Reader Response #2

Reader Response  I am responding to the Wanting Mor by Rukhsana Khan. I have read out122 of189 pages. This text is fiction but is based on true facts on Afghanistan. The main characters are Jameela( narrator), Mor (Jameela's mother who has passed away), Baba (Jameela's father), Khalaa (Jameela's stepmother & another Khalaa which is Agha Akram's wife) and Agha Akram (the man who has helped Jameela). The genre of this text is realistic fiction because the story is based on true facts that do happen to girls in Afghanistan, that are just like Jameela. The setting is Kabul. The conflict is Jameela's mother has passed away and Jameela's father has left her alone in Kabul, where she doesn't know anyone but a man named  Agha Akram (but she hardly knows him too). The theme is abandonment, poverty and war. The climax of the story was when Baba had just left Jameela standing at the meat shop. She was waiting for almost half a day, but he never showed up. The protagonist is Jameela. The antagonist is Khalaa. The author used foreshadowing when Khalaa and Agha were deciding on what to do with Jameela. The author had said "Finally the doors open. It's Agha who is looking down at the floor. Khalaa's face is set and determined." Which is meaning Khalaa had won, Jameela was sent to a orphanage.

Retell 

         The title of this text says to me that someone in the novel is wanting there mother. When I first saw it I had thought it meant wanting more, however, it is Mor, as in mother in pushto. To summarize the text in 1-3 sentences, I would say, the novel "Wanting Mor" is about a girl named Jameela who is struggling in life without a mother and  her village/house is mainly destroyed because of wars.Also Jameela's father had left her when she was being no use to her new stepmother. Jameela goes through many problems, like wondering why her father had just left her and not taken her with. To me, I think the most important/ meaning full quote was "If you can't be beautiful you should at least be good. People will appreciate that." This is because that quote has several meanings to it, for example if you can't be beautiful and be liked by everyone, you should at least be good and stay kind. I found this book hard to follow when Baba and Jameela were  getting kicked out of Khalaa's house. I do not think they had done anything, Jameela was doing more then what was needed, and I don't get why Khalaa had hated her. Some important details I noticed were how the day Jameela's mother had passed away, Jameela did everything to please her while Mor was sleeping, yet she was dead. I find that peculiar and I felt really bad for Jameela (even though it isn't real but some people do have those lives) she did everything to please her mother like scrub all the pots before Mor woke up and also, make her breakfast before she had woken up. The big ideas in this text were Mor dying, Baba and Jameela heading for Kabul, Baba leaving Jameela standing in front of a meat shop and not returning, and Jameela getting sent to an orphanage. The character I like best is Mor, this is because reading all the nice things she says to her daughter to not turn out bad are sweet. Mor doesn't seem like the other characters, like the Khalaa's who yell at there sons for just teaching Jameela the alphabet. Jameela still remembers the things Mor had told her from long ago and I think later on in the book she'll still remember them.

Relate 

          The houses and villages being destroyed reminded me of war, (which it is) because this is happening a lot in Kabul and Afghanistan. Also, Jameela's father leaving her standing there reminded me of poverty and how this year we had learned about poverty and parents leaving there children, because they have no use. For example, when Khalaa had told Baba Jameela was no use, Baba listened to her and left Jameela for a women he had know for less than a year. If I could be any characters in this text I would be Jameela because I would like to know how she feels. Is she happy getting put into a orphanage or is it and act? Does she hate Baba for leaving her? This text makes me think about all the kids in Afghanistan and Pakistan who are getting hurt and houses are getting destroyed because of the wars. Also, it makes me think about the children who got abandoned by there own mothers and fathers, like if they still are mad for it, or do they even remember there parents like Jameela does? This text reminds me of  the novel "Ask me no Questions" because both family's have the same problem, they don't have money and house has been almost destroyed. Also, it seems like they have around the same story line but "Ask Me No Questions" was about the family traveling without visas.

