John Green
I was interested in reading this
author because I heard a lot about him. I
usually like to be different and not read what everyone else is reading but I thought
I would give it a try. Looking for Alaska is the first book I read
by John Green. I saw The Fault in Our Stars and I wasn’t really
that impressed. People say that I should
read the book but after knowing the main theme I don’t think I would enjoy the
book. Something I like about Looking for
Alaska is that the beginning of the story is intriguing because it explains
a lot about the main characters, and the life they have at their school. About half way through the book it slightly
changes and the main characters are trying to solve a mystery.
I like how this author writes straight
forward and easy to understand. I would like to know if all of his books are
somehow relevant to his life. I know so
far that Looking for Alaska is
relevant to John Green’s life because he attended a boarding school like the
main characters in this book. I am curious to know if the rest of his books
have a small similarity like this one or maybe something bigger. I would also like to know if John Green
purposely chooses the main characters of his books to be everyday people, most
being introverts. I like how John green
does this because it makes the story more relatable.
One of the main characters in my book is the Colonel. The Colonel is from the book “Looking for Alaska.” The story takes place at a boarding school and that is where the Colonel attends. He seems to think that he is somewhat of a big shot at school. He gives everyone a nickname who comes to the school. The Colonel comes from a trailer park home and isn’t like most of the kids at the boarding school. He doesn’t get along with the rich kids who go there. He attends the boarding school to get away from his home because he really enjoys staying at the boarding school. He had a rough life growing up, but he tends not to show that or his weaknesses. The colonel’s best friend at school is Alaska she means a lot to him and they do a lot together. The colonel can be slightly rude and he plans many pranks on the rich kids, but they do the same. They have some type of a prank war.
ReplyDeleteTowards the middle of the book Alaska ends up dying in a car accident. The colonel is a dynamic character because he changes throughout the book. Now that Alaska has passed away he is very sensitive and shows his emotions a lot. The Colonel has a hard time processing Alaska’s death. He doesn’t believe that it happened. Part of him wants to figure out what exactly happened and how he could have helped her, but he also wants to put it behind him. Which of course is hard for him. I like this character because he has a strong opinion and I am the same way. The Colonel is significant to this book because without him half of the book would never happen, the pranks, helping to find out what happened to Alaska. He ties the book together and gives it something extra with his personality.
The second book I’m reading by John Green is “An Abundance of Katherine’s”. In this book the two main characters are Colin and Hassan. Colin and Hassan are very good friends and have been for awhile. Colin and Hassan decide to take a road trip to take Colin’s mind off of his latest break up. It has only been the start to the trip and Colin and Hassan seem to have found a “home” for their first part of the trip. Hassan and Colin have met a new friend and her mother whom they are staying with. I’m anxious to see what happens on the rest of the road trip maybe the two boys will decide to stay where they are comfortable.
ReplyDeleteColin and Hassan are a perfect example of “opposites attract”. Colin is a child prodigy and soaks up information like a sponge. Colin says that most people remember the information they find interesting but he finds everything interesting so he can remember a lot. He uses what he knows to his ability. One of Colin’s favorite things to do is anagram words or phrases. He will randomly anagram because he finds it amusing. Colin is very smart but sometimes lacks common sense. Colin only dates girls named Katherine. I’m not quite sure yet but he won’t date anyone with a different name. Hassan on the other hand doesn’t think any girls are interested in him. He tends to be on the heavier side and is very self conscious. Colin keeps Hassan on his feet. Hassan is lucky to have Collin because he doesn’t have much confidence. Hassan isn’t as quite as smart as Colin but he can make it through school. Colin and Hassan both teach each other valuable things. I think that the two boys balance each other out.
The author of my books, John Green, has a simple style of writing. John Green uses a lot of dialogue in his books. Of the two books “Looking for Alaska” and “An Abundance of Katherines” John Green tends to use dialogue to express the feeling of the characters in his book. The descriptions of the characters are told by other characters within the dialogue. In his book “An Abundance of Katherines” John green uses foot notes in his writing got explain more complex things. The footnotes describe a lot of real life facts that can be interesting to the reader.
ReplyDeleteThe point of view in the books I have ha varied. The point of view has been first and third person. I think it is easier to understand his writing in first person. The style of his writing gives his readers the understanding of the mood of the entire book.
For my author study project I have been putting my thoughts together in hopes that I will be able to produce a visual to attract the audiences attention. I plan at this point to make a two sided visual that will explain the comparison to John Green's life and his writing. On one side of my visual I will explain John Green's life and the events that may relate to his books. On the other side I will explain his books and what events in his life that actually relate to the books I read.
ReplyDeleteThis visual will be best for my author because it will catch the audiences attention trying to figure out what real life events come into play in his novels. Through this project I have learned about my author and how to compare literary works.
While doing this project I had a better understanding for comprehending the book. It made it easier to understand because I was looking for information in the book to answer my author study question. I don’t think this project helped me develop more as a reader than if I would have just read any other books of my choice. This project helped me to understand the author who wrote my books especially after doing research about him. I don’t think this helped me to really communicate with others about the project.
ReplyDeleteThis project definitely helped me to learn more about my author because I got to read about his life and his writing. By paying attention to the details in the book it can reveal information about the author. This project helps to organize information because you are looking for particular details about the book and the authors writing. It helped me gain organizational skills because I was focused on organizing my information for my project.