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Mack's inner thoughts and feelings of revenge and hatred that make him more distant from God is the main antagonist in the story.

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The author is William P Young, other books he wrote are: Cross Roads, Eve, and Lies We Believe About God." This book is not part of a series, but the author does write his books on the subject of God and religious things.

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The climax of the story is when Papa(God) takes Mack to Missy's body and shows him that he must forgive her killer and forget about revenge and hatred. This functions as the high point of the story because it is where Mack finally understands that he should not let his revenge and hatred control his life and that he should instead form a relationship with those he is mad at

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The book takes place in a shack that has significant meaning to Mack. In reality, it was a rundown shack in the middle of the woods during a snowstorm, but for most of the story, it was a nice cabin in the summertime.

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The exposition begins in the first 4 paragraphs of the story. At first, it introduces the note that Mack gets from God which calls him to the shack. Then, we learn more about his backstory and the shack, which is where he found evidence of his daughter's 🤬.

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Simile Pg.25 Chapter 2: "The Great Sadness had draped itself around Mack's shoulder's like some invisible but almost tangibly heavy quilt."

Metaphor Pg.64 Chapter 4: "The Great Sadness had descended and in differing degrees cloaked everyone whose lives had touched Missy's."

Hyperbole:  "Mack’s eyes snapped open in time to see the two smiling broadly at each other," This is an exaggerated statement because his eyes did not actually SNAP open, they just opened normally.

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An alternate ending for the whole book would be one were Papa not only leads Mack to his daughter's body, but also shows him where the Little Ladykiller is. So, that when Mack leaves the shack, he can go confront the Little Ladykiller and forgive him before he is arrested.

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Dear Kate,
I know you feel like Missy's death is your fault, but it is not. You were not the one who killed Missy, it was the Little Ladykiller. You could not have known that your canoe would have flipped over and that your dad would have to leave Missy. Nobody could have known that just leaving Missy alone for a little while could result in her death. Please understand that her death was not your fault and that you are a good person with parents that love you very much and want to help you cope with the loss of your sister.

Sincerely,
Ryan Dcruz

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This shows the shack in both winter and summer because in the book, the shack is described in summer and winter so I think this would also make a good cover for the book.

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The Shack is definitely a book I would recommend to others. This book gives the reader such a amazing look as to what God really is. It is not based on a true story which, to me, makes it an even more amazing story. It is so well written and detailed that you would think it was based on a true story. It took me on a cool journey with God in different forms than most people would imagine. By making God an African American women, it really shows that we cannot judge God because God is not exactly like what everyone thinks. This book is definitely a must read for young adults and older.

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1) Is this a dark book since it deals with a girls 🤬?
A: No, this book does deal with a little girls 🤬, but it shows how to deal with the loss of someone you love because God is always with you. This book is more uplifting than dark.
2) Since there is a movie for the book, should I watch it first or read the book first?
A: I would say to read the book first because when you read the book, you can imagine what you think everything looks like. Reading the book lets your imagination take action, which makes it more fun while reading.
3) If I am not a christian, can I still read this book?
A: I would say that you could read the book. The views of this author are probably going to conflict with yours if you are not a religious Christian, but I still think that the story is worth the read.

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The Shack is a complex book that makes the reader see many different lessons. But, overall, the main lesson from this story is that people should not hold in hatred and revenge for others, but instead to forgive others for their actions and to form relationships to get a better understanding of them. Another lesson in the book is that people should not be quick to judge others because people are not always what they seem and there is more to someone than others think.

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The main character in the story, Mack, reminded me of myself when he first discovered the shack. Like Mack, I always imagined God as being an old and wise man. So when God was revealed to be an African American women, I, just like Mack, was a bit shocked. That one part of the book had me relate to Mack in that we both realized that God can be anything and not just what we think.

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The story is told in the third person omniscient. The narrator knows who everyone is before Mack finds out. The narrator also knows Mack's inner thoughts and feelings.

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The only other thing this book reminds me of, is the movie that was based on this book. But, the book itself is very original and I have never heard of anything like it. It had a few connections to some 🤬 mystery books, but combining the 🤬 mystery with religious things really made the book like nothing else.

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The protagonist in The Shack is Mack. Mack lost his daughter which has caused him to have inner thoughts that distance him from God. These inner thoughts that Mack conflicts with are the antagonist in the story.

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“We are not three gods, and we are not talking about one god with three attitudes, like a man who is a husband, father, and worker. I am one God and I am three persons, and each of the three is fully and entirely the one.” (The Shack Pg.101) This was my favorite quote from the book because it showcased that God is not just one person who watches over everyone else, but that God can also see things from the human perspective and can take on the form of multiple humans to help other humans.

