Book 8

Dear Ms. Zrihen,      10/18/11

I am enjoying reading the book, Tentacles, written by Roland Smith.  The genre is obviously Mystery .  The story takes place in America. The main characters are Marty, and Luther.  They are both round/dynamic.  The plot evolved in the following way threw the story so far: First, Luther arrives at the island, then he and Marty pass through security to get to the main part of the island. Later, after having a chimp pull out a clump of his hair, Luther and Marty chase a teacup dog and the chimp, Bo, down to the lake and back.  The main problem so far is that they are having trouble catching Bo.  The tone of the book is very suspenseful and mysterious.  A theme that appears in the book is that due to Luther’s strange hair color, Bo enjoys yanking it out. The moral of the book appears to be that you should not go looking for adventure if you are not prepared for danger.  From my point of view, I could see that they are very excited to go searching for giant squid with their uncle Wolfe. The author organized the book through chronological order.  The author’s purpose was to entertain. His perspective was that Luther and Marty are very adventurous and can deal with trouble. 

“Yeah, Marty shouted back.  This is definitely not working.  Bo’s playing with us and it’s getting dark.  If we don’t catch her soon she’ll climb up a tree, build a nest and go to sleep with P.D. cuddled in her arms. The Coelacnth will sail without us. ”  This was written on page 52.  I picked this passage because it shows that Luther and Marty are adventurous to go chasing a chimp and her pet.  The passage is significant to the story because it shows that Luther and Marty are brave to chase the chimp into the middle of the forest when it’s getting late. 

I used several reading strategies throughout the book. Before reading, I skimmed and scanned through this book, or I flipped through the pages looking for text features to see whether or not I would like this book.  Also, I read the synopsis, or summary.  While reading, I would quiz myself on what I read after each page and re-read parts I didn’t understand.  After, reading I am still reading.

Figurative language I saw in the book: alliteration, simile, metaphor, oxymoron, personification.

I would rate this book 5 stars ***** because once I start reading, I can’t put it down.  And at the end and middle of every page, there is a cliff-hanger (because it’s a mystery)  so you want to read more all the time.  Also, I do recommend it to the class.

Sincerely, 

Mikey Rogatinsky