Summer Assignment part 4

The reason I chose this book off the list is that I like dystopian stories a lot weather it be Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep better known as Blade Runner or Brazil, mainly being I like stories of a crumbling society that the citizens are oblivious too because they often turn into a political satire as a warning message that could happen. Also I like the idea of an alternate universe with an alternate history, because it's fun to see how things change , to give an example they drink Croca Cola instead of Coke. I also thought the title was pretty cool because that it was brought me too the book because with a title like Maggot Moon I thought it sounded like that was going to be more science fiction and it kind of is but isn't. The connections I make with the character is that Standish in the story is an outcast that everyone thinks is weird and when I was younger I wasn't very social and was very shy and was kind of an outcast based on what I like. 

The people I would recommend this book to would be people who like Dystopian stories like Brazil which is the vibe I got off this story, I would also recommend it to people who like a slow burn because the story while having short chapters isn't the paced fast and doesn't pick up till about half way through the book. Over all I liked the book and I am sure that some people would call this book boring so you have to go into it with the mind set that this isn't the most action packed book and at some points can get predictable if your familiar with the dystopian genre. I also want to make it clear this book is not for everyone because the way the chapters are which is each one last two to three short pages and goes back and fourth between the past and present, so if your annoyed by that then you will hate this book.  

Summer Assignment part 3

The section of the book I am using is in the rising action section of the book because up to this point it was kind of slow because up to this point it was setting everything up and introducing us to the characters, then it gets to this point were they are setting up what will become the main problem of the story
 " I told the Greenfly who was in charge of us that I had been expelled. He said nothing. I don’t think they cover what to do with uncooperative pupils in their manual. Every boy in the class had his head down. I was an undesirable among the sheep. I returned to my desk. I felt stupid and didn’t know what to do, so I lifted the lid. There was a note pinned inside. It was written in big words so that I, who can’t read, could read it. YOU AND YOUR GRANDFATHER ARE IN GRAVE DANGER. TONIGHT THE OBSTRUCTORS WILL COME FOR THE VISITOR." Gardner, Sally (2013-02-12). Maggot Moon (pp. 107-108). Candlewick.
This section sets the story in motion because him getting expelled leads to something and the message is setting up the Obstructors, which are the big bad guys. Now this isn't the big thing that lights the fires of the story but at about half way through the book this was at least a spark for what will happen later on in the story. I also thought that this works as a quickly paced scene that makes you want to know what happens before and what happens after it. I also thought it worked as a build to a jump scare were it builds and builds till it finally is just like pow something really big happens and this is one of those build up steps that works better if you read what happens later on.

The context in which the section I chose was that our main character Standish got blamed for the death of a little kid but it was actually a teacher that killed the kid and after an interview with a hooded figure he gets expelled and this happens. To deal with terminology the green fly is kind of the police unit of the mother land, and the obstructors are set up as the big bad government earlier on in the story. Immediately after this happens the big conspiracy in the story starts as it goes into the crumbling fake utopia that is really a dystopia. So this is in terms of a dystopian story this is the part were our hero finds out the big bad government has something to hide and people are disappearing and minor villains are being replaced with major threats and the secret police are on the heroes case as he digs deeper into the conspiracy. That's all I can say about what happens afterwards because other wise I would be spoiling a lot.

Summer Assignment part 2 Maggot Moon by Sally Gardener

Standish is a character that has a complicated relation ship with most of the people he knows,
like with his teacher Mr. Gunnel the teacher is mean and abusive towards him and he takes until Mr. Gunnel beats a kid to death. Then Standish loses it starts to punch him and afterwards Mr. Gunnel blames the beating on Standish but the kid that's been beating Standish sticks up for him and tells on Mr. Gunnel, they believe him but even after this due to unexplained reasons Standish ends up being expelled from school , and this point shows him going from kind of a wimpy kid to a courageous person willing to stand up to his teacher, and the fact that has bully helps him out that has beat him up and hazed him up to this point. An interesting character moment is that  he doesn't even care when he watches Mr. Gunnel get killed, and in fact just keeps going on about his business, he isn't happy or anything it's just oh a teacher that killed a kid just got shot.

