Elsewhere

     "Elsewhere" by Gabrielle Zevin explores the question, what happens after we die? And the idea of heaven, or somewhere like it.
      Liz Hall, a teenager, is (SPOLER) hit by a car, and dies. She awakes on a ship, and meets another girl around the same age there, telling her she is well on her way to Elsewhere. Elsewhere is the place people go after they die, and arrive at the age they died at. They don't stay there in eternal bliss however, they live there in a town, have a job, live normally, but age backward until they are newborns, and are shipped back to Earth to be reborn again.
      The thoughts of Liz Hall, especially considering the young age she passed away at, made me sad when reading the book. I couldn't imagine knowing I had died, that the people on Earth were without me, and I wasn't part of their lives anymore. That along with aging backward and having to start a "new life" in the meantime in Elsewhere would drive me insane. Liz becomes obsessed with looking at Earth and seeing what her friends and family do when she's not there. I think I would do the same thing.
      The book "Elsewhere" is an incredible book that everyone should read.

Andromeda Klein by Frank Portman

      I just started the book "Andromeda Klein" by Frank Portman. It's hard to follow in the beginning and I had to keep re reading parts I didn't understand, but basically Andromeda Klein is about an unattractive girl in high school who's life is so muddled that she turns to "occultism" and tarot card readings for salvation.
     It annoys me a little how in the beginning of the book the author makes it really obvious that she's an outcast, and that she's "different" from everyone else in her high school and town altogether. I think this isn't necessary, that the reader should be able to obtain this from reading the book. The characters I identify most with myself are characters that aren't over described, because it makes them seem fake. Harry Potter's persona isn't thrown into the reader's face right away, but by the end of all 7 books you feel like he could be a real person.
      But on the other hand I really like the world Frank Portman sets up in the first chapter, and how easily someone could get obsessed with something magical or out of the ordinary when reality becomes too hard to deal with. I'm excited to keep reading it.

Danny and His Father's Relationship

      In the book "Danny The Champion of The World", Roald Dahl challenges the relationship between Danny and his father.

      Their relationship is very important because Danny doesn't have a mom and him and his father rely on each other for comfort. Their bond is very strong, and they would be lost without one another. Danny also needs someone to look up to in life, and his father needs someone to live for.

      But then Danny's father gets hurt "poaching" or stealing pheasant game from a nearby private owned wood, and now something bad could happen to his father, like he could get caught, and Danny wouldn't have a father and he would need to save him.

      I have to read on to see what will happen to their now shaky bond, but I think they would do anything to save each other and that will pull them through.

"Danny The Champion of The World" by Roald Dahl

      I think the book "Danny The Champion of The World" by Roald Dahl really captures what it's like to be a carefree young boy, like Danny. It also expresses the true relationship between a caring father and a son that really looks up to him.
      Danny, a young boy, lives with only his father after his mother died. They don't have much, they live in an old gypsy caravan with no electricity, but a kerosene lamp and a kerosene burner. He goes to school miles away and travels there on foot. He spends his days making machines and repairing cars with his father, yet he seems far happier than hundreds of rich people in the world. He goes to bed every night and his father tells him elaborate stories such as the Big Friendly Giant and helps Danny fall asleep. It showed me that you don't need a lot in life but the caring and love of others to be content.
        It turns out Danny's father has a secret that Danny never knew about, and I don't want to give it away, but I wonder how it will affect their perfect relationship so far. His father is a good man, and Danny is a bright boy, so I'm sure they will survive. But it reminds you that the smallest thing can go far in a bond that seemed so tight.

Different Books

    It can be both hard and educating to read multiple books at a time. I've done this a lot, and now I wonder how it affects my thoughts on the books.
     If the books I am reading are intense and hard to follow, it will take me longer to read each book. Also, I mix up the story lines which gets really confusing and I have to keep re-reading, or I even forget about one of the books which I would've enjoyed if I'd continued it.
      On the other hand, reading multiple books at a time can help you notice the similarities between them, such as character traits and relationships, and compare the kind of writing. Once you are able to do this, it can be very interesting to follow both books at a time.
      So the best way to do this is to see whether or not a book seems confusing and overwhelming and decided whether or not to read another book simultaneously.

Confusing Books

      When reading V for Vendetta and countless other plot twisting, intense and hard to follow books, I often find that I lose track of what is happening and either lose interest in the book or fail to try to understand what exactly it's about.
      I often zone out and have a hard time remembering what exactly is happening in the story. ESPECIALLY in V for Vendetta, God knows what is happening in that book right now. I think I should take more time thinking about being clear on the plot, and asking someone about it. Being ignorant about a book and it's characters makes it so much less enjoyable, and I think i'm missing out on a lot of the novel that I could really love that I don't pay attention to/
      Books are similar to music in that way, if it gets boring, you tend to lose sight of the good things in it. Like the meaning of the song/book, and I find that after many repeats of a song I first found boring, I end up loving it. You just need some time and thought.
      In conclusion, I am going to try to understand the books I read more, and pay more attention to te plot instead of drifting off into space.

Complex Characters

      In the graphic novel "V For Vendetta" by Alan Moore, it's not really clear whether or not the main character, V, is "bad" or not.
     One reason why is because during the time the book is set in England, the government is very corrupt. So when V blows up the Parliament building, it's debatable whether or not this was the wrong thing to do. He reapeatedly kills powerful and  evil forces in the government system,  which is both good (weakening the dictatorship) and bad, killing humans.
     Maybe there's a better or more ethic way to take down the fascist government, but all the same, you can't say he is definitely good or bad. Also, V had a terrible past with horrible mental institutions and mistreatment, so it makes sense that he would want revenge (vendetta).
     This is why I think V in V for Vendetta is a complicated character.