Independent Reading: Twilight

Furthering the Reading: Links and Displays

Pictures- Some of my favorite pictures and quotes.

 

 

 

 

Links- This is Stephenie Meyer's official website that includes information about the Twilight series as well as her other works.
http://www.stepheniemeyer.com/

Independent Reading: Twilight

Reading Skills

Predictions- I predict that something is going to threaten Bella and Edward's relationship because right now it is in a very peaceful and perfect state.

Questions (For Stephanie Meyer)-

1. What made you decide on the names for the characters? Do they mean or symbolize something?

2. Was making Carlisle a doctor a use of irony or simply a characterization of his kindness?

3. Did you have any alternative climaxes for Twilight besides James tricking Bella into her death?


Connections:

Text to World- Stephanie Meyer plays with the myths and legends of vampires such as coffins, garlic, mirrors, and melting in the light.

Text to Text- Meyers references Romeo and Juliet in the novel with Bella and Edward's undying love and how they couldn't live without each other.

Text to Self- I am reading Romeo and Juliet right now so I know what they are referencing and what is going on.

Independent Reading: Twilight

Summary

Chapter 13: Confessions

Instead of going to homecoming, Edward decides to take Bella to a surprise place. Bella nicknames it the meadow. One of the humorous parts of this chapter was when Bella was horrified by the fact that they would be hiking because she is incredibly clumsy. Another part is when Edward runs her through the forest, probably faster than the speed of light, and she feels sick afterwards. Edward shows Bella what he looks like in the sun, Bella says, "His skin, white despite the faint flush from yesterday's hunting trip, literally sparkled, like thousands of tiny diamonds were embedded in the surface." They talk and share stories and rest in each other's arms.

This is one of my favorite parts of Twilight because it is so calm and at ease. Bella and Edward are truly in love and their life at the moment is blissful. It is the calm before the storm but I really enjoyed it. Meyers uses wonderful diction and imagery to describe Bella and Edward's euphoric emotions as well as the setting around them.

Independent Reading: Twilight

Characters:

Bella Swan- The main protagonist of the story who moves from Texas to Forks, Washington. She is skinny with brown hair and a clumsy demeanor. She is characterized as selfless and brave though she doesn't know it herself. She falls head over heels with the beautiful but different Edward Cullen. Their love changes her life forever. Throughout the story, Bella grows as a brave, stubborn individual who shows an undying love for her vampire boyfriend.

Jacob Black- Bella's childhood friend, he lives on the La Push reservation and loves fixing cars. He is a minor character in the first novel.

Renee- Bella's mother and ex-wife of Charlie, she is wild and care-free; a free spirit. She remarried Phil,  a baseball player and they moved to Florida.

Charlie Swan- Bella's father, police chief of Forks, he is quiet and characterized as awkward.

Mike Newton- One of Bella's earliest friends, he develops a crush on her from the moment he meets her and throughout the book. He is very kind and sweet but doesn't like Edward at all.

Jessica- Bella's superficial friend, she is the typical teenage girl; gossipy and pessimistic. She is loyal to Bella but mostly likes her for her popularity.

The Cullens: Personally my FAVORITE fictional family ever! "Adopted" or changed by Carlisle, they live in Forks together and are all seniors and juniors in the book.

Edward- With golden, auburn hair, beautiful eyes, a perfect smile, a chiseled body, and an amazing personality, Edward easily wins over Bella's heart from the first time she sees him. A vampire, his features are brilliantly emphasized and Bella describes him as perfect. He is obsessed with keeping Bella safe and is a little on the overprotective side. One of my favorite things Meyers put in the novel was how Bella was making Edward more human-like and all together, happier. He is my favorite fictional character out of all of the books I have ever read because he's the perfect guy. He can also read people's minds... all except Bella's.

Alice- She has a pixie like persona to her. She is able to see the future. She saw Bella coming and has seen her becoming a vampire as well.

Carlisle- The patriarch of the family, he was born in 1600's England and changed at an early age. Bringing his love and passion for doing good, he became a doctor... ironic!

Esme- Carlisle's wife, he changed her after she jumped off a cliff. She brought her compassion and welcomes Bella with eager arms.

Rosalie- Gorgeous, Rosalie, based off of Romeo and Juliet's Rosaline, she is less than happy with Bella. She resents that Bella knows their secret and is jealous because Bella is a human. She brought her "pigheadedness," as Edward puts it.

