100 pages. One month. I GOT THIS.
I should totally be getting extra credit for this *cough*
I got a storyline too! And I already got an outline for the script.
http://www.scriptfrenzy.org/
going to be one hell of a ride in April.
I'm hoping to get a good storyline. like the one my old novel did..... but i'm hoping I will not die before then.
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
The Garcia Girls Essay
In How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents by Julia Alvarez, there are four sisters that adjust to living in America when their dad moves out of their original home, the Dominican Republic.
Honestly, I did not like this book. When I first read the preview for it, I instantly thought "Oh, it's in reverse chronological order and the narrator might switch off between the sisters so I can get different views." Not really. Most of the book was narrated either by Yolanda or Sofia, but with other characters narrating sometimes too. This is just one of the few weaknesses that I will mention.
For this book, I have notices a few weaknesses. That including how confused I got with the reverse chronological order of the story, and how there were so many different views amongst the characters. What I meant by that is that with the many characters that were mentioned in the book, most of them had different perspectives and it got sort of confusing.
What I have noticed also is that Julia Alvarez fails to mention some background information that would have been quite useful. For example, there is one quote that me and my group questioned quite often, between Yolanda and her parents:
“‘We love you.’ Her mother said it loud enough for two people’s worth. ‘Don’t we, Papi?’
‘Don’t what, Mami?’ Yo’s father turned.
‘Love her,’ his wife snapped.”(81-82)
In the book, for most of the time that Papi is in the room with Yolanda, he has his back turned towards the window most of the time. Which me and my group discovered, could have meant a bad relationship between the two, just like the bad relationship between Sofia and her dad. What that meant for me was that at the end of the book, when I finished was an empty part of my brain that was dying for more information. I wanted to reread the book just to see if I missed any vital information that could be useful, but I opted not to.
Speaking of strained relationships, the relationship between Sofia and her father was widely shown throughout the book, even in the 2nd and 3rd part where Alvarez leads to a thought of Sofia being sort of a rebel and not interested in what her family thinks of her. What I first thought of her when I read the whole Otto story was that she was brave and was not afraid to stand up to her father.
When I read the part of how the father discovered the letters from Otto to Sofia, I instantly thought that he was one of those dads, the one that love their daughters and will do anything to protect them, I had that thought up until the end of the first part, where I saw some tension going on between him and Yolanda.
“‘Are you a whore?’ the father interrogated his daughter.(30)
That line right there must have torn Sofia’s heart in some altering way. That’s one of those lines that kids never want to hear their parents say, including anything that has to do with the reproductive system. What also stood out to me with this quote is that Sofia didn’t do much to contradict his statement, she just said something else that no parent ever needs their kids to say to them:
“‘It’s none of your fucking business!’ [...] ‘You have no right,no right at all, to go through my stuff or read my mail!’”(30)
Like I have mentioned before, these are words and sentences that parents do not want to hear. This brings up another question to me as well..... do our parents have the right to look through our stuff and show them off to the world? Yes, they are our parents, but sooner or later, we will have to have a part of our lives that just cannot include them. For example, most parents would be on their child’s cases about how much effort they should put into school, and honestly, I just wish my parents would do the same thing. The others out there are complaining about how annoying it is to see their parents looking at their HW and Schoolloop all the time... at least they care. My parents don’t even know schoolloop exists no matter how many times I show them. They just tell me, “Get a 3.0,” and when I don’t they get mad at me. They always say I don’t do anything and I stay up really late. They don’t do tests every week and don’t have blog posts or essays to do. I would honestly do better if they cared, which they don’t. Right now, my parents are mad and my mom locked me out of my room because I’m working on this and they think I’m on facebook the entire time. Oh yeah, they don’t have to watch over their grandma(I love my grandma) on an oxygen tank 5 days a week. And they have no idea what extra-curricular activities are. Anyways, back to the real point of this, parents do have the right to get involved with our lives, they’re our parents, but there are lines. In which both Sofia and the dad crossed. Sofia should not have hid the letters and Otto from them, and the dad did not have to snoop around like Sherlock Holmes, elementary my dear friend.
