Zane R. > Recent Status Updates

I noticed that the author uses flash forwards to keep the reader inferring. I can predict why he is on death row. I think it is because he passed out anti-Nazi pamphlets.

I noticed the old radio symbolizes freedom. When Hitler only approves of the cheaply built People's Radio, that freedom is taken away. In addition, people are only permitted to listen to German stations. Helmuth does not like this rule, especially since the Germans are not telling the truth over their stations.

I can tell that Q is a little bit leery about the whole spy thing. He thinks that Boone will kidnap him. On the other hand, Angela focuses on the positive side saying "If he wanted to kidnap us, why didn't he do it already." Angela's thinking is a little bit more rational in my point of view.

An overall theme so far is "expect the unexpected." This shows through when Boone scared Q outside the RV.

When I put the lens of "Author strategies," I notice that the author switches the setting every half chapter. This builds up suspense and causes the reader to infer. For example, when the author said, "He would have thrown up if the lightening bolt had not struck first," I had to infer about the lightening.

The emerging theme right now is, "Problems do not fix themselves." That is true, because Derek has many problems, yet he does not do anything to fix them. Mickey Cray has a debt problem, and he took the animal wrangler job to fix it.

This book is really getting good. As a reader, I would like to know more about Jared Gordon. This would help me infer and predict his future actions in the book. One thing I do know is that he has a gun. I can infer, he will use it or attempt to use it to do harm to the good characters, such as his daughter, Tuna.

A character trait of Mickey is persistent. He never gives up at protecting nature and it's animals. This really shines through when Derrick is harassing his animals and Mickey jumps in to stop him.

A trait of Nick's is persistent. He is determined to find the panther and help his father.

The development of this story is great. I predict Twilly will become a large part of the story, due to his creepy role currently. On page 98, he snuck in to Mrs. Starch's house and found Nick and Marta.

This book was great! The emerging theme was, "Be happy." Alice learns to accept that her aunt died and learns to stay positive with the help of Charlie. This really shone through on page 162 when Charlie gives Alice advice.

A trait of Alice's is determined. She will not stop until she finds Lardo, even if it lands her in the principal's back yard! I predict she will get to the bottom of this mystery, because she is so motivated.

Alice's poems symbolize hope in the hard times without her Aunt Polly. It helps her work through the hard times.

How does Polly make her pies so good? A trait of Polly's is caring because she makes pies and gives them away for free. That is why everybody in the town loves her.

This was a great book. I like how the author includes different storylines throughout the story and connects them at the end. The emerging theme is "You cannot trust everyone." I think this because Lemony trusts too many people, and in the end, some, like Ellington, unfriended him.

Currently, I believe the emerging theme is "keep your back against the wall." This theme strikes me because the stolen statue is floating around this creepy town, and when you have it, you have to protect it. "I don't think that is wise to tell you that over the phone" Lemony said to Ellington over the phone when he was talking over the phone and she asked him if he had the statue.

"Where is that screaming coming from?" (pg 167) Lemony and Moxie wonder this outside the Sallis Mansion. Perhaps the screaming symbolizes unrest with the Bombinating Beast in the town of Stain'd by the Sea.

Lemony is taking very serious risks. On page 133, he fell straight down from hawser. I think he should consider keeping his back up against the wall in this mysterious town

Can wrong questions lead to wrong answers? On page 127, Lemony fell from a high up clothesline, "fell straight down into the trees," pondering what the fear of heights is. Perhaps this lead to the wrong answers to the wrong questions.

Theodora's character really shows through in this part of the book. Whenever Lemony asks a question, she says, "That's the wrong question." This shows how serious she is, yet how sneaky she is too.

The town Lemony is in is very shady. There is a statue that "I could not tell what it was a statue of." (pg 73) In addition, the city has a very small population.

Theodora seems to be a suspicious character. She is always yelling at Lemony to stop asking stupid questions. she always says, "That's the wrong question." I can sense that Lemony does not like Teodora much.

The theme of this book is "help those in need." This really shines through, especially when Richard rescued Malley on page 260.

Skink's personality really shows through at the end of this chapter. He always just shrugs off a problem. On page 257, he was going through a really bad fit, during his pursuit of Tommy Chalmers. After Richard performed CPR, Skink sat up like normal and said calmly, like nothing happened, "Did either of you happen to notice where Mr. Chalmers went?"

This book is great. On page 280, the kids were discovered by their dad! How will they get out of this this time.

The lens of 'theme' has really made me think. The theme, "Help people in need," came across. On page 198, Skink saved Malley and Richard, helping them because they were in need.

I am really enjoying the suspense! Where is Tommy?! Will the group find him?

These boys are daring. They both have certainly gained courage and responsibility.

The main theme right now is: "Don't count your chickens before they hatch." The two boys are thinking they might get away,but they are on the brink of being caught.

I noticed a change in the main character. Over the course of the story, Richard has changed. He has gotten braver, like on page 233.