Review of the White Mountains

I liked the book "White Mountains" because it had a very original story line. I like the idea of the Tripods and capping. I also like how the author conveys Will's feelings. All of these are great assets, but there are some things I don't like about the book. For one thing, nothing much really happens. Often, all the author writes about is walking. Another thing I don't like about the book is the ending. One moment they are running away from Tripods, and in the next sentence they are at the White Mountains. Despite these setbacks, I still enjoyed reading the book and am keen to read the second one.

Letter to Will

Dear Will,

My name is Robert Chance, and I have a few questions for you. One is: What really motivated you to leave? Was it Ozymandias, or was it Jack's capping, or a different reason altogether? Also, I was wondering, what made you trust Beanpole? He could have been a spy for the Tripods, sent to track you to the White Mountains. There is a nagging thought inside of me: if Eloise hadn't been sent to serve the Tripods, would you have remained and been capped, betraying your friends for royalty to be with Eloise? Also, do you have any theories on why you didn't remember being inside the Tripod?

If your memory needs jogging, maybe I could voice my opinions on these questions. For the first one, I think that Jack's capping was what created your doubts about staying, and then Ozymandias confirmed it. If I may add, I think you trusted Beanpole because he helped you escape from the man's cellar, and he knew that if he was capped, he wouldn't be able to continue his experiments, so he had a reason to rebel against the Tripods. Frankly, I think you would have stayed at The Castle of the Red Tower, because you were so attached to Eloise, it was only her going to serve the Tripods that made you decide to leave. And lastly, the Tripod could have sedated you before you were able to see inside of it, or maybe you blacked out from the struggle or from pure fear.

Before I finish this letter, I have one more big question to ask you. What will you do to defeat the Tripods, and how will you do it? If I were you, I would try to strike the Tripods at their heart: find their capital city, infiltrate it, and destroy it from the inside. As to how, there are possibly other tournaments like the one at The Castle of the Red Tower. The champion goes to work in a Tripod city, with a false cap of course, and could feed information to the White Mountains. Then, when you have developed suitable technology, you could raid the capital city of the Tripods, presuming you find out where it is, and if your agent survives.

Regards, Robert Chance.

Freedom

The people in the Castle of the Red Tower do not have a will of their own because of caps, machines that constrict thoughts which are controlled by huge, three legged machines called Tripods. No matter how friendly they seem, they are controlled by the Tripods, and thus, they are the enemy of Will, Henry, Beanpole and all the other rebels. Will will do anything to avoid being capped, and to get to the White Mountains, but he has feelings for Eloise, so he discovers that freedom comes at a price.