Post 4: Book 1 Project: Fan Experience

Natalie Prior’s Journal

Allegiant

This is a one in a lifetime opportunity- read the entire journal of Natalie Prior from the book Allegiant by Veronica Roth! Go into the mind of Natalie Prior as she tells you her experiences of moving from one "experiment" to another. Fans could either buy a hard copy of Natalie’s journal, or download it onto an electronic devise, the same way Tris Prior read her mother’s journal in the story. Fans would also receive a copy of Natalie Prior’s death certificate (found in the back of the journal) as well as every letter written to David as Natalie begins her new life in Chicago. It will include the sections available in the book as well as those not in Allegiant.

In Allegiant (the third and final book of the Divergent series) after Tobias, Tris, Christina, Cara, Uriah, Tori, Peter, and Caleb escape the city and find the Bureau of Genetic Welfare, the seven are welcomed into Bureau (Tori is killed on the way). Matthew, a friend Tris makes at the Bureau, introduces Tris to David, the leader of the Bureau. Tris soon learns that David knew-even fell in love with- Natalie Prior when they were younger. Inevitably Tris learns the truth about her mother.

Through her mother’s journal, which David gives her to help her cope with her mother's death, Tris learns that her mother was not actually born in the isolated city that Tris grew up in. Tris learns that her mother was sent there on a mission, a mission Tris never would have suspected while growing up.

Her mother sacrificed herself to save Tris, something Tris would never forget. Throughout the story she struggled with the concept of sacrifice. After her mother’s death, this journal was the only thing she had left of her other than memory. When Tris first opened the journal, “[her] hands tremble as [she] open the file labeled ‘Journal’” (187).The journal had such an impact on Trish that she would “clutch the screen to [her] chest” (189). Because all of her family, except her brother who was a traitor, was dead, Tris cherished this last tangible thing she had of her mother’s.

Tris has a hard time deciding whether or not to share this sacred journal with her brother, Caleb, who Tris believed betrayed his family. She would keep the journal, which was on an electronic screen similar to a Tablet, hidden under her pillow so no one could find it. In the end she was able to recognized that the journal was not hers to keep, and was able to give it up, leaving only the memory of what her mother had written in her head.  The only other person who knew she had this journal at first was her boyfriend, Tobias.

“I keep one hand clamped over my ear and slide my other hand under my pillow to pick up the screen with my mother’s journal on it” (205).

By being able to read the journal of Natalie Prior, fans would get to understand all that Natalie had to go through in order to start a family and escape the terrors of The Fringe (an experiment that had previously failed). Although Veronica Roth wrote sections of Natalie’s journal in Allegiant, she did not give the entire journal. By giving readers the entire journal, their views Natalie Prior and the sacrifices she made would 

change. Although the trilogy is finished, this will allow readers to stay connected with the story and keep the message of Natalie’s sacrifice in their memory. 

 

Those who read this journal without reading Allegiant would be motivated to read the entire Divergent series to understand why Natalie would have to leave a “failed experiment” and why these experiments were taking place to begin with.

Post 3: Book 1 (Allegiant)

At the beginning of the book I was disappointed because I didn't like the way the book was unfolding. Veroncica Roth's first two books were two of my favorites and as I began to read the third book I was afraid it wouldn't be as good. But as I read the book, I slowly began to like it more and more. There are some incredible plot twists throughout the story that I would have never expected; The ending was complely shocking and I'm still not sure whether I liked it or not. Comparatively , I still enjoyed reading the first two books more.

Post 2: What is a book?

 

A book is everything that comes with reading a story- the way the pages look, the font and spacing of the writing, the story that goes inside the tangible pages, and the message that could stay with you for a long time. While I agree with Joe Meno that the actual message of the story does not change depending on what kind of book you may have, I think there is something you are missing if you use electronic books. For me, the way the book is made, the color of the pages and the way they are made all add to the story and give a different feeling towards the story and the book that you can’t get using electronic books. Finding an old, used book with pages torn adds to the value of the story, especially if it has been passed down to you from another generation. You can’t see the torn pages or cover on an electronic book. A book gets its individuality from the way it is made and it loses this individuality when it looks like every other book on an electronic device.

I don’t completely agree with Victor LaValle when he makes fun of men or women spending a long time writing a novel and then the reading is holing “that essence in their hands”. Although I do see this as over dramatic, there is importance in holding the actual book in your hands. Regardless of books being mass produced, more effort and time goes into creating and designing an actual book than goes into sending an electronic version. This time and effort needed to create the book adds significance to the book; the significance may not be as big and obvious as the “essence” of the author’s hard work but rather something small.

 I am actually not entirely sure what Nancy Jo Sales means when she says that books “remind us that we exist; they show us how we have lived”. Although I agree with her that a book is just not the same if it is on an electronic devise, I am not sure how a book could remind us that we are exist/still living and how we have lived. I like the way Tom Piazza related books/e-books to democracy. Just because everything is the exact same (books on e-books) doesn’t necessarily mean you are democratizing the information.  

Post 1: Why I Read

I read because reading is a way to go on an adventure. Through reading, you get to explore things that you wouldn’t get to in reality. You get to feel different emotions as you connect with certain characters and the plot unravels. There are times when I feel like I’ve known a character for my entire life after I finish reading a book. Books are powerful in that they teach lessons that you may or may not get to learn in life, but these lessons stick with you. You can learn from character’s mistakes and grow as a person. A book can completely change your perspective or view point on a subject. I read because I like to follow a character’s journey; for the entertainment of learning their story and what they go through. I enjoy being able to relate to some characters and connect with how they are feeling and what they may be going through. Not only do I like to connect with the characters, but most of the time the book is much better than the movie. A book can give more details and develop the characters or plots more than a movie or TV show could. Reading gives you the chance to learn a great story that is likely to stay with you for a long time.