Denise’s Comments (group member since Jan 13, 2016)

Denise’s comments from the Nothing But Reading Challenges group.

I need a little help. Is Austria in mainland Europe or eastern Europe? I am trying to set my task for my current book.

Thanks!

Completed Such a Fun Age

finished If Beale Street Could Talk
8/4

Cat wrote: "Denise wrote: "Finished We Have Always Lived in the Castle"

Can you check which version you read please? The min page count is 160,and the version you have linked is 142pages. Thanks!"

Sorry. It's 162 pages

Finished We Have Always Lived in the Castle

Finished You Can't Touch My Hair: And Other Things I Still Have to Explain 7/22

finished Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys

I am not a team captain, but I do have advice. Breathe. Reading should be fun. Life comes first.

Day 1, 2, and 3 for BOM questions answered. Do you need the link or message numbers?

Day 4 Questions Chapters 16-21

15. We get to find out about the title in this section. What did you guys think about the new rule, and the reason behind it?

I felt that it was the first step toward Stella being slightly reckless. She knows the rules and why, and she takes the step to break them with the new rule.

16. Did you all like Stella and Will’s first date? Do you think you would have the self control to stay away from the love of your life?
As an aside, are there any YA books of this type that allow the kids to spend more than 6 minutes together before falling in love?

I had an issue with Stella going swimming so soon after her surgery. She really didn't use any self control with that. I think the whole date was a bad idea and that neither of them used self control at all.

17. They spend a page or two discussing the afterlife. Do you think their takes on it made sense to the characters? Realizing I am wading into murky waters here, did you want to discuss your own views? (Optional, teehee.)

Stella sees her sister when she was close to death a few times. Stella has that to go on with her views of the afterlife. Will just thinks his life is going to be short and then he'll be done. I'd rather not discuss my own views.

18. Abby. We find out why happens to her here. What did you think of this reveal? Was it a satisfying explanation of the missing sister story to you?

When we first hear of Abby's death, it isn't fully clear. I was disappointed that we had to hear it again to get a full explanation.

19. Chapter 21 is a bit of a rollercoaster. The birthday dinner is pretty cool. Did you like what Stella and all set up? Then, Poe. This hit me more than any of the other "feels" in the book. How did you take this? Discuss.

I think it was rotten that everyone dumped on Will on his birthday. Then the scavenger hunt was set up. I find it a bit unrealistic that they could get the supplies for the dinner at the hospital, but the idea of the party was great. Poe having so much trouble after the dinner seems very sudden. No warning whatsoever. It was definitely a rollercoaster.

✿~Danielle~✿ wrote: "With a BOM you have a month from the start date to answer the questions. So for Five Feet Apart you have until the 20th July to answer at a minimum three days worth of questions."

Great! I have done two of the three days. I'll get to the third one in the next hour or so.

Day 3 Questions
chapters 10 - 15

10) I can't imagine the stress of trying to balance the knowledge of a fairly terminal prognosis with trying to be hopeful to live. I mean, we all know our days are numbered, but when you have an idea of what the number might be, you can either try to suck the marrow out of every day or curl up and try not to care enough to let anything hurt you more. Who do you think will have a bigger effect on the other, Will or Stella, and what do you hope will be the outcome, from a personal growth aspect?

I think that Stella will have a bigger effect on Will. When he came to the realization that he could breathe better when he actually did his prescribed treatments, it gave me hope that Stella's message got through to him.

11) Maybe I'm too cynical, but I kept feeling like Abby was used as the personification of the idea that "See, you never know how long you have to live, so..." and not flawed enough to be a real person. Did anyone else feel that way or am I being a meanie?

I felt that Abby's character wasn't fully developed by the author since, while she was a major part of the story, her character's daily life wasn't really important. I feel we don't know enough about her to know if she was flawed or not. In Stella's eyes, Abby had no flaws and we only hear about Abby from Stella's point of view.

12) I loved Barb's parental takedown. Do you think the shift in Stella's parents will last?

