Six Word Memoirs

Six Word Memoirs

I wish I was alot taller

Hopeless: Getting a snowday in Penfield

Life without the Yankees is wasted

When you face hardship, rise above

English class is not my thing.

  

College is what I'm waiting for

Listening to music calms my emotions

 Winters cold will fall to warmth

Hatchet By Gary Paulsen

Hatchet was a great book not only because of the great plot but how it was written and formatted. The action begins on the first page when Brian is in the single engine plane flying over the Canadian forests. Paulsen uses foreshadowing in his writing because at one point Brian learns how to fly the aircraft from the pilot. This hints that Brian may need to take control of the plane later in the book, which he does. I also love the sense of helplessness Paulsen uses in his writing. He says that the eyes the pilot of the plane rolled back inside his head while still in the air. This gave the book a mood of helplessness for Brian, and something that would make one very helpless in real life. Another thing i like about Paulsen's writing is that the plot is not far-fetched. The plot is very action packed, sad and unpredictable yet not out of this world. Another author that has these qualities is Susan Pfeffer who wrote  The Dead and Gone.

In Hatchet Paulsen makes many things happen to Brian that hint to the reader that he is going to die. (Spoiler) Surprisingly, he never dies despite all the things that should have killed him. Some of these things I wouldn't think anybody could survive. Paulsen uses this tactic to create misdirection and keep the reader off guard with the events of the book. This tactic, in my opinion, is what makes a good writer because if a book is too predictable then it just becomes repetitive and boring. Still, something that i do and don't like about how Paulsen wrote the book is he didn't tell what the reaction was between Brian and his family when he returns. After all, Brian was missing for two months, and rescue efforts stopped after a month. Not a smart decision by Paulsen. I would recommend this book to any person because its such an action packed book that incorporates survival along with aspects like foreshadowing and misdirection. At times this book with give you a gut feeling of fear and sighs of relief.

The Dead and Gone By Susan Pfeffer

hat first made me interested in this book was the cover. I saw it on the bookshelf near my seat and the picture of the over sized moon over the city caught my attention. In the very beginning, Pfeffer grabs your attention when there are police cars, firetrucks and ambulances soaring down the street, but Alex (The main character) thinks nothing of it. Also, the power goes out while one of Alex's co-workers is watching the Yankees game on a T.V at the pizza shop. Through this, the book went into suspense right away.Pfeffer also uses a lot of mood in her writing. Another example of mood would be when Alex and his friend go "Body Hunting" or search the streets for dead bodies and steal their possessions. Since a tsunami had swept through the area the day before, there were many to choose from. They then took things like wallets, coats, shoes and watches and sold them to a shopkeeper who works in the black market in return for food and two bottles of vodka.

The suspense that Pfeffer uses in her writing can be unbearable sometimes. Through 200 pages of the book, you still will not find out if Alex's mom and dad are alive. He looks at a viewing of the dead at Yankee stadium to see if his mom may have died on the subways the night the moon was hit. Still, she is nowhere to be found. Hid dad, on the other hand, is thousands of miles away in Puerto Rico which Alex finds out was hit hard by tsunamis. Since there isn't electricity for a couple weeks, he couldn't receive a phone call from his dad, assuming he was still alive. Also not knowing what natural disaster is going to devastate N.Y.C next also adds to the suspense of the book. From tsunamis, to earthquakes to volcanic ash this book will have you on edge through all 300 pages. Another thing I like about the plot is that it is semi-realistic. By that I mean that its not impossible for a meteor to hit the moon and push it out of place, yet it still seems a little far fetched. Pfeffer uses a little bit of sci fi and realism in her writing. The combination of mood and suspense is what makes this book a thriller.I would definitely recommend this book to anybody who enjoys reading survival and thriller books.