https://padlet.com/mhadden001/49xs62tu6ptoqezx en-us 2023-01-24 16:03:50 UTC 2023-02-28 11:35:16 UTC hello@padlet.com mhadden001 https://padlet.com/mhadden001/49xs62tu6ptoqezx/wish/2459091302 Today I started reading “The Girls” by Emma Cline. When I was trying to pick a book yesterday, I was wavering between “Dark Dude” by Oscar Hijuelos and “The Stranger” by Albert Camus . It was a tough decision. But, I ultimately decided to choose this book because I like the 1960s and seeing how this book is based in the 1960s, I thought it would be something that I would like. 

The genre is historical fiction because it’s based in the 1960s where there was the hippie movement and violence but the story isn’t based on true events. “The Guest” is another book written by Emma Cline. I’d say that the book is more modern based especially since the language used in this book is much more modern and informal than what would be in a classical book. This book has not been turned into a movie but Hulu is currently working on  an adapted tv show series based on the book but the show has yet to be finished and released. 

So far, I’m not sure how I feel about it, I’m only 30 pages in however so that may change. I’m just not a big fan of how she’ll cut into a flashback sort of thing in the middle of a conversation and the flashback will last 2 pages so when the conversation starts back up, I’m a little lost of what’s happening. So far what I was able to catch was that there was some sort of crime that she was there for and she has a fear of dying when she thought someone broke into the home she was in.

]]> 2023-01-27 15:20:40 UTC https://padlet.com/mhadden001/49xs62tu6ptoqezx/wish/2459091302 mhadden001 https://padlet.com/mhadden001/49xs62tu6ptoqezx/wish/2489941115         In the The Girls a young adult historical fiction book by Emma Cline, a young 14 year old girl named Evie has started to go through changes. It all starts when she sees this mysterious and care-free girl while in town and ever since then, that girl has been on her mind. When Evies best friend Connie decided that she didn’t want to be friends anymore, Evie started to close herself off to others. That was until she ran into that girl she saw before trying to steal toilet paper from the convenient store that she happened to be at. She didn’t know what it was about that girl, who’s name she found out was Suzanne, but she was drawn to something about her. She ended up buying Suzanne toilet paper but pretended to steal it wanting to impress her. After that, Evie started seeing Suzanne much more after that and even joined their small community with their leader Russell. Evie sees nothing wrong with the group even though Russell has intercourse with all the women in the group, including her despite her age. She also started to steal money from her mother to help the group and also for a sense of approval from Russell but even more so Suzanne. However, she doesn’t really care for the group but for Suzanne, who she seems to have a crush on but she has yet to  face her sexuality.
        Although there are plenty of examples where Evie shows  her identity, I think one that really sticks out in on page 234 where she thought “I wondered what Suzanne was doing—swimming in the creek, maybe, or lying around with Donna or Helen or maybe even Mitch, a thought that made me bite my lip, working a ruff of dry skin with my teeth.” I believe that this shows her not necessarily questioning but showing her jealously towards anyone else’s feelings or actions towards Suzanne. I think this is a good fit because we have yet to see her confess her feelings or admit what she’s attracted to completely. Especially since she used a thought of Mitch, a man they both previously slept with a couple days prior, it really shows the extent of her jealousy. I personally believe that sexuality is a big part of identity and when it’s not being address I think that she could possibly be questioning it herself. On page 239 she said “I was back at the ranch the next day.” which is another part I believe shows her identity. You can tell she’s identifying herself as someone that’s part of the community rather than being a girl that’s part of a wealthier family. Overall, I think you can tell that she’s having some sort of crisis especially with her identity and since she’s so young, I don’t think she even knows who she is.
        I feel like I could relate to Evie on certain topics like sexuality and the loss of her best friend but when it comes to anything else, I’m not able to relate. I was around her age when I found out that I was not attracted to men, kind of like how she’s slowly realizing that she may just be into girls. However she does go about it much more differently and wants to please the community leader so much that she still decides to have sex with him. Another thing I’m able to relate to with her is the fact that her best friend just dumped her. I’ve had plenty of “good” friends who just left with no reason and treated me like crap just as Connie treated her whenever they would see each other after their friendship ended. Overall, I believe that Evie is having an extreme identity crisis. She’s only fourteen and has joined a cult without knowing it was a cult, started to steal, do drugs, and isn’t even sure about what she likes. I’m excited to see how she finds who she truly is.]]> 2023-02-21 16:14:32 UTC https://padlet.com/mhadden001/49xs62tu6ptoqezx/wish/2489941115