Lovely Bones: 4

Lovely Bones

Alice Sebold

Mystery, thriller

233/328

In this section of the book on the first chapter Lindsey (Susie’s sister) constantly observes Mr. Hervey’s (the murderer) house. Lindsey joined the boys soccer team. Mr. Harvey’s house is visible from the court for soccer. Lindsey is constantly looking towards the house and Mr. Harvey knows that he fooled everyone except the Salmon family. After sometime Mr. Harvey leaves his house. Lindsey fakes that she isn’t feeling well and then she secretly goes to his house. When she gets there she decides to break in through the basement window. When she does enter the house she figures out that the house it set up just like her house.  For a moment Lindsey sees her sister for a split second and follows her into a where all of the other girls/ women Mr. Harvey has killed are (including Susie right now). Lindsey starts to look around the room and finds Mr. Harvey’s sketchbook where he sketched the cornfield (where he murdered Susie). Lindsey finds out that there is a hole in the cornfield and that is exactly where her sister was killed. She hears that Mr. Harvey is back and quickly rips out the page from the sketchbook and opens the window so she can get away. Mr. Harvey hears her and sees her running away. In the next chapter Mr. Harvey remembers how he used to shoplift with his mother and how sometimes they would get caught. After that he starts to get really nervous but decides to call the police and they come to see how serious it is. Mr. Harvey doesn’t try to blame Lindsey for what she did as he calls her “Poor little girl”. Mr. Harvey at first didn’t tell the police the drawing from the sketchbook was missing even though he knew it wasn’t there, because of that the police almost arrests him. He then manages to convince the police that he didn’t know that is was missing. He claimed that he was trying to figure out how Susie was killed (actually he was planning how to kill her). The following chapter was the anniversary of Susie’s murder. Ruth (Susie’s friend who Susie touched as she was leaving earth after that experience Ruth became obsessed by Susie) came to Ray’s (Susie’s ex-boyfriend) house and they then went to the cornfield. When they arrived there they saw that Samuel and Hal were there and some others were there left flowers and left. The neighbors see the kids there so people start gathering up on the cornfield in memory of Susie. Abigail (Susie’s mother) isn’t interested in coming while Jack (Susie’s father) and Lindsey go to the cornfield. In the final chapter of this section that I read this week at the beginning of summer 1975 Abigail (Susie’s mom) leaves, leaving Lindsey and Buckley alone with Jack. Grandma Lynn then says she is going to move in with them to help out. Mr. Harvey packed his bags and left and no one could find, there were no records of him, he disappeared. One day Lindsey goes down to the station where she finds her mothers scarf in Len’s (police officer) desk and that is when she gets that her mother had an affair with him. Buckley then builds a fort for Susie and in there he often comes to read to keep his mind off of his mother.  Len finds some evidence against Mr. Harvey and he finally gets that Jack was right the whole time. Now Len feels guilty that he didn’t solve the crime because Mr. Harvey is nowhere to be found. Susie now sees something that Len doesn’t, a hunter found her charm bracelet near the bones of a child’s foot in Connecticut. After a couple of years Len discovers what Susie knew this whole time, he discovers the charm near a body of a girl found in 1976. Later on in the chapter Hal (Samuels brother) meats a biker whose mother was murdered by someone who matched Mr. Harvey’s description and he calls Len. At the end Holiday (Susie’s dog) dies and joins her in heaven. I have learned many things in this section especially that Mr. Harvey leaves. That influenced many things because if he stayed in town Len would’ve caught him. But since he disappeared that made the story more interesting and more intense.

I am blown away, shocked, amazed and stunned. I can’t believe what I have read. As it is seen in my summary there are many things that happen in the last couple of chapters. My recent reading has totally fulfilled my expectations because so many drastic things happened in this section of the book. I expect that the police after some time will find Mr. Harvey and arrest him for what he has done. I am very satisfied with what I have read so far I couldn’t have expected more.

I have a big concern currently; I am worried that Mr. Harvey won’t get punished for what he did to Susie and the other girls/ women he killed. I also two additional questions where did Mr. Harvey go and how is he staying undercover for so long.

“”The young woman that broke in”, the officer began, “she did take something. It was a drawing of the cornfield and a sort of structure in it”” (-Sebold -192)

This passage is my favorite part in this section. It was when the officer told Mr. Harvey that Lindsey took something (even though he already knew that). This passage in a way delighted me because at that point for a second I thought that he is going to go to jail for what he did, but then he managed to convince the police that he didn’t notice it missing.

Chronicle of a Death Foretold - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (Blog Post No. 4)

Chronicle of a Death Foretold

Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Genre: Crime Fiction

Number of pages read: 80/120

Summary: In the twenty pages I read since my last blog post, the book describes the Vicario brothers' pursuit for Santiago Nasar. They travel the streets of the small Caribbean village. Marquez reveals that Pablo, the older brother, listens to Pedro's orders. This is because the Pedro went to the military, and his soul and body hardened from the discipline. He wears his wound from a bullet as a medal and proudly shows it. Pedro has a urinating problem, so after he urinates beneath the tamarind trees. He describes the pain he feels as "pissing ground glass" (Marquez, 61). After this, Pedro could not carry on his search for Santiago Nasar, so he told his brother to continue without him. Pablo camped in front of the back door of Santiago Nasar's house and looked through the window to see if the lights were on in his room. Luckily, Santiago Nasar went in through the front door which was on the other side. The lights on the staircase were already turned on, so Santiago did not have to turn on any more lights. He knew that he had only one hour of sleep before the bishop arrives, so he went to sleep in his street clothes. When he woke up, he went out the back door of his house. Pablo stabbed him to death. Many people from the village looked at the body. There were seven fatal cuts and many more smaller cuts. The body could not be recognized. Nobody could find a freezer big enough for his body, so they left him in the open part of the living room and put many fans around him to keep him cool, but the temperature was so high that it was no use. Father Amador and a medical student performed autopsy over his body. First, they got his guts out and threw them into the garbage. In his guts, they found a golden medal that he had swallowed when he was four years old. The medical student diagnosed that he would have only had a few more years to live if they had not killed him.

