The book, The Selection, obviously has a cover that is meant to draw in girls. The blue cover for the Selection is the original one, and the fact that it has a princess with a bid fluffy dress obviously means that its meant for girls. The one I designed is the red one on the left, and I think this appeals more toward guys because it has a sword, and 2 crowns, one for a king and one for a king. This represents one of the main characters, Maxon, trying to find a bride to be his wife, and the Queen. At the bottom of my cover, it says "1 crown. Who wants it?" This shows that many girls will be fighting for the crown, and to rule the country of Illea.
Thursday, September 17, 2015
Flipped Cover
The book, The Selection, obviously has a cover that is meant to draw in girls. The blue cover for the Selection is the original one, and the fact that it has a princess with a bid fluffy dress obviously means that its meant for girls. The one I designed is the red one on the left, and I think this appeals more toward guys because it has a sword, and 2 crowns, one for a king and one for a king. This represents one of the main characters, Maxon, trying to find a bride to be his wife, and the Queen. At the bottom of my cover, it says "1 crown. Who wants it?" This shows that many girls will be fighting for the crown, and to rule the country of Illea.
Monday, September 14, 2015
Book Review
Wither, by Lauren DeStefano, focuses on sixteen year old girl, Rhine Ellery, who is kidnapped by Gatherers. She is then sold into marriage, and is forced into a polygamous relationship with the wealthy Linden Ashby, who's father is a scientist searching for a cure for the disease that is taking the lives of every child of the first generations. The reason for being abducted is due to the fact that the human race is slowly dying out. Due to a genetically altered "perfect" generation, the children of these people are limited to a shortened life span; men expiring at age twenty-five, where women die at age twenty. This is DeStefano's first novel, and has completed 2 trilogies. This book is the first of the Chemical Garden Trilogy, with Fever and Sever following. This book is set in a dystopian society, and this may be how the author believes the world could end up someday.
DeStefano does a great job of developing the characters and making you perceive them in a certain manner. One thing she does is she makes the climax more toward the end of the story, but the rest is told in the second and third novels. This frustrated me a little because the first half of the novel was fairly slow, and didn't have a ton of exciting rising action. In this book, a lot of small things happened that didn't develop the plot as much as the ending did. One of Rhine's sister wives, Cecily, got pregnant in this book, but during this time, her nine months went by very quickly, and were never described in great depth. This demonstrates that there weren't a lot of exciting details in the bulk of Wither.
I think that the strongest, most developed character by far was Rhine. The reader was able to see her for what she was and who she became from before being captured until her plans for escape. This especially allowed me to relate with her and understand that even though I have never actually been in her exact position, I can relate her situation with one that I have had that is similarly odd. This development is crucial for understanding because it allows the reader to appreciate why Rhine makes the decisions she does and to understand her deep, dark thoughts and recollections. Linden wasn't nearly as developed as Rhine; and you never really understand him, where he's coming from, or why he truly cares so much for Rhine. But, this element of secrecy is partially beneficial because it keeps an aspect of surprise in the novel and you never know what his intentions are and why he does what he does. Through the duration of this novel, Rhine continually flashes back to her time in Manhattan with her parents and her twin brother, Rowan. She reminisces the times she spent with him, and wonders where she is now and what he thinks has happened to her, "We were together on our walks to work, and our voices kept each other company at night, in a dark house once filled with our parents' presence. Before now I'd never been away from him a day in my life" (DeStefano 107).When she does this, the reader can further understand her reasons for her actions and her need for escape, and why she wants to see her brother so desperately.
In this novel, DeStefano suggests that when people are forced into situations they never wanted, they often make rash, uniformed decisions that have unforeseen consequences. When Rhine gets out during the hurricane, she climbs up a lighthouse,"I am clinging to a ladder. Not the kind that's meant to be climbed" (DeStefano 172). Since Rhine wanted to escape so badly, she took risky measures to achieve her goal, and in this case they were life threatening. This theme was applied throughout the whole novel, and applied to Rhine's sister wives, as well as Rhine herself.
