Summary
Weeks after the argument that Grace had with her father, she began to look for wedding dresses with Liv. Dress after dress they looked until Grace finally fell in love with this plain white dress which made her look like an angel. After picking out dresses Liv and Grace went to Michael's house to plan what time he was going to drive them to one of their most popular high school parties. Michael gave Grace a sad look and told her that he doesn't want her to go to the party because his colleagues are coming together for a meeting and he wanted Grace to meet them. Grace was very angry at first because she wanted to go to the party, but she decided to join him knowing that she had to make compromises for her new fiancé. Michael saw that Grace was not really happy about missing the party so he told her that she could enjoy the party until 9:00 and then she had to return to the colleges meeting. At the party Liv and Grace had a fun time talking with friends and dancing all night. Even though many of Grace's friends told her that she was making a big mistake by getting married so young, she ignored them and kept having a good time. When time was up Liv and Grace began to drive to the colleges meeting, but because of a train they were running late. While the train was driving by Liv told Grace about all the trouble she was having at home with her mom trying to commit suicide and her father was too drunk to help her. After telling Grace about everything that has been going on she told her that she was planning to ask Michael to help her get away from her parents permanently. Angry at her proposal, Grace told her that he would never do anything like that and she was making a huge mistake for trying to drag him into her situation. Liv felt betrayed and yelled at Grace saying that she is not a good friend by not even trying to help her and by implying that Michael would never do anything like that to help. Grace felt bad about what she said, so she told her that she would ask Michael if he could help her, even though she was very angry with that plan.
Quote
"You think you know them, maybe, and after living with them for your whole life you should know them, but you don't
Reaction
This quote to me was like a red flag in this chapter. It stood out to me because I know (as the reader) that Grace feels that Michael is the greatest guy ever, but there is a possibility that when she get married to him she may discover that he is not as great as she thinks he is. Even though Liv said this quote to represent how she feels about her life, if it possible that this could be foreshadowing what Grace might feel in the future.
Monday, December 13, 2010
Monday, December 6, 2010
How It's Done (Pages 90-124)
Summary
Grace finally arrives to Michael's house and tells him about how her father caught her and him together and has threatened to call his job. After hearing the surprising news he became very upset. Suddenly Michael began to think of ways to fix the situation. After much deliberation he decided that if Grace agrees to marry him then no one can protest about their relationship together even though she is only a teen. Grace did not know if that was a good decision to make. She felt that she would be betraying her religion and making the situation even worse than it already had become. Michael persuaded her by saying that it was the right thing to do, and it was the only way that her father would be forced out of the relationship completely. Grace, because she wanted to be with Michael more than anything, decided to accept his offer and said "yes" to his engagement. Two days later Grace's father came to back from his trip and was ready to confront his daughter about the whole situation. When he arrived to the house, Grace told him that she had decided to marry Michael and there was nothing he could do to stop her. Grace's father was irate, not only did he feel betrayed but he felt entirely disrespected. Once Grace's father realized that he could not do anything to stop his daughter’s decision he simply left by saying that she should get married soon in order to delete all the sins that she has already committed by being with Michael.
Quote
"When I was a child, I thought like a child but when I became a man, I gave up my childish ways."
Reaction
I liked this quote in the story because it was really intense. After Grace's first experience of being intimate with Michael this is the first thing that came to her head. I enjoyed this quote because in my opinion I felt that this saying contradicted her lifestyle. Even though she was doing an ample amount of adult activities she still thought like a normal teenager. She feels that just because she lost her virginity, and is getting married that now she has become an adult, which is not entirely true. Most of the decisions she made emphasizes the fact that she still is naive, and still acts like a teenager.
