Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson --- Pt. 3

Pgs. 133-198

The end of the book. It was alright.

We find out what IT did. That was...touchy. I think that Anderson approached the subject very well and handled the situation as delicately as possible.

HEATHER! I'm so excited for Mel! She told that phoney to shove off and I'm proud of her for it. That was a great scene; probably one of my favorites. It was nice to see that she could stand up for herself.

The bathroom stall article that Mel wrote turned into a confession sheet. Girls responded to it with abandon. Lots of girls have been hurt by Andy (IT). Now Mel isn't alone in her struggle.

I won't reveal more of the story, because the story has an open end. If I say too much, it will give everything away.

The art project turned out to be very, very good. I think that it would mean a lot to everyone who has read this book if the author had the project commissioned.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson --- Pt. 2

Pgs. 69-132

They chose Wombats! I'm not really sure why, but I'm glad they picked a mascot.

We start to see more of the relationship between Melinda (because that's her name) and her parents. We knew they were never around, but we didn't know any more than that. Now we see that Melinda's mom has to work very hard while Melinda's dad doesn't really work all that much. At one point Melinda seems to blame her dad about some of the problems that her parents are having, but we can't tell if it is true or not. Then, her parents are brought to the school to talk about Mel's skipping habits and grades. I find this hilarious, because she ends up in MISS (Merryweather In School Suspension). She misses school then she goes to MISS. It's amazing.

Mel is definitely not getting anywhere with her art project. She just can't seem to figure it out. It all ends up looking too fake or too sickly. We do find out that she can play some basket ball, whatever good that will do her. She is offered an A if she can teach the basket ball team to shoot. Are our schools really that messed up? Later, Mr. Freeman gives Mel a ride to her mom's workplace. Mr. Freeman talks about the Picasso-esqe, cubist tree that Mel attempted. He thinks that she has real talent, but that she needs to show depth, unlike the mirror that she seems to be. She needs to show emotion. It's terrible that most people might misconstrue this scene now-a-days for some awful sexual scene, when it could just be innocent.

She's afraid of IT. IT makes me think of that old movie about the killer clown. I wonder if Anderson did that on purpose. There are several clowns mentioned in the book. One of the art students has clowns as her project. I'm sure I will find out soon enough.

Now Heather is breaking up the friendship! What is wrong with that girl? Mel did everything she could to help her out and support her when things were tough. Now, she's just going to dump her? That is just messed up. If Heather left her just because the Marthas wanted her to, I will be very upset.

Lastly, David Petrakis invites her to a get-together. Mel freaks. Apparently parties are bad. Which means she's had some awful experiences at a party or parties. Probably has something to do with IT. Clowns are always at parties.

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson --- Pt. 1

Pgs. 1-68.

Mel? Maybe? We aren't really sure what the main character's name is yet. It's her first day back at the school, all her friends have ditched her and there are hints thrown around at some sort of catastropic party. You don't know anything about her, unless you count that she was part of the Plain Jane clique for a while. Now, she is all alone except for the new girl that doesn't know about what happened over the summer.

I find it really weird that her school is debating over mascots. First, they were the Trojans. Then, the Devils. Third, the Tigers. Now, they are changing it again! What does this say about the book? I don't know if she is trying to create sybolism through it by showing that high school is the place where identity is found. It would coincide nicely with the clique theme that seems to be in almost every section.

I like the art teacher though. It's easy to see that Mel is going to do great in this class. The object she got as her project center, the tree, is very easy to recogonize as a symbol. The tree grows...She'll grow. The tree blosoms in it's own time, so will she blosom in her time.

Lastly, she has no relationship with her parents. I'm not sure if this is a major theme of this story, but I'm not sure I like it. I can't see myself as someone without a relationship with my parents.

So far.... I like her sarcasm, but I don't like her.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang --- Pt. 2

Pgs. 109-233

Yang writes a very interesting story. The three tales he places together are very unique and the way he ties them together is unexpected.

