The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner

          This week I thought I would pick up the well known novel, The Kite Runner. I read the first five chapters this week, and I was able to pick up a lot of context from these thirty pages. This novel, written by Khaled Hosseini, takes place in December of 2001 in Los Angeles, with a middle-aged man looking back on his past as a young boy, peeking through the abandoned allies of his community. He begins with talking in almost a dark tone or manner. I expect the narrator to be the author, Khaled, as it the novel is in first person. Khaled believes that one is able to block out the worst moments of their past, and bury it. However, it takes time and effort, "because the past claws its way out". The novel introduces three characters, just on the first page. Rahim Khan, who seems to be an old friend of Khaled's, who lives in Pakistan. Rahim seems to induce the resurfacing of many of Khaled's old memories, and throughout the novel, Khaled is reflecting on his past.

         One thing I definitely enjoyed about the start of this novel is the diction. The author has a wonderful way of portraying his past. It took me two pages to want to read more, as the novel seems to be very mysterious. Khaled seems to have a very intriguing past, and he withholds the information from the reader, which is what makes me want to read more. It is a compelling and interesting book and it's definitely not your typical love story or science fiction novel. :)

          Something I didn't like about the novel so far was that it's slightly confusing. I love how the author makes the novel mysterious, however the phrases he uses and characters he refers to required me to make a lot of inferences that may or may not be correct. The only way to ensure who is who is by reading carefully and remembering small details. For example, the author might repeat a quote of someone he used to know more than once at different occasions in the novel, so you must be able to connect all of those events so that you are able to form a clear picture in your mind.

          In general, I enjoyed these first few chapters. Khaled talks about his childhood a lot and I expect this novel to be very well-written and attention-grabbing. As of now, I would recommend the novel to others. :)

Pakistan is located in Asia and at one point was connected with India, until a major war/dispute tore their relationship apart. They are now separate countries

Speak

Speak

This week I decided to pick up a book that I had heard a lot about. Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson. The book starts out with the introduction of main character, Melinda Sordino, a freshman with an enormous secret weighing on her shoulders. Taking place at Merryweather High School in Syracuse, New York, Melinda is constantly feeling guilty and in constant pain. She resorts to ditching school and hiding in an abandoned janitors closet. Self-harming is the least of her problems.

    She attended a party in the summer before she had begun high school, and it was quite intense. There were several upperclassmen along with readily available alcohol and drugs. She was having an amazing time at the party, until she met a boy. It may sound like your typical love story, but it's the complete opposite. Wildly desired Andy Evans, had approached her at the party. Feeling excited and intoxicated, the two went into the woods to speak together, and that led into Andy showing his true colors. Melinda had been raped by him, and she was too drunk to understand what was happening to her.

    Melinda finally realized what was happening in the woods, and was barely able to get away from him. So it wasn't a surprise when Melinda called the police. The authorities shut down the party, and everyone knew that Melinda was to blame.

    Melinda had lost a significant amount of friends due to the incident at the party, although nobody knew that she had been raped there. Her only friend is a new student named Heather, and she is constantly trying to get Melinda back into the loop, so that she gains some popularity. Melinda doesn't want this, and constantly tries to get out of seeing her old friends and Andy. So, she skips school.

    Her guidance counselor is quite worried about her and persists in asking Melinda what had caused her grades to drop so much. After awhile, she finally admits to herself that she was actually raped. It took her so long to realize it, but now it would be easier. She started to open up to several more people about her experience at the party. She speaks up (the title made sense at this point) about everything, and fights for herself, along with several other girls that Andy had played with as well.

    I think what I really enjoyed about this novel was that it was extremely modern. Thousands, possibly millions, of women all over the world are sexually abused and raped. It was a truly impactful novel, and quite relevant in today's times. I believe that if the novel gains popularity, it will be read by more, which means that more scared women will gain the inspiration to speak up about their situations and realize that by opening up to someone, they are not weak at all. They are actually significantly stronger. It was quite an interesting novel and I would definitely recommend it to young adults.

Above you are able to see the statistics of rape in each country. It is quite horrific to see that America is one of the darkest shaded countries, meaning people are more likely to be raped in America than almost any other country.

The Grapes of Wrath

The Grapes of Wrath

     As usual, I decided to begin another novel today. The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. I haven't heard much of this book, however I remember my sister read it when she was around my age so we had the book at home and I just picked it up :) To begin the novel, you are introduced to main character Tom Joad, a man convicted for manslaughter. He spent four years in prison and has just been released. He is on is way home to see his family in Oklahoma once more. Tom hitches a ride from a truck driver named Jim Casey. Jim and Tom go driving together, in order to seek out Tom's long-lost family. However, when they arrive to what should've been Tom's home, they are quite surprised.

    The two young men are shocked to hear that Tom's family has moved to California, in order to look for jobs. So Jim, being the kind soul he is, continues on with Tom on his journey. They head for Tom's Uncle John's home, where they find Tom's mother, father, and grandpa packing up the last of their family's possessions. They continue towards California at that point. Shortly after their departure, Tom's grandpa passes away :(

    So far, I have found the book to be slightly complex. The language used throughout the novel is spelt slightly different, as every piece of dialogue is spoken in a somewhat southern accent, so it can be slightly confusing when trying to read through. You have to slightly alter your mindset when reading through. However, overall, the beginning of the story is very well developed and I can't wait to read more!

Above you can see an image from the actual film made. It was clearly in a different age, where people spoke and acted quite different than they do in todays time.