Grace finally arrives to Michael's house and tells him about how her father caught her and him together and has threatened to call his job. After hearing the surprising news he became very upset. Suddenly Michael began to think of ways to fix the situation. After much deliberation he decided that if Grace agrees to marry him then no one can protest about their relationship together even though she is only a teen. Grace did not know if that was a good decision to make. She felt that she would be betraying her religion and making the situation even worse than it already had become. Michael persuaded her by saying that it was the right thing to do, and it was the only way that her father would be forced out of the relationship completely. Grace, because she wanted to be with Michael more than anything, decided to accept his offer and said "yes" to his engagement. Two days later Grace's father came to back from his trip and was ready to confront his daughter about the whole situation. When he arrived to the house, Grace told him that she had decided to marry Michael and there was nothing he could do to stop her. Grace's father was irate, not only did he feel betrayed but he felt entirely disrespected. Once Grace's father realized that he could not do anything to stop his daughter’s decision he simply left by saying that she should get married soon in order to delete all the sins that she has already committed by being with Michael.
Quote
"When I was a child, I thought like a child but when I became a man, I gave up my childish ways."
Reaction
I liked this quote in the story because it was really intense. After Grace's first experience of being intimate with Michael this is the first thing that came to her head. I enjoyed this quote because in my opinion I felt that this saying contradicted her lifestyle. Even though she was doing an ample amount of adult activities she still thought like a normal teenager. She feels that just because she lost her virginity, and is getting married that now she has become an adult, which is not entirely true. Most of the decisions she made emphasizes the fact that she still is naive, and still acts like a teenager.
Saturday, November 27, 2010
How It's Done (Pages 51-89)
Summary
In this section of the book, Grace goes over Michael's house for the very first time. In the house they enjoyed each other’s company talking, eating, and sharing personal information about each other and their childhood. Even though Michael wanted to spend the night with Grace, he respected her decision to wait until marriage. The next day when Grace went to the student bathroom, she overheard some of her students talking about her and Michael. They said to each other that they couldn’t believe how he would date a girl like her, and that the only reason why a man his age would want to date an eighteen year old is only because he wants to sleep with her. Grace became very hurt, not only because students in her school knew about her secret relationship, but because of the thought of what they were saying might be true. After school she decided to meet up with Michael. When she got there she saw a woman who seemed to be a little too comfortable with him. The thought that he might be interested in another woman caused Grace to cry. Once Michael saw her tears he explained to her that he cannot help it if other women try to talk to him. He kissed her and said that he was in love with her and that he would never get rid of her. Feeling very relieved and happy, Grace went home. When Grace went home she had a peaceful conversation with her mother, and then suddenly her father slammed through the door asking where Grace was. Once he had found Grace he screamed because he had seen Grace and Michael kissing on the street. He began to ask her all kinds of questions like who is he? Did he force her to kiss him? Is she dating him? Grace answered all of his questions by proclaiming that they were in love and they have been dating for about five months. Outraged, her father exclaimed that she is to end the relationship by the time he comes home from his business trip or he will call Michael's job and have him punished for dating a minor. Afterwards he left because he couldn't bear to look at Grace any longer. Grace was very angry at her father because of what he had said. Right after he left she called Liv in order to find a way to meet up with Michael about the whole situation.
Quote
"No, I thought. This isn't happening. Not now. Not when things are perfect."
Reaction
This was my favorite quote in this section of the story because this is the same reaction I had when I read that the father found out what Grace had been doing. Just when everything seemed that it was going okay, he came and discovered Grace's secret. Even though I felt bad for Grace for getting caught, I actually was a little bit happy because it is very dangerous for her to be dating someone who is so many years older than her.
