Need Series

Switching gears from my usual reviews of non-fiction books, I started reading the Need series by Carrie Jones. It is, in a rough sense, like the self acclaimed Twilight series, because of it’s unruly coincidence a teenager, to play towards the target audience, moves to a seamless town in the middle on no where. The main character in this series is a girl named Zara, who until moving to her grandmother’s house in Maine, just thought her mother, divorced and widowed, couldn’t handle her own daughter. Nonetheless, Zara is a quirky young girl, collecting phobias to describe her discoveries. She begins to see trails of gold dust, and on the night of a car crash she discovers that the small town of Maine is infested with pixies, who feed off of human blood. Zara then opens a world of new reality, where mythological creatures, ie wherewolves, exist. She meets a boy named Nick who becomes her love interest and main reason she continues to fight for her new found friends and allies.

The series follows Zara as she discovers her past, why fate brought her to Maine, and pixies. These pixies are evil, run by a king who needs to find his queen soon, choosing Zara as a prime target. With Zarah a new queen, she delves deeper into the mystery of pixies, discovering why their need for human blood is the culprit of so many missing cases in her small town. Nick fights to keep Zara safe but in return is presumed dead, sent to a new world called Valhalla. The series continues to unwind and excite your reading senses.

I would rate this book a 6 out of 5, definitely one of my favorite fantasy books out there. I would recommend this to anyone dyeing for a good, enticing read, one that you cannot dare put down, and once it’s over you rush to the library for the next one.

S: mystery, discovering the truth behind a mask with deception and clever tactics

O: present day Maine

A: young adults who get easily sucked into romance/action/mystery/fantasy books

P: to suck the reader in, escaping your own reality in exchange for the magical world of mythical creatures

T: first person, fluctuates with the feelings and surroundings of the main character and her fellow characters

Merle's Door: Lessons from a Freethinking Dog

Merle’s Door

Lessons From a Free Thinking Dog

Ted Kerasote 

If you’ve ever owned a dog, or cared and loved a dog you understand how amazing and incomparable a relationship between a human and dog can be. Kerasote explores the possibilities, abilities and discoveries that come with such a relationship. Discover the meaning to companionship, love and loss, as two unlikely souls meet each other at the borderline. Kerasote is about to deport from the beginning of the San Juan river when he meets an unlikely wanderer in the desert. Kerasote uses a sense of ethos to draw you into his writing, while at the same time you are truly learning facts about the past of dog specimen. The connection manifested between Kerasote and Merle are clear, and make you feel as if you were on those hikes, the rivers, and roads, of their hear-strung relationship. 

Apart from the journey of their life, you begin to learn things about ‘man’s best friend’, and maybe the key to understanding each other is to not always depend on the other, but to be just as equally independent, and that the ability to let each other make their own pathway choices, but inevitably meet up at the halfway. The research put into this book creates a sense of logos, to make the reader understand the other side of dog training and develop your own revision of how to ‘adapt’ to the lifestyle of the dog instead of the dog ‘adapting’ to your own lifestyle.

S(speaker)

the speaker was Ted Kerasote, who narrated the whole story in first person. His use of diction and word choice expanded the development of this story. Examples would be such as when he uses allegorical text, such as when he translates the movements and body signals given off by Merle, into human words and understanding. 

O(occasion)

The occasion and time this book is set in is a variable timeline strewn throughout the years Merle lived in Ted’s life. A very present and current piece of writing that documents around 15 years of dog life.

A(audience)

This book is a challenging text for those younger than high school just because of the type of book it is. So it is aimed for those high school and older, and to anyone who love dogs.

P(purpose)

The purpose for this book is possibly a way to let out his feelings about Merle, but maybe to cherish the life of Merle and share his life and what it meant to Ted, but I believe it is a mix of both.

S(style)

he used many variable sentence lengths to give it structure. He smoothly transferred from talking in first person in the sense it was about him and Merle to about studies, research, and stories collected from previous authors of various different texts.

T(tone)

The tone of the story expresses the true feelings of Merle and Ted. It expresses and farther describes the setting of the story.

My heartstrings were definitely affected by this book, but at the same time I have been equally affected by how well it produced its message in a relatable setting. I would give this book a 5 out of 5 paw prints

INSIDE OF A DOG :3

¡NS¡DE of a DOG

What Dogs See, Smell, and Know

By: Alexandra Horow¡tz

“ outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend.

Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read” - Groucho Max

¡ Summary !

Written in the format of both a scientist, but coming from the heart of a dog lover and owner. As Alexandra Horowitz introduces the thought of what it would be like to actually be a dog. 

A dog in many way imitates human behavior, or even possibly we imitate our pets and develop skills to further accommodate your relationship. Like a current child in a family who has just had a new kid, a dog is a very attention seeking animal, and will interrupt your daily duties just to say, hey! I’m here, play with me? They make both intentional and involuntary noises that can portray how they are feeling. There eyesight far surpasses ours, letting in more light even though their pupil size is smaller than ours. Although a dog can replicate a humans behavior, they still represent a very highly evolved and intelligent species.

The way she incorporates her own dog  gives the feeling of bonding between her two worlds. The relationship between dog and owner is a bond unlike any you can achieve from human to human interaction. With human, relationships can be built up over many years and with one mistake, or instance, can be brought down, but your relationship with your dog, it can only improve, and in turn, your pet will be loyal for life. He or she forgives you, smells your sadness, because like sexual attraction, you emit hormones and opposing receptors pick those up, and in theory, dogs can sense your feelings. It truly is extraordinary how true a pet can be, and the loyalty is never faulty. Love your pet, and they will love you. And so, with this book, you can become fully engulfed in the knowledge of how your pet functions, and in turn you can become and even greater owner. 

SOAPSTONE :]

Subject

Alexandra Horowitz who is a cognitive (studies how the brain perceives the world), analyzes how man’s best friend, views its surrounds, and even how they observe humans

Occas¡on

present day, modern times, but in the outlook of, what it would be like to be a dog. a good read for morning, afternoon, or night reads

Aud¡ence

Dog lovers!! haha, and anyone who really is interested in not just loving dogs because they’re cute, but wanting to further connect with these animals, understand them, feel them, and in a sense, become them so you can further your knowledge on them

Purpose

To incorporate man’s best friend in a scientific portrayal

Speaker

The author, who is speaking both from her own scientific perspective, but also dog owner and dog lover 

Tone

It really is a mellow but warming and informative book. For maybe not a quick read, but a smooth read, this definitely has it al

Personal Rev¡ew :]

Admittedly, I read this book in like 5-6 hours 6 days before the report was due. It was a really good book. I LOVE to read dog books, anything dog related because dogs are so cute haha. This is my first dog book that is non-fiction. I am used to reading books about dogs where they are apart of the story, telling the story, or they are just a side character. This was really different to experience a book where it was factual, yet, was conveyed toward and audience who wants a good intellectually sound, and mentally pleasing to read. You are in for a good treat, those who enjoy dogs, and need to read a non-fiction book, or just want to read a dog book I recommend this one :]

I g¡ve th¡s book a 5 out of 5 paw pr¡nts :]