Book 4 Project

4 Reasons Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children has been on the best sellers list for 96 weeks.

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is a book about one boys adventure through time to try and uncover the secrets of his grandfather’s past life. Jacob’s adventure includes a lot of crazy and unbelievable things and people. Being on the best sellers list for 96 weeks is a very long time and I uncovered why.

1.      The Mystery

From the beginning this book leaves you wondering what happens next and with so many unanswered questions it is easy to see why people wanted to keep reading this book. Jacob’s grandfather gave him a simple clue that left him searching the whole book. Right before Jacob’s grandfather died he said, “Find the bird. In the loop. On the other side of the old man’s grave. September third, 1940” (37). This is what started Jacob’s adventure and after all of the crazy stories his grandpa has told him there is no way Jacob would have turned down this opportunity.

2.      The Descriptions

Everything in this book is described in such detail that it makes it very easy to actually see what the author is describing. The first time Jacob went to visit the old house he described it as, “a doorless doorway, bearded with vines, gaping and black; an open mouth just waiting to swallow me” (84). You can practically see the dark and scary doorway Jacob is about to enter. One user on an online review website says, “’It was very creepy, exciting and really intriguing’…” (Giselle). I believe part of the reason people believe it is so creepy is because of the details and descriptions, they make you see what the author wants you to.

3.      The Characters

The characters in this book are very interesting and since they are “peculiar” they each have a different talent about them. You want to find out what each child can do and each time you find out a new child its exciting at it adds to the story. Every time Jacob visits the children he finds out something new about one of them for example, “’It’s from a mouse,’ he explained. ‘That’s what I can do—take the life of one thing and give it to another…’” (217). The characters keep you wanting to read and find out more about their crazy lives.

4.      The Action

This book is full of action to go along with the mystery. There isn’t a chapter that doesn’t have something insane going on. No matter what the situation Jacob always seems to find himself in some sort of issue. For example, “It pulled taut just as the mob reached it, and they went sprawling over it and into the mud, a tangled heap of flailing limbs” (139). In this scene, Jacob was being chased but with the help from his friend, Emma, he got away. That piece of action is only one of the many in that chapter alone, so it is no wonder people like the book.

With action, adventure, and mystery all in one it is easy for anyone to see why it has been on the best sellers list for so long. The way the characters come alive make up want to read more and find out what happens. Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children is really a best seller.

Book Talk

Reading Wishlist

Book #4 check in 2

I am reading Miss Peregrine's home for peculiar children. This book started off really slow but it has gotten a lot better. The main character, Jacob, has met some of the children his grandpa used to talk to him about and the adventure he is going on has become more exciting. His father, which I said was the antagonist, has not been in the book much since, so he has not been discouraging Jacob as much as he was towards the beginning. The book is moving faster mainly because of a major event that occurred and now Jacob is trying to get all of the answers he possibly can. This book feels strange to me and I don't really know how to explain it but it seems a bit childish. I think this book is more for middle school aged kids because of how its written. I just feel like it is not like other books I have read recently and it sort of seems like the author is dragging the book on with unnecessary child-like details. So far I tolerate this book, but I am not seeing the reason it has been on the best sellers list for so long.

Book #3 post: List

5 ways Prayers for the Stolen and Room are similar 

Although both very different stories, Prayers for the stolen and Room are surprisingly similar. The main character in Prayers for the stolen, Ladydi, and main character Jack in, Room, have to learn how to cope with life after being released into a world completely new to them. Along with trying to figure out the world they are both trying to learn to love and how to live life without their mothers.  

1. They both rely heavily on their mothers 

In Prayers for the Stolen, Ladydi lives on a mountain top with just her mother and a couple of other women. She has rarely ever left the mountain top, but when she did her mother was always by her side. She relies on her mother to give her guidance and help her when it comes to protection against gang members. Before Ladydi leaves for Acapulco her mom tells her, “Just keep in the shade, don’t walk in the sun” (107). She is so reliant on her mom even at this age she has to tell Ladydi to be careful in the son.  In Room the only life Jack has ever known has been in the tiny room with his mom. He has never talked to any other people and has never done anything or been anywhere without his mother.  

