Week Assignments:

Personal Response:
It started of kind of boring struggling to continue to read this book but then it got interesting with the plots and
problems. By the start of chapter 2 it suddenly got me hooked in and It made me really like book. It just needed work
on the start but it did really well on the characters making it easier to understand them and their personalities.

Summary:
From the start of chapter ! it starts of with the main character stealing in an hotel. During this he was caught by the cop
then started lying saying he has got lady problems and ran away. Next thing you know he is on a plane to rotorua. His
mom wanted him to stay with his grandmother and new grandfather. Matt did not know what to expect out of them but
actually turned out to be a good couple and treated him well so far. While exploring the backyard he soon meets a boy
from next door who names himself Juzza. Over dinner Matt asks about him and finds out his real name is Jackson Pewter.
Hone realized he needed to talk with his mother mere because he finds out that Jackson has been tagging around the
place. Then Matt had to hang out with jackson so he could stay out of trouble and he did.

- Kaye

Vocabulary:

1. Gazing - Jack Boult stood at the back of the group of twenty or so who were gazing so intensely into the
night sky. Page 1. WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS: I believe that gazing is another word for look. ACTUAL
DEFINITION : look steadily and intently, especially in admiration
2. Groaned - The stairs groaned as he climbed up to the bedrooms. Page 2. WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS :
It made a mad noise. ACTUAL DEFINITION: Make a deep inarticulate conveying plain, despair pleasure
3. Decent - he repeated the procedure in the second room, this time getting a decent haul of gold coins and
notes. Page 2. WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS: I think it means an alright quality. ACTUAL DEFINITION: an
acceptable standard
4. Haul - He repeated the procedure in the second room, this time getting a decent haul of gold coins and
notes. Page 2.WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS: I think it has to do something with jewelry. ACTUAL
DEFINITION: A quantity of something that has been stolen or is possessed illegally
5. Occulted- Unfortunately, that was something he didnt have: the moon must surely have occulted Mars by
now and moved on. Page 3. WHAT YOU THINK IT MEANS: I think it means past or moved. ACTUAL
DEFINITION: Cut of from view by interposing something.

Question of the Week:

1. Describe the main setting? How important is it? Does the setting help
set a mood?
Rotorua has amazing view like beaches and lands and forests and it also has alot of history behind it as well which
does set a mood because in the story The cry of the taniwha The story always start a LONG LONG time ago and
it sets place in a forest. The author chose a very good setting and it is very important to have a good setting because
it helps characters in the stories and you can also visualise accurately if you have the right amount of description of
setting.
 Week Assignments:
Personal Response:
It is really getting interesting with problems coming and discoveries unfolding. I like how it is not predictible
and it makes the reader think and what. There is really nothing to hate about this part.

Summary:
This week i read from chapter 8 - 14. It all started off with matt and jackson finding the body and arguing to
tell the feds or not ( FYI feds means the cops just letting you know ) at last they give it to the feds. Matt went
on the news paper again and wasnt at all proud. He had wished that he had listened to jackson and had not
given it over to the cops. The area was now closed for investigating and by the time they they were done they
had found about ten thousand dollars worth of soverign. Matt thought it was his but it belongs to the
government but now matt really needs the money because he is in trouble with jacksons gang. Matt finds out
that they are just using jackson and will put all the blame on him. In the middle of all of this matt meets a girl
named eve and helps him find out the true story behind that body.

Vocab:
Coaxing - It took a fair bit of coaxing before jackson moved over to look at the skull. Pg 30
Burial -Might be a Maori burial ground pg 32
Reluctantly - Reluctantly jackson agreed. Page 32
Belched - Crarrk! He belched loudly making Matt laugh. Page 42
Examination - The police scene examination continued into the next day. Page 26

What I think it means:

Coaxing - I think it means persuading or convincing
Burial - I think it means Sacred
Reluctantly - He agreed with attitude
Belched - I think it means loudness
Examination - I think it means observing / checking

Actual Definition:
Coaxing - To persuade ( someone ) gradually or gently to do something.
Burial - The action or practise of burying a dead body.
Reluctantly - In an unwilling or hesitant way.
Belched - emit wind noisily from the stomach to the mouth.
Examination - Inspect ( something or someone ) thoroughly in order to determine their nature or condition.

