Independent Reading

1. Describe some intriguing questions, issues, or dilemmas your book raises. Attempt to explain and/or answer as many as you can citing specific evidence or examples when appropriate.
I have come to a major turning point in the characters life due to the death of a friend. Alaska died after a party while drunk driving. Now the main charactor Miles is learning to cope with the death of Alaska. He goes through the period of blaming himself for it when it is not his fault. I think that he will be able to learn to cope with this though it will take time to heal. He begins to realize the things that she did for him, all the lessons she, in her unique way taught him. I think that this was the true purpose for the character in the novel which was to show the main character a side of him that he never knew existed. I look forward to reading on to figure out more of the things that he realizes about himself in the end of the novel.

Graduation

What to say, what to say...I don't know if I would be the best person to speak about high school based on the fact that I don't like doing sentimental things like this...I am just not good at it. But probably the basics that I would include are when we first arrived in high school and the transitions we have all made, both individually and collectively. I would talk about sporting events, dances, and of course classes which sometimes seemed never ending. I would speak about each year and the expectations of that year both in education and among peers. And I would definitely try to keep it short and sweet!

Beginning the book

I decided to change my book because, though it was written in the proper time, it took place in a different time period which I found out later when I began reading. I then began looking for a new one and found one called Looking For Alaska by John Green written in 2005 and taking place in a boarding school during the present. Because of this switch in books I have not really gotten that far into the story but have started. So far it has discussed the main character, Miles Halter, and a new chapter of his life. It starts out at his going away party for boarding school and introduces us to his quirky family members. The going away party doesn't seem to go as his mother plans with only a few "friends" of his coming. From this little bit that I read it is evident that Miles is ready to move on from the school he now attends and is ready for the change of boarding school. What lie ahead for him completely unknown.

Atonement

Atonement-Amends or reparation made for an injury or wrong
The book Atonement, which I read last year as one of my independent reading novels, deals with this topic of forgiveness that is one of much debate. Throughout the novel the main character Briony tells a string of lies which ultimately lead to destruction of relationships. Eventually she never is granted atonement and is forced to make it herself through her novels.
Just like in that book, the main character Amir in The Kite Runner also seeks atonement for his sins. This sins all surround the relationship he had with his best friend Hassan. It starts out as his inability to help hassan when he is being raped and just escalates from there, finally resulting in an end to a friendship and life together. I think that he may be able to achieve if not obtain complete atonement due to the undeniable bond the two share.

mistakes we knew we were making

I can't really recall a major mistake that has happened because I feel like things always manage to work out how they were meant to but everyone throughout their life makes mistakes. Some of these are on purpose, by default, or made without thinking yet they all tend to have the similar result of hurting someone else or yourself. Through these different experiences we learn new things about our self's that hopefully provide us with new a new outlook and understanding.

Book Preview

The Front Cover
• Fade
• Robert Cormier
• I think that it deals with a person who is somehow distanced of "faded" away from everyone/thing else
• Is the main character the person who "fades"?
Does this deal with similar themes of Invisible Man?

The Back Cover
• None...it is just a large quote that reads, "Imagine what might happen if Holden Caulfield stepped into J. G. Wells' The invisible Man, and you'll have an idea how good Fade is...I was riveted." -Stephen King
I think that it does not tell you anything to leave you wondering what the story is about as well as wanting to read more.

Inside the Book
• 1988
• To my wife, Connie, with love
• The book does not have any real chapter titles but it is broken down into what I think may be names of people who are telling the specific sections.
• The authors style is first person, which like I stated earlier, probably changes due to the names written before certain chapters.

OVERALL IMPRESSION
I think that this story has to deal with a lot of similar themes in that of Invisible Man. I think this just from the title and from the quote from Stephan King on the back. The cover also gives you the same feelings of similar themes. I think that this should be an interesting book and hopefully I will enjoy it.

Picture

This picture depicts the life of a solider as he embarks across the vast land that he has helped take over. Running across this rugged land he lacks the ability to realize the true beauty that surrounds him. The difficult times of the past and his unknown future hang on his shoulders yet he lives in the minute, forced to focus on the now. Death in his field tends to be just a fact of everyday occurrence yet he continues to fight on in the hope that all will end as it should.