Reflection #1:
For my apprentice book, I chose Everything is Far From Here by Christina Henriquez. When I read this short story, I loved how the psychological decline of the main character was handled and I really appreciated the themes of loss, heartbreak, and acceptance. I felt that, out of the other stories, I had more of an emotional connection to this one, so I would be able to represent it accurately within my book. The short story mainly focuses on the decline of the main character, but there are some moments that describe really personal objects/people for the character. I wanted to represent physical things that could connect the reader and the character within the story. When it comes to what text I incorporated into my book, I chose central moments as well as moments in which we feel incredibly close to the character, such as when she gets her period or when she’s only allowed to keep certain objects. I wanted the readers to be able to feel what the main character is going through as well as read the context of the objects represented.
Book:
Title Page
Page 1
Page 2
Page 3
Page 4
Page 5
Page 6
Back Cover
Reflection #2:
For my book, I wanted all the images to be made of wax, so the reader could feel/touch the objects represented there. I feel like this story was incredibly emotional and I wanted someone who hasn’t read the full story to understand the weight of everything that’s represented in my apprentice book. The title page is simply the title written in blue, even though it’s kind of hard to see the color. I chose blue to represent the character’s sadness/depression that she feels while in her situation. Page one is about the main character’s bruises and trials when she first arrives. Page two shows the two main attributes of the main character’s son, Gabriel. There are also two sentences on this page, first “Where is my son?” and “He’s five years old with black hair and a freckle”. Page three shows some of the objects that she’s allowed to keep, a comb, a hair-tie, and her silver wedding ring. I tried to make these objects a little smaller in comparison to some of the other objects in the book, just to show the reader how little the character was allowed to keep. The fourth page is about the main character’s period, along with one of the character’s quotes about what the guards to do the women in the asylum center. The fifth page features the title of the story once more, the read lines representing the red on the American flag above a street, showing the divide between the main character’s situation to the rest of America. Page six is a repeat of page two. This page shows Gabriel’s main attributes, yet they are skewed, as the main character mistakes another boy for her son. The back cover shows one of the magnolia blossoms, a small symbol of hope and acceptance for the main character.
Again, I wanted all of my images to be able to be touched/felt by the reader to bring them closer to the source material. *Disclaimer: I really did try to make my book pretty but I’ve been cursed with being unartistic I apologize.*
