All Good Children: Part 5-Voice

The voice in All Good Children is OK. The voice of Max, the main character, was not very distinctive. All of the kids (in the beginning) had somewhat distinctive voices, but after they were drugged, their voices were the same. That was obviously intentional. But, on the other hand, Max and Dallas almost had the same voice. Despite this, Dallas changed voices due to his gift of acting. All in all, The voice in All Good Children was OK. My personal rating on this: 3.5/5 stars.

All Good Children: Part 4- Plot

The PLOT, in my opinion, is MESSED UP. Not that I think that the plot sucks, it's a good idea, but the fact the parents drugged their children to be mindless, emotionless and obedient zombies is unethical and messed up. The children have their rights, they have freedom, yet still they're drugged. Even the nice and polite one's.
Anyway, back on topic. The plot overall was very well done, and the idea of it--to me--was very creative. The author was able to expand this idea and it turned out well. My personal rating: 4.5/5 stars.

8. DEVIL'S PASS, Rating

RATING

CHARACTERS- 2 out of 5 stars  
SETTING------- 2.5 out of 5 stars
PLOT----------- 3 out of 5 stars  
VOICE---------- 4 out of 5 stars  
THEME--------- 3.5 out of 5 stars

OVERALL:  3 out of 5 stars 

It was a rather nice book. 

7. DEVIL'S PASS, Personal Opinion

PERSONAL OPINION

I thought that Devil's Pass was a rather nice book.

All the elements of the book were pretty nicely done and balanced out, blending together into quite nice of a story. Elements of the book I really liked are the voice and theme. The voice was clearly showed how Webb looked at things and gave him a very distinctive personality. Theme was great too, it often showed up in the story and was involved in the Webb's mission and Webb's own life.

However, the authors could have improved on the characters, setting, and plot of the book. Other than Webb, all the characters were thinly outlined, and they all just faded away from Webb's life without a trace, even if they seemed important to him. The setting had some times where there was nice detail, but other than those parts, not too much detail was put. more description would help for a more complete visualization. The plot of the book was nice, with the storyline and flashbacks nicely mixing together. However, there was no depth to it, nothing to question or think about and very straightforward. More complexity and "food for thought" would have been much better.

All in all, Devil's Pass was quite a nice book. I would recommend it to people who would kill to read an adventure. However, I wouldn't put this on a must-read book list; there are many better books on the market. Still, A nice book.

6. DEVIL'S PASS, Theme

THEME

The most probable theme of Devil's Pass is secrets.

The majority of the book is revolving around keeping secrets from others and slowly being destroyed by them. For example, Webb's mission in the Northwest Territories was in the end to solve a mystery of about the murder of one his grandpa's old friends, which ultimately connected to keeping secrets.
Webb himself has secrets he keeps to himself, like how his stepfather tortures him, how he was expelled from high school, and for what reason he is in the Northwest Territories. These many secrets slowly turn Webb into a cold, isolated character.

The author did good job of projecting the theme in the book; the theme came out over and over in the story. wonderful job.

5. DEVIL'S PASS, Voice

VOICE

This book's story is told in the third-person perspective, in the voice of the main character, Webb.

Because of the voice being of a single character, the story is pretty one-sided, allowing only a narrow point of view. However, also because of this, an author can really develop detail into the personality, tendencies, and way of thinking of this single character in question instead of  spreading the effort around multiple characters. The author did very well, negating the negative point of the narrow viewpoint.

Very nice job! .

4. DEVIL'S PASS, Plot

PLOT

Plot was quite nice in this book. The story kept you in it, but without the need to move the plot extensively fast and adding in a lot of unnecessary events unrelated to the storyline, unlike some books I've read.

A lot of the story was built upon what happened before the present situation, told to you through flashbacks Webb has, creating a side plot that you can follow. This was nice, letting you into the past of the main character's life and letting you know what events led up to the current situation, why what is happening is happening, letting you have two stories to read, one of the past and one of the present. However, the story is quite straightforward, with not to much stuff to think about and ponder on, or to predict.

I would say plot was well done in all, with the flashbacks and current situation nicely meshing together into a quite vivid and adventurous story. However, a little more food for thought could have been added into the story to make it and even better book. Great!