 The themes running through the book is one of a Dystopian theme, the big bad government that one person will stand up to as the voice of hope. The reason because while I like the book it is on the same path of most Dystopia books I've read were the wise old man gives an idea of freedom to the protagonist. Also how you should be mindful of what you let the people that lead you do and what powers you give them because it asks that age old question of how much your willing to give up for safety and allowing the big bad government regulating every part of your life setting curfews and if you disobey your sent to what they call a Maggot which hasn't been explained what it is but I have guesses based on the route the book has gone so far. Another theme that runs through is breaking the mold because the character while depicted to their world as dumb is quite complex and smart even if he can't read or write but can still function and is smarter then most think, and he thinks differently then everyone.

The way the book is structured is its told from the first person from the point of view of Standish, I like this because in the first person you get to know almost everything about the character versus third person you have to get to know a tone of characters and get in the mood for that character, not to say I don't like third person and in fact when done right it can be enjoyable. The book jumps back and fourth between the present and the past were at a moments notice you jump to a flash back for a while and then back to the present. Another structuring point is that so far each chapter is only 3 pages and the text is medium sized so it makes it more  readable were just after 3 pages you can put it down very easily. Overall I like how the book is structured and I do enjoy the book so far.  

Summer assignment Part 1 Maggot Moon by Sally Gardener

To start off as of writing this post and the next I am 50% through the book so this won't be the most comprehensive post about the book also the there might be some spoilers throughout, not that there are many things to spoil. To start the main character of the book is Standish Treadwell the way they describe him is a 15 year old who can't read or write, and at first they display him as kid of a wimp always needing to be rescued by his friend Hector, then later on due to some events he gets some courage and stands up to a major authority figure when he is pushed to far, another trait he has is that when he was little his parents just upped and disappeared leaving him to be raised by his Grandfather.  Another major character is Standishe's grandfather who is referred to as Gramps so far, and throughout the book he is depicted as a paranoid old man who bends the rules for the welfare of his Grandson and he really isn't a fan of the authoritative figures in the book. One of the other major characters in the book is Standishe's best friend Hector Lush who is smart, courageous, and kind of smart aleck about the authoritative figures almost the complete polar opposite of Standish , and since the story jumps back and forth between flashbacks and the present, in the present he has disappeared. The villain pretty much up to the point I read to was Standishe's teacher Mr. Gunnel who is evil towards Standish, caning him for no good reason, and has a very stern attitude towards him, and purposely sabotages him, he is also a guy that has blind loyalty to his country, he also does some things that are kind of shocking that I will go into detail about later.

The setting of the book is an alternate 1956 in witch the characters live in this place called the motherland and specifically the characters live in zone 7 which is all bombed out with few houses standing, and everything crumbling around them, and behind them is a restricted area that Standish frequents as a play area with Hector. A prediction I can make is that in that restricted area there is this wall and I predict that there is some secret government that Standish will stand up against and become a symbol of hope. The question I have is what country does the Motherland represent because I know that is what Russia is referred to but from the sounds of it could be taking place in the US so that is the big question. Also another question I have  were is Hector because he just disappears randomly no rhyme or reason and is probably going to be a major plot point. Some connections I can make are to other Dystopian works such as George Orwells 1984, or The Giver or the movie Brazil all showing the a bleak vision of the world in shambles with people trying to pick up the pieces. Also I can connect the Fallout videogame series because they both take place in a alternate 1950s setting.

