Firelight: Sophie Jordan
By: Caysi Simpson
The book I chose to read for my choice book report was the book Firelight, by Sophie Jordan. First of all, before I begin, I just want to say that this book was AMAZING!! All fingers up!! Anyways, the main character’s name is Jacinda. On the outside she normally looks like a regular teenage girl, but she holds a dark secret. Jacinda is normal height with fiery red hair, the kind a lot of people dye to get. The first personality I would describe for Jacinda is that she is very passionate. She is passionate for a couple of things. One thing Jacinda is passionate about is her secret. Jacinda is a draki, a type of dragon. And after her surroundings change, Jacinda will do anything to keep her draki alive within her. She is passionate about the powers it gives her, and most of all the freedom. Not only that, but she has to keep it a secret, so she is passionate about keeping her lips sealed; otherwise her draki (and possibly her) will be killed. Secondly, she is passionate about a boy named Will. She thinks about him constantly, and will put herself in danger to be with him. For example, her mother ORDERED her, with no hesitation, to stay home and not go on her date with Will. But Jacinda just snuck out the window, even though she knew there would be consequences later. The second characteristic of her is that she is daring/reckless, which isn’t the best thing. An example is in the beginning of the book, she risked transforming into a draki in daylight even though she knew that the hunters would be looking to kill her. She risked her life for a little moment of happiness. Lastly, she is ignorant. Not only of herself, but of the ones she cares about. There were instances in the book when I would be upset with her because it seemed like she didn’t care if everyone around her was miserable, just as long as she was happy. When she went into hiding with her mortal human mother and sister, they were happy. They were finally getting the normal life they’d always dreamed about. But Jacinda was miserable, she couldn’t transform into a draki, and she felt trapped. She kept risking voyages so she could transform, which put her mother and sister in danger. It made her happy, and she didn’t seem to care about anything but that.
I think that the author chose to put it in Jacinda’s point of view not only because the book is about her, but because I don’t think you would fully understand the plot of the book if it weren’t in Jacinda’s point of view. You wouldn’t feel the emotions that were intended. It was important to have the story be from her point of view because you need to know the situation she was living in. You needed to understand how trapped she felt, how going into hiding took every strength in her body, how if she took one wrong step, her life would be in jeopardy. If it were from anyone else’s point of view, the book wouldn’t be the same. First of all, because whenever something dangerous was happening to Jacinda, the author explained in detail how her heart would pound, how her breathing would halt, and how her thoughts would race. I think the author put it in Jacinda’s point of view because if it weren’t in Jacinda’s point of view, then you wouldn’t really get to KNOW her. You wouldn’t know the thoughts that echoed through her mind. In my opinion, if you don’t know Jacinda, then you won’t fully get the book plot. At the very beginning of the book, when Jacinda is going against rules to be a draki in daylight, it is extremely important to have the book be from her point of view. When she turns draki, the hunters see and start to chase her. It explains in Jacinda’s words and thoughts how she must use her instincts, strength, and control to escape alive. If it were written in the hunters’ point of view, then all you’d get out of it is that it’s a wild chase for a so called “mythical” creature that’s skin would look great on your furniture. If it were written in the hunters’ point of view you wouldn’t know that drakis are harmless creatures just longing for freedom. And if it were just the authors point of view and no characters’, then you wouldn’t understand the emotions of ANY character, which I think would make the book way more boring because you wouldn’t be able to fully visualize what’s happening, or feel what the character was feeling. Sophie Jordan did an amazing job in writing this book, but sadly I have to wait till September 2011 for the sequel to come out.
This is 821 words long!