Reflection: In this part of the book, there were no time shifts. Everything was very straightforward. I liked the action and the descriptions in the book. I was disgusted when I read the part where Marquez describes the wounds on Santiago Nasar's body. Pablo must have been mentally ill, for he committed a very monstrous crime.

Passage: "They had only a few instruments for minor surgery available and the rest were craftsmen's tools." (Marquez, 75)

I chose this passage because it perfectly describes the poverty of the village. They do not even have the proper tools for urgent medical purposes, a freezer for keeping corpse or any urgent means of transportation to places with the adequate tools and materials.

The Secret Garden blog post #3

Title: The Secret GardenThe 
Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett
Genre: Historical Fiction
Number of pages: 157/311

Report Section: The priests lead Mary to Mr. Craven's sitting room. After a long conversation Archibald Craven asks Mary if she wants anything at all and she responses that she would like to have a "bit of earth" for her gardening. Mr. Craven gets quite moved my this request because he remembered how much his wife loved gardening. Later, when Mary returns to the secret garden, she realizes that Dickon is not there. He has left for home. However, There is a note affixed to one of the rose bushes, on which Dickon has drawn a picture of a bird on its nest and a promise to return. That night a storm occurs in Misselthwaite. Mary wakes up and hears a baby crying again. She decides to go off in search of it's source. She finds a boy, as white as a statue, lying on the floor. That boy is Colin Craven, Archibald Craven's son. The boy is 10 years old since he was born shortly after Master's wife had died and the secret garden got locked. Colin says that he thinks that he will die before he reaches adulthood due to his illness. Colin says that he really wants to see the secret garden but Mary says that if everybody knows about it, it won't be a secret. Before Mary leaves they decide to keep their meeting in secret. After a week of rain Mary could finally go to the garden again. In the meanwhile, Colin and Mary begin to know each other and Mary wishes if she could bring Colin to the garden without anybody knowing that she did so. Finally Dickon is back and he meets up with Mary again. She tells him about Colin and the two children begin to think of a way for bringing Colin into the secret garden.

Response Section: For me these fifty pages that I have read so far weren't as interesting as the rest of the book was. Most of them were just talking about Colin and his illness. I predict that the rest of the people will soon realize the secret of the three children. I also predict that Colin will meet up with Dickon but I don't know what to expect after that. 

Passage Section: "When first we got in here." he said, "it seemed like everything was grey. Look around now and tell me if tha' doesn't see a difference."
This passage shows how everything was so simple before the two children began going in the garden more and more often. They were bringing happiness and joyess along with them. They were gardening, they were observing, they were jumping on their rope, they were doing many things. And this short passage shows the change Mary had made. 

Rifles for Watie - Blog Post #3 - Jared Rogerson

I am still reading the historical fiction novel, Rifles for Watie by Harold Keith. This week I have read from page 111 to 179.


The last thing that happened during last weeks reading was that David got home, and his mom refused to let him stay. The first thing that happened in this weeks reading was that David and Jeff leave to go back to the fort. They arrive at the fort that evening, and the next day they start the march to Springfield, Missouri. At the Grand River in Kansas, they meet up with another General and his group of men and continue the march. As they keep moving, the whole battalion gets really thirsty and sick because they haven't had a decent amount of food or water in a long time. They continue their march in this state for some time.

After a couple of days, they meet up with a person called Lyon and his group of volunteer men, and still continue there march further. Jeff meets this young man named Jimmy that is in the other volunteer battalion, and they get acquainted and become friends. After yet another long stretch of marching, the Sergeant in charge finds out the Jimmy is not of age and he is taken away. The rest of the pages I read this week are about the march, and nothing really important is said during these parts except there are a few hints about them getting close to there first battle.

This weeks reading has been pretty boring, because all it really dealt with was marching and marching and more marching, and was kind of anticlimactic and meticulous. I hope they soon get to some more interesting parts in this book because it is getting very,very, repetitive.


The excerpt that I have chosen for this week is when Jeff meets Jimmy. The reason why I chose it it because it is pretty much the one important/interesting thing that happened this week, and I predict that Jimmy might come back later in the story.

Obediently the lad handed it over. Jeff put the dried grass in the crown, poured
 water from his canteen over it, and handed it 
back to its owner. It was a trick he had learned with his own straw hat while plowing. The boy clapped the cap gratefully onto 
his black curls. 
"Thankee," he said, shyly. "That's real cool." 
Trudging along, Jeff asked the Missouri boy, "What's your name?" 
"Jimmy Lear. What's yours?"

Blog Post #3: Chains

Chains

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson

Genre: Historical Young Adult

Pages: 174/300 pages

Summary: This part of the book is Part 2:

After the incident Madam Lockton would not look Isabel in the eye or even speak to her. All her orders went through Becky. Curzon, the boy she met on the first day, would come visit her every day but she would shoo him away. She was furious at everybody especially at Colonel Regan who had promised her freedom and not granted it. Most of she was furious at herself for letting Madam Lockton drug her to sleep then sell her sister. One night there is a huge storm that hits the town and many people were killed by lighting and many houses burnt down as well. When Isabel goes to fetch water the old man everyone calls Grandfather (aka. wise man) The British win the first battle in Brooklyn and many american soldiers are killed or enslaved. Isabel really thinks about what the Grandfather said. She wonders if the British can free her. If they can help her find her sister. The war became serious and may people feared their lives. Madam Lockton makes Isabel go to the market and buy food while the bombs go off. She see's this as a chance to run away and goes for it.

