Summer Reading project pt2

The characters in "Postcards from no mans land" when alone in essence are boring to say the least, but when they are put into context with the rest of the story other supporting characters and interesting if not awkward situations.  In the book there are essentially two main characters, this is because the book is structured so that there are two different periods in time, one being around present day, and the other right in the middle of world war II.  The Present day character goes by the name of Jacob Todd who is your average teenager going on a trip to Amsterdam to visit family.  The character from the past is a girl who goes by the name of Geertrui who lives in an occupied town in Amsterdam.  For most of the beginning of the book both characters are trying to focus on just surviving for the time being but then as the story develops they are trying more and more to attempt to find out more about themselves and what they want for themselves and well as figure out their feelings (as stupid as it sounds). Also once you get past all of the weird and fast paced conversation structure you begin the see that in the future there seems to be a constant sense of confusion while in the past everything seems to be different and frightening.

Summer reading project pt1

         The Book I am currently reading is called "Postcards From No Man's Land".  The book is about a teenaged boy named Jacob who goes to Amsterdam looking for an adventure and to remember his grandfather who was a soldier who fought in the area in WWII.   The other half of the story in from the perspective of a girl from the time period in Amsterdam named Geertrui.  The book is constantly switching back and forth between the two character's perspectives and their time periods creating an outline for what I believe will lead to the two character's perspectives coming together to help the main character who is essentially Jacob (because of his account being the one that is closer to present tense) overcome some sort of major obstacle later on in the book.

         Since I have not read very far into the book yet my opinion on the character and their goals is sure to change of the course of the book but I have been able to make what I feel are a good base for me to build off of for the personalities and personal drives of the two main characters.  Jacob at my current point in the book seems to be a little lost, not necessarily just in the city of Amsterdam but also as a person. The trip that he is on seems, at this point be more of a adventure of self discovery as well as one of remembrance.  Geertrui on the other hand is currently living right in the middle of Amsterdam in WWII, which to be blunt is a rather large difference from Jacobs problems that he faces in the future. She seems like she is like everyone else her age but the. As the story progresses she is very quick to adapt when her world of calm is interrupted by the brutality of war. In all it seems like at my current point in the book she wants more than anything else to stay who she is as a person but keeping herself and her family safe while helping others.

           After reading into the book for a little while and the back and forth between the two characters and the switch between past and present tense I am reminded of the book "Flames of The Tiger". I was reminded of this certain title because like "Postcards From No Man's land" it too is based in WWII and switches between two characters and well as past and present tense.