Quarter 2, Post 3: Yellow Dog Island

I have read to page 81 this week in The Lace Reader, and so much more has already happened! Towner and her brother have just taken a boat to a remote island off the coast of Salem to visit their family. Towner describes the islanders as “people who like to be left alone”. This does not surprise me because Towner’s mother lives on this island and she certainly isn’t a social person. After waiting a while for someone to notice them on the boat and pull up the dock, they climb on to the land. There are only a few buildings on the island, and Towner’s aunt comes running out of one of them. She grabs Towner and starts to cry, “I knew you’d come,” and “I told her so.” This confuses Towner and knowing that her aunt isn’t very stable, she begins to think that her aunt thinks that she is her sister, Lyndley. This is concerning because Lyndley died a few years ago. Towner begins to worry that her aunt is in worse shape then she thought, but when she calls her Towner she is relieved. Her aunt takes her to her mom and they speak to each other for the first time in years. They don’t have a huge emotional meeting like I would imagine they would, and there is a lot of tension between Towner and everyone on the island.

This section of the novel was all very strange and awkward. Even the way it was written was different and choppier than the rest of the book. I really like this part, though, because I could really feel how Towner was feeling as she met her family again and I demonstrated the day’s emotions well. I am beginning to really enjoy the way that the author, Brunonia Barry, writes, and I am starting to really get into the plot as well.                  

Quarter 2, Post 2: The Mystery of Eva

So far I have read to page 38 in The Lace Reader, and it is already very exciting. At the beginning of the novel the characters of Towner, and young woman, and Eva, her grandmother, are introduced. Beezer, Towner’s brother, is also introduced. One of the first things that happens in the novel is that Eva is reported missing from her home. Towner, in shock of this news, goes to Eva’s house to help with the investigation. As soon as she arrives, she finds Eva sitting in her house perfectly fine. Towner is confused by this, but is relieved to see her grandmother again and falls asleep for the night. However, in the morning she wakes up to a knock at the door. Her brother Beezer and two police come in and report to her that Eva’s body has been found and identified. Towner instantly goes into shock again. She runs through the house searching for her grandmother but finds nothing.

I am really enjoying this book so far, because I love mysteries and surprises in books, and I have already come across two in the first few chapters. I also love when books touch on very real and present day issues. I can already tell that this book will be about loosing someone you love and family, as well as the mystery of Eva, but there has to be more to it. Maybe Towner never saw Eva at all and Towner is the insane one. Or, maybe it will be one of those stories where she is right all along but nobody will listen to her. There is also a possibility that Towner saw Eva’s ghost! I do not even have a clue as to which one of these will happen, or if it will be something completely different that I never suspected, but I am very excited and anxious to find out!

 

Towner Whitney

For my second quarter blogging I have decided to read a novel titled “The Lace Reader” by Brunonia Barry. My mom had just finished reading it and loved it so much I decided I had to give it a try. I wasn’t completely sure if I would enjoy it when I started, but as soon as I read the first word I was hooked. So far I have read to Chapter 3, but the quote I would like to discuss for today comes from the first page. In fact, it was the very first line.

“My name is Towner Whitney. No, that’s not exactly true. My real first name is Sophya. Never believe me. I lie all the time.” Then this person (Towner? Sophya?) goes on to say, “I am a crazy woman… That last part is true.” (page 1)

As soon as I read this short passage I stopped, paused, and re-read it again. I was confused as to why the author would begin the book by confusing the reader as to what the main characters real first name is. It seemed odd to me, but as I continued to read I found that her given name is Sophya and that she legally changed it to Towner after her mother was arrested. I also learned a little bit about why she calls herself a crazy woman. Towner (as they mostly refer to her in the book, although they do go back and forth) believes that all the women in the past generations of her family have been crazy, and that she follows that “tradition” more than anyone before her had. Now that I comprehend what the first passage was conveying, I understand why Barry would start off his novel in such a way. I believe that he was introducing the main character in a way that would make you think deeper about her right away, rather than just listing off her physical appearance. Although it confused me at first, I like this opening line and I firmly believe it is what got me so intrigued in the novel in the first place. I am already enjoying the plot and cant wait to read more!

Delia vs. Myself

Delia is a very complicated character right now, and I am cringing as I read about some of the decisions she makes. However, as I start to think, I find that I probably would make some of the same decisions as Delia does if I were put in her position. However, i have also found sometimes that i completely disagree with her. This is why I thought it would be interesting to compare myself to Delia. First of all, I know that I will probably never be faced with quite as much as Delia is being faced with right now (single mom, father being tried for kidnapping, a lawyer fiancé who is trying to control her, and more), but I do know that there will come a time that I have giant problems to deal with, and I think watching Delia go through it is helping me scope out in my mind what I think I might to in a dire situation. For example, Delia’s father is put in jail and she decides not to go talk to him. Delia is fine with this, and even happy because she is so angry with him. Reading this part, I realized that I could never go with out talking to a loved one that was in trouble, not matter what they had done, because I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. Another trait that Delia has is that she always blames other people for her mistakes. When I read through those parts I thought to myself, “why are you doing this? You are just getting yourself into more trouble than you had to begin with!” Then I though about it and realized that sometimes I blame other people for thing that I have done just to get out of things, and how stupid it really is to not take responsibility for your actions, especially when it something so small. I do know that trauma can affect people in different ways, and everyone grieves differently, but watching Delia mourn the lost of the father she thought she know, I have come to find that Delia and I deal with a loss in a similar way. Having similarities and differences between myself and the main character of the book I am reading if fun, because I have learned to compare myself to the character and have learned a lot about myself from it.