1. DEVIL'S PASS, Preview

PREVIEW

For this, I read Devil's Pass, a book of "SEVEN The Series", written by Sigmund Brouwer.

This book is about a seventeen-year-old named Jim Webb, currently living on the streets with his Gibson
J-45 guitar after he left home (there is a lot of backstory to this, if I tried to explain everything it would take a while). Webb, as instructed by his late grandfather's will, goes to the Northwest territories to find...something (would be a complete spoiler if I told you, also a lot of backstory to this, not explaining) while encountering many difficulties on the way (for some examples, revenge-seeking psychos, Germans back at English, bears...).

As for my opinion on this book, you will see later on. First of all, the elements!

(next blog)

All Good Children: Part 3-Characters

The characters in All Good Children were OK. The author could have improved on ALL characters.What I mean by that is I didn't even know their skin type until the author just blabs it out somewhere in the book, like: "the sun reflects off his dark skin..." This was the same in ALL the characters. The only character that I could picture in my mind was Dallas, Maxwell's(the main character) friend. Dallas was the only character with a DECENT description.
My personal rating for the Characters: 3/5 stars. The characters needed more description and work.

All Good Children: CRITICISM BOMB

Alert-----Alert-----Alert-----Alert-----Alert-----Alert-----Alert-----Alert-----Alert-----Alert-----Alert
<CRITICISM BOMB AHEAD>


All Good Children... what to say, what to say. OK. The book itself is good, but I HATE how the adults drug their children to make them mindless, emotionless and obedient zombies. This just made me think: "Man, this is just really messed up. Like I mean, REALLY messed up." 

-Jordan Bucknell, Reviewer

All Good Children: Part 2- Setting

The setting in All Good Children wasn't focused on AT ALL. I could only picture one or two scenes out of the entire book. The setting needed a LOT of work, like I mean, A LOT OF WORK. The only work done with setting was a basic gist where the character was. My personal rating on the Setting: 2.5/5 stars. I feel like the author could and SHOULD have worked on the setting more.

All Good Children: Part 1- Preview

Ok. This book is REALLY messed up. Why would anyone want to drug their child so that they're a mindless, obediant and emotionless zombie children (not actually zombies, but still). But the gist of this book is that Max, the main character and his friend Dallas, must cope with the fact that all their friends; and almost themselves, were drugged into mindless zombies. This book is really good, but it's still messed up.

3. DEVIL'S PASS, Setting

SETTING

Setting in this book is okay. For the first half of the book, not too much is put into it; it's not until Webb sets of on his hike detail in the descriptions goes up a fair bit to describe the surrounding forest and scenery, even then its not too much detail other than occasional moment. A nice thing is how the setting wasn't changing over and over, faster then you can keep up with.

Example of not-so-nice detail in the book:
     "...the walls were green..."

Example of quite-nice detail in the book:
     "...plains were vast and barren, amazing in a sad and desolate way..."

In summary, setting was pretty nicely put and described, but more detail should have been added to all descriptions to allow for a more complete picture to visualize. Nice, but could improve.

2. DEVIL'S PASS, Characters

CHARACTERS

In Devil's Pass, there is one main character, Jim Webb, a seventeen-year old who left home is now living on the streets, sent on a mission into the Northwest territories as said by his grandfather's will.  The book gives a great personality and background to Webb, with many events happening in the current plot tying in with Webb's past life allowing greater understanding of Webb's characters. Also, there are often flashbacks, letting you know what  led up to the start of Webb's voyage. 

A problem is how characters just slip in and out of Webb's life. The book seemed to be making Stephanie a big character at the start,  often appearing and catching Webb's attention. Then she just disappears by the 22nd page. Then, as the hike begins, George also seems to be a very large character, reminding Webb of his late grandfather. However, he goes too, albeit later on. Then there is the case with Brent. At the climax of the story, Brent, the main antagonist, hunts down Webb when they are attacked by a grizzly bear. Webb flees, but risks his life trying to save Brent, which he does. then after firing a emergency signal and medical help supposedly arriving, Brent too disappears from Webb's life without a word or trace.

Also, other than Webb, the characters were all thinly sketched, with little detail put into them. 

