who they were. The novel begins with this: "I have a meanness inside me, real as an organ. Slit me at my belly and it might slide out, meaty and dark, drop on the floor so you could stomp on it". Everything from then on is observations and delving into the heads of all of these characters. None of them are who they seem to be, its just a matter of time before the insides are cut out.
The narrative is set as his retelling of past event during what appears to be a court hearing; it is a rather compelling yet damning testimony. This story follows the plight of Humbert Humbert, a paedophile seeking to relive childhood exploits by following his heart to "lovely nymphets" to engage with. The heart of the story follows his eventful escapade through North America as he seeks safety, both physically and emotionally.
The interesting conflict that is sparingly yet coarsly woven into the book is the internal struggle that exists within Humbert, between his intellectual understanding of his actions, his emotional responses, as well as the psycholigical underpinnings of his own actions as the story progresses. Possibly the most distinct aspect of the novel is the way that Humbert, in his account is "not so concerned with so-called "sex" at all. Anybody can imagine those elements of animality. A greater endeavor lures me on: to fix once for all the perilous magic of nymphets."
The story is dominated primarily by carefully sculpted euphamistic language lightly veiling the rather abhorrent and obscene acts commited in the book. The unique take on the description of more lewd acts provides a unique window with which to view the situation as a whole, which is both and intruiging and devilishly risky endeavor on Nabakov's part.
What does it take to change your fate?
Maggie Stiefvater created a really intriguing world in The Raven Boys that I found wonderful because it was so familiar. The town of Henrietta was charming in its similarity to Brentwood, but there was an air of magic and secret energy that made it memorable.
The story wove around normal high school students, each with their own burden to bear. Blue wrestled with a prophecy given to her by the well-learned psychic adults living in her home, all friends of her mother. Gansey and the boys deal with the stress of the expectations at a pre-Ivy League high school, as well as exploring the rumors circulating around a grand quest to find Glendower. The starkness of reality in conjunction with the magical presence in Henrietta makes The Raven Boys a memorable coming of age novel.
I was skeptical at first to see such a broad range of characters actively involved in the story. Blue's home life with Persephone, Maura, Neeve, and Calla seemed crowded as it was, but bring in Gansey, Ronan, Adam, and Noah, and it just seems almost impossible to give everyone enough 'scene time' without making one or more of the characters seem one-sided or without much depth. Gansey at times felt out of character to me, which was unfortunate, but with four boys nearly always together and dialoguing, there's bound to be some personality overlap at some point. I also didn't like the way Latin was used throughout the book. I understand it's a dead language and it's snazzy to use for magic spells and the like. But just because the boys are taking a Latin class doesn't mean Latin phrases should be used as major plot points. In general, I wish magic had a more subtle integration when the boys were dealing with it, more like Neeve's strange moments and her aura in general, and less like the-in-your-face, fireworks and neon lights moments that hurtled the plot forward. Overall it was a good book!
"The more you know, the more you owe," echoed the voice of an adolescent boy with a cocked grin, wipping his bloodied palm across the faded denim that hung loosely from his hips. Always Running: Living La Vida Loca by Luis Rodriguez depicts the story of the author's violent upbringing boy into a gang-littered community of Southern California and the events that ultimately lead him to evoke a change and break the predestined cycle of danger that plauged his immigrant family. The reader follows Rodriguez through the teenage years of his life, wittnessing the first-hand accounts that allowed him to freefall into the dangers that lurked deep within his poverty-stricken community. Luis, poorly welcomed to America alongside his family, faces discrimination early on in his journey, viewing the pain that his father faces as he searches for a job, feeling the bruises left behind by white hands on the playground, and learning to abide by the boundries that enclosed him -- but, that's just how it was to be. The area was looked down upon by its surroundings, left with the remains of the unwanted and exiled, chastised for its lack of education and support that kept the continuous circle of deprivation alive. The individuals of this community were separated from the masses, kept under legal control of the government, but often found solace in creating their own forms of control. They took their fists to one another, labeled themselves with leather jackets and rivalries, and left blood stains throughout the streets -- this was how they knew to act, to pull from their savage instincts in order to gain some form of power and influence around the community; this was how they evoked their form of power. Rodriquez highlights the impact of poverty on society through analyzing the events of his own life and the discrimination that lead him to believe that this was what was expected of his people. However, after a life-altering event that left him feeling unsettled and unsure of the life he was brought into -- was there a possibility of outrunning the life in Eastern in LA, or would he be running from fate forever?
