spooks blog # 3

"Spooks" is a chapter about fitting in. Jason and his friend, Moran, are invited to become part of a secret gang called Spooks. When they try out and Jason succeeds, but Moran doesn't, he's left to choose between being part of the "in crowd" or standing up for his friend. Then there's also this thematic debate between being a local vs. a townie. Jason and his family are not and are never going to be considered locals because they settled in Black Swan Green after the war started. No matter how hard they try they'll always be considered townies. So, there's a great lesson here on what it means to be categorized. 

Reaction and thoughts on solarium blog # 4

Beauty falls leaf by leaf” describes how the aging process causes people to lose their beauty so gradually that it’s difficult to recognize. Madame Crommelynk compares beauty to the leaves of a tree which gradually fall off, leaving the tree bare. Madame Crommelynck says, "you  miss the beginning” and then “day by day it falls” until one looks like an old witch meaning that the beginning of the loss of beauty, like the fall of the first leaf, is not noticeable, but that as time goes on and more leaves fall, beauty is gone.This is a great chapter

Thoughts and reaction on rocks blog # 2

My thoughts and reaction on rock is a very clever chapter. The title is completely fitting because this chapter delves into all of the things in Jason's life that are on the rocks, his parent's marriage, the war, even Tom Yew's death spilla pain and negativity throughout Black Swan Green. All but his sister, Julia's relationship with her boyfriend, Ewan, has a looming sad and dangerous quality to it. And the symbolic nature of the rocks/landscape/pond that Jason's mom insists on having, how it screws her in the end really amazed me. 

Hangman Blog #1

My hearted coming-of-age tale of a 13-year old boy, Jason Taylor, set in rural south central England in the early 80’s has plenty of charm. It’s sweet, but not sappy. Its magic lies in the capturing of innocence of that age at that time and place, from the electricity of a first kiss and sickness from a first cigarette to the pull of dancing to the Talking Heads and of jingoistic feelings inspired by Maggie Thatcher’s war for the Falkland Islands. The dark side of things in this story are pretty mild. Mitchell isn’t going for the drama of surviving that typically anguished period of life, the twisted impacts of a dysfunctional family, or a satirical expose of the British middle class. Instead, the overall effect of my read is a sense of adventure and empathy for this boy at the cusp between the handicaps of naivete and confidence of adult sensibilities.