All-in-all, I did not enjoy this book that much. It was okay at some parts, but I just did not enjoy it. The only good parts that I liked reading and would be more than happy to start reading again would be Part One.
Honestly, I did not like this book. When I first read the preview for it, I instantly thought "Oh, it's in reverse chronological order and the narrator might switch off between the sisters so I can get different views." Not really. Most of the book was narrated either by Yolanda or Sofia, but with other characters narrating sometimes too. This is just one of the few weaknesses that I will mention.
For this book, I have notices a few weaknesses. That including how confused I got with the reverse chronological order of the story, and how there were so many different views amongst the characters. What I meant by that is that with the many characters that were mentioned in the book, most of them had different perspectives and it got sort of confusing.
What I have noticed also is that Julia Alvarez fails to mention some background information that would have been quite useful. For example, there is one quote that me and my group questioned quite often, between Yolanda and her parents:
“‘We love you.’ Her mother said it loud enough for two people’s worth. ‘Don’t we, Papi?’
‘Don’t what, Mami?’ Yo’s father turned.
‘Love her,’ his wife snapped.”(81-82)
In the book, for most of the time that Papi is in the room with Yolanda, he has his back turned towards the window most of the time. Which me and my group discovered, could have meant a bad relationship between the two, just like the bad relationship between Sofia and her dad. What that meant for me was that at the end of the book, when I finished was an empty part of my brain that was dying for more information. I wanted to reread the book just to see if I missed any vital information that could be useful, but I opted not to.
Speaking of strained relationships, the relationship between Sofia and her father was widely shown throughout the book, even in the 2nd and 3rd part where Alvarez leads to a thought of Sofia being sort of a rebel and not interested in what her family thinks of her. What I first thought of her when I read the whole Otto story was that she was brave and was not afraid to stand up to her father.
When I read the part of how the father discovered the letters from Otto to Sofia, I instantly thought that he was one of those dads, the one that love their daughters and will do anything to protect them, I had that thought up until the end of the first part, where I saw some tension going on between him and Yolanda.
“‘Are you a whore?’ the father interrogated his daughter.(30)
That line right there must have torn Sofia’s heart in some altering way. That’s one of those lines that kids never want to hear their parents say, including anything that has to do with the reproductive system. What also stood out to me with this quote is that Sofia didn’t do much to contradict his statement, she just said something else that no parent ever needs their kids to say to them:
“‘It’s none of your fucking business!’ [...] ‘You have no right,no right at all, to go through my stuff or read my mail!’”(30)
Like I have mentioned before, these are words and sentences that parents do not want to hear. This brings up another question to me as well..... do our parents have the right to look through our stuff and show them off to the world? Yes, they are our parents, but sooner or later, we will have to have a part of our lives that just cannot include them. For example, most parents would be on their child’s cases about how much effort they should put into school, and honestly, I just wish my parents would do the same thing. The others out there are complaining about how annoying it is to see their parents looking at their HW and Schoolloop all the time... at least they care. My parents don’t even know schoolloop exists no matter how many times I show them. They just tell me, “Get a 3.0,” and when I don’t they get mad at me. They always say I don’t do anything and I stay up really late. They don’t do tests every week and don’t have blog posts or essays to do. I would honestly do better if they cared, which they don’t. Right now, my parents are mad and my mom locked me out of my room because I’m working on this and they think I’m on facebook the entire time. Oh yeah, they don’t have to watch over their grandma(I love my grandma) on an oxygen tank 5 days a week. And they have no idea what extra-curricular activities are. Anyways, back to the real point of this, parents do have the right to get involved with our lives, they’re our parents, but there are lines. In which both Sofia and the dad crossed. Sofia should not have hid the letters and Otto from them, and the dad did not have to snoop around like Sherlock Holmes, elementary my dear friend.
