Response Questions

1. How did you experience the book? It's not always helpful to talk about whether or not you liked the book, but rather how you felt as you were reading it? Were you pulled effortlessly into the book...or did you have difficulty getting into it? Why?
I felt like I could connect to them even though we have a ten year age gap. They have problems just like I do. Even though they get themselves into sticky situations, they work hard to get passed them. At first, it was really hard to get into the book, because the book was really long. After reading a few chapters, I got sucked it, because they experienced so many different cultures.

2. Were you happy about your book choice? Why or why not?

I was happy about it, because the book was really interesting to read. It wasn't just a book that contained information; it told about the girls' lives and problems.

3. Which place discussed in the book did you find the most intriguing? Why do you think that was the case?
I think the most intriguing place for me was Hanoi, Vietnam. Vietnam is where my parents are from and I'd never been there before, so it was interesting to read what the girls in the book thought of Vietnam. Every time there was a Vietnamese word in the book, I was really happy that I could read and pronounce it.

4. What central ideas might the author be exploring-the novel's themes? Consider ideas about the nature of love, the requirements of goodness, the meaning of justice, the burden of the past...basic human issues that are at stake in the book.
The themes in the book were love, traveling, adventure, exploration, and definitely adaptation. The girls had to adapt to a lot to be able to stay in some of those countries.

5. What do you feel you learned from this project? Please consider the book, the technology involved with producing the project, or any other aspect regarding the project.

I learned that a lot of countries aren't as blessed as the United States. The children in most of the countries that the girls had visited had to beg and sell things in the streets just to get something to eat. Most of the children in the United States can go to school and actually have a chance of getting a career. I learned about a lot of different cultures and how they treat people differently than in the United States.

6. What was the most enjoyable part of the project? Please explain why you felt this way.

Finding all the pictures was really fun, because there are so many pictures to choose from to depict just one idea.

7. What was the most difficult part of the project? Please explain why you felt this way.

Reading the book was the most difficult part of the project, because the book is like six hundred pages. Sometimes, there are parts in the book where the girls talk about themselves. I sometimes get impatient and just want to learn about the culture of the region and not about them.