READ 96 Group 4 am discussion

Karla Garcia
Journal Submission No.1
The Newcomer by Robyn Carr
Chapters 1-6, pages 1-94
Paul and Ellen
Wednesday, October 09, 2013
I suppose this book was going to be based on romance when I read the description of the book. That is the reason why I got interested in the first place. I am a big aficionado or romance book because they are the books that mainly get my attention. When I started reading the first chapter I began to think that I might have trouble reading the whole book and stay focus because there were just many characters being introduced. I didn't want this book to be frivolous. This was the chapter when I started to get confused and a little distracted. I didn't like the way the author starts the book with like two different stories and goes back and forth but then when I kept reading I started to understand were it was going. Although, I like the way in which the story in the book is heading to because I am really interested in what is going to happen next. Each time I finish a chapter I was just to flip the page and continue to read. The description mentions that the book will be about Gina, McCain, and McCain’s ex wife but I was surprised to find out the whole book isn't necessarily about just them. In the beginning the book introduces Cooper and Sarah which are dating. Sarah has a 18 year old brother who is her responsibility since their parents died when they were younger. Then the next chapter introduces McCain and Gina which are also dating. McCain is divorced and has two sons and a daughter. His daughter is dating Sarah’s brother and is best friends with Gina’s only daughter, Ashley. Sarah is a helicopter pilot, Cooper owns the beach bar and his assistant is Rawley, McCain is a deputy sheriff, Gina works in a restaurant and her mother is Carrie. When I was reading all the characters being introduced I felt overwhelmed because I felt I had so much to take in and remember in order to understand what is going on. I predict I will definitely enjoy reading this book because as in now, I am understand the book and I am interested to know what is going to happen next. I like how the book has romance but it also had suspense and sad moments which made me feel melancholy.
The time went by very quickly because since I was so engaged into the story I just kept reading. I counted the pages I was going to read and it seemed like a lot but then the minutes went by fast and I realized it wasn't so much like I had thought it was going to be. I stopped reading because since I am reading the book into section, I don’t want to go ahead in the reading then forget what I had previously read. I usually read a whole book within a week if I am really interested in it but I don’t take notes etc. I lost track on my reading there were a couple of times when I would think about something else that wasn't related to the reading. For example I would think if I had any other homework that I needed to have done for other classes. I figured out that if I go back and skim through the previous chapters I already had read that I would more likely remember what I read and not forget easy. At first I thought the whole book was going to be only based on McCain and Gina because other romance books I've read they are usually like that. They focus only on two characters throughout the book and they have some kind of situation but then when I kept reading the chapters I realized this book is going to be different. I am going to not just know about McCain and Gina but also the lives of other characters and how their role plays part in this book. This book in the beginning was difficult for me to understand because there was just so much information so at parts I had to slow down and remember what character is who and how they relate to one another. When I would move on to another chapter and a character would be mention I would at times had to go back to previous chapters to remember who that character was or did etc. What I did to try to improve my comprehension was to slow down at parts I was getting confused rather than accelerate and had to go back to understand what I just had read. While I was reading, at times I related my personal experience to what was going on so that I can remember what was going on in the story. I found myself being able to connect to the reading.

Karla, excellent job describing your reading process. Very strong awareness here. I'm glad that you are enjoying your book. Nice work w/vocab, too.