A letter from "Dad"

For my blog post today, I am going to explore what I think the relationship between Delia and her father, Andrew, is like at this point in the novel. Remember, Delia has just found out that her father kidnapped her when she was young, and has been living a lie for as long as she can remember. Andrew has just been put in jail until the trial and he has not spoken with Delia since the arrest because he is not allowed to. I am not far enough into the book for me to know what Delia’s father would really want to say to his “daughter” if he ever got the chance, but this is my guess as to how a letter from him would go.

Dearest Delia,

I do not even know where to begin, but before I start, I want to beg you to read this. I know you are very angry with me but I need to know that you have heard what I have to say.

I am so sorry Delia. Pretty much all I can say at this point is that I’m sorry, and I know that you might not accept my apology but it’s all I have. I can’t take back my mistakes, but I was so young at the time and I wasn’t thinking about the consequences of my actions. I know now that I should have been. I don’t really have an explanation for what I did, I do know that I love you now and I think that now is all that matters anymore.

The police let me talk to Eric, but only Eric. I wish I could talk to you too, but I can send messages to you through him and hope that he gives them to you. If he doesn’t, I know that it is just because he loves you and is trying to protect you. If you hate me now, I understand. But I want you to know that I never meant to hurt you. I don’t know what the upcoming trial will bring, but it will probably be very hard on you, especially since your mom will not be there to help you through it. However, I do know that you are an extremely strong woman and if anyone can make it through, its you not me.

I know you may not want to, but it would mean the world to me if you wrote back.

Love, Dad

I know that some of the things said in this letter would persuade Delia to begin to forgive her father, and I’m hoping that Andrew gets a chance to say something like this to her.

Vanishing Acts

I decided to read another book called Vanishing Acts, by Jodi Picoult. In the beginning of the novel, Picoult describes the life of Delia, a single mother. Juggling her job as a police, young daughter, fiancé, and aging father keeps her busy, but her life is relatively average. That is, until police friend comes knocking on her door, asking for her father. The police handcuff Delia’s father and arrest him for kidnapping a young girl several years ago. With her father standing there being taken away for a crime, Delia manages to ask him whom he had kidnapped, but his answer is far from what she had expected. Delia’s father tells her that it was her that he had kidnapped. Just then he is dragged away, and Delia is left with nothing but questions and fear. As I read this section in the book, I couldn’t help but think about how I would react to a situation like this. Knowing that my father, the person I trust the most, had betrayed me my entire life would end me over the edge. It would basically feel like a bomb was set off in my life, and I wouldn’t even know where to begin to pick up the pieces. I would inevitably begin to question everything else I thought I trusted in my life, which is what I predict Delia will do in the upcoming chapters. She will probably have a hard time relying on anyone she loves, especially her fiancé, because she will be afraid that he will betray her. I am anxious and excited to see what happens as I continue to read!

 

The Five People You Meet in Heaven

This week I started reading The Five People You Meet in Heaven by Mitch Albom. It started out with a very interesting comment: All endings are also beginnings, we just don’t know it at the time. Once I read this it got me thinking about what it meant. One could take this comment in so many different ways, because it could mean so many different things. I know that in this particular instance the author was referring to death being the ending and the afterlife being the new beginning, but I know that’s not the only thing that I could apply it to. There are little “endings” that happen all the time, like your favorite restaurant closing down, just to find that the one taking its place is even better. Things like this probably go by unnoticed, but I think that if we start to realize that not every ending is bad, and that you never know what beginning it will bring, it will keep us more optimistic and make our lives a little sweeter. There are also many big endings in people’s lives that are usually seen as a disaster. For example, a serious couple breaking up would probably be seen by both sides as a bad thing. However, once they meet someone else that they like even more, they will see that the break-up was a good thing because it gave them the opportunity to meet this better person. Thinking about this, I could come up with a few “endings” that had happened to me recently. Although these were all small things, I was able to look at them and think about the opportunities they could be creating. Once I considered this my feelings about these “endings” suddenly turned from upset to hopeful, and my overall mood was lifted. I am happy I have begun to read this book because with such an intriguing introduction sentence, I know that it will be interesting. I hope I find more of these thought-provoking ideas in the upcoming chapters of the book!