Fine job, I'd say, but should have kept note on some of the other characters. 

Small medium at large - conclusion
  Lilah has finally stopped Rufus and dedicated this cancer fundraiser to Rufus, the student who died of cancer decades ago. At the fashion show, Lilah's dad had even asked Andrew'd mom out for coffee! Satisfied with her work, Lilah set out to enjoy her evening with her dream guy.

      I feel like there is too much going on at once in the book, and the plot seems mostly focused on her crush. Also, the character and setting is not written with much detail.
   I really do not like this book.

Small medium at large - Karma
As Lilah enters the bathroom, the sound of some crying is slowly making its way into Lilah's ear. Dolly is sitting on the stall, sobbing uncontrollably due to all the students that is suppose to make for the school fundraiser fashion show had all quit. Realizing what Rufus finally meant by a little lesson. Realizing one of the top fashion designer Prissy is a ghost.  Lilah suggested to switch bodies with Prissy and help Dolly. As Dolly regret what she did to Lilah, a plan is made for the fashion show.

  Andrew has finally came out the shock and choose to believe in Lilah and even ask her to the winter dance. Excited, Lilah helped as the father and son communicate through Lilah. As he tears of joy sparkles in Andrew's eyes. Lilah finally realized it's a blessing not a curse.

   As Lilah switched body with Prissy and the outfits been made, the model keeps tripping over. Realizing its Rufus, Lilah had to think of a way to stop him!

Small medium at large - the downhill side of things
 Lilah and Alex await for Andrew to arrive at the cafe when the school mean girl start to bully Lilah by embarrassing her. As Andrew arrive, they sat down and Lilah confessed of her secret , but Andrew keep Deny the fact and ask to prove the fact. Feeding information from Mr.Finnkle, Lilah blurted out what underwear Andrew is wearing while Andrew is storming out of the door. As Lilah blurted out loudly of the fact, she earned many ear splitting laugh and a Lilar title from Andrew.
  At the same time, Dolly keeps bothering her in school. The upside is a little boy ghost named Rufus had helped Lilah by tripping Dolly over and ask for her permission to give Dolly a little lesson
 On the other side, Lilah's dad's date is not going so well. He returns with more failure attempts and a heavy heart. Determined there are a right women for her dad, Lilah changed her dad's whole wardrobe and set out a whole new chains of dates.
   The plot is getting boring and the plot and character is still not as details described as I would like. On the climax of the book the theme is start to show. I believe it's spirit and teen fiction,

Small medium at large - crushes and kindness
  Lilah has been invited to sleepover when a ghost of clowns appeared begging for Lilah's help to let him do his beloved job once again. Overwhelmed by happiness of able to help everyone, Lilah introduced the clown and told her friend about her ability. As Ballon animal appear out of thin air, the girls start gossiping about Andrew Finnkle. Just when Lilah is gushing about how cute Andrew is, her bubby introduced her to Mr.Finnkle, dead father of  Andrew. Determined to deliver the heart warming message for a. Father to a son. Alex and Lilah left a note asking Andrew to meet that at a Cafe at night.
   While Lilah is working on her own romance, her bubby presented her with the problem of finding a potential wife for her dad. Shocked from her dad ability to charm women, Lilah and bubby set out on a hard adventure to teach her dad the proper way of sedating a women, while setting her dad up for multiple dates.

Small medium at large - new found fortune
As Lilah grips on the door of her school, her best friend, Alex is chattering animatedly about her new found ability. As the school door opens, Lilah is suddenly overwhelmed by the noises, except for no one is in the hall. She cleared her thought and declared to the ghost that she need them to be quiet to catch up on her study as she headed towards the music room.
    As Lilah practice her drums, her music teacher, mr.Robert walked in and suddenly she can hear a soft female ghost! As she and Mr.Robert talk about their life's and ambition. The voice asks her to ask Mr. Robert about Jet Black Wig. Deciding to trust Mr.Robert Lilah told him all about the fact she is able to hear ghost and ask him about Jet Black Wig. Much to Lilah's surprise he believed her and start to weep like a baby and told her the story of how they were about to sign with a company when their lead singer died and the ghost is their long dead lead singer! The ghost ask him to restart the band as Lilah delivers word of encouragement.
    After music class Lilah decide to start helping people with her gift.
         The voice chosen very nicely, but the character and setting is not written well and I feel the plot is a bit too popular and common.