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Book Report #3
BOOK REPORT #3: Caysi Simpson
I read Princess of the Midnight Ball, by Jessica Day George. This book is told from the view of two different people, so there are two main characters I can talk about. The first character is a 19 year old girl named Rose. She is a princess of the village Bruch, eldest of her eleven younger sisters. Rose has dirty blonde hair, and to most she looks much older than she actually is. One way I would described Rose is responsible. She is responsible because for one she is the eldest and therefore has the most responsibilities as a princess. Also, since her mother passed on she has to fill in with her Father, King Gregor. The biggest reason is because every 3 nights, she and her eleven sisters have to go down a magical staircase to the land of King Under Stone. This is the place where they must dance from midnight till dawn for this evil King. This shows Rose is responsible because it is she who gives her sisters the strength to go this underground world. It is Rose who makes sure they return back home to the real world safely each night. Another word to describe Rose is brave. Being the eldest of twelve Rose has to stay brave and strong through all their duties as a princess. And it is Rose who, in the end, uses bravery to break the spell of their curse with King Under Stone. She risks her life to save her sisters, so that they no longer have to live their cursed life. Plus, in my opinion it takes bravery to even step INTO the underworld. One goal of Rose’s is obviously to free her and sisters from the curse. They can’t tell anyone of this curse, and get little sleep because of it. With bravery, responsibility, love, and determination, in the end they are freed from their curse.
The second main character was a 19 year old boy named Galen. Now, OBVIOUSLY 19 year old Rose plus 19 year old Galen HAS to equal something, but you’d have to read the book to find out! Anyways, Galen has short, brown hair, and is extremely tan (because he WAS a soldier who fought in the army, so he was outside a lot). One characteristic of Galen is that he is sweet. I think he is sweet because when he got a job as one of the King’s gardeners and met Rose, he sent her a shawl and flowers to show Rose that he cared about her and thought about her. Also, towards the end of the book he risked his life to save her and her sisters from their curse (which he found out about). He didn’t care if he died, just as long as the princesses survived. Another characteristic of Galen is that he is brave, like Rose. A reason is because he was in the army, and when you are in the army it takes heart and bravery to survive and fulfill your duty. And at only 19, I think that is a big commitment for Galen, but he did his duty without complaint and remained strong through it all. Also, Galen followed the princesses down to the underworld and risked his life to save them. The main goal of Galen was to first find out the secret of the princesses and then to save them from it. He fulfilled his duty in the end, and was rewarded greatly.
There were MANY conflicts in the book. One external conflict was that Rose and her eleven sisters were under a curse, and couldn’t tell anyone about it, and had no way out of the curse either (except of course to commit suicide). Every 3rd night they had to go down to the world of a cold hearted, not-even-a-human King, and dance for him. Not only did they have to dance for him, they had to dance with his twelve sons! After years of dancing for him, on top of it all they find out they have to marry the sons! They hoped desperately for a way out, but telling anyone will only harm those people. They searched for years of a way out, but could never find one. When Galen came along, they finally had hope. This is not only an obstacle for all the princesses, but for all the people trying to find out WHAT it is they are hiding as well.
An internal conflict of the character Rose is that she has to take care of all her sisters. I think Rose felt a little guilty, because she couldn’t find a way to free her and her sisters, and being the oldest her sisters looked to her for hope and answers. Rose has to deal with the stress of taking care of her sisters, the duty of being a princess, and the fear of returning to the underworld where there’s almost NO happiness. Rose tries to save them, but she can’t find one. She searches through her mother’s and King Under Stone’s diaries, but the pages with the answers to solve their problems were missing. If I were in Rose’s situation, I would probably do the same thing. I mean, I wish I could say I would do more and free me and my sisters right away, but I got from the book that it wasn’t that simple, and trying to get free meant risking the lives of the ones that I love. I would have searched everywhere; I would have searched for every clue as to what would free me and my sisters. I would also tell my sisters that everything would be alright and that sunshine eventually comes out after a long storm. I would be the best sister and princess I could be. I think the way Rose handled the conflict is exactly how I would have, and it fits the type of person she is. With a little help from Galen, Rose protected her sisters and beat the curse. All it took was a little help from someone with the ability TO help. Rose took hold of things responsibly and using bravery, defeated King Under Stone and saved her and her sisters. This book was extremely good, and it touched my heart.
THIS WAS 1,053 WORDS!!!!*****
THE END.
