"Faith, Hope, and Ivy June"

             I am reading Faith, Hope, and Ivy June by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor. I picked up this book today at the book fair and I thought that the blurb was interesting, so I decided to buy it. It's about these two girls, Ivy June and Catherine, who live in two very different towns in Kentucky. Ivy June lives in Thunder Creek, Catherine lives in Lexington. They were chosen by a lottery to stay in each other's home for two weeks and to attend each other's schools, in a seventh-grade student exchange program.

             Ivy June lives in Thunder Creek, a poorer town than Catherine's. She lives with her grandparents, who she calls Mammaw and Papaw, because her parents' house was too crowded with her sister and three brothers. Now she is going to Catherine's town, and her parents aren't happy with it. Mammaw wanted Ivy June to go, so that she'd see more of the world. Ivy June has hardly ever been out of her hometown, and though she's excited to see more, she's also kind of nervous. She doesn't know how the family in Lexington will like her and how Catherine will like Thunder Creek.

            While Ivy June has to live with her grandparents because of the space her house lacks, Catherine cannot wait to finally have someone her own age in her home. Catherine lives in a rich part of Kentucky called Lexington, and she attends private school. Ivy June is amazed at how big Catherine's house is - that the hallway can fit two beds, that the laundry room is bigger than her grandmother's living room, and that there's four bathrooms. Ivy June is not used to all this room, considering she's use to being cramped with all her brothers and sisters.

             The day before spring break starts and Ivy June goes to Lexington, her class discusses the stereotypes commonly associated with people from Lexington. The kids say that everybody in Lexington is "Stuck-up and snotty" and "Rich and spoiled." They say "Everyone drives a Mercedes and owns a swimming pool." Ivy June starts to get nervous from all this talk about the people she's going to meet. I would be nervous too, staying with people who live in a place unfamiliar to me. But I'd also be excited to explore more than just the town I've grown up in - and I think that is how Ivy June feels too.

             I know that Ivy June thinks that Catherine's house is enormous, but I'm curious to read on about the other things she experiences - and if the girls start to relate as they stay in each other's homes and go to each other's schools, and experience each other's towns. So far, they are both nervous and excited about meeting each other, and they record all their thoughts about the arrival of the other girl in the journals they were given as a school assignment. They are scared that they will get homesick and what the other will think about their home and their family. Ivy June and Catherine already have something in common, even though they have just met and come from completely different towns.

Important Characters in "When You Reach Me"

            I am still reading When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. Many things have happened to Miranda, the main character, since I wrote about her in my last blog post. Sal still won't talk to her, and she has to make new friends. The key that Miranda's mother keeps in the staircase of their building goes missing. Then, suddenly, Miranda starts getting these letters that say creepy things like "I am coming to save your friend's life, and my own" and "please remember to mention the location of your house key." These notes are obviously very frightening, as Miranda does not know who they are coming from. There are many characters in this book that play an important role in Miranda's life, and I would like to write about the ones that I think are the most important to her and to the story.        
          Sal, Miranda's former best friend, stopped talking to her after the day he got punched by a boy on the street, while walking home with her. Ever since that day, he's started to ignore her. They no longer walk home after school together; they no longer hang out at all. Because of this, Miranda must make new friends. She starts hanging out with her two classmates Annemarie and Colin. I wonder if Miranda misses Sal, whom she knew since they were babies. I feel like Miranda doesn't really care about her friendship with him anymore. She doesn't talk to him anymore, as he told her not to. If I were in Miranda's place, I don't know if I would be able to just stop talking to my best friend and to have him suddenly ignore me, like he doesn't know me. But at a point I would probably just give up on the friendship. 
            Annemarie and Colin are important to Miranda. They all get jobs at a sandwich shop, and beyond becoming best friends with Annemarie, she also starts to like Colin. I think that Miranda would miss Sal much more if she didn't have Annemarie and Colin.   
           Also, I think that an important character in When You Reach Me is Marcus, who keeps on showing up. He turns out to be the boy that punched Sal. Marcus is really smart, and he loves math and reading. Miranda and Marcus have many conversations about the book she's reading and about time travel. It seems like Miranda is connecting more with Marcus now than she did with Sal. But still, Miranda knows that this is the boy who punched her best friend, and who caused Sal to stop talking to her. I wonder why Marcus would punch Sal, who did nothing to him.
             Lastly, I think that a third important character in this book is the one that Miranda doesn't know, or at least she doesn't think she knows. The writer of the letters remain a mystery. Two days after her and her mother's extra key goes missing, Miranda finds the first letter. It says things like "you must write me a letter", "I will not be myself when I reach you" and "please remember to mention the location of your house key." Then she finds the second one, in a bag of rolls that Miranda is counting at the sandwich shop. The third letter she finds in her coat pocket. The person writing the letter knows her name, about her friend Colin, about a science poster she did about yawning, and about how she shared her first letter. Miranda has know idea who the person is who is writing the letters, and why. 
             In conclusion, there are many important characters in When You Reach Me, including Miranda's ex-best friend Sal, her new friends Annemarie and Colin, Marcus - the boy who punched Sal, and the person writing the mysterious letters to Miranda. There are other important characters in this book, such as her Miranda's mother and her mother's boyfriend. I'm curious to read on to see how Miranda's relationship with all these other characters changes or grows, and most importantly, who the person is who is writing the letters to Miranda. 

