Divergent by Veronica Roth

The most important line from chapter four is, "It has been this way since the beginning of the great peace, when the factions were formed. I think the system persists because we're afraid of what might happen if it didn't: war." (Roth 33) I think this is the most important line from this chapter because it really sums up the reason behind the faction system. The factions were formed in the beginning of a peaceful period, which I think must have happened after a long war. The sentence also demonstrates how important and rooted the faction system is to this society. I think that it is ironic that she used the word 'afraid' because she is considering Dauntless which is the faction that values bravery the most, which is the opposite of fear.

The best thing about my book is that it is not predictable. I really don't know which faction she is going to choose, which makes me want to keep reading. I don't like to read books that are too predictable because they get boring easily and I don't want to keep reading them. At this point I am curious which faction she is going to choose and how this choice is going to affect her and the plot in general. However I suspect that whatever her choice may be, I suspect that it will be the beginning of a chain reaction that unravels her society.

Divergent by Veronica Roth Setting

I have just started reading Divergent and from what I can gather it takes place in Chicago in the future. A line from the book that supports this is, "The gaps between the buildings narrow and the roads are smoother as we near the heart of the city. The building that was once called the Sears Tower-we call it the Hub-emerges from the fog, a black pillar in the skyline." (Roth 3-4) In this quote it talks about the Sears Tower which is in Chicago, thats how I knew the setting was in Chicago. I know that the story takes place in the future because they have some technology that is more advanced than what we have today.

Within this future world all the people have been divided into five factions, Dauntless, Erudite, Candor, Amity and Abnegation.  Each of these factions embody an attribute as suggested by the name of the faction.  When each person turns sixteen, he or she has to take an aptitude test to determine which faction he or she belongs in.  However, the main character, Beatrice Prior, is a divergent because she can fit into more than one faction which is not the norm.  Being divergent is not desirable, in fact it is dangerous, as the test administrator explained to Beatrice in this quote, "'This is different.  I don't mean you should not share them now; I mean you should never share them with anyone, ever, no matter what happens.  Divergence is extremely dangerous.  Do you understand?'"(Roth 22-23)

But which faction will she choose, Abnegation, Dauntless or Erudite?

My Book List

I plan to read Divergent by Veronica Roth next.  My friend recommended this book to me because she knows that I like to read "coming of age" books.  I looked up the book and read the synopsis and I liked what I read.  I am looking forward to reading this book and watching the movie that is based on the book.  The movie is supposed to come out on March 21, 2014.  Here is a link to the movie website, www.divergentthemovie.org.  

After I read Divergent, I will read Sun Catcher by Sheila Rance.  The book was recommended to me by www.goodreads.com.  The book seems interesting and intriguing.  It is about a girl in a far away land who is trying to find her true calling.  I think I will enjoy this book because I enjoy reading books that are filled with adventure and the fact that the main character is a female is an added bonus, because I can relate to the character.

Post #14 Heidi by Johanna Spyri Chapter 11 Summary

Chapter 11 begins by talking about how Heidi had given up praying because her problems were not being fixed, but Klara's grandmother convinces Heidi to try again. Then Heidi was reading a story out of the book that Klara's grandmother had given her and she burst into tears because the story was about a grandmother dying. Heidi thought that the grandmother in the story was Peter's grandmother and that this was actually happening, eventually Klara explained to Heidi that the grandmother in the story was not real and that Peter's grandmother wasn't actually dying, but this just made Heidi cry more because she started thinking about her grandfather or Peter's grandmother dying while she was away and then being all alone. Fräulein Rottenmeier yells at Heidi when she hears her crying over the story in the book and she says that if she does it again she will take the book away, this makes Heidi stop crying because the book is one of her dearest possessions. Heidi's homesickness gets worse and she gets paler and loses her appetite because of it despite Sebastian's attempts to make her feel better.

The theme of Heidi is that adversity can be the doorway to wondrous adventures. This theme is supported by the fact that Heidi faces many obstacles such as Fräulein Rottenmeier's cruelty and her difficulties in learning her ABC's and how to read, but is able to overcome them with the help of her friends. When Heidi overcomes these obstacles it leads to new adventures such as having fun living in Frankfurt and learning to love reading. The theme is also supported by Heidi going to live with her grandfather which seems like a bad situation at first, but she is able to improve her grandfather's life and enjoy living with him in the Alps. These are just some of the examples of how this theme applies to Heidi. 

