Alexandra’s Comments (group member since Jan 25, 2010)

Alexandra’s comments from the UNC Middle School Lit group.

My favorite quote was "We walk around happily with these invisible veils hanging down over our faces. The world is kind of blurry, and we like it that way. But sometimes our veils are pushed away for a few moments, like there's a wind blowing it from our faces. And when the veil lifts, we can see the world as it really is, just for those few seconds before it settles down again. We see all the beauty, and cruelty, and sadness, and love." " (p. 71)

It reminds me of this short story by Hawthorne (The Minister's Black Veil) and how we all wear "veils" to hide something or shield ourselves from the world. I just feel like it is such an accurate depiction of how many people really are.

I would save the manatees! :)

I agree with Madison.. I think the most important theme is finding your passion, and going after it. In middle school, most kids are on the path of self discovery, and I feel that it is extremely important to be able to stand up for what you believe in and not care what other people think about it.

I think my savvy is animal rescue. All my life I've been a magnet for lost animals, and have always somehow been able to find their homes or take care of them. :)

What I'm looking most forward to talking about next week is the daemons. That was my favorite aspect of the novel. I found the setting a bit confusing at times, and would like to discuss it to hear everyone's input and get some clarity.

I found American Born Chinese hard to read. My problem with graphic novels is that I tend to skim really fast through the words and ignore the pictures. It was hard for me to train my eyes to look at the whole image (picture+text), thus I didn't really enjoy reading the novel. I did, however, once I got through it, enjoy the storyline of American Born Chinese. I definitely think its a cute story, and would be a great novel to hand to kids who don't particularly like to read. With American Born Chinese, you get a wholesome story without the feel of reading a novel. It offers a good message about fitting in and being yourself to children of all ages.

This is what the quiz told me....

Your WOLF DAEMON shows that you are solitary, ferocious, and often intimidating, but not without your sufficient loyalty and poise. People tend to misunderstand you, but you prefer your own company, anyway.

Loyalty and poise, maybe.. not sure about ferocious and intimidating haha

This is my favorite quote from Ender's Game:

"I think it's impossible to really understand somebody, what they want, what they believe, and not love them the way they love themselves." p 238

I like this quote because it shows how compassionate Ender truly is. It also provides a great ideal for everyone to consider when they feel that they have an enemy-- it shows that simply misunderstanding someone can inhibit you from loving them. It suggests that everyone not just judge others, but instead take the time to try and get to know them. In Ender's case, it provides foreshadowing for his relationship with the Buggers.

In the Hunger Games, there are several times when one decision could change the future entirely. Katniss allows her future to change by sacrificing herself for her sister, and entering into the Hunger Games. Also, when they are tricked into thinking two could win the games, by potentially eating the poisonous berries, both would have died and the lives of their families would never have been the same. They would've changed the outcome of the Hunger Games as well, upsetting the Capitol. These examples show clearly that one single decision can change the course of one's life.

The Arrival:
1. I don't think this is historical fiction, because we don't know exactly the time period. In the beginning, it appears to be set in a particular time period that could make is historical fiction, however, once the unique animals and scenes appear, it becomes more of a fantasy than historical book.
2. Not historical fiction.
3. I think a broad theme this covers is immigration, which today is a big political issue. It could help middle school age children understand the struggles that immigrants face in a new environment, and maybe help them be more understanding of their immigrant peers. It also shows that family is important, as he views pictures of and writes to his family.
4. I think teachers would use this book as a read aloud in front of the class, and could ask children to relate the issues of the story and fitting in to what they are going through in their lives. A teacher might even have children assign dialogue to the story.

Witness:
1. This book would definitely be historical fiction. It was published in 2001, and set in 1924. To be historical fiction, the book must be set at least one generation before it is published, and Witness meets this guideline. Segregation and the KKK is central to this novel and are time specific, adding to its historical fiction context.
2. Witness is soft historical fiction because none of the characters are real historical figures—it just has a historical backdrop.
3. This book addresses major themes of discrimination and racism. This is shown by the way characters treat the black characters in the novel.
4. I think this would be a good book to assign as out of class reading, and maybe connect it to a unit on slavery and segregation.

I totally agree that this novel does a great job addressing such a serious issue. I think it may be a little heavy for middle school aged children, however the fact that it does not describe what happened in great detail makes it a more appropriate book on the topic for a younger audience. I think it is a good depiction of high school (maybe not so much Melinda's extreme depression) but the cliques and students were all very real. Overall, I thought this was a great book!