Finished Dragon Heir 10.30.10

I finally finished this book. I can't say it was my favorite read, I am not even sure I liked it that much. There were to many characters and story plots that the author seemed to be juggling. She seemed to be working hard to establish many relationships and plots but it wasn't until the last two chapters that I began to see some of the connections. By then, I was bored and just wanted to finish. I know now how some of you feel - I haven't taken 3 months to read a book since I was 19! I almost abandoned this book.

However, it was interesting how the dragonheart stone held the essence of a powerful being (which wasn't apparent until the last chapter.). This reminded me a lot of Harry Potter 6, where Harry and Dumbldore start uncovering the various objects that hold parts of Voldermorts soul. In fact, the last chapter contained so many similiarities to Harry Potter, that I began to wonder if Ms. Chima was a big fan of Harry Potter. This was the coolest chapter because of that. But then Harry Potter Books Rock!

And then I got to the last two pages. Ms. Chima ruined it with her last two pages. I know Ms. Luthey complained of the cliffhanger in Monster High, but I'd much rather that then this... The author used the last two pages to wrap what several of the major "players" in the book ended up doing, including how Seth and Madison spent the next year of their life just hanging out." ...so he and Madision sorted some things out and left others alone... (p. 498)." You know how in some movies they use covers of magazines, at the end of the movie, to show how the characters ended up spending their lives? Kinda like that, only not near as tight. Made me wonder if she knew that she was going to write more books in the series. Oh well, time to move on to Dramorama and 8th Grade Bites. Some fun stuff.

Week 6 - Tentative Draft

It is important for readers to understand what is happening in their books, who the characters are and what the theme is. In your response, outline the following: Plot, Setting, Characters, and Universal Theme. Provide evidence to support your thinking from your book.

I am almost done with The Dragon Heir by Cinda Williams Chima. The setting of my book varies depending on which character my author is focused on or which part of the plot is being played out. The two main settings are: school Booker Mountain as seen on page
The plot of my book is
There are many characters in my book. The main ones at the school are The main ones at Booker Mountain are . There are several Universal Themes in my book

In your book, what are some of the ways that your character expresses themselves through their emotions? How do they show love? Anger? Hate? Why is this important to you as a reader?

I like to be kept on the edge of my seat when I read, so the more action packed a book is the more engaged I am. I find that the more intense emotions like fear, excitement, deceit, and love-hate conflicts make for a more interesting book. Dagron Heir by Cinda Williams Chima has these emotions. Warren Barber and D'Orsay are so sure that they should be in charge of all the wizards that they are creating this intriciate web of deceit (lies). One of the mores of the wizard world state that wizards shall not fight each other. These two men are breaking that cultural rule by pitting one set of wizards against another in order to get their hands on the covenant and thereby rule all wizards. I can't wait to see how they trap others in their web of deceit and possibly strangle themselves in it.

One part of the web is how Warren Barber is forcing Leesha, by threat of death, to trick Jason into giving her the Dragonheart (magical stone) and help Barber get his hands on Jason. Leesha is terrified of Barber so she pretends to be Jason's friend to get him to trust her and Barber ends up finding and almost killing Jason. Well, Jason's friends, Jack and Kate, figured out that she was lying and threatened to kill Leesha if she didn't confess to where Jason was. When Leesha is scared/terrified she acts snotty and dares the one who scares her. On page 246, as Kate presses a sword to Leesha's throat, it says, "She conjured up her most patronizing (superior) expression." Late,r on the same page it says, "Leesha drew herself up to her full height...." and then she says, "I don't answer to you. Now, why don't you run along and hone your weapons or rattle your swords or whatever...." I think Leesha is completely out of her mind! There is no way I would dare someone who has a sword to my throat. Then again, if I was protecting myself or one of my daughters, maybe I would.

Through the web of deceit and the strong feelings of terror and hate, Cinda Chima has definitely engaged me as a reader by helping me connect to the characters and start cheering for some of them against the others. It was very important for Chima to do this or I wouldn't keep reading!

Mores is the word of the week.

9.15.10 Week 4 Readers Response

It is important to use our observations/knowledge of the world around us to understand and make meaning out of what we read. Thinking about your experience with the writing excursion, how much importance does your author place on how two characters in your book dress/look? How do you know this?



