lucky+one

The Lucky One
"She was struck by the simple truth that sometimes the most ordinary things could be made extraordinary, simply by doing them with the right people."

Week 1: May 7th
B- Jenny C- Aly D- Jenny
 * A- Jess

****Questions 1. How are Clayton, Beth, and Thibault related? Clayton is a police officer who came across Thibault when he was by the creek. Clayton happens to be Beth's ex-husband and Beth is the woman in the picture that Thibault had and who he was looking for. 2. Why do you think Thibault kept the picture of the girl that he found in Iraq? When Thibault looked at the picture, he considered tossing it aside and just forgetting about it. But he thought that it might be one of the marines' pictures, so he left it out for the owner to take it. After no one claimed the picture, Thibault kept it in his pocket and after playing poker games and other betting games, he realized that the picture was lucky. He took a closer look and realized the woman in the picture was beautiful, and he could not stop thinking of who she was. Obviously there had to be some sort of connection between the two considering the fact that the picture was lucky to Thibault. 3. What kind of feelings does Clayton have towards his son, Ben? Clayton loves Ben, but he resents the personality and interests of his son. Clayton always pictured having a son that was into sports but instead has one that wants to play the violin. He thinks that he has nothing in common with Ben and believes a good way to raise his son is to give him chores to do instead of spending time with him. 4. Why do you think Thibault always has flashbacks from his time fighting in Iraq? Most people who were in the military cannot stop thinking about it when the come home. They spend months or even years in a place that could potentially kill them, and when they return back to daily life, they are not used to it. Thibault probably feels almost more comfortable in Iraq because it was basically his home while he spent his time fighting there. 5. Why do Beth and Nana care so much that Thibault was in the marines? When Thibault found the picture that we now know was of Beth, it was given to someone in the marines from her. So there is most likely someone who was in the marines or is still in the marines who Beth was formally connected to. It seems like she and Nana do not trust Thibault because he was in the marines, and that is a sign that something must have happened with the military.

Topic of the Week: Characters Describe the main characters in your text. What makes them interesting? What is their story or background? Why are you drawn to them? Conversely, are there any characters that you just cannot stand? Why not? The main characters in the book are Thibault, Clayton, and Beth. They are very interesting characters because they are all connected in a way. Thibault is looking for a woman in a picture that he found who is Beth, and Beth is Clayton's ex-wife, who Thibault met when he was by the creek. Thibault was a former marine who was discharged from Iraq. While he was there, he found a picture of a woman and it became his good luck charm. After thinking about it, he decided to go and find the woman who was in the picture because he felt connected to her. Clayton is a police officer who was married to Beth and they had a child, Ben. Clayton disproves of Ben's interests in reading and playing the violin because he wants him to be just like himself. Beth raises Ben and they lived with Beth's Nana on a kennel farm. Beth has stayed single because she seems to have problems with relationships, never being able to find that right man. We are drawn to Thibault because we believe that he is hiding something. He walked all the way from Colorado to North Carolina to find Beth, someone who he knows absolutely nothing about, which is extremely odd. Clayton is a character who we cannot stand because he is trying to get Thibault in trouble. He thinks that Thibault has the camera that Clayton was taking pictures of the girls by the creek and thinks Thibault will turn it in to the police department or even worse, the local newspaper. We feel like Clayton is going to try to stop Thibault and Beth from having any kind of relationship, and he is going to be the one to ruin the chance for Beth to find a great guy. All of the main characters in the book are extremely interesting and we cannot wait to find out more about them. Summary This week we began our discussion with some goldfish and iced tea provided by Jess. We already love the book, __The Lucky One__. Not much has happened so far, but we learned a lot about Thibault and Beth. Although it was in the beginning of the novel, we learned that Beth is the woman who is in the picture that Thibault discovered while on duty in Iraq. He considers the picture lucky because while he had the picture in his pocket, he won every game of poker. His friend told him that as long as he had the picture he would be lucky, but if he lost it, it would have a reverse effect and being unlucky would be the last thing you would want to be in the marines. We also found out that Clayton, who Thibault had a run in with in the beginning of the novel, turns out to be Beth's ex-husband. We are excited to continue reading this novel and finding out how each of the characters relate to one another. We all love this book and it keeps us very interested and we have been intrigued from the beginning. We are excited to find out who Beth originally gave the picture to and if her and Thibault end up together more into the novel. The book has a lot of hints and ideas of what is going to happen next, and it is something that makes it even more of an interesting and exciting read. The suspense of finding out more about Thibault and if he is going to tell Beth about the picture makes us anticipated to read more. It is so far one of my favorite books we read this year, and I can't wait to read more for next week.

