Liesel just moved in with new foster parents that live on Himmel (Heaven) Street. As Death explains, this is much of a joke to anyone who lives on Himmel because it is far from any kind of Heaven. Quite often, the Nazi troops march through the street, as a type of parade, being cheered and adored by the Nazi supporters, and clapped to slowly by the Jewish side of the street. Death often pulls the reader out of the story to give his own opinion or to describe something that relates to the story.
" **A PHOTO OF HIMMEL STREET**
The buildings appear to be glued together, mostly small houses
and apartment blocks that look nervous.
There is murky snow spread out like carpet.
There is concrete, empty hat-stand trees, and gray air. "
This excerpt from Death tells me that it is a very compact street, and too small for the number of people that live there. When Death says that the apartment blocks looked nervous, that implies that everything is falling apart and it almost is trying to hide itself from something bigger. Himmel Street sounds like a dark, gloomy, and an unhappy place to live. The kids that live there don't really seem to notice, except for Liesl. She knows that there is something going on, due to her foster Papa leaving everynight with just his accordian case, and then coming back late every night.
My questions:
Where does Papa go every night?
When are Liesl's opinions on the Nazis?
What will the relationship between Liesl & Rudy turn out to be?
Have you read Paper Towns? Have you ever wanted to get your hands on a notebook like Margo's? Well now you can! If you have information or secrets that you need somewhere to put, get this notebook! You could even try to write cross-hatch, like Margo. Don't know how? A guide of how to write in crosshatch will be included. John Green has allowed us to include Margo's story in the first few pages! So now you can get an exclusive look into the 10 year old mind of Margo Roth Spiegelman.
Margo has been writing a story about finding Robert Joyner with Quentin since she was 10. Robert Joyner committed suicide in the park, and was found by Margo and Quentin. She wrote Quentin in as the heroic and fearless boy whom Margo has a major crush on. Margo has been rewriting and revising the story since. "She pulls open the book and shows me a page. The writing is indecipherable, not because Margo's handwriting is bad, but because on top of the horizontal lines of text, writing also goes vertically down the page. "I write crosshatch," Margo says." (290) Margo has her plans for leaving and plans for revenge in the notebook. She needed to keep her ideas safe, if anyone ever got their hands on her notebook.
“You know your problem, Quentin? You keep expecting people not to be themselves." This was said by Radar, Quentins bestfriend. Throughout his childhood, Quentin idolized Margo, and thought she was perfection. Then, the night when Margo left, Quentin was confused and angry. He thought that Margo and him were close, but for Margo to leave, not telling him, it made him angry. Whenever Margo was found, Quentin realized she would always be the same Margo and she could never be any more or any less than she was. Margo had finally gotten an ending to her story, and now you can too! Finish out your Paper Towns experience with this fan-exclusive content by Margo herself!
I just started reading The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. So far, I have found out that the book is narrated by Death. He begins to tell the story of the times he has seen the book thief. The first is when the thiefs brother dies. Death comes to pick his soul up from a train, but does something he usually doesnt do, he stays with her and her mother. The second time is when her mother and her bury the boy. This is where the girl steals her first book. Then, Death tells how the mother takes the daughter to a foster home on Himmel Street. The mother has some kind of condition that she has to keep paying to get better, and she can no longer support her children. This book is interesting to me and I am excited to continue reading. I want to learn what happens to the book thief at the foster home. Will she ever see her mother again? When will Death next see her? I also want to see the movie, but only after I finish the book.
I just finished Paper Towns. I was so dissapointed with the ending. There was a lot of build up in the last 50 or so pages and then it didn't really lead to anything. I was not expecting the ending to be like that, and I think that is part of why I was so dissapointed. I wanted a romantic, lovey happy ending or a tragic, heartbroken conclusion, but it wasn't really either. I think part of why I was so dissapointed is because while reading, I made up what I wanted to happen before I finished the book. So when nothing at all happened like I thought it should, I was dissapointed. That doesn't make it a bad book, it just doesn't have an ending good enough to satisfy me.
A book is an empty sketchpad. When you get a blank piece of
paper, you doodle, you draw, you write, and by the end, it is not a blank paper
anymore. When you read a book, you think and it can change your opinion and you
can learn, and you aren’t the exact same person you were before you read the
book. To me, the format of the book doesn’t matter. I have a Kindle that I like
to use but I also like a paperback too. A book shouldn’t be defined by what is
holding all the words together, but rather, the actual words. One thing I like
about an e-reader is that it is most of the time lighter and more mobile than a
book. Something I like about a paperback is seeing your progress by the pages
on the left side, not by a percentage. A good time to have an actual book (by actual
book, I mean paper book, not an e-reader) is if you are reading to a group of
kids from a picture book. It can be hard for them to see the pictures if they
are further away. Some of my favorite times were spent with my cousin reading
with her from my Kindle. With one or two people, the Kindle is easy to see and
use. Another thing good about a Kindle is that if you have vision problems, you
can change the font, color of the page, and font size to make it easier on your
eyes. I like the sound a book makes when you flip the pages, and the spine
cracks a little when you close it. That is something you just can't get with an
e-reader. So what is a book? Words put together to tell a story. It doesn’t
matter where the words are.
