NEW BOOK - Mostly Good Girls

Mostly Good Girls

For Violet, it's junior year. It's high school and we all know what comes about because of a transition into high school. I'm talking about DRAMA. This book refers to all of the stress one may go through during high school. I believe that to get through the next four years of high school, I will need support to push myself to cope through all the ups and downs. So far, I know that Violet has a best friend. But, tides begin to change and now Violet is beginning to lose her. Katie is changing. Usually high school is when you find yourself. When you decide who you really want to become. But, Violet knows what she thinks is the real Katie.. but what if the person who she thought wasn't who she thought. She needed Katie. Katie was her savior during high school and she needed her to understand how to be 'someone' in high school.

We know that even though we may not want to think it, people do judge by a book's cover. So, they can judge you just by appearance and who you are seen with. But, I hope that later I can see a new theme or moral arise. I hope that this book teaches us that judging a book by it's cover can lead to you not being able to be in the circles of people who could have some of the greatest personalities. You don't know a person by what they appear to be, there is so much more inside a person than what they choose to show on the outside. So Violet, I hope has to learn this lesson. So, you know how in high school, you try to change yourself for others? Well, I assume that's what Katie plans to do. Katie has yet to learn that by becoming someone she's not, won't accomplish anything. From reading the inside flap, I know I am in for a surprise as to how much Violet sees Katie change. So far, I have gotten to the part in the book where she is seeing slight changes amongst her friend. I have also read the part where the author gives background knowledge about how she used to be. Before she changed. Well some change is good, but I think that the author has foreshadowed an inevitable downfall for the change that is about to come.  

I predict that another lesson that the author will teach me and other readers, will be that changing yourself for others, may mean that you may lose the real you in the process. Why would you change yourself so that others would like you, when there will be someone that likes you for who you REALLY are. I know, you've probably heard someone tell you this multiple times. But, this book puts it into the teenage perspective. So, instead of having a parent or a teacher tell you to be yourself, you can really understand what might happen if you did change yourself. I haven't read the entire book, but this is what I expect the morals of the story to be. I juxtaposed this book with a typical high school career.

I have attached a link for a GoodReads post of Mostly Good Girls:

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7775824-mostly-good-girls

Connections Between Freaky Friday and Amy By Any Other Name

Many people have told me that after reading the synopsis of Amy By Any Other Name, the first thing that they think of is the movie Freaky Friday. I'm going to tell you the connections between Freaky Friday and Amy By Any Other Name.

Synopsis of Freaky Friday

The family including divorced Dr. Tess Coleman, and Anna Coleman.. the bickering mother and daughter. During a happy time of a second marriage, the tides turn and a storm is brewing. After finding themselves in an 'earthquake', that only they could feel, they wake up the next morning feeling uncomfortable in their own skin. Looking into the mirror, Anna sees her mother.. hmm.. how is that possible? THEY HAD SWITCHED BODIES. They tried absolutely everything to switch back the morning they found out. They even tried ramming into each other to switch that, they were surprised that it didn't work. So, they have to live in each others bodies. A high-schooler going to work as a therapist, having multiple credit cards, and having to be interviewed can be a tad intimidating. Now an adult having to go back to the dreadful years of High School, having to deal with the stress of worrying about school, a band and a boy. One major problem was brewing and then both had forgotten about it till the day of. THE MARRIAGE. Could Anna marry as her mom to her to-be dad? Ah, I'll stop here, before I reveal too much.. but will they switch back in time for the marriage?

Synopsis of Amy By Any Other Name

If you guys have read my previous blogs, you should have a pretty good idea about what happens in the book. But let me reiterate a little bit. Is it possible that you could switch bodies.. that you don't even know? Amy hurts herself and ends up in the hospital. But everyone refers to her as Krystal. Amy looks in the mirror and is mortified with what she sees. She looks in the mirror and sees.. not her.. she sees a girl she doesn't even know. It's probably Krystal. HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE? Amy is frustrated that no one believes that she is stuck in someone else's body! She has to devise a plan. Once she meets up with Krystal.. Krystal refuses to switch back! Amy had a perfect life, while Krystal came from a pretty distraught one. Why would she want to go back to her old life? Well, now Amy has to go back to the drawing board and re-devise her plan. Will they switch back or are they going to be trapped in someone else's skin for the rest of their lives?

FREAKY  FRIDAY

-Switch between two familiar people

-Different ages

-They HAD to switch before a major event.

-They both were in agreement 

                                                        AMY BY ANY OTHER NAME

 -Switch between two unfamiliar people

-Refusal to switch back with each other.

-Around the same age

...THE PLOTS WERE VERY SIMILAR AND UNIQUE. HOWEVER THE WAY THE AUTHOR EXECUTED THESE PLOTS WERE DIFFERENT.

