The+Pretty+One

http://cherylrainfield.com/blog/index.php/2008/07/03/review-of-ya-book-the-pretty-one-by-cheryl-klam/

The title of the book we would like to read is __The Pretty One__. The author of the book is Cheryl Klam. She based the story off of what happened to her sister. When her sister read it, it brought her tears and emotion. A review said, “ [|The Pretty One] is a gripping emotional ride that has budding romance, tension, sibling rivalry, social tensions, and gives a strong feeling of what it’s like to be an outsider, as well as what it’s like to be liked for your looks.”(ThePrettyOne). The Pretty One is about two sisters, one extremely pretty, and the other not so spectacular looking. One day, the ugly sister gets into a car accident. The damage done to her face had to be surgically fixed. The doctors not only fixed the damage, but they made her beautiful. She then had to cope with the way people treated her, which was quite different. We wanted to read this book because it relates to Delaney in so many ways. Also because it seems a lot more delightful than the last book we read.

Person A: Jess Person B/C: Delaney Person D: Lily

On your group's wiki page, describe the main characters in your text. What makes them interesting? What is their story or background? Why are you drawn to them? Conversely, are there any characters that you just cannot stand? Why not? The main characters in or book Megan, Lucy, Simon, and Drew. What makes Megan interesting is that she is always comparing herself to her sister. She does not think that she is pretty enough to be related to Lucy. Lucy is a beautiful, skinny, blond and popular. She is outgoing and everyone loves her. She gets all of the guy's attention, and she turns heads when she walks into a room. Simon is Megan's best friend. He is very artsy, and enjoys being different. He wears a lot of neon colors, and horn rimmed glasses. He dislikes the popular people, and he only friend is Megan. Drew is a drama major at the school Megan goes to. On her first day, she was lost, and Drew helped her find her way. Every since, Megan has been in love with Drew. Megan annoys us. She always complains about comparing herself to her sister and she is very annoyed that her dad thinks she's overweight. Megan is overweight and she has no right to complain about her dad thinking so.

Questions: Do you think that Megan will go to the dance? We know that megan will become pretty, how do you think it will happen? Do you think that Megan will end up with Simon?

Summary: We talked about the summary of the book. In this book, Megan is a fat ugly girl whose sister is beautiful. Both sisters go to an art school. Lucy is a drama major, and Megan is Teck major. The drama majors are all popular and outgoing, and the tekkies are all losers. Lucy asks her sister Megan to help her decorate the gym for their school dance. Megan agrees to, but she doesn't plan on attending. Her secret crush Drew tells her that she should go, so she decides to go. Her best friend Simon agrees to go with her, and they get a limo with Megan's sister and her date, and go to the dance. While at the dance, Megan is in the bathroom, and her sister and her friend walk into the bathroom and start talking shit about her. Megan gets so upset that she runs out of the gym and starts running home. It is raining, and the road is slippery. Megan is so upset that she doesn't look for any cars before running out into the street, and a car comes and hits her. Thats all we've read so far. The book has been pretty slow so far, but we think it is going to get better from now on. We like it so far though.

Topic: Language** (Section 2 out of 5 of your text)
 * Week Two:
 * Assignment:**
 * 1) On your group's wiki page, discuss the type of language that your book contains. Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why?
 * 2) This book is easy to read. It does not use big words we don't understand. There is a lot of dialogue in this book, and there is a lot of the main character talking to herself. Much of the book is in Megan's head, and it is about her slowly going insane.We think that the book is written for teens between ages 13 and 16. We cannot see an 25 year old sitting down and reading this book. It would be very awkward. We think that this is directed for this age group because it is about what is happening to teens.
 * 3) Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page (answers optional)
 * 4) Do you think Megan and George will last?
 * 5) Do you think Simon will confess his love to Megan?
 * 6) Do you think Megan will get the part in Drew's play?
 * 7) Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
 * 8) We talked about this book. We asked the question what does being pretty do to you? Does is effect how you view the word? Does it effect how the world views you? Does it make you life better that you are pretty? It did for Megan. As soon as she turned pretty, people started noticing her. She got asked out by a guy named George who she had known for years, but he just finally started noticing her now that she was pretty. The biggest crush of her life, Drew, casts her in his play just because she looked the part that he was trying to portray. Megan is slowly going insane because people are treating her differently. She is forgetting who her true self is. She thinks that what people see what she looks like is what she's become.

Topic: Mood/Tone (section 3 out of 5 of your text) Assignment:**
 * Week Three:
 * 1) On your group's wiki page, discuss the mood or tone of your book.What is the overriding emotion of this book? What examples back up your claim?
 * 2) The overriding emotion in this book is love. Megan is in love with Drew, she loves her family, and she loves her best friend Simon, as a friend. Megan feel in love with Drew the first time that she met him. She had fantasies about them being together and him loving her back. Megan loves her sister Lucy. Lucy is her best friend. She does not know what to do now that she is mad at her. Megan met Simon their freshman year of high school, and they've been best friends ever since. She loves him like a brother and does not know what to do without him. Simon is acting weird lately and Megan is lost without him.
 * 3) Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page (answers optional)
 * 4) Why is Simon acting weird?
 * 5) Will Megan do good in Drews play/ will she learn her lines in time?
 * 6) How will Megan tell George that she doesn't like him?
 * 7) Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.
 * 8) We talked about how love was the main theme of the book. We came to a conclusion that love was the main theme of the book. Megan, the main character, is in love with a boy that just started noticing her now that she became pretty, her best friend was in love with her since they first met, but never admitted it until she became pretty, and she loves her family that is supporting her through her hard times. Megan is losing herself with her new face and body. She doesn't remember who she is. She doesn't know what to do to find herself again. She is starting on her old eating habits, and her new jeans no longer fit her. Megan is so confused with her new sparkling life, and all of the attention that her new look has brought her.

Topic: Themes/Images (section 4 out of 5 of your text) Assignment:**
 * Week Four:
 * 1) On your group's wiki page, discuss the themes and images that your book contains. What are some of the images that are used? What do they seem to represent? Why do you think the author uses these images to convey his or her meaning?
 * 2) Some symbols that are used in this book are food. Before Megan's accident, she comforted herself through eating. Whenever she was sad, she ate, and gained more weight. After her surgery, whenever she couldn't remember who she was, she turned to food. She found all of the junk food in her house and just went to sit in her room alone and ate everything. When her sister didn't talk to her, she ate everything to comfort her. She was turning back to her old ways to try to remember who she was. Food represents what Megan used to be, and the author used these images to convey her message by making Megan keep eating.
 * 3) An image that comes up constantly is Megan's sister, Lucy. Lucy is beautiful, tall, skinny, blonde that everyone loves. She is nice to everyone and everyone wants to be friends with her. She gets whatever she wants by charming everyone. Megan envisions herself as pretty as her sister. She thinks that if she is as pretty as her sister then she will be so happy and will have so many friends, but most importantly, she will get the guy she wants. Megan wants to be as pretty as her sister, but when she gets it, she doesn't remember who she is. She is getting so much attention that she didn't see coming, and she is not used to it.
 * 4) Person D should share his/her questions with the group, as well as post the questions on the group's wiki page (answers optional)
 * 5) Is Simon every going to talk to Megan again?
 * 6) Do you think it was right for Megan to go out with Drew even though she knew her sister liked him?
 * 7) How do you think Megan will make Lucy talk to her again?
 * 8) Person C should post the meeting summary on the group's wiki page after class.

Week 5 person A- Jess Person B/C- Delaney person D- Lily