I’m actually surprised by how much I liked this book. Even though I knew to expect a sad short story each chapter, the book somehow continued to capture my attention. I know a lot of people didn’t like Olive, but I thought she was funny and I liked how she impacted every ones lives in big ways even though she was just a junior high school teacher to some. In ‘Ship in a Bottle’, I loved how Julie remembered one quote that Olive said in class “Don’t be scared of your hunger. If you’re scared of your hunger, you’ll just be one more ninny like everyone else”. Julies hunger was Bruce, so she left to be with him.
I really liked ‘Criminal’; I thought Rebecca was a quirky character, it was a nice change. Rebecca and her boyfriend don’t seem like a good match, he doesn’t seem to pay attention to her and he tries to change her because he thinks she talked too much. He should just accept her for who she is and not try to change her. I think I liked the chapter because I can relate myself to Rebecca, Her father died of heart problems, she always goes to the doctor because she thinks something is wrong with her, she talks to much about random things, ex boyfriend left her for another girl, etc. I went to the doctor a few months after my mom died of heart problems because I got paranoid something was wrong with me too.
Finally, the frightening stranger dilemma, I Personally didn’t like Chris because even though he wasn’t on good terms with Olive, doesn’t mean he should give Henry the same treatment. All Henry wanted to do was see his son and someday see his grand kids. By the time Chris finally came to visit it was too late, he only came to see his dad because he felt guilty. When Olive went to New York to visit, Chris was the stranger, he was a completely different person after all the years of being so far away and not trying to keep in touch with Olive.
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I don't think I would go to say I really liked this book, however I do agree that each story kept me interested and then eager to read on, hoping to find out more about Olive. Ship in a bottle was one of my favorite chapters, and I also enjoyed about hearing about Olive's life as a teacher. It seemed that she always had something smart to say, like the quote you mentioned. I believe Olive could have been a very good teacher, and that's clear from different character's experiences with her, like kevin from New York.
ReplyDeleteI really disliked Christopher for some different reasons, and then I read your post and completely agree with your points as well. It does seems that Christopher did always play the victim, and maybe he and his mother didn't have the best relationship...but poor Henry! He never did anything! He was always sweet, and just wanted to make his son happy. Christopher broke his father's heart when he moved away and then didn't even have the decent to visit him in the hospital.