How does your book begin? First describe the events that start your story. Then tell if this is a good, effective way for the author to start the book. Explain why or why not. What would you change?
The book I'm reading, The Land Of Stories: The Enchantress Returns, is the second book in a series. The book starts with a celebration in The Eastern Kingdom, but the queen receives threatening news. After the kingdom just lifted a curse, they receive news of a new one. I really like this beginning becuase it takes place in a realm where the main characters are not present. This is interesting becuase the rest of the book takes place wherever the main characters, Alex and Conner, are. This draws you in, and you are confused as why the main characters are not mentioned, so you want to keep reading. I don't think I would change the beginning just becuase it is so different than the rest of the book.
I just started reading a book called Viola in Real Life, and have so far really been enjoying it. The author spends the first chapter describing the scenery of Viola’s new boarding school and showing us multiple text conversations between Viola and her friends/family. So far the author has been doing a wonderful job of introducing and explaining the characters and using similes and metaphors to enhance Viola’s thoughts and actions. Viola in Real Life takes the reader to a world much like their own, but with the pleasure of not actually having to live in it. It is a break from your life and an opportunity to step into someone else's without being yelled at or shooed away. I wouldn’t change anything about this beginning because it has a friendly way of telling the reader to continue with the book but still keeping it interesting.
The book I am reading is called The Infinite Sea. This book is the second book in the 5th Wave series. The author describes how the world is after the 5th wave. 7 billion people have been wiped out on the planet. What remains is old hotels, houses, and farms. Cassie, Zombie, and Nugget wait for the return on Evan Walker but, winter is coming and they must seek shelter. Before the book even starts, there is a brief explanation of what is happening to families that seek shelter. The author stated the book with a lot of depth and sadness in the story. This wants me to read more of the book. The "others" have left on a plane to go somewhere else in the world. Where I stopped reading my book, the last line was "I am not alone" This makes me want to read more. The author also does a good on leaving every chapter on a cliff hanger. This book has a really good start and I can not wait to finish it.
The book I read is titled Ready Player One. This exhilarating novel starts out with the character, Wade, describing his life in a dystopian society, or in this case, his lack of life. He talks about his dead parents, his housing situation, the economy, and the biggest thing in his virtual life - the egg. Ready Player One's storyline is about Wade's adventure in an alternate reality called the Oasis. I think this way of introducing the society and the status of the world as a whole was an effective way to draw in the reader. After I read the beginning of the book, I was hooked. If I were the author of Ready Player One I would have written fewer slower parts in terms of the action. The slow parts seemed to pop up too frequently and they really slowed the book down.
The book I am reading is called Survivors: Darkness Falls. It is the third book in the Survivors series. The book begins with the Wild Dog pack reluctantly agreeing to welcome the Leashed Dog pack into their camp after a fight between the two resulted in death. But only after casting main character Lucky out forever for his role as a spy. I thought starting a book with a conflict was an effective way to draw the reader and keep them interested and intrigued. In the same way, ending the previous book with a conflict was also a effective way to keep the reader involved in the series. If I was allowed to alter the book's beginning, I think I would've left the conflict unresolved until later in the book, just to keep the reader actively involved. I have been engrossed this book and can't wait to conclude reading it!
I agree it is an interesting way - you're hooked on the conflict from the start. But I'm a bit unclear if the problem was solved - was a new conflict introduced? What kept you reading?
The book I am reading is called Pretties. It is the second book in the Uglies series. The book begins when Tally and Shay are talking about dressing up for a party. Tally and Shay cannot decide what to wear to a costume party; they decide to go as Smokies because they would look very “crim”. This isn’t a great or effective way to start a book because the author doesn’t explain a lot of the background of the people; instead, she goes straight into the story. Explaining parts of the book would be a very effective way to draw a reader in; When reading the first couple of pages, I didn’t feel like I was being drawn in. Both Uglies and Pretties have a slow beginning so I kept reading. Uglies is the 2nd book in the Pretties series, so I think the author expects that everyone read the first book. If a reader doesn’t read the first book and starts on the second book, there is a lot of information in the book that doesn’t make sense. What I would change about the book is I would give enough background information so a reader could start on any book, and feel like they know what’s happening. Another thing I would change is getting the reader interested in the first page, not the 3rd chapter.
