In the beginning, Nicole, James, Danny, and Rhiannon are all pretty stubborn about there beliefs about love. Nicole is sure that she loves her math teacher, Mr. Farrell, and that he loves her back. For instance, "I can’t even remember ever having this much fun with Danny, just sitting around talking and laughing like there’s no one else you’d rather be with…Mr. Farrell says how he loves the energy here.” She also believes that she is never going to talk about what happened during her childhood with her mom or anybody. She does not want to get back together with Danny. I think balancing all of these things is tough on her, she is trying to keep everything inside. James is still in love with Rhiannon, his best friend, even though he won't admit it yet. Danny has no doubt that he can get Nicole back, even though she dumped him. Rhiannon is still hung up on her ex-boyfriend, Steve, who is now going out with Gloria, who bullies Rhiannon. Nicole's friend Sheila is in love with her boyfriend, but he is abusing her. For example, “I get that he’s hot and all, but what I don’t get is why she’s doing this to herself. Like, how can they have anything in common? I mean, I know love makes you do crazy things, but this is ridiculous. Sheila is the one person who’s totally put-together every day and super cheerful even early in the morning and always has her projects done like two days before they’re due, and know she just walked in looking like a truck ran her over.” I think the author is trying to show what kind of crazy things love can make you do, and how overwhelming it can be. Also Susane Colasanti might be trying to show how dangerous and sometimes even life threatening it can be.
Towards, the middle of the story the characters seem a little more loose about their feelings and a little less stubborn. The author is trying to show that although it's nice to love someone, and have them love you back, you need to be able to take control of your own life and make your own decisions. It also seems like the characters are getting a little more trustworthy of each other. When I was reading this book, I wondered, "What is Susane Colasanti trying to teach her readers about love? Does she like it? Was she abused and that is why she showed two of her characters getting abused?" I think Colasanti is all for love as long as you are careful with it. People's feelings are very delicate. I also think that she wants her readers to know how scary and common sexual abuse is. It is a problem that can't always be avoided but can be stopped, as long as the victim speaks up.
Then at the end of the story, all of the characters are open about their feelings. They are not afraid to just go for it and live a little. Rhiannon took revenge on Gloria. She also kissed James and finally moved on from Steve. Such as on page 207, "I sort of lean back into him. Like I’m melting into him. And in that instant, I finally know what it feels like to be whole. I’ve been wishing for my life to get better. Now I realize that James can take me to a place where everything’s the way it should be. He can definitely take me there. So when I turn around to face him, I don’t think about it at all. I just kiss him. And he kisses me back." Nicole talks about her childhood and how her dad sexually abused her when she was a kid. "There was this one night when she came home early. From her bridge game. And I heard her coming upstairs. And then…that’s when he let my room. So she saw him. She saw him leaving my room…After she found out…that’s when we moved here…That’s why the got divorced. My dad abused me.” Nicole figured out how reality would never let her and Mr. Farrell be together, and she gave Danny a second chance. Sheila moved out of her abusive boyfriend's house and got her life back together. The story resolved perfectly, which in my opinion is a little unrealistic especially when involving love, but Susane Colasanti did a great job. There were a lot of perspectives along with problems in this book, and I truly loved reading it.
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