I read Princess of the Midnight Ball, by Jessica Day George. This book is told from the view of two different people, so there are two main characters I can talk about. The first character is a 19 year old girl named Rose. She is a princess of the village Bruch, eldest of her eleven younger sisters. Rose has dirty blonde hair, and to most she looks much older than she actually is. One way I would described Rose is responsible. She is responsible because for one she is the eldest and therefore has the most responsibilities as a princess. Also, since her mother passed on she has to fill in with her Father, King Gregor. The biggest reason is because every 3 nights, she and her eleven sisters have to go down a magical staircase to the land of King Under Stone. This is the place where they must dance from midnight till dawn for this evil King. This shows Rose is responsible because it is she who gives her sisters the strength to go this underground world. It is Rose who makes sure they return back home to the real world safely each night. Another word to describe Rose is brave. Being the eldest of twelve Rose has to stay brave and strong through all their duties as a princess. And it is Rose who, in the end, uses bravery to break the spell of their curse with King Under Stone. She risks her life to save her sisters, so that they no longer have to live their cursed life. Plus, in my opinion it takes bravery to even step INTO the underworld. One goal of Rose’s is obviously to free her and sisters from the curse. They can’t tell anyone of this curse, and get little sleep because of it. With bravery, responsibility, love, and determination, in the end they are freed from their curse.
The second main character was a 19 year old boy named Galen. Now, OBVIOUSLY 19 year old Rose plus 19 year old Galen HAS to equal something, but you’d have to read the book to find out! Anyways, Galen has short, brown hair, and is extremely tan (because he WAS a soldier who fought in the army, so he was outside a lot). One characteristic of Galen is that he is sweet. I think he is sweet because when he got a job as one of the King’s gardeners and met Rose, he sent her a shawl and flowers to show Rose that he cared about her and thought about her. Also, towards the end of the book he risked his life to save her and her sisters from their curse (which he found out about). He didn’t care if he died, just as long as the princesses survived. Another characteristic of Galen is that he is brave, like Rose. A reason is because he was in the army, and when you are in the army it takes heart and bravery to survive and fulfill your duty. And at only 19, I think that is a big commitment for Galen, but he did his duty without complaint and remained strong through it all. Also, Galen followed the princesses down to the underworld and risked his life to save them. The main goal of Galen was to first find out the secret of the princesses and then to save them from it. He fulfilled his duty in the end, and was rewarded greatly.
There were MANY conflicts in the book. One external conflict was that Rose and her eleven sisters were under a curse, and couldn’t tell anyone about it, and had no way out of the curse either (except of course to commit suicide). Every 3rd night they had to go down to the world of a cold hearted, not-even-a-human King, and dance for him. Not only did they have to dance for him, they had to dance with his twelve sons! After years of dancing for him, on top of it all they find out they have to marry the sons! They hoped desperately for a way out, but telling anyone will only harm those people. They searched for years of a way out, but could never find one. When Galen came along, they finally had hope. This is not only an obstacle for all the princesses, but for all the people trying to find out WHAT it is they are hiding as well.
An internal conflict of the character Rose is that she has to take care of all her sisters. I think Rose felt a little guilty, because she couldn’t find a way to free her and her sisters, and being the oldest her sisters looked to her for hope and answers. Rose has to deal with the stress of taking care of her sisters, the duty of being a princess, and the fear of returning to the underworld where there’s almost NO happiness. Rose tries to save them, but she can’t find one. She searches through her mother’s and King Under Stone’s diaries, but the pages with the answers to solve their problems were missing. If I were in Rose’s situation, I would probably do the same thing. I mean, I wish I could say I would do more and free me and my sisters right away, but I got from the book that it wasn’t that simple, and trying to get free meant risking the lives of the ones that I love. I would have searched everywhere; I would have searched for every clue as to what would free me and my sisters. I would also tell my sisters that everything would be alright and that sunshine eventually comes out after a long storm. I would be the best sister and princess I could be. I think the way Rose handled the conflict is exactly how I would have, and it fits the type of person she is. With a little help from Galen, Rose protected her sisters and beat the curse. All it took was a little help from someone with the ability TO help. Rose took hold of things responsibly and using bravery, defeated King Under Stone and saved her and her sisters. This book was extremely good, and it touched my heart.
THIS WAS 1,053 WORDS!!!!*****
THE END.
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