The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: Response #2

I think The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants is definitely a book for girls, and it’s very quick read. This book is ideal for people who don’t get confused by the point of view changing. Most importantly, though, you have to like books about friendship. If you only like mystery, or you only like sci-fi, or you only like action, then this book is not for you. It’s about four girls trying to stay friends during their first summer apart, and going through many challenges along the way. This is more of a romance-y type of novel, so boys probably wouldn’t like it, and if you don’t like the more lovey-dovey type of novels, than this probably will not be your favorite book, or series, seeing as how all four have some type of romance in them.
On a scale of one to ten I would rate this book a nine. The reason I wouldn’t give it a full ten is because some parts got slightly dull, and in some parts, one of the main characters (Carmen) irritated me with some of the decisions that she made, but overall it was an excellent book, and one of the better books that I have read. I love how the author changes her writing style subtly for each of the four main characters – it really adds dimension to the story, because you feel like four different girls wrote their own stories and carefully fitted them together. But yes, a very well-written book, overall.

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants: Response #1

I read the book The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, and what I like about the book is that Ann Brashares (the author) has four main characters, and switches the point of view frequently. If you do that, then the book never gets boring, but you don’t get confused. I also like how the four main characters are so different from each other. The change in personality makes it easier to relate to, and keeps it interesting. It’s harder to relate to a book if the main character is nothing like you, and makes decisions that you never would have made. I suppose the differences expand your thinking, but you get that element with the characters that are different than you.
I have learned a lesson from Lena. Lena is a character who just realized that she was in love with someone, but she didn’t know if he liked her back anymore because of a misunderstanding on her part that caused this whole big thing. Even though she wasn’t sure, she gathered up her courage and went and told him how she felt. I take that to mean that sometimes, even if you’re scared, you have to go for it, or else you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.
I also learned a lesson from a slightly more minor character named Bailer. Tibby, the main character who Bailey befriends, likes this guy Tucker Rowe, but Bailey looks at him differently. Tibby thought he was incredibly cool, but Bailey saw how much gel was in his hair and how he dressed, and she saw how fake he was. She always sees what other people do not, and I realized that I should try to be more like Bailey.

Inkdeath: Character Description #3

I have decided to describe a third character, and that character is Resa. Resa is the wife of Mo, and the mother of Meggie. Resa looks a lot like Meggie, but Resa’s hair got darker. They both piercingly stare at people the same way, too. About ten years ago, Mo accidentally read Resa into Inkheart, where she worked as a scribe, disguised as a man. Mortola discovered that Resa was a woman and imprisoned her as a maid. After about five years, Darius read her out again, but he stuttered over the words, and Resa lost her voice in the Process. She had to work for Capricorn again, but eventually Mo and Meggie rescued her.
After Resa grabs onto Mo while he is being read into the Inkworld, to prevent from being separated again, she gets her voice back, only to almost lose Mo forever.
Resa has a very strong survival instinct, which is why she wants Mo and Meggie to go back to this world with her. She loves Mo very, very much, which is mainly why she wants to go back. Resa thinks that Mo acting the part of The Bluejay is dangerous. She also wants the father of her unborn child to be the same man who raised its sister.
Resa always speaks her mind, and will stop at nothing to protect Mo. She loves Meggie, but Meggie isn’t ready to forgive Resa for going to Orpheus to write them home, because Orpheus almost took Mo from them again.
Resa isn’t one to sit around waiting and worrying. If something needs to be done, then she will do it, she just doesn’t want Mo to do that, she wants him safe at home.
Resa’s goal is to persuade Mo and Meggie to leave the Inkworld, so she can have her baby and the father will be alive and back to normal. She hates that Mo feels that he cannot tell her some things and that he can tell Meggie; like when Mo decided to go to Ombra even though he knew it would be dangerous, and he told Meggie, but not Resa, and then he got captured. Resa was thinking: You could stop him, no one but you could have stopped him, at Meggie in a very accusatory manner. I think she is different from other characters because she risks her own life to try to save her husband’s life.