I am reading the book The Borrowers. The Borrowers opens up in early-20th-century England with a girl named Kate losing her sewing needle. She tells Mrs. May, her babysitter, that she could’ve sworn that she had put her needle in a certain spot. Mrs. May then says, “Oh, don’t tell me they’re here, too!” and launches into a story about the “borrowers,” tiny people who take small things from “human beans” and use them in their homes. This story is the foundation of the book. I think this was a good and effective way to open up the story because the author had the chance to explain a little bit about Kate, Mrs. May, and Mrs. May’s brother, who is relevant to the story because he was the one who first discovered the borrowers. Also, it gives a chance to explain who the borrowers are. This was also an effective way to start the story because it explains that the brother was sick and potentially hallucinating during the time that the borrowers were seen, so there is an element of mystery in how much of the story was true. If I were to change one thing about the beginning of The Borrowers, I would get to the part where Mrs. May starts to tell the story sooner. While I do like a lot the amount of description and detail put into the beginning, I feel like there is too much of it and a lot of it is irrelevant. For instance, the whole conversation between Mrs. May and Kate before the sewing needle is brought up is recorded, something that I did not find necessary. While I did find that there was a lot of excess detail, I think that the beginning was good and effective in opening the book.
My book Dovey Coe begins with the main character Dovey Coe, rambling about how she did not kill Parnell Caraway, her arch-enemy. The rambling and rather poor grammar is done in a way that makes the reader think she is from the South and lives in a rural area. Dovey describes how Parnell was a boy who is much better off than herself, and rubbed in the fact that he could be a delinquent. Parnell always thought that he could get away with whatever he wanted just because his father owns all the land. She also uses the introduction to give the reader a background of her family, her town, and the scenery. It is a good way to start the book because it explains her background. It really lays out the things that I would need to have to understand to progress of the story while making me interested in the plot. For example, at the end of the prologue, she says that she did not kill Parnell, making me want to read further into the book. Also, the way she starts the book makes me think that she is talking to my face.I would not change anything about the prolouge. Her writing style helps the reader put themselves in Dovey’s shoes. Without even directly describing Dovey, her grammar and southern style and the fact she wanted a pocket knife already gave me an idea of her character.
The book I am currently reading is Girl Online on Tour by Zoe Sugg. It is the second book in the Girl Online series. The series is based around a girl who uses a blog to help deal with her panic attacks and problems in her life. The book starts with a blog post. In the blog post Penny, the main character, is listing ways of how to survive a long distance relationship. In the previous book, at the end of all her blog posts she would sign off each blog with, “Girl Online, going offline xxx” At the end of this particular blog post, which is the first two pages of the book, she writes, “Girl Offline… never going online xxx” This is an effective way to start the book because having read the first book I always thought that Penny really liked her blog. Since this happened on the first two pages on the book, there was no explanation to why Penny did not want to write her blog anymore. This intrigued me and made me want to keep reading the book to find out why she did not want to post her blog posts anymore. I wouldn’t change anything about the beginning since it had significance to the first book and I enjoyed getting a refresher from the first book.
I am currently reading book one out of the Eragon series. The author, Christopher Paolini started the first chapter with the main character finding a rock type of object that ended up to be a dragon's egg. Paolini jumped right into the story as you read start to develop a foundation for each character and get to understand each character as the story goes instead of telling about each character then starting the main story. The book is interesting and very intriguing. I choose it due to a number of good reviews and how it is a common medieval fantasy book that people read. The book is exactly what I expected from a Fantasy book in a positive way and makes you want to keep on reading until you mom yells at you to go to sleep. Paolini made a perfect setting for this dungeons and dragons theme and it truly makes you wonder how life would have been in the olden medieval days.
The book I am currently reading is The Fellowship of The Ring by J.R.R Tolkien. The novel first starts out as describing the peaceful town of The Shire, a lush village inhabited by Hobbits. But then, the grey wizard Gandalf makes an appearance at the shire making everyone wonder: “What could’ve brought Gandalf here?”. At the birthday party of Bilbo Baggins, a very well known hobbit, Bilbo makes a sudden disappearance only to never return. We later then discover that Bilbo’s disappearance was caused by an enchanted ring that was then passed down to Frodo Baggins, a relative of Bilbo, shortly after Bilbo’s disappearance. Frodo is then sent on a Journey to destroy this ring by Gandalf, as the ring possesses many dark powers and secrets that have never been wanted by the world in which this novel takes place. I believe that this is a very great way to start the book, as the first couple of chapters act as a very strong hook to their readers making me, and hopefully more readers, want to read further. I most definitely would not change anything about this introduction because I believe that its ability to hook readers and the amount of detail it possesses fit the book perfectly.
