In her biography Susanna Sonnenberg introduces her situation with a phone call from her aunt. Her aunt explains to her that her mother is currently in a coma, after being in a huge accident. Susanna, or susy, after hearing this news is in complete shock however her thoughts are not going in the "right direction." By right direction I mean, usual. Susy reacts to this in confusion; she does not know whether she should take the next flight to Barbados to see her mother before she dies. That same mother who raised her and her younger sister Penelope around drugs, sex, and lies. That same mother who she cannot seem to keep a close relationship with, and is actually scared to even try.
Quote
"I'm a person who isn't going to her mother's deathbed"(Sonnenberg 12)
Reaction
After reading such a quote I immediately remembered my 9th grade English teacher telling the class that we needed an attention getter for our writing. One that would make the reader want to either read more, ask questions, or dispute with the narrator/author. Although this quote was not literally at the beginning of the story, it was the attention getter for me. After reading this I tried HARD to put my self in her position. I pictured my mother at her deathbed, a plane flight away from me, yet very close to my last nerve. I did not hesitate to jump out of that picture and say:But forget that! She's my MOM! That was when I realized that that is why the author decided to begin the book the way she did. My teacher was right, because the getter worked.
Why would she ever be confused about seeing her mother before she dies!?What could her mother have done to her ?
Can she not set her differences and problems aside, for this moment and forgive her mother?
I want to read more...
How dare she not see her mom before she dies!
Whether she wants to or not she should go.
Susy can hold a grudge! Or is it pain...
I have to read more...
This book seems really interesting, I agree with the quote you picked it is really shocking it would just want me to keep reading more to figure out what she ends up doing, and whether it's a grudge she's holding or she just can't see her mom in pain again. Now, I think I want to go and check out this book.
ReplyDeleteWOW Suzy! you made this book seem very interesting. Reading the summary and the quote made me want to read the rest of the book. I'm thinking about going to the library to get this book.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your reaction. I feel like we should read more attention-grabbing stories in school. For example, the short story we read about the black, halfie and white girls
ReplyDelete-this is why the book starts with the decision not to visit
ReplyDelete-what info from her childhood did you learn?
-oh, don't try to "out acronym" ROAR :)
ReplyDeleteDear Mr. Doreian,
ReplyDeleteI will try my best to not "out acronym" ROAR!
Anyhow, I learned that when she was a child she was surrounded by drugs and sex, primarily from her mother. Who was a pathological liar, and apparently never stopped being one. Susy took care of her little sister Penelope and her step sister Hattie, while her mother and father constantly divorced and remarried other people. All together Susy found this to be normal, that is because she was never exposed to anything else but such a lifestyle.