All-in-all, I did not enjoy this book that much. It was okay at some parts, but I just did not enjoy it. The only good parts that I liked reading and would be more than happy to start reading again would be Part One.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents 3
Honestly I didn't really enjoy the last part of the book. It was just bland with no climax, as my group had said. At first, I thought that the ending would have had a good kick to it, You know......how books are always supposed to end, sometimes with a cliffhanger, and sometimes with "Oh, I want to read this again and connect the pieces." How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents by Julia Alvarez though, ended with a HUGE cliffhanger, and I really did want to read the book again to see if I missed anything that would have helped me understand the ending of the book more.
What I've noticed about the book, however, is that Yolanda is not really the narrator of the book. The book was mostly based around Sofia. From Otto to Manuel to her old innocent self that got caught with the marijuana (btw.. a 7th grader at UPA got caught with marijuana. My peer education thing didn't work at all thank you very much 6th graders.). Yolanda was supposed to be the narrator of the story, but I didn't see much of that. There was also the part where I thought I would have found out about what was going on between Yolanda and her father, but for that I also did not get anything.
All in all, the book was enjoyable, but I just didn't really get the story. I saw why the author put the story the way it was, but I just didn't get it. Just like what Peanut said, the second part of the book was the "meat" and the other two parts of the book were exactly like the prologue and epilogue, which did not give me a real good understanding of the sisters and 'how they lost their accents."
Oh yeah... GUESS WHO'S SEEING HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 MIDNIGHT PREMIERE??? YEAH. ME.(i only have to convince my parents....which will be IMPOSSIBLE) they have no idea how important HP is to me.
I also got jacked my Sutherland. He stole my Speak book. Which was getting really good. Thanks a lot.
What I've noticed about the book, however, is that Yolanda is not really the narrator of the book. The book was mostly based around Sofia. From Otto to Manuel to her old innocent self that got caught with the marijuana (btw.. a 7th grader at UPA got caught with marijuana. My peer education thing didn't work at all thank you very much 6th graders.). Yolanda was supposed to be the narrator of the story, but I didn't see much of that. There was also the part where I thought I would have found out about what was going on between Yolanda and her father, but for that I also did not get anything.
All in all, the book was enjoyable, but I just didn't really get the story. I saw why the author put the story the way it was, but I just didn't get it. Just like what Peanut said, the second part of the book was the "meat" and the other two parts of the book were exactly like the prologue and epilogue, which did not give me a real good understanding of the sisters and 'how they lost their accents."
Oh yeah... GUESS WHO'S SEEING HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 MIDNIGHT PREMIERE??? YEAH. ME.(i only have to convince my parents....which will be IMPOSSIBLE) they have no idea how important HP is to me.
I also got jacked my Sutherland. He stole my Speak book. Which was getting really good. Thanks a lot.
Friday, November 12, 2010
Response to Stan's Post.
For this response post, I will be using a quote that I got from Stan:
Music these days. Whether we listen to rap, hip-hop, techno, country, or any other genre, there will be the people that we like and the people that we don't like. That is why this quote that I got from Stan stood out to me. Even though he was mostly talking about rap, I'm going to incorporate this with the other albums and genres out there in the music industry:
As for the albums, I agree with Stan, not just for rap albums, but for all albums in general. they now only have like a few good songs in there. Like Taylor Swift's Speak Now album, I only like a couple of songs there, and there weren't really any songs in there that don't have to do with a guy that broke her heart or something like that. *cough* John Mayer *cough*. And for Thomas Fiss' EP? The whole pop thing doesn't really go with him. Sure he came from a boyband, but did he really have to do pop? He's better off with only his guitar and a two-way mic, which is really expensive and I want one really badly.
To me, what Stan is trying to say is that artists need to spend more time on what is in the album instead of just making an album to make more money than they already have. Taylor Swift need to get something new to write songs about, like Jake Gyllenhaal,and Thomas needs to stick to his guitar ONLY.
