Small Group Book Talk - Discussion Topics

Why did you choose this book?

What does the cover of the book tell you about what you may find inside it?

Find at least one song that the main character of your book would listen to. Explain how the lyrics and music relate to the character. Be as detailed as possible in your connection.


Discuss how the following terms apply to your novel.

Exposition

Dialect

Topic

Rising Action/Conflict

Narration

Tone

Climax

Protagonist

Theme

Falling Action

Antagonist

Static

Resolution

Dynamic

Consider how doubles and repetitions are used in these novels. Where do events and characters mirror each other? What is the effect of this symmetry and its variations?

Discuss the way the author poses the male-female relationships in the novels? Do you find the gender roles and relationships believable?

Think about the Literature you have read throughout your school years. Identify similarities between those literary pieces and the novel you read for this assignment. How are the characters similar? Are there similar themes or plot styles?

Can you identify any connections between the time periods in which they were written?

Choose a person/character in your book. Tell whether you would want her/him for a sibling, parent, friend, partner.

Identify the book’s intended audience. Explain why the book is geared to this particular type of person.

I really don't understand the part where . . .

I really like/dislike this idea because . . .

This character reminds me of somebody I know because . . .

This character reminds me of myself because . . .

I think this setting is important because . . .

This scene reminds me of a similar scene in (title of book/movie/T.V. show) because . . .

I like/dislike this writing because . . .

This part is very realistic/unrealistic because . . .

I think the relationship between ______and ______ is interesting because . . .

This section makes me think about . . .

I like/dislike (name of character) because . . .

This situation reminds me of a similar situation in My own life. What happened was . . .

If I were (name of character) at this point, I would…

What is the reading level of this book for you?

How long do you think it will take you to complete the book?

Has anything like this ever happened to you?

What does this text/story remind you of?

What questions do you have about the text?

Compare characters:

– from this story, or

– from this story and another story by the same author.

How is this story like/different from another story that you have read?

Predict what will happen next.

Describe a favorite scene from the story.

What did you like/not like about this story?

If you could change one part of the story, what would it be?

If you were one of the characters, how would you have acted differently?

Describe the setting of your story.

Tell about the author’s writing style.

What was the best part of the story?

Do you know someone who acts like one of the characters in your book? How they are alike.

Video Book Talks

Mrs. Whittington English 9: Video Book Talks:

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Thanks Coach

Coach Tallent shares his reading history and his current book!

The Fault in Our Thoughts

By:  Sreya Palnati

There is more to this world than grades, beauty, and gossip.  There are things that are more “pure” in the world such as friendship, kindness, and perseverance.  It feels as if the fact that we are being reminded of the same thing repeatedly wears down the actual meaning of the idea.  In the book The Fault in Our Stars, John Green has a way of presenting this idea that continues to blow my mind every time I read it. 

This author tells a delectable love story.  Although this story isn’t the stereotypical relationship, it relates to modern relationships in many ways.  For example, not everyone is perfect.  It is okay to have imperfections.  Hazel and Augustus learn to accept each other’s imperfections.  This is necessary in many of today’s relationships.  This is because people are constantly growing to be more diverse.  We are learning our own imperfections and different natural talents.  Even though I may not have uncovered any natural talents, I am still learning more about myself.  In the past few years, I have learned to accept who I am.  I learned not to be someone else, the person who I wish I was.  Hazel truly motivated me to feel this way.  She doesn’t change who she is throughout the book, even when people tell her about her limitations. 

Also, it’s okay to make small mistakes once in a while; it is not the end of your life.  Well in Hazel’s point of view, her life could end any minute.  This shows me that other people have it worse.  I shouldn’t be stressing over my small “problems” when it could be much worse.  It actually took me a while to learn this.  At one point in the summer, I realized that I was acting really spoiled and had become very lazy.  That was when I knew that I had to change my ways.  Reading this book made me realize that I was lucky just to be living.  There are people in this world who don’t sleep at night with full stomachs, people who can only take a bath every other day.   Some people have to even walk tens of miles just to get some medicine.  Now here I am in my room too lazy to go downstairs and wash my clothes.  It made me feel ashamed.  I felt as if I was taking advantage of my circumstances, which I was.  Nowadays, I take the time to appreciate what I was given.  Hazel’s delayed death allowed her to fall in love with Augustus Waters, a persistent and truly ambitious young man.  She was given a chance, a chance to start over, build up her life again.  She definitely made the right decisions and used her second chance to be happy.  She experienced things she never had before. 

I hope to someday positively impact someone’s life the way Hazel did.  I want to make them think “I sure am happy Sreya was in my life!”  I want them to know me for who I am, not somebody I made up on the top of my mind.  I want them to remember me at times of doubt, fear, and sadness.  I want them to replace those feeling with faith, hope, and happiness when they think of me.  In this book, Hazel impacted Augustus’ life in a way that I know I will probably never achieve.  She taught him that there are people in the world who care about him and stuck to her own beliefs while showing Gus the true meaning of life. 

This book shows the ups and downs of life and how we should appreciate the good things instead of being concerned with the bad things.  Just live in the moment and be thankful for what you are given.  After all, “you don’t get to choose if you get hurt in this world, but you do get to choose who hurts you!”  Take advantage of that fact and just be happy!  

