Romeo & Juliet: First Thoughts

As I was reading the first act of Romeo and Juliet, it was almost as if I had entered another world. The way the characters talked was so proper and hard to understand, that it took me a while to final read through it and understand what I read. I liked how things were detailed enough so the reader knew what was going on and felt like they were actually there. So far, I'm not completely liking Romeo & Juliet, but maybe that will change later in the play.The plot is interesting, but I mean common, who doesn't already know how the story is going to turn out? Knowing what happens at the end and knowing how the characters develop (vaguely) kinda ruins the view of the play.

Wonderestruck Final Thoughts

I finished reading Wonderstruck the first week, so this week I will just be sharing some final thoughts about the wonderful book.
I really enjoyed how this book was written. The part of the book that was written was absolutely phenomenal and the drawn portion of it was filled with intricate detail that made you look a little harder into the picture and the part of the story it told. The story itself was different than most stories. It didn't follow one character in one time period, but instead it followed two from two different time periods. What was really cool was at the very end, about the last 100 pages or so, both stories are connected in a way that the reader might not have expected.
Overall, I really liked this book and would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a fast read, a "picture" book, or a book that will bring a new love of reading. I can't say that there is a lot of action or drama, mystery or suspense; everything flows nicely and creates a great story.

Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick

As the title of this post implies, I chose to read Wonderstruck by Brian Selznick. I'm not 100% what lured me to read this book, perhaps it was the unique way it was written, maybe it was the story and historical aspect, or maybe it was because I finally had watched the movie Hugo the night before. The way this book is written in very unique and interesting. Half of the story is told through text, while the other half is told through pictures.
To list some of the thoughts I had while I was reading would take up sooooo much room due to the fact that I finished the book in a day, but what really stuck out to me was how I interpreted the pictures. Sometimes the story can be unclear when you aren't being told what is happening, it's like the other way around where the reader has to put words to the pictures. At some parts, especially when new characters were introduced, it was difficult to tell who the person was and their role in the story, but in the end, it all comes together and is understandable.  Oh and both of the stories in the book revolve around two deaf children, so it made it easier when they would write notes to say what they were thinking.
Just to wrap up the book, I really enjoyed it. There wasn't much action or anything like that, but instead, I had the sensation of wonder, something that I can't say I feel a lot when I read a book. The whole layout of the book was fabulous and the way that Brian Selznick brought both stories together at the end was absolutely fantastic!

Compare/Contrast

    The Capulet family resembles Tillie’s family for many reasons but is also quite different. Overall, I liked the book, but it was actually kind of strange at parts.

    One of the similarities between Juliet and Tillie are that they are both independent. Tillie has learned to grow up without the support of her mother and sister, which is mainly the reason she is independent. Juliet has gone against what her family believes by seeing Romeo, a Montague, leading her to be an independent young lady. The families are also quite similar to each other. Lady Capulet and Beatrice both seemed to act as if their daughters didn’t exactly exist.

    Over the course of the book, Beatrice actually felt pride for her daughter, which Lady Capulet never expressed. The families are also different in the time that the book takes place. Romeo and Juliet takes place near the 16^th century and The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds takes place sometime during the 20^th century. 

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-In-The-Moon Marigolds: Act 1

As I was reading act 1 of Man-In-The-Moon-Marigolds, I thought about how it related to me. I came up with that there are times when I stand out from everyone, and that's not a bad thing. Being different may lead to better things, like it did with Tillie. I'm sure that I have many moments where I have felt like I was in Tillie's shoes, but my mom was much more supportive for me than Beatrice, Tillie's mom, was. I can't think of anyone who would be like Ruth, but there is probably someone who hated me until I did something great, which the outcome would then be that they loved me and thought that I was their best friend. I could go on and on about life experiences that can relate to this first act, but I prefer not to go into all of that :)

Romeo

Romeo is the character that I chose to focus on as I read Romeo and Juliet. He has his own unique personality the differs depending on who he is with and the situation that he ends up in. I didn't really like Romeo that much, but he changed throughout the story in a way that no other character did.

At the beginning of this play, Shakespeare portrays Romeo as someone who is very emotional and strong as a character. He is a little cocky, self-centered, making rash decisions, and always getting what he wants. At times, he isn't able to control his actions. Like when Tybalt was fighting Mercutio in Act 3. Romeo enters as they are about to engage in a fight and tries to restrain Tybalt. "Don't fight" was what Romeo said to him, but to no avail. When Mercutio fell down, dead, Romeo proceeded to kill Tybalt himself and his actions got him banished.  

When Juliet came into Romeo's life, he was different than what he was like before. He was calmer, more humble, and less cocky. Their love for each other is genuine, even though Juliet seems a little hesitant at first. At the end, when Juliet takes the sleeping potion, Romeo becomes his old, rash self. He remembers the pain and depression he experienced when Rosaline left him and didn't want to go through that again, so he kills himself. THE END.

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