What I found interesting, even if it was the element of his life that Rodriquez loathed the most, was the feeling of security and love that came from the family that made the gang. To me, this resembles "The Outsiders," and how they bonded together through their exclusion and made a community that relied on one another, even in danger. Rodriguez shows the danger and pain of gang affiliagtion, but he also shows the few moments that warm the human heart and show the good that filters into the bad -- the yin and yang of everything in life. That was really interesting because it allowed the reader to see why it would be hard to escape the grips of that life, how Luis could feel the ties and the expected ideals of growing up in that life and just accepting it. It takes strength for him to desire a change, because despite his dreams and observations, the family of criminals was all he knew.
"But I sat there and tried to figure out why Sam had to change and I didn't"Her yellow-eyed wolf was always there, watching her from the woods and Grace would watch him right back. Before, this was all Grace had. She always knew there was something pulling her into the woods--pulling her into her wolf--, but she didn't know what exactly it was. Now that they’ve found each other, the clock ticks down on what could be Grace and Sam’s only summer together. Sam, her yellow-eyed beauty, has let Grace into his world while he attempts to remain in hers.
Shiver is a simple story that delivers powerful emotions. That is why I enjoyed reading it so much. The simplicity, yet strong and vivid sentence structure always had me wanting more. The fantasy is beautifully poetic (which I have learned I really enjoy!), however there isn’t a multitude of subplots or hidden storylines to pull you away from the central characters. In this novel, the main characters suffer from knowing that the end is near and that it is permanent. The question I mulled over throughout reading was this: If you knew the end was coming, would you try to make the most of each day or would you fight against the impossible, and strive to save the one you love even if it means wasting precious time you may never get back?
The other high point is the way Stiefvater depicts the young adult’s psyche with candid characters and normal, everyday experiences. Even the bizarre is recorded with genuine teenage response. The love story is very relatable to young readers in love as well as readers with broken hearts. Everyone can relate and understand as well as sympathize with Grace and Sam. I also really enjoyed the novels alternating point of view, switching between the two characters in order to get a feel from both perspectives. Reading from Sam's perspective hightly intrigued me becasue he would constantly speak in song lyrics. The beautifully poetic verses allowed him to share his most intimate and lyrical feelings with the reader in a passionate and different way. To me, some of the sentence structure and lyrical writing reminds me of Crank by Ellen Hopkins. Her book was when I first discovered how much I enjoyed the short and choppy yet deep and meaningful sentence structure. There is something beautful to me about the way one sentence, if placed correctly, can have a deeper impact on a reader than an entire paragraph. This novel also reminds me of one of my favorite series, Twilight. In both novels, the characters struggle between two realities: one being human, and the other supernatural. Just as in Twilight, the character's love for eachtoher in Shiver is all consuming. Another concept that interested me was that in Shiver, werewolves shift not during the full moon, but when the temperature falls, forcing their bodies to change. I feel Stiefvater did used this concept to exemplify the portrayal of Sam's constant struggle to retain his human self and not turn into a wolf. I loved the idea, the concept, the characters, and how, at the core of this story, was a literal battle for humanity.
This book has continuously left me wanting more, therefore I do plan to read the entire series once finished with the first novel.
Miss peregrine's home for peculiar children is a book about a sixteen year old boy named Jacob. His grandfather would always tell him tales of when he was a boy in school on an island during World War II. Jacob has anxiety and depression issues, and he no longer believes his grandfathers stories. His grandfather is going crazy now and runs around thinking he is still in the war. One time when Jacob is chasing after him, he runs into the woods and is killed by something mysterious. Jacob has horrible night terrors and flashbacks of his grandfathers old stories. Jacobs father and he go to the island where his grandfathers stories took place, and finds the old school he attended. Jacob finds that all of the stories that his grandfather told him were true and that he plays a role in the grand scheme of the stories also. A big theme of this book is believing the unbelievable. Jacob's grandfather's stories were so far fetched and whimsical that as he got older, he convinced himself that they weren't ture or logical. When he finds out that they are true, he finds out more and more about himself rather than when he was back at his home "growing up." I think this book is about perserving innocence and the easiness to believe anything without skepticism or criticism toward logic or the social norm that takes away from the creativity of an innocent mind.
