pg 202-291
Summary- Riley and Dylan borrowed Bird's car. The car is really old and it is a car that Bird found in Spirit Ranch that he fixed. The car had many problems, but Riley chose to drive it anyways. She hoped that going to Salt Lake would heals Ryley, but on their way there they crashed and a wheel feel off the car. Riley and Dylan got in the lake even though they knew that Dylan wasn't going to get healed. Riley went to the lake, just because she hoped and wanted Dylan to get healed. Riley and Dylan were stuck in the desert so they slept there. Riley also had sex with Dylan, even though Dylan at first told Riley that just because they were alone didn't mean they had to do stuff. Then Dylan changed his mind and they did it. The day after Dylan and Riley were rescued by Chloe. Chloe was with the boy Riley had a crush on before and she was driving around looking for Riley.
Chloe took Riley and Dylan back to Spirit Ranch, to find that their parents were waiting for them. They were obviously in big trouble and Dylan had no choice but go to home with his mother. Riley had the choice to Stay in camp for one more day and she chose to stay. She had made a good decision by staying because she wanted to finish what was left undone at camp. Before leaving Dylan got Riley's contact information and gave her a last kiss.
On the last day of camp Riley had to be part of the camp's final shows as a punishment. She chose to read out loud "Sir Thomas More's prayer". In this prayer she acknowledges that she does believe in God and that she does believe in her religion. She know does believe in something which says is Dylan. Now she has hope and faith in herself. She is now friends with Fleur who was her enemy and she is accepted by her other camp members. She also accepts herself and admits that she has enjoyed going to Spirit Ranch
Quote- "Roslyn's thought for the morning for the morning had been this : go on knocking and it shall be opened to you. I closed my eyes and pictured the world and all its hinges. It was open, just a crack. There was a thin silver of light. I could almost touch it." (Howell 291)
Reactions - After reading this whole book, I can say it is very interested and it makes me want to know what happens after the end. Riley does grow up and leans to accept herself. She isn't scared of actually trying to have real safe fun instead of doing drugs. In the end of the story Riley goes back to the bench she would always go to for a smoke, but this time all she did was reflect on what she has done. This shows that she is maturing and isn't running away from her problems. She is also more self-confident, because before running away Riley played volleyball with her other camp member which is something she would not have done before. She couldn't stand the thought of being physically active while people see her flesh .
The quote above pretty much acts like a conclusion for the whole story. Riley's voice in this is older and a little wiser. She now notices there are so many paths/roads in life which refers to ask hinges in the world. This quote also shows that she is almost at the point where she can go on a new path. She says that there she can almost touch the silver light, since she has already opened the door to a new Riley. Spirit ranch really did change Riley's way of looking at the real world.
Monday, December 20, 2010
Monday, December 13, 2010
Growing Up
Pages 152-201
Summary- Riley's characters has grown up a lot in this part of the story. She still has a lot of growing up to do, but she has to become more mature. Riley is still thinking about going to the party at home which means that she still wants to run away. She was waiting for Dylan to come back from the pharmacy but he took too long, so she chose to run away without saying good-bye. As Riley walked away from camp she saw Trevor (Neville's boyfriend) driving by her with Dylan. It turns out that Dylan had tried to escape and he said he was going to the pharmacy to buy things for the campers as an excuse for getting out of camp. Riley and Dylan were driven back to camp.
Riley and Dylan were not sent home under the condition that they would help clean out a thee-room cottage in the camp. They were able to get to know each other better and joke around while cleaning up the cottage. Riley is starting to feel more comfortable around Dylan and he is also okay with talking to her about his wheelchair. He even opens up to he about the accident that got him in the wheel chair. Dylan also opens up about the relationship he once had with Fleur.
Towards the end of this section of the story Riley find outs that there is a salt lake near Spirit Ranch that supposedly has healing powers. She decides to make a petition to get Neville to take the camper to salt lake. She hopes that the lake will heal Dylan and enable him to walk again. Riley ends up getting everyone to sign the petition, but Neville already has field trips planned out for the campers. Riley does not give up so she went to Neville's office to call Chloe to tell her sorry for not running away. At the same time Riley sees Neville's car keys, which gave her an idea. I am assuming she is going to take Bird's dune buggy and leave without permission.