Small medium at large the voice

Small medium at large- the voices
Lilah slowly opened her eyes, confused. Her mother and her newly wedded husband stood in the wedding finery while her dad's at on the hospital chair. The silence in the room was unbearable. As her dad realize she is now awake. Lilah heard another voice. One that does not belong in this room. As Lilah listen to her dad retold her the story of how she got struck by lightning, Lilah wondered if the voices she heard is just a syndrome form some kind of concussion she received from the lighting. As the parents leave the room for Lilah to rest, the voices started again. Instead of resisting the voices, Lilah began to ask questions to the voice like who are you?? To her surprise it's her dead bubby. Still unconvinced by the sudden power. Lilah fell into a blissful sleep.

Small medium at large-The shock
Lilah is currently at her mother's wedding when she remembered she forgot her boutique. As she rushes to the limo to retrieve the boutique, a storm rolled in turning the sky into a color of story grey.rushing back from the limo to regain protection of the teen, Lilah held on to a metal tent pole while scrubbing mud off of her designer flat that matches the color of her dress. All Lilah heard was a boom before her world went black.
       So far the characters is not described very well neither are the setting. I feel like the book is missing a lot of interesting details to catch the reader's attention.

Loki's Wolves

What do you do when your told that you have to go on a quest to save the world from a giant, poisonous serpent that a god had failed to destroy thousands of years ago and your entire family thinks that you're going to fail and die? Being a descendent of the mighty god Thor, Matt was chosen to fulfil this prophecy with help from Fen and Laurie, the descendants of the trickster god Loki. They travel around the state searching for the other descendants as well as three key items to help in the final battle. On the way they discover that they all have special powers which prove useful when they run into countless troubles such as Trolls, Valkries, Norns and Maras. Their team is made up of the descendants of Thor, Loki, Frey, Freya and Balder with some brief help from Odin's girlfriend before she brutally murders Balder and blames the killing on Fen. While grieving over the death of their friend, they realize that in the Myths Balder could be brought back from Hel. So they decided to make a slight detour from their quest- into Hel. The pace of the plot was very strange. It was slow at the beginning and fast at the end.

The first major setting of the book is at the fair celebrating an ancient Viking holiday. This setting was described as well as it needed to be- it simply noted that the fair was very crowded, and it described some of the booths and and a few of the rides. All of the rest of the settings were described very poorly if at all. The only other major setting was the descendant of Balder's (Baldwin's) house. It disappointingly was described as, a house.

Loki's Wolves is told in a third person point of view. The narrator switches between telling the story from Matt, Fen, and Laurie's point of view. From the way the narrator tells the story it would have been better to have made the book first person while rotating between the characters every chapter.

The main character of Loki's Wolves is Matt Thorson, a brave, friendly and very tall 13 year old boy who grew up in Blackwell with his family who are all descendants of the Viking god Thor. He met Laurie and Fen when he saw them trying to steal a shield from the town longship. Both of the Loki descendants are very rebellious, much to the discomfort of Matt. The twins Ray and Reyna are hardly ever talked about and they don't contribute to the story nearly as much as anyone else. The last descendant is Baldwin who has the uncanny ability to make everyone like him without even trying. He is murdered by Astrid who shows up to help unexpectedly and seems to be nice until she betrays all of them in more than one way. Every character (except for the twins which seem to almost be one being) is extremely different from the rest. For example, Matt has trouble breaking the rules in anyway and can't doing something if it has a negative impact on anyone else. However Fen has been pulling off mischievous stunts his whole life and has no problem tricking innocent people. Also, Ray and Reyna are barely ever talked about in the story and they usually just stay in the background and don't do anything. One is almost never talked about if the other is not and are always referred to as "the twins".

The obvious theme to Loki's Wolves is Destiny. Matt didn't win a contest to be "Thor's Champion", he was chosen by the runes to fulfil the prophecy. All of there fates were already decided as mentioned many times in the book. The old myths represented their destinies. Matt is destined to die while defeating the serpent, and Fen was destined to kill Baldwin (which he did accidentally by not realizing he was poisoning him).