The book I am currently reading is Prodigy by Marie Lu. It is the second book of the Legend trilogy. The book starts out with the two protagonists, Day and June, running away from the Republican Government by riding in a train. Day and June rebelled against them since they have been mistreating their citizens by infecting the poor with a mutated plague virus. After Day and June revolted against the Republic, they both ran away to hide in Las Vegas because the Republican Government was going to hunt them down. In my opinion, the beginning of this book didn’t grab my attention because there was no action or suspense. The beginning of the book didn’t give any explanation of why the characters were in the train, so I was a little confused in the beginning of Prodigy. Also, if a person started to read this book without reading the first book in the trilogy, he or she would have no clue about the story. If I were to change the beginning, I would include a scene that contains a significant amount of action about the Republican soldiers chasing Day and June since it will hook the reader. I would also give the reader information about what happened in the previous book so he or she would know the story.
The book I am currently reading is Pretties. Pretties is the second book in the Uglies series. The book begins with Tally and Shay trying to figure out what to wear for a costume party that they will be attending. After a lot of thinking they finally decided to dress up as Smokies. I don't think this is the most effective way the book could have started because there is not that much background information. A reader would only understand the beginning of the book if they read the Uglies. I have read the Uglies and some parts are still a little confusing, since I have just started reading the book. The beginning displays the lifestyle of the pretties very well which consists of parties, having fun, and having everything be fancy. When I read a book I want the book to draw me in, but the beginning did not really do that. The author must have thought that Pretties didn't need a beginning that would draw the reader in because Pretties is the second book in the series. The expectation from the author is that the reader would continue with the series no matter what. If I was the author I would change the beginning to be more detailed and provide more background information from the first book. This will allow more people to read the book and not have to read the first book before Pretties. Overall, Pretties is a great book and I will continue the series, since I love the plot of the book.
So, when does it get better? It sounds like you are enjoying it, but did not enjoy the start. Was there a certain section or scene that changed your mind?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThe book I'm reading, The Land Of Stories: The Enchantress Returns, is the second book in a series. The book starts with a celebration in The Eastern Kingdom, but the queen receives threatening news. After the kingdom just lifted a curse, they receive news of a new one. I really like this beginning becuase it takes place in a realm where the main characters are not present. This is interesting becuase the rest of the book takes place wherever the main characters, Alex and Conner, are. This draws you in, and you are confused as why the main characters are not mentioned, so you want to keep reading. I don't think I would change the beginning just becuase it is so different than the rest of the book.
ReplyDeleteMy daughter's on the 3rd or 4th one of these, I believe. She loves. I hope you continue to enjoy it!
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ReplyDeleteI just started reading a book called Viola in Real Life, and have so far really been enjoying it. The author spends the first chapter describing the scenery of Viola’s new boarding school and showing us multiple text conversations between Viola and her friends/family. So far the author has been doing a wonderful job of introducing and explaining the characters and using similes and metaphors to enhance Viola’s thoughts and actions. Viola in Real Life takes the reader to a world much like their own, but with the pleasure of not actually having to live in it. It is a break from your life and an opportunity to step into someone else's without being yelled at or shooed away. I wouldn’t change anything about this beginning because it has a friendly way of telling the reader to continue with the book but still keeping it interesting.
ReplyDeleteI really loved this book--this was the author's first attempt at YA. You have some fantastic sentences here!
DeleteThe book I am reading is called The Infinite Sea. This book is the second book in the 5th Wave series. The author describes how the world is after the 5th wave. 7 billion people have been wiped out on the planet. What remains is old hotels, houses, and farms. Cassie, Zombie, and Nugget wait for the return on Evan Walker but, winter is coming and they must seek shelter. Before the book even starts, there is a brief explanation of what is happening to families that seek shelter. The author stated the book with a lot of depth and sadness in the story. This wants me to read more of the book. The "others" have left on a plane to go somewhere else in the world. Where I stopped reading my book, the last line was "I am not alone" This makes me want to read more. The author also does a good on leaving every chapter on a cliff hanger. This book has a really good start and I can not wait to finish it.
ReplyDeleteSounds interesting!
DeleteThe book I read is titled Ready Player One. This exhilarating novel starts out with the character, Wade, describing his life in a dystopian society, or in this case, his lack of life. He talks about his dead parents, his housing situation, the economy, and the biggest thing in his virtual life - the egg. Ready Player One's storyline is about Wade's adventure in an alternate reality called the Oasis. I think this way of introducing the society and the status of the world as a whole was an effective way to draw in the reader. After I read the beginning of the book, I was hooked. If I were the author of Ready Player One I would have written fewer slower parts in terms of the action. The slow parts seemed to pop up too frequently and they really slowed the book down.