Music these days. Whether we listen to rap, hip-hop, techno, country, or any other genre, there will be the people that we like and the people that we don't like. That is why this quote that I got from Stan stood out to me. Even though he was mostly talking about rap, I'm going to incorporate this with the other albums and genres out there in the music industry:
"Most albums had about 3 really good songs and the rest weren't really worth listening to."Music these days....... There are so many things that I could say about it, but then i will just go on and on and on about it. The musical talents that are out there,(Taylor Swift, Miley Cyrus, Usher, etc.) They all made it to where they are now, even for Justin Bieber (cringe. Ask my friends, and they will tell you about my dislike for Justin Bieber). Then there is that layer below them, the musical people that have a strong fan base, but just don't make it out there, and they are the ones that I mostly have in my favorites, including: 2AM Club, Varsity Fanclub, Thomas Fiss, V-Factory(idk about them), and...Gloriana, Gloriana is quite possibly the best country band ever...way better than Lady Antebellum, and I don't even like her.
As for the albums, I agree with Stan, not just for rap albums, but for all albums in general. they now only have like a few good songs in there. Like Taylor Swift's Speak Now album, I only like a couple of songs there, and there weren't really any songs in there that don't have to do with a guy that broke her heart or something like that. *cough* John Mayer *cough*. And for Thomas Fiss' EP? The whole pop thing doesn't really go with him. Sure he came from a boyband, but did he really have to do pop? He's better off with only his guitar and a two-way mic, which is really expensive and I want one really badly.
To me, what Stan is trying to say is that artists need to spend more time on what is in the album instead of just making an album to make more money than they already have. Taylor Swift need to get something new to write songs about, like Jake Gyllenhaal,and Thomas needs to stick to his guitar ONLY.
Avalon High and King Arthur
On Disney Channel (yes Disney channel) the new movie Avalon High is showing. (It ended) It was really good. And you could say that I learned new stuff about King Arthur that I would never have cared to learn.
After reading the book, I thought that it would be the same and that Marco would end up being Mordred, but the teacher guy! He was beasting! I would have never guessed he was the one that would turn his backs on everybody, even after Allie gave him the prophecy.
Not wanting to give any spoilers (so I gave one) what I enjoyed most was the costume design, the King Arthur history that I learned about him. I really do hope that an incarnation like the one that happened in the movie could possibly happen. It would be interesting to see that any one person that we know could quite possibly turn out to be King Arthur, Mordred, or even Merlin. Merlin is definitely my favorite character. Him and his reincarnation.
There was this one book series, Magic Tree House, that had two kids that would travel back and forth in time and connect with many events that happen. And then there were a few books that cut off from the series, but was still related that had the kids talk to Merlin and travel back in the time to Camelot. The kids would go on quests in order to find puzzles that would eventually help them rescue Merlin and their leader, who were, I think, captured by these evil people. I never got to read the last book of that series, but I have a feeling that Merlin and the leader got safe, because as in almost all books, there are good, if not happy, endings.
I have also read the Avalon High book, and it was different from the Disney Channel Movie. Where most of the characters were changed and the plot of the story was different too, but either way, the book or the movie, it was good.
After reading the book, I thought that it would be the same and that Marco would end up being Mordred, but the teacher guy! He was beasting! I would have never guessed he was the one that would turn his backs on everybody, even after Allie gave him the prophecy.
Not wanting to give any spoilers (so I gave one) what I enjoyed most was the costume design, the King Arthur history that I learned about him. I really do hope that an incarnation like the one that happened in the movie could possibly happen. It would be interesting to see that any one person that we know could quite possibly turn out to be King Arthur, Mordred, or even Merlin. Merlin is definitely my favorite character. Him and his reincarnation.
There was this one book series, Magic Tree House, that had two kids that would travel back and forth in time and connect with many events that happen. And then there were a few books that cut off from the series, but was still related that had the kids talk to Merlin and travel back in the time to Camelot. The kids would go on quests in order to find puzzles that would eventually help them rescue Merlin and their leader, who were, I think, captured by these evil people. I never got to read the last book of that series, but I have a feeling that Merlin and the leader got safe, because as in almost all books, there are good, if not happy, endings.
