"Mismatched Couple" from Perks of Being a Wallflowe

"And I felt very bad for both of them."  p. 12
Charlie has seen his sister's boyfriend hit her right in front of him.  Although he feels bad for his sister, he also feels bad for the boy, since the boy seemed to be pushed to do it by his sister egging him on.  In the end, as Charlie looks at the relationship between his sister and her boyfriend, he concludes that neither one of them are very happy or "meant" to be together.  He thinks this because his sister is with a boy who is not worthy of her intelligence or ambition, and her boyfriend is with someone who is mentally superior to him.  In the end, I think that Charlie is right, and the relationship will not last.

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Passive-Aggressive

I am reading The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.  I am truly enjoying this book since it is about a misfit and his ninth grade year of high schooler.  The main character, Charlie, has just broken up with his first girlfriend, Mary Alice.  Although Mary Alice is smart and cute and very into Charlie, Charlie just can't get over the fact that, since she's a senior and he's a freshman, she keeps trying to "improve" him by exposing his to all these new "foreign" ideas and concepts.  Unfortunately, Charlie doesn't actually talk to her about it, but instead, he takes a childish way out that ends up hindering his friendship with everyone in Mary Alice's circle of friends.  Which, unfortunately, is also Charlie's circle of friends. 

This is Charlie's way of saying "I love you."

"I know that I brought this all on myself.  I know that I deserve this.  I'd do anything not to be this way.  I'd do anything to make it up to everyone.  And to not have to see a psyhiatrist, who explains to me about being "passive aggressive." And to not have to take the medicine he gives me, which is too expensive for my dad."  page 139

In this scene, Charlie expresses his regret over what how he broke up with Mary Alice.  Due to his lack of experience with girls, his insecurity over telling what he really feels, and his avoidance of confronting anybody, Charlie makes a huge mess out of not only his relationship with Mary Alice, but also his friendships with Patrick and Sam.  Here, he realizes that it would have been better to talk to Mary Alice face-to-face, rather than making a big scene in front of everyone and embarrassing her.  Next, Charlie has to avoid his whole crowd, which means eating lunch by himself and becoming a loner once again.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

I really like that this book is about a boy who is different- who has autism.  I think there needs to be more examples of things in the media that show people who are different.  A lot of value is placed on the individual, but what I like about this book is that it shows a community-minded response to Christopher, the main character.  Christopher, usually so isolated, is forced to go out into his community and the greater world to solve two mysteries.  I think we too often ignore or feel "relief" about kids who are different- that we don't have to "deal" with them.  I think that's a shame, because I have learned so much more from different kids than I've ever learned from kids who conformed to the mainstream standards.  Also, I love that this book challenges even what we think of as "normal" and maybe helps us to see that normal doesn't really exist.  Questions I have about the book are if Christopher was modeled after a particular student or if he is a conglomerate character.  I would love to know more about Christopher's school and the experiences of autistic kids at "special" schools.  I think anyone who likes mysteries and books that they can't put down would like this book, but I would especially recommend it to other teachers and my mom because I know they love knowing and learning about how we learn and gain information and grow.

Cover of book in the UK

Spider Monkeys...and curious creatures.

Currently, I am loving this book by Mark Haddon, and not just because the upside-down image of a dog on the cover is supposed to indicate that it is dead.  Christopher, the narrator, is a misfit- one of those 15 year olds that no teacher, parent, or even peer knows what to do with.  And yet, his father, who figures greatly in the book as well, seems to be able to figure out how to manage and even love his difficult son.  I cannot imagine writing a book with a main character as difficult as Christopher- but he is also charming, logical, and kind in his own way.  Oh, by the way, Christopher is autistic, and I appreciated that the book didn't "sugarcoat" the idea that people with disabilities still deserve to be part of society.  Seeing Christopher's neighbors, school staff and faculty, and his dad react to and deal with his disorder is what I think the heart of this book.  Also, seeing Christopher's thoughts about THEM gives us a new perspective on why developing relationships and fostering understanding can improve the quality of life for all involved.  The mystery is only secondary, it is the revelations of the thoughts and feelings of a unique, teenaged narrator that make this book enjoyable.  One of the most endearing traits of Christopher is his love of animals, which is another thing that makes him so relatable and not just a caricature of someone who has a disorder.  Even as a teacher, I need to be reminded of how different- how much an individual- each student is and try to respect them for both their strengths and their weaknesses.  I think Christopher reminds me of this.

spider monkey- an animal I think resembles Christopher

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

by Sherman Alexie.

This book- which I am almost finished with- is way funny and true.  I really like Junior, the main character, and his funny/smart perspective on life.  He is something of a misfit, and I think since most teenagers feel that way at some point or another, this book holds a lot of wisdom and humor for kids who feel out of place within their own communities, schools, and skins.  The book starts by describing Junior's life on the Indian Reservation in Washington (the state, not the city) and how he was born with an enlarged brain.  Junior is small and skinny, so he gets beat up alot, but he has a best friend- Rowdy- who protects him.  However, because Junior decides to go to school in the "white" town outside of the reservation, his friendship with Rowdy is jeopardized.  In order to find out how it all turns out ok- you should read the book yourself.  Junior is an aspiring cartoonist, so the book also has his drawings interspersed throughout, which breaks up the reading and gives you a glimpse into his active imagination.  This book appeals to people who like to laugh while they are reading and want to identify with a protagonist who doesn't always have it so easy.  I HIGHLY recommend this book.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie

I just finished The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie by Alan Bradley.  I really liked this book because the heroine, Flavia de Luce- is so freakin' cool.  You can read more about Flavia (a fictional character) and her adventures here (yes, even fictional characters now have blogs).  Flavia is tormented by her older siblings, and she is also genius-level smart, which, of course, makes her both weird and interesting.  But, like all geniuses, she sometimes gets ahead of herself and makes the requisite rookie  mistakes.  But I like that she is so into chemistry- especially poison- I respect characters that dedicate themselves to odd areas of study and it's fun to see a girl in science (and one that excels at it).  Also, she lives in this crumbling, ancient British manor house, she rides her bike around the rural fields and towns of England, and she concocts her own hot cross buns on the fly.  Thus, she's a totally original girl and deserves to have her own series (which she does, you can find her other books here).  Finally, as the ultimate mark of awesomeness, she was created by a guy who wrote an entire non-fiction book on his hypothesis that Sherlock Holmes actually was a FEMALE character and totally angered most of the Holmesian fan community in the 80's and 90's (now, that's an idea I could totally get behind).  So, this book is not only a wonderful mystery, but actually made me wonder why it had been so long since I had read a mystery (I used to love them in high school).  Maybe because Alan Bradley took so long to perfect and publish this delectably diabolical heroine!