****Week 2: May 14th - Jessica Spellman**

1. Why didn't Thibault admit why he came? Logan wanted to first find out background information. He didn't want to come on too strong or say the wrong thing to ruin his chances. Also, he comes off as a secretive and shy person so he wouldn't be the first to admit things, unless he would be directly asked about it.
 * Questions-**

2. Who is the marine Nana talked about? Why is his so important? At first I thought it was a love interest of Beth or her father, but we soon learned it was her younger brother. That is one reason why they might have no hired Thibault. He is important to the story because he is the reason Thibault found the picture and traveled all the way to Hampton.

3.Why is Thibault so secretive? It could just be his personality or something happened during his time in Iraq. Something extremely tragic may have occurred that he did not want to think of or somehow bring up.

4. Why is Thibault lucky, but not Drake? Thibault had the photo of Beth, but there is more too it. Perhaps Drake and Thibault had crossed paths at one time resulting in the death of Drake.

5. What is Thibault's "fate"? His fate is to find Beth and I believe is to help take care of their family after the death of Drake. Ben is in dire need of a father figure and Thibault is there for him. Thibault might think he found Beth and they would fall in love.

This book is an easy read, but it is interesting because of the detail Sparks puts into it. It gives twists and turns. He does not write it in an easy way that just anyone could understand it because he adds little details here and there that only a good reader would catch them and understand what they mean. The way he writes is different from other writers and he describes his characters and their lives differently from many other writers, which adds more appeal to his books. It could be said as a controversial book because it has to do with the military and death, divorce, and life plans and lessons. Sparks writes a lot of details about the military and how the soldiers have trouble dealing with it when they return home. It gives the reader a sense of what really happens to soldiers in real life during and after the military. It wouldn't be considered a "classic" because it is a simple love story, like many of Sparks novels. Sparks writes a lot of the same books, and he has similar plots in all of them, with the same location and usually similar endings. Even though the readers who are fans of Sparks usually know what is going to happen in the book, he writes in such a way that the reader feels more intrigued and cannot stop reading the book. This book would be good for high school because it has a lot of mature content, but it keeps the reader interested at all times. Most high school girls are into love stories, so this would definitely be good for them because it would keep them into the book but still be filled with a little suspense at times as well.
 * Language-**

This week, Jenny had her sister's graduation so she would not be in class. Although this, Aly and I were still excited to talk about the book since it is entertaining and is suspenseful. As I walked into the class on that fine Friday afternoon, I realized that Aly was also absent. I was all by myself, a wolf pack of one. This was extremely awkward because the point of a book club is to discuss your book with others. I was disappointed but during the period, I sat with Max, Lenny, and Kris and listened to them discuss their story which seemed extremely interesting. It may be a book that I may want to look into reading one day.
 * Summary-**

A - Jenny B - Aly C - Jess D - Aly
 * Week 3: May 18**


 * Discussion questions**

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Thibault hasn't told Beth the truth about why he came to Hampton because he doesn't want her to think he is crazy. He knows that if he tells her about the photo she will think there is something wrong with him and won't want to be with him anymore.======

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The mood and tone of the book is definitely mysterious and sneaky. Throughout the book, many questions about the characters are not answered and it leaves the reader wondering who the characters really are. For example, Thibault, one of the main characters in the book, has still not totally revealed everything about himself. He has not told Beth why he walked all the way from Colorado to North Carolina and he does not tell her about the picture. Thibault also does not talk much about the military and his past for some reason. Every time Beth asks him a question about himself, he always finds a way to turn it around and change the subject. Thibault is a mysterious and sneaky person and many of the other characters are catching onto it. Although the reader knows why Thibault went to North Carolina, it still is very odd that he would walk halfway across the country to find a girl that he saw in the picture. Another example of the mood of the book and the reason of why it is mysterious is the flash of Victor that Thibault saw. Victor is Thibault's best friend from the military who passed away in a tragic boating accident. Victor says to Thibault, "There is more." This is something very mysterious and it leads to the assumption that something else is going to happen either between Thibault and Beth, or Thibault and Clayton, Beth's ex-husband. The book has very distinct mood and tone that is portrayed throughout the entire story.======

This week, we had an extremely interesting discussion about our book, __The Lucky One.__ We talked a lot about Thibault and his past. We all think that the reason Thibault survived the boating accident was because he had the lucky picture in his pocket. It had kept him safe throughout his time he served in Iraq, and it would keep him safe as long as he has it for. It was his destiny to find the woman who was in the picture, and he knew it. We also talked about Victor, Thibault's best friend who died in the boating accident and whose spirit came into Thibault's house and told him, "there is more." We all agree that the reason Victor's spirit came was because he was the one who told Thibault that the picture was lucky in the first place and kept on reminding him of his luck and that he must go find the woman in the picture. Victor was the one who ultimately led Thibault to Beth.
 * Summary

During our discussion, we also talked a lot about Beth and Thibault. The reason why Thibault hasn't told Beth about the picture yet is because he is still getting to know her and he doesn't want it to ruin things. He also thinks that Beth would think he is absolutely insane for walking halfway across the country to find a girl in a picture, and she would definitely be weirded out by that. Thibault wants things to stay the same and he likes the way everything is, working at the kennel, and being able to see Beth everyday. He does not want anything to change and that is why he has decided to keep it a secret. We all believe that he is going to tell her at some point in the story. We all think that Beth is probably going to be confused at first when she finds out, but we think that in the end, Beth and Thibault are meant to be together. We cannot wait to see what is going to happen in the last part of our book!