What do you think about what you have read?

I think this story is really catchy but at one point i lost track of what happened and had to start the chapter again.Sometimes it gets confusing. 

Has your recent reading fulfilled your expectations?

Not exactly. They don't find a way out and things get worse.

What do you expect for your continued reading?

I think that Isabel will help the British and that the British will win and she will be free.

How satisfied are you with what you have read?

Yes I am satisfied although the story can get pretty rough. But it's a good book so far.

Passage Section:

"Look hard for you river Jordan, my child. You'll find it." (Anderson167) In this quote I think grandfather is refering to the river Jordan as her freedom. So if she searched hard enough for a way she will find it. "I will run and join the British."(Anderson174) I thought she had gone mad when i read that. She was willing to go out when bombs were going off to find her freedom. She was willing to risk her life to find her sister.

The Book Thief - Blog #3

1) The Book Thief
Markus Zusak
Historical Fiction
200/550

2) Not much has happened that is exciting over the past week. I know that Liesel, the girl that is also called "the book thief" has learned to read a little bit, but not through school. She learned to read from her new Papa, Hans Hubermann, her foster dad. The foster mom, Rosa Hubermann is not very nice; she insults everyone, even Liesel. The book thief also made a new friend. His name is Rudy Steiner. He has 5 siblings and his dad is part of the 10% of Germany that doesn't support Hitler. Rudy is a huge fan of Jesse Owens, but his dad doesn't like it. Liesel left the Kindergarten class that she was originally part of since she couldn't read or write, and she is now in the class with her friends. This makes her happier, but the terrible nightmares continue. She dreams of her brother and her mother and the book and the grave diggers and Rudy and Hitler and Germany and her future and her past. But every night when she awakens, her Papa is there to comfort her.

3) I've learned that Liesel has a very simple but still so complicated life. And that she appreciates the smallest things; maybe just a smile from her Mama, or a hug from her Papa can make her day. I think that what I have read so far is not the kind of book that I prefer I think. I like books with a lot of drama, action, and I like to connect personally with the characters. I don't feel that way about this book yet, but who knows? It might change.

4) "You can steal a book, but you can't read one!" (Zusak 77). Liesel was in class. She was supposed to read in front of the class when she could hear a voice shouting in her head. This reveals what Liesel thinks of herself and what others might think later on. This makes me feel worried for Liesel, for what is going to happen next. It makes me feel bad because she knows she stole a book, but she can't even read it.

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas by John Boyne

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
John Boyne
Historical Fiction
50/216

Summary

Bruno is still extremely unhappy about the move. As he was laying on his bed he noticed that on the ceiling above him the paint is peeling and cracked. This sight is just another reason for Bruno to hate the new house. Just when he has that thought his maid comes in and he asks her whether she likes their new home or not. She doesn't want to give him a straight answer so she just says that she preferred the back garden in their old house in Berlin. Soon enough Marie and Bruno have a big conversation, it is mostly about Marie and her family and how she explains that her mother had worked for Bruno's fraternal grandmother. Once Marie's mother had retired she still stayed close to the family and now Marie works for Bruno's and Gretel's father and mother. After a few weeks in the new house Bruno has found himself being quite bored most of the time. He decides that he will try and find something to do or he will lose his mind. He comes to the conclusion that he will build a swing on Saturday. In need of the materials he needs to make the swing, one of the things he has to ask Lieutenant Kotler for is a tyre. Lieutenant Kotler is a soldier that Bruno had met on his first day in the new house. The Lieutenant agrees to supply Bruno with the things he will need. Bruno goes on to create the swing he desires to. As he is finalizing the swing, he is holding on to the tyre at a high point and manages to fall. He later on finds a giant gash on his knee. Bruno is starting to miss his grandparents terribly. His grandfather is retired and his grandmother loves to sing on stage. She hopes that one day Bruno or Gretel will also be stars on the stage. Both Bruno and Gretel had once joined their grandmother in a play but that didn't end too well. Finally Bruno starts to adjust to his new home; "Out-With." Herr Liszt is hired as a tutor for Bruno and Gretel. Bruno keeps on observing the people behind the fence outside his window. He sees a 'new' group but they are wearing bright red and black armed bands and clothing varying for material and decoration. He wonders why they are not also wearing grey striped pajamas like the boys and old men he had seen previously. 

Response 

I wonder why it has taken Bruno so long to adjust to his new home. I wonder why Bruno is so fascinated by the soldiers behind the fence outside his window, and why he spends so much time observing them. I think that Bruno might not have adjusted to his new home just yet but is trying to forget all the fond memories he has because he realizes he cannot keep on hating his new house and life. 

Passage 

"Nothing changed for quite a while at Out-With" (Boyne 95). 

I chose this passage because this is the point at which Bruno finally realizes that he should stop hating his new home and when he starts to but aside the memories he has been thinking about for a while. He has now finally decided to adjust to his new life and house. This situation sort of reminded me of when I first moved to Belgrade. The school and my whole life was completely different but soon enough I found a way to accept the changes and now I don't want to leave. This also shows that Bruno is changing as a person but we don't know if it's for the worse or the better yet. 

