Post #12

• Divergent (Veronica Roth)
• The Book Thief (Markus Zusak)
• The Monuments Men (Robert M. Edsel)
• Lone Survivor (Marcus Luttrell, Patrick Robinson)
• Killing Jesus (Bill O'Reilly, Martin Dugard)

Post #11

Post #5

A huge challenge the filmmaker of Shutter Island would have is presenting Teddy Daniels as a completely sane, hard-working man with distinct intent on solving the mystery at hand. It would be very hard not to give away that Teddy Daniels himself is actually insane. He portrays his lack of connection to reality throughout the beginning and middle of the book in his dreams about his late wife, Dolores. He dreams about her constantly, she "communicates" with him through dreams, and he cannot seem to let her go. 

Three Specific Scenes
Teddy Daniels, in the beginning of the book, is on a boat ride out to Shutter Island and begins to drift off into the depths of his own mind, thinking about his late wife. He reminisces with his partner, Chuck Aule, about the times they shared in war and the trauma it caused.

Later, when Chuck and Teddy are in their own beds, Teddy begins to have a dream involving his late wife, Dolores, and she helps him solve the riddle of what Rachel Solando, the escapee, wrote on paper and left for the men to find. Again, he drifts off into the depths of his mind, even while awake, and seems unreachable.

Teddy and Chuck explore the island in search of Rachel, only to find a large grassland of hills and vegetation. Teddy shoots down the theory that Rachel could've run off because of the vegetation. He explains that there is no way she could've made the run barefoot. With the theory that she ran off gone, there leaves only one: Rachel is still on the island.

Two Scenes to Cut Out
The scene where the Deputy Warden vigorously searches Teddy and Chuck before they're let on the island. It's unnecessary to describe in such detail a scene that could be made so minuscule and irrelevant. The scene doesn't help develop the plot at all.

Another scene to cut out would be the scene with Dr. Crawford, Teddy, Chuck, and a second doctor in Dr. Crawford's house. The scene, again, doesn't help plot progression at all. It simply adds another obnoxious element of deep mystery as to who the man might be, and what his purpose is on the island.

Post #4

My Book 1, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, was extremely dramatic and ended in a phenomenal plot twist. The subplots in the book added a lot to the main story, such as Katniss working with several other competitors to find a way to, yet again, sabotage the Hunger Games. She aligns with people that are extremely good at what they do; a brutal athletic cold-blooded killer, an old woman that came with the brutal killer, and two eccentric tech-geeks. 

Post #7 (Book Trailer)

If you, for some odd reason, want to see our book trailer again, click here!

Post #6

Readicide is not only a problem in schools but a problem in the world as a whole. Literature, no matter the genre, has died off without plans of being brought back. With the advances in technology that provide worldwide information at the touch of a button, books aren't as big a part of society as they used to be. They were included in daily routines because they had to be. They were where information came from, where information was stored, and where information was shared. Anymore, books can't be seen as efficient because efficiency is wrongfully assumed to only come from technology. The books we read in school shouldn't have to be forced upon us. We should be given a chance to choose a book, within limitations, that fits our own interests. A 21st century English class reading list should contain current best sellers and top rated works for the age of the class. Ten year olds should not and cannot be expected to read Gatsby and completely comprehend everything the book portrays, while eighteen year olds should not and cannot be expected to follow closely to a book written 50 years ago about nothing that has anything to do with their current world. Reading books not only expands the mind, it tests our mental capacities. It provides an alternate reality and endless possibilities because we, as a conscious population, fear the end. In writing, there doesn't have to be a mortal end, and that strikes the interest of the vastness of the population. The idea of reaching beyond our own limitations and grasping the unknown and making it known is mesmerizing. Books that can't capture an audience in the first few pages are books that will be dreaded and will only cause the decay of our generation's reading ability/necessity.

Post #3

The Idea: How would you survive if placed in a situation like the tributes had to in the arena? What precautions would you take to ensure your survival? How would you handle the stress and pressure under being forced to involve yourself in the deaths of 24 people? Would you rely on sponsors to survive, or would you create your own destiny? Which path would you choose, if you had to: hunter, or gatherer?

Why: One of the biggest settings, likely the most widely known setting, of the book is the Arena. The main goals behind the arena are survival, killing, and cooperation. To survive, you require food. You need to kill. You need to cooperate with teammates. One big part of acquiring food is gathering. You have to know what you're looking for, what you find, and how to prepare the food you can find. Hunting doesn't just pertain to animals. In the Arena, you have to be a ruthless, cold-blooded killer if you want to survive by going offensive and hunting down your enemies. With this survey, people have the choice of survival based upon murder, or survival based upon hiding and thriving. The survey will provide you several questions that will prod and probe your brain and the answers you input will cause an output of results based on the path of Hunter or Gatherer. This is a good way to provide fan interaction with the novel because everyone wants to know how they would fare if placed in a situation like the Hunger Games. It's not every day you are forced to volunteer your life for your sibling, leaving your mother, that sibling, your loved ones and friends behind to fight for your life in a battle royale with 24 other combatants just as determined to win as you. The survey not only provides insight into the world of Panem, but insight as well into your own mind and what your morals and ethics are like. Some people might be too moral to kill, some may be too bloodthirsty not to. It takes a certain kind of person to kill or watch 24 others get killed in the name of entertainment.