Loki's Wolves is exciting and always keeps you interested but has it's faults. It’s hard to put down, but it’s also disappointing in some aspects. It's an easy read with limited vocabulary and no real challenge.

Rating: 5/10

Between Heaven and Earth (part 9, the stunning conclusion)

            The book, Between Heaven and Earth is an original story about courage, determination and belief. I really liked this book because it has a moral that made me smile and it was a hard book to put down because of its voice and story line. I think the book has a really good plot, theme and voice. The author could have worked on his settings and the how he models the characters, but I think this is a really good book because of its inspiring message. I read it in one day. I rate this book 4/5 stars and about 80 percent out of a 100. I hope you read this book and enjoy it as much as I did!

Between Heaven and Earth (part 8, the violent voice)

          The voice in this book is told from a first person perspective. There is nothing I can say specifically about the voice. The voice is told by DJ, the main character. DJ's voice is interesting to study, as it changes from beginning to end. It changes because of the way he thinks. The voice is not one of the author's greatest hits, but the author did use DJ's voice to show the obstacles he meets and how he gets around them. The voice in this book helped the reader understand DJ's conflict. There are two types of conflicts, external (man vs. nature, man vs. man, man vs. society, etc.) and internal (man vs. himself). I think this book included an internal conflict, and having a strong voice during a conflict helps the book structure. DJ's voice explains the fight against himself. One side wants to give up and the other wants to go on. The struggle ends, with DJ's voice telling the reader that DJ finally decides to climb the mountain.

Between Heaven and Earth (part 7, the time- ticking theme)

        The theme was actually easy to identify in this book, because the author hinted it several times throughout the book. I think the theme of this book is "never give up." During the events of the book, DJ climbs a mountain and at many points in the book, tries to give up on his climb and forget his grandfather's will. But DJ overcomes his problems by looking at the people around him. Sarah, the youngest in the group has to carry the most load because of her gender. Sarah believes that if she reaches the top, then she can win freedom for African women. Another tool character is Doris. Doris believes that she can climb Mount Kilimanjaro despite her old age. The characters that surround the main character makes him believe that he can conquer the mountain. DJ is the kind of guy who always wants to give up when he is losing. That makes him a quitter.

        When their guide and most of their team faint by mountain sickness, DJ, Sarah and Doris have a choice. They can wait and fall to mountain sickness or they can climb the mountain. " Near the end, DJ gets a text message from his brother, Steve. Steve tells DJ that he should forget his pain and conquer the mountain. Steve also states that DJ'd grandfather would have done the same.DJ always gives up, but DJ musters up all his strength and goes on to "never give up.

Between Heaven and Earth (part 6, The Setting)

            There are two types of settings, a physical setting and a chronological setting. I believe this book has a physical setting. The "when" cannot be applied at any setting in the story, so this book uses physical settings by default. The settings in this book are sometimes not described well and sometimes very well. It is both these things because the author describes one setting, and when the characters move on to a new place, the author doesn't describe the new setting that well. I guess the author is trying to get the reader to follow along and make up their own feeling of what the setting is like, but for some of us who have never climbed a mountain, we don't have a clue of what is surrounding the main character.

             The author could have explained the new setting when it came in. I think the author's weakness is describing the setting because the setting sometimes can describe the mood, but the author did not use this strategy to his advantage.

Devil's Pass Book Report Part 7: Conclusion

Devils Pass

By Sigmund Brouwer

Part 7: Conclusion

In Conclusion I think that Devil's Pass was a good book. It was an original idea and a hard book to put down, I finished it in 2 days! The scene and theme could have used some more work but the rest of it was great. I have read the entire series before and loved it and now I love it even more! My rating of Devil's Pass is 4/5 Stars.   

Devil's Pass Book Report Part 6: The Theme

Devil's Pass

By Sigmund Brouwer

Part 6: The Theme

  The theme of Devil's Pass is an adventure. It's adventurous because of all the tasks Webb is put through. It also has a bit of mystery near the end when Webb finds a 60 year old skeleton buried under rocks 400m off the trail. It is a very fitting theme for the type of book but I think the author could have expanded on it a bit more and  added a bit more action.