Memoirs of A geisha #3

Memoirs of a  Geisha
Arthur golden
Historical Fiction
238/500

After Chiyo breaks her arm while trying to run away she gets a letter saying her parents are dead and she also gets a beating form mother and she is no longer allowed to go to geisha school and now she will be a geisha servant. After a few months while Chiyo is returning her things to the school she comes across Chairman, who gives her money and a handkerchief. She wished to see the friendly man again and she decided to try to be a geisha when she is older. Granny died and many people came to the okiya to pay respects and Chiyo sees mameh again, chiyo ruined her kimono some time ago. They start talking and a few weeks later Memeha comes to the okiya and asks mother if she can have Chiyo as her  apprentice and they agree, pumpkin is hatsumomo's apprentice now and Chiyo is mameha's. After that Chiyo was allowed to go back to school and everything was going well until Hatsumomo didn't allow pumpkin to ever talk to Chiyo again. From that point Chiyo knew that to be successful she would have to be better then hatsumomo which meant she had to get a rich supporter and study hard. After lots of months Pumpkin becomes an appretice geisha and after being separated from work Chiyo meets up with Memeha. Memeha teaches her how to bow, walk and have nice posture. Chiyo is almost ready to be the apprentice of Memeha so she has to get her hair done nicely and sleep in a really strange way so that she doesn't mess up her hair, it's really hard at the beginning. Every day she had to dress up as an apprentice geisha which meant wearing a heavy kimono and walking around in shoes that require loads of balance. Finally the day came when she would become novice Geisha. Her name is Sayuri now. Sayuri has been thinking of  Chairman every day and one day she is sent to hang out with a man named Nobu and chairman but unfortunately the one she has to entertain is nobu which means she doesn't really talk to chairman, Memeha and Sayuri come up with a plan to take Hatsumomo down.

I think that it is so mean that pumpkin and Chiyo aren't allowed to talk anymore and it makes me really mad at Hatsumomo. I'm really excited to see if the plan succeeds and i hope it does because she makes me really mad. It also makes me sad how she didn't really talk to chairman but she is madly in love with him but it's also strange how she fell in love with him when she was a little girl and he was a grown man. I hope they end up together and I hope something bad happens to hatsumomo.

" I think perhaps you are as ready now as you'll ever need to be" This is after she makes a man trip over and fall with just a glance. It shows that she is ready to be a novice geisha and I think that in teh end she will be are really good geisha.

Distant Waves: A novel of the Titanic post #3

Distant Waves

A novel of the Titanic 

Suzanne Weyn 

Historical Fiction 

231/330

Mimi has been gone for a while, but she finally contacted her family while they were in London, Canada for a spiritual convention. At the convention is was proven that the twins, Amelie and Emma have their mothers gift by being able to speak to the dead. Mimi told her mother and sisters that she will be traveling on the Titanic with her mistress. Her sister Blythe wanted to go with her too. It took a while for Blythe to convince her mother to allow her to go, but in the end she went with Mimi and she traveled second class while Mimi traveled in luxury in the first class. When an english newspaper editor, William Thomas Stead predicted that the Titanic will sink, Jane, Amelie and Emma get on it to try to talk Blythe and Mimi to get off. Mimi didn't want to get off because she was working and her mistress was there and she didn't believe a word of what Amelie, Jane and Emma were saying. On the ship Jane bumps into That and Tesla. Thad tells her that he made a mistake for not writing to her and that he still wants to be with her. Also Mimi announced that she will be getting married on the Titanic with her mistresses butler. While on the ship, Jane, Emma and Amelie were convinced that the ship won't sink so they stayed. 

This has been the most interesting part of my reading. So much has happened between characters and many relationships were built. Knowing that the Titanic will actually sink, I wonder what will happen with the entire family. If some will survive, if the entire family will survive or if everyone will die. 

"Maybe all the events of the past few months had occurred for just one reason-- to bring Thad and me together. Perhaps our being here on the Titanic wasn't predestination, but rather, destiny. (page 216) 

This little passage was focused on Thad and Jane being together and seeing each other after they had stopped talking to each other. Thad apologized because he still wanted to be with her and he was sorry that he didn't keep any contact with her after she left. This passage seems like something big is going to happen with Jane and Thad. Even though they are on the Titanic and Jane believes its going to sink, she doesn't want to let anything get in the way of them two.  They both believe in life after death so they wouldn't even let death separate them again. 

People of the Wolf Blog Post #3

People of the Wolf
W. Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear
Historical Fiction
205/434

Report Section
Dancing Fox has managed to run away from Crow Caller's group in the confusing storm. She lives on her own with Talon (a female elder). Fox has become a skilled hunter and Talon is teaching her how to make her own spears and other weapons that could save Fox's life. Fox dreams about meeting Runs In Light again and cannot get him out of her mind. She puts all her hopes that he will come to the Renewal, which is when all the People meet and celebrate the new "year" and pay respects to the animals that have been sacrificed for the People survival. Though she is scared because she knows that Raven Hunter and Crow Caller (who unfortunately survived the storm even though his age) would be there. Though she is unknowing that Runs In Light and his group is sheltering at Herons place. Runs In Light's group is going to join the Renewal since they believe that the cause of these disasters are because their tribe did not go last year. Though Heron has told Runs In Light that he has to become a true Dreamer and to do that he has to open himself to the One Life which connects everything in their world. He has to let go of Runs In Light and find his true self. He tries this by sitting for days trying to clear his mind but he can't. He does not want to loose himself and he knows that letting go of everything would mean to let go of Dancing Fox. He is faced with a choice, if he refuses his powers he would become like Crow Caller. He makes his decision and says no to Herons teachings then heads out and follows the tracks of his group hoping to get to the  Renewal in time. Though on his way he meet Broke Branch who is heading in the opposite direction, she tells him that she it too old for the long journey and is heading back to Heron. She accuses him for fleeing form his destiny and after an argument Runs In Light knows and had known all along that he was ting carelessly and like a fool since he was holding he fate of peoples lives in his hands and decides to head back with Broken Branch. At the Renewal Dancing Fox gets to know this and she becomes worried and does not understand why that cannot be together even though he is a Dreamer. People are celebrating at the meeting until Raven Hunter and some other men form the People arrive and Raven Hunter gets everyone's attention when holding up a bloody spear. It was not allowed to kill animals during the Renewal but Raven Hunter soon tells them that he and the other men have just killed a group of the Others. Raven Hunter preaches about how they should stop fleeing and how they should keep their pride and fight back. Many of the younger men join but the ones who followed Runs In Light did not want to go, though a man in Runs In Light's group called Singing Wolf said he would go with them only to see what happens, this was because they all knew that Raven Hunter would probably lie about what happened to keep is glory and statues if they returned. The group of men head further into the Others territory, they come across villages where they kill everyone. They mercilessly kill men, elders, women, children and infants. Raven Hunter does not kill them directly, he makes the deaths slow and painful. He believes that the few survivors that managed to escape would pas the word to other clans of the Others and that they would cower in fear. After three villages have been destroyed they come a cross  fourth where Singing Wolf comes across a woman called Blueberry who is his cousin and was taken by the Others years ago. They take her with them and she tells them that the Others are just the beginning. They are actually called the Mammoth Clan and are very strong. Though they have been forced too flee due to the Glacier clan who is an unknown enemy, Blueberry says that they are different for any other clan there is. They have pale skin and fur everywhere, they are huge and came in gigantic trees over the sea (boats).  And in between the Mammoth clan and the Glacier clan are three clans who try to fight the Glacier clan called the Tiger Belly clan, Round Hoof clan, and Buffalo clan.    