"When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead

            Today I just started reading When You Reach Me by Rebecca Stead. So far, I know that the book is about a girl named Miranda, who lives in New York City in the 1970's. One day, when she's walking home from school with her best friend Sal, he gets punched by a boy on the street. Ever since that happened he hasn't been talking to Miranda. I have a lot of questions at this point, mostly about why Sal doesn't want to be friends with Miranda anymore. I don't really have many ideas about this book so far, but I do see a recurring theme, and that's safety.

           Miranda and Sal used to walk home from school together everyday. They've been friends ever since they were babies and their mothers met in the lobby of their apartment building. Like I said earlier, one day Sal was punched by a boy on the street who hangs out with other boys that they pass by on their way home. But ever since that day, Sal doesn't want to walk home with Miranda anymore. Now, she has to fend for herself, walk down the street, past the boy who punched Sal and his friends, past the crazy man who stands on their corner and shouts out random things. Miranda no longer has her best friend to walk home with.

           Secondly, Miranda's mother has many rules about safety for her to follow. These include always having her key out before she reaches the front door, look straight ahead if she sees someone acting strange, and to never show her money on the street. To me, these seem like pretty good rules to follow. But Miranda has her own rules. Instead of ignoring people doing strange things, she instead says to them, "Excuse me, do you happen to know what time it is?" in order to sound like she's not afraid of them. It sounds to me that her mom really tries to protect her, but Miranda knows how to take care of herself.

            So far, I really like reading When You Reach Me. I think that a theme so far in this book is safety, and I am very curious to read on for more themes and issues. I also really want to know what happens with Miranda and Sal's friendship, and why Sal has grown so distant ever since that day.