Margo Roth Spiegelman is a character in Paper Towns. Quentin (the narrator and main character) has been in love with Margo since they were kids. Now that they are in high school, they have grown apart, but Quentin has remained hopelessly in love. They didn't talk for quite a long time until one night Margo broke out of her house and snuck up to Quentin's window, asking him to come with her on a night adventure that included breaking into Sea World, breaking into 2 peoples houses and one persons car. After that night, Margo disappeared. Quentin and his two best friends (Ben & Radar) have found various hints that they are trying to use to follow and eventually find Margo. The boys and Ben's girlfriend, Lacey, found an abandoned minimall that had evidence that Margo had been alive after her night with Q. One night, Radar and Q were in the minimall and found a map that Margo had not intended for them to find. It had 5 small holes that they used to find 5 locations. Q uses that information to find Agloe, New York. Agloe was a 'paper town', as Margo named it (a town that had been abandoned before it was actually built). For graduation, Q got a car, so the boys and Lacey all skipped graduation for a 19 hour drive from Florida to Agloe. Will Margo even be there? If she is, will she even be alive?
A major theme of TFiOS is that love is bigger than any struggle. "He
nodded. “So I went in for a pet scan." He stopped. He yanked the cigarette
out of his mouth and clenched his teeth. Much of my life had been devoted to
trying not to cry in front of people who loved me, so I knew what Augustus was
doing." (213) (Green) This is right before Gus told Hazel that his cancer was back. Cancer is one of the main struggles in TFiOs, and Augustus' grenade was detonating. He was going to try to fight the cancer but he knew already that his life was coming to an end. The cancer had spread all throughout his body, and he knew that he couldn't win like he did with his osteosarcoma. Augustus had spent the whole relationship being strong for Hazel during her lung draining, and pneumonia scare and everything else that she had been through. Then, when the tables were turned back on him, it was really difficult for him to know how and when to tell Hazel. I think he waited until they got to Amsterdam because he knew Hazel would insist they didn't go so that he could start treatment. It was one of their last good memories together until the 'Last Good Day' in the Literal Heart of Jesus. Even after (spoiler alert) Augustus' funeral, Hazel still loves him, and she always will. If love can conquer death, it can conquer anything.
Article:
The Fault in Our Stars
On paper, The Fault In Our Stars should have been the most gut-wrenching and depressing book in the YA canon: Two teens, Hazel Grace Lancaster and Augustus Waters, meet in a cancer support group and, despite Hazel knowing she only has a little bit of time left, manage to fall for each other in a spirited, fully engrossing love story. The book is sad, yes, but it’s a triumph of author John Green’s plot, heightened teen-speak dialogue, and humorous moments that manage to make the tale a phenomenon (a movie version, starring Shailene Woodley, hits theaters next June), as opposed to a high school reading list tale that many will take great pains to avoid.
It’s no wonder that, like Hazel’s favorite story An Imperial Affliction, once you read the story it stays with you. It’s not enough to enjoy in silence; many readers are discovering that they’ve also got to get all their friends on board as well.
There wasn’t much surprise among the EW staff that the recent hit made it far. But going back over the pages, it’s easy to see that this story, while popular, isn’t just a flavor of the week; it’s enduring. There are so many standout scenes in the 318-paged tale. America’s Next Top Model-loving Hazel, with her awkward teen vulnerability got readers on her side, while Augustus and his witty bravado makes both teens and their moms swoon. The duo’s Genies-sponsored trip to Amsterdam, which includes champagne! and reclusive author Peter Van Houten! and Anne Frank’s house! and happiness! and devastation! is unforgettable.
To say more would spoil what is truly a literary treat best discovered for yourself. But ultimately, Fault In Our Stars is greater than the sum of its parts. The story between two teens elevates into teaching us about one of the very best and most confusing parts of the human condition — the power of love.
Okay? Okay.
This article tells a brief summary of TFiOS & would really persuade someone to read it. I completely agree with everything that it says in the beginning, it sounds like a horrible story, but John Green turns it into an amazing adventure.
Why doI read? I read for adventure. I read to learn. I read to laugh. I read to cry. Why wouldn't anyone want to read? I have loved to read since I first learned how. I always like to have a book in hand, but as of lately, I don't always have time to sit down and relax with my Kindle or a paperback. One of my favorite reasons to read is that a good book can take you to a different world. If an author uses sensory details, and characterize everyone so you have a clear image of the characters, and make you feel like you are living this story with the characters, that is why I read. I read to expand my vocabulary. If there are words in a book I don't know (which there most times are) I make a list on my bookmark and put the page number with it so that I can eventually look it up and find out what it means. People always ask: What is your favorite book? For me, this is an extremely hard question to answer. I like books for different reasons. I like when books have a point of view that isn't common. Like the Series of Unfortunate Events are written in the authors perspective, but sometimes the author is writing straight to the reader and not about the actual book. That makes me feel very involved in a book. Overall, I prefer books written in first person, but it really doesnt matter. I like realistic fiction, like TFiOS and Perks. I have learned so much about life, people, and history through books. Books are rad.