This book is a fiction novel in the sub category of dystopian. A book like this is set in a different, futuristic world that does not exist today. This book also upholds some sci-fi aspects, but isn't a true "sci-fi" novel. Rhine narrates this, which makes it a first person narration. DeStefano writes with a optimistic view for Rhine, who fully believes that she will escape the clutches of her husband, but also writes with a reminiscent view, with Rhine remembering past mementos, ideas, and recollections, "I was inconsolable, that girl having been my first true friend" (DeStefano 21). Here, Rhine is remembering her friend when she was young and still lived with her parents in Manhattan, and when she used to be free. The author develops her style well by showing Rhine's past through flashbacks.
My final rating for this book is a 8 out of 10. I enjoyed this book, but it took a while to take off and get good. It is definitely not my favorite book ever, but is on my list of top 20.
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Wither/Lauren-DeStefano/The-Chemical-Garden-Trilogy/9781442409064
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8525590-wither?from_search=true&search_version=service
DeStefano does a great job of developing the characters and making you perceive them in a certain manner. One thing she does is she makes the climax more toward the end of the story, but the rest is told in the second and third novels. This frustrated me a little because the first half of the novel was fairly slow, and didn't have a ton of exciting rising action. In this book, a lot of small things happened that didn't develop the plot as much as the ending did. One of Rhine's sister wives, Cecily, got pregnant in this book, but during this time, her nine months went by very quickly, and were never described in great depth. This demonstrates that there weren't a lot of exciting details in the bulk of Wither.
I think that the strongest, most developed character by far was Rhine. The reader was able to see her for what she was and who she became from before being captured until her plans for escape. This especially allowed me to relate with her and understand that even though I have never actually been in her exact position, I can relate her situation with one that I have had that is similarly odd. This development is crucial for understanding because it allows the reader to appreciate why Rhine makes the decisions she does and to understand her deep, dark thoughts and recollections. Linden wasn't nearly as developed as Rhine; and you never really understand him, where he's coming from, or why he truly cares so much for Rhine. But, this element of secrecy is partially beneficial because it keeps an aspect of surprise in the novel and you never know what his intentions are and why he does what he does. Through the duration of this novel, Rhine continually flashes back to her time in Manhattan with her parents and her twin brother, Rowan. She reminisces the times she spent with him, and wonders where she is now and what he thinks has happened to her, "We were together on our walks to work, and our voices kept each other company at night, in a dark house once filled with our parents' presence. Before now I'd never been away from him a day in my life" (DeStefano 107).When she does this, the reader can further understand her reasons for her actions and her need for escape, and why she wants to see her brother so desperately.
In this novel, DeStefano suggests that when people are forced into situations they never wanted, they often make rash, uniformed decisions that have unforeseen consequences. When Rhine gets out during the hurricane, she climbs up a lighthouse,"I am clinging to a ladder. Not the kind that's meant to be climbed" (DeStefano 172). Since Rhine wanted to escape so badly, she took risky measures to achieve her goal, and in this case they were life threatening. This theme was applied throughout the whole novel, and applied to Rhine's sister wives, as well as Rhine herself.
This book is a fiction novel in the sub category of dystopian. A book like this is set in a different, futuristic world that does not exist today. This book also upholds some sci-fi aspects, but isn't a true "sci-fi" novel. Rhine narrates this, which makes it a first person narration. DeStefano writes with a optimistic view for Rhine, who fully believes that she will escape the clutches of her husband, but also writes with a reminiscent view, with Rhine remembering past mementos, ideas, and recollections, "I was inconsolable, that girl having been my first true friend" (DeStefano 21). Here, Rhine is remembering her friend when she was young and still lived with her parents in Manhattan, and when she used to be free. The author develops her style well by showing Rhine's past through flashbacks.
My final rating for this book is a 8 out of 10. I enjoyed this book, but it took a while to take off and get good. It is definitely not my favorite book ever, but is on my list of top 20.
http://books.simonandschuster.com/Wither/Lauren-DeStefano/The-Chemical-Garden-Trilogy/9781442409064
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8525590-wither?from_search=true&search_version=service
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