I hope it does, but chances are high that it won't last once Stella doesn't need as much daily care.

13) Reflecting on Barb's story of Amy and Trevor: would you choose a much shorter but immediately fuller life, or a longer lifespan though it may be less vibrant?

It depends on who else is in my life. Right now, I have children who depend on me. A longer life is important. If I didn't have the children, I might live my life differently.

14) Poe says "It's my sickness...it's my problem." While it's admirable to strive for self-sufficiency, a main message of the book seems to be about how it's imperative to open up and do the work to nurture healthy, supportive relationships. What is your take on this? When in crisis, do you distance yourself or reach out?

I always reach out for help. Many hands make light work.

Discussion Questions - Day 1

1) From what I know, this book is the novelization of the movie. While this doesn’t happen too often, I’ve read a couple books before that were only written after a movie/series (e.g. The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet). Have you ever read a book like this? What did you think? Was it successful? Did this experience influence your expectations of this book?

I hadn't read a book like this before, but I had seen the movie a while ago. In that sense, I knew what to expect. I usually don't watch a movie before reading the book, though.

2) Stella and Will, wearing face masks & using copious amounts of hand sanitizer before it was cool. All jokes aside, this is an oddly timely reminder that face masks do make a difference to prevent the spreading of diseases. I knew next to nothing about CF before starting this book and I’ve seen very mixed reactions to the representation of CF so I was wondering… do you have any experience with CF and therefore expectations? (If you don’t feel comfortable answering, feel free to just skip this question!)

My friend's son has CF, so I had a little experience of the stories that she has told over the years about his hospitalizations and at home treatments.


3) "If I’m going to die, I’d like to actually live first.“ This quote from Will’s POV reminded me of the countless bucket list stories and made me wonder whether this will go in that direction. Yet while Will takes more of a Devil-May-care attitude, Stella is very cautious to follow the rules. Do you think Will’s attitude is going to influence Stella as they got closer (literally?!). Will she also take more (dangerous) risks?

I think that Stella will always be a cautious person, with or without Will's influence. I think Abby's death his still going to be more of an influence in how cautious or not she is. Will's example is a much smaller part of her life than her sister's death.

4) Stella is a "tech nerd", even programming her own app. Most MCs in YA books have artsy, "girly" hobbies (sorry for using that terrible gendered stereotype), if they have any prominent hobbies at all. Books about artsy people are among my favorites and I’m always on the hunt for more. While I like traditional hobbies, some of my favorite books (e.g. With the Fire on High) have non-mainstream hobbies and I am actually quite excited to learn more about this aspect of Stella’s story. Have you read any other books where the main character had a prominent hobby that wasn’t drawing/painting/writing/theater/an instrument?
I don't think so, and if I have, I can't come up with one.


5) Stella’s parents are recently divorced, in what she calls the “most ridiculous divorce of all time”, and she worries a lot about them. It both breaks my heart and confuses me slightly why it is so far being kept from us what happened - we only know that Stella believes both parents are unhappy after the separation. So… what do you think happened?

I think that the loss of a child is hard on a marriage. Also, a sick child on top of the loss of a child is even more detrimental. I think that one of this scenarios would cause a separation. Both caused it to happen more quickly.

I didn't do BOM because it was the book for June. I didn't finish it until July

Finished Five Feet Apart

I have put Victor RiosPunished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boysand Five Feet Apart on the planning spreadsheet. I hope to finish both this weekend.

I am still here! I'm still reading. Just have not finished anything yet.

Cat wrote: "bad news Denise, Champions Don't Cry has Childrens MPG, and I can't find a word count or audio edition, which means we can't use it :("

No worries. Just delete it and I'll start working on round two books. Sorry

Completed Champions Don't Cry on the sheet

Cat wrote: "Denise wrote: "I can't seem to put the actual link on the spreadsheet. I know someone said how to do it, but I can't find the instructions."

Don't worry, I can do that for you from this post :)"
Thank you!