In my book Dragon Heir the author, Cinda Williams Chima, takes time to describe each character. If not their clothes, definitely their face and hair. It appears to be very important to her to create a good picture of each character so you can tell who is evil and who is friendly or who is powerful and who is not. This is why the novelty of reading this book has not worn off.

Madison is one of the friendly and poor non wizards, but she has the power to suck the magic out of a wizard and leave them weak. She wants to be a painter and attends college at Trinity, a Wizard school. Eventually, she has to leave school and go back to her family home in the mountains. On page 210, Madison finds Jason lying by the road injured. Jason looks up at her and the author writes, “…her worried face appeared…It was bronzed a bit –she’d been out in the sun-and her voluminous hair was pulled back in a ponytail. She wore jeans and a plain white T-shirt-different from her bohemian mode of dress in Trinity”. I believe the author put so much effort into drawing a clear picture of what Madison looks like to stress how different she looks living at home on a mountain. She has been in the sun painting daily, at school she is inside most of the time, and because she is looking after her siblings she isn’t dressed to impress anyone, rather to work.
On page 69 we meet Claude D’Orsay, an evil and powerful wizard. The author creates the image of power and money by stating, “Claude D’Orsay stood framed in the doorway, dressed in wool trousers, cashmere sweater, and tweed jacket. The wizard’s hair was dark and else-cropped, his face fine-boned and aristocratic. I know from past books I’ve read and movies I’ve see that only the rich and snooty wear cashmere sweaters and tweed jackets. I also know that the word “aristocratic” means someone of “blue blood” who is related to or from a royal family.

Novelty is our word for this week

week 3 9-7

In my book Dragon Heir one of the characters, Madison, is from a small town, but she yearns to be a painter. Madison was going to college but her family lived outside of town up on Booker Mountain, which her Grandmother left to her when she died. Madison’s mother is a drunk who has very little money so the only thing of worth is tesBooker Mountain which Madison, NOT her mother, owns. On the way to Booker Mountain is the horse farm that belongs to the Ropers, who are VERY rich. Their youngest son, Brice, is also a wizard. Well, Brice’s dad is trying to buy Booker Mountain to mine it for coal but he knows Madison, like her grandmother, won’t sell. So, the father convinces Madison’s mom that if they make it look like the mountain isn’t a safe place for Madison’s two younger siblings to live, then Madison will sell it. After all, her siblings are very important to her. So emorant that she left college to come home and take care of them after a suspicious fire (started by Brice) burnt down a building when the two younger ones were at home with there very drunk mom. Brice is told to convince Madison that selling the mountain is a great idea, especially since the Bookers own a beautiful empty artists cottage that Madison and her family could move into. He actually thinks that by telling Madison this, she will give in and sell out to own this beautiful cottage that is the PERFECT place for a painter. Madison is furious! She says to him, “I have a life that doesn’t involve sucking up to you. So if you think you’re ever going to get your hands on Booker Mountain, you better think again.” To which he replies, “You’re nobody.” Fifth generation inbred trash. But when I ask you out, you say no...you think you’re to good for me?” (pg. 239) He is pretty sure no one will help her and that his family will get what they want.

This scenario (or situation) really struck a nerve with me because I have read and heard of many similar situations that have occurred and still do. The rich man or rich company or rich government, thinks that they should be able to have what ever they want. It doesn’t matter to them that they could be hurting someone else, or insulting someone else. All they care about is what they want – the land, a building, cheap labor for factories. Throughout history there are stories of individuals, companies, and governments buying off, or in some instances killing off, the person who has what the richer one wants. Usually, the richer party got away with it but sometimes they got in a little bit of trouble. Our own President Nixon was covering up a lot of bad stuff that was going on in our country – things that he was part of or new about. He counted on the fact that he was the President and the fact that no one challenges the Pres. Unfortunately, for him times had changed enough that when news of this leaked out – he ended up on trial and then impeached (removed from the office of President). Sometimes it isn’t even about money but about which group (race, culture) is better. For example, Rosa Parks and the bus boycott of the 50’s. The bus driver and the white man, who wanted a seat, didn’t care that Rosa was a very tired woman who worked hard all day. It just mattered that she was black and taking up a good seat that a white man deserved. We know that until Rosa said “no” many blacks where discriminated against and nobody did anything. For some reason, Rosa saying no upset enough people that a huge societal change happened.