Question of the week:

Analyze two characters. Describe their physical characteristics and their personality traits. Are
they primary characters or secondary characters?
Matt: Eve:
Physical Appearance:
Skinny Slim body
Bony Brown straight hair
Mid height Mid height
Black hair black eyes
Brown eyes
Personality Traits:

Nice, caring, brave and smart - Matt

Cheeky, Mischevious, nice and brainy - Eve. Matt and Eve are both main characters / primary characters
 Week Assignments:

Vocab:
Initiating - Angry at the gang; angry at jackson for getting involved; angry at Matt for not speaking up sooner;
and angry at himself for initiating the friendship that had led to contact with the gang. - pg 74
Mumbled - He just mumbled an apology to Matt and said that he didnt blame him for telling Hone. - pg 75
Resorted - Hone then explain why hed called the police, his views on honesty, and why hed thought about
people who resorted to violence.
Expedition - Lets have breakfast - and then Ill take you on an expedition into the dim, dark ages of my
past.
Dim - Sentence up above
What I think it means:
Initiating - creating / starting something
Mumbled - talking under his breath quietly
Resorted - came back to where you started
Expedition - trip
Dim - bad / dark
Actual Definition:
Initiating - cause ( a process or an action ) to begin
Mumbled - say something quietly making it difficult for others to hear
Resorted - turn to and adopt (a course of action, especially an extreme or undesirable one) so as to resolve a
difficult situation.
Expedition - turn to and adopt (a course of action, especially an extreme or undesirable one) so as to resolve
a difficult situation.
Dim - (of a light, colour, or illuminated object) not shining brightly or clearly.
"the dim glow of the fire"

Personal Response :
I think that that the book is getting very interesting adding all sorts of problems throwing it at the primary
characters and finding solutions to it but making it into a bigger problem. I dont really dislike anything in
this part of the story but I am hoping for more mysteries and more problems to make it more difficult for the
primary characters.

Summary:
This part of the story started of when Matt confessed to Hone that he was in big trouble and he is contact
with the gang. Hones first idea was to go to the police but that would make the problem more worst. The day
after Matt told jackson that he told Hone and jackson was alright with it. At the end of this part of the story
Matt and Eve were tricked by this girl who was with the gang and was forced to find diamonds or something
that would give him more money. Matt and Eve didnt know what to do. It was either dont do it or watch Eve
get hurt and that wasnt an option for Matt. So he had to obey the gang. For now at the least.

Question of the week:

What is the plot? Tell what the conflict or goal is and how the character is trying to solve or
achieve it:
Matt ( The main character ) and Eve are trying to figure out what to do since the gang threatened them to give them some
type of object that would cost a lot of money. They didnt know what to do so they told Hone ( secondary character ) and
hope that he would have some good ideas. Unfortunately he told Matt to tell the police but that is the worst thing that Matt
could do. In the end of this part of the story Matt and Eve were thrown another problem and was tricked into going to the
gang. How will Matt and Eve get out of this problem.
 Week Assignments:

Vocab:
Prodden - He prodded Matt in the stomach with the spade
Thermal - Matts first impression when they arrived in the thermal field was that Skulla was probably right.
Grasping - Matt spun around to see Diz grasping Eves out stratched arms.
Raucous - Croke and Diz broke into raucous laughter as if it was the funniest comment ever.
Hurled - Skulla studied it for a while before his face twisted in anger and he hurled the thing into the bushes
What I think it means:
Prodden -pushed in / poke, stab movement with hand
Thermal - A lab
Grasping - grabing
Raucous - big
Hurled - Spewed / vomit
Actual Definition
Prodden - Poke with a finger foot or object
Thermal - relating to heat.
Grasping - avaricious; greedy
Raucous - making or constituting a disturbingly harsh and loud noise.
Hurled - throw or impel (someone or something) with great force.

Personal Response :
I like how everything went good for once and how it is making the readers think about whats going to
happen next. I dislike the fact that Ana came into this story ( NEW CHARACTER ) because I dont like what
she was doing to the story.

Summary :
Matt was in the newspaper again and was named a brave hero by saving the gang. The gang ended up in
good terms with Matt and Eve and everyone was happy. Matt told the news that most of the diamonds were
fake bu seve. Matt gave a piece to both Eve and Jackson. They were both happy and at the end matt and Eve
went back to their house.

Question of the Week:

What is the theme of your novel? What message, moral, or lesson is the author trying to say:I
think the theme was about Gangs, Life problems, Family and that the message was that when you have problems it doesnt
mean you have to turn to doing bad things instead try to get through it. Like they say dont always take the easy path.