 

(A Ben Woodward Blog Post)

Devil's Pass Book Report Part 5: The Voice

Devil's Pass

By Sigmund Brouwer

Part 5: The Voice

  Devil's Pass is told in the perspective of Webb but with a twist. It tells the present (Now) until their is a cliff-hanger than it jumps back to his past (Then) so you know a little more about Webb. This also helps with the development of Webb. I think Sigmund was very smart to do this and it makes the book a lot better. It also helps you know some of Webb's past and how it effects him and gives a bit more flavour to the book. I think the voice is one of the best elements in the book.

 

(A Ben Woodward Blog Post)

Devil's Pass Book Report Part 4: The People

Devil's Pass

By Sigmund Brouwer

Part 4: The People

  In a good book there is more than one character. The author included enough characters but not to many so it was easy to follow the development of the various characters. The best character was Webb. In the book he turns from a boy on the streets into a brave young man who is ready for anything. The author makes Webb a character we can all relate to in some way and is a very interesting character. I think the author did a great job with Webb and the rest of the characters.

(A Ben Woodward Blog Post)

Devil's Pass Book Report Part 3: The Plot

Devil's Pass

By Sigmund Brouwer

Part 3: The Plot

In Devil's Pass Webb has to complete a task that was assigned by his Grandfather David Mclean. That was what was assigned to Sigmund by Eric Walters when 7 different authors led by Eric got together to make the Seven Series. The rest of the plot was up to Sigmund. I have read the entire series before but Devil's Pass was one of the best books in the series. Sigmund expanded on the plot so much while sticking to the first assignment. The entire book was about Webb's quest to finish his grandpa's task of hiking the Canol trail. From the very start at the Will reading to the very end in Tennessee it is all about his grandpa.

(A Ben Woodward Blog Post)

Devils Pass Book Report Part 2: The Scene

  Devil's Pass

By Sigmund Brouwer

Part 2: The Scene

  The scenes in Devil's Pass are all within North America. From balmy Phoenix Arizona to the Canol trail in the Northwest Territories Webb's quest takes him everywhere. Sometimes the author describes the scene very blandly so it is hard to picture where he is. For example something that could be described in much more detail would be called a hill with a river below it making it so it could be a multitude of things. I think the author could have described the scenery in much more detail.

(A Ben Woodward Blog Post)

Devil's Pass Book Report Part 1: What's It About?

Devil's Pass

By Sigmund Brouwer

Part 1: What's It About?

 Devils Pass is a book, yes its a book. This book is about a teenage boy named Jim Webb. Webb as he calls himself has been given a task by his grandfather David Mclean in David's will. He has to hike the Canol trail in the Northwest Territories. Surrounded by some of the most pristine land on Earth it's not all fun and games with twists and turns and someone with a grudge against him deep enough for him to attempt to kill him. Though Webb believes what does not kill him makes him stronger!

 (A Ben Woodward Blog Post)

Between Heaven and Earth (part 5, the characters)

            The characters in Between Heaven and Earth are very important, major or not because they all help create the plot. The whole story surrounds DJ so he has to be the main character. The characters change throughout the story, including the minor characters. DJ is a guy who is very stubborn and believes that rushing stuff makes everything better. But those weaknesses are put to the test when DJ climbs Mount Kilimanjaro. There is no room for stubbornness and you must go polepole (slowly) to defeat the mountain. DJ is an athlete who believes he can reach the top with his strength but he learns that he must use a lot of his willpower and bravery to defeat the mountain. The next character I want to talk about is Sarah. Sarah is native to the land of the mountain, but no woman has climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. When she joins DJ, she becomes the first native woman to ever climb the mountain. Sarah becomes a porter, a person who carries stuff for the climbers. Only 15 years old, she is required to carry the most stuff out of her group. Sarah is determined to win in a world where people are sexually biased. Sarah's determination is an important factor in the story because DJ actually learns a lot from her and her determination empowers DJ on his mission.

