1. do you think tim is the one sending the money? i think it's either tim or naomi. i'm almost more inclined to say it's naomi, because she really seemed to soften towards ceecee, but i think it's going to end up being tim.
2. so far, there's been a lot of discussion on ceecee/eve and her choices. what choice(s) would you make differently from her? i think the most obvious would be to not help tim in the kidnapping. then all of the other choices become moot points. that aside, i think not turning herself and the baby into the police was a huge mistake. i think the police would have seen her for what she was: a scared, naieve kid who got caught up in something she didn't understand. sure, she would have had some punishment, but i think turning over the baby and being a witness against tim would have gone a long way.
3. what do you like about jack? are there things about him that you don't like? i think he is a good guy with a good heart who seems to be completely trustworthy, and that's what eve needs. he doesn't seem to have any pretenses...what you see is what you get. he also doesn't seem to judge her at all for her past decisions. all of those things are great about him. the one thing i don't like is that he seems a little too good to be true, like a character with very little depth. he's handsome, he's happy all the time, he's patient, he loves eve, he loves cory, blah blah blah. it would be nice if he showed a flaw or something!
4. what are the differences between ceecee/eve's relationship with tim and eve's relationship with jack? she is much more guarded, more cautious, and certainly much more in control of her relationship with jack than of her relationship with tim. she's older and also experienced and changed so much since she met tim, so in some ways, she is much more mature. she is putting her and cory's happiness and well-being ahead of jack's, whereas in her relationship with tim, she put him above everything else. this feels like a real relationship, one that grows slowly out of a place of mutual love and respect. tim was just young starstruck "love" and lust.
5. do you think eve is to blame for cory's fears? what could she do, specifically, to help cory feel like less of an outsider? i'm a big believer in nurture in the nature vs. nurture debate, so yes, i think eve is to blame. i can see why she would raise her that way, as a result of her own fears, but not only does she teach cory to be overly cautious, but then validates her irrational fears to the point where cory is completely isolated not only from her family, but her entire peer group. i'm not sure i could point to one specific thing she could do to change things. she should encourage cory to try and explore new things, even if they scare her, instead of coddling her whenever she is scared. she should reassure cory that she is safe and it's ok to do different things. In short, she should treat cory like she treats dru. Putting her in a private school was a good step in the right direction. So was encouraging her to try out for the play.
6. do you think eve appropriately answered cory's questions about her father? do you think cory will question her father more as she grows older? i guess she answered them appropriately for covering up the truth. that's a tough question! i think cory will absolutely question her father more. it's natural to want to know about where you came from and eve isn't giving her anything to go on. she already feels like an outsider, so i think she obviously is going to assume she's more like her father and want to know more about him so she doesn't feel so strange.
Showing posts with label book beginnings and bookends. Show all posts
Showing posts with label book beginnings and bookends. Show all posts
30 August 2010
23 August 2010
the secret life of ceecee wilkes: belle on heels' response to chapters 11-20
1. where do you think tim and marty are at this point in the story? i think there is very little doubt that they've gone into hiding and have completely ditched ceecee.
2. what were your thoughts as ceecee was helping genevieve deliver her baby? a combination of "OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!" and "this is definitely not going to end well for anyone." also, how scary the childbirth process is!
3. after genevieve died, what would you have done with her baby if you had been in ceecee's shoes? honestly, if i had been in ceecee's shoes, i probably would have done the same thing. it's easy from the outside looking in to say, oh well i definitely would have done the right thing by turning myself if and the baby over to her family. the police more than likely would have gone easy on her, since she could be a witness against tim and marty and she would be obviously young and in over her head. but in the moment, in the complete shock and fear she must have been in, i think i probably would have done the exact same thing. she really did have the best of intentions. from the moment the baby was born, all she cared about was taking care of her.
4. why do you think ceecee/eve is still holding onto hope that tim will come for her? because it's too frightening to face the reality of what she did on her own. if she knows that there is someone out there in the same position as her who loves her and is coming for her, then she is not alone. if she accepts the fact that he's gone, then she is really and truly all alone in the world. and who wants to face that reality? then there's also the obvious fact that she was in love with him {or thought she was} and thought that he loved her too, and the realization that that trust has been broken is very painful.
