"If you believe in lightning bolts, why not do everything in your power to take them for yourself"

I believe this quote is important also confusing, because Nora has so much power in herself and control over the bad guys and she needs to use it and everything she had over them. She could make threats, she has things she could tell them like I escaped two men one with a gun. Lastly she could even kill herself, the Lumen Dei needs her alive for it to work. She needs to use what she has because she might be killed if she doesn't. They want her dead and they now know she has infiltrated their den. That is why she needs to take her power and use it.

"it is a miracle and it's a curse. It is bridge from human to divine. It is knowledge and power of God in the hands of man. It is abomination. They are abomination.

This is important in the book because the priest is giving them knowledge of the machine. He knows about it. He tells them it like in Adrianes words a telephone to God. This is like a clue to what it is. So know they know what they are sort of like looking for instead of a wild goose chase. My guess is when he means curse he is saying it is to powerful for man but a miracle because it lets us know God. When he says the power of God in the hands of man i think he means that the power is to great seeing right after that he says it is an abomination. The bridge from human to divine is my guess connecting that person to God. This is important for them to understand so the kind of know why they are being chased. well thats all i have.bye.

"Because if you truly believe in lightning bolts, why not do everything in your power to take them for yourself?" I chose this quote because I think it's a really good quote and it has an important meaning. I think it means that if you have the chance to have power, why not take the power for yourself. While thinking to herself about the Elizabeth letters and the machine Nora says this to herself. I really like this quote because I think it explains a lot of people in history. Many people in the past have tried to take power over a kingdom or something and this quote explains why. They have the chance to rule over people and have their own kingdom, so they take the chance. They take the power for themselves because why not? They had the power to take those "lightning bolts" so they took them. It might not be good if they fail, but if the succeed then they have brand new power that they didn't have before.

"You're late." said Max. "Oh sorry i had to make sure I wasn't being followed." Adrianne answered, "Are you sure Nora would understand?" "I'm sure she will once this is all over with we can tell her." Max responded. "Ok i hope so." "You're starting to cause a problem." Max said. "wait what?" Adrianne responded. "i'm really sorry about this."suddenly a bunch of bad guys spring out of a truck nearby and grab Adrianne taking her away and Nora watches with horror as she is helpless to stop them.

The first half of this book was filled with some very exciting and action thrilled events. Nora's brother, Andy, died in a car accident, and that put a very emotional toll on Nora. A little bit after that it says how she received a scholarship to a school and ended up on a team with some friends to decipher an ancient manuscript. Nora ends up with some letters that The Hoff, the professor in charge of the team, thought would be important to the translation of the book. After getting close to figuring out the secret of the book Chris, Nora's friend, was murdered by a secret group. The police think that Nora's boyfriend Max murdered Chris because he mysteriously disappeared after the murder of Chris. Nora meets Chris's cousin Eli while cleaning out Chris's dorm room. Nora and Adrianne go on a trip to Prague to try and find Max. Eli follows Nora and Adrianne to Prague and they all team up to find Max. They find Max but while at it get jumped by some members of the secret group who murdered Chris. They get away but are very careful not to run into the group again. Nora leads her friends on searches for a machine called the Lumen Dei, a machine that's supposed to connect you to God. She follows clues that were hidden in the letters she was deciphering. They end up finding a box that they think could be the clue to finding the machine. They also run into a nice old lady who let them look in the attic of the oldest Synagogue in Prague. While in the attic Nora finds a box that she thinks holds the remains of a special clay golem that a Priest made in the olden days. Eli and Nora sneak back into the attic to steal the box, but while at it, they are almost caught and have to run fun security. This is about where I'm at, and it has been a very action filled book.

The book of blood and shadows.

So in the beggining Nora is at the school she goes to (FORGOT THE name of the school... sorry) and meets her best friends chris and Adriane who are a couple. Then Max comes to the school and just kind of grows into the group, Nora and Max become good friends. later on the Hoff has a stroke but was he poisoned on purpose... don't know yet but i'm pretty sure he was. So nora gets a call from max who found the hoff and all the letters are gone except for the one she took.So the Hoff wants to speak to her and all he says is her blood... your the one... something in latin, and stuff.

So now Nora and Max are dating and nora has told chris about the letter and gave it to him and he suggests a movie night/double date. So when Nora gets there there is blood all over the wall with weird sign written in blood and when she walks in there's.... Oh my GOSH chris is dead there on the floor. And there next to him is Adriane and she is alive but she is just sitting there blank and in her hand is the letter she gave to chris to give back to the hoff. Is that why chris died? All i know is that that letter was important.

So now Max is missing an Nora is determined to find him. Mean while Eli chris's cousin shows up and starts kind of following her and sort of becomes friends with nora. So anyway Nora gets a post card from max telling her were to meet him in prague. So Nora and Adriane find max but the all get attacked by some crazy guys who want the letter but the cops show up and the crazy men leave and Eli shows up. So now the four are looking for the lumen dei  which is like a machine that connects you with god. and thats pretty much were i'm at so far. hope this blog was helpful.

