Novel Study 1.13.10

Culminating Activity: Novel Study


This book brought up several interesting things for me to think about. Things like blood mixed with wine; changing names; popular groups that only invite specific groups in and so on. The blood mixed with wine is an interesting twist in the book even if I find it mortally wrong and against my ethics and values as it is weird and strange to me. Another interesting thing the book mentioned is changing the names once you’ve entered the school. You can change your name right away without any legal progress or anything like that which I find interesting as we’d have to change our name the long and legally way; and if we’re minor we have to have an adult full out forms for us. The popular groups are nothing new to me but it’s related to my personal experiences. They are VERY annoying and very elites. They will not let just anyone in. it has to be someone special for example at my school this elite group let a girl in because of her artistic ability. They are also usually rude and snotty. I’ve noticed in this book that Zoey’s mentioned once or twice that her biological father abandoned the family when Zoey was very young at a tender age. That makes me really feel sad for Zoey as a kid growing up without a father or mother figure in life is really sad and shouldn’t be raised like that. Every kid needs a mother and father figures in their lives even if it has to be their family friend, grandparents, aunts/uncles, and so on. For example, one of my friends lives with his grandparents; another is adopted and third’s raised by her mother and grandparents. I noticed that the vampyres seems to own a car and that cars are their basic method of transportation. This make me wonder….Are all third formers sixteen like Zoey; fourth formers seventeen; fifth formers eighteen and sixth formers nineteen? Or is it seventeen to twenty? I’m not sure….oh well. I noticed there seems to be a bit of big emphasis on stalking in this book with Zoey and few other characters. Stalking is a serious issue and I’ve experienced it once in an online game; it wasn’t fun and it was ridiculously hard to get rid of him. He kept on making stupid advances on me and I kept on rejecting him, it continued for half hour or so until he disappeared on me which I was so grateful for. I noticed that in the book that the students have mentors: The teachers/adults. I found this interesting and thought it’d be a big help and interesting way for the students to get guidance. We don’t do something like that here because we have parents and family who can help us our way through our lives as we grow. However, if my school was a boarding school then I think the teachers/adults being mentors to students would be a cool idea and it’d make the students feel more comfortable like at home. I also noticed something interesting….The unusual class times. I find it very interesting that they started at 8 PM and ended at 3 AM. My school starts at 8:45 AM and end at 3:15 PM which is a typical school day. I do wish our school day started at 1 PM and finished oh around 6 PM? We teenagers need our beauty sleep and we’re always groggy when we arrive at school to learn. I also noticed that Zoey seemed very annoyed that she’s been getting lot of texts and calls from her almost-ex-boyfriend Heath. Obsessive texting and calling can be classified as stalking if the victim does not like it and it can be called cyber stalking. As I’ve mentioned earlier: Stalking is dangerous. I noticed that there seems to be lot of Cherokee references in the book which I really liked. I like learning about different cultures and religions especially native people. They are really interesting! I liked the words from Cherokee used. And the rituals were very interesting. I was amused when there was a mention that the Cherokee gene skipped Zoey’s mother because it was saving up an extra dose for Zoey herself. I also loved how they incepted many of Cherokee traits in the book and next books to come! I also was interested in some flowers/herbs and their meanings like sage, lavender and so on. Looking into what flowers means is one of my many hobbies that I enjoy. For example; did you know Daylily means enthusiasm? Or that Orchid means delicate beauty? Poppy is very fitting for Remembrance Day because it means consolation; Red roses are so common in weddings because they mean passionate love. However if red and white roses are together in banquet for wedding it means unity. Finding out color meanings is also one of my hobbies. Red means confidence/courage, blue means spirituality/truth, yellow means wisdom/joy, purple means mystery/magic, and green mean well being/life.