Response Section

What do you think about what you have read?

I think that the war starting just got much more complicated and that Raven Hunter and his group have become so violent that it is almost impossible to read a page about them attacking villages without feeling upset about the innocent babies and children they kill. Has your recent reading fulfilled your expectations?

Yes, i knew that Raven Hunter was going to wage a war against the Mammoth People though I never expected that there were more clans involved in this war and that there was a much more powerful force attacking the Mammoth People.What do you expect for your continued reading?

I that Rave Hunter ignores Blueberry's warnings since he did not believe them and that he will continue to attack the people until he is overpowered and might die. How satisfied are you with what you have read?
I read as much as I planned on reading this week though I did not have much tome to read this week so I read everything in one day which was not very smart. 

Passage Section

"A tiny boy, barley three, crawled madly from beneath the loge cover, tears streaking his dirty face "Get him! He'll grow up to kill us!"...  "No!" Singing Wolf shrieked, tear filling his eyes as he watched the rock hurtle downward, smashing they boy's head." (p 195)

I choose this passage because it made me feel really sad since I have a three year old brother and I can not understand why Raven Hunter would do such a horrible thing as killing innocent children.  

Quarter 2 Post 3 ~ Troy

Troy
Adele Geras
Historic Fiction
180/358


Summary
      After Achilles kills Lord Hector, Xanthe leaves Alastor with her friend Polyxena, and goes back to the palace to comfort Andromache, Hector's wife. Polyxena then has to go to her grandfather, and so Marpessa, Xanthe's sister, takes over. Marpessa takes Alastor back to the Blood Room, where he falls asleep. While Marpessa watches over him, she sees Aphrodite appear before her. Aphrodite has decided to turn her gaze onto Marpessa and her sister. She makes Marpessa and Alastor fall in love, despite Marpessa's pleading. Alastor convinces Marpessa to take him to Helen and Paris's palace, and sleep in a real bed.
       King Priam claims that Iris, the messenger of the gods, visited him and told him of a way to get Hector's body back from the Greeks. Priam would have to go to Achilles at the Greek camp- alone- and bring a ransom. Hecuba, Priam's wife, suggests that, by alone, Achilles meant that Priam should come without an escort or an entourage. She figures that he can have companions, so she sends Polyxena and Iason with him. They go to the Greek camp, where Priam pleads to Achilles for Hector's body back. Achilles takes pity on him, as Priam reminds him of his own father. He has Hector's body wrapped in cloth and given back to hector. Polyxena even sees tears fall from Achilles's eyes. They bring the body back to Troy, where a funeral is held for Hector.

Response 
     I feel like the tension is building up now. Aphrodite has chosen to turn her attention to the sisters Marpessa and Xanthe, making them both fall in love with Alastor, and Alastor fall in love with Marpessa. I'm afraid that Marpessa will try to keep it a secret from Xanthe, but somehow Xanthe will find out and a rift will open between the two sisters. Also, I was really sad at the part when Priam got Hector's body back from Achilles. It showed that war isn't black and white, right or wrong. There are two sides to everything.

Passage
    "Achilles. Terror of Troy. Killer of Hector. He had tears in his eyes" (Geras 174)

     I really like this quote, because it shows that, even though the heroes of this story are the Trojans, the Greeks aren't necessarily the bad guys. Everyone is human, and this shows it. Achilles is the one everyone in Troy is afraid of, but here Polyxena sees him crying because of Priam. I find this very sad, and it points out how destructive war is.

Chains #3

Chains
Laurie Halse Anderson
Historical Fiction
Number of pages read: 150/300

Isabel has just turned in the list of names of the people who were going to be involved in the plan of General Washington's murder. A few days later Master Lockton and his companions find out that their plan has been uncovered, so they have to quickly burn all of their papers and Master Lockton plans to flee the town. Madam Lockton doesn't want him to leave or at least wants him to taker her with him but he decides to leave alone.A person called Thomas Hickey was to be hanged a few days later because everyone thought that he was the one that told General Washington. Ruth and Isabel had to go and watch the hanging. Meanwhile, Madam is getting angrier and angrier at Ruth because of her illness and because she thinks that she is useless to own. One day however Madam starts acting very strange: she gives Ruth fancy clothes, she bakes gingerbread, she cooked up sweet milk and told Isabel to have a goodnight's sleep and relax. Isabel seems very surprised by this but doesn't suspect that it will end very badly. She wakes up next morning, seeing that she had slept in very late and goes looking for Ruth but can't find her anywhere. Soon she finds out that Ruth was sold early in the morning by Madam. Isabel gets very very angry even though Becky warns her not to say anything to Madam. When Madam returns Isabel stands up to her and then runs away, however Madam catches up with her and decides to punish her by branding her head with the letter "I" to stand for "Insolence".

