Best thing about my book

I am currently on page 89 of Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. There are many things I like about my book. First, I can relate to it. Ellen Rosen is 15 years old and is Jewish, just like me. She lives in Copenhagen and is alive during the Holocaust. She has to travel with her friend Annemarie Johansen to Denmark, in hopes of not being found by the Nazis. Although I was not alive during the Holocaust, both my grandma and my grandpa were. I can't begin to imagine how terrified Ellen is during this time, but I know what it feels like to be a different religion than most of my friends. Another reason why I like this book is because it always has me wanting to read ahead. I want to know- will Ellen survive? Or will she be taken to a concentration camp? Last, I like this book because it is slightly unpredictable. Right when you think Ellen is going to be taken away, another event happens. After all, who wants to read a boring book where you know what's going to happen right away? If you like books that keep you on the edge of your chair, I recommend this one.

Vocab

I am currently on page 72 of Number the Stars by Lois Lowry. While reading this book, I found there are many words I am unfamiliar with. Two of these words stood out to me. The first word was obstinate. "Stand still, Kirsti, Annemarie ordered silently, praying that somehow the obstinate five-year-old would receive the message." (Lowry 4). Using context clues, I can infer that obstinate means stubborn or fidgety. When i looked up obstinate on dictionary.com, I found out that obstinate actually means firm or stubborn. Based on my inference, I was pretty close to the actual definition. The second word that stood out to me was impassive. "She glanced through the window, down to the street corner where the soldiers stood, their faces impassive beneath the metal helmets." (Lowry 55). From the text, you can infer that impassive means cold, or blank. According to dictionary.com, impassive actually means without emotion, or unmoved. I was surprised at how close my inference was to the actual definition. Looking at the text around a new word can help you guess the definition.

Conversation with Ellen Rosen

Out of all the characters from the book Number the Stars by Lois Lowry, I think the most interesting person to have a conversation with would have to be Ellen Rosen. This is mainly because we have a lot to relate to- we are both Jewish teenage girls. During the conversation with Ellen I would start by asking her the challenges of being Jewish in Copenhagen 1943. What were some things you had to risk? What were some feelings you had when the Nazis stormed into Annemarie's house in the middle of the night? Were you frightened? Startled? Nervous? Upset? I would really like to know how she was feeling in those few seconds leading up to the event, especially when she forgot to take of her necklace which had a jewish star on it. I admire Annemarie for remembering to tell Ellen about her necklace. Had it not been for Annemarie, Ellen's future, and even life may have been put in extreme danger.