7. The phrase "consider yourself forgiven" is employed three times in the story: by Alice, as part of her ultimatum to Paul at the beginning of their romance; by Ethan, after Paul apologizes for brushing him off outside NYU; and by Paul, when Ethan expresses regret for his relationship with Paul's mother. Discuss the subtext of each
occurrence of this phrase, and how it relates the development of the main characters.
8. Ultimately, Alice, Paul, and Riley fear growing up because of the example set by the adults in their world—especially their parents. How does each character deal with this fear through the course of the story? How does it influence their actions?
9. Any final thoughts? Please rate the books 1-5 stars.
AAAAAAA! Blogger just ate my comment. I really don't feel like typing it all out again, so I'll just answer the last one.
ReplyDeleteI didn't like the book. I thought it was really slow, and I was annoyed with the "secret" and the way Alice just left Paul- for no reason. Stupid. And I didn't understand why Alice and Paul getting together had to be such a secret either (from Riley). I give it 2 stars. Sorry if you didn't like it either- I know, I picked it- ha!
Elizabeth and Erin, you two are cracking me up! I actually finished the book and didn't hate it. However, I got really annoyed/frustrated with the characters, so I guess I had to keep reading to find out how they were going to get out of the messes they were in. I'd give it 3.5 stars.
ReplyDeleteGRR! Blogger deleted my entire answer to part 1, now that I FINALLY got to it. I'm really trying to get these all answered, but Larkin is having a particularly crazy night (we're working on crawling - which mostly means face planting and getting into stuff he's not supposed to) and it's 'so exciting' that it's keeping him awake.
ReplyDeleteBut I'm struggling with the answers anyway because I also did not enjoy the book. It felt VERY 'young adult' to me, and not in a good way. The lack of character development (is Riley gay? Lonely? How does she feel about her illness? Doesn't matter, because she gets no voice!), the necessity of DEATH in order for romance to be possible, and the romanticizing of emotional abuse ("he was mean to her in order to make her a woman he could love" - paraphrased, but there!) reminded me of Twilight, without the vampires.
Anyway, I give it a two. It was fluff that was nice to touch on in between baby chasing, but not engaging or satisfying.
FROM NAOMI
ReplyDeleteThough I loved reading the book with you all and especially the last 100 pages or so, I still felt in the end that it wasn't written very well. Sort of young adult-ish. I don't know how to explain it. I cried more tears while reading this book than I have in such a long time. I can't think of another book that made me cry so much, so I must have really gotten into the story and identified with Alice! Still, I'd give it a 3 I think. I wanted a lot deeper character development and sometimes the plot was too slow for me.
FROM NAOMI FOLLOW UP:
ReplyDeleteLOL. I am just now reading what you all said about the book. Good, I don't feel so bad for not liking it so much. I'd give it 2 stars except for all the tears. It WAS definitely slow to get into, Erin. Don't blame you for not reading further.
I agree with Elizabeth that that secret really was stupid to keep. "Because you promised your sister" seemed a childish reason not to tell Paul and to let it ruin something so amazing. I didn't think that worked very well.
So I agree with you all. Bring on the next one! :)
Oh good, I feel so much better that I was not the only one who was not crazy about it...it is really rare that I can't get into a book, but every now and then I just have to give up and move on to my pile. Naomi once wisely told me, "you only get to read so many books in your life, why waste time on one you don't love??" :o) We win some we lose some. Can't wait to read the next one!! Always excited to start a new book!!
ReplyDeleteSarah! ha ha ha! Twilight without the vampires. Let me tell you, I loved the Twilight series. That probably doesn't make you think good things about me.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I was extremely bored while reading it and it wasn't taking much to entertain me since I didn't hate it. Maybe because it didn't require much thought.....who knows.
But I think all of you are messing with my mind. Perhaps I just might be liking it less and less with each comment that I am reading. I don't think I'm making much sense now....enough of the rambling, Traci!
I don't judge anyone for liking Twilight. I enjoyed their fluffy fun also (although there is no excuse for the movies!). And E, don't apologize for your selection - we all voted on it!
ReplyDeleteI too enjoyed the twilight series...but really only the intense relationship between Edward and Bella...the rest I skimmed. Agreed, the movies were not so great...too much in one book to fit on screen...
ReplyDeleteI would give this 4.5 stars
ReplyDeleteI love Twilight and look forward to the next movie just to see Edward and Bella's wedding.
ReplyDelete