I have also read the Avalon High book, and it was different from the Disney Channel Movie. Where most of the characters were changed and the plot of the story was different too, but either way, the book or the movie, it was good.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Day 8: your favorite internet friend and Day 9 (thomas fizzle)
My favorite internet friend would either be Daniel (my buddy from New York) or Thomas Fiss (YEAH.)
Daniel:
Hi. I never talk to you that much, but hi. I met you through facebook, where you supposedly friend requested me because of the wall post I had on Thomas' wall about losing the guitar pick. Then we had long convos over chat about guitar and stuff. You sort of remind me of Xavier, but I'm not going into the description of that.
Thomas Fiss:
Dude, why did you have to leave Varsity Fanclub? VFC will never be the same again without you. T.C. is even dressing like you and I feel really sad everytime I see their new album cover because that should be you in the front and not T.C.
You and Drew were like best friends, even if they never did use any of your songs, which I know would have been awesome, you could have talked to him about instead of going solo. I mean, your EP's are good, but you sounded better with VFC.
My favorite songs from both your EP's are Romeo, Saturday Night Movie, Believe, and Over It.
I wanted your Super Deluxe, but it was expensive and my dad didn't want me to get it, so I got it off iTunes. I got the ones that you sold every week because I like the pictures that came with every song, which is what I presume to be the ones on the separate CD cases that come with the Super Deluxe.
My favorite thing about you though, when you were still with VFC is the Youtube videos that you guys made, they were the ones that got me hooked onto VFC in the first place, it was the Burnin' Up video that got me to admire Drew's talent of freestyling and your skills in playing guitar, even if you do play chords that I have never seen before in my life.
You're one of the main reasons why I pursued guitar in the first place, and though I probably will never get to meet you in real life (since you won't come to Nor Cal) that's the only thing I'm going to say.
Daniel:
Hi. I never talk to you that much, but hi. I met you through facebook, where you supposedly friend requested me because of the wall post I had on Thomas' wall about losing the guitar pick. Then we had long convos over chat about guitar and stuff. You sort of remind me of Xavier, but I'm not going into the description of that.
Thomas Fiss:
Dude, why did you have to leave Varsity Fanclub? VFC will never be the same again without you. T.C. is even dressing like you and I feel really sad everytime I see their new album cover because that should be you in the front and not T.C.
You and Drew were like best friends, even if they never did use any of your songs, which I know would have been awesome, you could have talked to him about instead of going solo. I mean, your EP's are good, but you sounded better with VFC.
My favorite songs from both your EP's are Romeo, Saturday Night Movie, Believe, and Over It.
I wanted your Super Deluxe, but it was expensive and my dad didn't want me to get it, so I got it off iTunes. I got the ones that you sold every week because I like the pictures that came with every song, which is what I presume to be the ones on the separate CD cases that come with the Super Deluxe.
My favorite thing about you though, when you were still with VFC is the Youtube videos that you guys made, they were the ones that got me hooked onto VFC in the first place, it was the Burnin' Up video that got me to admire Drew's talent of freestyling and your skills in playing guitar, even if you do play chords that I have never seen before in my life.
You're one of the main reasons why I pursued guitar in the first place, and though I probably will never get to meet you in real life (since you won't come to Nor Cal) that's the only thing I'm going to say.
How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents 2
This is the second section to How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accents by Julia Alvarez. The book is in reverse chronological order, meaning that this is the part of the book where the four girls and their parents have only just arrived in America and the girls are attending the school that the parents have sent them too.
As any parent in this generation today, they want their kids to stay true to their roots. I mean, with all the new music, television shows, movies, and just friends in particular, many of this generation's parents want their kids to remember where they came from. "Never forget where you come from." as my dad always said.
I actually liked reading this section. It had a good hook to it. The beginning was really interesting, how Julia Alvarez wrote about how the four sisters were changing from what they once were in the Dominican Republic to what they are now in America:
What Mami and Papi were going through in the book was that they were losing their girls to new customs, they were losing them faster to the new customs, than they did when they learned the old customs. They didn't want their girls to forget everything that they have learned, especially when they pass them on to their offspring.
