Tina’s Comments (group member since Oct 27, 2016)

Tina’s comments from the 833 Reading Responses group.

Question: What patterns do you notice about your character? What do they reveal?
Area of improvement: Analysis
In the realistic fiction book Blank by Trina St. Jean, the main character Jessica has gotten into an accident that causes her to forget many memories from her past. She hardly remembers her friends and family although she knows who they are and events from before the accident. When she tries to remember things from before the accident, she remembers little to nothing. However, throughout the book, she repeatedly never gives up trying to remember her past and stays positive in times of hardship. This reveals that Jessica is a determined girl and won’t give up easily. “I want to stay thinking positive, try not to dwell on the black hole that has sucked up my life” (173). Some people might give up trying to remember if they were in Jessica’s shoes and think about how the accident has turned their life upside down but Jessica didn’t really do that. She would sometimes think about giving up but she never did. She stayed positive and didn’t think about how the accident has ruined her life. She tried her very best to remember and make her life normal again. Had she not stayed positive, she wouldn't have gotten better and make her life normal again which is why her decision of not giving up is important. Therefore, in the book Blank by Trina St. Jean the main character Jessica shows a pattern of never giving up and staying positive in times of hardship which reveals that Jessica is a determined girl who doesn’t give up easily.

Focus Question: How does the setting impact the plot or characters?

In the novel All Fall Down by Ally Carter, the setting impacts the characters and plot by setting specific rules for the book. The main character's mother was murdered in Embassy Row and ever since then, Grace had been in another country but now she has returned to Embassy Row to live with her grandfather. She's determined to find her mother's murderer and she's sure she's found him but there are rules set in Embassy Row that set limits to confronting the murderer. "We can't just traipse into Iran anytime we feel like it" (52). Grace was busted for snooping around on foreign grounds which sets her back on confronting the killer because she saw him go inside Iran and that was her chance on confronting and finding out who he really is. But the rules of Embassy Row are that you can only stay in your own country so Grace needs to wait for another chance now.

Identify important moments in the text. Why are they important?

In the realistic fiction novel Faceless by Alyssa Sheinmel, an important moment in the book happened when the protagonist Maisie chooses to go running when there was going to be a thunderstorm because that causes her to have to choose a face transplant which makes her feel depressed throughout the book. Maisie got into a terrible accident when she went running one day. The accident had left her half faceless, so a face transplant was needed to "repair" her face. But the face transplant and accident had altered her way of life. She could no longer run track and the medications make her sleepy in school. On page 147, we see Maisie reflecting on her old life, " I can't remember what it felt like to have energy. How did I ever get straight A's, and run track, and shop with Serena, and kiss my boyfriend all in the course of a singe day?" Maisie had chosen to go running that day. If she hadn't went running, she wouldn't have been struck by lightning that left her half faceless. And if she hadn't been left half faceless, a face transplant wouldn't be needed. And if she didn't need a face transplant, she wouldn't be needing to take those medications that make her fall asleep in class and she would still be able to run track and be a straight A student. Her life wouldn't have changed at all if she had just looked at the weather forecast before she went running or turned back around after she felt the first drops of rain.