Inkdeath: Recommendation

I really enjoyed the book. If you like fantasy, this trilogy is definitely for you. I think you have to not mind fantasy to read it, but the book isn’t completely centered on fantasy, though. I think if you found my blog the least bit interesting, you should read Inkheart, Inkspell, and Inkdeath. I have read quite a few books by Cornelia Funke, and I’ve enjoyed them all. Off the top of my head I can think of The Thief Lord, and Dragon Rider, both amazing books.
I would definitely read books on the same topic as this one. I loved this book, but I’m not sure if there are any books on this topic, aside from the previous two books in the trilogy. I really liked the style of writing, but if you don’t like the point of view coming from many different characters, this book is not for you. It can get a little confusing at times, but it’s not too bad. I think I rose up a lot of questions during my whole book report, so if you don’t really understand it, I would recommend reading it. The plot is very complex, and hard to explain without directly summarizing the book. It is a very thick book, which may be a turnoff to some people, but if you don’t mind thick books, I would strongly recommend the trilogy.
I like how it is in first person point of view. It would be hard to understand the characters’ feelings if it wasn’t. In the near future I think I will be looking for more books by Cornelia Funke. She is a very descriptive author, and she has a very avid imagination. I love a book that I can get lost in, and Inkdeath is a very lose-yourself-in-the-pages type of book. The vocabulary is sort of extensive, but shouldn’t pose a problem to many people. If you decide to read this book, you have to remember – Mo, Mortimer, Silvertongue, and The Bluejay are all the same person! Comment if you decide to read the book, I want to hear how you like it! If you’ve already read it, feel free to comment on why you liked it.

Inkdeath: Conflicts

There are about three main conflicts. The first being that The Adderhead is immortal. This is a bad thing because The Adder is a cruel and ruthless tyrant who enjoys killing people. Mo had a plan that would kill The Adderhead, but it did not quite work out. While Mo was binding the book, he moistened every tenth page, which made the book swell and rot, and eventually would have destroyed the book, and The Adderhead along with it. However, someone found a way to stop the process. They soaked the book in fairy blood. So now, The Adderhead also wants to torture The Bluejay, and then kill him, after he binds him a new book, of course.
The second conflict being that Death – or The Great Shape-shifter – is going to kill Mo if he doesn’t kill The Adderhead by the end of Winter, but also will take Meggie’s life, along with Dustfinger’s, too. Meggie’s because she helped Mo to bind the book, and Dustfinger’s because Mo wanted to bring him back from the dead, and Death allowed him to do so. Mo started binding The Adderhead a new book, not intending to finish it, and Jacopo brings Mo the old Book and a small pencil. Jacopo says that his grandfather sent him, but really, he stole it when The Adder was asleep. Mo writes the three words: Heart, Spell, and Death. The Adderhead, already in poor health, died. After that, Mo killed The Piper as well, and escaped.
The third main conflict is that Resa wants to go back to this world, and Mo does not. Resa does not want to live in such a chaotic world, and she wants her baby to be born in a peaceful world. Resa doesn’t know about the deal with Death, but Mo has to stay and kill The Adderhead, or else He and Meggie will both be claimed by Death. Mo also wants to live in this world because he likes living in it, and Meggie doesn’t know if she wants to leave or not, but after she falls in love with Doria, she wants to stay.
After peace is restored to the Inkworld, Resa has no problem with staying in the Inkworld. Resa gives birth to a healthy baby boy, and Mo isn’t as “Bluejay-like” as he was before, so the same man who raised Meggie, will also raise her baby brother.

Inkdeath: Themes

I think that one theme in the book is to not mess with things that you are not supposed to, like death. Mo binds a book that makes The Adderhead immortal; Death was very angry, and the whole thing just did not work out. Death demanded that three lives would be taken if The Adderhead was not dead by the end of winter. Mo, who bound the book, Meggie, who helped to bind the book, and Dustfinger, who Mo brought back from the dead.

Mo ended up making the deadline with the unlikely help of Jacopo, The Adder’s grandson, who previously worshiped his grandfather. I can connect to this theme because people should not play “God” and decide who gets to live and die. I don’t think a judge should be able to decide that, and I don’t even think that the president should be able to decide that. This doesn’t remind me of something that I have read, but about something almost everyone has heard of: the touchy subject of abortion. In my opinion, mothers shouldn’t be able to decide to end the life of a child. That’s like what I said before, playing “God” again. Also, if you want to have a baby, hooray – if you don’t want a baby though, then be responsible! But again, messing with something you are not supposed to be messing with.