As any parent in this generation today, they want their kids to stay true to their roots. I mean, with all the new music, television shows, movies, and just friends in particular, many of this generation's parents want their kids to remember where they came from. "Never forget where you come from." as my dad always said.
I actually liked reading this section. It had a good hook to it. The beginning was really interesting, how Julia Alvarez wrote about how the four sisters were changing from what they once were in the Dominican Republic to what they are now in America:
"By the end of a couple of years away from home, we had more than adjusted.[...] Mami and Papi got all worried they were going to lose their girls to America," (109).Here is a quote that most parents can relate to. Losing their kids to customs in America that the parents have never probably heard of before. For example, my parents hate it whenever I read or listen to music that is not filipino, also watching T.V. shows that are not filipino, even though I enjoy watching those.
What Mami and Papi were going through in the book was that they were losing their girls to new customs, they were losing them faster to the new customs, than they did when they learned the old customs. They didn't want their girls to forget everything that they have learned, especially when they pass them on to their offspring.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Free Write: Zombie Apocalypse
Today was the Mehserle case.
That meant football ended early.
That also meant people had to call their parents early.
So that meant more people sitting outside of ASTI waiting for their parents.
The result of all that??
1.Talking About what we would do if there was a Zombie Apocalypse to happen right then and there.
2. Harry Potter
1. While sitting on the curb at ASTI(which we're not supposed to do) Yong Fou mentioned zombies and then we talked about zombies popping up out of nowhere.
What would I do? Well, I stole this from someone, but first, we would check to see if anyone had anything on them, the we would take anything from the office (those bouncy balls.) and climb on the roof. Then we would just sit there and figure out what to do for the rest of the day, maybe play some dodgeball?
I found out zombies have human strength look like us but are uglier, and they can pop up out of nowhere.
2.Harry Potter. This was mostly from the other two that were with me, and they were separating the senior class into what House they would go to in Hogwarts..... here's some of my friends on it:
Me: I would be the one that would be like "Not Slytherin...Not Slytherin....."
Annie: Is in Ravenclaw of course... she's in it.
Daniel: Hufflepuff. No doubt about it.
Marco: I don't really see him there. I see him at Durmstrang with Krum.
Andy Chu: Durmstrang... I just hope they don't tag that place up with the ASTI Mascot.
Anways, my whole point of this post was to just keep my mind off the riots that were going on in Oakland, and the sincerity that the staff at ASTI showed at school today. Even though I was there for only 6th period, the teachers wanted us to get home safely, and trust me, driving through Oakland was not safe. I have news and a house there to know that.
I love Oakland, well, truth is.. I liked it back in the day. BUT, I love Oakland, and the whole point of the riots is to show respect for Oscar Grant, but do we really have to do it by hurting the property of others? Do we have to hurt others? There are more peaceful ways to solve this problem, which is what officials hoped the riots would turn out to be. Peaceful. Oakland was loud today, but it was quiet.
That meant football ended early.
That also meant people had to call their parents early.
So that meant more people sitting outside of ASTI waiting for their parents.
The result of all that??
1.Talking About what we would do if there was a Zombie Apocalypse to happen right then and there.
2. Harry Potter
1. While sitting on the curb at ASTI(which we're not supposed to do) Yong Fou mentioned zombies and then we talked about zombies popping up out of nowhere.
What would I do? Well, I stole this from someone, but first, we would check to see if anyone had anything on them, the we would take anything from the office (those bouncy balls.) and climb on the roof. Then we would just sit there and figure out what to do for the rest of the day, maybe play some dodgeball?
I found out zombies have human strength look like us but are uglier, and they can pop up out of nowhere.
2.Harry Potter. This was mostly from the other two that were with me, and they were separating the senior class into what House they would go to in Hogwarts..... here's some of my friends on it:
Me: I would be the one that would be like "Not Slytherin...Not Slytherin....."
Annie: Is in Ravenclaw of course... she's in it.
Daniel: Hufflepuff. No doubt about it.
