Feeling Accomplished

I survived Thanksgiving!

I survived my niece's wedding! (...her cake was beautiful, by the way.)

And, I finished Allegiant!!!

I completed the novel in one uninterrupted 90 minute session. After the rest of my family was tucked in bed and sawing logs, I curled up in the reclyner and set out to finish the series. Once I set my mind to it, it was not a difficult task. The pages turned easily, one after the other, as I made my way to the conclusion. When I finally reached the climax, I was completely shocked! I did not see it coming. I confess that tears began to fall and then my breath caught in my throat. I had to close the book for a moment and regain composure before finishing the book. At first, I was mad at the author for taking me on this painful journey! Then, I found myself amazed by her talent and bravery in writing. Divergent was a series worth reading! In fact, I have already loaned out the first book and I am wondering how long it will take the new reader to come asking for the second book.

In the midst of the family craziness, I have managed to invest another 30 minutes in my newest yarn: Legend. I am hoping that I will fall in love with these characters as well.

I Pledge to Finish Allegiant!

I feel like I am dragging this book out! I am honestly not meaning to. I am reading my required minutes per week but, for some reason, I am moving through this text slowly. I read for 15 minutes on Tuesday, 45 minutes on Wednesday, and 10 minutes on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and today. Did I mention my niece is getting married on Black Friday. Yeah, they just thought they'd make the holidays even more hectic! ...by the way, I am baking and decorating the wedding cake. (Maybe I'll hold an icing tip in one hand and my book in the other).

I am taking so long reading this book that my daughter said, "You're still on that book?" Obviously, she is used to me being a much faster page turner. My student who has graciously loaned me the next series I plan to read is biting at the bit for me to finish so that we can discuss her books. I am getting there! I promise!

On the bright side, my main characters - Tris and Tobias - are working together as a team again and I am not nearly as frustrated with them. I finally feel like they are both on the same page and working toward a common goal. They have worked on forgiving one another and loving each other for who they truly are. Some real life couples never get to this stage!  Earlier in the week (eight chapters ago -- see, I am making progress), I was blown away by an insightful and beautifully written passage. I wanted to share the words with you:

"I used to think that when people fell in love, they just landed where they landed, and they had no choice in the matter afterward. And maybe that's true of beginnings, but its not true of this, now. I fell in love with him. But I don't just stay with him by default as if there's no one else available to me. I stay with him because I choose to, every day that I wake up, every day that we fight or lie to each other or disappoint each other. I choose him over and over again, and he chooses me."

Now, how amazing is that? The Divergent series has been scattered with an underlying romance, but it hasn't been the main focus of the text. For this reason, I was emotionally stunned when I read through these paragraphs. The lesson contained therein is one that so few people learn. Giving up comes easy. Seeing another's flaws becomes the only view. It was refreshing to see wisdom displayed through a novel -- fact in the midst of fiction. Our author, Veronica Roth, has learned what it means to love through dedication and has shared her secrets with us in the mind of Tris Prior. Powerful!

Allegiant - One Choice Will Define You

Tris and Tobias are no longer within the walls of the city. Instead, they are now at the "Bureau" with new revelations and new enemies. At the moment, it is difficult to decipher who the true enemy and even what the truth is. As a reader, I am a little frustrated with Tris and Tobias' inability to trust one another and work together.  Throughout these three books, there has been the same battle between the two of them. I am ready for them to mature a bit and work together as a team toward a common goal! Grow up already!

Perhaps Veronica Roth intended for me to become irritated with the ups and downs of their relationship. It is keeping me reading toward the end of the book and the end of the series. Honestly, I am ready for the culmination!

This last book has caused me to think more about how the books were written than the plot itself. I wonder if Ms. Roth knew how the books would end when she started writing them or if she made her way through the story along with the characters. There are times when I think there might be a novel or two within me, but I am not sure where to start. There is a book called Four that goes into the detail about Ms. Roth's favorite character and goes into more depth about how she wrote the storyline. I am considering reading this final book for no reason other than satisfying my curiosities regarding her creative process.

I am two-thirds of the way through the book (yes, I am moving slowly). As I mentioned before, the dual perspective has slowed me down. I also just having been reading as much. I've moved down to about 15 minutes a night. I am still meeting my time-spent-reading goals but I am finding it more difficult to stay interested in the book with less time spent reading. I quit taking my book with me and instead started toting around textbooks when I was going through finals last week! I am going to get back in the habit of bringing my book with me every where I go. There are always opportunities to sneak in a few extra minutes of reading.  

No Time to Decipher Who is Narating Allegiant

In the past week, I have finished the second book of the Divergent series and I have started the third. The second book was suspenseful and kept me turning pages. The third book, however, is throwing me a curve ball. Throughout the first and second novels, the reader was allowed only into the mind of Tris Prior. We saw the entire story through her eyes. In this third book, the author is also allowing us to see through the eyes of Tobias (a/k/a Four) – switching back and forth between the two characters. At first, I had a difficult time remembering who was narrating! I would find myself thinking it was Tris only to have a detail from the story remind me that I was in the mind of Tobias. I have had to slow down my reading in order to keep the perspective right in my mind. Therefore, I am moving through this third novel at a slower pace.

Additionally, I have finals in three of my classes this week (and midterms in the remaining two). My substituting job has turned into a full-time paraprofessional position and we are laying new flooring in our kitchen. Couple these stressors with the fact that my 1^st grade son has been getting into trouble every day at school and we have a recipe for one overwhelmed chick who has limited time for reading! Still, I have managed to read 30 minutes every day (except for yesterday when I was only able to sneak in 15 minutes). This has given me a total reading time of 2 hours and 15 minutes in the past five days.  

Thankfully, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.  In three or four more days, three of my classes will be completed and I will only have two left to bide for my time. Then I should be able to dive into my reading again with full force.  I am looking forward to it!