In this section of the book, Grace goes over Michael's house for the very first time. In the house they enjoyed each other’s company talking, eating, and sharing personal information about each other and their childhood. Even though Michael wanted to spend the night with Grace, he respected her decision to wait until marriage. The next day when Grace went to the student bathroom, she overheard some of her students talking about her and Michael. They said to each other that they couldn’t believe how he would date a girl like her, and that the only reason why a man his age would want to date an eighteen year old is only because he wants to sleep with her. Grace became very hurt, not only because students in her school knew about her secret relationship, but because of the thought of what they were saying might be true. After school she decided to meet up with Michael. When she got there she saw a woman who seemed to be a little too comfortable with him. The thought that he might be interested in another woman caused Grace to cry. Once Michael saw her tears he explained to her that he cannot help it if other women try to talk to him. He kissed her and said that he was in love with her and that he would never get rid of her. Feeling very relieved and happy, Grace went home. When Grace went home she had a peaceful conversation with her mother, and then suddenly her father slammed through the door asking where Grace was. Once he had found Grace he screamed because he had seen Grace and Michael kissing on the street. He began to ask her all kinds of questions like who is he? Did he force her to kiss him? Is she dating him? Grace answered all of his questions by proclaiming that they were in love and they have been dating for about five months. Outraged, her father exclaimed that she is to end the relationship by the time he comes home from his business trip or he will call Michael's job and have him punished for dating a minor. Afterwards he left because he couldn't bear to look at Grace any longer. Grace was very angry at her father because of what he had said. Right after he left she called Liv in order to find a way to meet up with Michael about the whole situation.
Quote
"No, I thought. This isn't happening. Not now. Not when things are perfect."
Reaction
This was my favorite quote in this section of the story because this is the same reaction I had when I read that the father found out what Grace had been doing. Just when everything seemed that it was going okay, he came and discovered Grace's secret. Even though I felt bad for Grace for getting caught, I actually was a little bit happy because it is very dangerous for her to be dating someone who is so many years older than her.
How It's Done (pgs 1-50)
Summary
How it's Done by Christine Kole MacLean is a very interesting story. The story begins with a girl named Grace Passedge who lives in a very strict religious home. Her decisions are very limited because she is forced to live under the rules of both her father and her religion. Grace feels trapped because she feels that she is not able to do anything she wants to do. She wanted to go to a famous concert that she has been planning to go to for months, but because her father feels that the concert is set in an unholy environment, she was not able to go. Out of anger Grace decides to leave and stay with her best friend Liv. The next day, Liv and Grace went to a college session together. After Grace went to the restroom she saw a tall older man wearing black wool pants and a black turtleneck smoking a cigarette. The man stared back at Grace for a moment before introducing himself as Michael Irving. Grace and Michael had a long talk about religion, education, and themselves. They began to notice that they had more in common than they would have supposed. As Grace went back home from the college seminar the thought of Michael remained in her head. Two days later she met up with him once again. They sat and ate coffee together. Grace began to notice that Michael was touching her hands and making a lot of flirtatious remarks. After a while of talking, Michael invited Grace to come over to his house, but she refused. Even though she really wanted to go, something told her that it wasn't right. After their outing was done she thought about what should she do next time Michael invited her to go somewhere with him. She promised herself that next time she will actually go with him. Grace snuck out the house very often in order to see Michael. After their first kiss, Grace became more fascinated with Michael and wanted nothing more than to be with him at all times. As she spent more time with him she kept thinking about how to make sure that her relationship with Michael stays a secret from her religious parents.
Quote
"Wait on the Lord, I thought. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thy heart. Psalms 27: something.
Reaction
I liked this quote because it relates to Grace and her decisions. Instead of her rushing into relationships, and trying to do things without thinking, she should wait. Grace was also referring to Michael's remark about how he feels; that Christian people do too much waiting.