I wonder what change Madison will force in the small town

Universal Theme

I am about half way into my book and I think one of the universal themes is that you need to look beyond yourself or "work for the good of the whole not the individual". In the book Jason is ticked off that he isn't being allowed to "help with the fight against D’Orsay" to save the Wizards. This is making him reckless. Instead of listening and helping in the ways they ask, he makes decisions without thinking and creates more problems and negative things happen to him. In addition, he thinks that they treat him like a little kid who can't be trusted do anything right. Well, because of the reckless things he does, he looks like a little kid. Therefore, those around him think he is reckless and don't trust him. This is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Question for Week of 8/30

As we look into how our characters in our books are expressing themselves, how does that, in turn, make you think about how you express yourself?


In Dragon Heir my characters express themselves by the way they talk, how the act (treat others), through their magic, and by the internal conversations they have with themselves. With the two main characters, Madison and Jason, the majority of self expression comes from their internal conversations. By that I mean that when they got frustrated or scared, instead of sharing that feeling with others, they hold a conversation in their head with themselves. At first I thought this was an annoying way to write a book. Then I realized that I do that a lot, especially in situations where I need to be respectful or responsible. For example, if I am at work an a student/parent/teacher irrates me I can't just start swearing or yelling - so I keep a calm face and do it in my head. Crazy huh?

Another interesting way that my characters express themselves is through their magic. Each character has their own way of using their magic and it seems like how the magic comes out of them (real cold and cruel, or hot and explosive or calm) depends on their mood. I obviously don't have magic (I wish!) but I do make noises like grunts, growls, or hum or sing depending on what my mood. If I am really ticked I will growl instead of yell sometimes and if I am in a carefree mood I will hum a song or make up a song.

The Dragon Heir

I started this book Saturday when my youngest, Kayla, found it in the store for me. She said "mom this is a book you would like because of the cover and title". And she is right. Even though the characters are teenagers with various magical powers (kinda like Harry Potter) I am enjoying it. I struggled at first trying to find the connection between the prologue and the first chapter, but by chapter two I understood. I was also annoyed with how whiny the main character, Jason, is. He "thinks" many whiny "oh woo is me" comments on every page at first. Yes, I wanted to quit but I plugged on. Now I am hooked and want to find out what the Dragonheart's power is and how Jason will weld (use) it.

If you like fantasy, teenagers who think they are "all that", and magical action - check it out. Boys, I think you'd like it. Give it a chance. We don't have it on the shelf, but I'd be willing to share when I am done.

Bree finished

It took me awhile to finish the short life of Bree and not because of the book. I moved on June 19th and spent most of the last two weeks unpacking and remodeling my new house. This is the first summer I haven't read much, not even brain candy.

I watched Eclipse on Monday and then finished Bree this morning. It was very interesting to finish the book after seeing Eclipse. Gave me a new insight on why Edward said some of what he did in the movie and explains some of the real insanity of the newborns in the movie. Ofcourse, now I want to reread Eclipse to see how Riley and Victoria behave in the movie and how the storyline plays out.

Bree's behavior (and Diego's)lends more credibility to how Bella behaves as a newborn as well.

If you are looking for romance like the rest of the twilight books you will be disappointed but there is still some excitement. Just no real enticing wolves ;)

the short second life of bree tanner

I wasn't sure if I'd like this eclipse novella. And at first I didn't, it seemed slow and boring. It was like being in the mind of a baby (newborn) and it felt disjointed and confusing. Which, now that I think about it, makes since I guess since Bree is a "newborn". I am on page 138 now, and it is really fascinating to understand how a cult (which in essence is what this vampire coven is like) is formed. All of the newborns, except Fred, Bree, and Deigo, blindly follow Riley. Riley is Her (Victoria)Captain or righthand man who is in charge of controlling the newborns. If you step away from the story it seems like Stephenie Meyer is trying to show how dangerous it can be to blindly follow anyone - friend, family, boy/girlfriednd, gang, government. It is vital that we be able to think for ourselves. Otherwise, we are essentially puppets. Who would you rather have control over you? I think this is a really important lesson for middle schoolers to learn because puppets are just as responsible for their actions.

What do you think?

Mrs. Lord Anderson