Water for Elephants - Chapters 17-25 (Personal Connection)

Water for Elephants is a historical fiction novel, so there are many connections to the world. The author, Sara Gruen, did a lot of extensive research on traveling circuses during the 1920s and 30s. Many events that happened in the book were actual events that occurred in American circuses.
Jacob and Marlena, the main characters in Water for Elephants, both deeply cared for the animals in the circus and would do almost anything to keep them safe. I feel like I made a personal connection to Jacob and Marlena, because I would have made some of the same decisions concerning the animals in the circus. Animals in circuses were repeatedly mistreated and abused by their trainers and being an animal lover I could not believe some of the things the trainers did to their animals.
Water for Elephants is a beautifully written book that pays tribute to a very extraordinary topic, American traveling circuses.

Water for Elephants - Chapters 9-16 (Summary Response)

Setting:
Water for Elephants has two main settings. One is set in present day in a nursing home. The other is set during the Great Depression on the Benzini Brothers traveling circus, either in the circus tents or on the train.

Main Characters:

• Jacob Jankowski: He is the main protagonist. Jacob is a "ninety or ninety-three" year old man who lives in a nursing home. During the book he reminisces about his life during the Great Depression as a veterinarian on the Benzini Brothers traveling circus.

• Marlena: Marlena is the star of the equestrian act in the circus. She is married to August, but is Jacob's main love interest.

• August: He is Marlena's husband and head animal trainer for the circus. He is a very charming man, but he has a very wide mean streak. Later in the book it is discovered that he is Paranoid Schizophrenic.

• Uncle Al: He is cruel, brutal and the violent owner of the Benzini Brothers traveling circus.

• Walter/Kinko: He is Jacob's roommate on the train. Only Walter's closest friends call him Walter, everybody else must call him Kinko.When Jacob and Walter first met they had a rough start, but eventually they become very close friends. Walter is a performer in the circus with his Jack Russell Terrier Queenie.

• Rosie: She is the elephant that brings together Jacob and Marlena. When Uncle Al buys her she is supposed to be the savior of the show, but is thought to be useless and stupid until Jacob discovers that she only understands Polish.

• Camel: He is one of the first people that Jacob met when he hopped the circus train. He plays a major role in getting Jacob a job on the circus. Towards the end of the book Camel gets sick with "Jake Leg" after drinking poisoned Jamaican Ginger. So Camel is not thrown off the train Jacob and Walter hide him in their cabin and take care of him since he is paralyzed from the Jamaican Ginger.

• Rosemary: She is Jacob's nurse at the nursing home. She is very sweet to Jacob and he becomes very fond of her.

Conflict and Conflict Resolution:
The main conflict in Water for Elephants is that Jacob has fallen in love with Marlena who is married to August. Marlena has also fallen in love with Jacob. The situation becomes very dangerous since August is schizophrenic.
The conflict is resolved when Rosie, who has been the subject of August's violent beatings, gets her revenge on August by killing him. Since August no longer posts a threat to Jacob and Marlena they happily run away from the Benzini Brothers Circus with their beloved animals in tow.

Water for Elephants - Chapters 1-8 (Introduction Response)

I am reading Water for elephants by Sara Gruen for this literary analysis. The genre of Water for Elephants is a historical romance novel. The book is set at the beginning of the great depression on the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth's circus train. Water for Elephants follows the story of Jacob Jankowski, presently a ninety something year old man, who in his twenties found himself on a circus train as their vet. While on the circus train Jacob meets Marlena, the star of the equestrian act who is married to the charming but cruel circus boss, August. The theme of this book is independence and self worth.

Mockingjay - Entire Book (Personal Connection)

I am completely obsessed with The Hunger Games trilogy! This series is in my top 3 along with The Twilight Saga and Harry Potter.
When I read books I always find someway to relate my current personal situation with the book. When I was reading this book there were a lot of emotions going through me. I felt sad, mad, lonely, heartbroken...these are the emotions that the character was going through. For a writer to make its readers feel the same emotions as the characters is amazing. I got so into this book that when I was reading it I felt like I was Katniss and those things were happening to me. I do not think I have engrossed myself in as a book that much before.
Even after I was finished with this book I was constantly thinking about it. This is one of those books that I never wanted to end.
The only aspect about this book that I did not like was the last pages. Everything happened so fast. I think it would have made the book much better if the lives of main characters were explained more. The only thing that you hear about Gale at the end is that he went to District 2 and "got some fancy military job there." I just wish that it was like 50 pages longer to describe their lives after the rebellion.
In the words of Katniss Everdeen "What I need is the dandelion in the spring. The bright yellow that means rebirth instead of destruction. The promise that life can go on, no matter how bad our losses. That it can be good again."

Catching Fire - Entire Book (Summary Response)

Setting:
The setting of Catching Fire is in Panem which was once North America. The Capitol is somewhere in the "Rockies" and the 12 surrounding districts are scattered through out Panem. District 12 where Katniss is from is in the Appalachian Mountains. The arena where the Hunger Games are held is in a dense jungle with a beach. When the author described it in the book I instantly thought of Madagascar.