How it's Done by Christine Kole MacLean is a very interesting story. The story begins with a girl named Grace Passedge who lives in a very strict religious home. Her decisions are very limited because she is forced to live under the rules of both her father and her religion. Grace feels trapped because she feels that she is not able to do anything she wants to do. She wanted to go to a famous concert that she has been planning to go to for months, but because her father feels that the concert is set in an unholy environment, she was not able to go. Out of anger Grace decides to leave and stay with her best friend Liv. The next day, Liv and Grace went to a college session together. After Grace went to the restroom she saw a tall older man wearing black wool pants and a black turtleneck smoking a cigarette. The man stared back at Grace for a moment before introducing himself as Michael Irving. Grace and Michael had a long talk about religion, education, and themselves. They began to notice that they had more in common than they would have supposed. As Grace went back home from the college seminar the thought of Michael remained in her head. Two days later she met up with him once again. They sat and ate coffee together. Grace began to notice that Michael was touching her hands and making a lot of flirtatious remarks. After a while of talking, Michael invited Grace to come over to his house, but she refused. Even though she really wanted to go, something told her that it wasn't right. After their outing was done she thought about what should she do next time Michael invited her to go somewhere with him. She promised herself that next time she will actually go with him. Grace snuck out the house very often in order to see Michael. After their first kiss, Grace became more fascinated with Michael and wanted nothing more than to be with him at all times. As she spent more time with him she kept thinking about how to make sure that her relationship with Michael stays a secret from her religious parents.
Quote
"Wait on the Lord, I thought. Be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thy heart. Psalms 27: something.
Reaction
I liked this quote because it relates to Grace and her decisions. Instead of her rushing into relationships, and trying to do things without thinking, she should wait. Grace was also referring to Michael's remark about how he feels; that Christian people do too much waiting.
Friday, October 29, 2010
A House of Secrets pages 157-248
Summary
Patti continuously has more flashbacks about her childhood, teenage years, and adult years. After thinking about her life, Patti Davis finally decided to confront what she has been dreading to do for a long time. She finally decides to confront her mother about all the things that has happened. Even though her mother is in the hospital, and is not able to speak, or recognize who the person is that she is talking to, Patti still thinks that it is very important if she attempts to talk to her mother about all the pain that she was feeling. Patti stared into her mother’s emotionless, staid, eyes and asked why she hated her so much? Why did she always try to make it seem like she was crazy? And what was it that made her despise her so much? After each question the mother had no answer just staring at her in her bed with her emotionless eyes. Patti kept on asking more personal questions, trying to comprehend why was her childhood so awful. After a while all the pain of her childhood came back to her, and she began to get really angry with her mother because she was not able to respond to any of the hurtful questions she was asking. Even though she did feel a little better for asking her questions, she began to cuss and stormed out of the hospital.
Quote
“Why did you always try to make me feel like I was crazy, Mother? You don’t even have to answer me with words-you can answer me with your eyes. I’d be satisfied with that.”
Reaction
My reaction to this was mostly sadness. I felt bad that Patti was not able to get the answers that she needed. I did like however how she used the last line of the quote to show the desperation of how much she wanted her mother to answer her. By saying that she does not even have to speak, but she would be satisfied if she just answered with her eyes was very touching to me.
52-156
Summary
In these chapters of the story, the author still talks about more events that happened in her life where she was devastated and unhappy. She continues to talk about the cruelty of her mother and how she never felt loved by her. One flashback that really caught my attention was when Patti Davis has a flash back of when she had created her first story; she was 10 years old then. She was so excited to have written her first story about her life, even though it was very sad and depressing. Once her mother found her short story, she instantly became upset. She was infuriated at her daughter for making such a depressing book of “lies” as so she thought. This amount of anger caused her to rip up her daughter’s story. Patti, of course, felt very hurt that her mom had destroyed the one thing that she loved. This did not stop Patti from writing however. She kept writing stories after stories, noticing that she felt better after each story that she had written (sort of like a diary). Sadly, her mom found her stash of stories that she had written and ripped them, and threw them away. Patti always attempted to look for the ripped pages of her story. After looking in the garbage for weeks, she never found the stories that she spent so much time writing. This was another factor that caused Patti to detest her mother.
Quote
“There were words, though, that I would never be able to remember. They had healed me somehow, but their magic has been stolen.”