Emmett- "Bella's big brother," he is married to Rosalie. He is big and broad and incredibly muscular but has a sunny and charming personality. He brought his strength.

Jasper- The newest member of the Cullen clan, he has the uncanny ability to feel other people's feelings and manipulate them into something different. He brought his sensitivity to people's feelings.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Book Reccomendations

If you have read and enjoyed Looking for Alaska by John Green, you may want to try some of his other novels such as An Abundance of Katherines, Paper Towns, and The Fault in Our Stars. All books have become #1 New York Times Bestsellers and some even award winning. With intense plots, unpredictable storylines, and incredibly well crafted writing, John Green's novels are sure to have you on the edge of your seat. NO SPOILERS INCLUDED.

An Abundance of Katherines: Colin Singleton has just graduated from high school when his girl friend dumps him. Totally devastated, Singleton decides to go on a road trip to keep all people away from the "Katherines" he has dated and find the love of his life.


Paper Towns: When Quentin Jacobson's best friend Margo reappears in his life he is overthrilled. But then she disappears again... Quentin begins an adventure to find his long lost friend.


The Fault in Our Stars:  Hazel has cancer and has always been like this. When she meets Augustus, her life is changed forever as he takes her on an adventure through love, laughter, sadness, and growth.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Theme and Summary

Theme: One point of theme in LFA is forgiveness because Pudge feels very guilty for letting Alaska drive drunk the night she died in the car crash. Throughout the second half of the novel Pudge must deal with this guilt. Near the ending of the book Pudge realizes that Alaska, in spirit, forgives him for letting her drive drunk because he was a loyal, wonderful friend to her. Also, Pudge knows that Alaska wanted her life to end and because of her death, she forgives him. She had said, "I need to get to my mother's grave."
       Another theme of LFA is definitley friendship throughout the novel. The Colonel, Takumi, and Alaska all take Pudge in as their own, making him feel welcome and introducing him into their ways. Pudge finds this friendship early on in the novel but it grows and grows and grows as time goes on.

Summary: One of the most important parts of the novel, one dealing with the theme of friendship is at the beginning of the novel when Pudge is taped up and thrown into the lake by the Weekday Warriors. The Colonel is very angry with the Weekday Warriors and threatens to take revenge. This shows that he cares about what happens to Pudge and making sure he is safe. Pudge could have died when he was thrown into the lake-tape binding his body together and all. The Colonel knows this and wants Pudge to know he is on his side by plotting revenge.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Characters

Alaska Young- Alaska continues to advance the theme and plot of the novel as she is found dead after a horrific car crash. The gang must deal with loss and mourning. The book is mostly surrounding Alaska's death as it shows how unfair life is and how sad it can really be. Alaska's death changes the lives of all of the characters in this book as they are launched into a world of pain and confusion and anger. The reason for Alaska's death, whether it be homicide or suicide, is never revealed in the novel, leaving the characters and the audience to make up their own ending for Alaska.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Analysis

Death:
Looking for Alaska says a lot about death and dealing with death. Pudge and his friends are very young and immature yet they are forced to deal with something that is so beyond their years. Pudge says, "The Eagle looked down and bit his lower lip. 'Last night, Alaska Young was in a terrible accident.' His tears came faster, then. 'And she was killed. Alaska has passed away'" (Green 139). These are words that no one wants to hear especially the people closest to Alaska. The whole group has to deal with the loss of a very close friend.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Reading Skills (Continued)

Predictions:

1. I predict that something is going to happen between Chip and Miles because they are both going through a difficult period in their lives. Temptations, anger, and frustration may all be tested.

Questions: (For John Green)

1. Why are the chapter titles a countdown?
2. What was the reason for the title, Looking for Alaska? How did you come up with it?
3. What was the easiest and hardest part of Looking for Alaska that you had to write?

Connections:
Text to World- A connection with LFA and the world would be the constant doubt and nagging of teenagers and their lack of ability to become any thing successful. This weight is felt by many, if not all, of the characters in LFA.

Text to Text- Chip from LFA reminds me of Charlie from The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky. This is because Chip and Charlie are both troubled teenagers with personal problems and family matters. Alaska from LFA also reminds me of Sam from Perks because they are both teenage girls that come off as wild, free, crazy, and beautiful, but have simply been hurt too many times.