One thing I criticize about this book is that the writing Is a bit immature. A lot of the time it was predictable and lost my interest. There was nothing in the book that challenged me mentally and there were really good ideas that weren't further pursued. Overall I didn't really like this book because it was uninteresting and ground level writing.
Lakshmi is thirteen years old living in a remote village outside of Nepal. All she wanted was a tin roof for her mother and clothes for her baby brother. However these things all become less and less important to her as the question of her own survival through each day lingers.
The reader follows young Lakshmi from innocence on into the depths of human evil. Lakshmi is sold by her step-father into slavery where she becomes a prostitute in a prominent Indian city. The story tracks Lakshmi as she learns to survive on her own without anyone to comfort her or give her guidence. As the audience watches Laksmhi go through the pain and suffering of being a child sex-slave, the author also outlines short and sweet aspects of life that many people take for granted.
The last sentence of paragraph two is what made me so angry about this book. WAY TOO CLICHE. There was so much potential to make this book about innocence ruined or how darkness can smother the light, not "be grateful for what you have," like come on thats so annoying. Besides the book being so cliche I did enjoy it. The author wrote the story broken down in to small poems. Not complicated or too in depth, just simple short stanzas that make the reader really feel the innocence of Lakshmi. This book reminded me of Redeeming Love by Francince Rivers. Pertaining to girls in sex slavery it really interests me how these girls have to learn to love and be loved again. McCormicks's poetic style of writing gave off the perfect hint of timidity and hesitation when it came to Lakshmi. Another similarity between Sold and Redeeming Love is the girls gradual increase in motivation and learning how to fight. The sad part of this is that they become motivated to sleep with more men and it becomes all they know. McCormick did an excellent job of portraying Lakshmi's shift from passive to a fighter. Overall the book was a little too cliche and predictible, but they story still had a heartbreaking story line and deep characters.
"'I wasn't doing nothing bad with it, George.' Jus' strokin' it.'"
1. Lennie and George are two poor men looking for work in Steinbeck's famous setting the Salinas Valley. George is depicted as the smart one and Lennie's characterization portrayed him as mentally incapable. The two men find work on a nearby farm. After a short period of time there, they dream up a way to get themselves out and tend their own farm some day with vegatable patches and rabbits. They want "to live off the fat of the land." However, a fatal flaw in Lennie proves to disrupt the dream and ends the book on a heart-aching note.
2.Imagery was highly present in this novel. Each detail of the valley was drawn with the color green and the freshness of water. The fresh imagery reveals a longing for something new, the desire for something fresh in the hearts of men. Along with the imagery, characterization was the largest aspect of this novel. George holds a lot of common sense and knows how to work his way into other people's good graces. Lennie is described as unitelligent but a good worker. He is very strong physically but his personality is meek and gentle. The inner duality in Lennie is very present. Steinbeck symoblizes Lennie as a mouse, meek and gentle but he also has the strength and power of a grown man. The added devices makes the end more heart-breaking.
3.This book almost brought me to tears and most books don't do that to me besides A Tale of Two Cities. The reason I think for my emotional attachment was the focus on character development that Steinbeck incorporates into the book. He makes you root for the gentle giant that Lennie represents. He breaks your heart by placing hope in Lennie and ultimatley ripping it away from him. It is similar to what Veronica Roth does in Allegiant and similar to the classic story Old Yeller. There's hope for a character but no happy ending. What really bothered me was how the hope was shattered and that a place of safety became a place of chaos. I understand the motivation behind this because it makes the story more heart-wrenching and that's what Stienbeck seemed to be aiming for. Well, he won. My heart is broken over these characters.I'm still grappling with a theme or a reason for this novel. It seems to me like Steinbeck is commenting on something such as the way mankind treats one another, do we squish the meek mice of the world in our pockets? Do we honor the intelligent and discredit the gentle giants? I'm still deciding how I feel about this book.
