Reader's Journal #1 6/19/2011
I just finished reading Wait Till Helen Comes by Mary Downing Hahn. This is one of the best books I have ever read. When I read the blurb right away I knew this was the perfect book for me. I read the reviews which made this book look like a really good book. This book was also winner of 11state book awards. The quote on the back was very interesting. The quote is “Just wait, Molly. Wait till Helen Comes”
Before reading this book I read the synopsis. From reading the synopsis I learned that Molly has a younger brother, Michael and they have a younger stepsister, Heather. Their parents get married and move near a graveyard. Heather talks to a ghost named Helen. Heather warns Michael and Molly Helen is after them. Also I looked at the cover and this helped me visualize how Helen and the graveyard looked like. While I was reading the book I would always read a few sentences I already read to remember what I read before. Plus I asked a question, would Heather and Molly like each other at the end, my answer was yes. Two strategies I use after reading was answering the question I asked while I was reading the book and I was right that Heather and Molly were got to like each other. And I thought about the plot of the story. The exposition would be Heather, and Dave meet Molly, Jean, and Michael. Rising action is they get married and move to a church near a cemetery and Heather meets a ghost named Helen. Climax is heather tells Helen to do something to Molly, Michael, and Jean. Then Helen destroys their rooms. Falling action is Helen tries to kill Heather by dragging her into the pond so both of them could be together forever. And last the resolution, Molly doesn’t let Helen take heather even though Heather wants to go.
A great topic for this book would be Helen’s coming because Heather is constantly telling Molly and Michael “Just wait till Helen comes” and a shorter way of saying that is saying Helen’s coming. The main idea of this book is Molly and Michael try to be nice to Heather but she always twists things around. The main idea is implied because it wasn't in the passage I had to figure it out.
The genre of this book is fantasy, because it's a ghost story. Molly is the protagonist because she saves Heather (the antagonist) when Helen is about to drown Heather in the pond near Harper House which is where Helen used to live. Helen and her mom died because Helen knocked down an oil lamp and it caught on fire. Helen’s mom looked for her but Helen didn’t say anything when her mom was looking to get her out of the fire. After a while Helen didn’t hear her mom calling her. Then they both died. Helen would always drown people so when they die they could be with her and she wouldn’t have to be lonely. Heather was the first one who wanted to die and be with Helen. Michael, Jean, and Dave are supporting characters. Helen and Heather are antagonists at the beginning of the story but then change. They are both alike because their mom died because of a fire, they have the same initials, are the same age, and they understand each other. At the beginning heather hates Molly, Michael, and Jean but then everything changes when Molly saves her and tells Heather that she would have never saved her if she hated her. Now heather was the nice, sweet girl her dad Dave thought she was. There are three conflicts in the story. Character vs. character, supernatural, and self. Character vs. character represents Michael and Molly against Helen and Heather (this is the main problem and it is external). Character vs. supernatural stands for Molly fighting with Helen to let Heather alone. Character vs. self is a problem heather has with choosing to die and be with Helen without her father who she loves or live and be with her dad.
I think the author feels bad for Molly and Michael because their mom Jean doesn't believe Heather hates them, neither does Dave nor he doesn’t know the truth about Heather. I feel scared because Helen is a ghost and she scares me because she is friends with Heather and she is evil and mean. The theme of this book is Heather and Molly are enemies and then become friends. The moral of the story is you shouldn't hate anyone no matter what. The point of view is first person because it says the key words like I. The author's purpose is to entertain. Author’s perspective is objective and the author is unbiased. Five different types of figurative language that are in this book are similes, metaphors, oxymoron, cliche, and personifications. Heather is similar to Ariana a girl that used to go to my school because they are both mean and say lies. I would rate this book 9, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest because sometimes I don't know who is talking and I would have to reread like 3 times.
I really enjoyed reading this book. I loved it so much I read it in four days. I enjoy reading books by Mary Downing Hahn. She is the best author I know.
Sincerely,
Erika Alban
what are two figurative language of the book
ReplyDelete