Why I chose this book?

I chose this book out of the list of books because I love adventure. When I read that the book is about an adventure trip to Antarctica I wanted to read it. I have read books about Antarctica and about the historic Scott’s expedition and this book relates to both the topics. I also wanted to read this book because I had an adventure trip to Alaska and I wanted to compare my trip to the trip the character had in Antarctica. I also wanted to read this book because I am a boy scout and i wanted to see how Sym (the character) survived in the dangerous cold weathers of Antarctica. Some personal connections I made to the book while reading were, I too would like to visit Antarctica some time in the future. I knew some of the stuff about the Scott’s expedition and Antarctica, similar to the characters in the book. I like this book and I would recommend this book to people who love adventure and also to people who like and know about Antarctica and the Scott’s expedition. I would also recommend this book to people who are shy about interacting with others and are bullied by their friends. This book does provide great examples of how one can discover themselves and become bold and courageous human beings.

'Hooking' section in the book The White Darkness.

One section in the story which is meant to ‘hook’ potential readers is when the group gets stranded. decided to come back from Antarctica. Some of the travelers were getting ill and as they decided to come back from Antarctica, all of a sudden the plane blows up, they have no way to go back. They didn't have anything to call for help as all their satellite telephone ran out of battery. They also lose one of their members as he burns in the plane accident. At this moment as a reader you want to read more and want to know what are they going to do next? You start thinking if uncle Victor is going to continue his work to find the Symme’s hole, if yes then how is he going to travel to the hole and is he going to take everyone with him? As a reader you also start thinking about what those other travelers are going to do to find help. As a reader you want to know if they all survive the cold weather and if yes then how? As a reader you also start wondering what the members of the group are going to do with the things of the dead member who died because of the fire. Can they use it to survive?

The white darkness

Sym is a major character of the story and the story is written from her point of view (first person). She is a shy girl, who has no real friends. The only friend she has is an imaginary friend called Titus. She is always bullied by her friends about her imaginary friend and the fact that she was going to be home schooled. She desires to visit Antarctica. She is in love with Titus. Titus is a minor character. He keeps the plot moving by talking to Sym in her mind. He is the reason why Sym wants to go to Antarctica. Uncle victor is a minor character. He makes the plot move. He is a very knowledgeable man. He likes to help Sym and her mother. Uncle victor also desires to go to Antarctica. The theme that appears in the beginning is - "One should always help someone in need". This theme is shown in the story with the help of uncle Victor as in the story uncle Victor always helps Sym and her mother. The structure of the book- the book has a slow setting. It is not fast and exciting. I just hope that the climax is fast and exciting.

Summer reading

The white darkness is a book written by Geraldine McCaughrean.  The major characters in the story are Sym, Uncle Victor, Titus. Sym is a 14 year old girl. She is a very shy girl, who has an imaginary friend called –Titus. She wants to visit Antarctica because she loves Titus. Titus's real name is Lawrence Oates. He was the captain of Scott's expedition to Antarctica.Uncle victor is very nice to Sym and has helped her and her mother when her father died. He wants to visit Antarctica like Sym. The story starts in England. It takes place in 2002. I know that the story takes place on 2002 because the story starts with a line which says, “I have been in love with Titus Oates for quite a while now- which is ridiculous, he has died for ninety year”. This shows that the story takes place in 2002 as Titus Oates died in 1912. I know that this story takes place in England because they talk about the Waterloo station which is in England. The conflict in the story is person to self. Sym is mad at herself because she is different from her friends and also because she told her friends about her imaginary friend “Titus”.

Question that I have in my mind is: why does she have an imaginary friend and why is it Titus?

My prediction is that Sym and her uncle are both going to visit Antarctica as they both want to visit Antarctica.

Final Blogging Assessment

There are many words/phrases I used in my blog post to demonstrate my voice and personality as a writer. For example in one of my blog post I stated, “If you want to know what happen to him read the book.”(Nair) This shows my personality as a writer as it shows that I am not willing to give out endings of the book.One of the words I have used to demonstrate my voice is, “ After being an outstanding player in his team and district, he got into a situation in which his age was questioned by coaches from different teams.”(Nair) Outstanding is a casual diction. Casual diction makes it easier of the reader to understand what I am trying to say. It also shows that my voice casual and straightforward.       

