Some Summer Reading...

For school this year, I read two books. (plus tons of others for me!) One was the Hate List by Jennifer Brown, and the one that I chose was Dramarama by E. Lockhart. Seeing that I'm a Drama enthusiast, this seemed like a pretty awesome choice for a book! Here are some basic Q&As about the book.

The Book:

1. Who is the main character and what is that character’s personality like? Type a complete sentence or two that include three different adjectives that describe your character.

The main character is a girl named Sarah, who is now called Sadye, and who has a “lurking bigness.” She is dramatic, ambitious, and not satisfied with her “razzle-dazzled deprived” life in Ohio.

2. Most good stories have a beginning, middle, and end. Type a complete sentence for each of these three parts that summarizes what happens.

In the beginning of this book, Sadye is trapped in her plain and boring home-town and feels like she can’t show her true personality, but everything changes when she meets Demi at auditions for the Wildwood Summer Institute, and the two immediately become friends. When they both find out that they will be attending Wildwood, they are ecstatic, but things begin to fall apart when they are separated first by dorms, and then Demi becomes the popular star of one of the musicals, while Sadye is stuck in the annual production of a Shakespeare play. In the end, Demi’s plans to stay at Wildwood for the school year are jeopardized when they are caught on a roof with alcohol in hand, but Sadye makes a last sacrifice for her friend by claiming responsibility, and is kicked out of Wildwood, where Demi then finds new life while the two friends drift apart.

3. Think about the experiences that the main character has and the changes that she or he experiences by the end of the story. In a complete sentence or two, describe what you think the author is trying to say about life.

I think that the author is trying to remind us that even seemingly perfect situations can change in an instant. She also portrays very realistically the rise and fall of friendships and how the closest of friends can simply drift apart.

The Issues:

1. Explain how one of these issues affects the character(s) in the story. Write three complete sentences – either three different ways that one character is affected, or one way each that three different characters are affected.

In this book, the main character is affected by many issues. The first perhaps does not affect her as much as Demi, but Sadye is still affected when she finally can see past Demi’s “straight boy act” and into his real personality, as well as the fact that he is gay, and in the process gains a fabulous new friend. She is also affected by the question of identity, since a large part of the plot is how she is finding out who she really is. Her friendships are also affected quite a bit in this book, as she first gained many friends, and then lost some of her most important ones.

2. In complete sentences, describe two specific events that make the book’s social issue(s) seem real and important. How does the author make a big issue immediate and personal?

The author made these issues important and real by making them very believable. In this book, not everything had a happy ending, because in life, not everything has a happy ending. She connected the issues very well to a believable character and realistic situations.

Website Credits for Picture: theboyfriendlist.com