I am currently reading "The Eye Of The Minds" by James Dashner. The characters in the story are faced with a difficult task of finding a pro gamer in the Virtnet. The Virtnet is a virtual world that the characters go into and they use there hacking skills to get through specific areas of the Virtnet. Michael, Sarah, and Bryson are looking for Kaine to try to stop him from killing people in the Virtnet. They have to find a place called "The Path" which will lead them to Kaine. The Path is really difficult to hack and they go through a lot of obstacles.

The book is futuristic and has technology that is not available currently in the real world. The worst thing about this book is that the description is a little hard to visualize because no one has really seen the Virtnet or the places that the characters go in the book. I do like the setting though because it is different and is a mystery to put together. The author was very creative while writing this book. There is a part in the book where the 3 friends are just getting to the path. An old lady who was sitting at the entrance told them that they have to figure out what time it is to go forward in their journey. I liked having to try to solve the old lady's riddle. The friends found out that there were stone disks in the ground and they had to go through the 10:00 disk. They had to go through the 10:00 disk because this is what time it was.

The description of the disks was difficult to picture because I have never seen them before. A quote in this part of the book that describes the disks are, "Michael sprinted across the disk, jumping over several more gaping holes that had formed. To his left, another huge piece of the stone broke away from the edge and fell, then another to his right. In the middle, where the old Satchel had sat in her chair, a section exploded in a spray of rocks, the dull purple light of the clouds shining through the hole when it was gone." I wanted to know more about the colors and facial expressions. I also wanted to know the size of the disks compared to the size of something I have seen before. If I could relate the setting to something I have seen before, it would be much easier to visualize the setting in the book.

Make a text-to-text, text-to-self, and text-to-world connection to the book (You could easily write a paragraph on each and create links to other sites, videos, etc).

I am currently reading "The Eye Of The Minds" by James Dashner. The text-to-world connection to my book is the movie called "The Matrix." In the Matrix, the main character goes into a virtual world where he faces problems. There is a character named Mr. Anderson who is taking over this virtual world. The virtual world is called the Matrix. In my book the main character Michael is faced with a challenge that he never expected. He is supposed to find the Mortality Doctrine within a virtual world called the Virtnet.  The Virtnet is a world outside of the real world just like the Matrix. It's like going into a video game that feels real. Michael has to stop Kaine, he is doing something horrible to the people who are in the Virtnet, and find the Mortality Doctrine that Kaine is somehow linked to. In the Matrix, the main character has to stop Mr.Anderson from destroying their virtual world.

The text-to-text connection is relating a book also written by James Dashner called "The Maze Runner" to "The Eye Of Minds." Both of the main characters (Thomas and Michael) are faced with a problem that will be difficult to solve. Thomas has to figure out the maze and solve it to escape. Michael has to stop a cyberterroist in the Virtnet that is just as confusing as the maze. They have to figure out their surroundings. Both books have an adrenaline feel and are suspenseful and action filled. Both books take place in the future with advanced technology. 

The text-to-self connection is the 3 friends, Michael, Sarah, and Bryson, stick together and work as a team. They have to go through a mission together to find Kaine and the Mortality Doctrine. When my friends and I have to go through something together, we help each other and we are always there for one another. When a friend needs you, you are always there to help them. I help my friends and do things with them just like Michael does with his friends. Sarah and Bryson are helping Michael with the mission, and Michael works with his friends to complete the objective.