ReplyDeleteDo you notice a difference between this book and a young adult book?
DeleteThe book I am reading is called Survivors: Darkness Falls. It is the third book in the Survivors series. The book begins with the Wild Dog pack reluctantly agreeing to welcome the Leashed Dog pack into their camp after a fight between the two resulted in death. But only after casting main character Lucky out forever for his role as a spy. I thought starting a book with a conflict was an effective way to draw the reader and keep them interested and intrigued. In the same way, ending the previous book with a conflict was also a effective way to keep the reader involved in the series. If I was allowed to alter the book's beginning, I think I would've left the conflict unresolved until later in the book, just to keep the reader actively involved. I have been engrossed this book and can't wait to conclude reading it!
ReplyDeleteI agree it is an interesting way - you're hooked on the conflict from the start. But I'm a bit unclear if the problem was solved - was a new conflict introduced? What kept you reading?
DeleteThe book I am reading is called Pretties. It is the second book in the Uglies series. The book begins when Tally and Shay are talking about dressing up for a party. Tally and Shay cannot decide what to wear to a costume party; they decide to go as Smokies because they would look very “crim”. This isn’t a great or effective way to start a book because the author doesn’t explain a lot of the background of the people; instead, she goes straight into the story. Explaining parts of the book would be a very effective way to draw a reader in; When reading the first couple of pages, I didn’t feel like I was being drawn in. Both Uglies and Pretties have a slow beginning so I kept reading. Uglies is the 2nd book in the Pretties series, so I think the author expects that everyone read the first book. If a reader doesn’t read the first book and starts on the second book, there is a lot of information in the book that doesn’t make sense. What I would change about the book is I would give enough background information so a reader could start on any book, and feel like they know what’s happening. Another thing I would change is getting the reader interested in the first page, not the 3rd chapter.
ReplyDeleteWould the explanations be redundant, though? If you read the first book, are you able to understand it?
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI am reading the book The Borrowers. The Borrowers opens up in early-20th-century England with a girl named Kate losing her sewing needle. She tells Mrs. May, her babysitter, that she could’ve sworn that she had put her needle in a certain spot. Mrs. May then says, “Oh, don’t tell me they’re here, too!” and launches into a story about the “borrowers,” tiny people who take small things from “human beans” and use them in their homes. This story is the foundation of the book.
ReplyDeleteI think this was a good and effective way to open up the story because the author had the chance to explain a little bit about Kate, Mrs. May, and Mrs. May’s brother, who is relevant to the story because he was the one who first discovered the borrowers. Also, it gives a chance to explain who the borrowers are. This was also an effective way to start the story because it explains that the brother was sick and potentially hallucinating during the time that the borrowers were seen, so there is an element of mystery in how much of the story was true.
If I were to change one thing about the beginning of The Borrowers, I would get to the part where Mrs. May starts to tell the story sooner. While I do like a lot the amount of description and detail put into the beginning, I feel like there is too much of it and a lot of it is irrelevant. For instance, the whole conversation between Mrs. May and Kate before the sewing needle is brought up is recorded, something that I did not find necessary.
While I did find that there was a lot of excess detail, I think that the beginning was good and effective in opening the book.
Great job--this is a surprising book choice, though. Have you read it before?
DeleteMy book Dovey Coe begins with the main character Dovey Coe, rambling about how she did not kill Parnell Caraway, her arch-enemy. The rambling and rather poor grammar is done in a way that makes the reader think she is from the South and lives in a rural area. Dovey describes how Parnell was a boy who is much better off than herself, and rubbed in the fact that he could be a delinquent. Parnell always thought that he could get away with whatever he wanted just because his father owns all the land. She also uses the introduction to give the reader a background of her family, her town, and the scenery. It is a good way to start the book because it explains her background. It really lays out the things that I would need to have to understand to progress of the story while making me interested in the plot. For example, at the end of the prologue, she says that she did not kill Parnell, making me want to read further into the book. Also, the way she starts the book makes me think that she is talking to my face.I would not change anything about the prolouge. Her writing style helps the reader put themselves in Dovey’s shoes. Without even directly describing Dovey, her grammar and southern style and the fact she wanted a pocket knife already gave me an idea of her character.
ReplyDeleteAre you enjoying it? Do you think it was a good choice for you?