So far, I have really enjoyed this book even though it is really sad to learn how badly slaves were treated, the descriptions that the author uses and the dialogue make all the events really realistic. I think that for my continued reading Isabel will receive her punishment and go back to work for Madam but they will be very angry at eachother for a long time. I also think that Isabel will soon overhear Madam telling someone who she sold Ruth to and Isabel will go searching for her. In conclusion, I am very satisfied with this book, which is a big surprise for me because I didn't usually read or enjoy historical novels that much.

Quote: "If I cried a river, maybe I could swim away, or slip under the water to freedom" (Anderson, 147)
This quote means that Isabel's life is very limited because it is impossible for her to do anything that doesn't obey what her owner says and almost nothing she can do to gain her freedom. 

The Ravenmaster's secret #3

The Ravenmaster's secret

Elvira Woodruff

Historical novel

97/214

Summary

Forrest and Rat, half way through the tower hear the sad but beautiful song of the new imprisoned girl. She sang with a Scottish accent so they couldn't make out the words. Forrest pushed open the heavy door and offered her the bread and the tea he brought. Forrest talks to her but she does not respond. But when Forrest and Rat was about to leave, she told them to "wait a bit" but backs away startled by Tuck turning back suddenly. She says that she has not eaten anything since the day before and Forrest tells her that she can't get anymore unless her family pays. To Forrest's surprise, Rat offers the ginger cookie he got from Forrest to the girl. They begin to talk about things and she asks about her father. Forrest tells her that he is kept in another tower and turns to leave. The girl finally asks him the Raven's name. Forrest tells her "Tuck" and leaves. He hears the girl's sob as he left but did not turn back as she is her enemy a Scot.

That evening at Forrest's house, his little sister pesters him and asks him about the girl and Forrest says that there is nothing to say about her. They play around with Bea, putting soot on her chin and their father comes in. They avoid getting caught and their mother simply thinks that Bea drooled on her clothes again. At the dinner table, they talk about the Scottish people. His father says that they are a treasonous bunch and those who are captured will pay with their heads coming off.,

The next morning, on the way back from the raven's cage, Forrest encounters the Finch and the bullies. They fire mud with their slingshot at Forrest and after a useless attempt to ignore them, he runs away and meets Rat. Rat gives him his lucky nail but Forrest replies with "that won't help". Rat's smile vanishes and Forrest feels guilty and takes it. Later that day, Forrest goes to the Bloddy Tower and gives the girl her daily food and both of them don't talk. This routine repeats except for the bad cold she develops from being in the damp tower. He is bothered by it to the point of putting extra food in her tray in secret. The next morning, Forrest walks to the Bloody Tower through the damp and hard wind imagining the fire in the hearth in the girl's prison. However, he realizes that the prison is "as chilled as a stairwell". The girl didn't know how to light a fire in the grate so Forrest helps her. Surprisingly, Tuck greets her like a friend, in a way he greets Forrest and Rat. They talk about the girl's homeland and exchange names and is told that her name is "Maddy". Then they find a rat in her cell and Forrest tells him that he will bring a rat catcher and soon regrets having said that. She asks about her father once again and Forrest keeps his silence and leaves but finds himself unable to hate the Scottish girl.

The next day, Forrest returns to Maddy's cell with Rat. Rat catches the rat skillfully as a rat catcher would. The girl asks if Rat has a real name instead of Rat. Rat replies with his name "Ned White" and Forrest feels guilty about not asking his best friend's real name. As Forrest and Rat give Maddy the bundle of rush they had brought, Forrest catches the hopeful spark in Maddy's eyes and tells her "You best put any thought of escape out of your mind. Then Forrest changes the topic and asks Maddy about how her homeland Glen is like. She tells them that it is wonderful in her homeland and when Forrest was engrossed, he hears the Ravenmaster's voice and remembers the chores he has to do and leaves. 

That night, Forrest dreams about himself in Glen playing in the fields but was awakened by the sound of the heavy rain pour against the roof. In the morning, Forrest is relieved that the rain had stopped because he only had to avoid the puddles to prevent his boots from getting wet for he only owned one pair. He goes make beds for the ravens and the biggest of them “Thor” complains. While talking to the ravens, Forrest sees the sweeper Simon Frick and 4 followers. He wonders who the fourth one is since there were only 3 the last time he met Simon Frick. It was hard to make out the face because they were covered in ashes from the chimneys but when the wind blew, Forrest realized that it was Ned. When Simon Frick went somewhere, Forrest runs to Ned and hears that he was sold to Simon Frick and that he needs money in order to be released. Forrest promises Ned that he will come back for him and leaves as Simon Frick returns.

Reflection

It was surprising to see that the Scottish girl and Forrest gets along fine and that Forrest can’t hate her. I think the girl will use this to her advantage to escape or escape with Forrest in the future. Also, I was astonished when Ned was sold. I think Forrest will free Ned and prove his courage somehow.

Passage

 “There is no love in England for these Scots”

This is how Forrest’s father and the other British people think of the Scots like Maddy. Seeing Forrest’s reaction of shuddering, I think Forrest will stand up for the Scots in a place where the British people rule the majority.