Main Characters:

• Katniss Everdeen - She is the narrator and the main protagonist of the book. She is a 17 year-old girl from District 12. She has straight black hair, olive skin and gray eyes. She is athletic but small in stature. In the book she is the symbol of the rebellion, a mockingjay. In the arena she is prepared to give up her life to save Peeta's. Her friend/love interest/fiancee/ally in the games. 
• Peeta Mellark - He is a 17 year-old boy from District 12. He has ashy blond hair and blue eyes. He is described as stocky because of carrying 100 lb flour bags while working at his father's bakery. He is very eloquent with his words and this trait saves and endangers his life many times. He is madly in love with Katniss but knows that she is confused about her feelings for him and Gale, Katniss's best friend and potential love interest.
• Gale Hawthorn - He is a 19 year-old boy from District 12. He has black hair, olive skin and gray eyes just like Katniss. Through out the series Gale is described as muscular and very good looking. Katniss says that he can have any girl that he wants but he seems to have his eye on Katniss. After the 74th Hunger Games "some genius made him [Gale] my [Katniss's] cousin" so the romance between Peeta and Katniss could go on with out question. He openly talks about his hatred of the Capitol and District 12 while he is the woods with Katniss and how he plans to be a rebel and overthrow the Capitol.
• Haymitch Abernathy - He is a 41 year-old man from District 12. He has black hair and gray eyes like most people from the Steam of District 12. He won the 2 Quarter Quell (50th Hunger Games) at age 16. After using the force field around the arena to win the Hunger Games President Snow orders the execution of Haymitch's mother, brother and girlfriend for his punishment. With no family left and the duty of mentoring the tributes of District 12 each year he becomes a drunk and shuts out he world around him. For the 3rd Quarter Quell the tributes will be picked from the existing pool of victors. This means Katniss is going back into the arena and Haymitch is picked also but Peeta takes his place and Haymitch is the mentor of Katniss and Peeta again.
• Finnick Odair - He is a 24 year-old man from District 4. He is tall, very handsome with tan skin, bronze hair and beautiful green eyes. He won the 65th Hunger games at age 14 using a trident. He is picked for the 3rd Quarter Quell along with his mad lover Annie but 80 year-old Mags takes her place. At first Katniss is hesitant to trust him but once inside the arena Finnick convinces Katniss to become allies and without him Katniss cannot hope to keep Peeta alive.
• President Coriolanus Snow - The heartless President of Panem. He is the main antagonist of the series. At the beginning of Catching Fire President Snow visits Katniss in District 12 and tells her that she must convince him of the love she shares with Peeta on their Victory Tour if not there will be consequences. Katniss describes him as being a small thin man with puffy lips and snake eyes. Se also says that he smells of roses and blood.
• Cinna - He is Katniss's stylist during the 74th and 75th Hunger Games. He doesn't use surgery to alter his features, wears simple black clothes and leaves his hair its natural dark brown color. He becomes Katniss's friend and genuinely cares for Katniss's well-being. On the request of President Snow Katniss wears her wedding dress to her interview with Caesar Flickerman before the Quarter Quell and when she twirls she dress bursts into flame and transforms the dress resemble a mockingjay. This was all designed by Cinna and he pays for it with his life.

Conflict and Conflict Resolution:
There are many conflicts going on in this book but I think the main one is that she is left with the task of keeping Peeta and all who she cares about out of harms way from the consequences that follow the decisions she made in the Hunger Games. The resolution is not found in Catching Fire but in the third and final installment of The Hunger Games Trilogy, Mockingjay.

The Golden Compass - Chapters 2 - 7

The first thing that I have to say about The Golden Compass is that it is not a quick read! It take a very long time to read this book. That is why I am not finished with the book.

My book is set in a universe just like ours, but different in many ways. The major difference between our world and theirs is that peoples' souls are in the form of a daemon. An animal that walks and talks next to them. There are also many other universes out there that are not completely know about but people know that they are there. Another strange quality about this universe is that there is Dust. Dust is a particle that travels between the universes

The Hunger Games - Entire Book (Introduction Response)

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is an amazing story of Katniss Everdeen. A sixteen-year-old girl who is now part of the annual Hunger Games. This suspenseful adventure Si-Fi kept me turning until the last page then made me want more!

Katniss lives in District 12 which is part of Panem. Panem is in the place where North America once stood. This hostile place consists of the Capitol and twelve surrounding districts. The Capitol can only be described as cruel and barbaric, covered in a layer of fake shinning glory. Every year the Capitol holds the Hunger Games; a fight to the death among 24 tributes from each district. Katniss Everdeen sister Prim was the 22nd tribute called for the seventy-forth Hunger Games, but since Prim is only 12 Katniss steps up to take her place. This action has thrown her face first into an arena of death.
The main thing that I took away from this book is that you must fight for humanity and what you believe in even if it means certain death.