I have not entirely finished the book so the summary will only be partial. However, the book picks up right where Divergent left off. It starts almost an hour later from the ending of the first book. Tris, Four, and others are on the run outside the city's limits to get clues about the government and their plans for the future. They stay with Amity, another faction, because they are the only group allowed outside the city. They recollect their thoughts and hope to stay for awhile with them. If Amity chooses to kick them to the curb, they remain factionless and are at danger.
This story follows Tris and the other people she is with. It is told through her experiences and thoughts, so the reader is in her mind. One feels her responses and emotions as if he/she is standing right by Tris encountering it as she does. It is very set on rebelling against the government officials and the threats they pose to their freedoms as individuals. They are constantly trying to find their way around the system without getting caught, but also helping the whole city as a whole.
This book reminds me a lot of the Hunger Games, which I feel that almost every book is attempting to do nowadays. It is very set on rebelling against the government and trying to make it work on the peoples terms. However, thinking about that, the government serves a purpose in governing an area. Without that leadership ultimate chaos would erupt. Although, sometimes a really strict political power can do just the same, which is what is going on in this book, along with the Hunger Games. Another important thing within the storyline is family. They are put before everyone else and they would die to save someone. This is also present in the Hunger Games when Katniss volunteers to take her little sisters place. Through that, the author shows what is truly important to the characters and their sense of being.
"No, im not choosing him or you, im choosing me."The year is 3070, what was once America is now a small counry named Illea and is run by a King and Queen, due to the previous world war.Castes run the system, anyone above a 3 is considered the aristoctrats and anyone below a three is not even consdiered. However, when the prince needs a wife thats when its every girl for themselves. When America Singer gets chosen to be in the competition for the prince's heart, even though her heart has already been given away, she is forced to leave her home and her love to gain the love of a man she does not want.
This book is written as all classic young adult novel seems to be written. Ciara Krass follows the example of Myeres, Clare, and Roth making the whole story mainly from the point of view of the girl, who in this case, is America. This book is very literal and easy to understand; however, what it does well is not only illuminate America's (the country) history well, but it also creates awarness of what is happening in the world today through government issues that occur in the book. I remember the entire time making parrellel connections to todays government issues, or issues that happened a few years ago since that was when it was written, to what is happeneing in the book. With time i began to realize that this book was not only a young adult love story, but it is also a comment on today's society in general.
This this book, to me, is very different from many young adult novels today, we see many about love, fantasy, or courage but, we rarely see a young adult novel that cleverly intertwines a hidden message to todays government. With her use of her characters Krass imbeds the need to understand the history of your country and the need to understand what is going on in the world around you. However, Krass's writing style is not one of abosulte brialliance, she conveys her messages simply without any elabroance; however, i think that is what also makes this book great, America is a simple girl who is stuck in an extraordinary situation through her un elabroate writing style Krass is able to reach her audience easily while also staying true to the character she created. This book reminded me of what its like to be the different person, to be the one who loves even when the love is not returned, to stand up for what is right, and to be aware of the circumstances around me. Overall i give this book a thumbs up.
"I suppose at one time in my life I might have had any number of stories, but now there is no other."
It's winter in Vermont and Richard is too young to handle what the weather brings-death and intrigue. The police are knocking on everyone's door, and Richard's fellow Greek scholars aren't above suspicion. Donna Tartt investigates the death of a student through the eyes of a college student who slowly finds himself twisting deeper and deeper into the thick of the plot.
The book begins with what seems to be the climax, instant drama, and then jumps back to the very start. This abrupt switch in the tempo of the book left me constantly searching for a connection from this chilling revelation in the prologue to the mundane pace of the beginning of the novel. Tartt also builds suspense in the reader through her narrator, a California-boy newly moved to Vermont to escape his parents. Richard goes through his life in college studying Greek with only five other students and the growing realization that they may be more than they appear. That, coupled with the constant hints at a hidden plot line and dialogue littered with Ancient Greek build the atmosphere of uncertainty and fear the narrator lives in.