A Christmas Carol #3

Title: A Christmas Carol
Author: Charles Dickens
Genre: Historical Fiction
Pages: 92/126

In the last pages I have read, another spirit has been introduced. He is the Ghost of Christmas Present. Scrooge wakes up in the middle of the night and goes to the room next to his bedroom. He finds the ghost sitting on an enormous pile of turkey, chicken, apples, and any other food you could imagine. Then, Scrooge and the ghost magically appear on the street on Christmas day. They see people smiling and having fun. The spirit takes Scrooge to Bob Cratchit's house. He is Scrooge's assistant. Bob is carrying Tiny Tim, his sick child. Scrooge asks the spirit if Tiny Tim will survive from the disease. He says that looking at the conditions in which the family is in, he will not survive. I have learned that Bob's son is sick, and that his family needs help. This has affected Scrooge because now he is feeling guilty about the eventual death of Bob's son, Tiny Tim.
I think that what I have read has revealed a few very important pieces of information regarding Scrooge and the people around him. Yes, my recent reading has fulfilled my expectations. For my continued reading, I expect something extraordinary to happen. I expect for something out of my expectations to happen. I am very satisfied with my reading.
"'No, no,' said Scrooge. 'Oh no, kind Spirit! say he will be spared!'" (Dickens 74). This passage reveals the true Ebenezer Scrooge. It shows the bright, the regretful, the caring side of him. This passage delights me because it shows character development. It shows how Scrooge is growing from being cruel to being caring. It shows me that Scrooge is becoming a completely new character.

Cold Mountain Blog Post #3

Cold Mountain Blog Post #3

Title: Cold Mountain
Author: Charles Frazier
 Genres: Historical Fiction/ Adventure
 Percent read: 50/100
 Summary:

  The third section of my reading begins with Inman discussing “The Confederate Home Guard”, who are a group of appointed officials who track down Confederate deserters. Inman is aware that these people are tracking him and Inman is very afraid of these men. Further along Inman’s journey he encounters a man named Veasely who is about to murder a slave. This slave is found out to be pregnant with Veasely’s child. Inman stops Veasely and they end up traveling together. Along their journey they help a man named Junior who later turn them in to the Home Guard. Inman and Veasely are then captured by the Home Guard and walk for days on end until the Guard simply decides to shoot Inman, Veasely, and the other prisoners. Veasely protects Inman and steps in front of the bullet. The same bullet that killed Veasely grazes Inman and the Home Guard leaves them for dead. After this Inman continues his journey.

  Throughout this section I noticed that Inman is extremely determined to reach Cold Mountain. Not only was his closest companion killed to save Inman’s life but also he is ready to kill.

  Response:

 To me the section I read was very interesting. Being half-way through with the book much of Inman’s journey has been revealed. Also a new character appeared in the plot and the Home Guard was introduced.

  I predict in future reading that Inman’s journey will only get tougher from now on. Inman has been discussing many hardships about his journey and these hardships seem inevitable. Also Inman now has the Home Guard closer on his tail than ever.

 Passage:

 “You'll find the good Lord very flexible on the subject of property. We could do a lot with this saw” 46%

 This quote spoken by Veasely takes place as Veasely decides to take a saw. Although Inman is against it Veasely decides to take it anyway. As a reader I feel this quote is meant to show a part of Veasely’s character. Although a devoted Christian Veasely steals a saw as a tool of survival.

Bloody Jack-#3

Bloody Jack
L.A Meyer
Historical Novel
225/336

In my Novel, Bloody Jack, the protagonist Jack Faber or Mary accidentally killed one of her crew members. Sloat, one of the antagonists assaults Jack in an attempt to kill her. Jack fights back but by instinct pulls our her knife and stabs Sloat sending him over board. Soon the crew finds out and at first Jack's friend,Liam, is put on trial but Jack steps in and admits that she killed him. She is put on trail but is found not guilty because it was an act of self defense. Also the HMS Dolphin finds the trail of LeFievre who is the main antagonist and his fleet after LeFievre and his fleet razed a small fishing village. Soon the HMS Dolphin finds LeFievre's fleet and starts its furious battle. First small ships start firing at the HMS Dolphin but are quickly take out. Then the HMS Dolphin starts its attack on LeFievres flag ship and two other frigates. LeFievre is no match and soon he starts to run, the HMS Dolphin rips apart the fleet but just as LeFievre is getting away he sends a small boat full with gunpowder and a lit fuse, the fire boat goes off close to the HMS Dolphin and kills many as well as leaving a hole in the hull.

I think what i have read so far is what is leading up to the climax and the climax,  the HMS Dolphin finds the recently attacked village and finds a survivor who points them in the direction of where he saw the fleet make way only the day before. I think that the HMS Dolphin is close to finding LeFievre's fleet thus making much headway towards the climax. I think that there will not be that much falling action becuase by the time the HMS Dolphin finds LeFievre and attacks them the book will almost be over.

"The small boat heads straight for our bow. The rudder and the sail are tied down. There is no one in the boat, just piles of black kegs and white bags. And sparkles from the fuses. "Fireship!" screams the Captain."
Page: 209

I think that this passage is important because the HMS Dolphin will have to be brought to shore or else it will sink, so i am interested to see what the crew will do with their damaged ship. 

 