Star-Crossed Lovers in a Senseless Society

Star-Crossed Lovers in a Senseless Society

“Eleanor was right. She never looked nice. She looked like art, and art wasn't supposed to look nice; it was supposed to make you feel something.”

This quote comes from Rainbow Rowell’s book Eleanor and Park, a romance novel revolving around a sarcastic, red-haired girl and an introverted half-Korean boy. At the beginning, the chemistry between these two misfits is very sweet, and I enjoyed every breath of it. However, the book goes downhill when the lovers become serious with their relationship, especially since the story takes place over a year. Many flaws in this book have confirmed that this novel wasn’t my favorite, but it was definitely unlike anything I’ve ever read before.

The biggest and most disconcerting obstacle in Eleanor and Park was its constant use of profanity. Upon reading the first five pages, I found about twelve nasty words scribbled hastily in dialogue before flipping to the next chapter. Though the setting takes place primarily in a high school in the 1980’s, I feel like the author is making an unfortunate excuse to press her anger into each of the pages, screaming the f-word repetitively through her characters’ thoughts. She may think that it seems more realistic this way, but personally I think it makes the characters less enjoyable to be around. Therefore the vulgar language was completely superfluous, and I think that this book would have been more satisfying if it weren’t for the author being as tempered as a toddler, flicking the f-word all over the place.

Another flaw that made me uncomfortable was the author’s tendency to be racist towards Asians. Park is part of one of the only Asian families in his neighborhood, making him a minor target for being different from the rest. I agree that racism is still a problem in today’s world, and I understand that Rowell wants to address this problem to her audience. But rather than resolving the situation herself, she simply mocks the Asian accent and expresses feelings that should have stuck to her rough draft. Her constant reminder of Park’s mom pronouncing Eleanor’s name as “El-la-no” frustrates me, as if she didn’t need to remind me twenty times to get the gist of how differently Park’s mom spoke from the rest. Also, at the start and end of the book, Eleanor regards Park as a “stupid Asian kid”. Whether Rowell means this and her other open thoughts playfully or seriously, it doesn’t improve the plot any further from its original state.

Thirdly, the book had a few plot holes that I was really unsatisfied with. What happened to Eleanor’s family after Eleanor ran away? Richie is the only one who seems to live in the house after the incident, and there are no signs of Eleanor’s siblings or her mom after the fight. I was anxious to know where they had gone, or if they had met Eleanor in the future, but unfortunately I was never given the answer to what will forever be a vague ending. Also, if Richie wrote vulgar insults in Eleanor’s books, how did he get to her locker in the first place? Eleanor told Park that the insults appeared after her Gym class, and it seems very unlikely that Richie would suddenly barge into the school and somehow locate the girls’ locker room deliberately. How did Richie get in and cram Eleanor’s new clothes in the toilet? Since he is Eleanor’s stepdad, it makes completely no sense and desperately needs a logical revision.

The main idea of romance captivated me early into the story, but as the plot progressed, there seemed to be something off about it that made me change my mind. The timing was unreasonably hastened, and even though Park is awkward, wouldn’t he have chosen a more appropriate time to confess his love for Eleanor? At the time their relationship was only starting to bloom, and I believe that Park went a little overboard. The author may attempt to sound realistic in this aspect of the story as well, but I think that it would have been more reasonable if Park was a little more careful about what he said, since this is after all his “first love”.

In addition, there were many imbalances in the story. Sloppy, disproportioned transitions between Park and Eleanor were made frequently throughout the story, and it was hard to keep up since some viewpoints lasted 3 pages and others lasted a few sentences. The author tries too hard to sound simple, because it makes readers juggle a deep pile of thoughts and fluctuating perspectives. Although Eleanor and Park had a steady relationship throughout the book, it saddened me to see that Eleanor never truly admitted that she loved Park, because Park had told her multiple times that he loved her to soothe her insecurities.

Lastly, the parents of both families failed to be good role models in the story. All of the fathers in the story either use vulgar language, drink, or provide too much freedom excessively. The mothers are calmer and wiser, but there are no major spotlights for them in the book other than restricting the lovers from doing what they want. An example of unreasonable parenting is Park’s dad. He allows Park to drive Eleanor to Minnesota in the middle of the night, but he restricts Park from wearing eyeliner? Park’s dad probably wanted to prevent Park from wearing eyeliner to avoid attention at school, but if Park’s dad provides that much freedom for Park and his girlfriend, then he should definitely be more easygoing about something as simple as eyeliner.

In spite of all of the book’s imperfections, only a few portions have truly contented me. The plot, despite its adult-like tone, was engrossing, and I had finished this book over two days’ time. Some peaks in the story included the semi-creative flirting between Eleanor and Park, but clichés such as “I can’t live without you,” and “I can’t breathe without you,” were little things that made me cringe. However, the fact that they avoided the “it’s not good-bye” cliché was unexpectedly impressive. The most stunning part overall was that this book captured real-life situations that people are still facing today, like family pressure and bullying, overlapping the romance just before it became too boring and mushy to handle.

The Most Dangerous Game (1932) Complete Film - YouTube

The Most Dangerous Game (1932) Complete Film - YouTube: ""



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