Link to Freaky Friday Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UShtvCen6So

Amy By Any Other Name Blog #2

Amy By Any Other Name

"Amy's drive and determination help her to build a new life, but all she really wants is to find her way back to the life she once had. Or does she? Amy by Any Other Name is a story about what makes us who were are-and about the human capacity to grow and change." -http://www.amazon.com/Amy-Other-Name-Maureen-Garvie/dp/0981143997

This is a quote that I saw on Amazon. It really captures the essence of what I have read so far. So, after finding she was in someone else's body... she must've freaked out. Right? However, as the chapter carries on, even though shes frustrated to be in someone else's body, she tries her very very best to try to adapt to change. Right now, the lesson that I am learning is that to get through in life, you shouldn't suddenly freak out, you should learn to adapt and take something away from that change. Who knows.. maybe Amy will like being someone new. But I also predict that even if she tries to be okay with the change, she is still, most definitely, hurt with the fact that she has lost her identity. So I think that the book will continue on to talk about her conflict and at some point towards the end, some MAJOR event happens, AFTER Amy learns her lesson, and then she is then released back into the comfort of her own body.

BEWARE- *SPOILERS MAY BE SAID*

This intriguing crisis is really what is keeping me attached to the book. After I had learned that Amy had transferred into Krystal's body, I then was revealed to the fact that she had changed her name to Mia. Mia teaches me a great life lesson. You have to cope with what you have.. you never know if you have the ability to change it. Imagine how YOU would feel, if everyone judged and only referred to you as what they saw (Mia). Now remember, Amy used to be this gorgeous and extremely intelligent young girl, but then switching into Krystal's body, who lived in a broken home and was not so perfect, changed how people looked at her. Mia/Amy tried to adapt and create a new life for themselves. However she started to ignite a plan, a plan that will change her back. She refused to meet up with her body again, unless she had a plan..

Central Theme As of Now- You have to learn to cope with the situation you are presented with.

The plan she speaks of backfires.. completely. There's a catch to the plan and she forgets one pertinent part. Agreement between the two to switch bodies. I won't describe in detail what happens, so you can read it for yourself. But, now Mia has to go back to her planning sketchpad and regroup and figure out a new way to her body back. This book is so interesting because I have never been exposed to such an unique topic and just by reading this, I am learning so much and I am able to create more elevated predictions. 

Now.. One question still holds.. 

Will Mia/Amy switch back with Krystal.. or will they be stuck like this forever?

Link to a book review:

http://sweetasarosesidny.blogspot.com/2011/09/book-review-amy-by-any-other-name-by.html

GoodReads for Maureen Garvie:

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/720253.Maureen_Garvie

Amy By Any Other Name

New Book:

This post will be all about my initial predictions from the book. I have only read about 75 pages, however I have already gotten a good idea of what the conflict is, and the author threw in some good characterization as well. So far, I know that there is a conflict in which there's an accident involving one of the main characters. And just right off the bat, in the first couple of pages, we see the conflict of the entire story begin to evolve. After the accident, the character, Amy, who we had initially thought was in the accident, wakes up as someone else. She is called Krystal.. her conscious is telling her that she's Amy. But, she gets up and looks at herself in the mirror.. AND BAM! She sees someone else's face! This is how far I a so far, and I am already excited to see what will come about having the mind of a body in the body of someone else. This is such a unique plot and conflict, and I imagine that the resolution of the conflict will be great.  Right now, I predict that Amy (in the body of Krystal) is trying to explain to every one who she really is, but no one believes her. I mean, who would believe someone who just hit their head on rock, and is in the hospital? They could just think that she hit her head hard enough to lose memory. But, how frustrated could a person be to know that no one is understanding them, and also, Amy must be frustrated that she somewhat lost her identity. This book is extremely unique.. and I can't wait to see the turnout of Maureen Garvie's novel.

More Predictions:

So, being a 16 year old girl, Amy's already confused about who she is. About who she is supposed to be. Now on top of that, she loses her identity, literally! She is no longer Amy, she is Krystal. I think that the connection and relationship between Amy and Krystal will be significant and revealed later in the book. Right now, I think that they will be connected in a way that they don't even know. Maybe they go to the same school... or they are long lost cousins.. who knows? But, it would be interesting to see why Garvie chose Amy to switch bodies with Krystal. Also, I think that later in the chapter/book Krystal will get into an accident, as well. And, what if she is now in the body of Amy. The plot line of the story could be that they switch bodies! Woah, how cool would that be. The frustration and compromise they have to go through will create the rest of the story. I predict that they will meet at a later time as well. Like one day, they will come across each other and completely lose it because they are able to see their own bodies..but they aren't in them. These may be some far fetched predictions, however there are some stories that have the 'switched body' theme, and they usually follow this pattern. However, you never know... Maureen Garvie could be the one to switch up the usual way of writing this topic.

Questions for the Author:

Maureen, what relationship were you trying to create between Amy and Krystal?

Does the topic mean anything to you?

Does it relate to anything you've ever experienced in your life?

Do you hope to teach a moral or a lesson to your readers?

By placing the conflict at the beginning, did you hope to create curiosity for your readers?

So far, these are the questions I have for the author. I hope to be able to understand more of the interesting topic as I read on. I would like to know if my prediction turn out to be accurate, OR if it's completely opposite of what I thought would happen. This book has created so much anxiety and curiosity in just 75 pages, what will come about after the next 172 pages.

Link to another blog for Amy by Any Other Name: http://www.maureengarvie.com/p/amy-by-any-other-name.html

-ABOLI KESBHAT