I mentioned just now that the author uses Ancient Greek in her dialogue-and frequently. This looks impressive on the page, especially with how beautiful the language is written, but begins to lose its charm after the tenth or eleventh sentence passes where you have no idea what's just been said. The effect is explained and can be appreciated more at the end of the novel, but in the midst of reading it becomes somewhat aggravating to be in the same situation as the narrator. Ancient Greek isn't like Latin where a fair portion of the target audience would have at least been exposed to some of the roots and words-I know nothing about Ancient Greek! Not to be too elementary, but the Percy Jackson series weave in an ancient language without frustrating the reader nearly half as much. There was also an instance near the end of the book where Richard begins his reflections that several of his musings seem out-of-character. When he thinks about his mentor, Julian, he abruptly talks about how much he seemed like a father to him, and how he'd come to see the man as a protector and benevolent guardian. This sentiment appears at no other point previously in the book and seems like a wild jab at characterization that would have been better develped had it been interwoven in the story. There is surprisingly minimal interaction with Julian except for various refrences and the occasional Greek class with Julian spent rambling about the beauty of Ancient Greek and Roman values. There are other instances of random characterization, such as when one of the students refers to his sister by a pet name that Tartt has to then explain and mention that he used it sparingly when she could have simply thrown it in at any other tense time in the novel and not made it seem so random. To be fair, the end of the novel is dramatic and completley unexpected, but these grasps at characterization in the last thirty pages detract from the overall atmosphere. The best example I could think of with excellent characterization is East of Eden, wherein Steinbeck beautifuly crafts his characters with a mix of direct and indirect characterization in a timely manner. All of Tartt's characters seem real, but in the last thirty pages they appear to become distortions of themselves.
"Lilly Melissa Owens, your jar is open" says a voice in the room, a voice that sees directly into Lilly's soul. A voice of God. Lilly has been trapped her whole life. Trapped like an insect caught in a glass jar, fighting against an invisible force, seeing the world outside but unable to touch it. Lilly has never known peace. She is bound to her angry, abusive father TRay who cares nothing for her emotional well being. The only love she's experienced is the compassion of Rosaleen, the black nanny who cares for her-yet Rosaleen finds herself equally trapped by the horrors of racism in South Carolina in 1964. When the voice speaks to Lilly, and grants her freedom from her jar, Lilly and Rosaleen run to the one place that callsd to them-an address on the back of a jar of honey with a black virgin Mary on the cover. From her first breath outside of the jar, we know that Lilly will find peace in this place through a sisterhood of women and a common calling to spirituality.Sue Monk Kidd uses an innocent eye narrator to tell this powerful story. Lilly's character is so bare and honest that the reader immediatly becomes attached to her, longing for the days when life was this simple, when they could truly be honest with themselves. This authenticity of the narrator also allows the author to address touchy subjects like race and gender issues. Throught the novel, Kidd weaves in quotes about the life and nature of bees, drawing comparisons to the actions of Lilly and Rosaleen.
Kidd's use of a raw female narrator can be compared to the novel "Their Eyes Were Watching God." Both of these novels address gender and race issues. Though "Bees" is narrated by a white girl and "Eyes" is narrated by a black woman, both narrators are richly characterized by their southern roots and native tounge and let their experiences seep into their soul. They wear their scars and let the light and love felt paint through statements rich with imagery and beauty-documenting their spiritual growth from innocence to maturity.
"I have worked hard to discipline myself from viewing my wife only as a junior officer, my children as soldiers."
House of Sand and Fog by Andrew Dubus III tells the story of two people who become entangled in a crisis over the rights to a house. Each from different backgrounds, both reaching the same shattering conclusion.