Marco: I don't really see him there. I see him at Durmstrang with Krum.
Andy Chu: Durmstrang... I just hope they don't tag that place up with the ASTI Mascot.
Anways, my whole point of this post was to just keep my mind off the riots that were going on in Oakland, and the sincerity that the staff at ASTI showed at school today. Even though I was there for only 6th period, the teachers wanted us to get home safely, and trust me, driving through Oakland was not safe. I have news and a house there to know that.
I love Oakland, well, truth is.. I liked it back in the day. BUT, I love Oakland, and the whole point of the riots is to show respect for Oscar Grant, but do we really have to do it by hurting the property of others? Do we have to hurt others? There are more peaceful ways to solve this problem, which is what officials hoped the riots would turn out to be. Peaceful. Oakland was loud today, but it was quiet.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accent
How the Garcia Girls Lost their Accent by Julia Alvarez tells the story of four sisters trying to cope with...life. They each have their own personal struggles and part 1 of the book mostly centers around Yolanda, the third oldest sister. She has multiple personalties, each reflecting a different side of her. For example, one of her nicknames, "Joe" represents her American self, "Yoyo" is similar to the toy, and how it goes up and down, back and forth. It is similar to Yolanda's personality and how she keeps moving from one thing to the next.
Most of the first part of the book mainly focuses on Yolanda and her relationships with men. but before the chapters with Yolanda, I thought that most of it was about how Fifi and her father do not get along well because of her running away to Otto. Fifi was the 'rebel', as I would call it of her family. She liked to do things her way, and if she did not get what she wanted, she keeps trying. One day, on her trip to Colombia, she meets a German, Otto. They 'fall in love at first sight' and keep in touch with each other by letters. Fifi's dad discovers the letters and is pissed off. I thought that, it was just another way to describe 'it's either your family or this man' and she chose Otto, her man. She goes and finds him, asks for his hand in marriage and now they have kids.
What's interesting about this book is that it goes in reverse-chronological order. That means that most of the events that are happening in the book are going backwards, which is how I got confused on the chapter with mostly Yolanda. The book says that she was married to a man John, whom loved her, but 'spoke in a different language' than her, then it hints that Yolanda falls in love with her doctor, who tries to help her keep her mind off leaving John. Then after the doctor part, there is another chapter about a guy, Rudy Elmhurst that only wants to have sex with Yolanda, but Yolanda seems to differ. She believes that her relationship with Rudy might just work out, and she tries her best stay together with him.
All-in-all, I thought that the first part of this book was a good hook. It's interesting how Alvarez makes it in reverse-chronological order to depict the events that happen to the sisters, also how she is capable of making the coherence with it flow.
Most of the first part of the book mainly focuses on Yolanda and her relationships with men. but before the chapters with Yolanda, I thought that most of it was about how Fifi and her father do not get along well because of her running away to Otto. Fifi was the 'rebel', as I would call it of her family. She liked to do things her way, and if she did not get what she wanted, she keeps trying. One day, on her trip to Colombia, she meets a German, Otto. They 'fall in love at first sight' and keep in touch with each other by letters. Fifi's dad discovers the letters and is pissed off. I thought that, it was just another way to describe 'it's either your family or this man' and she chose Otto, her man. She goes and finds him, asks for his hand in marriage and now they have kids.
What's interesting about this book is that it goes in reverse-chronological order. That means that most of the events that are happening in the book are going backwards, which is how I got confused on the chapter with mostly Yolanda. The book says that she was married to a man John, whom loved her, but 'spoke in a different language' than her, then it hints that Yolanda falls in love with her doctor, who tries to help her keep her mind off leaving John. Then after the doctor part, there is another chapter about a guy, Rudy Elmhurst that only wants to have sex with Yolanda, but Yolanda seems to differ. She believes that her relationship with Rudy might just work out, and she tries her best stay together with him.
All-in-all, I thought that the first part of this book was a good hook. It's interesting how Alvarez makes it in reverse-chronological order to depict the events that happen to the sisters, also how she is capable of making the coherence with it flow.
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