DeleteThe book I am currently reading is Girl Online on Tour by Zoe Sugg. It is the second book in the Girl Online series. The series is based around a girl who uses a blog to help deal with her panic attacks and problems in her life. The book starts with a blog post. In the blog post Penny, the main character, is listing ways of how to survive a long distance relationship. In the previous book, at the end of all her blog posts she would sign off each blog with, “Girl Online, going offline xxx” At the end of this particular blog post, which is the first two pages of the book, she writes, “Girl Offline… never going online xxx” This is an effective way to start the book because having read the first book I always thought that Penny really liked her blog. Since this happened on the first two pages on the book, there was no explanation to why Penny did not want to write her blog anymore. This intrigued me and made me want to keep reading the book to find out why she did not want to post her blog posts anymore. I wouldn’t change anything about the beginning since it had significance to the first book and I enjoyed getting a refresher from the first book.
ReplyDeleteHow much time does the author spend recapping events? Is the refresher just the right amount, or too repetitive?
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ReplyDeleteI am currently reading book one out of the Eragon series. The author, Christopher Paolini started the first chapter with the main character finding a rock type of object that ended up to be a dragon's egg. Paolini jumped right into the story as you read start to develop a foundation for each character and get to understand each character as the story goes instead of telling about each character then starting the main story. The book is interesting and very intriguing. I choose it due to a number of good reviews and how it is a common medieval fantasy book that people read. The book is exactly what I expected from a Fantasy book in a positive way and makes you want to keep on reading until you mom yells at you to go to sleep. Paolini made a perfect setting for this dungeons and dragons theme and it truly makes you wonder how life would have been in the olden medieval days.
ReplyDeleteSounds like you found the perfect book for you!
DeleteThe book I am currently reading is The Fellowship of The Ring by J.R.R Tolkien. The novel first starts out as describing the peaceful town of The Shire, a lush village inhabited by Hobbits. But then, the grey wizard Gandalf makes an appearance at the shire making everyone wonder: “What could’ve brought Gandalf here?”. At the birthday party of Bilbo Baggins, a very well known hobbit, Bilbo makes a sudden disappearance only to never return. We later then discover that Bilbo’s disappearance was caused by an enchanted ring that was then passed down to Frodo Baggins, a relative of Bilbo, shortly after Bilbo’s disappearance. Frodo is then sent on a Journey to destroy this ring by Gandalf, as the ring possesses many dark powers and secrets that have never been wanted by the world in which this novel takes place. I believe that this is a very great way to start the book, as the first couple of chapters act as a very strong hook to their readers making me, and hopefully more readers, want to read further. I most definitely would not change anything about this introduction because I believe that its ability to hook readers and the amount of detail it possesses fit the book perfectly.
ReplyDeleteHave you read this series before? I know it's a favorite!
DeleteThe book I am currently reading is Prodigy by Marie Lu. It is the second book of the Legend trilogy. The book starts out with the two protagonists, Day and June, running away from the Republican Government by riding in a train. Day and June rebelled against them since they have been mistreating their citizens by infecting the poor with a mutated plague virus. After Day and June revolted against the Republic, they both ran away to hide in Las Vegas because the Republican Government was going to hunt them down. In my opinion, the beginning of this book didn’t grab my attention because there was no action or suspense. The beginning of the book didn’t give any explanation of why the characters were in the train, so I was a little confused in the beginning of Prodigy. Also, if a person started to read this book without reading the first book in the trilogy, he or she would have no clue about the story. If I were to change the beginning, I would include a scene that contains a significant amount of action about the Republican soldiers chasing Day and June since it will hook the reader. I would also give the reader information about what happened in the previous book so he or she would know the story.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if you found it a bit boring because it was the second book? Have you noticed that in other trilogies?
DeleteThe book I am currently reading is Pretties. Pretties is the second book in the Uglies series. The book begins with Tally and Shay trying to figure out what to wear for a costume party that they will be attending. After a lot of thinking they finally decided to dress up as Smokies. I don't think this is the most effective way the book could have started because there is not that much background information. A reader would only understand the beginning of the book if they read the Uglies. I have read the Uglies and some parts are still a little confusing, since I have just started reading the book. The beginning displays the lifestyle of the pretties very well which consists of parties, having fun, and having everything be fancy. When I read a book I want the book to draw me in, but the beginning did not really do that. The author must have thought that Pretties didn't need a beginning that would draw the reader in because Pretties is the second book in the series. The expectation from the author is that the reader would continue with the series no matter what. If I was the author I would change the beginning to be more detailed and provide more background information from the first book. This will allow more people to read the book and not have to read the first book before Pretties. Overall, Pretties is a great book and I will continue the series, since I love the plot of the book.
ReplyDeleteSo, when does it get better? It sounds like you are enjoying it, but did not enjoy the start. Was there a certain section or scene that changed your mind?
Delete