            Another character is Doris. Doris is an old lady who wants to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Doris shows a lot of courage when she faces the mountain. She is looked upon as a frail lady by the rest of the group, but later, when she shows no sign of struggle, DJ then thinks of Doris as a strong lady who faces impossibly large enemies and still has faith in their defeat. Her courage empowers DJ to go on further in his journey. The other characters are minor, but the Finnish trio are the victims of the mountain, while the guide, Elijah guides the characters and gives them important advice. The background hikers could be interpreted as DJ's "obstacles." There is really no protagonists or antagonists in this book, but I suppose the group could be protagonists and the mountain is the book's antagonist. The author did not use a lot of characters and so there were more main characters than minor ones. I would advise the author to add more characters so that the number of major characters is smaller than that of the minor characters.

Between Heaven and Earth (part 4, the murderous plot)

              Plot

           The plot in "Between Heaven and Earth" was good and it was pieced together nicely in my opinion. The characters in the story helped create the structure of the plot because the author used their beliefs and strengths to combine a better understanding of the characters. The author changes the way the main characters think by the end of the book and I think using that strategy is good because if someone wrote a book and at the end, the character does not achieve anything, then nobody is going to read it because the reader can predict what the character will do next, and repeating something usually bores a person. If, in a book, a person goes on a quest and 300 pages later, slays a dragon and the way the character thinks still is the same, then nobody will like it because the character travels across *example* distant lands, destroys an evil tower and drops a ring of doom into lava and learns completely nothing in the process; it is impossible.

            The author changes the way the characters think by using other "tool characters" to utilize this process. Tool characters are minor characters that are used by the author to help create the plot. Doris is one of these tool characters. Doris is an old frail lady who believes that she can climb Mount Kilimanjaro, despite her age. The main character, DJ, first looks at her as a stupid lady. But after many hikes, Doris shows no defeat and DJ then looks at Doris as a figure of courage. After that, DJ starts to think differently, using Doris as an example to stay hiking, even when he wants to give up. The whole plot was based on this strategy and I think it is a good one. DJ also looked at Sarah's determination, and used her example to carry on.

Between Heaven and Earth (part 3, death by mountain sickness)

          Last time on joshposts....
In Between Heaven and Earth.....

          "Moderate Mountain sickness involves a headache that does not respond to medication. Shortness of breath continues even when sitting or lying down. Nausea becomes vomiting, and fatigue causes the hiker to feel as if he can no longer move forward."
           
          -Elijah, the guide   

          THIS is the Dreaded Mountain Sickness. Many a man has spoken of this sickness, but every year about 15 people die because of the Mountain Sickness. DJ thinks this is crazy talk but he will soon learn....
DJ, an old lady named Doris, a trio of Finnish people, Sarah and Elijah, the guide begins their journeys. When Elijah says that their next destination is in twenty minutes, the mini- trip takes hours (hello, ever heard of a watch? It measures time! *gasp*). Nothing good happens after that, except when Sarah kisses DJ...

           On the cheek. Then DJ, Doris and Sarah start to fall behind on the trip and they learn many things about each other. After that there is a lot of climbing. The group climbs the breakfast wall, a giant wall that can easily exhaust a person and make them lose their breakfast (and I thought the breakfast wall was a wall made out of pancakes and eggs!). The book describes the climbing very well, but I will skip those details so you don't die of boredom. During the hike, DJ helps Doris climb the mountain and at the same time, DJ learns more about himself and he creates a perfect picture of himself by looking at Sarah's courage, Doris's bravery, Elijah's determination and heads straight to the mountain, carrying that perfect man to the top.

Between Heaven and Earth (part 2, the wrath of the mountain)

         Today I read another part from "Between Heaven and Earth." Last time, DJ was getting robbed from little kids and DJ starts chasing them with bare feet. He forgets to change his sandals, so he loses a battle against the kiddies. Kiddies 1, Barefoot Foreigner 0. Then he meets this girl named Sarah who helps DJ get the clothes back (I personally think there is going to be some 'chemistry' *cough, mushy stuff* between them). But Sarah makes DJ promise that he will ask her father(the guide) to bring her along as a porter. DJ reluctantly agrees. But on the day of the hike, DJ learns that Sarah is going to be the first native woman who will climb the mountain and people don't like firsts, especially if they're girls(sexist). DJ is surprised and he gets angry at Sarah because if he didn't invite Sarah to the hike, he probably wouldn't get those nasty I-hate-you-because-I- hate-native-girls looks from the other hikers (sexist again and a bit racist). His reputation falls every time he gets a sexist look from a random hiker. His group doesn't mind except the guide, the old lady and the Finnish trio(oh, wait, that's everyone).