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The resolution is at the end when Mack returns to reality and tells his family about his experience in the shack. The resolution continues while Mack leads them to Missy's real body and they use the information to find the Little Ladyiller.

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"He had barely walked fifty feet up the trail when he felt a sudden rush of warm air overtake him from behind. The chirping of a songbird broke the icy silence. The path in front of him rapidly lost its veneer of snow and ice, as if someone were blow-drying it. Mack stopped and watched as all around him the white covering dissolved and was replaced by emerging and radiant growth. Three weeks of spring unfurled before him in thirty seconds. He rubbed his eyes and steadied himself in the swirl of activity. Even the light snow that had begun to fall had changed to tiny blossoms lazily drifting to the ground. What he was seeing, of course, was not possible. The snowbanks had vanished, and summer wildflowers began to color the borders of the trail and into the forest as far as he could see. Robins and finches darted after one another among the trees. Squirrels and chipmunks occasionally crossed the path ahead, some stopping to sit up and watch him for a moment before plunging back into the undergrowth. He even thought that he glimpsed a young buck emerging out of a dark glade in the forest, but on second look it was gone. As if that weren’t enough, the scent of blooms began to fill the air, not just the drifting aroma of wild mountain flowers, but the richness of roses and orchids and other exotic fragrances found in more tropical climes."(The Shack Pg. 80)
This passage appeals to the senses by describing how the shack looks and how beautiful everything around it is. It also describes the scent of the blossoms and the aroma of the place. It also described the sounds of the birds chirping.

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Songs that would be on Mack's phone:

Alive-https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkz279yr_NLgqMguzVo8udw

Joy Unspeakable- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jdA03BLdYr0

Oceans- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dy9nwe9_xzw

All three of these songs are uplifting Jesus songs. These are all songs you would find on Mack's playlist after the events of the book because everytime he feels angry or is feeling down, he can listen to these songs and remember that God is always in him and the people he loves.

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1) The Shack was written for his six children and was never meant to become a published novel.
2) Young wants relationship to replace religion.
3) Throughout his childhood, Young was a victim of night terrors. He also mentioned that he was abused by his father growing up.
4) His parents were missionaries
5) Young has spent a lot of his life fighting against people being stuck in religious boxes. He believes that a great majority of people are stuck in their ways.
6) There were only fifteen copies of the original novel before several of Young’s friends and family members urged him to publish the book into the public spectrum.
7) William P. Young states that he didn’t know he was white until he was six years old. He discovered the color of his skin for the first time when he went to school.
8)  The book is all about how William P Young thinks and views religion. He wrote it because his wife wanted him to as a way to share his relationship with God with his six children.
9) He likes to write about these sensitive topics because he likes to address things that are hard to address for others.
10) He is the oldest of 4 siblings

I think that his upbringing definitely inspired him to write this book because he grew up with missionary parents in an unusual place, and that his dad used to abuse him. This shows maybe why he loves God so much, because his dad wasn't a good dad so he had to turn to God to help him.

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1) So Mack, if I broke into your home and stole a lot of money, would you forgive me? I ask this to determine if Mack has learned from his time at the shack about experience.
2) So Papa, do you think that Mack should confront the Little Ladykiller and say that he forgives him? I ask this because I wouldn't know what God would want to happen in this situation.
3) So Nan, do you truly believe that Mack's experiences at the shack were real? I ask this because if I were her, I would still feel doubtful about all of it.
4) So Mack, if you were face to face with the Little Ladykiller, would you beat him up or forgive him? I ask this because I want to know what Mack thinks he should do in the situation.
5) So Kate, who's fault is it for Missy's death. This question would be to clarify that Kate realizes that Missy's death was not her fault and that she can be back to normal and not be so distant.

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God arrives
as three people
And helps Mack
grieve his daughter
and forgive her killer

(Gogyohka)

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Mack sort of experiences xenophobia when he first starts to converse with God. He is sort of mad at God because Missy died and God did not save her.

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You should know that this book was not based on a true story, but was written for his kids. This is amazing because the story is so complex and detailed that the fact that it was written from scratch just amazes me.

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Mack turned and faced him, shaking his head. “Am I going crazy? Am I supposed to believe that God is a big black woman with a questionable sense of humor?”

This scene from the book was a zinger because it surprised me when I first read it. Mack just straight up voiced his concerns about how God looked which was funny and surprising because they had just met each other.