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| Plot Summary of Sleeping Beauty |
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"
HarperCollins, May 2004, 25.95, 329 pp.
ISBN: 0060083263
Writer Miles van Meter is on tour promoting his best selling true crime story Sleeping Beauty. The successful book fascinates the public as it provides an account of convicted killer Joshua Maxfield's murders and collateral damage that includes the author's sister.
Miles states that in Portland, Oregon, Joshua killed Norman Spencer in the latter's home and raped and murdered high school student Tanya Jones, a friend of Spencer's daughter Ashley, who managed to escape safely. Ashley's mother, reporter Terri fortunately was away at the time of the crime. The killer also got away.
Terri encourages her daughter to move on by coaxing her into going to the Oregon Academy where she takes a creative writing workshop taught by Joshua Maxfield. When the instructor reads a murder tale to the class, Ashley recognizes what she hears as too close to home and informs the Dean, who happens to be Mile's sister Casey van Meter. Not long afterward, Ashley finds Miles holding a bloody knife over Terri's still body with an unconscious Casey nearby. Joshua is arrested, but escapes, putting the fear for her life in Ashley.
Harriet Klausner
"
Harriet Klausner, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of Sleeping Beauty |
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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
Composition of Book
descript. of violence and chases - 20%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 40%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 30%
How society works & physical descript. (people, objects, places) - 10%
Tone of story
- suspenseful (sophisticated fear)
How difficult to spot villain?
- Very difficult--no foreshadowing/clues
Time/era of story:
- present (2000-2010)
What % of story relates directly
to the mystery, not the subplot?
- 70%
Special suspect?
- investigator him/herself
Misc. Murder Plotlets
- Proving innocence of very obvious suspect
Kind of investigator
- amateur citizen investigator
Kid or adult book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Crime Thriller
Yes
Murder Mystery (killer unknown)
Yes
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- writer
Age:
- 20's-30's
How much violence does he/she use?
- a little
Ethnicity/Race
- White/American
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 20's-30's
Profession/status:
- mastermind
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- a moderate amount
Motive of antagonist
- revenge
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- Pacific NW
Style
Person
- mostly 3rd
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
How many deaths?
- 2
Amount of dialog
- significantly more dialog than descript
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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