Blog Post #4

I think that theme in my book, Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix, is that you can't control the past or the future.  First off the author uses a literary device to prove this theme.  During the book there would be flashbacks of when Melly and Anny Beth first became members of the Project Turnabout or their previous lives. This was used to show that Melly and Anny Beth made their decisions based on their past and the successes and failures in it. But, as the book went on the flashbacks became more and more limited, almost to the point of none.  I think this is because the author wanted to showcase that when Melly and Anny Beth were confronting the scientists at the Turnabout center and AJ Hazlewood this wasn't because of their past.  The characters knew that their decisions weren't going to change the past and that whatever they did where based on their judgments in that moment.  To add, the whole entire idea of Project Turnabout was based on the idea of controlling the future.  Dr. Reed started the project to save his dying grandmother and have her live forever with him.  That didn't work out ot well since Dr.Reed's grandmother died before the injection could be administrated.  This left a whole group of people who had so many regrets and issues in Dr.Reed's hands. It said in the book that so many comitted suicide or left the project without a trace.  Dr. Reed thought he could control the future, but that ended up with him causing a lot of deaths and miserable people.  This is why I think that the theme of Turnabout is that you can't control the past or the future

Blog Post #3

 The book that I'm reading in my bookclub is Turnabout by Margaret Peterson Haddix.  One of my favorite characters in the book is Anny Beth.  I love Anny Beth because she is rebellious and brings a hint of spontaneousness to the book.  Plus, she is a really positive person bringing some lightness into the story. For example on pg 52 Anny Beth says "I'm here to tell you I messed up my first life bad and I'm tickled pink to get another chance. I plan to enjoy it."  This is when Anny Beth is commenting on Mrs. Swanson , another Project Turnabout member, comitting suicide because of the side effects of the project.  Mrs. Swanson couldn't see her family and that led her to death, but Anny Beth was the opposite and embraced the project, seeing it as a good thing instead of a bad.  Another place where Anny Beth shows these qualities is on pg 120 when she says"Yes, we'll goo to Kentucky." This was super risky because Kentucky was where Melly and Anny Beth used to live.  If they went back there and somebody recognized them then their secret would be out and Project Turnabout would be revealed. These are the reasons why I love Anny Beth as a character.

My Favorite Character

   The one character that has stuck out the most for me while reading is Sam Roth in Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater.  At first Sam was a someone who was just scared for the future because of his past.  For example, Sam souldn't even look at a bathtub without being terrified.  Sam's parents had harmed in their bathtup trying to get the "devil" out of him after seeing him change into a werewolf.  This really jumstarted Sam's sadness.  Sam never meant to be a werewolf and that really defined him as a person. He was just somebody who seemed lost and scared.  Grace, Sam's girfriend, made a great comparison to him,“You're beautiful and sad," I said finally, not looking at him when I did. "Just like your eyes. You're like a song that I heard when I was a little kid but forgot I knew until I heard it again."  This did change though. At the end of the book Sam stood up and didn't let his past hold him down.  When Sam sees Beck, basically his adopted father, bring kids who he changed into werewolves so their pack would still be alive after Sam and Beck stopped changing Sam doesn't back down.  Grace always told Sam that she could see the sadness in his eyes, but at that moment Sam was just fierce.  He stood up against Beck and told him that this was completely wrong. For Sam is was terribly hard because Beck was his father after his Sam actual parents betrayed him.  Sam wasn't scared anymore. He was strong and believed in himself really changing what people perceived of him. I think this is why i can relate to Sam. There's always those things that get me scared in life and I avoid them and that doesn't bode well for myself.  Sam changed into a person who didn't let his past define him and that's something that I can look upon and really admire.