Power point by Rachel McConnell

The book takes place in Hartswell, Maine. And it starts with our main character, Aslaug, living with her mother in the outskirts of the town, Hartswell. They live in the woods living on plants. Aslaug lives there until her mother dies overnight. She tries to find her father but ends up finding instead her aunt and two cousins at the church her aunt preaches at. There she finds out about her birth and how the real world isn’t what she thought it would be like.

Antagonist: Rune Lerner- the son of Sara, and he is the antagonist in this book. He doesn’t believe anything Susanne wants people to believe and tries his best to prove her wrong. He tries to help the best way he can, however sometimes he is impulsive so his actions are not always the best. He has long black hair that hangs over his deep brown eyes. Rune has long fingers for the guitar, he has a deep voice to be a background in his band that plays at the church. He is also the practical one in the family. Like the common sense voice in your head. Protagonist: Susanne Lerner- daughter of Sara and Mikkel. She goes against her mother whenever she can by dying her hair and tattoos. Yet she really believes in what her mother and Maren talk about except she still haves her own criticism about everything. She tries to force Aslaug to believe in it, thinking that it will all end well in the end.

Sara Lerner-the aunt of Aslaug. Blond hair and clear blue eyes. Leads the church that Aslaug goes to after her mother’s death. Sara is lying to herself about everything that goes on in the book. Once she finds something, she gets obsessed about it. She loves her children and will do anything for them. She is jealous of Aslaug’s mother, of how she is loved the most by their father. Aslaug Hellig- she is the main character of this book, she looks exactly like her mother but no one knows who her dad is. She was homeschooled by her mother. She is very intelligent, she wonders about how things work but she also has an interest in magic, myths and religion. She wanted to be free but when she started to come to real life, she saw that she didn’t fit in, she was always isolated from life.

Maren Hellig- Maren grew up with the love of her father and was taught about myths and magic but when she had Aslaug, she at first got obsessed with it and then threw it away one day. She turned to logic and science. Maren never told her sister, Sara, who Aslaug’s father was. She took Aslaug away when she was 2, to the outskirts of town. And raised her there, herself. Maren was the one who taught Aslaug all the knowledge she had. She tried to keep Aslaug away from life outside of their little house. Rebekka Grass- the girlfriend of Rune. She is the lead singer for the church band. She also is pregnant by the time Aslaug has found Sara and her cousins. Rebekka becomes jealous of how deep Rune and Aslaug’s connection is. She is almost apart of Sara’s family and is loved by the church for being supposedly pure.

Central Conflict Maren had spinal cancer, when she died however, she had a poisonous plant in her system. When Aslaug went to the church and found her aunt and cousins, she didn’t tell her social security officer. When she stayed at the church for 2 months, she learned who her father was, her grandfather. She also learned that she was pregnant but she thought she was a virgin. Sara and Susanne thought it was Maren all over again. Since Maren never told them how she got pregnant, they thought she was Virgin Mary again. They had Aslaug believing that also. During this period Rebekka is living in the church with them since her parents left her there and moved away from the embarrassment. After Aslaug and Rebekka had their babies (Rebekka had to give hers up for adoption) and two years have passed, the church has burned down with Sara and Susanne already dead inside with the same poison in their bloodstream as Maren and Rune, Aslaug’s baby and Rebekka had runaway from everything. Aslaug is on trail for the death of her mother, Sara and Susanne, since there is almost undeniable proof that Aslaug has killed her mother, her aunt and her cousin and burned down the church.

Mikkel- Rune and Susanne’s father; Rune takes from him, but other than that the book give that much description of him. He has syndactyly, which is when the fingers on one hand is webbed. He is accused of having an affair with Maren and fathering Aslaug. Sofie Phalia-the only baby in the book that is either Rebekka’s or Aslaug’s. In the trial everyone thinks that Aslaug is just going mad and is convinced that Sofie Phalia is her baby and not Rebekka’s.

Sara and Maren’s Father- no description, his favorite daughter was Maren. Sara and her mother were very religious so Aslaug’s grandfather was only connected to Maren, since she shared his views. He taught her mythology and other stories about magic.

E:\Literature Resources from Gale - Document_do.mht Even though the book got attention because it was its author’s first novel, it still made readers fall in love with it. SORT&inPS=true&prodId=LitRG&userGroupName=avl_mobi&tabID=T004&sea rchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&contentSegment=&searchType=BasicS earchForm&currentPosition=7&contentSet=GALE%7CA &&docId=GA LE|A &docType=GALE&role=LitRC Accomplished narrator Potter's sensitive and expressive voice builds suspense as time slips back and forth. She easily reflects Aslaug's helpless confusion about her pregnancy and the relatives' reactions as well as staccato courtroom interrogations. She explores each deadly and startling twist as Aslaug's physical and psychological prisons coalesce..--Lolly Gepson

This book was different from anything else I have read before. It is very mind thinking and keeps you guessing what is really happening. You actually think that something supernatural is really going on in this book. I recommend this book for anyone.