Text to Self- A connection from LFA to my own self would be the comparison in age. I am a teenager as well and I am able to understand some of their feelings and emotions as well as rash actions.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Characters (Continued)

Miles "Pudge" Halter- Miles has definitely continued to advance the plot as he continues to seek the Great Perhaps. Author John Green characterizes Pudge as a very weak-minded, dependent young man. Pudge's father warns him not to get drawn into the wrong crowd and not to drink, smoke, or do drugs. When Pudge get to Culver Creek, he begins to do the three out of four things his father instructed him not to do. At one point in the story, Miles is faced with ironing, which he is unable to do. This shows how dependent he was on his parent to iron and cook and clean. Pudge seems to also advance the theme of the story because he resembles the normal, clueless teenager these days. Pudge is characterized as a follower, he is always following either the Colonel or Alaska. This is very important because it shows Pudge as a person at the beginning and middle of the story.

Chip "the Colonel" Martin- Chip also continues to advance the story as the spirited, opinionative friend of Pudge's. Chip's character seems to be much more troubled than Miles because of his history. One time he gets in a big fight with his girlfriend and says, "We never get along. I mean, I didn't even briefly like her. Like, my mom and my dad- my dad would get pissed, and then he would beat the [crap]  out of my mom. And then my dad would be all nice, and they'd have like a honeymoon period. But with Sara, there's never a honeymoon period... I'm a bad boyfriend. She's a bad girlfriend. We deserve each other" (Green 38). This excerpt is incredibly powerful because it characterizes Chip as a character who has been given nothing but hate in his life and because of this, thinks he deserves hate in return. In the same circumstance, Chip is faced with ironing his shirt, and like Pudge, has no idea how to do it. This, however, differentiates him from Pudge because the reason he does not know how to iron is not because he has been fortunate enough to have it done for him, it's because he has no reason to need to iron anything. Also, he was never taught to iron or cook or clean.

Alaska Young- Alaska continues to advance the plot of the story as Pudge's main love interest and an important factor in the continuation of the search for the Great Perhaps. There is something so mysterious about Alaska that makes the reader so interested in her. John Green specifically leaves much of her life story out for this reason.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Furthering the Reading: Links and Displays

1. I have shared this link with a couple of my other posts but it is my favorite one of all because it comes from none other than JOHN GREEN HIMSELF! This is his website/blog and he answers question on question on Looking for Alaska as well as allowing you to ask questions as well! You can also find out more information about his other works, and a short biography on the man of the hour.
http://johngreenbooks.com/alaska-questions/

2. So the second link I would like to share is a video on YouTube by John Green. John Green and his brother Hank Green have a YouTube channel called "vlogbrothers." On this the brothers, at separate times and mostly John Green, talk about things from books to pizza to other random things. On this video though, John Green tells about winning the Printz Award for Looking for Alaska as well as talking about how it was created, published and edited. Don't worry, there's no spoilers and it's not boring, although John Green is a little geeky.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0pz5g5FP0g

3. Here are some of my favorite quotes from Looking for Alaska. John Green has named himself one of my favorite authors with his way to manipulate words, how brilliantly he inserts tone into his writing, and how carefully he crafts the theme and plot to link together just so.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Theme and Summary


Theme:
Death cannot be overcome without support.

Central Ideas of the Text:

• Death
• Overcoming death
• The meaning of life
• Not giving up

Analysis of Development:
Pudge was in love with Alaska so when she dies, he is confronted with all of these questions (see "Ideas" above). He and his friends must deal with death and the injustice that it shows in their lives.

Summary of Part of Text:
One of the unfair parts of the novel is that the reader, as well as the narrator, never learn what killed Alaska, whether it was suicide or a fatal accident. This, in a way, connects the reader to the frustration and confusion of the narrator, Miles.

More information about what John Green has to say about the theme and Alaska's death can be found here: http://johngreenbooks.com/alaska-questions/#process

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Analysis


Plot Questions:

Who is the protagonist? The protagonist of this novel is Miles Halter.

What questions of probability arise in this novel? So far a question of probability for Miles is being thrown into the lake with his body duct-taped.


Characterization Questions:

Evaluate the moral structure of the protagonist. Miles' moral stability is a little uneasy in this novel because as he is inducted into a group of people that seem to make bad choices, Miles goes along with them.


