#19 Reader’s Journal 1/10/12
Dear Mrs. Zrihen,
This week I read the book, Origins (Spinward Fringe) by Randolph Lalonde.
The passage I decided to choose was:
“The odds weren’t in our favour.”
I chose this passage because it is the first sentence of the story and usually if the first sentence hooks you, you will enjoy the book. This first sentence really hooked me into wanting to read more. It is significant to the story because the first sentence could either grab a reader’s attention, making them want to continue reading, or it could make them consider choosing a different book.
I used many strategies before, during, and after reading this story. Before reading, made predictions on what I thought the story would be about. The cover has what looks like a galaxy on it so I predicted this book would be about space travel. I also, I read the synopsis to make sure I would enjoy reading. The synopsis was a little bit confusing but I decided to give the book a try anyways. While reading, I looked up words I didn’t know the meaning. Also while reading, I took notes on any literary elements and figurative language I found. After reading I checked back to see if the predictions I made before reading were true. Also, I looked at the notes I wrote to write my reader’s journal.
The genre of this book is fiction and the subgenre is a science fiction because it has futuristic characteristics that have the possibility to happen. The protagonist is Ronin because he is round and dynamic. The antagonists aren’t mentioned specifically but they are the people attacking Ronin and his team. The foil characters are Oz and Sunspot. They are both apart on the space team Ronin is on. They are both flat and static. The story takes place in space in the future. Since it is space there is no weather conditions. One social condition is that an enemy is attacking Ronin and his team and they need to try to escape.
The plot was very confusing because there wasn’t an exposition or rising action. The story just jumped into the climax and I wasn’t able to understand the actual setting and who exactly the characters were. I'm still on this part.
The conflict is man vs. man because Ronin and his team are against the antagonists. This type of conflict is external. The tone of this story is adventurous and my mood is confused. The theme is space attacks. I don’t know the author’s motif and there is no theme and moral because no lesson was taught. The point-of-view is third person limited because the readers only know what is seen and heard out loud and only what Ronin is thinking and feeling. The author’s purpose is to entertain readers with a futuristic story about space missions. The author’s perspective is subjective because he is not biased and does not show any personal beliefs or opinions. The pattern of organization is time order because the author explains everything that happened in order. I don’t think the pattern of organization is climatic order because the author does not have a basic plot structure.
Some of the figurative language I found was tone, mood, idiom, hyperbole, and simile. The idiom is, “’Shuttle two docked and popping the cork.’“ The hyperbole is, “The explosion sounded like it was thousands of miles away, but really it was right next to us,” because it exaggerates the amount of miles. The simile I found is, “The space ship was just cleaned, it’s as white as snow, and now it can be ruined in just a second.” This sentence relates the color of the space ship with snow by using the word, “as”.
(#26) I wish that the author could have explained the setting and characters a little better instead of rushing to the action.
*Other response starters have been mentioned throughout my reader’s journal.
So far, this book is okay. Its lacking a lot of needed details that could help the reader tremendously. I would rate this book a 7out of 10 because although I’m a little confused, the first sentence really hooked me and I’m hoping that the rest of the book can get a little better.
Sincerely,
Bailey Levy 802
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