Mikayla

=Mikayla's Reading Log= 1/19/11 pg. 1-123* I cannot relate to Pi. I do like the way the author, Yann Martel, shifts places/times frequently throughout the book. This style can get confusing, but it also gives you foreshadowing and flashbacks. I also like the unusual characteristicts that Pi has; he is definately not your average character. An important passage is in Chapter ? where Pi is showed the danger of the tiger. This is important when he is on the lilfeboat with a tiger (Richard Parker). Chapter 23 is also an important passage because it really intoduces Pi's religions which affect him very much throughout the book. Chapter 36 is also important because it is foreshadowing and assures you what will happen, even if this part is thrown at you suddenly. I do not understand why the author chooses to write the way he does, or why Pi has three religions. That part is kind of confusing.

1/26/11 pg. 124-236* Pi is a really interesting character. We learned that sections throughout the book that are in italics are the author talking about Pi and the inspiration for the story. Chapter 61 is important because it is Pi stopping being a vegetarian in order to survive and it has that feel of "people will do things against what they're used to to survive." This comes up more often in later chapters. Chapter 70 is inportant because it is Pi getting along with Richard Parker. I wonder if Pi's parents made it out alive and also when the beginning of the book takes place: before or after the shipwreck.

2/10/11 pg. 237*-end The end of this book really catches you off guard! (I won't give any spoilers!) Yann Martel has basically stopped the sections in italics where he describes the making of this story. There are some very pivotal moments in this last section. Chapter 90 is one of these points, and it is when Pi comes across another man stranded in the Pacific on a lifeboat just like Pi. It is an extremely unusual chapter: not by the writing style but by the chapter's subject. Chapter 92 is another important passage and it is when Pi's lifeboat lands on an island. The island is different, though, and he doesn't stay for long...

2/25/11 pg. 1-155 We just started a new book, __Code Orange__. It is a different style of writing than the other books we have been reading; it is very straight forward and doesn't use a lot of unusual language or style. Technology plays a large part in this book. Chapter 9, where Mitty is giving his scabs on the internet, is really important because I am guessing that's how the bioterrorists knew who he was and that they could use his scabs to infect the world. Chapter 12 is also important because that is where the CDC interviews Olivia and she realizes that her boyfriend is missing. I wonder why the author chose to write about a boy who was carefree and something bad suddenly happened; it seems like a cliche.

3/4/11 pg. 156-end This book was not one of my favorite books. However, this may come from the fact that I prefer fantasy. I think you could predict what would happen most of the time in this book. I wonder how much research the author had to do to write this book; there are a lot of references to things that actually happened. I think that the ending of this book was disappointing and not what I expected. However, the one interesting thing about that book is that you have to pay attention to passages because they are bound to appear later on.

4/21/11 pg. 1- 244 We have started a new book, __I Am Number Four__ by Pittacus Lore. John, the main character, is an alien from the planet Lorien. He is always on the move and changes identities often. When he moves to Ohio, he wants to finally have a more permanent home. John finds friends and a girlfriend, but he knows he won't be able to stay for long. This book is from the perspective of John, but there is a 'prologue' at the beginning that shows a part where John was not there. I guessed that this is how Number 3 died; it provides a look into what John is running from but will eventually have to face. Chapter 4 is important because it is John making friends with Sarah, which makes him not want to leave. The same goes for Chapter 7 where he makes friends with Sam, further tying John to the small Ohio town of Paradise.

__4/28/11__ 245-end Because the rest of my group was unable to get a hold of this book (the school libraries are closing down for the end of the year), I finished __I Am Number Four__. I really enjoyed it; I love sci-fi and fantasy. This book is a must read to any who haven't already. It is packed with action and a little romance (a little more than I would have prefered, but it set the scenes for the conflicts and climax). The parts that I most enjoyed in this book (and continued to reread them) are where John uses his Legacies and then has to invent a wild cover story to tell his friends so they won't know he's an alien. I think anyone who likes fantasy would enjoy __I Am Number Four__.


 * my book has different page numbers than the rest of my group; I have a hardcover.*