The Help

        Alright, so I've heard a little about this book, The Help, and that it is worth a read. I honestly know nothing about the book or the story. Yet, I've been told that is good. From what I assume, I predict it has a story line that has some powerful and meaningful message. (If you know what I mean). Is it one of those books that just...Well, sticks with you? Something that you remember for a long time?

 I actually just started the book. As in the first chapter. So far, it's pretty decent. I think I really enjoy how the author used actual slang to help bring the book to life. It makes it so realistic and I feel as if I could actually be there. One question, does she main character work for Miss Leefolt, but care for other people? I guess what I'm trying to say is, what does the help's job involve? What are they required to do? I know this took place a while back, but when exactly  did this book take place? They're are paid to work... and that means they're not slaves. So did this take place before or after Martin Luther King Jr. and his time? So much is introduced in the first chapter, and I'm sure it will make sense later, but right now I just have so many questions! They made a movie from it...Is it like the book? I assume it is...
If there is one thing I have heard about the book, it's the character Minny. Apparently she ends of doing something with a pie...

                                                                       

   
 Okayyyy.... I'm in chapter 37, so a little more than halfway through the book Cress. The suspense keeps growing. Especially this chapter. Just a little background information is that there is a doctor, Dr. Erland and a girl named Cress. They don't know each other but they are meeting in this chapter. Cress has no family, and Dr. Erland lost his daughter. See where this is going?  Going from there, Dr. Erland takes a blood sample from Cress because he is trying to find a cure. He starts to run the test when Cress runs and hides.


      The most important line from this chapter is, "He found himself hoping that the hallucination was true and she was not his daughter. That his daughter had been killed by Sybil Mira, as he'd been led to believe so many years ago. Because if it was her, she would despise him." (Meyer 335). See? The suspense is growing. You can probably predict what happens. This quote helps so much to foreshadow what is going to happen in the plot next. Without it, what the doctor is thinking would not be, well, obvious. This quote is going to help develop what the doctor is going to think and feel later in the book. Can you just imagine what he'll think when he-...Well, I'll leave the imagining up to you.

     
      Cress. The book is good, great actually. The author does a great job using figurative language to help bring the book to life. Similes are the most frequently used type. The similes used are also not always used to compare two items, but instead used to compare actions that would happen in reality.

It helps engage the reader and relate easier. "He kept rapidly blinking behind his glasses, like trying to clear away an eyelash, until his gaze fell away from her all together." (Meyer 328). This is an example of the similes the author uses. To me, I could easily relate to what the author was trying to describe because of the comparison she used.

      Although the book uses good figurative language, is does not use as much diction as it could. Every now and then there will be a good descriptive word, yet the book could use a few more. Sometimes, the book can feel repetitive in word description in areas where there isn't much diction. Thus making that section a very easy read. I think the book could use a little more to make it a more challenging read. Even with only some diction and a lot of figurative language, the book is still a great read.




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        Cinder Linh is one of the main characters in my book, Cress. To describe her would be to say that she is very brave, determined, but also kind, and caring. In a way, she kind of reminds me of Katniss from the Hunger Games. She is the type that would do brave, and daring things, but would not appreciate a lot of publicity from it. An example from Cress is, "She raised her head. The woman was still beaming. 'Yes?' 'You are brave and beautiful.' She tensed, feeling the woman had threatened her than complimented her...The woman kept smiling.'Um. Thank you?'" (Meyer 220). This example shows that Cinder does not exactly know how to respond, and she sure doesn't bask in the admiration. Just as Katniss did not always want her actions and private life to be displayed all across the country.


     In addition, both characters are not only Cinder chooses to stay in the dark and in hiding as does Katniss. Both characters do it mainly for the same reasons. Katniss hides from the government as they try to track her down, and Cinder hides from the queen who wants to kill her. Because both characters share a similar conflict/situation, this results in similar actions and responses. When two characters share similar personalities, and then they also share similar situations, they are most likely to react the same way. It makes it wasier for the reader to predict what may happen.




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        The best part of my book, Cress is how unique the story line is. It takes the usual, familiar fairytales and turns them into something creative and puts a huge twist on the story line. It uses the stories of Cinderella, red riding hood, and Rapunzel and brings them to futuristic times. Because these stories take place in futuristic times, Cinderella(Cinder) is a cyborg, Red Riding Hood (Scarlet) becomes friends the wolf who is apart of a secret organization, and Rapunzel (Cress) lives in a satellite instead of a tower.

        In the previous books, Cinder and Scarlet, the characters meet and team up with each other along with other characters who aren't exactly from fairytales but they do play a big part in these stories. In the third book, Cress, The story of Rapunzel if finally introduced. All the characters are teaming up to overthrow the Queen of the planet Lunar. As the characters face different hardships, the suspense grows. In addition, each chapter is from a different character's point of view which also helps to see what is happening to the other characters when the get split up. It also helps contribute information to the reader about the character's pasts. With all of these components of this creative, uniquely written story, it makes the book an exciting read.

                I just started this new book Cress by Marissa Meyer and it is absolutely fantastic! It's the 3rd book in the series The Lunar Chronicles. It's really part of one of those series that takes a simple, well known, idea/story and puts a creative twist on the whole thing. That's mainly why I chose to read this book. Being fairly familiar with most classic fairytales, and having a liking of futuristic books, this book/series really interested me. It's hard to understand one book without reading the other ones that come first. Each book builds off the one that came before it, making an ongoing and suspenseful storyline; which I prefer. It keeps the story going therefore the books don't keep going on with no plot.

                What also makes this book interesting is that as the book goes on, each chapter switches between different characters stories. Cinder- Cinderella but a cyborg, Scarlet- Red Riding Hood, along with the wolf, and Cress- Rapunzel, who lives in a satellite instead of a tower. It takes those simple fairytales and turns them into an adventurous story that all connect to each other as different characters team up. Marissa Meyer has really done something amazing with these stories. They capture the readers with the books starting and ending suspenseful. There aren't any boring parts which keeps the reader engaged and makes them want to read more; I know I have. There is so much that makes me love this book, but some of it I just can't explain.

     Before I read the book The Fault In Our Stars, I had heard so much about it; All the great parts of the story, the sad parts, what happens in the end, and how amazing the book was and that I needed to read it. Therefore, I set my expectations pretty high. Well, reading the book made me realize that it was nothing like I had imagined it to be like. Still a great book, but much more different.

     As the book may have been very typical like something in reality, the characters were unique and very much refined over the course of the book. As the story went on, the main characters, Hazel and Augustus became more known to the reader. The reader could come to see the characters as if they had to come to life. Each character had been crafted differently in a specific way that each person reacts differently to different situations to create interest and a plot for the book.

     When the different characters interact with each other throughout the book, mainly Hazel and Augustus, they end up have an effect on one another. By the end of the novel, Hazel has become a dynamic character and it becomes easier to see that because the book is through her perspective on life. Even though there isn't a closing/concluding statement that makes it obvious, it is easy to assume. As the story continues, Hazel, who at the beginning of the book was depressed, and constantly thought about cancer, starts to think less and less of it the more she talks to Gus, and explores things. Therefore by the end of the book, Hazel could be considered a dynamic character. It helps to show that there is much more in life, and your days are numbered, therefore you should make the best of it. Hazel helped to show this because she learned the same lesson. In books, when characters are specifically described, or they change by the end of the book, it can greatly help to develop the theme/plot trying to be expressed.

 

 

 

The Fault In Our Stars Article

 

This article describes the plot of the novel. It also explains how John Green gained the inspiration to write the book and also about its publication. The article explains the positive feedback it got from critiques and when/how it became a movie.