Quote- "Roslyn said that to be a good person you had to believe in God, and to believe in God you have to be open as a child. You had to believe in anything. I wasn't open. I was tight as a trap. I smoothed my hand over the notebook's dusty cover. Five minutes ago "healing"was just a word in Norma's New Age Lexicon. Now it seemed like a good prospect." (Howell 188)
Reactions- I really like this part of the book, because Riley's character is changing. She doesn't swear as much and she tries to help other camp member like Bird,Sarita, and Dylan. It seems like it is hard for her to open up. The quote above is a good description of Riley's personality. The quote shows that she isn't "open", because she never really shows others how she feels. She acts like she is tough, but she does have feelings. One person she can relate to is Dylan, who acts strong but is always trying to escape. He tries to escape from his wheelchair and live the life he once had, but he can't. This is a story of a girl who is going through problems that many teenagers go through. She has body-image problems and you can even say trust issue. There is a part in the story where she says that she has slept with boys just to feel loved even though she doesn't like the boys she slept with.
Riley's character will probably continue to mature into a wiser person and she will be more confident. She is starting to change by opening herself up and actually having a "prospect". She is starting to change by having a goal which is to heal Dylan. Riley is starting to believe in healing, but before she believed in nothing. This shows she may belief in God.
Summary- Riley's characters has grown up a lot in this part of the story. She still has a lot of growing up to do, but she has to become more mature. Riley is still thinking about going to the party at home which means that she still wants to run away. She was waiting for Dylan to come back from the pharmacy but he took too long, so she chose to run away without saying good-bye. As Riley walked away from camp she saw Trevor (Neville's boyfriend) driving by her with Dylan. It turns out that Dylan had tried to escape and he said he was going to the pharmacy to buy things for the campers as an excuse for getting out of camp. Riley and Dylan were driven back to camp.
Riley and Dylan were not sent home under the condition that they would help clean out a thee-room cottage in the camp. They were able to get to know each other better and joke around while cleaning up the cottage. Riley is starting to feel more comfortable around Dylan and he is also okay with talking to her about his wheelchair. He even opens up to he about the accident that got him in the wheel chair. Dylan also opens up about the relationship he once had with Fleur.
Towards the end of this section of the story Riley find outs that there is a salt lake near Spirit Ranch that supposedly has healing powers. She decides to make a petition to get Neville to take the camper to salt lake. She hopes that the lake will heal Dylan and enable him to walk again. Riley ends up getting everyone to sign the petition, but Neville already has field trips planned out for the campers. Riley does not give up so she went to Neville's office to call Chloe to tell her sorry for not running away. At the same time Riley sees Neville's car keys, which gave her an idea. I am assuming she is going to take Bird's dune buggy and leave without permission.
Quote- "Roslyn said that to be a good person you had to believe in God, and to believe in God you have to be open as a child. You had to believe in anything. I wasn't open. I was tight as a trap. I smoothed my hand over the notebook's dusty cover. Five minutes ago "healing"was just a word in Norma's New Age Lexicon. Now it seemed like a good prospect." (Howell 188)
Reactions- I really like this part of the book, because Riley's character is changing. She doesn't swear as much and she tries to help other camp member like Bird,Sarita, and Dylan. It seems like it is hard for her to open up. The quote above is a good description of Riley's personality. The quote shows that she isn't "open", because she never really shows others how she feels. She acts like she is tough, but she does have feelings. One person she can relate to is Dylan, who acts strong but is always trying to escape. He tries to escape from his wheelchair and live the life he once had, but he can't. This is a story of a girl who is going through problems that many teenagers go through. She has body-image problems and you can even say trust issue. There is a part in the story where she says that she has slept with boys just to feel loved even though she doesn't like the boys she slept with.
Riley's character will probably continue to mature into a wiser person and she will be more confident. She is starting to change by opening herself up and actually having a "prospect". She is starting to change by having a goal which is to heal Dylan. Riley is starting to believe in healing, but before she believed in nothing. This shows she may belief in God.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Making New Friends
Pages 86-151
Summary- So many things have happened in the chapters I have read. Riley thinks that she "likes" Craig and she actually meets him at midnight. She is physically attracted to him and they kissed, but Craig wanted to have sex with her without a condom. Riley told Craig she wasn't going to do anything without a condom so Craig felt rejected. In th emorning he told everyone about that Riley tried ot forced him to have sex with her. Riley felt angry and she again feels out of place. In a way Riley is like camp outcast. Even her roommate,Sarita , doesn't talk to her anymore. Her clothes also got stolen while she was taking a shower, which also made her furious.