Another theme I think is that if you want to get something done, then you have to act. Surprisingly, Mo is not the person who needed to figure this out. Meggie and Resa wanted Mo to stay at home while villages were being burned, and the harvests taken by the tax collectors, but Mo refused to stay home. He went out every night to help as many people as he could. He wanted The Adderhead out of the throne and dead, so he acted to stop, and kill him.

I think another theme is that you always have to keep trying. You should not just give up because something is difficult. If something isn’t going the right way, then you have to keep working. Mo did not give up on his quest to kill The Adderhead, nor did he give up trying to help the children of Ombra. I can connect to this theme because if I don’t understand my homework, I keep trying, I don’t just give up. This also reminds me of a teacher, not a particular one, just how a teacher usually is. They don’t give up on students. They always make sure that the students “get” everything that is taught.

Inkdeath: Setting

This book takes place in the Inkworld. The Inkworld is the setting of the book Inkheart that was written by the character Fenoglio. The reason it takes place in the Inkworld is because Orpheus read Mo and Resa there, and Meggie read herself there. The Inkworld is in the same time as this world, but the era is similar to that of medieval England. Except for the fact that there are all sorts of mythical creatures like fairies and brownies, water nymphs, fire elves and many more, there are many of the same plants and animals, although, there is a tree that is completely poison, and a berry that turns you into the animal that you represent. The forests are a lot older that here, so the trees are huge, though,there are many of the same varieties.
The city of Ombra is beautifully carved out of stone, although there is a lot of poverty. There are hardly any men in Ombra since the fall of Cosimo, there are a lot of women and children. There is a lot of waste in the streets, and it stinks to high heaven, but it is still a fine city. The castle of Ombra is very grand, though not as grand as The Adderhead’s castle, but since The Milksop started ruling, there are almost no books left in the castle. He sells them to buy wine.
Argenta is by silver mines, and The Adderhead loves silver, so the castle is almost covered in The Castle on the Lake is just that: a castle surrounded by water too deep for giants to wade in. The bridge is only wide enough for a single horse, so no one can attack the castle. There is also a tunnel that goes under the lake that also let’s you into the castle, but that’s a secret. There are no windows – except for one room – but the walls are painted with beautiful pictures. The only room with windows is completely made with windows, but that room was only made because the King’s daughters were getting nearsighted. At the present it is uninhabited, but The Adder’s daughter’s mother’s father used to rule there. I think that the novel has to be in a mythical place, or else some of the things that make up the plot would not be possible, like shape-shiftingsilver. The city has a great deal of silver decorating it also. The castle is very sinister-looking, and the hill that the castle is on has no trees at all.
The Castle on the Lake is just that: a castle surrounded by water too deep for giants to wade in. The bridge is only wide enough for a single horse, so no one can attack the castle. There is also a tunnel that goes under the lake that also let’s you into the castle, but that’s a secret. There are no windows – except for one room – but the walls are painted with beautiful pictures. The only room with windows is completely made with windows, but that room was only made because the King’s daughters were getting nearsighted. At the present it is uninhabited, but The Adder’s daughter’s mother’s father used to rule there. I think that the novel has to be in a mythical place, or else some of the things that make up the plot would not be possible, like shape-shifting.

Inkdeath: Character Description #2

The second character that I will describe is Mortimer Folchart, father of Meggie and husband of Resa. More commonly known as Mo, Silvertongue, or The Bluejay, Mo is tall, with dark hair, and has a scar on his left arm from Basta’s dogs. He absolutely adores his daughter, and loves his wife, even after ten years, when he accidently read Tesa into the pages of Inkheart.
Like Meggie, he possesses the ability to read people and characters in and out of books. Fenoglio, not knowing that Mo would suddenly appear into the pages of his book, wrote songs about The Bluejay for the minstrels to sing, using Mo as his pattern. Mo decided to take up the part of The Bluejay, a notorious robber, though his role in this world is bookbinder. Mo is a fabulous bookbinder, or “book doctor” as Meggie refers to him. After Orpheus read him here, only to be shot, Resa took him to the strolling players’ camp wher everyone insisted that he was The Bluejay. Nearing death, he was captured and Meggie read him well – or well enough. While binding The Adderhead a book that would make him immortal, he swore to himself that he would write the three words that would kill him. You see, Mo wanted to rid the Inkworld of a cruel ruler, while earning himself, his daughter, and all the prisoners’ freedom.
Mo always wants justice and kind ruling. He takes up the role of The Bluejay in order to save Ombra and save the children before they are taken to the silver mines to die a slow and very painful death. He is extremely brave and very confident, although, too, has faced death many times. He goes out by night to hide the harvests of small villages before they are taken by The Adderhead and helps hide the children.
Mo is very centered on helping people. He doesn’t rest until The Adderheadd is dead, and peace is restored to the Inkworld. He sacrifices himself for the children of Ombra, but, because of Violante, he escapes unscathed. He acts very confident around his daughter to try to get her to relax; it does not work. On the contrary, it makes her more anxious. Mo used to be a bad liar, but now his face can become unreadable. The role of The Bluejay is making him discover a different part or himself. What makes him different from other characters is that he changes drastically. He goes from being a mild-mannered bookbinder to being a famous robber, and then to be good at it? Odd, but I think he was always capable of it.

