Entry #4: Protagonist and Antagonist

Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Birdie's peach farm is broke, but she doesn't realize that. Murphy works on the farm over spring break and Murphy doesn't like Birdie that much. Birdie is shy and quiet, and even insecure. Her parents got a divorce and she's still trying to cope with that, while her dad tries to get them out of debt. Murphy might be the antagonist because she thinks one of the workers is cute, and he's also the same guy that Birdie has a crush on. Murphy has a lot of boyfriends and likes to cause trouble; she even wrote a paper about homosexual monkeys for her homophobic teacher. Both of them are kind of alone, though, and forced to go through things or do things that they don't want to, and they might help each other to save the peach farm from being taken away.
-Melissa


The Boxes by William Sleator
In the book The Boxes, Annie is a very curious girl that likes to explore various places and is quick thinker in terms of decisions that are life changing or could potentially ruin the world. Even though her uncle told her not to open the boxes, she opened them anyway because her temptation to open it was increased due to the reverse psychology placed by Uncle Marco. The antagonist, Crunchy Development Company tries to take over Annie and Henry’s House. They use every tactic available to them including stalking, bribing and spying to get them to sell the house. Their goal is to build a super mall on the old neighborhood but when they found about the clock and its powers they try to get their hands on it.
-Benmark

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
In the Hunger Games, the protagonists are Katniss and Peeta. Some people think that Fox face and Kato are the antagonists, but I think that the government is the real antagonists. The people in the arena are being forced to fight, so they are not really antagonists. Katniss is the main character in the Hunger Games, and she is the one who wins the hunger games, and the one who wins along side her is Peeta, the baker’s son. The government is the one that forces the districts to live in poverty and starve each year, they also force a boy and a girl to fight in the arena each year to get food for their district. The people and the government are not similar in any way, but they are connected. Every decision the people make are based on what the government allows. The ways they are different are that the government treats people very poorly, and only care about staying in power, but Katniss has always helped people throughout her life; if it wasn’t for her, her family would be nothing. Peeta also has always given bread to Katniss when she needed it.
-Bret

Entry #3: Foreshadowing

The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien
I predict in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit that Mr.Baggings, Gandalf and their Dwarf companions will finally slay the dragon Smaug and get steal riches because of there combined skills. Bilbo found a ring that turns him invisible and is good at sneaking past guards, Gandalf is a wizard that can summon fire at a thought and shows up just in time to save the dwarfs and Bilbo. The dwarfs them self are very capable of many things. Thorin Oakenshield their leader is a strong fighter but sometimes relies on Gandalf and Bilbo’s skills to bail them out of trouble. I believe that these and some undiscovered talents and allies will help them achieve their goals.
-Michael

Peaches by Jodi Lynn Anderson
There are three girls in Peaches, Birdie, Leeda, and Murphy. They're all very different but I think they will become best friends because their lives are connected. Murphy has a lot of boyfriends so she might get pregnant and when she gets sent to help out on Birdie's peach orchard, she will change for the better. Leeda always feels insecure so she might run away with her boyfriend. Also, Birdie meets a guy that she gets nervous about and Murphy thinks he's cute, so there could be a conflict over that.
-Melissa

The Westing Games by Ellen Raskin
I predict that in the Westing Games, Sydelle Pulaski will be the person who shouldn’t be in the apartments. I say this because in the story, Sydelle is described as someone that no one notices, that no one listens to, and that non one listens to and that no one cares about. On page 16, Sydelle says, “No one ever notices Sydelle Pulaski,” “but now they will. Now they will.” Those words give a feeling of hate, of revenge, of someone who is longing for recognition. It makes you feel like Sydelle wants revenge on the people who ignored her, and she wants to be noticed.
-Bret

East by Edith Pattou
In the beginning of East by Edith Pattou, Rose is thought to be born east but is born north instead. A fortune teller tells Rose’s mother that her north born child will die from an avalanche of snow and ice. This might happen because Rose is careless and not caring about her health and never stays in the house, always going off somewhere; a sign of being north born by his mother. Rose’s adventurous behavior causes her to lust for the adventure to the very north of the world, where the whole landscape is made up of ice and snow.
-Benmark

Entry #2: The Setting

 "Nobody can understand"- Vladek Spiegelman (Maus)

 "So only my little brother, Pinek, came out from the war alive...from the rest of my family, it's nothing left, not even a snapshot." - Vladek Spiegelman (Maus)

The Highest Tide by Jim Lynch
The setting takes place in Puget Sound where unique creature are found and where it is cold.  Puget Sound is a place not affected by big cities or waste, so the natural sea life found in their are unique. How it affects the story is by making Miles and the ocean as one because Miles spends so much time by the shore and studies it carefully and the ocean provides him with food, money that he sels to other people by finding unique, edible creatures and a giant squid that first made him famous. The ocean can be beautiful as well as deadly, when the book's date reach Sept.8 the highest tide happened and the outskirts of Olympia was amazed at the power of the Ocean. Puget Sound is beautiful and at the same time, mysterious in the creatures that you can find.
-Benmark

Pirates! by Celia Rees

The setting is mostly at sea on a few different ships. The beginning of the book took place on Nancy’s plantation where she befriends Minerva. It’s sunny and tropical with cicadas and fireflies at night. There are ponds and swamps where alligators lurk. Hidden is the Fountain, which is a natural spring of water the plantation was named after. Nancy and Minerva go on various ships, and important scenes usually take place on the deck or in their room. It also takes place in bars and in a little village they build at the end. The time it’s set in is the era of slaves and plantations, when women and blacks were discriminated, and arranged marriages existed.

-Melissa

 Maus by Art Spiegelman

The setting for the most part is a bleak one. The story is about Archie’s grandfather Vladek who was a Jew is Nazi occupied Poland. The fact that Maus is a graphic novel really helps paint a more vivid setting, but sometimes that’s not the best thing. Archie Spiegelman goes into detail telling and showing the living conditions and the torture the Jewish people went through. The setting is not always so serious, Archie tells of his family, his daily mental troubles, and almost every moment he was with his father while writing the book. He even goes on to tell of the grocery trip and bingo. The setting may be a bleak on, but it is necessary, and really added to the subject of the story.

 -Michael

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
This takes place in a futuristic society like a utopia. There are 12 districts and the center capital that rules over the districts. Each district is poor, so you can imagine what they look like, and the capital is rich. The setting of the arena would be hard to describe because it changes every year, from artic tundra to a desert wasteland to a large forest. 
-Bret