Piper

READING LOG
Book Title:​The Loop Author: Nicholas Evans

Entry 1 Date: September 1, 2009 Summary:The first chapter of //The Loop// by Nicholas Evans suggests the mystery and suspense that the plot is leading up to. In this chapter the point of view changes from main character, Kathy, to the narrator describing what was happening as a wolf moved through the location of a former wolf massacre area. It is said that once a massacre of a certain animal happens at one place that breed will never return to it again, but in this story it wasn't so. The wolf moved through the area at relaxed lope, until he heard a baby cry. The baby was Kathy's and was on the porch of her house when the wolf arrived, it kept moving in until the faithful yellow lab stopped it in its tracks. Reaction: I really like Nicholas Evans' writing. It is suspenseful and the way he switches point of view really keeps you interested. After reading that chapter I really want to know what the story is building up to. Another massacre or maybe a follow through on his attack? Q-words: Oxblood- a deep dull red color. (page 8)

Entry 2 Date:September 14, 2009 Summary: In chapters two through six lots of main events took place. After the lab attacked the wolf, the police and investagators were called to examine the dead body of the loyal companion. When all the tests had been taken they declared it had been a wolf attack and that it was time to track them down. At that point you realize how close Kathy's brother Luke, who has a noticible stutter, is to the wolves. He would spend hours in the wilderness just watching the wolves live their ordinary, everyday life. That's when Nicholas Evans introduces a new character, Helen Ross, a well-trained biologist who mostly studies the patterns of wolves. It shows her close relationship with her father, and her jealousy over her new soon-to-be stepmother, who is actually younger than she is. It also explains her bad luck at choosing men, how she always chooses the bad guy, and it shows the difference between them and her most recent love interest, Joel, another biologist. Reaction: I think that these chapters have gotten more exciting from the beginning. The new character Helen sounds much more exciting than the rest of the characters and I really look forward to reading more of the narratives from her point of view. It also makes me wonder if the towns people of Hope will call her to the scene of the dog attack. Q-words: Disperser- to drive or send off in various directions, to scatter. (page 64)

Entry 3 Date: Septemeber 30, 2009 Summary: Chapters six through ten seemed like it was still introducing the characters Luke Calder and Helen Ross. It explained how Helen and Joel came to be and where they are in their lives now. Joel is in another country studying horseshoe crabs and Helen just left for Hope, Montana to do a study on the wolves there. Helen and Joel seem to be put on hold at the moment. After that it led on to Luke. It shows his close relationship to the wolves and that the only reason his stutter is terrible is because he doesnt feel comfortable around his father. Everyone he is comfortable around he talks almost perfectly to, which makes me wonder what really led to this uncomfortable gap between them. It also talks about the death of Lukes older brother, Henry Jr., and grandfather Henry Sr. in the car accident that they had on the way to pick Luke up from his speech therapist. Reaction: I wonder if something will happen between Luke and Helen because they both want to keep the wolves alive. I want to know if Luke will be comfortable around Helen, or if his stutter will get worse. I think that in these chapters Nicholas Evans is spending to much time introducing his characters and it would be more intriguing if he would just start the story, Q-words: Abhorred- to regard with extreme repugnance or aversion. (pg. 98)

Entry 4 Date: ​October 1, 2009 Summary: In chapters 10 and 11 it really shows the lives of the side, yet very important, characters. Eleanor Calder, Buck Calders wife, is leading the average life of any stay at home mom. She is there to make lunch and dinner and clean the home. When she went into town that day she realized she wanted something more out of her life, so she went into the local cafe, which had been struggling for sometime, and offered her services and her money. After all of that it went onto explain more about Buck Calder. Eleanor knows about Bucks sidelife and she always tries to pretend it doesnt bother her. She knows that he has several other girls on the side, but what she doesnt know is that one of those girls is the woman who she just gave her money to at the cafe. Helen just decided to stop smoking and is still hoping more than anything that Joel will come home soon and still want to be with her. Reaction: I think these chapters really moved well together. It flowed smoothly and much more quickly than the rest of the book has so far. But I'm starting to wonder when the actual story is going to begin, it still seems like it is spending time introducing the characters. Q-words: Contrition- sincere penitence or remorse. (pg. 69)