Inkdeath: Character Description #1

Although there are many main characters, the first I will describe is Meggie Folchart, the daughter of Mo and Resa. Meggie has fair skin and hair like spun gold. She doesn’t like to show weakness, and she doesn’t forgive easily, except her father of course. She is extremely brave and has faced death more than once. She loves to read and has the unusual ability to read characters out from between the pages. She’s also read herself into the Inkworld, and saved her father with words that Fenoglio – the author of Inkheart – written for her. She is in love with Farid, but she is tired of Farid always putting Dustfinger – his idol – above her.
She doesn’t change her mind easily, and she is very determined to do what’s right. She wants to protect her father, but he is determined to play the part of The Bluejay. Resa, her mother, wants to go back to their world, but Meggie is not sure, because Farid will most certainly stay. Meggie just wants her father back, because she feels that when Mo is The Bluejay, he is not her father.
Meggie feels that Farid is drifting away, and so she starts responding to the attention of Doria, a boy at the robbers’ camp, where they are staying. Farid notices, but it is too late; Meggie has fallen in love with Doria. Meggie was tired of being loved by a boy who loved someone else more than her, and who always would, so she decided to be with someone who would treat her well.
Meggie keeps a level head, and more often than not makes the right decision. She is very clever, and has a beautifully clear voice, that she uses to change characters’ fates and what world they are in.
Meggie is different from other main characters in this book because, first of all she’s the youngest, but also because she’s selfless. She always tries to help other people. She is kind and very sweet.
I think Meggie’s goal is to save her father – he is captured, to help kill The Adderhead, and to restore peace to the Inkworld. A very hefty list as Mo is very far away, The Adderhead is immortal, and the Inkworld is in turmoil.
Meggie changes a lot during the course of the book. She becomes more grown up, and I feel that she learns a lot about right, wrong, love, and life.

Memoir

I remember the day when I got my two rabbits. At the very end of June, one of the last days, we drove out to the hobby farm of one of the guys my mom used to work with. It was a nice day, not too hot and not too cold, and I think the sun was shining.
We went into the barn and went into the room where the rabbits were and they started freaking out. This tiny baby rabbit had crawled out from its nest and the other rabbits were practically trampling it. I suppose it didn't help that the guy's dog was running around and trying to get in. I stepped on a bowl and some sort of nasty dirt stuff fell on my foot like fine sand. It felt like powder was on my foot and that was made all the less unattractive by the fact that I couldn't even tell you what that particular substance was.
We had to catch the three bunnies that I got to pick from, and try to tell if they were boys or girls. A black spotted, a brown spotted, and a brown bunny with fur like ginger.
"These two look the same," he said, referring to the brown spotted bunny and the brown bunny, "and this one looks different, but I can't garruntee it." We decided to go with that and take those two home, and they were then known as Ginger and Mopsy. Sadly, he was not correct, as we found out at a later date, and Ginger became Jasper, and then had to get neutered. Mopsy had two litters, and all twelve pink, little babies died.

About Me

Hey, my name is Katie. I'm 13 years old and an 8th grader. I love to read, play volleyball, and I love my two rabbits. Their names are Mopsy and Jasper. The book that I'm reading currently is called Inkdeath, and is the third book in the Inkheart series. That's the book that I will be doing my book report on, and is one of my favorite books.