NightShade – Weekly Reading Response Blog

Right now in my book things are kind of moving slowly. Not many new things are taking place, so i really don’t have to much to say….

Calla is trying to decipher the meaning of a strange cross tattoo on the back of shay’s neck, a tattoo that he himself can’t see, and a tattoo that looks exactly like an image she found, while reading the keepers text. Underneath the image it says (in Latin) “May scion bear the cross. The cross is the anchor of life.”

Calla seems to believe that Shay is this “Scion”, and that’s why the keepers ordered her to keep him safe.

2. Right now i am a little confused about who “Scion” could be, and what he has to do with Shay. Also, when Shay looked in the mirror he couldn’t see his tattoo, this made me wonder how that could be possible. I’m starting to think that Shay is more involved in the world of the keepers and the gaurdians, then Calla is. And Calla grew up in that world, it’s all she knows, whereas Shay has only has only just discovered it’s existence.

9. The language the author uses in this book is so-so. Sometimes her language fits her scenes really well, but then sometimes, not as much. For example; In some of the more romantic scenes, her language is very much “well fitting” her words fit the mood quite well, but then in her more action filled scenes, her language is kind of bland. Like i could be reading the scene, but not REALLY take it all in, because it just feels like words.

7. If you were to go through my connections, when i had just stated reading it, you would probably see that a lot of them refer to the “Twilight books”. Even though i never read those books, while i was reading i was constantly reminded of things i either saw in one of the movies, or heard from one of my friends.

One major resemblance i noticed was the “Were-Wolf” aspect, the way both clans (from both series’s) could change forms whenever they pleased. Another would be the way Calla occasionally craved blood, now this reminded me of the “Vampire” aspect in the Twilight series. Then of course there’s the love triangle aspect i noticed in both stories, but won’t explain right now. Basically i felt like this book was a HUGE mash-up of all the different elements in the well known Twilight Saga.

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Reading Response Prompts

1. Tell what like or dislike about the book and why.

2. Tell about parts of your book that puzzled you or made you ask a question.

3. Tell what you noticed about the characters, such as what made them act as they did or how they changed.

4. Write about something in the book that surprised you or that you found interesting.

5. Write your predictions and about whether your predictions were right.

6. Ask for help in figuring out meaning of your book.

7. Tell about the connections that you made while reading the book. Tell how it reminds you of yourself, of people you know, or of something that happened in your life. It might remind you of other books, especially the characters, the events, or the setting.

8. Write about the author’s style and how it makes you feel.

9. Write about the language the author used and why you think the author wrote this way.

10. Write about the author’s craft – what was effective about the way the author wrote.

11. Write about anything else that you may think of that deals with the book.

12. Do you relate to any of the characters in the book? Explain how and why.

13. If you abanded the book, why did you?

14. Name 3 examples of signals that went off in your head while you were reading and explain them.

15. Explain what happened at the climax and explain why you think that is the climax.

16. Tell what you think could be changed in the book to make it better for readers.

Reading Response Rubric

Level 3 (B Range)
In your response you:
- have written at least one post a week
- demonstrate that you have read a variety of fiction and non-fiction materials
- reflect on the books you read effectively- relate to the books you read
- retell only the most important information in your responses
- explain your interpretation of a written work clearly, supporting it with evidence from the work and from your own knowledge and experiences clearly.
- demonstrate that you are a critical thinker that examines characters, plot, setting and literary - devices effectively

Level 4 (A Range)
In your response you:
- have written more than one post a week
- demonstrate that you have read a good variety of fiction and non-fiction materials
- reflect on the books you read very effectively
- relate to the books you read very effectively
- retell only the most important information in your responses
- explain your interpretation of a written work clearly, supporting it with evidence from the work and from your own knowledge and experiences clearly and concisely.
- demonstrate that you are a highly critical thinker that examines characters, plot, setting and literary devices effectively