Well first is the fact that Max disappeared supposedly killing Chris and "the Hoff" had a stroke. Nora helps her friend Adriane who witnessed Chris's murder and was also drugged into insanity. Nora wonders who actually killed Chris and is worried it may have actually been Max. (i love twists and turns but unfortunately this is the first half so there isn't really much to say) Nora finds Max and they along with adriane go to the prauge to find Chris's killers. They meet a person named Eli who helps them and he apparently works for the group that fights bad guys.

What is the most exciting or interesting event in your book so far? Why?

When Chris got murdered. This was such a shock in the book because for one he was one of the main characters and this has put a spin on the story. Now everyone thinks Max did it and Nora is crushed between helping her best friend Adrian who watched her boyfriend Chris die in front of her and she sat there in his blood while drugged, or finding  Max who has disappeared mysteriously. I don't think it was Max, it seems he really didn't care about Chris so why would he kill him? Tho it is a possibility, and others including the police think he did it.

At the point in the book that I'm at the most interest thing that's happened is Chris's murder. It happened at his house and the author did a very good job going into detail on what happened. The author explains very well how bloody the murder was, and what Nora saw. She explains how there was a symbol on the wall written in Chris's blood. How Adriane was curled up in a ball lying in a pool of Chris's blood, and how Chris was face down in a different pool of his blood. It tells us how there were bloody marks everywhere, and how it stained the white tile and how everything was white until the murder. This is the most interesting because it has a huge effect on what will happen later in the book. Nora has lost one of her best friends, her other one is going crazy, and her boyfriend is said to be the murderer and no where to be seen. Nora has to choose whether to believe everyone and agree that Max is the murderer, or go on her own journey and figure out for herself.

What is the most exciting event so far?

The most exciting part of the story so far or at least here I'm at is when Nora goes to a movie night with her friends at Chris’s house and there is blood everywhere and blood symbols on the wall. I haven’t gotten any further but before he was killed Nora gave him the letter she took so that might have something to do with it.  Also before this someone stole all the artifacts except for that letter because Nora had it. Obviously someone really wants that letter and will do anything to get it…

Spoiler Alert!

What was the most exciting thing in the story so far? I would think when Nora is kidnapped and at the blood sacrifice the leader of the bad guys dies in a fury of flame and light melting him down. After that Nora's "boyfriend" who faked his death grabbed her by the arm and he grabbed the machine. He then took her to a secluded room where he cut her deeper and he used the machine. He made her say,"You're worthy" as Eric busted down the door and Max (the fake boyfriend who faked his death and then was hiding from Nora and using her best friend as bait when he kidnapped her and "dated" her) went up in a ball of flames and with a burst of light was turned into a pile of ash.

How does your setting affect your story’s mood?

Mostly it takes place in an old church. A lot of the time the main characters are there at night so it sets the mood as creepy and more reasons for this are
* Someone broke in twice
* The first break in there was a bloody sharp hole in the glass and they heard noises
* The second break in Max found The Hoff laying on the floor twitching
* Police showed up and investigated b/c of the stolen letters and The Hoff
* There is a large balcony that overlooks the whole church
* The balcony rails are loose and creaky
Those are just some main reasons for why i think the church makes the setting creepy. They make it creepy b/c when you think of creepy, some things that would qualify are
* A hole in the glass door with blood
* Breaking in
* Police investigation
* Stolen letters
etc.

Right now in this book I think the main setting would be the church that the Hoff's office is located. The church is creepy, old, dusty, and broken down. It adds a sort of dark and scary mood to the book. It definitely adds a scarier mood to the book because there was blood on the window by the door, and the glass was broken. But it also adds a calmer and quiet mood because there is no one there but the translating team and the Hoff. The other setting of the book is the characters houses. Each of the characters have very different types of homes. Nora's house is smaller and less impressive than Chris's and Adrian's houses, and I haven't learned about Max's house yet. The houses add a nice and protective mood to the book because that's where the characters feel they belong and like to hang out at.

How does the setting affect our stories mood?

Well the setting is an important part of our story. So far someone has broken into to the archives and stole all of the "artifacts". It would have to be there or the story wouldn't make sense. Lets say they were stolen from a picnic or something like that, it wouldn't make any sense. The setting has to be perfect for the story to take place. Our story is kind of scary and a mystery at the same time so we would need a mixture of those into a setting. Right now they are in the archives researching and translating Latin words. The archives are the perfect setting for this scene.

It makes it secretive and dark. There is a feeling of loss and betrayal every page. I always wonder what will be next. Could it be if someone will die soon? Will someone betray them? Every page pushes me forward to see what's next and i always have to expect the unexpected. I know somethings my group doesn't yet and this means i could spoil a lot. Someone betrays them, someone dies and someone joins them. They leave the States to go somewhere else in pursuit of an answer. Why did they kill Chris? That is why this book is so dark and secretive it wants to keep you guessing it keeps you on the edge of your seat.

Travel Tracer -Rachael Kempton

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