Character-August

               One of the characters in Water for Elephants is August. Husband of who Jacob likes, Marlena, and brutal animal trainer for the circus. You really start to see how bad of a man August is when the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth gets an elephant named Rosie. August thinks that Rosie is a dumb elephant because she doesn't follow commands and she only eats all day. But Rosie is actually intelligent, as Jacob finds out, she just doesn't want to listen to August's commands. August is always frustrated with the new elephant and to let out his frustration, he whips her with a bull hook. Marlena, Jacob, and some other circus members see this as harsh and terrible, but the August and audiences who watch the circus thinks it's okay. 

"The audience loves it. Each time Rosie trots ahead of August and stops they roar with laughter. And each time August approaches, red-faced and waving his bull hook, they explode with glee." page 164.

I believe that the audience think that it's all part of the act, being angry at Rosie and all that.

August is a flat character. He has been the same way towards the animals for as long as Jacob has joined the circus and most likely even before that. August also leaves the animals in poor conditions: not feeding them on long trips, giving them spoiled food, and leaving them in hot temperatures. Never has August once considered really taking care of them.

August is also the antagonist. He's obviously keeping Jacob from hooking up with Marlena and prevents him from taking proper care of the circus animals. 

Water for Elephants Update

                  So far I think this book is a fascinating story. The story jumps time to time, from when he's 93 to when he's 23. Jacob was in Cornell University when he received the news that both of his parents died in a car accident. With college too expensive to pay himself and his parents behind on mortgage, Jacob knows he cannot stay in Cornell any longer. Clueless on what to do, he finds himself jumping on a train to somewhere he doesn't know. But the train isn't any ordinary train, it's a circus train for the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth!

Since this book received the Alex Award (2007), it means that this book was written for adults but appealed to young adults. I do agree that this was meant for adults. Some content in this book is not meant for those who aren't young adults. Let's just say that you need to be mature when reading this book...

So far, I can tell that Jacob and Marlena, one of the performers, are going to fall in love. I can see through the book cover and the synopsis on the back cover. I do have to say that this story is a bit confusing. You might have to re-read the text in order to understand what is really happening. If you read too fast, you will miss important details that you need to remember or understand. Also there are many characters you have to keep track of near the beginning of the story.

As the story goes on, I hope that it will get more exciting and capture more of my attention.

My Most Anticipated and Want to Read Books

These are the books that I can't wait to come out!

1.) City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare
                       
This is the 6th and last book to the series of the Mortal Instruments. The first book of this series is called The City of Bones. (The movie of this book came out not too long ago.) In the last book to this series, Clary, Jace, Simon and their other Shadowhunter friends must might together to defeat their greatest enemy: Sebastian. The reason why I can't wait for this book is because the whole series has been an epic thrill ride. Action, romance, and suspense; it has it all.

2.) Allegiant by Veronica Roth

This is the 3rd and final book to the Divergent trilogy. The movie for Divergent is coming out in 2014. Tris Prior now lives in a new society because of power struggles, violence, and many losses. But in her new reality, she discovers new truths and new problems. I cannot wait for this book to come out because of the gripping suspense in the first two books. All the drama, fighting, surprises, and relationships in the previous books makes this one of my highly anticipated books.

3.) The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I recently got this book and heard from many of my friends that it's a great story. The movie of this book is going to be released as a movie in November, 2013. In this story, Liesel Meminger is living in 1939, the time of Nazi Germany. She finds something that she cannot resist, something so great that she has to share it with her neighbors and friends, books. Reviews on Amazon say that it's an outstanding book. Goodreads' users also give it a high rating. The The Book Thief truly sounds like a book worth reading.

Water for Elephants - New book

          
Today, I started reading a new book called Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen. Although I am not far in the book, I have a general idea on what the book is about. The main character is Jacob, and he is 93 now and telling a story from his memory about his life working in a circus.

More information about this book:



•  331 pages
• The genre of the book is historical and part romance. (Fiction)
• Published on the 26th of May, 2006
• Movie of the book was released April 22, 2011
• 2007 Alex Award recieved for this book
• New York Times best seller for 12 weeks
• Due to the bad words that already appeared in the book, I suggest readers should be 13+

Stay tuned to my blog for more details and my opinion on the book!

 

Interested in the movie? Click here to learn more!

