Informal Book Talk by ds 11. Critique?

[ELaurie]

 

This assignment was supposed to be written in an informal, conversational style, to be presented to a group of other home schooled students a the local library this afternoon.

 

 

 

 

Book Talk - Found

 

 

 

 

This book has a really good story line - it’s new and different, but in the first book, it felt like the author was just getting a feel for the story. The plot was well developed, but everything else was only partly so. She gets her message through, but in a really good book I think the writer’s words do more than just get the message through. Let me say one more time, it was a really good book, and her use of words is good - quite good in fact, but she got better at writing in the later books. The second book was a little better, and the third book was "almost couldn’t put it down" good.

 

The tenth book in the 39 Clues series, also by Margaret Peterson Haddix, was very good - "couldn’t put it down good." Once again, I say that it seemed like she was almost getting a feel for the Found series in the first book, and by the third book, she really understood how to do it.

We read some reviews by a librarian online, and I agreed with her almost completely. She wrote, "The writing just usually doesn't do it for me. Maybe it's the tone or the content or something, but I wasn't really digging the Haddix." That’s a little harsh for me, but it’s pretty close to what I’m thinking. She also wrote this,"I think she improves as she goes." I agree with her completely.

　

Edited February 28, 2011 by ELaurie

[Jean in Newcastle]

My comments:

 

The first sentence is a run-on sentence. Try to divide it into two sentences.

 

I got the feeling that this book wasn't so good! The words "story line", "plot" and "message" are pretty synonymous. You have three sentences saying basically the same thing - that you liked the plot but not much else about the story. What was it about the book that you didn't like? What did you wish that she developed more?

 

I was confused by your second paragraph. I thought this was a talk about the book "Found" but you seem to be talking about a number of books.