Entry 5 Date: October 8, 2009 Summary: Someone keeps messing with Helen and Dan Priors traps, setting them off so that they cant capture a wolf. Luke has been secretly following Helen to learn where shes setting the traps. Helen then catches Luke in the act of setting off her traps and talks him into helping her capture the wolves, telling him that its all just to keep them alive. Reaction: I think that its a little bit creepy that Luke has been following Helen, but at the same time its a good thing because hes doing it just to save what he loves even though he knows his father would not approve. I also think its really nice that in the the end Luke agrees to help Helen because he knows everything about the wolves and he would be one of the best people in Hope to help her with that. Q-words: Lichenous- of, pertaining to, or resembling a lichen. (pg. 137)

Entry 6 Date: October 8, 2009 Summary: Helen and Luke catch two wolves, the alpha female and another young male and get the radio collars put on them. Buck finds out that Luke has been helping her and gets really angry with him but is still trying to beguile Helen with false flattery and drinks at the local bar. All of the ranchers found out that it was a whole pack of wolves and not just one and are moving their cows down from their government allotments to their ranches. Reaction: I think that this section really got the book moving. The plot has picked up with the capturing of the two wolves and the fact that Buck is trying to trick Helen really adds a sense of mystery to the book. Q-words:Po-faced- having an overly serious demeanor or attitude; humorless (pg. 212)

Entry 7 Date: October 14, 2009 Summary: In this section the town council holds a meeting and Abe Harding makes a very significant statement by walking in and throwing the wolf he shot down on the table, which is extremely illegal. That night after the meeting Helen gets home to find a letter from Joel, telling her that he is getting married to a woman he met in Africa and that they are over for good, which throws Helen into an awful downward spiral. When she finally gets back on her feet she and Luke go to check the traps, they realize they caught a male bear cub, so they sedate it but when they begin to get charged by an adult male bear they have to take the cub with them in the truck, which when the cub started to wake up started a really big mess. Reaction: The plot has really picked up since the last sections. Now that the characters present lives are being shown it really helps you to relate to the book. Q-words: Stratagems- a plan, a scheme, or a trick used for surprising or deceiving an enemy. (pg.239)

Entry 8 Date:October 14, 2009 Summary: At this point in the book Buck is getting so frustrated with the wolves that he hires a professional trapper, also called a 'wolfer', at the discretion of his family, trapping and killing wolves is illegal so they hide the trapper in the woods. Also this is when Helens father and new stepmother get married, giving the trapper the perfect time to go after the wolves. Helen and Luke's relationship is finally starting to take off which earns a whole round of new gossip from the locals. Reaction:I think that Buck only hired the trapper because he is so insecure about the government officials doing their job. He doesn't have any control over how they handle the situation, and him not being the leader makes him feel inferior and even worse because his son is helping them. Q-words:Snuffling- to draw air into the nose for the purpose of smelling something. (pg. 301)

Entry 9 Date: October 14, 2009 Summary:Everything bad that could happen to the wolves happen in this section. While Helen is away at the wedding, Buzz, her dog, follows after the alpha female and gets caught in one of the trappers snares, Luke notices the new cut and begins to get suspicious. When she finally gets back she and Luke go looking for where the wolves are denning and find the new alpha male dead because of an infected cut in his leg in exactly the same location as Buzz's was. Luke goes the Hicks' property and finds and new trailer there, when he goes in he finds tons of traps and snares. After that the entire town decides to go after the alpha female and her six new pups in their new denning location and Eleanor, Bucks wife, informs Helen and Dan of this. Reaction: I'm surprised that its taken Buck so long to attack the wolves himself. He seems like the kind of person who would want to do the job himself and not hire somebody to take care of it for him. Q-words: Arc- anything bow shaped. (pg. 361)

Entry 10 Date: October 14, 2009 Summary: Luke runs up to the den to save the puppies and crawls into the den with a canvas bag to sneak them out. Helen and Eleanor go to block the road with timber and her pickup truck. When Buck arrives Helen pulls out Henry's (his dead sons) rifle and aims it at him but he takes it away from her and heads up to the den. He aims the rifle at the den and just when Luke is coming out with the first load of puppies he fires, thinking it was a wolf, shooting Luke right through the neck which then bounces off of a rock and hits him in the eye. Several weeks later Luke is fine except for his eye and all of the wolves were relocated to Yellowstone and replaced by 'vegetarian' wolves. Reaction: I think that this was a fairly good ending for this book. As you read you knew nothing drastic would end the book so it was kind of predictable and yet still suspenseful. Q-words: Haggard- Looks bad and rough. (pg. 420)