Member's October Read/Ruby's

Title: The Gecko & Sticky: The Greatest Power
Author: Van Draanen, Wendelin

Ruby's Summary: 

            Do you remember that Damien Black, the villain of this series, was sent to the jail in the previous story? Unfortunately, he was escaped from the prison and become a bank robber with a strange gun. In the bank, Damien Black didn’t just steal sacks of money but also a ring from a woman’s index finger who was lying on the floor beside the boy in the sweatshirt. As what you thought, the boy who had a bright red sweatshirt is Dave. He had bad luck for encountering Damien Black twice.

            Since Dave realized that he couldn’t ask any help from the policemen, he decided to give the money and ring back by “themselves” (Don’t forget the gecko!). Dave clicked the invisibility ingot into the wristband and he disappeared. They went into Damien’s mansion via sewer that beneath the street, and followed the skid marks left behind by Damien’s Sewer Cruiser without catching anybody’s attention. While Dave and Sticky went into the mansion, they found out it’s the tip of the iceberg, there were labyrinthine corridors inside the house. They released a monkey that was caged in an espresso café in the mansion by chance, and they almost would be caught up with Damien, but they escaped again in the end.

            When Dave returned home with his backpack which was stuffed with cash, he worried about how to face his parents. But a cat of his neighbor attacked Dave and it distracted Dave’s mother from asking questions about where he had been. On the other side, Dave took the money away that made Damien so mad, but Damien had very cleverly devised the glasses so that the wearer could spot something that didn’t seem to be there. As Dave took the money to the bank in the invisible way, Damien Black commanded his assistants who wear the magic glasses to snatch Dave, and they did it.

            Finally, the money has turned Damien’s attention to it, and let Dave escape from Damien safely.

Ruby’s highlights:

            The author describes everything so detailed, I can imagine the scenes through her description. The following are two examples Ruby quoted from the book:

            “Opening the cage was, of course, not easy. There were nine locks dangling from each, linked together such that one could not be opened without the previous one being sprung.”

            “Only those who have known freedom and then lost it could truly understand.”

Group Discussion:

Terms/vocabulary Ruby acquired:

                        Previous: instant past

                        Index finger: thumb, index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and pinkie/little   
                                                finger

                        Encounter: brief contact

                        Labyrinthine: intricate, complicated

                        Snatch: take away

Asked if she would recommend the series to a new member, Ruby said she would. She said the author is adept at detailed, elaborate descriptions so much so the readers can enjoy the story as if a motion picture is playing vividly as pages turned. In addition, Dave, the young boy is acted as if he were a super hero outside his typical, ordinary boyhood. Daytime he is a school boy backpacked and attending the classes. As night replaces the daylight Dave transformed himself into a super hero. The librarian joked: it’s like a story inside a story.
Librarian’s words: Ruby is definitely on the right track for her progress and improvements of language are very obvious by the way she summarized the story. At the group discussion, thanks to Abby, the words picked by Ruby are explained and put into practice as if one is facing a situation and the terms and words are properly utilized. Ruby would like to know more about practical usage of words, phrases, and terms at daily life. So we exercised by pretending she was calling the members asking them out. This is new and fun for every attendee.

The invention of language is for people to properly communicate with each other. Speaking is instant and spontaneous. Reading is the basis and foundation of words applied in a conversation. Writing is like reflection: what a person reads would become hers once the knowledge is thought, processed, and put into work through lips.

Ruby’s progress tells us we are right at the target. Practice, practice, and practice. The WOW moment would come in no time.

Way to go, Ruby!!!