Rebecca+Gavin

=// Water for Elephants (The New York Times Bestseller) //=

** Plot Summary: **
==== Though he may not speak of them, the memories still dwell inside Jacob Jankowski's ninety-something-year-old mind. Memories of himself as a young man, tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. Memories of a world filed with freaks and clowns, with wonder and pain and anger and passion; a world with its own way of life, and its own way of death. The world of the circus: to Jacob it was both salvation and a living hell. Jacob was there because his luck had run out - orphaned and penniless, he had no direction until he landed on this locomotive "ship of fools." It was the early part of the Great Depression, and everyone in this third-rate circus was lucky to have any job at all. Marlena, the star of the equestrian act, was there because she fell in love with the wrong man, a handsome circus boss with a wide mean streak. And Rosie the elephant was there because she was the great gray hope, the new act that was going to be the salvation of the circus; the only problem was, Rosie didn't have an act - in fact, she couldn't even follow instructions. The bond that grew among this unlikely trio was one of love and trust, and ultimately, it was their only hope for survival. ====

** About the Author: **
==== Sara Gruen is a Canadian-born dual citizen that grew up in northern Ontario without any interests or connections to the circus and moved to the United States in 1999. She is married with three children and moved from an environmentalist community in northern Illinois to Asheville, North Carolina. She is also a well known animal lover and has four cats, two dogs, two goats, and a horse. She is the fortunate author of multiple bestsellers. ====

Alcohol Abuse
==== "Just one more...I can handle it." These are deadly words that can lead to alcohol abuse, or the excessive use of alcohol despite the consequences to that person's health. Ethanol is the kind of alcohol that people drink which is a sedative meaning that it can effect a person's vision, hearing, movement, emotions, and perception. This is a result of the alcohol absorbing into the bloodstream which in turn affects the central nervous system, or the brain and spinal cord, which control a vast majority of a person's body functions. Difficulty walking, slowed reaction times, impaired memory/blackouts and judgment, paralysis of the nerves that control the eyes, and persistent learning and memory problems are just some of the risks one takes when consuming alcohol. In the book //Water for Elephants//, it is clear alcohol was a major part of circus life. Whiskey, Moonshine, and Jamaican ginger, also known as Jake, were all alcoholic drinks consumed by characters in the story. It turns out, Camel, one of the roustabouts of the circus, is devastated by Jamaica ginger paralysis after drinking Jake specifically contaminated by the manufacturer as a message to not be consumed as an alcoholic drink. This tragedy did actually happen in real life between 1930 and 1931 and killed/effected approximately one hundred thousand people. Today however, alcohol abuse kills approximately seventy five thousand people and unfortunately shortens the lives of these people by roughly thirty years. ====

[|www.abovetheinfluence.com]

 * Dramatization of the Book: **

** About the Reader: **
==== My name is Becca Gavin and I am a freshman at Gahanna Lincoln High School. I am 15 years of age and I am the youngest of my three sisters and brother. I play softball and volleyball for my school as well as U16 travel softball and U15 American club volleyball. I am an active student in my school and I am on the GLHS Renaissance Action Team. I chose to read //Water for Elephants// as my independent reading book because I found the plot line appealing and I also love reading books before they are produced into movies. ====



**Sneak peak of the upcoming movie:**