Every chapter goes back and forth between narrators. The novel begins with meeeting the Colonel Behrahi. Behrahi's story is that he was once a powerful man in Iran, but when he comes to America, he is ignored, poor, and desperate. The way Dubus' intergrates his past provides such an interesting read. The other narrator is Kathy. Kathy is troubled woman, so having her tell her side of the story, makes it more suspenseful because you never know what she's going to do. The narrators clash from the very beggining. After the tax collectors mistakingly charged Kathy of a business tax, she loses her house. Colonel Behrahi swoops and takes the house for an extremely low price. The drama escalates as the narrators fight over the house, causing the reader to be on the edge of their seat.
The house resides in California on the coast. Every morning the fog comes in symbolizing the drama growing over the estate. The way Dubus incorporates the setting is great. Having two narrators seemed a little dull at first but as the tension grew, it became necessary to understand both sides of the story. As the story unfolds, it becomes a novel of who is in the wrong. Behrahi who wants to be wealthy like he was in Iran or Kathy who just wants her father's house back. Both the movie and novel are incredibly crafted and filled with fascinating characters.
“In a perfect world everything would be either black or white, right or wrong, and everyone would know the difference. But this isn't a perfect world. The problem is people who think it is.”
Many years in the future, there is a second civil war. This war is fought over reproductive rights and the pro-life, pro-choice debate. Neal Shusterman's haunting narrative on the value of life, death and the actions of the government brings many issues to light by considering the unthinkable
When the government decides that life inviolable from conception until age thirteen, it begins the era of the "Unwound". At age 13 a child can be sent away and all of their organs, body--everything is donated to medicine. It is legal because the child still exists but in a "divided state". The book follows three unwinds on the run: Connor, a delinquent; Risa, a ward of the state; and Lev, a boy who is tithed to be unwound by his parents. Each chapter is a narration for each persons point of view. Sometimes adding in a doctor here, a police man there. When the three cross paths, it is up to them to stay together and fight against a world where speaking up for what is just is wrong. Their journey runs across many people and things which are used as metaphors and satires in order to evoke a realization about the value of each individual life. Soon they will be faced with a choice: to back down and turn a blind eye to wrong, or to fight for what is right?
One of the elements of this book that really jumped out to me was the satire that Shusterman dreamed up. The whole book is actually a commentary on society and I think that he is encouraging us to stop letting politics and beliefs get in the way of common sense. It is an exaggeration, yes, but it really causes the reader to take a step back and to think about the present day issues and the constant hurt, grief and turmoil in our country that it causes. It reminds me a bit of the same goal that Suzanne Collins had in creating the world Panem and the idea of a game where 24 children had to fight to the death on TV. The Hunger Games also is a social commentary using a situation that would never actually happen, but both stories accomplished satire illustrates some interesting issues with society. There were, however, a few elements of the book that I wish he had done differently. For example, the end was a bit disappointing. I feel like Shusterman had a wonderful work of art going and right when he was about to reach the finish line, he slowed down and walked to the end. It was anti-climatic and it seemed as if he was just trying to get it over with. It didn't really match the beginning of the book. Also, this novel is aimed toward a younger audience, so his writing style is simpler and straightforward. While I think that this was a good thing to recognize, considering his audience, I wish that he had challenged the reader a little more with the conclusion. It feels as if he believes the reader can't possibly understand the intricacies if what he is trying to conclude, so he gives up and just writes something that is easy to swallow. I wish that he had left us on an end more like Divergent. It isn't exactly a cliffhanger, but you know that the story isn't close to being over. I wouldn't read the sequels to this book because the end didn't leave me wanting more.
Except for the end, this book was fast paced and made me think a lot about our political climate in America. The characters were very deep and layered people and it was a good book as a whole. I would recommend it.
"In a world of extreme beauty, anyone normal is ugly." Uglies by Scott WesterfieldUglies is set in a post-apocalyptic utopian society where war and conflict have been eliminated with the invention of an operation that makes everyone look beautifully similar. This book presents a world where every physical flaw can be erased with a surgery and where life becomes an endless party and paradise of ease and comfort. Exploring the dangers of placing extreme importance on appearance and the power of conformation, Uglies poses the question, is perfection worth it if "your personality- the real you inside- is the price of beauty?"