          Instead of three easy peasy lemon squeasy days, DJ learns that he has to climb for about 7 days and 7  nights (the guide tells him to go "polepole" which means "go slowly"). DJ learns of the "DREADED MOUNTAIN DISEASE. This is all I have to post for today. I will do a 5 elements post and stuff after I finish the book.

       

Small Medium at Large

Small Medium at Large

Characters

   Small medium at large is based on a girl named Lilah Bloom who is able to hear dead people(ghosts)after she was struck by lightning at her Mom's wedding. Her grandmother, who is a ghost set out a request with her to find a suitable girlfriend for her dad. The fashion designer who is also a ghost helps Lilah to save a fashion show from destruction. Dolly, the mean girl is in need of help when Lilah helped out and Andrew Finkle, is Lilah's crush.

   The character is mostly humans. I feel these characters all seem to have a painful memory and talking to their deceased/alive family/friend help them regain a part of their true self.The clown and Rufus is also ghost who seek attention because how often they are ignore and forgotten.  

I feel the characters chosen all have special meanings. Like Lilah , is to be kind to everyone, her grandmother is a symbol of caring, Rufus is about how you should remember those who died......

Plot

The plot of Small Medium at Large started when Lilah got hit by lightning and is been given the gift of able to talk to ghost. Her long dead Bubby appeared pleading Lilah to help her find a suitable wife/girlfriend for her divorced father. While setting her dad up with different date, Lilah also have to teach her dad on the proper way to behave on a date! Even though Lilah is an expert on helping her dad, she have to face her own problem about her crush, Andrew Finkle and help save the school fundraiser by helping the mean girl, Dolly by making clothes for the fashion show. Add bra shopping trips with her dad and a pesky little boy, Rufus who keeps ruin the fashion show by tripping over the models!

Setting

The setting first takes place at Lilah mom's wedding. The setting was not described too well for this book and the author seems to focus more on the character and dialogues than the actual setting. The main setting of the book is the school and Lilah's house. Both places does not give reader a visual of how the school or Lilah's house looks like. The readers will always have to assume what the school is like which makes most part of the book really confusing.

Voice

The voice used for Small medium at large is in a first person perspective. I think the author choose the voice very well because it described her frustration and the reader are able to hear the ghosts talking because Lilah's gift. If it wasn't written in a first person perspective, the reader will not be able to hear the ghost and will be very confuse at different events.

Theme

I felt the theme for Small medium at large is in the category of teen fiction. The theme is mostly about her crush on Andrew and a plot twist is the fact Lilah is able to hear ghost. This book is not simply teen fiction I feel there is something the author want us to realize about communication mixed in the book. What makes Small medium at large different from others is the ways she helps others with her sudden found power. The key of the book how Lilah communicated with everyone. I will have to also add the theme spiritual in there because how Lilah communicate with everybody with the ghost is somewhat spiritual to the person with dead love ones. So, I think the theme of the book should be spiritual and teen fiction

                                                                                     My rating out of 10/4

Between Heaven and Earth

                           Between Heaven And Earth

                                         By Eric Walters, Summary by Joshua Lee

             How would you react when your dead gramps tells you to climb Africa's largest peak? That is what DJ, David Junior (his gramps being David Senior) has to do for his grandfather's will. Apparently Gramps wants DJ to scatter his ashes on top of Mount Kilimanjaro so that he can meet his ancestors and rest in peace with them. DJ is not the only one who has to climb a mountain; his cousins have to do crazy challenges to respect gramps's will. DJ is no cracked egg, he is an athlete and he believes that he can conquer the mountain in three days. DJ leaves with his gramps's ashes and heads for Kilimanjaro. But DJ gets arrested and robbed the moment he sets foot on Africa. That's all I have read today. I think the book is good so far, it has a good plot structure, but it is hard to say by now.

Hello Dear Students

Discuss the five elements of your novel, your opinion and your rating.