Quater 3 Book Report

       Part 1

             The book I read was called Something Like Fate by Susane Colasanti.  The main characters name is Lani.  She goes to a small school in New Jersey. Lani is a junior in the beginning of the book and at the end, she is a senior. The size of her class is around 73 people so everyone knows each other. Lani is a 16 year old who loves nature, seeks comfort and pleasure, connects with the Earth, desires serenity, stubborn, passionate, and nurturing.  Lani has hazel blue eyes. She also has long, strait black hair and a scar on her forehead which is covered by her bangs.  Lani is president of One World (the schools environment club). Her love for the Earth is “genetic”.  Her mother loves the Earth just about as much as Lani. They love gardening (unless it is a scorching hot day) and recycle anything that is recyclable.  Lani would say she is not popular but she isn’t unpopular. She isn’t a jock but she isn’t inept at sports. She isn’t a nerd but she isn’t a slacker either. But she also says she isn’t “average”. Lani isn’t really good at art; she’s only good at making posters.

             One thing I think describes Lani is very Earth friendly. She recycles everything. One day while at school, she saw Erin’s (Lani’s best friend) boyfriend throw recycling in the trash can. Lani doesn’t understand why someone would just throw recycling in the trash can. She goes over to him, tells him what he just did and makes him dig it out of the trash and put it where it belongs. She gardens and plants as well.

            Lani is very determined as well. She never gives up. One example of this would be like when she makes a promise to her best friend, Erin.  Erin tells her to never talk to Jason. She tells her this because she is mad at Lani and feels this is a good way to get back at her. Lani doesn’t talk to him. In the end, Erin feels bad about what she did and agrees to let her talk to him. She was determined not to let her best friend down.  Another example would be when she decides she wants to learn to swim.  Ever since the “accident” she has been afraid of water. She doesn’t mind rain but when it comes to swimming, she is very scared! She doesn’t even like to put her feet in the pool and sit along side the edge.  She decides she wants swimming lessons so when she goes to Hawaii, she will know how to swim. In the end of the book, she isn’t afraid of water anymore and she can swim in oceans and lakes, etc.

            Lani is mad others talk about her in mean ways. She tries not to let that get to her. Lani tries to look for the positives in things. She is always giving her friends advice.  Many people would be upset and angry, but she tries not to show her emotions.

            I think Earth friendly, determined, and always keeps a positive attitude are three things that really describe Lani!

            Part 2- Consider Point of View

I think there are several reasons the author chose this point of view. Something Like Fate by Susan Colasanti was told in the 1^st person point of view.  I think maybe Susan Colasanti chose this point of view because you could really tell the emotions of what was being brought out by Lani.  Also, Lani did a lot of thinking in her head in the book so that makes it easier for the author to write and the reader to read.  I think it was easier to connect to Lani because it was written in the style of first person. I prefer to read books that are in 1^st person. One example of why it would be important to write in first point of view would be when Lani has two big secrets she doesn’t want to tell anyone. When she talks about the secret with the few people that know about it, she just calls it “the accident”. She brings it up a lot in the book but she never really talks about it to anyone, she just thinks about it.  To find out what both secrets are… you will have to read the book!!! Because this book is something that could really happen, it seems like it should be told in this point of view. I don’t however think this book was based on a true story… it’s just something that could happen.

I would recommend this book to almost anyone! Like me, I’m sure many people like novels written in the first person point of view. I feel this is a way that you can deeply connect with the main character.

                                           

                                                                            Susan Colasanti