Uglies tells the story of Tally Youngblood, a young girl who cannot wait to turn sixteen when she will be able to get the operation that will change her from an ugly into a pretty and finally move to New Pretty Town, a paradise where every need is met and pleasure is the only objective. However, Tally's new friend Shay isn't sure how she feels about the operation. When Shay runs away, Tally learns about the ugly side of the pretty world and the corruption of those who are really in control. In a fight against powers greater than her, she has to choose between two harsh realities: give her friend up in order to get gain a life of perfection and ease, or stay loyal to her friend and remain ugly forever.
This book presented a very interesting concept that pulled me in right from the first paragraph. The way Westerfield presents the idea of an image-perfecting surgery both intrigued and repelled me. This story also brought up a lot of interesting perspectives on how world peace was attained through unity and the how the government system works within the story, and had me changing opinions on the system until well into the action. It had a lot of potential to be a very powerful narrative about vanity, friendship, conformity, and the price of perfection. However, the stoty was not written very well. The character development was not very deep, especially with Tally, and the plot, while surprising and interesting, was a little predicatable. Uglies read a lot like The Hunger Games or Twilight series. This book does not go very deep or challenge the reader very much, but it is an interesting story that keeps the reader engaged and pulls in many surprises along the way.
"Dormir- to sleep"1. Emphasizing the depravity of man, Darkness at Noon examines the cruelty of the political system in Europe, expressing the barbaric state found within each individal, revealing corruption to show man's response to suffering and persocution.
2. The use of dialogue and the way conversations are interwoven throughout the text are marvelous. For example, the dialogue between the main character Rubashov and his old friend Ivanov allow the reader to feel apart of the conversation, allowing for an enhanced reading experience. I would have enjoyed a more in depth analysis on the main character Rubashov's psyche, who appears relatively steady and consistant throughout the book, which is boring and seemingly false because there is no way prison had no affect on him. However, the characters around him are beutifully portrayed. For example, the character known as Little Loewy is shown as a man concerned with other's emotions. An ex-con and former inmate, Loewy is described as a man who "dreams of cats(53)" and who was deeply concerned with other's emotions. A sensitive guy who found Rubashov in a state of depression and killed himself because of it. A troubled man or sensitive man? Darkness At Noon makes comparisons to the movie Shawshank Redemption in the sense that they both feature a steady protagonist, who both maintain mental stabality where characters like Red in Shawshank and Little Loewy in Darkness at Noon fail.
3. With continual flashbacks between Rubashov's current life in prison, and his past life as a member of the political elite, the narrative is strong in the sense of structure and minor character depth. By analyzing Rubashov's past life as a member of the political elite with his present life of him incarcerated, the reader further comprehends what has changed about Rubashov and more importantly what hasn't. These changes, however, are minute and give us very little information on what prison has done to him. Rubashov does continually reflect on his past life as a politician before prison. Because of this, this book closely resembles In the Lake of the Woods in terms of large quantities of dialogue as well as continued flashbacks into the so called "mirrors" in his head.
Between Shades of Gray
"Have you ever wondered what a human life is worth? That morning, my brother's was worth a pocket watch."
In this beautifully-written novel, author Ruta Sepetys explores the wrongful imprisonment of fifteen-year-old Lina during World War II. The reader sees through Lina's eyes through her twelve-year captivity in Russia.
Lina is a young art student living in Lithuania in June, 1941, when Soviet secret police storm her house and arrest her, her mother, and her younger brother Jonas. They are taken away and thrown in a train with many other innocent people. Later, Lina finds out that the Soviet police's reasoning of their arrest was that they were "thieves and prostitutes," which was written on the back of their car. They are transported from labor camp to labor camp, and many who they were travelling with were lost along the way. Lina decides to try to send drawings to her father, who is in another camp, by relying on fellow prisoners to pass them along.
Sepetys uses flashes of Lina's memory here and there to give a background story without taking away from the present one. The reader gets glimpses of Lina's life at home, what her father was up to, and her relationship with her cousin, Joana. With this technique, Sepetys can explain Lina's situation without having to say it outright, which would take the reader away from the immersion of the story. For example, Sepetys describes a painting by Lina's favorite author, Munch, and how she could recognize his art anywhere without being told the artist. This is how Lina decides to start sending drawings with cryptic messages to her father; he could recognize her work anywhere, and would know whether she, her mother, and her brother were alright. This story is one to make you think for a while after you finish reading it. It makes you wonder what is really important, and what you can and can't live without.
