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Fishtailing. High school . Four lives caught up in a game. The problem with games is that there may be winners, but there are always losers.
The poems by these four high school students: Natalie, Kyle, Tricia and Miguel unfold in this story in the style of "free verse".
When Natalie moves to a new high school, she makes friends with three unwitting victims and draws them into her spider-web of manipulations, lies and deceit. Through the poetry and assignments of an English assignment, we get a glimpse of the world of these teens. This story weave us through their lives via their poetry and culminates where the four lives fishtail out of control.
Discussion questions:
- Did you like the style of writing of free verse that the author used to tell this story?
- Even though each of these four students came from different backgrounds and all had different life experiences, what element drew them together and, as a group, what did they all have in common?
Q1: I really enjoyed the structure of this book. The style of free verse in a book was new to me so I wasn't sure what to expect and doubted the effectiveness. However, once I become comfortable with reading a book like this I really got into it..but then it was over! :(
ReplyDeleteQ2:I think the element that connected them all, was that each one need something, possibly attention or something confirming the importance to their existence? Especially Natalie and Miguel who were the more profound characters. There was a literal connection if that is the answer you are looking for..since they all attend the same school, and somehow are directly or indirectly in contact.
-I really enjoyed this, and the homage to the title of the book. I think every character said something with the word gill, fish or something like that which was neat!
I had to get used to the style of free verse, but I did. I did enjow it because it gave a sense of their personality or who they truly were. It felt like there was more of a connection.
ReplyDeleteThe element that drew all fo characters together, I think, was that they all wanted something. Also that they were all connected somehow by not neccesarily knowing eachother personally but through the other characters.
I thought the idea of free verse was brilliant! It motivated me to get more into the text because it was a challenge to analyse. Each page was full of emotions and a surprise. I even had the chance to read it over!
ReplyDeleteI agree each of the four students were different but all had their daily stuggles. Some of them grew with these stuggles and made them a lifestyle. Others such as Miguel, broke down. This book really opened my eyes to see that with life comes challenges, its the way you handle them that determine the outcome.
I thought the ending was very surprising and i actually sat there with an open jaw. I was expecting something totally different, but im not complaining!
When i first opened up the book to read this freestyle book it was a bit confusing but i enjoyed the structure of it. it was a challenge but than once i got use to it it made alot more sense and I really got into it. Within the structure it covered alot of details in a matter of little time, you just need to be able to follow along with what is happening.
ReplyDeleteYes they all came from different backgrounds but the main element that brought them together was how they all needed a little more attention than what they were receiving maybe. Also the fact that most of them were coming from a troubled life style,which was a burden on their shoulders, carrying it with them everywhere they went.
i enjoyed the structure of the book as well as the plot, it really makes you think about how some people act the way they do and about how hard some people may have it in their lives but than never get noticed by others. It makes you take a second thought about the personalities of some people, maybe they act that way because they are having troubles at home, or just feeling depressed.
The ending of the book took me by surprised but i thought it was very well written.
I liked the overall story/plot of the story but not so much the way it was written in poems. I think the element that brought them all together was that they were all slightly disturbed and needed more people to pay attention/care about them. I mean the one girl who was cutting herself set up the guy she was dating and he lent up dieing. :(
ReplyDeleteI found the choice of free verse writing a little confusing at first. but when i got half way through the book i started geeting used to it. I thought free verse writing was a good way for someone to ta in conta ith the mian charecters and not with the non main charecters.
ReplyDeleteI though the one thing they had in common was that they all shared a want or a need to be different. i found the ending of the book very fast as in wow is that the end already. I also did not understand how Miguel died. Overall i thought the book was pretty good. but i hate poetry and there was alot of that.
the writing style of book was very well done i found that the characters all had something in common and when miguel died i was sorta sad about that but i understood that he was angry at the other guy and that he felt if natalie cheated on him for kyle the n there was nothing to live for
ReplyDeleteI am a big fan of Ellen Hopkins, so the free verse was nothing new to me. I have always enjoyed this style, and found it very exciting. The depth of emotion that can be added through free verse is extreme and overwhelming. I had to occasionally stop reading to simply take in everything that was going on. I liked how the teacher commented on all of the teens poems. It lightened the intensity of the events.
ReplyDeleteI think the need for change and escape drew them closer together. They all were dealing with issues in their home life and they all used each other as an escape. Natalie was like the puppeteer however, and somewhat fabricated their relationships.
- Kaitlyn H.
In all honestly, i disliked the style of writing. I've never been a huge fan of free-verse writing since I always feel more could be added. Throughout the novel i kept thinking, "why wasn't this added" "there should have been more detail here" "how could it end after what just happened" etc. I enjoyed the idea of the book, but i think it would have been brought out better in full text compared to free-verse.
ReplyDeleteWhat brought these characters together was the sense they all wanted to be accepted and acknowledged as a person. Each character had their own teenage-like life problem that the other characters could help with.
I found it impressive that the author was able to coherently tell a story through the very limited amount of text they supplied. However, because of the limited amount of text, I felt that I didn't have enough time to "get to know" and understand the characters as fully as I might have if more information had been supplied about them. I think that Natalie was the person that brought them all together. They were all dealing with difficult issues and Natalie, who had many issues herself, seemed like a person that they all could relate to and they were drawn to her because of it. I also think that the fact that they were all strong writers and in the same English class may have played a part in their coming together.
ReplyDelete