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| Plot Summary of When Lightning Strikes |
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"It was all Ruth's fault. If Ruth hadn't started crying when Jeff Day told her that they would have to bury her in a piano case, then Jessica "Jess" Mastriani would never have punched Jeff in the mouth. Then she wouldn't have been sent to Mr. Goodhart's office, where she had to endure another lecture on temper management, and she wouldn't have been assigned another week of detention. Still, detention wasn't that bad that day because she got to sit next to Rob Wilkins, a hottie who always ended up in the back row (alphabetical order) and she never would have known that he had a totally cherried out Indian motorcycle that she was just dying to ride.
It was a sign of her affection for Ruth that she turned down a ride on Rob's motorcycle to walk home with her so that she wouldn't be alone. All Ruth could talk about was how he was a grit and that townies just didn't go out with grits. As if Jess even cared when Rob was so hot! Jess couldn't believe that Ruth was harping about Jess liking Rob when she left her perfectly functional car at home to try and lose weight by walking to school to pick up Jess - with a big storm on the way! The thunderstorm was on them before they knew it and so Jess & Ruth took refuge under the metal bleachers on the football field - where Jess was struck by lightning.
The next morning, Jess woke up knowing the location of two kids whose pictures were on the back of the milk carton. Not just the location, but the exact address. Jess called the number on the back of the carton, gave them the info and quickly hung up. Before Jess knew it, there were reporters camped out around her house, a military base who wanted to study her, FBI agents were following her every step and one of the kids that she found had good reason to want to be lost. So when Jess had to escape from the military compound, get Sean back to his mother (who was in jail), convince Rob to date her even though she was only 16 (he was 18) and then somehow convince everyone that she didn't have this magical power she knew that it was all definitely Ruth's fault...
This was an absolutely hilarious book. Jess is such an great character, very tough and never afraid to say exactly what she is thinking. I was laughing out loud through the whole book. The other characters are great, too, and you wonder if there are any normal people in Southern Indiana. Jess has a pretty cool power, but it doesn't help protect her from anything or anyone so she has to stick up for herself. The storyline was great and kept you guessing as to what Jess was going to do. If you have enjoyed any of Meg Cabot/Jenny Carroll's other books, you will love this one - a must read!
"
Debbie, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of When Lightning Strikes |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- upbeat
Time/era of story
- 1980's-1999
Kids growing up/acting up?
Yes
Internal struggle/realization?
Yes
Struggle over
- special abilities
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Age 11-14
Age group of kid(s) in story:
- high school
Something wrong upstairs/downstairs?
- searching for identity/meaning
Main Character
Gender
- Female
Profession/status:
- student
Age:
- a teen
Has magical powers?
Yes
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- an organization
Profession/status:
- infantry soldier
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an average amount
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 5 ()
United States
Yes
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Misc setting
- fort/military installation
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Is this an e-book?
Yes
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Jenny Carroll Resident Scholar Profiles
TOP SCHOLAR:
 Debbie
SCHOLARS:
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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