Then Riley learns that there is someone she can be real friends with in the camp. Dylan is a lot like her. Dylan isn't treated like the cool guy he was once, now that he is in a wheelchair. Riley learns that Dylan doesn't like when people look at him like a handicap or think he is not capable of doing stuff on his own. Riley and Dylan talked about their emotions and their life. It seems like acually talking about life and feelings is new to Riley and a good change. Riley is starting to open up more and realizing what is wrong with her. She actually brokedowns when Roslyn (one of the camp leaders) told her "You're all close up. What are you thinking? Just say it." (Howell 144)
Riley is still thinking about escaping on Wednesday. Riley tried to call Chloe. but the camp leader wouldn't her. This did not change her mind. She was just waiting for Dylan to back from the pharmacy with the products she needs to give Sarita a makeover. She wants Sarita to forgive her for meeting up with Craig before, leaving the camp.
Quote- "I don't believe in you Roslyn. I don't believe in Spirit Ranch. And I don't believe in your God. He let my mother die a week before I got my first period, when I really could have used the girl-talk. He gave me a wonky cycle. Which in turn made thedoctor put me on the Pill. Which in turn made me fat. Which in turn made me anxious." (Howell 144)
Reactions I love that as the days pass in camp Riley starts opening up more. It is like he character is growing up slowly. She admits that she has problems. I actally learn about other characters even though the story is told from Riley's perspective, because there is a lot of dialogue being used.
The quote is agood example of Riley just getting out of her shell. Spirit Ranch is actually changig who she is, but it is too early for her too notice. She tells the camp counselor why she doesn't belive in God. In other words she is unhappy and has no hope, because of eveyrthing that has happened to her in her life. She thinks God took her mother away to hurt her and he blames God for everything. Riley is also insecure about her body because hse mentions she is fat, because she is on the "Pill". Hopefully Riley will be accepted into society and camp members. First she is going to have to accept who she is. I also think that Riley may become Dylan's girlfriend, because they have become good friends in such a short time.
Summary- So many things have happened in the chapters I have read. Riley thinks that she "likes" Craig and she actually meets him at midnight. She is physically attracted to him and they kissed, but Craig wanted to have sex with her without a condom. Riley told Craig she wasn't going to do anything without a condom so Craig felt rejected. In th emorning he told everyone about that Riley tried ot forced him to have sex with her. Riley felt angry and she again feels out of place. In a way Riley is like camp outcast. Even her roommate,Sarita , doesn't talk to her anymore. Her clothes also got stolen while she was taking a shower, which also made her furious.
Then Riley learns that there is someone she can be real friends with in the camp. Dylan is a lot like her. Dylan isn't treated like the cool guy he was once, now that he is in a wheelchair. Riley learns that Dylan doesn't like when people look at him like a handicap or think he is not capable of doing stuff on his own. Riley and Dylan talked about their emotions and their life. It seems like acually talking about life and feelings is new to Riley and a good change. Riley is starting to open up more and realizing what is wrong with her. She actually brokedowns when Roslyn (one of the camp leaders) told her "You're all close up. What are you thinking? Just say it." (Howell 144)
Riley is still thinking about escaping on Wednesday. Riley tried to call Chloe. but the camp leader wouldn't her. This did not change her mind. She was just waiting for Dylan to back from the pharmacy with the products she needs to give Sarita a makeover. She wants Sarita to forgive her for meeting up with Craig before, leaving the camp.
Quote- "I don't believe in you Roslyn. I don't believe in Spirit Ranch. And I don't believe in your God. He let my mother die a week before I got my first period, when I really could have used the girl-talk. He gave me a wonky cycle. Which in turn made thedoctor put me on the Pill. Which in turn made me fat. Which in turn made me anxious." (Howell 144)
Reactions I love that as the days pass in camp Riley starts opening up more. It is like he character is growing up slowly. She admits that she has problems. I actally learn about other characters even though the story is told from Riley's perspective, because there is a lot of dialogue being used.
The quote is agood example of Riley just getting out of her shell. Spirit Ranch is actually changig who she is, but it is too early for her too notice. She tells the camp counselor why she doesn't belive in God. In other words she is unhappy and has no hope, because of eveyrthing that has happened to her in her life. She thinks God took her mother away to hurt her and he blames God for everything. Riley is also insecure about her body because hse mentions she is fat, because she is on the "Pill". Hopefully Riley will be accepted into society and camp members. First she is going to have to accept who she is. I also think that Riley may become Dylan's girlfriend, because they have become good friends in such a short time.
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