      

 There are a lot of diction in my blogs for example in one of my post I stated, “I would advocate this book to anyone who likes baseball or sports." (Nair) The word advocate is an Elevated diction. This enhances my voice as this elevated diction buts an emphasis on what I am trying to say. Some of the syntax I used in blog are sentence length and punctuation. I used the comma and had a medium to long sentence length in my post.For example in one of my post I stated, “He has no way to prove it because he has no mother, no father, and no birth certificate as it is at his native, Cuba”. (Nair)This enhances my voice because it gives out a lot of information I know from the story. It also emphasis on the main point I am trying to say on my post. Comas also break up my thoughts and make it easier to understand my post.

Setting of the book- The Hunger Games

The story takes place in Panem. The main character in the story is Katniss Everdeen. The story takes place in the future. We know that it takes place in the future because of the things they use in the story for example, Pita and Katniss wear some type of clothing which would ignite but would not harm them. This proves that the story took place in the future because we don’t have any type of a clothing now days that we can wear which would not burn us. This shows that the setting has an important role in the plot of the story because it lets us know about when and where the story taking place.

Discussion question: Do you think that the setting of a book is an important part of a story?

Text to world connection

Text to world connection in my book is to the Nazi Germany because in my book the people were always starving to deaths and have no freedom they all were divided in different districts and were not allowed to leave the allotted area. This is just like the concentration camp Hitler had during World War 2. The Jews were like the people living in different district as they both didn't have enough food and also because they both were not allowed to leave their allotted area.

Discussion question- what is the text to world connection in your book?

Information about Suzanne collins-the author of The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins was born on 10 august 1962. She is an American television writer and novelist. She is best known as an author of New York Times best selling series the underland chronicles and the hunger games trilogy. She has won a lot of awards like California young reader medal, Georgia peach book awards for teen reader, etc. She earned her master of fine arts degree in 1989. She wrote more than 10 books and her fist book was written in 2003. Most of her books are science fiction but she also write books in different genres like fantasy, young adult fiction etc. I think that I would like to read her books because they are mainly science fiction books and I love to read science fiction books. 

Discussion question: what kind of genre do you like to read? 

Why I chose this book?

I chose the hunger games because I have seen the move of this book and wanted to see what the difference is. I also chose this book because I like to read science fiction books. This is a science fiction book and so I can relate to it easily. I am also reading this book because I want to read other book from this series and so if I read this book I can understand more about what they are talking about in the next book. This book was rated 4.2 out of 5 in good read and so I chose to read this book.

Discussion question: what are the ways you chose a book?

Book review of the book Heat by Mike Lupica

I would rate the book 4.5 out of 5 because I think it has a great plot. The author uses some great diction. One bad thing about the book was that it was a little slow. I would advocate this book to anyone who likes baseball or sports. It is also a great book for people who like fictional stories. Summary- This book is about a 12 year old gifted baseball player Michael Arroyo. The story takes place in New York near the Yankees stadium. After being an outstanding player in his team and district, he got into a situation in which his age was questioned by coaches from different teams. He had no way to prove it because he has no mother, no father, and no birth certificate as it was at his native place, Cuba. If he could not prove his age he would not be allowed to play anymore for his team and if people know about his secret then he would be separated from his brother. If you like to know what happen to him read the book.

Discussion question- What would you do if you are in Michael’s place? 

Setting of the book Heat by Mike Lupica

The story takes place in Bronx, New York. Near the Yankees stadium. The main character of the story is Michael Arroyo as the story is based over him. The story took place in 2006 when the book was published. I know this because they talk about a quote said by Joe DiMaggio which was framed in the old stadium. The stadium was replaced in 2007. The characters in the story all wore cloths like we normally wear. This shows that the story took place recently.

Discussion question: Have you ever had difficultly finding out what time (year) your story took place?