So I’m starting to understand Hayley more and I kind of understand where she is coming from and why she acts the way she does so I actually am starting to like her more and more. However, I don’t like the way that she views Trish. I think that she is super narrow minded when it comes to Trish that she can’t see from Trish’s point of view. From what I see about Trish, it was Andy, not Hayley that drove her away. From the view of a child I can see why Hayley was so hurt when Trish left, but from the view of Trish, I see that she really cared about Hayley and even Andy but couldn’t deal with Andy. Speaking about Andy, I am starting to hate him even more the more I read about him. Parents are supposed to take care of their children when they are still growing up and not the other way around until a little bit later in life when they should need a child’s help because of old age and they can no longer take care of themselves. It’s part of being an adult and he’s acting like a child.
I don’t know how I feel about Gracie anymore. I used to be at least somewhat okay with her character and then when I found out that she pops pills my respect and my entire outlook on her completely changed. I really don’t like promote the use of drugs and to read about it in a way that actually is pretty realistic is a little terrifying. Laurie Anderson really seems to hit that one on the nail. There are many people in life that may seem like the sweetest people in the world and they are pill poppers or alcoholics etc. and that just goes to show that you can’t judge a book by its cover which seems to be the overall message of this book.
At first, I thought that Hayley was just some smart-ass kid who had an incredibly annoying habit of not wanting to try anything new and not wanting to look at things in anything other than a negative light. However, when you learn more about her, you find that she is living in an abusive home with an abusive father and acts pretty normal for someone in the same situation as her. When you read about Gracie, I thought she was sort of a ditzy, happy go lucky type girl and she ends up being one of those girls who fights with her boyfriend and pops pills all the time instead of addressing her problems. It’s a very interesting read.
To be honest, I don’t understand why there are so many books out there where the main character feels the need or has it forced upon them to take care of their parents. Is it supposed to be an empowering thing or something? Is it supposed to show that the main character is mature? Is it supposed to be something that makes you pity the character? It just doesn’t show a parent in good light and I think that is unfair to parents. I myself am a parent and I know I can’t give my daughter anything that she wants because I just can’t afford it, but that doesn’t mean that I break down and start getting drunk or that I can’t take care of myself. I try to do the best I can for her and myself and I find that more empowering than being taken care of by her and a better example to her of what kind of person she should grow up to be instead of having it forced upon her at a young age. Maybe that’s just me.
Anyways, (sorry that was a very long tangent) I still really enjoy the book (despite that long tangent). I found myself reading it in the morning when I woke up until I hit chapter 62 and had to force myself to stop so that I can write this review before continuing. It’s getting more and more interesting (my last review may have seemed otherwise). I keep waiting for something to happen when Andy blows up. I honestly think that he may end up hitting her at least once by the time the book ends and I really don’t know what would happen if he hit her. I was thinking that maybe she would be taken away by child services. But I guess I will see what will happen soon.