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Discuss the themes and images that your book contains. What are some of the images that are used? What do they seem to represent? Why do you think the author uses these images to convey his or her meaning? __The Lucky One__ has many themes and images that are seen throughout the entire book. Some of the themes that are used are true love, and revenge. True love is seen throughout a huge part of the book between Beth and Thibault. Thibault walked halfway across the country to find Beth because he knew that they were destined to be together. Thibault owed Beth for keeping him safe in Iraq, and he was giving her the love she never really had in her life. From the moment they met, Beth and Thibault have a connection that represents true love. They are meant to be together from the start, and they eventually realize that they will be together forever. The author uses true love as an image to convey his meaning because he wants to show that no matter how difficult it may be to find, true love is out there somewhere and all you have to do is search for it. Thibault searched for Beth, and they turned out being perfect for each other in every way possible. Another theme is the book is revenge. After Thibault has some problems with Clayton when they first meet and he slashes his tires and takes his camera, Clayton is certain that he is going to get Thibault back. When he finds out that Thibault is dating his ex-wife, he fills with rage and immediately finds ways to seek revenge. Clayton breaks into Thibault's house and even watches him whenever Beth is over Thibault's house. The author uses revenge to convey his meaning that Clayton is jealous of anyone who has ever been with Beth and he doesn't want to see her being happy. He wants to be the man in her life, no matter how much he knows that they can and will not be together again. Clayton uses his anger and frustration out of Thibault and tries to get revenge as a way to calm his mind. The book has many themes and images that are used and they represent many different ideas in the story.
 * Questions 1. Were you surprised by the way Clayton acted when he and Beth found out that Ben was missing? It didn't seem like Clayton really cared for Ben that much because of the way he treated him, but after all, Ben was Clayton's son and he would do anything, even if it meant risking his own life to save his son. 2 . Why do you think Beth went back to Thibault? Beth went back to Thibault because she wanted to hear the truth. She knew that she couldn't judge Thibault without hearing the whole story, and although it did sound crazy, she understood why Thibault went to find her. Beth loved Thibault no matter how crazy his story sounded, and she knew that she couldn't live without him. 3. Do you think Thibault should have told Beth about the picture in the first place? Or was it all meant to be? If Thibault told Beth about the picture when he first met her, she would have probably brushed it off and not have thought anything of it. we think that it as meant to be that Thibault waited to tell Beth about the picture because he wanted to get to know her first and then tell her about it. 4. Do you think Clayton would have ever done anything bad to ruin Beth and Thibault's relationship? Towards the end of the book, Clayton was becoming more and more different and he seemed like he would go to any extent to break up Beth and Thibault. He didn't want anyone to be with his ex-wife, especially Thibault, and he was trying everything he could to get Thibault away from Beth. 5 . Was the ending shocking or did you have a feeling that it was going to end the way it did? The ending was very shocking because we all didn't expect anyone to die, but once the scene was being played out, we knew that Clayton was the one who was going to die. He was the one who tried to ruin Beth's past relationships and prevented her from finding true love. **======
 * Topic of the Week: Themes/Images**

During our last book club meeting, we had so much to talk about because of the shocking ending that happened in our book. We first began discussing when Thibault told Beth about the picture and the way she reacted when she found out. Just like Thibault had predicted, Beth thought he was crazy and told him she never wanted to see him again. Beth was obviously confused and scared, so she didn't know what else to do but tell Thibault to stay away from her. We all thought that even though it wasn't the right time for Thibault to tell Beth about the picture, he had to do it somehow and Beth was getting suspicious from what Clayton told her anyway. We also talked about how Clayton was acting and how hard he tried to get Thibault away from Beth. He had done it with all the men from Beth's past relationships, and he wasn't going to stop there. Clayton didn't want anyone to be with his ex-wife and he would do whatever he could to keep people away from Beth.
 * Summary**

The most intense part of our discussion began when we started talking about the part where Beth and Clayton were fighting and when they both realized Ben was missing. We all were pretty surprised the way Clayton reacted and how "fatherly" he became when he went to go find Ben. Even though he may not have always shown it, Clayton loved his son and would risk anything to save him. We all agreed that the book started to get a little confusing at the part where Clayton and Thibault were in the creek trying to save Ben. We didn't know who died or if they both died because the author was very vague on his details about what was going on. We were shocked when we found out that Clayton was the one who died trying to save his son, and that meant that Beth and Thibault could live a happy life together forever. We all loved the book and were surprised of how suspenseful and intriguing a book like this could be. We would definitely love to read more books by Nicholas Sparks!