"Homeless Bird" Title Analysis

            I am at the end of reading the book Homeless Bird. Continuing on since my last post, not only has Koly's new husband died, but also her father-in-law died. Also, her sister-in-law, Chandra, has gotten married and Koly doesn't get to see her anymore. Now Koly is stuck living in the home of her deceased husband, Hari, with her mother-in-law who forces her to work all day and isn't very nice to her. In my last blog post, I ended the conclusion by discussing how Koly is like a "homeless bird", and I'd like to make this the theme of this post and continue on with this idea, because not only is it the title, but I also really think it represents Koly.
             I still believe that Koly is like a bird. She obediently marries her husband, and goes to his home to live. She follows all the instructions her mother-in-law gives her. But often while doing her work, Koly daydreams about one day being free - and being free of the hold her mother-in-law has on her. This reminds me of a bird wanting to fly away from it's nest. The nest Koly dreams of being away from is her husband's house. After she got married, things just kept on going downhill. She finds out that the only reason her husband's family wanted her to marry Hari was because they wanted her family's money so that they can go to a special river to hopefully cure their very-ill son. Then, her mother-in-law takes all of Koly's money that she gets from the state since she is a widow. She then uses it towards getting her daughter, Chandra, married. 
           Koly doesn't feel like she has a home. Her home was with her parents and brothers. But now, she's in a whole new village and now her family is her husband's family. Koly liked her husband's sister, Chandra, and her father-in-law, but now that they are gone, Koly is very lonely. She's out of hope that things will get better. It's like her life has become just being a servant to her mother-in-law, and nothing pleases her. Koly does not fit in at this home, and she feels very displaced. One day, when Koly is walking through her village's market, she sees some birds in a cage, looking miserable. They are not in their correct home, they are locked in a small space. Birds need to be free, allowed to fly where they want to go. Koly also deserves to be free, to make her own choices.
             In conclusion, I think that the title of this book, Homeless Bird, represents Koly, as she is not in her rightful home. She's like a bird, as she follows others as to where to go, but as I said at the end of my last blog post, she hopes to fly freely one day. She's also like a trapped bird, stuck in a cage, with no independence. I hope that Koly gets the justice and freedom that she deserves by the end of the book.
       
             

What Really Difficult Things are Happening in "Homeless Bird"?

            I am reading Homeless Bird by Gloria Whelan. In the book, Koly, a 13-year-old girl who lives in India, is forced to marry a boy that she's never met before. She is also forced to leave behind her whole family to live with him and his parents. There are a lot of injustices in the book, and at a lot of parts where I feel empathy for Koly.
            First of all, Koly does not get a say in anything. When she was living with her parents, she was not able to go to school like her younger brothers did. Instead, she was forced to do the women's jobs - caring for the house and cooking. I can't imagine being in Koly's place, unable to go to school just because I am a girl. Then, her parents tell him that she suddenly has to get married. She has no voice in this decision, and it is only up to her father. Koly must then say goodbye to her parents and brothers, and move onto her new family that she's never even seen.
           After her marriage is sealed, things only get worse for Koly. Her new husband is very sick and younger then they said and she can't see him or talk to him. Her mother-in-law is not nice to her, and forces her to do all the housework. Koly's new husband starts to get more sick, and on a trip to the Ganges River, which his parents think will hopefully cure him, he dies. Koly then finds out that the reason the boy's parents wanted him to marry her was because they needed the money to get to the Ganges. Koly is a widow at age 13, but is still unable to return to her family. Her mother-in-law continues to order her around, and Koly has no control.  
               In Homeless Bird, I think that Koly's perspective is missing in a lot of situations. For example, at the beginning of the book, when her parents announce that they will be finding her a husband, Koly could not disagree or say that she's too young even if she felt she was. She has no choice when it came to leaving her parents, brothers, and village and moving to a place far away. She had no voice in her family - when she wanted to talk with her husband, her mother-in-law would not let her, and she realizes that she had simply been used for her parents' money. Now that her husband is dead, Koly's mother-in-law just thinks of her as another mouth to feed. Throughout the whole beginning, it seems like Koly's situation is just getting worst, and the power she has to dictate her own life starts to shrink.  
                In conclusion, there are a lot of really difficult things happening to Koly in Homeless Bird. She is forced to marry a boy who she's never seen before, and his family is not very welcoming of her. Also, Koly's voice is left out of many decisions about her life, including if she was ready to get married or not. I think that the title "Homeless Bird" represents Koly. She is without a home because she is no longer living with her parents and brothers, she is now living with her in-law's and they do little to welcome her, and it's really not where she belongs. It's not a home to her. Koly is also like a bird, because she flies to wherever she has to go, but also dreams of flying elsewhere.