Book 2 Trailer

Book Talk

Book 3 Listicle: Ashes to Ashes

After being bullied by Reeve in Middle school Mary takes her life. After taking her own life Mary's spirit is trapped on Jar Island until she frees her spirit. Flash forward to the future now in high school, Reeve is the star player on the football team, he's popular, and he's homecoming king.  Now Marry is a ghost and she has come back to haunt him. Mary believes the only way for her to be freed from Jar Island is if Reeve takes his own life. Instead of taking his life she ends up saving his life. The question that remains is: Is Mary a villain or a hero?

1-She's totally a villain.
She tries to kill Reeve multiple times in the book. She starts by trying to kill him in his dreams by penetrating his mind at night when he sleeps. "I visit Reeve night after night. I meet him in his dreams." Then she tries to drown him when he's in a pool alone.
When that doesn't work she gets him to try to kill himself because of what he did to her many years ago.

2-She's a hero.
She saves Reeve, Lillia, and Kat when the house bursts into flames. Without her they would've all died. Even though she was the one that caused the house to burst into flame to begin with. "They will die if I don't do something. They will die just like I did. For no good reason at all."

3- She's a villain.
She gets mad at Lillia for betraying her by dating Reeve. As revenge Mary tries to hurt Lillia and Reeve. She also tears apart Lillia's room when she's not home. In addition she also RSVP's Lillia to a gala she wasn't going to go to. "I flip on the light switch, and then I let out a scream. My room is completely trashed. Clothes are everywhere. My down pillows have been slashed open and feathers float through the air. The belly of my stuffed rabbit has been slashed too, and his beany insides spill out onto the carpet. My perfume bottle is shattered on the vanity table; glass is everywhere. My dollhouse is smashed. And there is Mary, sitting cross-legged on my floor in the middle of it all."

4- She's a hero.
She tries to drown Reeve in the pool but during his last few seconds between life and death she decides to let him go and live. Even though she did try to drown him and he was just seconds away from death she let him go and he was able to live because she decided to let him go free. "I couldn't do it. After all this time, after all he's done to me, I couldn't do it."

 

 

5- She's a villain

She goes and burns Kat's letter of recommendation before her source sends it to her. She does this because Kat works at the place that is trying to "preserve" the house where Mary lived before she took her own life. "To Whom It May Concern: I am writing to highly recommend acceptance of Katherine DeBrassio to Oberlin College. I have worked with Katherine for the last several months on a preservation project here on the island and am so impressed with the character... It goes on and on, full of praise, glowing praise, detailing what a hard and motivated  worker Katherine DeBrassio is. How she'd be as asset to any college. Ah. Yes. I get it. It makes me extra mad, knowing that she's helped the place that basically stole our family house. I pick the letter up between two fingers, blink, and the thing goes up in flames." 

In conclusion the obvious answer to the question of whether Mary is a hero or villain is she's a villain. Mary is a villain throughout the whole book. The only time she's truly a hero is when she saves Reeve, Lillia, and Kat from the fire. Throughout the whole book Mary is constantly trying to hurt everyone. So therefore she's a villain.

Fiction vs. Non-Fiction

I think for a book to be considered non-fiction it should be mostly true. I also think it depends on what type of work it is. Such as textbooks, encyclopedias, and other sources I think those should be completely true because they are resources. Memoirs on the other hand I think it's okay if some of the things within the story are changed, but only if they are small details. If big events are changed in a memoir I wouldn't really consider it a memoir anymore.

 I think half-truths that still make good stories are considered more of a fiction book based upon real life experiences the author has experienced. I think that stories such as Frey's are better off as fictional books based upon real life experiences and that they shouldn't be claimed as memoirs. I think people shouldn't twist the truth when writing memoirs because that defeats the purpose of writing a memoir because memoirs are based upon the truth.

I think there should be a line between fiction and non-fiction but there can be some exceptions for those books that fall in between. Such as the books that are half-truth where the fake part is fictional and the real part is non-fiction. I think it matters that there is a line between fiction and non-fiction, but not a very fine line as to where a book only falls under the category of being either fiction of non-fiction. I also think it's up to the reader to decide.

Adapting My Book

The book I'm reading for my book 2 is The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak. 

One challenges in making this book into a movie are the bomb attacks because they seem like they'd be kind of hard to film. Another challenge would be someone that looks younger than they really are to play Liesel because the book shows Liesel over the course of a couple of years.