5. how do you think eve will establish her new identity in virginia? i hope that she is able to finally go to school since she is so smart and has always wanted an education, but i don't know how she can provide the paperwork to get into school since naomi and forrest got the faked ids and birth certificates for her. if not, i think she'll establish her identity based on being corinne's mom and marianne's friend and build out relationships from there.
6. what do you think of ceecee/eve now after she has gone through with the kidnapping, the delivery of the baby, the escape, and the relocation? it's strange, all i really feel for her is pity. she is a smart girl capable of making smart decisions, and she chose to participate in the kidnapping not only of genevieve, but now of the baby. she willingly helped cover up a murder, although it wasn't her first instinct. and now she has fled to another state under a false name with a baby who doesn't belong to her. i should probably dislike someone who has done so many terrible things, but all i can feel is sorry for her. bad case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time! i am hopeful for her and the baby.
2. what were your thoughts as ceecee was helping genevieve deliver her baby? a combination of "OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!" and "this is definitely not going to end well for anyone." also, how scary the childbirth process is!
3. after genevieve died, what would you have done with her baby if you had been in ceecee's shoes? honestly, if i had been in ceecee's shoes, i probably would have done the same thing. it's easy from the outside looking in to say, oh well i definitely would have done the right thing by turning myself if and the baby over to her family. the police more than likely would have gone easy on her, since she could be a witness against tim and marty and she would be obviously young and in over her head. but in the moment, in the complete shock and fear she must have been in, i think i probably would have done the exact same thing. she really did have the best of intentions. from the moment the baby was born, all she cared about was taking care of her.
4. why do you think ceecee/eve is still holding onto hope that tim will come for her? because it's too frightening to face the reality of what she did on her own. if she knows that there is someone out there in the same position as her who loves her and is coming for her, then she is not alone. if she accepts the fact that he's gone, then she is really and truly all alone in the world. and who wants to face that reality? then there's also the obvious fact that she was in love with him {or thought she was} and thought that he loved her too, and the realization that that trust has been broken is very painful.
5. how do you think eve will establish her new identity in virginia? i hope that she is able to finally go to school since she is so smart and has always wanted an education, but i don't know how she can provide the paperwork to get into school since naomi and forrest got the faked ids and birth certificates for her. if not, i think she'll establish her identity based on being corinne's mom and marianne's friend and build out relationships from there.
6. what do you think of ceecee/eve now after she has gone through with the kidnapping, the delivery of the baby, the escape, and the relocation? it's strange, all i really feel for her is pity. she is a smart girl capable of making smart decisions, and she chose to participate in the kidnapping not only of genevieve, but now of the baby. she willingly helped cover up a murder, although it wasn't her first instinct. and now she has fled to another state under a false name with a baby who doesn't belong to her. i should probably dislike someone who has done so many terrible things, but all i can feel is sorry for her. bad case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time! i am hopeful for her and the baby.
the secret life of ceecee wilkes: belle on heels' response to chapters 1-10
i know this is a week late, but i kept forgetting to go pick the book up from the library. i picked it up on friday and had it finished by yesterday afternoon. it really was that good! here's my response to the first set of questions:
1. what was your first impression of tim? too good to be true. and 99% of the time, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. the thing that jumped out at me the most was the age difference. what could a 22-year old graduate student possibly have in common with a 16-year old coffee shop waitress? ceecee herself said she doesn't consider herself particularly attractive, so why is he going out of his way to seduce her? and then his inability to clean up after himself? ick! if he doesn't take care of himself, he's not going to take care of you.
2. if you were in ceecee’s position, would you be willing to help your boyfriend in the way that she is willing to help tim? from my perspective, absolutely not. i've always been a straight-laced, rule-follower oldest child and honestly, i wouldn't have been allowed to have a 22-year old boyfriend in the first place! that said, ceecee was coming from a totally different place, so as terrible as it was, i can kind of see how she got swept away in everything. at the end of the day, though, she knew that what he was planning was wrong and illegal and she went along with it anyways. someone who truly loved you wouldn't ask that of you.
3. why do you think ceecee is so eager to please tim? because she's young and desperate for love. we all do stupid things when we're young and we all do things for love, but ceecee is even worse because she has been without love for so long. she obviously has a huge heart and capacity to love, but hasn't been able to give that love to anyone since her mother died. on the flipside, she has never had a man's love in her life. now that she has it, she's is going to do anything she can to hold onto it. and if i were in her shoes, i'm not sure that i could blame her.
