Startling Decisions

Summary

A couple of days after the event with Sydney, Frankie is in Gordana’s and he recalls why Sydney suddenly began to cry the day of her birthday. She had been crying because her mother, Freya, had spent the money that was supposed to be used to send Sydney to camp. Frankie told Gigs this and they thought of possible solutions to Freya’s outrageous behavior. Vacation week starts and Frankie arrives at Sydney’s house to finish their book project. When they finally decide the ending to their book, Sydney’s mother enters the house and announces that they are going to move.  

Quote #1

“But that’s . . . mean,” said Gigs. “That’s taking money from a child.” He sounded like a child himself, his face screwed up, as if someone had just swiped his sweets. They looked at each other, both imagining the same thing, Frankie knew – the awfulness of such a parent.” (p. 157)

 

After hearing the reason why Sydney was crying, Gigs response was the quote above. I think that it was unfair that Freya took Sydney’s money and stopped her from going to camp, as Gigs and Frankie thought. This quote showed me the affection that Gigs and Frankie have for Sydney and the will they have to help her.  

Quote #2

“But, Frankie reflected as he waited at the bus stop, things had been minutely better with Gordana in the last couple of weeks. Frankie felt sure he could detect the very faintest softening in her exchange with him. Merely having an exchange was softening in itself, in Frankie’s view.” (p. 177)

Leaving all the problems with Sydney aside, Frankie’s private life has changed because of Gordana’s behavior. First, I think it’s surprising that Frankie reached out to Gordana to help him with a conflict, but it’s even more surprising that Gordana’s was willing to help him. I think her attitude towards Frankie changed because maybe she could see that Frankie’s problems were really affecting him.

Conclusion

As I near the end, I’m excited to know what is going to happen with Sydney and her family as well as Frankie’s reaction to this event. I predict that in this final part of the book, I’m going to discover why Frankie’s mom never leaves the house. I also think that Sydney and her family are not going to leave town. Finally, I anticipate that the book will have three different endings so the reader can decide which one to choose because this is what Sydney did when she wrote the ending of their book (Frankie’s and Sydney’s book).