Connection: The Icebound Land

        I really admire the way the author, John Flanagan, uses personification to describe the sheer force of the wind on the Viking wolfship during the storm. "This was a savage, living, primeval force that wrapped around him, deafening him, blinding him, punching the breath out of his lungs and preventing his taking another: smothering him as it tried to claw his grip loose." Just the adjectives he uses makes the wind seem like it really is a savage creature, alive and out to get Will, the main character. Showing no mercy to him, and doing whatever it can to get him to let go of the mast. This segment of the story isn't just a great sample of personification, the sensory details make me feel like I'm really on that ship, holding onto the mast for dear life, trying not to get swept overboard by the powerful wind and waves. I can taste the salt water. It's in my eyes and I feel like I'm struggling to breathe.  The wind is so loud that if I call for help, I can barely hear myself. I visualize this scene in the book so vividly and it gives me a real sense of what it felt like to physically be on that ship, just before you experience the fierceness of a raging storm at sea.

Next Book!

               Now I'm reading book 3 of the Ranger's Apprentice series called "The Icebound Land"!

Connection: Candymakers

         The whole candy factory experience in the book, "Candymakers" by Wendy Mass strongly reminds me of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" I haven't actually read the book, but I've seen both movies and was in the play we had at school. Both stories tell of crazy candy inventions, a contest, and 4 and 5 special children. There are, of course, differences between the two. In "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" the children all end up disappearing or dead except for Charlie. There are no dead children in "Candymakers", only children with secrets. For instance, one child is a spy, while one carries around a life jacket, another wears a men's suit, and the last has horrid scars that he doesn't seem to notice. To find the explanations for all of these odd quirks, you would need to read each group of chapters told from the child's perspective.
       The kids in "Charlie in the Chocolate Factory" all end up dead (with the exception of Charlie) because of their bad habits. Greed, overindulgence, overconfidence, just to say a few. Also, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" seems to have a more whimsical feel to it. With the oompa loompas and chocolate river. The LIFE IS SWEET candy factory in "Candymakers" seems a bit more realistic apart from some of the inventions being created there. (ex. oozing crunchoramas, super duper jumping jellybeans, neon yellow lightning chew). When people ask me what this book is about, I almost always compare it to "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and it does have many like features but the plot is also quite different, so that is why I decided to do my connection on this T-T/T-M instance.

New Book!! :)

I finished Candymakers, and now I'm on to the second book in the "Ranger's Apprentice" series called The  Burning Bridge, can't wait to see how the story plays out!
    

My new BOOK!! :)





   I finished "Ruins of Gorlan", and it was AWESOME!!! And now I'm waiting for Book 2. But in the        meantime I decided to read the book called "The Candymakers" by Wendy Mass.

Sounds Yummy :)

Ruins of Gorlan

The book I am currently reading is called "Ruins of Gorlan" which is part of the "Ranger's Apprentice" series by John Flanagan. So far, I am really enjoying this book :)