4. who do you think has it harder? tim or ceecee? ceecee. don't get me wrong...they both have had a rough go of it. but tim has been given opportunities and complicated though the relationships may be, he still has some of his family. he also has financial security and an education. ceecee has been given every excuse to fail and refuses to give up.
5. what character trait(s) about ceecee stuck out the most to you in these first ten chapters? the one that stands out the most is her resilience. she lost the only parent she knew to a horrible disease at a very young age, spent the next four years being bounced around foster homes, and barely missed out on a college scholarship, yet she seems remarkably well-adjusted and optimistic and not the slightest bit jaded or bitter. to have experienced that much loss and lack of stability and still be so grounded and caring is very, very impressive.
6. do you think ceecee is as mature as she seems? yes and no. in many ways, she seems very wise beyond her years. obviously very intelligent and she has been through more emotional trauma than many people experince in a lifetime. she is disciplined enough to work hard, save money for college, and live basically on her own without getting into trouble. for a 16-year old, those are all pretty unbelievable traits! but on the other hand, her maturity in her relationship with tim is nonexistent. she blurts out everything that comes to mind, believes that she is in love with him from day one, cleans up after him and his brother as well as cooks for them, and truly believes he wants to marry her. a little extreme but, i mean, weren't we all immature and silly when we had our first teenage relationship? it's certainly understandable. but she is clearly in over her head in a relationship with someone so much older than her. it's clear that she just doesn't grasp the depth of a lot of things.
1. what was your first impression of tim? too good to be true. and 99% of the time, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is. the thing that jumped out at me the most was the age difference. what could a 22-year old graduate student possibly have in common with a 16-year old coffee shop waitress? ceecee herself said she doesn't consider herself particularly attractive, so why is he going out of his way to seduce her? and then his inability to clean up after himself? ick! if he doesn't take care of himself, he's not going to take care of you.
2. if you were in ceecee’s position, would you be willing to help your boyfriend in the way that she is willing to help tim? from my perspective, absolutely not. i've always been a straight-laced, rule-follower oldest child and honestly, i wouldn't have been allowed to have a 22-year old boyfriend in the first place! that said, ceecee was coming from a totally different place, so as terrible as it was, i can kind of see how she got swept away in everything. at the end of the day, though, she knew that what he was planning was wrong and illegal and she went along with it anyways. someone who truly loved you wouldn't ask that of you.
3. why do you think ceecee is so eager to please tim? because she's young and desperate for love. we all do stupid things when we're young and we all do things for love, but ceecee is even worse because she has been without love for so long. she obviously has a huge heart and capacity to love, but hasn't been able to give that love to anyone since her mother died. on the flipside, she has never had a man's love in her life. now that she has it, she's is going to do anything she can to hold onto it. and if i were in her shoes, i'm not sure that i could blame her.
4. who do you think has it harder? tim or ceecee? ceecee. don't get me wrong...they both have had a rough go of it. but tim has been given opportunities and complicated though the relationships may be, he still has some of his family. he also has financial security and an education. ceecee has been given every excuse to fail and refuses to give up.
5. what character trait(s) about ceecee stuck out the most to you in these first ten chapters? the one that stands out the most is her resilience. she lost the only parent she knew to a horrible disease at a very young age, spent the next four years being bounced around foster homes, and barely missed out on a college scholarship, yet she seems remarkably well-adjusted and optimistic and not the slightest bit jaded or bitter. to have experienced that much loss and lack of stability and still be so grounded and caring is very, very impressive.
6. do you think ceecee is as mature as she seems? yes and no. in many ways, she seems very wise beyond her years. obviously very intelligent and she has been through more emotional trauma than many people experince in a lifetime. she is disciplined enough to work hard, save money for college, and live basically on her own without getting into trouble. for a 16-year old, those are all pretty unbelievable traits! but on the other hand, her maturity in her relationship with tim is nonexistent. she blurts out everything that comes to mind, believes that she is in love with him from day one, cleans up after him and his brother as well as cooks for them, and truly believes he wants to marry her. a little extreme but, i mean, weren't we all immature and silly when we had our first teenage relationship? it's certainly understandable. but she is clearly in over her head in a relationship with someone so much older than her. it's clear that she just doesn't grasp the depth of a lot of things.
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