The Glass Castle: Characters

The characters personailites in The Glass Castle play a very important role in moving the story along. The kids are very influenced by their parents, which is why I wanted to decribe the parents personalities. There are many words to describe Jeannette's dad, Rex. He is short-tempered, believable, imaginative, brilliant, dishonest, and destructive, all at the same time. Rex does not have very many patience with his kids or wife. He is very belivable, dishonest, and brilliant because every time they move places, he is very quick to find a job. "Dad would get a job as an electrician or engineer in a gypsum or copper mine. Mom liked to say that dad could talk a blue streak, spinning tales of jobs he'd never had and college degrees he'd never earned. He could get about any job he wanted, he just didn't like keeping it for long" (Walls 19).

Jeannett's mom, Rose Mary, can be described as artistic, not very confident, and a truth teller. Rose Mary isn't very confident because she doesn't stick up for herself when Rex is bad-tempered. Rose Mary doesn't hide secrets from her kids. Her kids grew up not believing in Santa Claus because she told them is was a myth and there was no such thing. A quote to show that Rose Mary is artistic is, "In the meantime, Mom devoted herself to art. She spent all day working on oil paintings, watercolors, charcoal drawings, pen-and-ink sketches, clay and wire sculptures, silk screens, and wood blocks. She didn't have any particular style; some of her paintings were what she called primitive, some were impressionistic and abstract, some were realistic" (Walls 38).  With a creative mom, and a dad who has many personality traits, it's no wonder why their kids didn't have a normal childhood.

Allegiant: Summary

I'm so excited! Allegiant is finally out. It is the third book in the series Divergent by Veronica Roth. I can't wait to read it. Here is a summary of the book:
"The faction-based society that Tris Prior once believed in is shattered—fractured by violence and power struggles and scarred by loss and betrayal. So when offered a chance to explore the world past the limits she’s known, Tris is ready. Perhaps beyond the fence, she and Tobias will find a simple new life together, free from complicated lies, tangled loyalties, and painful memories.

But Tris’s new reality is even more alarming than the one she left behind. Old discoveries are quickly rendered meaningless. Explosive new truths change the hearts of those she loves. And once again, Tris must battle to comprehend the complexities of human nature—and of herself—while facing impossible choices about courage, allegiance, sacrifice, and love.

Told from a riveting dual perspective, Allegiant, by #1 New York Times best-selling author Veronica Roth, brings the Divergent series to a powerful conclusion while revealing the secrets of the dystopian world that has captivated millions of readers in Divergent and Insurgent".

This book sounds really good to me, and I think it will be a great ending to the series!

 

The actors that play Tris and Tobias.
 



Veronica Roth

The Glass Castle: On Fire

I am officially on chapter 2! So far the book is living up to my expectations. In chapter 2, Jeanette describes a couple of her memories in great detail. One of her memories includes being on fire. "I was on fire. It's my earliest memory. I was three years old, and we were living in a trailer park in a southern Arizona town whose name I never knew. I was standing on a chair in front of the stove, wearing a pink dress my grandmother had bought for me. . . I was wearing the dress to cook hot dogs, watching them swell and bob in the boiling water. . . I felt a blaze of heat on my right side. I turned to see where it was coming from and realized my dress was on fire" (Walls 9). This quote shocked me. I couldn't believe she was just three years old and cooking by herself. I thought that after she was on fire, and had to go to the hospital, she would have been terrified of fire from then on. I thought wrong. It turns out that her experience with fire, only 'fueled her flame' to be fasinated with it. "Instead, I became fasinated with it. Dad also thought I should face down my enemy, and he showed me how to pass my finger through a candle flame. I did it over and over, slowing my finger with each pass, watching the way it seemed to cut the flame in half, testing to see how much my finger could endure without actually getting burned" (Walls 15). This quote tells us a lot about Jeanette's personality as a three year old. She was probably almost fearless. She was also a risk-taker, bave, and curious. I can't wait to keep reading!