Reaction
This is another quote by Patti Davis that I loved because she explains how sad she felt about her books being torn through this small line. When someone writes a story, it is like their own personal baby that they have created and learned to love. So I felt extremely bad when her mother did not appreciate what she had written, or at least tried to make her daughter’s life a little more easier after seeing those depressing stories.
Friday, October 8, 2010
A House Of Secrets 31-52
Summary
In these chapters of the novel "A House of Secrets" Patti Davis has a flash back about her childhood. In the flashback she remembered one night when she sneaked into the kitchen to eat some pie. They enjoyed there pie, smiling and laughing with every tasty bite, but once the sound of footsteps came she was in a state of shock. Patti attempted to quickly put the pie back into the refrigerator so her mom would not suspect what she was doing. When her mom came into the kitchen she calmly, but sternly told her to come. While she told her to come, she went into the fridge and brought out the pie. With anger, and force she told Patti to eat the pie, and she was allowed to leave until she finished it. Patti stared at the pie in fear and in sadness, tears running down her face with each painful bite. Once she stuffed herself to her limit she instantly vomited all over the floor. Instead of the mother tending to her now sick child, she coldly told her "I hope you have learned your lesson" and walked off. After the flashback the story returns to the present. In the present the mother has numerous strokes which has caused her to stop talking to both of her daughters. Patti visits her everyday out of respect, but she does not want to because of all the emotional pain that she has put her through. Patti's sister Lily is quite the opposite; she always visits her mother, trying to make sure that she is extremely comfortable. Once Patti and Lily were alone with their mom, they had an argument. Patti did not understand why Lily tried so hard to be nice to their mom since she treated them so badly when they were children. Patti eventually gets mad because she felt that Lily is being fake to pretend that all of the suffering that their mom had put them through had never happened. This caused her too quickly and angrily storm out of the house.
Quote
“My parents built the house of their dreams-a house of secrets- and even though my father is gone and my mother is lost to silence, the secrets still live here. They dart from corners, teasing, laughing…and then they retreat again.” (Davis 43)
Reaction
I absolutely adore this quote. So far, I think that this has to be the most powerful quote in the whole novel. I loved how Patti Davis effortlessly described how secretive and malicious the house really was without actually saying it. I also admired how she used personification to describe how the house still holds all the secrets by saying that the corners tease, laugh and then they retreat. Reading this quote makes me more intrigued to keep reading.
In these chapters of the novel "A House of Secrets" Patti Davis has a flash back about her childhood. In the flashback she remembered one night when she sneaked into the kitchen to eat some pie. They enjoyed there pie, smiling and laughing with every tasty bite, but once the sound of footsteps came she was in a state of shock. Patti attempted to quickly put the pie back into the refrigerator so her mom would not suspect what she was doing. When her mom came into the kitchen she calmly, but sternly told her to come. While she told her to come, she went into the fridge and brought out the pie. With anger, and force she told Patti to eat the pie, and she was allowed to leave until she finished it. Patti stared at the pie in fear and in sadness, tears running down her face with each painful bite. Once she stuffed herself to her limit she instantly vomited all over the floor. Instead of the mother tending to her now sick child, she coldly told her "I hope you have learned your lesson" and walked off. After the flashback the story returns to the present. In the present the mother has numerous strokes which has caused her to stop talking to both of her daughters. Patti visits her everyday out of respect, but she does not want to because of all the emotional pain that she has put her through. Patti's sister Lily is quite the opposite; she always visits her mother, trying to make sure that she is extremely comfortable. Once Patti and Lily were alone with their mom, they had an argument. Patti did not understand why Lily tried so hard to be nice to their mom since she treated them so badly when they were children. Patti eventually gets mad because she felt that Lily is being fake to pretend that all of the suffering that their mom had put them through had never happened. This caused her too quickly and angrily storm out of the house.