Dragon Road

Author: Laurence Yep

Pages Read: 140/288

Genre: Historical Fiction

Report Section

Calvin woke up that morning excited, with lots of energy. It was the first time Ah Lee acted nice to him, probably because he was leaving for four months. Today is the day when Calvin leaves his family and friends and goes around the country to play basketball with his new friends. His friends picked him up with an old rusty car, and they all were sitting like sardines. They all headed for their first game, which was in over the mountain. When they started getting up the mountain, no one taught they can do it, but somehow they succeeded. When they got in the small town, they all saw posters of the opposing team, which made them think that they are much stronger. When  they got into the gyp, Calvin and Barney, two rookies, needed to serve tea for their teammates. When they went out to get some tea, they stopped in the store to buy some postcards to send them to their families. Behind the store, they saw some houses and sea, so, of course, they went in. When they walked a little bit, they saw Uncle Quail.  Barney never met him, so it was pleasant for both of them to meet each other. When they talked for a while, Calvin warned Barney that game is starting and invited Uncle Quail to the game. When game started, Calvin was sitting on the bench as usual. He noticed that opposing team is much slower then their team, so when Calvin got in the game, it was easy for him an his teammates to win the game. When game finished, Uncle Quail gave Calvin some food, and some people even came to him to get an autograph. He was very surprised. When they celebrated long enough they headed for the small town, for their next game. The town was full of cows. There were more cows than humans. The team that they played against was much better than the last team they played, but still they won the game with minor difficulties. They headed for their third game. The gym there was so old, that ball barely bounced off the ground, and also referee was friend of the opposing team, so he played for them. In the first quarter, Calvin's team had many fouls, while at the same time, the opposing tam had no fouls, but Jack had a plan. He wanted the team to fake the fouls and jump on referee, and that it will teach him a lesson. They did so, but referee needed few jumps to learn the lesson. At the end they won the game, and headed for their next game.

Response Section

I really liked what I've read so far. The book is about basketball, which I love, and it teaches life lessons, like how to play under pressure, and how to get people to love you in a new environment. It teaches reader everything about basketball in old times. How was it played, what you needed to win the game, and also how to act on the court. Calvin is a guy, that loves to try new things out. He loves getting into the trouble, and he loves having fun, while Barney is a "good" guy, that tells Calvin whats good for him, and what's not. Topper is Calvin rival and always competes with him in many ways, but especially in basketball. Jack teaches Calvin what he needs to do on the field to surprise Topper, and also he teaches him what he needs to do to be better than Topper, to get jersey with number 1. My recent reading has fulfilled my expectation. Nothing unexpected happened, but it might happen in he future in the book. I think that Calvin and Barney will get in some kind of trouble for stealing something, and maybe he'll get kicked out of the team, but still we don't know.  am really satisfied of what I read so far.

Passage Section

"As He shook hands afterwards, one of them even asked me for and autograph."

"It's for my little girl,"he shrugged. 

Tat was the time when Calvin's fame began, when he gave his first autograph away.

Lovely Bones 3

Lovely Bones

Alice Sebold

Mystery, thriller

174/328

At the beginning of this reading section it was summer, and Lindsey (Susie’s sister) was at the symposium (a camp for smart kids). This chapter focuses on her and what she was doing in camp. At first Lindsey liked that fact that many of the kids didn’t know about Susie so they didn’t refer to Lindsay as the dead girls sister. As camp came to an end more and more people found out about Susie’s death and started linking Lindsay to her. Then someone made a competition “How to commit a perfect murder”. In the next chapter Susie watches her dad get up each morning at 4 AM he gets up and walks Holiday (their dog). He walks by Mr. Harvey’s house each day. He dreams of killing him because of his instinct (which is correct). As the summer comes to an end Mr. Harvey is less and less worried about being caught by the police because they almost stopped questioning him. Susie’s dad is now constantly calling the police about Mr. Harvey and it makes Len Fenerman (police officer) come to their home and to tell him to stop calling. Jack (Susie’s dad) starts to put the pieces together and figures out that that they are stopping the investigation.  That night Jack sees a light in the cornfield (where Susie was murdered) and he thinks its Mr. Harvey and he decides to go follow the light with a baseball bat. But he was wrong it wasn’t Mr. Harvey it was Brian and Clarissa (two kids that attend the same school as Susie). When Mr. Salmon sees Clarissa he runs and attacks her screaming “Susie” then Brian (Clarissa’s boyfriend) attacks Mr. Salmon with the baseball bat. He was now in the hospital and will have to have knee surgery. Then the author describes how the rest of the family found out about what happened. The family wakes up by the sounds of police sirens. They all go out to see what is going on and Abigail (Susie’s mother) asks Lindsey to call Mr. Salmon when she goes to wake him up he isn’t there. They then find out what happened and Abigail rushes to the hospital, Lindsey goes and drops Buckley (youngest child) to the neighbor’s house and she goes to the hospital. Then Len Fenerman comes to the hospital and talks to Abigail. They go out to the balcony and that is when Abigail starts to cheat on her husband. In the final chapter of this section Lindsey starts school again and there are many rumors going around at school. They call her many names not only because of Susie but also because of what happened in the cornfield. I have learned many things in this section one of them is that they are slowly stopping the investigation for Susie’s murderer. That influences many things because as a reader that scares you a little bit because I know that Mr. Salmon won’t let Mr. Harvey just go on with his life like he didn’t do anything. In my opinion it affects the relationship Mr. Salmon has with his with because she doesn’t believe in him she believes the police. I think because of this event Mrs. Salmon did cheat on her husband that night in the hospital.

I am amazed by everything that has happened in this reading section because many of the things that happened no might influence further relationships later on in the book. My recent reading has fulfilled my expectation very much because of the detail the author put into describing the evens that were going on in the book. She made me feel like I went back to the 70’s and am there with the Salmon family. I think in the next section of my reading I will find out what steps Mr. Salmon is going to take to confirm that Mr. Harvey murdered his daughter. I am very satisfied by what I have read so far. This book really keeps me interested and I am eager to continue reading.

I have two main questions about what I have read so far: What is Mr. Salmon going to do to confirm that Mr. Harvey murdered his daughter and how is that going to affect him and his family?

“As he was about to let go for the night, we both saw the same thing: another light. Outside. It looked like a penlight from that distance. One white beam slowly moving out across the lawns and toward the junior high.” (Seabold 136)

This passage reveals what Mr. Salmon saw the night he went after Mr. Harvey (who wasn’t there). This passage intrigues the reader very much because as you are reading it you just get this feeling that he shouldn’t go there you know that something bad is going to happen. But on the other side you want him to go and see Mr. Harvey there so he can tell the police and send Mr. Harvey do jail.