Something Strange and Deadly Read Along: Week 4

SOMETHING STRANGE AND DEADLY READ ALONG
October 10 – October 31, 2012
WEEK 4: OCTOBER 31

Okay my blogger friends! It’s time for the Something Strange and Deadly Read Along! I know I’ve got Something Strange and Deadly in my queue of Halloween reads and I thought it would be great to get even more people involved! It was such short notice that I have no co-hosts so I will be coming at you with all of the posts! Here’s how I have it scheduled:

October 3rd: Intro post and sign-ups
October 10th: Week 1: Chapters 1-7 (through page 90)
October 17th: Week 2: Chapters 8-14 (through page 178)
October 24th: Week 3: Chapters 15-20 (through page 278)
October 31st: Week 4: Chapters 22-end 

UPDATE 10/11: Susan Dennard has graciously donated an “Aim For the Knees” T-shirt as a giveaway as well!! This will be for participants only, so don’t forget to add your links! One automatic entry for signing up (as long as I see your participation posts) and additional entries for each week you link up with the read along! This will be the official giveaway instead of the original book. I’d like to keep the giveaway SS&D related 🙂

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Week 4 Questions: October 31, 2012
1. On page 284, Eleanor gives the same advice to Clarence as Jie gave to her: “You always have a choice.” Eleanor has started to evolve in her thinking a little bit and become more independent. How did Clarence take these words of wisdom? How do you think it’s affecting the relationship between Eleanor and Clarence at this point in the novel?
I was really hoping this would be the tipping point for Clarence to become the hero of the novel! Okay, well maybe not the hero, but kind of like Eleanor’s helper/side-kick. They’ve been skirting around each other the whole book and we’ve been questioning whether Clarence is on the side of good or evil and I was just really disappointed that he didn’t step up and help Eleanor, especially after all the damage his family to did Eleanor’s.

2. We finally find out what’s happened to Elijah – and it’s something that puts Eleanor in a very difficult position. Why do you think Elijah chose this path? And how do you think Eleanor handled the news? What would you have done in her situation?
I think it’s clear that Elijah kind of snapped after his father’s death. He had a lot to handle and it seems like he went more for the side of avenging the wrongs to his family instead of taking the high road and helping to pick up the pieces. The messed-up part is, he feels like he’s doing everything right.
As for Eleanor, I think I would have handled the news the same way. You see a family member or someone you love so confused and full of hate and it’s hard to see that they really are capable of anything so bad. I’m sure if I had seen anyone I knew in the same position, I would have tried to help them, tried to bring them back to the side of reason – Which is another reason I think this twist is so great. I kind of saw it coming, but really until I read about it, I never realized how tense that scene would be.

3. The last quarter of this book brings us a LOT of surprises and twists. What would you say was the biggest surprise to you?
Um, HER HAND. That’s all I have to say about that. I can’t believe that actually happened!

4. Now that we’ve finished with the book, what did you think? How did you feel about the book as a whole? Where do you think her story will take us in the next book?
I really, really enjoyed the book! I was surprised at how interesting and creative these twists were at the end and holy cow, there were a lot of good ones! I also like that we’re starting a bit of a romance here, but without insta-love. I actually think this may have been better as a stand-alone, mostly since I’m not sure how the series will continue… This whole story was wrapped up so I’m interested to see how Susan Dennard will tie it all in in the next book. Either way, I’m in!

And now my friends, it’s time for the giveaway! As I mentioned, Susan Dennard has offered us an “Aim For the Knees” T-shirt and one lucky winner will be the recipient of this awesome Something Strange and Deadly prize!! Here’s how it works: Every time you linked up with the read along, that goes for one entry in the pot and then with the help of Random.org, I’ll be picking a winner (at random of course). You’ll have until next week, November 7th, to link and post the last week’s post and then on the 8th, we’ll have a winner! 

Good luck to all and thanks SO much to everyone who participated! I had a really great time, I hope you enjoyed the read along, and more importantly, I hope you enjoyed the book!