 One scene that should definitely be included is the scene where Liesel beats up Ludwig Schmeikl for making fun of her. I think this scene should be included because it shows the turning point where Liesel really wants to learn to read.

 Another scene that I think should be included is the part where Liesel and Mr. Hubermann have their night lessons. I think this should be included because it shows the relationship forming between Liesel and her foster father.

One final scene that I think should be included is the part where Liesel and Rudy race to see who is faster. I think this scene should be included because it shows the beginning of their friendship. This also shows how their relationship grows throughout the book.

One scene that they might have to cut is the part where Rosa brutally beats Liesel because it seems really cruel and plus it's not a major detail in the book.

Another scene that they might cut is the scene where Hans and his son fight. I feel like their fight is kind of insignificant because you already know that Hans isn't a fan of the party.

Book 1 Project

For my book one I read The Confessions of a Murder Suspect by James Patterson . For my fan experience I chose to turn my book into a movie. For this movie I would pick certain scenes and quotes that should be included as well as a cast list.

Cast:

Tandy Angel: Kristen Stewart
Harry Angel: Nick Jonas
Hugo Angel: Jared Gilmore
Matthew Angel: Channing Tatum
Maud Angel: Angelina Jolie
Malcolm Angel: Robert Downey Jr.
Peter Angel: Wallace Shawn
Samantha Peck: Kelly Rutherford
Sergeant  Caputo: Robbie Coltrane
Detective Hayes: Josh Dallas
Philippe Montaigne: Matthew Settle
Tamara Gee: Jenna Dewan

 I think this cast fits the description the author gave pretty well. I did have some difficulties finding the perfect actor/actress for Samantha, Philippe, Tamara, and Detective Hayes because the author didn't describe the characters as vividly as the others.

Scenes: 

The crime scene
The part where Tandy searches through Samantha's office
When they find out about Malcolm and Tamara
When they find out about Samantha and Maud
When they discover the secret lab
The part when Tandy accuses Peter
The funeral
When they find out about Tamara's death
When they find the cameras
When they see the video of their parent's death
When Hugo breaks into their neighbor's apartment
Tandy's flashbacks/confessions
When Harry performs
When Matthew makes the remark about his parents getting taken out with the trash
When Harry says his parents died thinking he was useless
Every time Tandy gets a new clue/lead

These are the scenes that I think should definitely be in the movie because these are the most important parts of the book.

Quotes:

Matthew: "My parents were just carried out of the building in the service elevator," he shouted at the cops. "They were vile, but they didn't deserve to be taken out with the trash!"

 Caputo: "Sergeant Capricorn Caputo and Detective Ryan Hayes, NYPD. Please open the door."


Harry: "I'll tell you what's killing me, Tandy."
Tandy: "I'm listening"
Harry: "They never loved me."
Tandy: "Come on. They were different, that's all-"
Harry: "One day I was going to prove myself to them. I never had the chance to do it before they died. They died thinking I was useless."


I think this idea will work because people like seeing movies after they've read the book so if you make a movie people will want to read the book before they see the movie this will get more people to read this book. This will also keep readers connected because this book is the first of a series so if they read the first book they'll want to read the rest of the series and if the other books are also turned into movies this will also cause more people to want to read the books before the movies comes out such as the Hunger Games series or the Harry Potter series.



What is a book?

A book to me is a world. A world where you can feel and experience what the characters experience. Where you can join the adventure and feel the joy the terror and the pain. A book can take you to another world without leaving the comfort of your home. I agree with Joe Meno that a book is a place. I also agree with Tom Piazza when he says that you make the world of the book through your imagination. I believe a book's true value comes through the pages the satisfaction of turning the pages gives it more suspense when you're reading a really captivating novel. I can't stand reading a book on a device because it hurts my eyes after staring at it for long periods of time. I find that when you read a book on a device it loses it's true value of being a book. You miss out on the feeling of the pages between your finger tips and the scent of paper tickling your nose when you open the book for the first time. You also miss out on the feeling of flipping the last page of a book. Also when reading on a device you're more likely to get distracted by other things on the device. A book is such a wonderful thing. It holds information and it's the key to another world. A world that can only exist in your wildest dreams. What's incredible is how the author can make their world come to life just because of a book. When an author writes a book it's like receiving the key to their world and suddenly you see the world differently. The reader imagining what the author wanted them to see a whole new world and a different way of viewing the world.