Why did I like/dislike the text?

This text has had its ups and downs in Catch. Tim has went through a lot the last couple of days and it is all so overwhelming to him. He finds a girl he works with and he likes this girl a lot. Her name is Helena and Tim and her do not necessarily get along right away. Tim just toys with her at first and then it becomes something more when she sees Tim there. They talk all night and go home together. The next day at work we find out that they slept together that night. It kind of builds from here and they are talking all the time, hanging out, not being seen together or seen at all for that matter. His mom calls his friend Denny asking where Tim was and he said Tim was at his house. Tim was fortunate that Denny did this for him. Helena has to watch a house and Tim goes over there and stays with her and they went shopping together for food and run into Tim's brother. He sees them and kind of makes fun of those two together. They go about their night and Helena falls asleep on Tim because she was so mad about his brother she drank too fast and passed out. Tim had an orientation the next day and didn't call Helena. This whole part interest me because It sounds so much like a high school affair kind of thing. No one quite is sure what is going on and they just manage not to be seen and then they finally do. I also thought it was weird how they met at a bar and thats where they hit it off at. Tim later finds out that his brother and Helena slept together all in high school and thats why she can not continue the relationship with Tim because she has hurt way to many people.

• Discuss your ideas about the main character(s). Is the character worthy of praise or criticism? Why?

I think Tim Temples is a great character in this book. It helps show what the life of a teenage boy is like in a small town in Illinois. The main character is just assumed to be automatically going to University of Illinois just because his brother did. Also he was assumed to be playing baseball somewhere in college without even thinking about his options. Tim really does not know what he wants to do or even go to college. He sees that his brother has been ruined by going to college to play baseball. He got into partying and lost a step in baseball. He just really does not know what he wants to do and he receives all this praise of being a Temple. He is not worthy of any of this because he has not really worked hard for any of it and just kind of expects to get it all handed to him and he will get all the answers without trying. I do not think that Tim will amount to anything of a college baseball player. I think all the talk about him moving on after the high school life will die down and he will just settle with staying in Mattoon and working at the plant for the rest of his life with the horsemen. I do not think that Tim has pursued anything in baseball and has not put fourth the effort to be a dominant player. In my eyes he is mediocre but is looked upon as being good because it runs in the blood. Until he works his butt off and proves himself I do not think that he deserves any of the praise he gets just because of the last name he has.

• What is the strangest part of the text?

The strangest part of the text in this novel so far is about why Tim's gang is acting so weird around the boss at work. The "Horsemen" is the gang that Tim hangs around and all of his friends work with him. He has grown up with these kids since he was little and the way they act around his boss is not the way that they normally act around him. They all like to party, stir up trouble, hit on girls, hook up with girls and just live the teenage life. But after seeing how they all work around each other it was weird to me about how they change that much around the boss. Tim seems to get along fine with the boss and has no problems what so ever. Later as you read, you find out that they are kind of afraid of the boss and do not really know what to think of him. Tim likes to hit on the secretary of his boss and just screw with her head. Tim later finds out that she graduated with his brother and that is why she is not very fond of him. She is real snippy and kind of always walks around like a bomb. She could go off any minute but Tim finds fun is bugging her hoping to get lucky is the way i take it. This book is very interesting and the life of a teenage boy is very well explained throughout. I just thought it was weird how the Horsemen acted differently around the boss than Tim does. I found out that Tim only works there for the summer, next two months but his friends have to work there for about 10 more years.

Explain the significance of the title.

The title I believe could be explained in many different ways. From what I have read is that the main character, Tim plays baseball in a small town high school and has just gotten done graduation. He plays baseball, that is what the title meant to me when I first started reading. The title catch, I believe stands for meeting a girl and it is someone that is not like other women, meaning that she is a catch. That is what I think the title is and why it is so significant to the text. The author sets you up by telling you he plays baseball and has a high possibility to go to the University of Illinois to play and get a good education, or he could go to Lakeview Community College and just settle and stay near his high school and home town. This is a hard decision for him because he is not sure what he wants to do. He has a high school friend that he has been friends with until high school. She and him have grown apart and she is all goody good and he is a partier and a typical high school boy. I believe that he has a crush on her and will end up being with each other in love. This would also be a catch because his mother has always wanted Timmy to date her and eventually marry her. So in a sense this would also be a sort of catch for the title as well. The title can stand for many different things, but for right now I think is that he is going to meet a perfect girl for him and it will be a catch for him.

What strategies does the author use to make the point?

After reading the back of the book, "Catch", I believe that this book will be very interesting. It is about a small town hero in Mattoon, Illinois. He is all about working, hanging out with his friends on the nights and weekends and he loves to chase girls. This sounds a lot like a small town kid. Since I live in a small town as well I can relate to what he is trying to explain. I think that this book will have a lot of tension and suspense. I could already see it having a twist in the book as well. I can relate to all of this teenage boy's life. I live in Mackinaw, another super small town, where everybody knows everybody. There has been one hometown hero that I went to school with and he (Doug Small) hit a game winning, three quarter court shot for the Regional Championship against the number five team in the state of Illinois. He went to Elmhurst College and ended up being a point guard for them. He is in his sophomore year now and is a starter. This small town kid, Tim resembles a lot of Doug. This is because Doug was always chasing girls and then he goes onto college and he meets an older girl that is a senior there this year. He has been dating her for awhile and is still doing well in his studies and starting on the basketball team. I think that Tim will end up doing what Doug did, and go to college and get away from the small town of Mattoon.

What strategies does the author use to make her point?