Post #13 Heidi by Johanna Spyri Chapter 10 Summary

In chapter ten Klara's grandmother comes to visit. When Klara's grandmother first meets Heidi she takes a liking to her, Fräulein Rottenmeier tries to get Klara's grandmother to not like Heidi and to think of her as she does, but she is unsuccessful and Klara's grandmother continues to like Heidi and grow close to her. Klara's grandmother is very kind to Heidi, unlike Fräulein Rottenmeier and she helps her learn to read. Heidi feels very homesick and it is starting to take a toll on her health, Klara's grandmother notices this and tries to see what is wrong, but Heidi doesn't want to tell her because she thinks that if she does Klara's grandmother will think she is ungrateful and will not be nice to her, so she tells Heidi that if she has something that is bothering her, but she can't tell other people she can just pray and this makes Heidi feel a lot better. The chapter ends when Klara's grandmother decides to go home.

The theme of Heidi is that adversity can be a  doorway to wondrous adventures. This theme applies to Heidi because even though she faces many obstacles she is able to overcome them and make new friends, be happy, and enjoy life. One of the obstacles that Heidi faces is having trouble learning her ABC's and how to read, but she is able to overcome this obstacle with the help of Klara's grandmother which opens a doorway into reading which Heidi ends up loving. This is how this theme applies to Heidi.

Post #12 Heidi by Johanna Spyri: Chapter 9 Summary

Chapter nine starts off with Herr Sesemann coming home and greeting Klara and Heidi. As Herr Sesemann sits down to have lunch Fräulein Rottenmeier tells him that she had been decieved, that Heidi is a frightful child, and that Heidi is "out of her mind". Then Herr Kandidat, the teacher comes to tell Herr Sesemann about Heidi, but he takes to long to get to the point, so Herr Sesemann just asks Klara instead. Klara tells her father how much she likes Heidi and wants her to stay and he decides to let Heidi stay. Herr Sesemann tells Fräulein Rottenmeier that Heidi is in her right mind, Klara enjoys her company, she is going to stay, Heidi must be treated kindly, and that Klara's grandmother is coming to stay.

The theme of Heidi is that adversity can lead to wondrous adventures. Fräulein Rottenmeier's cruel and unkind attitude towards Heidi is an adversity that Heidi overcomes. Heidi overcomes this adversity because she never lets Fräulein Rottenmeier's attitude towards her get to her and is still able to enjoy life and have fun despite this adversity. This is an example of how this theme applies to the book Heidi.

Post #11 Heidi by Johanna Spyri: Chapter 8 Summary

Chapter eight starts with Sebastian the butler answering the doorbell thinking that it is Herr Sesemann, Klara's father. When he opens the door he sees a young boy with a hand organ who asks to see Klara because he says she owes him forty pfennings. Sebastian starts to get irritated because he doesn't know who this boy is or why he is saying Klara owes him money, but he eventually figures out that when Heidi went out the day before she had the boy show her the way to the church and back to the house and told him that Klara would pay him forty pfennings. Sebastian then lets the boy in so that he can see Klara, but he tells him that he must play some music for Klara, after the boy starts playing Fräulein Rottenmeier hears the music then goes to the library to see what is going on, once she sees the boy she gets angry and tells Sebastian to make him leave. Sebastian leads the boy out and gives him the money that he is owed.

Soon after, the door rang again and a basket was dropped off for Klara, then the kittens that were inside the basket jump out and start running around, which makes Fräulein Rottenmeier extremely mad because she hates cats. Eventually, Sebastian takes the kittens away and puts them with the rest, Fräulein Rottenmeier eventually figures out that Heidi was the one responsible for the chaos that happened earlier in the day, and decides that Heidi's punishment should be to stay in the dark cellar for a while, but Klara talks her out of it. A few days later Heidi decides that she wants to go home because she misses living with her grandfather, but on her way out the door she runs into Fräulein Rottenmeier who doesn't let her go and gets mad at her for trying to leave, which makes Heidi feel sad. The next day Fräulein Rottenmeier finds the rolls that Heidi had been keeping for Peter's grandmother while she is going through Heidi's closet deciding what clothes to get rid of. Fräulein Rottenmeier decides to throw away Heidi's crumpled straw hat and the rolls she had collected, which makes Heidi cry because then she can't give Peter's grandmother any bread, but Klara consoles her by telling her that when she leaves she will give her more fresh rolls to give to the grandmother and Sebastian saves Heidi's hat from being thrown away and hides it for her. The theme of Heidi is that adversity can be the doorway to many wondrous adventures. This is supported by Fräulein Rottenmeier always being mean to Heidi yet Heidi always overcomes this and is able to enjoy being in Frankfurt.