Sydney, Where are you?

Summary

 During the past days, I continued to read the book and something surprising happened. One day, when Frankie is in the bus, he notices that Sydney isn’t in her bus stop and she is never late. A little girl tells Frankie that she saw Sydney arguing with her mother and then they left in a Porsche. At school, Frankie is very worried about Sydney because of what the girl said had happened and because it’s her birthday so he asks Mr. A for help. When school is over, Frankie heads to Sydney’s house but couldn’t find it. Suddenly Sydney appears and he hands her a birthday present. She avoids the present and starts to cry.

Quote 1

“He’d handed in his work experience project and crawled through Dictionary. Today’s words seemed blessedly without heavy significance. Normally panspermia: pan-sper-mi-a, n, a theory of biogenetics that states that the universe is full of spores that germinate when they find a favorable environment would have struck him as a gloriously funny word, perfect for a rude cartoon dart about the Kearney twins.” (p. 127)

In my opinion, it’s interesting and positive that the author includes peculiar words and their definition when she writes because the reader can learn new words and how to use them. Almost always the author makes the new word fit into the event that is happening in that momento of the book. On the contrary, when it comes to the situation in the book, I can notice that Frankie’s temperament has changed because of Sydney’s sudden disappearance.  

Quote 2

“And quite unexpectedly Sydney slumped down on the driveway. She seemed just to subside, like the side of a hill in a TV avalanche. The she buried her face in her knees and stayed that way, unmoving. She made no sound but Frankie knew she was crying.” (p. 141)

 

When someone receives a present, they usually react with joy and gratefulness, but in this case, Sydney replied the opposite way. She could have been crying because she was happy or because of sadness. I think she reacted this way because maybe Frankie was the first friend she ever had that gave her a birthday present. On the other hand, this event could have reminded her of something unhappy that happened in her life.

Conclusion

I think that in the last chapter I read, I finally discovered the 10 p.m. question which was: “Do you think I’m normal?” This is another question that demonstrates one of Frankie’s many worries. I predict that in one of the next two chapter Frankie’s mom is going to say why she never leaves the house. I also think that Sydney is going to stay in town and that Frankie and Gigs are going to have a fight. I hope that you are liking my blogs so far and that you continue to read them.

Avoiding with Stories

Summary

In the chapter I began to read during this week, Sydney and Frankie are waiting for Gigs, and in the meantime, Sydney asks questions to Frankie. These questions could lead to further questions that Frankie doesn´t want to answer so, to avoid them, he talks about his aunties and what he used to do with them. Frankie currently worries about a camp that his class is going to go to because he doesn´t want to leave his mom if he decides to go. Mr. A, Frankie´s teacher, has his students go to work with their relatives one day so they can see how their workplaces are and what they do while they are there. Frankie decides to complete this day with his brother Louie who works in a company named De Souza. After some time, they decide to a break in a restaurant, and there, they begin to see what type of birds their family and friends would be if they were a bird. When Frankie asks Louie what type of bird his mom would be, Louie tries to avoid the question. He then realizes that he had never talked about his mom nor his family with Louie.

 

 

Quote 1

“He would feel nauseous with anxiety about Ma. (Who would do her errands? Who would keep her company? Who would chat to her at night when Uncle G was working and Gordana was doing as she pleased? Who would keep a constant and careful – though carefully nonchalant – eye on her? Who would hold her hand when she was feeling a little wobbly?)” (p. 80)

As said before, Frankie doesn’t want to go to the camp because of his mother and the many reasons why he doesn’t want to leave her. When I read this quote, I recognized how much Frankie loves Ma and how he wants to protect her, but maybe, he is a being a little over reactive because the camp is not going to last a very long time and, if he goes, Ma is going to be with Uncle George and Gordana. I have also realized that Frankie is very jealous when it comes to other people being with his mom because he gave Sydney a couple of rules when she was going to be with Ma.

Quote 2

“And then it came to Frankie what Louie reminded him of. Himself, him, Franke. Himself babbling away to Sydney, going on and on and on about the Aunties that day, trying desperately to fill the air between them with words, any words, to summon up a cloud of words so big, it shut out the intensity of her focus, deflected her questions about his times with the Aunties’ house, her inevitable questions about Ma.” (p. 108)

What happened in this quote is something that is related to the real world because sometimes we try to avert certain questions or situations by changing the topic of conversation or trying to do something else. When Louie did this, it didn’t work because he ended up answering Frankie’s question about what type of bird Ma would be is she was a bird. On the other hand, trying to avoid Sydney’s questions by extending his story about the Aunties did work for Frankie. I think it’s something that people do because they maybe feel uncomfortable about the answer to a question or for many other reasons too.

Conclusion

On the next chapters, I would like to figure out why Frankie’s mom never leaves the house and why Frankie doesn’t want to talk about it with other people. And as I said in the last blog post I would also like to know what the 10 p.m. question is. Something interesting about the book is that every night, Frankie asks a question to his mom and most of the time, they are related to some disease or issue that Frankie thinks he has. I believe that this is part of his personality, of his constant worries. On this book, the author makes sure that people’s personality are shown like Frankie’s is and Sydney’s, for example, that is curious and, unlike Frankie, free of worries.

Sudden Changes

Summary

Hi! For my next blogs I’m going to talk about the book “The 10 p.m. Question” by Kate De Goldi. The main character, Frankie, starts his day as usual, walking towards the bus stop with his best friend Gigs while they complete little rituals that they have done since they were little. They reach the bus stop and jump in the bus heading for school. But everything changes when a girl named Sydney walks in to the bus and starts to talk to Frankie. Once in school Frankie and Sydney are assigned together for a project and they agree to meet someday to start it. Days pass and Frankie’s brother Louie’s birthday arrives. With all the family reunited in his house, Frankie receives a call from Sydney and they decide to meet the next day in his house to start the project.

Quote 1

“Gigs didn’t worry about his household, his parents, his health, his safety, his future, the probability of earthquakes, terrorism, global warming, or McDonald’s taking over the world.” (p. 15)

Frankie is a very worried boy who has to take care of his family and help around the house unlike Gigs that doesn’t care about any of the problems that Frankie suggest. But despite their differences, they are friends and still agree in certain things and work well together.

Quote 2

“’Night, then,” said Frankie. “You really think it won’t happen soon?” he said from the doorway.

“I really think it won’t happen soon,” said Ma.” (p. 28)  

 

When I read this quote, I realized that Frankie is very concerned about many things and has to be assured that they are what they are or they won’t happen, to stay calm. His personality is that way and I think it’s very nice of his mother to comfort him the way she does.  Many people can be nervous and worried as Frankie but people have to support them and make them feel good.

Conclusion

My prediction for the next chapters is that Frankie and Sydney are going to become close friends and share questions they have with each other. I also think that Gigs is going to feel left out because of Frankie’s new friendship and is going to have a fight with Frankie. I want to know what the 10 p.m. question will be, if there is one, and who will ask it and who will answer it. I look forward to keep reading the book and see if my predictions are right. I hope you enjoyed my first blog about this book and that you want to continue reading my next blogs.