A Novel Study

 Before The Morning

by Ashley Forshaw

(teenfiction)

basic novel from wattpad (online book)

theme : relationship / struggle ( between human and god )

main figure : Nora and Nolan

storyline : forward

Pre-reading Activities 

The title is Before The Morning and the author name is Ashley Forshaw , but wattpad author's named TaintedRain. And she have another 13 books that she write into wattpad. For example her novel in wattpad : That author life, It all started with an apple , That time we broke the world etc. And from the cover of novel , the information that i get of the novel there is a picture of a man carrying a camera and a woman with long hair clutching a guitar. This is the first time i read of her novel. 

There's also a synopsis, which I understand. There was a fifteen year old boy named Nolan Haynes. He has everything, surrounded by a family that gives him a lot of love, and he promised for himself that in the future he will become a filmmaker and have cool friends. But all of that is gone when there was a tragedy that his family suffered and he decided to move to another city.

Nolan vows never to let anyone in ever again they always leave. But on a summer day two years later, when the super upbeat, Nora walks to his lunch table , Nolan has to try a bit harder to keep a smile off his face. Little does he know that Nora is fighting a battle of her own, one that no one could even imagine. And as the two get closer, they not only find solace in each other but in God. When Nolan is faced with a situation in which he has to break Nora's trust to protect her.

The novel published at 2021 10 February. This novel tells the struggle of a teenage boy and girl who faced harsh world , and their efforts to get closer to God. This novel is written informal languange , the main character / protagonist is Nolan and Nora , Nora has a soft character , she prefers to cry and stay in her room when problems hit her. While Nolan he is alone but he prefers to keep himself busy with various activities that can make him forget for a moment the problems of his life. The antagonist in this novel is Nora's parents. And the point of view used is the third person point of view because the author mention the name of character. The main character in this story is Nora and Nolan. The story set's in Texas , America.

In parts 1-5 I think it's still in the introduction of the characters and the prefix storyline. Starting from how Nolan and his family have a very harmonious relationship. On weekand usually Nolan with his little brother and his father likes to play baseball in the field near the house. They spend time playing baseball from noon to sunset, accompanied by the sound of their very cheerful laughter. Usually when the sky is getting dark, the mother calls them to go home to bathe, have dinner, and rest. But all of that changed when Nolan was 15 years old, he received news that his parents and his little brother were murdered at their house by someone he didn't know. 

The incident made a deep impression on Nolan, he became quiet and like to be alone. He becomes difficult to communicate with other people, even with his friends school. As usual , he was alone in the canteen. He sat his tray on his table and dropped his bag onto the floor. He sat down and unraveled his headphones. He picked up his slice of pepperoni pizza. A tap on his shoulder made him jump and drop his pizza back onto his tray. He yanked out his headphones and looked to the left. A girl. There was a girl at his table. He thought why was there a girl at his table. He recognized her, he didn't see her often. After she sat down next to Nolan and they have their own conversation. Her name is Nora, she is from Filipina. The awkwardness of the conversation had their stomach in knots. Because they believed they had certain things in common when they first met, and as time went, they grew closer and friendlier.

In next part until end (climax until resolution) , Day by day they were getting closer, Nolan knew more and more about what problems Nora was going through in life. Nolan knows that Nora's parents like to fight, Nola's father likes to beat Nola's mother and Nola ends up crying in her room while texting Nolan. Nolan and Nora always give support, encouragement, and happiness to each other.

They struggle through various problems, they accept all problems with gratitude and enthusiasm that makes themselves more mature and closer to God.

At the end of the part they still have a good friendship, Nora's parents already have a good relationship, Nora and Nolan have many friends and are very good to them. On the weekend, Nora and Nolan and their friends spend vacation time together.

The value that can be taken from this story is that even when we have serious problems, we should still accept them sincerely, faced them with a smile, live life and fight for life to become better and closer to God. Because God will give a test of life to his people who are able to fight.

Reading Activities

In this novel , Nora is described as a beautiful teenage girl, has long black wavy hair, has a slim and tall body shape, I think this novel describes that Nora has body goals and has a natural beauty. She likes to wear shirts and white t-shirt inside, she pairs with jeans pants. 

Theme of this novel is struggle, there are solid friendships who struggle together to get through a difficult life. The development of the characters in this novel begins with Nolan and Nora, who believe they have given up battling their lives bad luck, and by the end of the story, they have transformed into strong and powerful figures who can face the thorns of life and make their lives better and brighter.

If Nolan and Nora never met from the beginning, I believe they will have bad luck in the future. Because Nolan's character boosts Nora in this scene, and Nora is always by Nolan's side. They might be delicate enough to move on if they've never met. Because they both benefit from each other's strength and healing. 

Why do I think that Nora can't be able her life well if she doesn't meet Nolan, because before meeting Nolan, Nora only stay in her room, hurting herself, when her parents were fought. But when he meets Nolan, he becomes a new strong and tough person who wants to interact again with people out there.

In this novel Nora and Nolan have different life problems, Nora with her parents fighting and throwing things each other at home, Nora's parents don't care about her. While Nolan, his parents and younger brother died because they were killed by stranger, he lived alone because no one wanted to help him.

Nora's feelings here are very sensitive, she really feels alone and she thinks no one cares about her. As for Nolan, because he is a man, he just likes to be alone but he never cries , he just wonders why God gave him such a bad life.