The main character, Melinda has to deal with the feeling of betrayal and loneliness as all the people who she grew up with, shared unforgettable memories with and the people she thought would never leave her side now backstabbing her and making her feel like she isn’t worthy to live. Melinda “responds” to this problem by ignoring everyone and becoming isolated so that no one would approach her and ever hurt her ever again. I would advice Melinda to try and go up to her friends and let them know what really happened. As they say “in the end we only regret the chances we didn’t take”. It’s better for Melinda to at least try and talk to her friends, because they may have been true friends all along there just may have been a misunderstanding. …show more content…
It was written in the present tense, and the chapters and paragraphs were short and helped break everything up into manageable chunks (some chapters were only a page long). I’ve read some books with chapters very long that overwhelmed me; however the short chapters in this book helped me organize my thoughts of the story while reading and help process what I read. The story was told from first perspective through the eyes of the main character (Melinda). This helped me connect to the Melinda’s feelings on a personal level and try to connect to her. I found it really interesting how we got to learn about the details of one of the important parts of the story (how she got raped at the party) through her flashbacks. It helped me understand what it was that caused Melinda to be acting this way now. There was also a lot of sarcasm used throughout the novel. For instance- “our cheerleaders are much better at scoring than the football team is (29)”. Another being, “my parents didn’t raise me to be religious. The closest we come to worship is the Trinity of Visa, MasterCard, and American Express (29)”. The sarcasm was nice at times as it gave a sense of relief from the darkness and all the tragedies in the
From the beginning of the book, where she seeks to avoid herself to now where Melinda empowers herself and stands up against
Most of the information is presented in a recessive way rather than a factual statement. Meaning that instead of the author coming out and stating an event or factual evidence they present it in a way that forces the reader to look for it, this is done because some information may not be needed by anyone, someone, or everyone. Lots of information in this book was useful to me in many ways. Reading the story about Melinda has shown me that sometimes, people just need someone to talk to. That even though people may act fine and seem fine they may be very distanced from true happiness because of something that happened in there past, and if they do not have someone that will listen to them then they may allow it to define their future, but, if someone is willing to just listen to them, then they may be able to get past the traumatic event(s) that they are letting define them.
I appreciated the different sisters’ stories and perspectives while trying to live their lives as best they could. The way the novel jumps from past to present throughout the chapters is very interesting to me. For instance, Dede was brought back to present day when speaking to the interviewer, but seemed to be “going back into the past after hearing certain things about certain people” (Alvarez 66). She would often change back and forth throughout the chapter, keeping the reader involved with what events were happening during the time. Also, when the interviewer asked questions, “Dede feels as if she cannot carry off her responsibility by talking about the terrible past” but she realizes that this is the best thing to do for her family (Alvarez 65).
Melinda struggles with keeping the same relationships she once had. Melinda’s family becomes very distant and comes to the stage of Melinda is not sure they care like they once
It was well constructed and the plot flowed perfectly. I loved how this book really connected to the reader emotionally, it was at the point where I was about to tear up. It was so sad how cruel people can be, and how they can just see children starving. One literary tool I really saw the author use was imagery. She does a great job describing pain, for example, “ Me, I eat the tamarind fruit.
With all these people that anita cared about having to leave or just disappearing she is left feeling freaked out. The family environment that she was in where her whole family was with her has now changed and this influences young Anita. Her twelfth birthday was coming up and all she wanted was to grow up and become more mature. There being gone made her realize that people leave and she was mature about it. So in a way them leaving had a positive influence on Anita.
Midnight for Charlie Bone by Jenny Nimmo aka My favorite book. This book is about Charlie Bone who has the ability to talk with paintings/portraits, with this unique ability he goes to Bloor Academy. Bloor Academy an elite school for the wealthy and the gifted. The book follows Charlie as he progresses Bloor’s Academy. I read this during the 3rd grade and, I found it really exciting because of his unique power which allowed him to speak to paintings.
The conflict was presented and made clear rather quickly, and I liked how the first paragraph led up to it. It started off as if it were just another day with a sinus infection, and then I was shocked when I read that she was pregnant. The detail in the story is what really pulled me in. I liked the examples of the “sticky blue covering on the chairs” and how she described Derek as smelling like “faint chlorine” and tasting like “Jose Cuervo”. That was a nice touch, and it made the characters feel more real.
I think she accomplished the goal of showing the culture for women during this time. The book was culturally accurate and had a great storyline. My favorite part of the story was when the women were in the red tent. I liked that the women were able to bond and spend time together. They were able to talk and relax during a difficult time of the month for all women.
At the end of the story she finally found her voice and was able to stand up for herself. In the beginning, Melinda didn't talk to anyone, barely even to her parents. She says, “I have tried so hard to forget every second of that stupid party and here I am in the middle of a hostile crowd that hates me for what I had to do. I can't tell them what really happened” (Anderson, 28).
Not only does the author use sarcasm in her writing but she displays her feelings about her creative writing in each of her scenarios. The author also uses each scenario to comment on living life to its fullest. That is one of the many messages I believe the author is trying to present to the readers. In order for Atwood
“What would you do if you were eight and kidnapped?” Addie Webster knows too well what she would do. Addie was only eight years old when two strangers took her from her own home. She was vanished for half her life and when she returned it was nothing like she expected. Addies life is shown threw the book Zero Day by Jan Gangsei.
Melinda, in a lot of ways, starts out like that it the book. She becomes a shell of herself from before the party happened and because no one else was there, she is lonely and doesn't have anybody to go to and to make matters even worse, she’s covered by the reputation that she has formed. In the book, Laurie Halse Anderson uses symbolism to convey exactly what Melinda can't say. In the beginning of the book, Melinda starts high school carrying her emotional wounds with her after something happens mysterious to her at a party during the summer.
I believe that the objective of the novel is very effective, as well, in that it focuses on the issue of depression and unhappiness. I think your quote supports this because it draws attention to the issue by implying that “quietness” and “silence” is what the protagonist, Melinda, must overcome in order to escape depression and discontent. I think the author does a good job in implicitly encouraging people to speak up and in getting the message across as she utilized a social experience that teenagers could easily relate to. Even though not all teens go through this same issue, I feel like she was probably successful gaining sympathy for her character, and thus have successfully delivered her message. This changed my perception of depression
The sarcasm makes the reader convey the point but in such a way that it makes the point stronger because it's hard for the reader to disagree with Goer's