The Glass Castle: Chapter 1 Summary

"A Woman On The Street" is the title for the first chapter in The Glass Castle. It perfectly sums up the whole chapter. In this chapter, we learn a lot about Jeannette, and her parents. Jeannette lives in New York, on Park Avenue, and is very successful. She was in a taxi, headed to a party, when she spotted her mom digging through a dumpster. "To the people walking by, she probably looked like any of the thousands of homeless people in New York City" (Walls 3). In this quote, we learn that Jeannette's parents are very poor, while Jeannette is living in a nice apartment on Park Avenue. "It had been months since I laid eyes on Mom, and when she looked up, I was overcome with panic that she'd see me and call out my name, and that someone on the way to the same party would spot us together and Mom would introduce herself and my secret would be out" (Walls 3). In this quote, we find out the Jeannette is embarrassed by her parents. Even though she hadn't seen her Mom in months, and she was just a few steps away, Jeannette didn't want to go say hi, in fear that someone would see them together. After Jeannette saw her mom, she didn't want to go to the party, so she asked the taxi driver to take her back home. In her apartment, she got to thinking about her parents. She often asked if there was anything that she could give them, and they always said they were fine. "After ducking down in the taxi so Mom wouldn't see me, I hated myself- hated my antiques, my clothes, and my apartment. I had to do something, so I called a friend of Mom's and left a message. It was our system of staying in touch" (Walls 4). Jeannette called to ask her Mom, if she could take her out for lunch. Jeannette asked her Mom what she should say if people asked about her. " 'Just tell the truth,' Mom said. 'That's simple enough.' "  (Walls 5). This is what her mom said in response. I liked when her Mom said to just tell the truth because it shows that her Mom is confident, and that she is not embarrassed by the way she lives. I also think this will show up again in the up-coming chapters.

The Glass Castle: Preview

I went to the library yesterday to find a new book to read. I came home with The Glass Castle. It looks like a really good book. It is a memoir written by Jeannette Walls. I haven't started reading it yet, but I will share the synopsis on the back. "The Glass Castle is a remarkable memoir of resilience and redemption, and a revelatory look into a family at once deeply dysfunctional and uniquely vibrant. When sober, Jeannette's brilliant and charismatic father captured his children's imagination, teching them physics, geology, and how to embrace life fearlessly. But when he drank, he was dishonest and destructive. Her mother was a free spirit who abhorred the idea of domesticity and didn't want the responsibility of raising a family. The Walls children learned to take care of themselves. They fed, clothed, and protected one another, and eventually found their way to New York. Their parents followed them, choosing to be homeless even as their children prospered. The Glass Castle is truly astonishing- a memoir permeated by the intense love of a peculiar, but loyal, family. Jeannette Walls has a story to tell, and tells it brilliantly, without an ounce of self-pity".

This is a picture that is in the very beginning of the book. It is Jeannette's parents, Rose Mary and Rex Walls, on their wedding day.

This is a picture of the author, Jeannette Walls.


 

This video is an interview with Jeannette Walls.

Insurgent: Book Review

After reading Divergent (the first book in this series), I decided to read Insurgent. I am so glad that I read it. It is a very well written book with a lot of action in it. After the Erudite faction attacked the Abnegation faction, with help from the Dauntless, war broke out. Nowhere is safe. Tris Prior, time and time again, puts herself in the face of danger to protect her friends and those she loves. "I will not let Tobias go to Erudite when it happens again, when someone else dies. I will not" (Roth 314).

The faction system was created to prevent war, and that is exactly what it has done in the past. However, now as tensions are rising, war breaks out. There are five factions total.

Within each faction, their members are siding with other factions. Some Dauntless are siding with Erudite and some of the other Dauntless are siding with Abnegation. I loved every part in this book. It kept me on the edge of my seat, always wanting to find out what will happen next. I rate this book 5 out of 5 stars. It was a great book, and I don't see any places where improvements could be made.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed reading The Hunger Games. Insurgent contains a lot of action, mixed with a little romance.