In this text the author really stresses the points of the novel where Valerie is in trouble or is having a hard time. Like throughout the time in the hospital where everyone was against her and it seemed like all Valerie had was herself. She didn't have the guy that was always there for her or the only guy that could make her happy. Her life seemed to revolve around Nick and whithout him she was lost. Sitting in the hospital getting grilled with questions and just waking up from the anesthesia, it was hard for her to come to and remember all that happened earlier. Her parents didn't belive her, she lost her friends that she had, and even her brother who seemed to care and tried to be on her side eventually left and she was all alone. Valerie shut everyone off from her life until Jessica Campbell came into her life. Valerie was having a hard time understanding that Jessica was for real about trying to be her friend. She needed someone to be on her side and wanted to believe Jessica was but she couldn't completely. Finally she caved in and decided to give her a chance and became friends with her and went to a party with her. Her older brother criticized her, threatened her and terrorized her. She was scared for her life and just left and didn't want anyone in her life but herself. She couldn't believe anyone but herself. She was having a hard time letting go and finally did after visiting Nick's grave. She moved on and continued on with her life.

Why did I like/dislike the text?

I like the text a lot this time reading. It was very interesting but still to the point. Valerie I think is handling this whole situation very well. I would be kind of nervous to accept a friend right away too, especially if they were my enemy. I think it is real gutsy for her just to go and trust her enemy and be okay with it. I give her props for being a courageous student. If I was in her position I would go back, there is no doubt about it, but it would be hard to just make friends that quick. I just hated the part of the text of how her dad had been having an affair with his secretary without telling anyone. You would think he would be a little more classy when the shooting went on to not continue the affair. Even though that might be the love of his life, he should have told somebody and should have told the whole family instead of keeping it inside and hurting others later on. The shooting was enough to tear apart her mom, let alone another part of her life missing as her husband and the father of her two kids bailing on them to be with some secretary. Valerie is still trying to move on from the school shooting and that's hard. Valerie's mom is trying to keep and eye on her and help her through all of her problems. I guess looking at that whole situation, Valerie's dad really hasn't been there for her at all. When you read the only time he is really there for her is when she was in the hospital. Other than that he is often supposed to be interpreted in the text at work. He is never home, and when he is home he and his wife fight all the time. It just is not a very good situation for that family. I think that would be hard for anyone go through, left alone 2 teenage kids.

Write a letter to one of the characters in the novel.

Dear Nick,
I just have a couple of questions for you. I am just curious about what thoughts were going through your head the day of the shooting. What exactly triggered you to go off like that and actually follow through with a joke? It seems to me that you should have thought about your actions before you did what you did. If you honestly didn't mean to hurt anyone, then why go about shooting people that were on the "Hate List"? It just seems so weird that you didn't want to hurt anyone, especially Valerie and you ended up shooting and killing multiple people, along with injuring a numerous amount of people as well. You hurt the individual that was there for you all throughout your life, the girl that was always going to be by your side and help you through anything. You didn't only hurt hurt physically with the gunshot to the thigh, but also hurt her mentally. You hurt her self esteem, her dignity and you have embarrassed her as well. Everyone sees her as a part of the crime and they think that she was playing a major role in it as well. Valerie wanted what was best for you and just wanted to help you out. She thought she knew you well enough that you were just joking and just blowing steam off your chest and venting to her. If you would have manned up and said something to your "Juliet" you would have ended up being with her forever, but now you have ruined everything that ever could have been by shooting up the school, injuring her both mentally and physically, and lastly by killing yourself in front of her. All I have to say is why, and what if anything did Jeremy have to do with this whole thing?

Reading in General: Redoing blog 1

Books are a good way to relate things to life. Most things that you read in any book is a problem to life. Whether its something good that influences you to do well in something or is a problem you are currently going through. Reading is a good way to vent without talking. It makes you realize that other people have the same problems you do. Or maybe it even shows you that you have it easy and other people have a harder life than you. Most individuals don't understand what troubles are until they graduate. While other people have had true problems since the day they were born. This is what makes people understand life. Reading helps you get focused on the big picture. Reading also lets you expand your imagination, word usage and even sentence structure. Reading is good for you, whether or not you think it is.  Books help you expand your mind and help you comprehend things much better than before reading.

College

College is a completely different experience. It is a test to see if you are able to complete and follow your dreams and goals. Some people's dreams are altered in the middle of college and that person realizes the dream they have always wanted was not what they actually wanted. There are different obstacles you have to overcome in order to succeed at your desired dreams. College needs to be a time to decide what you want for the rest of your life. While trying to determine all of this and what your future holds for you, there are other distractions involved. These distractions vary, they consist of; parties, friends, work, girlfriends, boyfriends and all sorts of things. You need to be able to juggle all of these at once. You need to get your priorities straightened out before you jump into the college swing of things. You need to realize what is most important to you and what doesn't really mean that much. College should be your number one priority, followed by making money, and then friends and family. It is a time where you need to save and live by your means, not trying to overdue things. Money is the main problem in the college life. Money creates all kinds of problems in ones life. Like in my situation, we aren't the middle class family everyone thinks we are. My parents went through a divorce and money is tight. I am trying to live by myself but it is hard at first trying to get your feet wet. My mom will not support me even though I am living in her house. It is just pathetic how she gets child support, has my grandparents to rely on but yet can't help out her own kids. She is so selfish and it is hard to go throughout college just by myself. College should be fun but yet serious at the same time. You need to get everything straightened out so you can get out on your own and support yourself so you don't have to rely on anyone but yourself.