2. They are both put into a “new” world 

In Prayers for the Stolen, Ladydi accepts a job offer in Acapulco which is far from her little mountain top home in Guerrero. She accepts this job mostly to keep herself safe from the gangs that come looking for girls to take. Ladydi has to leave her mother in order to go to Acapulco which is something she has never done before. Jack goes through a similar transition into a “new” world. His mother comes up with a plan that requires jack to escape room and go into the real world by himself.  He has never been outside the room, so he is actually entering a new world.  

3. They both learn to love 

In Prayers for the stolen, Ladydi leaves her mother to go to Acapulco where she meets a guy named Julio. She has never really been around anyone other than her friends and her mother therefore she hasn’t loved anyone other than her friends and family. She ends up learning to love Julio and that’s something that was very new to her. Jack was also in a similar situation in Room. He has only ever loved his mother, but when they get out he starts to meet all of these family members he never knew he had and when something happens to his mother he is separated from her and has to live with his grandmother. At first he is very reluctant to stay with his grandmother but in the end learns to love her and his step-grandfather who he calls “steppa”. 

4. They both learn to cope without their mother 

Like I just said, Jack had to be away from his mother for a period of time while she was getting help. In the beginning he wanted nothing to do with his grandma and he was miserable without his mother but eventually he came to learn how to do things by himself and for himself without his mom. 

5. They are both reunited with their mom and they both face their fears 

Ladydi eventually gets reunited with her mother and they discuss something they always thought to be impossible. Illegally crossing the border was never an option because of the dangerous stories they have heard but despite these stories they are still going to try and sneak across the border. Although Ladydi is scared to do this she will because she knows it is what needs to be done. Jack's situation is similar to this. At the end of the book they go back to visit "room" and say goodbye. This was mainly for them to get closure but it was something that required a lot of bravery. The end of the book says, "'Good-bye, Room.' I wave up at skylight. 'Say good-bye,' I tell Ma. 'Good-bye, Room.'"(321). 

 

As you can see these books although different, are very similar. The characters are both children so they handle things in a similar fashion and they are both learning the same things as they are growing older.

Book #2 project: Adapting

The book If I stay by Gayle Forman is a great book but there are things that could be changed. First off I believe this book would be best as a movie because there is not much action so turning it into a TV show would just drag it on for an unnecessary amount of time. Some of the scenes that need to be kept are for sure the car crash, some of the memories and the ending scene. I think anything in the middle can be changed or edited in any way. I would like to keep some of the memories because it shows the relationship between Mia and Adam and it also shows her life with the cello and how she started playing. Most of the memories however, are pointless. They do not have anything to do with how the story ends up and they kind of feel like they are in there just to make the book longer. I think we can replace the "bad" memories with memories that will contribute more to the story and help develop the characters a little more. The soundtrack to this movie would definitely have to have a mixture of happy and sad songs as well as some classical music. Happy music for the good memories, sad music for the emotional parts and classical because Mia is very into the cello and symphony's. The one thing that needs to be captured for sure is the ending because it is what the whole book was building up to and it by far the most important part.

Post #5: Truth in Memoirs

I think that a non-fiction books has to be 95% true in order to actually be considered non-fiction. The only thing that can be fictionalized is dialogue and minor details. If anything else is changed like a major event then it is no longer non-fiction, but fiction with accurate details. For example historical fiction is a made up story with truth about the history and time period it is set in.

 

Half-truths are not okay for non-fiction and memoirs because it’s not real. A memoir is supposed to be a life story so why make up lies about your life if you are going to write one? I know people lie to make their lives seem more exciting or make them seem triumphant, but if your life is not that interesting in the first place then why even write the memoir? Why lie to make yourself seem like you overcame a terrible struggle when in reality the struggle wasn't as bad as you made it out to be? So no, half-truths are not okay it’s either the truth or you make it a fiction book.

 

We definitely need lines between genres and the solution to this problem is simple. If you want to write a non-fiction book then write one, but write it correctly. If you want to write a fiction book then write it. I don't think they should take away genres because people don't know how to properly write a non-fiction book or memoir. It is important to have genres because not everyone likes the same thing. Genres help people identify what kind of books they like and if we didn't have genres then how would you ever know what is what? I think if people want a non-fiction book they want a book that tells the truth and gives you facts not a book that gives you a stretch of the truth.