Mod
"I wish I was a sacrifice but somehow still lived on" (Pearl Jam, "Wishlist")
Last year, On the Jellicoe Road by Marchetta compelled me- engaged me - drew me into its world. Similar to my experience with The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, I enjoyed her created cosmos - its unique features and nuances - that I craved another. Finnikin of the Rock offered a glimpse into a world following the five days of the unspeakable.
A Survivor of the destruction and violence, Finnikin (Survival in Auschwitzlike Primo Levi in Auschwitz) lives to tell the tale of sorrow and tragedy. His story begins when he dreams of his childhood friend, Balthazar, conjuring that fateful day in the woods, his childhood brothers, and the prophecy that changed him indefinitely. He seeks answers to the riddle and uncovers hidden aspects from his past that rise to propel his future.
While the mystery surrounding Evanjalin creates an ongoing puzzle and provides glimpses of Finn's true longings and character, the idea of her enigma seems rather unrealistic. Marchetta attempts to examine the way in which the past corrodes - haunts - and taints the present; how it coats our notion of truth with a new, untrue version of its own. An interesting idea - certainly - but not one she effectively pulls off in terms of the narrative twists. Her world like that of her other book bears witness to the wrongs we do one another and the lingering effects from past heartache/break. Her characters rise above their dire circumstances and learn to move beyond the destructive pain but they cope; they do not soar. Her worldview paints a tale of potential freedom for man once he exorcises his pain over the past, but the haunting never stops, the dreams fail to die, and he lives with their memory echoing through his being. I would recommend the book to anyone who enjoys a different world that shares aspects with the violence in our own or to a reader who likes to see characters wrestle with and beat down a ghost of the past.
"Gatsby believed in the geen light, the orgastic future that year by year recedes before us. It eluded us then, but that's no matter- tomorrow we will run faster..." The Great Gatsby is a novel set in the 1920's written about a young man, Nick Carraway, who moves from Minnesota to New York to learn about the business industry. The story opens with much detail surrounding the "wealthier" area of West Egg in comparison to the less exaggerated are named East Egg. Throughout the story the readers follow Nick as he encounters a mysterious young man named Jay Gatsby who is intriguing, extremely wealthy, and determined. We see Gatsby become entangled with the idea of distant, past memories and the desires to fulfill those dreams. The American dream is portrayed over and over again throughout the materialistic consumptions and the common action of believing only what the eye wants to see. The most interesting aspect for me was the use of colors Fitzgerald weaves in. At first, I didn’t recognize the significance but as I continued to delve deeper into the plot the reoccurring patterns of color created a new level of thought.
I had seen this movie over a year ago, but I never really understood the meaning. To me Gatsby was just another character created to fill the role of a movie, but in reality his role is so much more. I find it interesting that the novel is written from Nick’s point of view, a character who seemingly lacks importance yet carries the story. I feel like gaining more insight to Gatsby’s own life and emotional motives would have created an even deeper understanding of the American Dream- wealth, the girl, parties. But at the same time I think Nick helps represent the unknown. The American lifestyle is full of fake things and mystery, and its interesting to see how from the outside looking in a life seemingly so full can potentially be one of the most distorted things imaginable. It all comes down to the acting and dreams.
The Great Gatsby
Mrs. Jernigan's AP Class
Books mentioned in this topic
Survival in Auschwitz (other topics)The Secret History (other topics)
The Great Gatsby (other topics)
The Scorpio Races (other topics)
Finnikin of the Rock (other topics)
More...
1.open with a sentence or two that provides context/summary/overview of the story without PLOT SPOILERS
2. Paragraph 2: discuss aspects of the narrative that dominate the story - again without plot spoilers.
3. Paragraph 3: Select 1-2 aspects of the story to critique or evaluate. Compare these to other books you have read - draw connections - focusing solely on the craft, storytelling, or narrative itself.