Informal Reflection on Book 1

After reading Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children by Ranson Riggs I think that it was a very well made book with and interesting plot that always had you wondering. One thing I really liked about this book was the characters and their personalitys. They all were different and unique but still somehow all got together and fit like a puzzle. Another thing I liked is the storyline and how it fit together. Specifically how Jacob got from his home town in America all the way to Ireland. He somehow got his dad to travel to Ireland for 'bird watching' so that he could explore his grandfather's sercrets. In the end it leaves your adrenaline pumping and wondering what will happen next. I liked how in the end of the book it leaves you on a cliff hanger because it really keeps you engaged with the series to find out whats next. If I had to give this book a letter grade I would give it between an A and A+. I hope that the sequal to this book comes out soon because I am dying to read the next one. Rumour says it comes out January 14th so I hope thats true because its not that far away!

Reading Wishlist from Goodreads

Some of the books that are on my wishlist are the following below. Some of these books I really want to read, others I am curious about and want to explore more. A book on this list that I really want to read is The Zombie Room by Ronald, R.D.. The Godfather by Puzo, Mario The Zombie Room by Ronald, R.D. The Redbreast (Harry Hole, #3) by Nesbø, Jo A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, #1) by Martin, George R.R. Hounded (The Iron Druid Chronicles, #1) by Hearne, Kevin* The Red Pyramid (Kane Chronicles, #1) by Riordan, Rick* The Way of Shadows (Night Angel, #1) by Weeks, Brent* The Lost Hero (The Heroes of Olympus, #1) by Riordan, Rick* The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald, F. Scott A Monster Calls by Ness, Patrick The Iron King (The Iron Fey, #1) by Kagawa, Julie* Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1) by Erikson, Steven Tigana by Kay, Guy Gavriel* Divergent (Divergent, #1) by Roth, Veronica* The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Millennium, #1) by Larsson, Stieg Brave New World by Huxley, Aldous The Giver (The Giver Quartet, #1) by Lowry, Lois Ender's Game (The Ender Quintet, #1) by Card, Orson Scott

Book 2 Trailer

Book Talk Presentation

Book Review 3

After reading the Gone series by Michael Grant, The Maze Runner series by James Dashner and the Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs, all being part of the science fiction genre, I think that they all connect in multiple ways. In the Gone series a huge white down appears around Perdido beach and a large surrounding area. All the parents have disappeared and now the all the children are growing supernatural powers. In the Maze Runner Series a group of boys are in this closure blocked off by huge walls. They must run through the maze to survive the “trial” and learn where they are and how they got there. They encounter dangers and many complications throughout the books. In the Peculiar Children series Jacob meets a group of other kids from the past and joins them to escape from the “monsters” trying to kill them. They then go on an adventure full of life risking events to save their guardian. All of these books have the same genre of a mixture between science fiction and magic realism. All of these books except Maze Runner are placed in a realistic world with some supernatural event which lists them as magic realism. In Maze Runner the world is futuristic and can include an apocalyptic view with spacecrafts and such fitting it into science fiction. All of these books also show a connection by having a group of teenagers that work together to solve the conflict with several complications that try to stop them. In Gone, Sam and Astrid have to stop Caine and the rest of his crew from destroying and raiding Perdido Beach. In Maze Runner, Thomas and his gang of friends must escape the maze while being attacked by creatures of the unknown. And in the Peculiar children book, they go together in a group to save their guardian. Another connection I made between the characters of these books is that the main character falls in love with another semi-main character of the book. Same falls in love with Astrid. Jacob falls in love with Emma and Thomas falls in love with Teresa. All together I think that these books were really good due to the way they were written and how they all have teenagers as main characters so that it is easy to connect to them.

Blog Post 9: Characters

The characters in my book all have their own personality's which are none the same. Some interesting things I have noticed about the characters in my book is that Emma Bloom, a girl with the ability to make fire in her hands, is in charge and usually makes the decisions for the group. The main character, Jacob Portman, is the newest member of the peculiar group and seems to be viewed as the hero and their only hope of survival against the hollowgast. Some of the other characters such as Bronwyn, Horace, Enoch, Olive, Millard and Hugh are somewhat main characters of the book but are not always in the spotlight. I noticed after finishing the book that two characters by the name of Claire Densmore and Fiona Frauenfeld are never really big in the book. It mentions them once or twice each but after that they seem to fade into the background and you seem to forget about them. Other little things I have noticed are that Enoch O'Conner seems to be the whiner and never looks at the good in things. On page 339 it shows an example of his behavior," 'I can’t believe I'm here,' said Melina. 'I've studied this place and dreamed about it for so many years.' 'It's just a room,' said Enoch."(Riggs 339). This shows how he is bland about everything and he doesn't see the quality in things. Another character in the group that stands out is Olive Abroholos Elephanta, the baby of the group and one who is weak but strong at the same time. Although she has been the child with a soft heart and an extraordinary curiosity for the unknown, she has been able to keep with the group and manage the journey they've been on.

Blog Post #8

I think for a book to be non-fiction it has to be at least 90% true. If some things are altered or changed I think that is ok as long as it does not completely make up a story. If the story is good and the majority of the story is true then I think the book should still be considered non-fiction and not critisized. Honestly I agree with what David Shields says about no need for a line between genres. I dont think it matters at all and that what really matters is the quality of the story.

Post #6

I agree with Gallagher’s argument about Readicide and how schools are changing what reading actual is and what student’s actual get out of it. I think that schools should change what we read and how read it so that instead of wasting time on a piece of reading that we get nothing out of I think we should read something more modern that still teaches us reading and writing techniques. Personally I think reading the whole play of Romeo and Juliet and acting it out was a waste of time. I don’t feel like I got anything out of it and all I learned was the plot of the story but that’s it; nothing about reading or writing. Another idea that Gallagher suggested was have schools have a 50/50 plan. Half of the books we read are classic, the other half are popular modern books. I think that this will broaden students as readers and while they have to read some classics they can also enjoy themselves with popular books. I think that we want kids to read because it generally broadens their vocabulary and their reading skill. After reading what Kim Wright said I agree with her when she said, “A good book is a good book.” I agree with this because to me I don’t think it really matters what genre it is but if it’s a good book then it’s a good book. Overall I feel if we try and prevent the feeling of Readicide then students will not hate reading as much and can become less judging and more accepting of books they like. If they read more, then they can become smarter and have a greater range of knowledge.

Book Post #5

I believe that adapting Carrie from a book to a movie would be challenging due to the way it is written. Some things you would have to take out of the book are the thoughts of Carrie which occasionally pop up in the text. I also think that all of the interviews with the witnesses and the documents in the book would have to be left out because there is no way to include them in the movie and keep the horror feeling. One scene that would need to be included would be Carrie and her mother’s relationship and how she makes her pray to god every day. I think this would explain why Carrie is who she is. Another scene that I think needs to be included is Carrie getting bullied in school, in the locker room and in class. This would be the scene where most of the other characters such as Chris Hargensen, Sue Snell, Tommy Ross and the other girls/guys are introduced. The third scene that I think absolutely needs to be included is Carrie's destruction of Chamberlain. I think this is one of the main parts of the story because it shows how the prom prank was the last straw and how she took out her rage on the whole town. This is also the scene where she kills her mother, Chris, and Billy, some of the main characters in the book. This last scene sums up the end of the story and what happened to Carrie and the town of Chamberlain. One scene I would leave out when making the movie would be the problem between the principle and Chris’s father pressing charges. I don’t think this really had any meaning to the story it was just filler. Another Scene I would remove from the movie would be when Carrie got home from school after her menstruation and described what she looked like and that she cleaned it up.