Divergent: Chapter 10 Overview

One of my friends recommended the book Divergent to me, and so far it is good as they were portraying it to be. I have just finished reading chapter 10, so I thought I would give an overview of it. In the beginning of the chapter, Tris has a nightmare, about what occured yesterday. During the first round of fights, her friend Christina gave up. As punishment, she had to hang from a railing over a rushing river, for five minutes. "That night I dream that Christina hangs from the railing again, by her toes this time, and someone shouts that only someone who is Divergent can help her. So I run forward to pull her up, but someone shoves me over the edge, and I wake before I hit the rocks" (Roth 105). She wakes up from her dream, drentched in sweat. When she got back from the girls shower, Peter, spray- painted the word "stiff" on her matress and on the bed frame.

When Tris arrives at training, she glances up at the board to see who would be fighting today. Her name ws up there, and written next to it was Peter's name. She had to fight Peter. It's finally time for the fight to begin. One swing after the next, Peter is beating Tris up. "His arm twitches and pain stabs my jaw and spreads across my face, making my vision go black at the edges and my ears ring. I blink and lurch to the side as the room dips and sways. I don't remember his fist coming at me" (Roth 110).

 Tris went unconcious from the fight and woke up in the hospital. She had lost the fight to Peter. "The only thing worse than letting Peter put me in the hospital would be letting him put me there overnight" (Roth 117). Late at night, Tris snuck back to her dorm, because she didn't want to spend the night in the hospital.

Divergent: Analysis

 I have just started reading Divergent, written by Veronica Roth. So far, it is a fantastic book. A lot has happened so far to set the stage for the rest of the book. This book takes place in a futuristic world, where people live with other people like them. These groups are called Faction's. When you turn 16, you have to choose the faction, with whom you will spend your life. Beatrice, the protagonist in this book, is very indecisive, but she is confident in herself. "Then, with a gasp I can't contain, I shift my hand forward, and my blood sizzles on the coals. I am selfish. I am brave" (Roth 47). This quote shows directly that she is brave. However, indirectly, it shows how she is indecisive. She can't seem to choose between the Abnegation Faction or the Dauntless Faction. I infer that she will stay in the Abnegation Faction because that is the faction that her family is in, and its the one she grew up in.

The faction system was created to avoid war. Each faction believes in something that specifically caused disputes between people. " 'Working together, these five factions have lived in peace for many years, each contributing to a different sector of society. Abnegation has fulfilled our need for selfless leaders in government; Candor has provided us with trustworthy and sound leaders in law; Erudite has supplied us with intelligent teachers and researchers; Amity has given us understanding counselors and caretakers; and Dauntless provides us with protection from threats both within and without. But the reach of each faction is not limited to these areas. We give one another far more than can be adequately summarized. In our factions, we find meaning, we find purpose, we find life.' " (Roth 43). This quote shows the importance of factions in their society. It keeps things running smoothly. I predict that eventually there will be conflict between factions, and a war will break out. I can't wait to keep reading!

The Lovely Bones: Book Recommendation

 

The Lovely Bones, written by Alice Sebold, was an okay book. It wasn't as good as the synopsis led me to believe. This was a book about a young girl named Susie Salmon. Susie was fourteen when she was murdered one day on her way home from school. Susie has to adjust to her new life in heaven. Meanwhile, her family is in the midst of a sticky situation. They have the police working on their side to figure out who murdered Susie, and why.

Everyday, Susie watches her family on Earth. Each member in the Salmon family has a hard time living without Susie. I liked how the author brought the family back together towards the end of the book. She accomplishes this in a creative way. Although, the ending of the book was good, it wasn't great, and I think there could be improvements made. Overall, this was a book about hope, humor, suspense, and even joy.

 

 

I ranked The Lovely Bones 2 out of 5 stars.