The themes of racism and stereotypes are still there, though I find it hard to really pick up on them. It takes me a while to really get the point that he is trying to make. Reading this book means that you have to stop and think. It's almost as if the reader needs a guide to understand all that the author is trying to say. This is a good thing, but it also means that a lot of the meaning is lost because the reader doesn't have someone to explain.

I found the end to be somewhat of a let down. I expected something a little different. I still think it was interesting, but I felt it could have been a little better.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang --- Pt. 1

Pgs. 1-108

So, this is my second time reading this graphic novel. I guess I didn't catch all of the connotations the first time, because on the first page there is definitely a sexual inuendo I had never noticed. That's a fantastic way to start off a novel.

Now, this book supposedly discusses racism. Already, within the first few pages of the book, I can see this. The fact that the Monkey King wasn't allowed into the party because he was a monkey was trying to hit this topic. However, that's specieism. Just thought I should clarify.

On the next section, the story switches to a little Chinese boy (Jin). This section uses "<" and ">" symbols to show that the conversation has been translated from a different language, meaning the conversation occured in that language. I missed that my first time through as well. I really need to start paying better attention. I think I was just amazed at reading a graphic novel the first time. Back to the point, the little boy starts a new school and immediately a character pops up that seems to symbolize the "red-neck" sterotype. The character uses words like "momma" and "yer." I think this exaggeration of a character is the author's way of showing that this kid's way of thinking is "backwoods" and definitely wrong. I didn't even mention the teacher that didn't even correct this little boy and his blatant ignorance of Chinese culture and bias against the new student.

Then, Chin-kee comes and makes life loveable in the next section. I loved the fact that his suitcases were togo boxes from a Chinese restaurant. Chin-kee is the epitome of sterotypical Chinese immigrants. He speaks very broken English, he is very eccentric and he drives Danny crazy. And, just so everyone knows, more sexual connotations arise in the third section.

I think that the author and artist had a very good sense of what he wanted this book to be about and has deliberately created his characters to personify the different types of racism or stereotyping that occurs. This book, since I am taking a course on teaching written Enlgish for ESL, makes me wonder how much the characters struggled and still struggled with the language. Jin's best friend still doesn't speak "perfect" English. Even Jin, who has always lived in America, has problems speaking. I wonder what they struggled with educationally, besides the bullying and racism that occured.

By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Peters --- Pt. 4

I like the main character. I like the sub-characters. It's happened and the book ends. I don't understand this at all. I mean, I understand the motivations of the author. I know she switched gears from making it impossible to identify with Daelyn to making it impossible not to be able to identify with her. But, it drives me crazy!

The end of the book was interesting, infuriating, unexplainable and questionable. All I can really say is... I'm not sure how believable it is.

I can't say anymore...otherwise I'll give something away.

By The Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Peters --- Pt. 3

Pgs. 103-149

I think I am actually starting to like Daelyn. It's a little late in the book, but at least there is an attempt to make her more human, to make her more understood. If I am being honest...It's not that I am liking her, but that I am starting to have sympathy for her. Throughout the book she is trying to break off attachments. She calls her parents by their first names and stops calling the bench she sits at "her bench." I think I am doing the same thing to her. She doesn't want to live and I can't make friends with someone that has decided that they are going to kill themselves. That's setting myself up for a fall. I refuse to let her take me in like that and then dump me like garbage at the end.

Then, and this frustrates me more than anything so far, she is mean to Emily! Curse her! She was getting my sympathy and then she does that! It was so upsetting! I can understand why she was mean to poor Emily. She was trying to destroy her attachments, but she knows how hurtful people can be... It just angered me that she didn't notice how much like JenniferJessica she was.

The more I read, the more I realize that Peters is becoming more personal with the character. Yes, in the beginning she kept the character distant because she wanted it to represent everyone, but now she is making the character more personal because people that suffer in this way are PEOPLE... They have feelings, the have a build, they have a personality. I think that Peters, even if I don't agree with the way she did it, did a wonderful job at pulling people in from the impersonal to the personal to the personality. It might have taken forever, but it was worth it I think.

The final chapters approach... I'm dreading it already.