Wednesday, May 11, 2016

May Grades 5-6 Book Club: The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

For May's book club, we read The Eye of Minds by James Dashner. Andrew, Courtney, Kelsey, Liam, Owen and Rileigh were present. This is some of what we talked about.


What did you think if the VirtNet? Would you be a player and own a coffin?

-Yes, I would spend the rest of my life in the VirtNet.When you die in the game, you would still be alive.
-Yes, I would be a player and own a coffin. If something bad happened to you, I would only feel it in the game but it wouldn't really happen to me.
-Yes because I like virtual reality and Lifeblood Deep seems really good.
-I wouldn't because it seems too real and it would be creepy. If you are so enraptured with it, you would make excuses to be in it. If you got killed, you would actually feel the pain.
-Instead of having a locker, you could have a coffin at school. Avoiding mean teachers, etc.
-I would not go in the VirtNet if the coffin is as it is now. But if there was a better one, I would go in the VirtNet.  





We then talked about reality vs video games and the consequences.


What did you think about the scene on the bridge with Tanya? Did her actions pull you right into the book?


-It pulled me right into the book because it's really dramatic. You don't know anything about the VirtNet yet but you are pulled into the story.
-"What is happening? I need to read more to know what is going on?"
-I was wondering what was going on at first, not realizing that Michael and Tanya were in the VirtNet.
-This book gave me so many graphic images in my head. They were too graphic.
-At first, I thought it was kamikaze. I thought it was about a kid with a dramatic suicide.
-"Uhhhhhh." 


Have you played a game like Devil's Destruction? Would you?

-I usually play games like Halo. There's a game called The Crucible, in which you mostly just kill people. It's sci-fi. 
-I have never played a game like this but I probably would. Knowing that you're in the VirtNet and that you don't get brutally killed in real life would be good. 
-You would still see the horror of people getting brutally killed.
-No, I never have. I'm not a big video game person. 
-I have played a game like that called Boarlands.   
-I do not play games like that and I would never play games like that because I don't like killing.
-I would play a game like that although it sounds a little gory. I think it would be fun to go around to different places. I don't understand why they didn't code in a real grenade that could save them.  

What did you think about the Path? Did you think that those scenes were good?

-They were very good. They were so intense. Although, when Michael was flying backwards, I half expected him to slam into the wall.
-I thought it was boring except for the Monk (Gunnar Skale) and his talk about demons.
-I thought that the scenes were good. I liked it when Michael figured out the clock. And the lava.
-It was good.   

Michael knew that something was wrong with him because of his constant headaches. Do you think that he had any idea of his true nature? Do you think his friends did?

-I didn't think he knew because at the end, he was really surprised. I don't think that his friends knew either.
-I think that Michael didn't know but one of his friends might have known. Bryson realized that Kaine was a Tangent and might have done the same with Michael.
-I don't think his friends did. He didn't either. He thought he was just a person. 


Was the ending a surprise or what you expected?

-It was a total surprise. Kaine's revelation about killing all the people and letting all of the Tangents using their bodies.
-It was not what I expected. I thought it might change perspective to another character because I thought that Michael might have died.
-All of the Tangents seemed bad and Michael didn't seem bad.


It appears that Michael is going to work against Kaine and deny his Tangent inception. Will you continue with the series?

-Almost unanimous "yes"es though one definite no.

What was your favorite scene in the book?

-Where Michael and Sarah jumped into the Portal (after Bryson died).
-When he found out he was a Tangent.
-When he was getting too close to Sarah.
-The part where VNS came in to the castle. And the winter scene.
-When the lightning bolt struck on the rock and I could really imagine the scene.


Would you recommend this book to others or tell them to leave it on the shelf?




-Recommend to ALL of my friends because most of them read this sort of stuff.
-It was alright. I know a bunch of people who would like it.
-I would recommend it to many people except to those who rend my poor soul to dust.
-I would.
-I would recommend it to The Hunger Games lovers.   

We will be meeting on Wednesday, June 15 at 3:00 p.m. in order to discuss books in general. Be prepared to share books that you've loved, books you have been disappointed in and those that you can't wait to read. This discussion time will give us an opportunity to come up with some great books to read during the Summer Reading Program. Snacks will be provided.

June Grades 5 & 6 Book Club: Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor

  For June's Book Club, we read the book  Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor   by Ally Carter.  Nicole, Natalie, and Julianna were...