 

 

Book Recommendation

 “Insurgent, he says. Noun. A person who acts in opposition to the established authority, who is not necessarily regarded as a belligerent.”

Today, I finished the book Insurgent by Veronica Roth. Being the second book of Divergent, I'm surprised it is still as good as the first book. Overall, the book is as exciting and suspenseful as the last book, though the information near the ending of the book confused me a little.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone but you should read Divergent first in order to understand what is happening in this book. Both guys and girls will like this book because of all the non stop action that happens throughout the book. This book has a bit of romance but still has a lot of unexpected events that make it appealing to many people who have read this book. Pick up this book if you're looking for drama and a thrilling adventure. I would not recommend this book to people who can't stand blood and violence, because this book has a lot of it. People get hurt often because of the faction that Tris, the main character, is in (Dauntless), and all the fighting against the corrupt government they have right now.

Overall, this young adult book may be good for only those who have read the first book. It is easy to read and very addicting, in my opinion, you will finish the book in a snap because you won't be able to put it down. I would give this book a 5 stars out of 5.

Divergent character - Tris Prior

I recently finished the book Divergent by Veronica Roth and I can truly say that it is one of the best books I have ever read. Because of all the action, suspense, and excitement, I could not put this book down. I can't wait for the 3rd and last book to come out this October.

I would like to talk about how Tris (Beatrice) Prior develops over the course of the story. Because she is the protagonist, main character, and narrator, she is the one advancing the plot. As I wrote in my last post, Tris is Divergent and she is in the Dauntless faction. Being Divergent means being able to be "immune" to simulations. Simulations are like dreams except you're injected with a serum that makes you dream. Tris creates drama by making enemies and being able to place first in one of the Dauntless initiation test. The antagonist in this story, Jeanine Matthews, is able to create a mind controlling serum to control the Dauntless and force them to fight for her. Because Tris is Dauntless, she is able to resist the mind controlling serum and help shut down the system controlling everyone.

Tris interacts with other people depending on her feelings for them. For example, Tris is enemies with, Peter and Eric in the Dauntless faction. She dislikes them because Peter is rude and is a jerk to everyone. Eric is a Dauntless leader and wants to change the Dauntless rules to become more competitive and violent, he also acts like a jerk towards everyone. Tris likes Christina, Al, and Will because of they're friendliness towards her and because they also dislike Peter and Eric. Tris is in love with Four, or also known as Tobias,  because of the way he treats her and his like for her back.

Throughout the story, Tris develops from being unsure about being in the Dauntless faction, to being sure that she belongs in that faction but Tris is Divergent, and has accepts being Divergent and not just belonging just to one faction. "I feel like someone breathed new air into my lungs. I am not Abnegation. I am not Dauntless. I am Divergent." (Roth 442) She also acts and thinks differently by the end of the novel: from being scared of the other Dauntless transfers she was competing with who were larger and more muscular to being confident in her abilities and actions. Her change helps her deal with tough simulations to deaths of her fellow friends and family.  By the end of the book, she is both physically and mentally stronger.

Overall, Tris has made visible change, making her a complex character.

"I am no longer Tris, the selfless, or Tris, the brave. I suppose that now, I must become more than either." (Roth 487)

Divergent update

Currently I am on page 260 of Divergent by Veronica Roth, and so far the book has kept me on edge. The story of Tris and her journey is not only exciting, but suspenseful and unexpected. I am not able to put this book down.
Tris is currently in the Dauntless faction which is about being brave and so they have to learn to deal with their fears, fight, use weapons, and lots of training. Four, a Dauntless instructor just found out that Tris is Divergent through a simulation. To be Divergent, is not good. I predict that Four will help keep the secret of Tris being Divergent (because it seems like he likes Tris) but the secret will leak out eventually. When you are a Dauntless, you might be killed if the instructors found out that you were Divergent. I still don't get why it's so bad to be Divergent. Does not being able to be pointed at a specific one faction, make it so that you will be killed? What makes being Divergent so bad in that society? This book also reminds me of the book, The Hunger Games because this is a story about the how society will be like in the future. In the The Hunger Games, the 'Hunger Games' were created to keep the districts from rebelling against government and how people died in the rebellion. In Divergent, the different factions were created for what they believed caused the warring world. Also about how the society is like in the future.
Overall, the book is impossible to stop reading. I can't wait to see what happens next and finish the book.

Click here to see the details of the different factions.