Book 9

Dear Ms. Zrihen,      10/25/11

I am enjoying reading the book, Juggling Fire, written by Joanne Bell.  The genre of Juggling Fire is obviously Mystery .  The story Juggling Fire takes place in (unknown). The main character is Rachel.  She is round/dynamic.  The plot evolved in the following way threw the story so far: First, Rachel begins her journey, then she makes a fire, and has a meal with her dog Brooks. Later, after having settled down for the night Rachel takes out her weapons.  The main problem so far is that Rachel is having trouble getting to her old house.  The tone of the book is very suspenseful and mysterious.  A theme that appears in the book so far is that fire is a good thing. 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 Rachel is very excited to go searching for her dad and old house. The author organized the book through chronological order and flash-backs.  The author’s purpose is to entertain. His perspective was that Rachel is very adventurous and can deal with trouble. 

“Every couple of minutes I feed in more wood.  Willow burns hot and fast, and its smoke streams into my eyes.  The fire feels like company. ”  This was written on page 19-20.  I picked this passage because it shows that Rachel is adventurous to go on a journey threw the tundra.  The passage is significant to the story because it shows that Rachel is brave to journey threw the wilderness. 

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