Second Trimester: Blogger Reflection

The Post I will be using for this reflection will be my Book Vs. Movie 2 post, because movies are my strongest suit because I can talk about them all day. The word or phrase that shows my voice in here would be this line" like the helicopter crashing into the building is a lot more suspenseful in the movie then it was in the book because you see the spectacular explosion  that John Mclane has to jump off the roof to dodge and then smash through a window.". This line shows my voice because I like to describe things like explosions and action, and I like to describe it in the fun and almost loud and over the top way. The way my personality is shown is that if people know me they know I go over the top with a lot of things and in the book it is more subtle then kaboom! Boom! Pow!, also they know I can get real passionate when it comes to films and other kind's of media. Also in my own writing shows that over the top and action like style were when I write my stories I like to put description of certain things like the big scare, like the  beaten up and bloodied camper walks through the forest as she continues to trudge over the twigs and leaves and as she passes the dark decrepit oak tree as the big grizzly blue monster jumps out extending it's claws, going for the slash as the camper dodges it and starts to run but falls on that one stick.

The type of Diction I used in the piece the most would be low or informal diction. The reason I use this type of diction is that I like things to be either real fast and kind of informal or things to be slowed down and formal, and the first of the two excites people more, and actually works as a good pay off to the slow build. An example of informal diction would be "Overall right now I think that the movie is better then the book and that is because John Mclane is a lot more action hero like and fun were as in the book Joe Leland makes you realize just how serious the events in the book are" The syntax I use is sentence length because I have been known to have long rambly kind of sentences rather then a quick just the basics.  The example in the post I will use to show this is " The characters are different then at the beginning because now in the book Joe has gone from being alone by himself to having this cop talk to him over a radio from the parking lot, in the movie they have the whole police squad show up and they are telling him not to be a vigilante." Over all I do think my diction an syntax is simple but at the same time gets the point across cut and dry, and also that going into detail can help the piece but can also hurt it.

Henry Ray has Escaped Setting

The setting of the book so far is a prison that Henry is being exucuted at becuase he is a serial killer and they sentenced him to death. The first part so far has him in his dark dingy cell and they walk him down a long cooridoor to the electric chair, because he is the last person i kentucky to be fried in the electric chair room. The room itself is dusty and dark because he is the first exucution in a long time and when they pull the switch the room gets a glow of electricity flowing through it. The setting right now is important to the fact that he is in prison for murder vut otherwise it is also were he "dies".
The prison so far isn't that important becuase from the looks of the cover and the back of the book it changes the majority of the stting to the woods, but I haven't got that far in the book so who knows the thing could take place in space or end with a killer teddy bear being the killer and not Henry Ray, I don't know. Overall the setting is supposed to be scary and it does kind of make your spine tingle but it's not run out the room you have to read the book with all the lights on and a self defense weapon in hand. Overall I like the setting but I think I need to read more to get the main setting of the book.

Henry Ray Has Escaped/ Reason I chose the book

The reason I chose to read this book is it is a horror book, not only a horror book but a slasher book, that sells itself as a throw back to the 80's slasher film. The reason that excites me is that I am a big slasher fan and I do genuinely like these movies and this is a love letter to all the Friday The 13th, or Halloween. Also the book itself was advertised on Fear Net as a slasher book so I thought I would get it off Amazon because the book sounds interesting. Another thing is the title just sounds awesome to me because they add the tag line that now he's back and that just screams slasher to me as a slasher fan. Also the book is around 267 pages so it would be a quicker read then the last book I read because the text was small so it was hard to read and that's why it took so long, so I want to wind down with some simple easy to understand horror book. Another thing I can think of is that the book is independently published and I like supporting independent arts, because without being small these writers and other artist can't get big. The other thing is that the story of a guy is executed then comes back to his child hood woods to go and kill anyone that trespasses on his woods so it sounds simplistic but that can still be a fun read for me as a slasher fan. My final and probably main reason was that the book is the shortest horror book I have read in a long time compared to a Steven King book that I read and this on the other hand is as simplistic as the slasher films it is paying tribute but not directly ripping the whole genre off and making fun of the genre but instead paying homage to horror movies.