If you could be like any character in this work, who would you be? Explain.
I would choose Brittany, simply because I admire her strength so much. It's admirable for a 17 year old to completely ignore the status quo and her friends' opinions and do what's best for her. I know I wasn't like that at 17 and I still struggle with what everyone else wants for me versus what I want for myself. Brittany is a teenager who was forced to grow up too fast and faces scrutiny much like that of a celebrity on the front pages of a tabloid magazine. She must make choices that will change her life in big ways, like where she is going to college and the fact that she's dating someone who's in a gang and from the wrong side of the tracks. She shows that it's okay sometimes to be selfish and to ignore what everyone else is telling you and take the leap to make yourself happy. I can't imagine having to make some of the choices she has to make, being an adult, but definitely not at 17 years old. While her peers are busy focusing on which college they want to go to, Brittany is juggling her parents' scrutiny, her sister's disability and lack of a caretaker, and her friends' opinions on every aspect of her life. Brittany may seem like the stereotypical blonde cheerleader who has everything, but after reading a few pages of this book and getting to know the character, you find that she has many characteristics that are enviable and admirable.
Mattie,
ReplyDeleteAfter hearing about your book club in class--let me say, I think this sounds like a fantastic book! I believe that your choosing to be Brittany is very thoughtful--I also feel like our students would be the same way as well. Going against the status quo and doing what will male you happy depsite what your peers say. You could couple this with some really great class discussions too! The option of choice--do we really think things through when we make decisions or are we doing it to make ourselves happy?
It seems like Brittany takes on a lot in this book, and for that I also think you would have an even better conversation because so many students could probably relate to this--especially at their age.
I like the way this book deals with appearances versus reality. And like you, I appreciate Brittany's inner strength. In class Monday, we discussed the two sex scenes in the book, but I think there is a morality in this text--in the way Brittany stands up for herself and the way she treats her sister.
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