SPEAK, DOIN IT, EVIE

Since the last time we were assigned to write blogs, we have covered some really interesting books. I enjoyed reading the books that I had no idea existed. Since we are almost done with our reading list, it is safe for me to say that Briar rose, Speak, and Bud not Buddy, were some of my favorites. Speak was a book that made me think about my highschool experience. There were a lot of students who chose to be outsiders, and even though I wasnt the one terrorizing them, I could have been the one to make a diffrence in their life, with a few waves, words, or smiles. I thought of all the students i know who bit their nails down to the bleeding points. My mom said its a sign of nervousness. I think its a sign of sadness. I will definintly pay more attention to my children than Melinda's parents paid to her. I think they were neglegent, not just because she snuck out and they didnt know, but because she was being teased at school, acting different, dressing different, and not speaking and they didnt even try to peace it together.
I found doing it interesting because it gave off a since of what teenage boys are thinking in their head, or a sense of what goes on in their mind. Also, becuase im sure that it happens at least once at everyschool, I started trying to imagine which one of my highschool teachers would be most likely to flirt or persue a student teacher realtionship.
Our latest book Deliver us from Evie, although I am not finished, was hard for me to place. From the way some things are described I got a feeling that the story is set in the early eighties, and then the talk of cassette tapes and song titles makes me think early, while some other words seem 1998ish. WHatever time frame, there was no talk of cell phones so who knows, I found it interesting because i dont know much about farm life, and I have never heard homosexuality described in a manner for children or teenagers. The subject was definitly carefully discussed. While reading, I was upset with the mother for telling the father the way she did because I thought that She sort of promised Evie she would lie for her, but I was more upset with the father for giving up the great father daughter relationship they had, because of her sexual preference. I think it would be interesting to ask the author why she chose to structure the story the way she did, and if it reflects events from her life.