Background Questions:

Summarize the facts of the protagonist's family, gifts, and social position. Mile's family includes himself, his mother, and his father. He has a gift for memorizing the last words of every person in the biographies that he reads. He is also significantly intelligent, although that is not directly stated in the novel. His social position, though not directly stated, seems to be stable as his parents are able to ship him off to a boarding school.



All questions found from: http://www.english.unl.edu
Citation:  "Novel Analysis Questions." Novel Analysis Questions. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2013.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Book Recommendations:


Recommendation for Looking for Alaska:

       I would recommend Looking for Alaska by John Green to any reader, young or old, because it is a wonderfully written story with a gripping plot and wonderful characters. Looking for Alaska was published in 2005 so it is a fairly recent book. Author John Green also wrote the novel The Fault in Our Stars which is a critically acclaimed novel and is, like Looking for Alaska, a #1 New York Times Bestseller. Looking for Alaska was so amazingly written and enjoyed by readers and critics alike, it was awarded the Michael L. Printz Award for excellence in young adult literature.

Here is a book recommendation from Barnes and Noble about Looking for Alaska:
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/looking-for-alaska-john-green/1100255278?ean=9780142402511


Recommendations for a novel similar to Looking for Alaska:
       
         A book similar to Looking for Alaska that I have read and enjoyed would have to be the Harry Potter series as it starts out with a seemingly normal boy with a seemingly normal life. As the story goes on though, you realize he is not similar to anyone you know and is not very popular at school either. Harry soon finds out he is a wizard and adapts two best friends, Hermione Granger and Ronald Weasley, or Alaska Young and Chip Martin. Throughout the novel, Harry finds plenty of conflict and learns to grow and learn.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Reading Skills

Predictions:

1. Of what I have read so far, I predict that Pudge and the Colonel will get revenge in some way on the boys who duct taped Pudge and threw him in the lake.
2. I also predict that something rather large is going to happen involving Alaska as she has been put on the down low for the past several pages.

Questions:
(Questions I could ask the author)

1. What is the Great Perhaps and why is Pudge so keen on finding it?
2. What is Alaska's story? What shaped her as a character?
3. What was the inspiration for the story?

Link:
(Q & A with John Green: CONTAINS SPOILERS)
http://johngreenbooks.com/alaska-questions/

Connections:

Text to Text: A text to text connection that I can think of is the friendship forming between Chip, Alaska, and Miles and the friendship between Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley from the Harry Potter series.

Text to World: A text to world connection may be being able to see life inside a boarding school for high schoolers and how they go about their daily lives.

Text to Self: A text to self connection could be with all of the characters in the novel and their interest in reading because, I as well, love to read.

Independent Reading: Looking for Alaska

Characters

      The characters so far in this novel are Miles "Pudge" Halter and Chip "The Colonel" Martin.  Miles is the protagonist in this novel and Chip plays his faithful sidekick. They meet as roommates at the boarding school and become friends very quickly.

      Miles Halter: is the main character who chooses to leave his family to attend the Culver Creek Preparatory High School for his junior year. His parents are very well-to-do but also very kind.  There is not a lot of development in Miles quite yet as the story is just getting started. He has a particular interest in learning the last words of the people in the biographies he reads.

      Chip Martin: comes from a poor background and is a junior like Miles. He is five-foot, muscular, and has dark brown hair. His parents live in California . Chip received a full scholarship to Culver Creek and can find every country and name it on a map. He tells Miles that his father used to abuse him and how he loves to read books.

      Alaska Young: is a beautiful young lady who captures Miles' attention with her wit, wisdom, and beauty.

  Advancing/ Developing the Plot: Chip advances the plot as he is best friends with Alaska Young, a main character who drives the plot.

Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore

I read Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore for my summer reading. On a scale of one to ten, I would give this novel a five. It was not  boring and it managed to keep me interested but it didn't entirely spark a fascination as some novels have done for me.

Clay Jannon was laid off from his work at New York City's NewBagel. He moves to San Francisco and finds work at Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, a mysterious, hole-in-the-wall library with unquestionably creepy visitors. Jannon goes on a whirlwind adventure to figure out the secrets behind this mysterious cult and what lies beneath it. The theme of this novel is the ever-changing world of no only social media, but electronics themselves.