Quote
“My parents built the house of their dreams-a house of secrets- and even though my father is gone and my mother is lost to silence, the secrets still live here. They dart from corners, teasing, laughing…and then they retreat again.” (Davis 43)
Reaction
I absolutely adore this quote. So far, I think that this has to be the most powerful quote in the whole novel. I loved how Patti Davis effortlessly described how secretive and malicious the house really was without actually saying it. I also admired how she used personification to describe how the house still holds all the secrets by saying that the corners tease, laugh and then they retreat. Reading this quote makes me more intrigued to keep reading.
Friday, October 1, 2010
A House Of Secrets 1-30
Summary
Patti Davis, daughter of our former President Ronald Reagan, and first lady Nancy Reagan, wrote a novel about her secret family life. In her story she reveals that her life was not as nice as the world marked it to be. In this section of the story she begins to talk about her childhood, and how (as she would say) grew up in a house of story tellers. Her father, Ronald Reagan would constantly tell her stories so she would be able to go to sleep at night. Patti loved his stories and could not wait until he could tell more. Her mom was quite the opposite. She did not believe in stories, and felt that stories were just lies and fabrications that were unnecessary. The only real story that she ever told her daughter was the one of how hard it was to give birth to her. Unlike Patti's dad, her mom did not appreciate and love her daughter as much. Instead of caring, and loving her the way a mother should, she instantly blamed her child’s existence for all her problems. This caused Patti to eventually detest her mother for all the emotional pain that she put her through. This intense pain stayed with her all the way up to her adult years. It caused her to have a medical procedure to prevent her from having children. Even though Patti felt that by doing this she would be happier, she realized that by stopping herself from having any other children to pass on her generation only made her mother happy.
Quote
"As time stripped away my childhood from me I became, to my mother, a symbol of her own doubts, her own pain." (Davis 17)
Reaction
This quote was extremely powerful in the text. Even though this phrase is very short, it has a very devastating, and sympathetic meaning. The way Patti Davis wrote this piece of dialogue makes the reader feel emotional. For a woman to feel that her life will always be a mistake, and will always be known as an abrupt sin, is a very emotional experience that is only filled with anguish and pain. After reading this part I became for thankful about the people who take care of me every day. This quote made me realize that even though not everything goes my way, I can still be thankful to actually have a mother who will care for me, and comfort me in my times of sorrow.
Patti Davis, daughter of our former President Ronald Reagan, and first lady Nancy Reagan, wrote a novel about her secret family life. In her story she reveals that her life was not as nice as the world marked it to be. In this section of the story she begins to talk about her childhood, and how (as she would say) grew up in a house of story tellers. Her father, Ronald Reagan would constantly tell her stories so she would be able to go to sleep at night. Patti loved his stories and could not wait until he could tell more. Her mom was quite the opposite. She did not believe in stories, and felt that stories were just lies and fabrications that were unnecessary. The only real story that she ever told her daughter was the one of how hard it was to give birth to her. Unlike Patti's dad, her mom did not appreciate and love her daughter as much. Instead of caring, and loving her the way a mother should, she instantly blamed her child’s existence for all her problems. This caused Patti to eventually detest her mother for all the emotional pain that she put her through. This intense pain stayed with her all the way up to her adult years. It caused her to have a medical procedure to prevent her from having children. Even though Patti felt that by doing this she would be happier, she realized that by stopping herself from having any other children to pass on her generation only made her mother happy.
Quote
"As time stripped away my childhood from me I became, to my mother, a symbol of her own doubts, her own pain." (Davis 17)
Reaction
This quote was extremely powerful in the text. Even though this phrase is very short, it has a very devastating, and sympathetic meaning. The way Patti Davis wrote this piece of dialogue makes the reader feel emotional. For a woman to feel that her life will always be a mistake, and will always be known as an abrupt sin, is a very emotional experience that is only filled with anguish and pain. After reading this part I became for thankful about the people who take care of me every day. This quote made me realize that even though not everything goes my way, I can still be thankful to actually have a mother who will care for me, and comfort me in my times of sorrow.
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