Book Review #2 - The Nest by Kenneth Oppel --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Summary: “The Nest” begins when Steve has a new baby brother named “Theo”. Theo needs lots of surgery and visits the hospital frequently. His parents are worried. Theo may not live. The doctors don’t know what’s wrong with him. Nobody does. One day, Steve, being afraid of wasps, tries to shoo away a silvery wasp. This wasp instead stings him. Steve starts getting swollen everywhere. They take him to the doctor and they find out Steve is allergic to wasps. Later that night, Steve has a dream. There is an unknown character that says that it can help their baby brother, Theo. He tells his mom the dream and she doesn’t take any note of it. A few days after, his babysitter Vanessa came over to take care over him and his sister. Vanessa was studying biology. She saw a special type of wasp and took interest in it. She told him that the wasps were making a nest. Steve told his parents to call an exterminator. Later that night, Steve had a dream with the same person. They said they would be able to make the baby healthy again, and warned him of the people that might try to stop that …show more content…
from happening. The next day, when Steve was home alone, the local knife vendor came. He left a special knife in front of Steve’s house and drove off. His dad came home after and put the knife in a box. Later that night, Steve had a dream with the same creature, which was now becoming clearer. The creature said that they were not going to fix the baby, but replace it all together with a replica. A few days after, Vanessa catches a wasp and brings it to her professor to study. When Steve went to sleep, the mysterious creature talked to him again. He realized that the creature was a wasp, in particular the silver wasp that stung him. That was why it could talk to him. The silver wasp (the queen wasp) was angry that her worker was killed (the one Vanessa caught). In other words, the wasps was making the replica baby in the wasp nest outside their house. He later asks Vanessa if they killed the wasp, and to his surprise, they did. Later, Steve tries to take down the nest outside his house while his parents are at work. His parents find out and he tells them about his dreams. They make him see Dr. Brown, his therapist, who helps him feel better. He doesn’t talk to the Queen Wasp for three days, and then she comes in his dreams. She says they are almost finished the replacement baby, and all he has to do is say yes and agree to help them. Reluctantly thinking it is a dream, he agrees. Saying “yes” was Steve’s biggest mistake. Steve soon realizes in another dream that this wasp is indeed real, and they want Steve to open the window to let them replace the baby while his parents were not home. He realizes he does not accept to this, but the queen is furious at his changed answer. He expects him to open the window so they can transport their new baby in and take away the crippled baby, which they will eat. When this day comes, he sees the thousands of wasps ready to come in. Steve quickly grabs Theo and brings necessities like a few cans of “Raid” and a swatter. He quickly calls the fireman and reports his situation, but his line is cut off as the wasps have eaten it. They slowly eat the wood up and come in the house. Steve kills a few wasps but there a still lots of them. He realizes that his sister’s fake telephone is ringing and he picks it up. On the other end of the line is “Mr. Nobody”, who his sister called (his parents and him thought she was faking). Mr. Nobody told him to use the special knife. Quickly, Steve opened the box and started killing wasps. He was losing though, as there were thousands. Mr. Nobody came and help fended them off. He told him to kill the Queen, which he did only after being stung a lot of times. He is sent to the hospital where he is saved. Theo is fine and the baby is not replaced. Steve is successful in saving his original baby brother! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Main Idea: I think the main idea of this book is to face your insecurities and fears. Steve was originally afraid of wasps. He had every right to be as he was also allergic to them. Through hard times and lots of bravery, he stood up for his brother, who the wasps had almost taken away from him. He faced his fears and fought for his brother. As crazy as the story was, I could clearly tell that the author was saying a message to his readers: be ready to face your fears. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Genre: I think that the Genre of this book is very debatable.
In my opinion, this is a Horror/Action book. Steve has to face his fears and it is a horrifying experience for him. I think this book has a different approach to the traditional “horror” genre. Steve is very insecure about wasps and in this book, Kenneth Oppel does a great job by making Steve’s horrors come to him. It is also scary to imagine lots of wasps in one room with you, with your life on the line and versing the thing you hate the most. It is also is an action packed book, so I would say it could also be apart of the action genre. It has lots of action and keeps the reader in suspense at times. Overall, this book is a different type of “Horror” and perhaps an Action
book. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 Advanced Vocabulary Words: Gossamer- used to refer to something very light, thin, and insubstantial or delicate. “What else could they be, with their pale gossamer wings and the music that came…” “That gossamer feather was the lightest I’ve ever held” Luminous- full of or shedding light; bright or shining, especially in the dark. “Only one came close, so luminous and white” “The lamp post was very luminous in the dark sky.” Prognosis- the likely course of a disease or ailment. “...poor prognosis...they don’t know…” “After several tests with a doctor, they confirmed he had a prognosis” Congenital- (especially of a disease or physical abnormality) present from birth. “...congenital…” “He had a disease that was congenital” Trill- a quavering or vibratory sound, especially a rapid alternation of sung or played notes. “There was a sound, a kind of low musical trill, and with it, points of light.” “When I plugged in my AUX cord, I could feel little trills when playing music.” Wistful- having or showing a feeling of vague or regretful longing. “She smiled when I told it, but it was a wistful smile” “The memories gave me a wistful feeling” Mandible- the jaw or a jawbone, especially the lower jawbone in mammals and fishes. “You see its mandibles?” “I wonder what the mandible of a whale looks like” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Overall Review: The Nest is a fiction text written by Kenneth Oppel. I read a little bit of Kenneth Oppel’s books before, and I didn’t really get interested in them. So when The Nest was nominated as a Silver Birch book, I was not really too keen on reading it. Seeing there was no other option, I picked it up. After reading the book, I would rate this book eight out of ten. This book was an interesting book and kept me into the book. Also, I could make some connections with the protagonist, Steve. I too, don’t like wasps so I found the book more relatable than someone who doesn’t mind wasps. I think the only problem with the book was understanding some things. It would be more interesting to know the origins of some things. For example, Where did these special wasps come from. Why can they communicate with humans? I would say the ending was a bit vague. I think the book would be a little better if there was an “Afterword” which told us what happened after. I think a sequel could be possible, but it might make the second book redundant. The ending leaves us at an uncertified part. It keeps you from asking questions. What happened to Theo? Will Steve see these wasps again? It is a cliffhanger, and I think that is one of the best ways to end a book, but it leaves you with questions. I think this was a good book and I would recommend this to a friend.
In today’s society, many struggle to freely demonstrate their identity in fear of potential backlash and disapproval from others. While examining the two poems within this assignment, "sturgeon" as well as "the same as trees," I distinguished the overarching theme of identity crisis, and the inability for individuals to effectively express themselves. The first poem being analyzed is “the same as trees” by Nicola I. Campbell. As a member of the Métis community, Campbell’s life has not been simple. Often, people of Métis origin have difficulty navigating their European and Indigenous roots.
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...ants to start a trailer park. When Lana asks to have sex with Brandon, he tells her to be patient. Brandon has no sense that these dreams might never come true, as he blindly chases after them without thinking. When Brandon is hiding from John and Tom, he burns the pictures he took of everyone while he was there, symbolizing his realization that if he had been more careful in his dreaming, he might not have landed in the situation he was in.
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Hooker knew the plant, he had seen a tribe of jungle people use it as
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Kestrel for a Knave’. The story focuses on a day in the life of Billy
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