Reflect

        I really liked how they started the novel, it like right away started like a cliff hanger. The first sentence " I thought she was sleeping," says so much. You want to know who is sleeping? Whats happening? However, finding out Jameela's mother had dyed wasn't so good. This text helped me to understand how some people in the world are actually living and dying. I think the illustration on the cover goes very well with the book, because it shows Jameela scared with her porani on and covering her face more then the other girls in the back (like it had said in the book). If I could speak to the author I would ask "Why did you write a novel with this story line? Was it just because you feel bad for the people who go through it? Or 'cause it has happened to you or someone close to you? I predict Jameela does see her father, but she doesn't go back with him because I don't think he would take her back and she may just visit him every so often instead. This text makes me want to help all the children in Kabul (or other countries) because hearing and reading about them, just makes me feel bad and sad. Like I have so much, and they have so little, I just wish I could give a bit to all. I personally do really like the quote in the novel, and I think it is true. "If you can't be beautiful you should at least be good. People will appreciate that." The quote has so much in it and means a lot too.    

Reader Response

Reader Response

            I am responding to Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos. I have read 80 out of 159 pages. The text is fiction

            The main characters are Nadira (the narrator), Aisha (Nadira’s sister), Ma (Nadira’s mother), and Abba (Nadira’s father). The genre of this text is historical fiction because the text is about Nadira and her family trying to move to Canada but their visas are expired. The setting is New York but they are immigrants from Bangladesh. The conflict is while Nadira’s family was going to cross the US border they had to show their visas but they’re expired. So Abba and Ma had gotten sent to a detention centre and a shelter, for Ma. Nadira and Aisha were told to go back to live with their Uncle and Aunt. The climax of the novel was when Nadira’s Uncle and Aunt were fighting about how Nadira shouldn’t be there, and how she should just go back to Bangladesh. The protagonist is Nadira because she is the leading character. The antagonist is Aisha because she is like one who Nadira has to compete in, like her grades are always being compared to Nadira’s. The author used foreshadowing when the text had said that Aisha it would be no difference is they were still in Bangladesh. This was foreshadowing because it was shows that maybe later on in the novel, they do get new visas and they move back to Bangladesh, but it would be different.

                        Retell

            The title of this novel says to me “Don’t ask me questions,” as if someone’s family/friends are being questioned and a person doesn’t want to feel the pressure they had felt, while being questioned. My favourite part of this text was when Nadira’s father, Abba was getting put into the Detention Center. Not because I didn’t like him, but because you could feel the tension in the book. Also you could almost imagine seeing Nadira, Aisha and Ma’s pain. It had probably felt like they were leaving everything they ever had. The character I admire most is Nadira because she doesn’t care what others think. Example; when she looked in the bathroom mirror and others commented on how she was obese. Nadira did not care; she left the bathroom and moved on. If I had to summarize the text in 1-3 sentences I would say that it is about a family of 4 who were trying to leave America but had got stopped and had to go back, because their visas were expired. The father had to go to a detention center and the mother had to go to a shelter. The kids, Nadira and Aisha were sent back to live with their Aunt and Uncle. When they got to their Aunt’s Aisha had gotten an interview with one of the college principals but she didn’t have the money to pay for the fees.

                   Reflect

          This text had helped me understand our Geography unit, because it had to do with immigration, so did the text. Also some of the topics were almost the same, example; how they had an expired visa for years, so did many in our geography unit. I thought this text was realistic because a lot of people have to cross borders and some have expired visas, such as Abba. Also some people don’t have the money for college fees, just like Aisha. I think the author had written this text to the people, who have had a similar situation. I think this because she probably wanted to inform the people/world that they aren’t the only people who this had happened to. They are not alone.

                                               

                        Relate

          If I could be any character in this text I would be Nadira because unlike Aisha, she doesn’t care about only her self. Nadira is caring for her Uncle and thinking about what he had meant when he yelled at her. Also Nadira has her own personality, unlike Taslima, who follows her friends. Taslima and Aisha are alike they both have to follow others; Nadira on the other hand is a leader. This person, Nadira reminds me of my old friends. This is because like her she doesn’t care what other people think. This text makes me think about refugees and immigration, because that is what is happening to this family. If I could talk to one of the characters in this text I would talk to Aisha and ask her if that had ever happened to anyone she knows. I would also ask her if the role she is doing, is her real personality or just a role.