Dear Students,
I have recently read the amazing book Things hoped for, written by Andrew Clements. If I had to rate this book, I would rate it 9.5 out of 10. I wouldn’t give it a 10 because it had a few parts where the author could have simplified conversations. Even though some parts could have been condenced, it was still an enjoyable book with many unpredictable things happening to Gwen, the main character.
I liked the way the author made each chapter heading reveal what would happen in the upcoming section of the book. It started to make me pay attention to the chapter headings so I could look out for something relevant in the chapter. He also made many unpredictable events happen at times you never would have guessed! For example, when Robert went to get steaks from downstairs, he ended up finding Gwen’s missing Grandpa in the freezer! Many events like this made me want to keep reading on!
The character development of Gwen in this story really changed. In the beginning, Gwen thought that her life story only involved her and her music with only distractions from her story. Every once in a while, after every event, her opinion of it would slightly change. For example, after she found her Grandpa, she knew her story was swallowed whole and not very much of it left was about her musical career. The time Gwen’s opinion changed the most was after many of the events took place, toward the end of the book. She knows that it will never be ONLY her in her life story, but she still wanted it to be. In this particuliar part in the book, she realizes why she wants her life story to be as plain and simple as a musician-
“It’s because I’ve been imagining that it’s going to be easy. It’s because I think I’ll be able to lose myself in great sweeps of harmony, and the all-knowing, infallible conductor will always lead the way. And me? I imagine myself gliding seamlessly from one movement to the next, with hardly a rustle as I turn the pages of the score. Because I want things to work out the way they do when Bach is in charge. Or Paganini. Or Jane Austen. Or even Yeats. Because I’m desperate for a nice,tidy ending, maybe with a pleasant rhyme or two, or that wonderful last burst of a symphonic harmony that makes me want to shout yes! But it’s not happening that way.”
This part was by far the most important in the whole book. It was the section that showed how much Gwen has learned in her life altering experience! She is finally explaining to herself that, although she does love her music, it is not an alternative world where problems don’t pop up and life is always smooth. Gwen is so desperate for a nice, tidy ending because she is such a perfectionist. All her life she was a perfectionist, always needing everything to be neat and perfect. This is another one of the ways this whole era of events in this story changed her.
I understood why Gwen’s grandpa, Lawrence, put himself in the freezer. During the book, when Gwen’s family was reading Grandpa’s letters to the police, they said he died of natural causes. The police said they found him there with an air tank inside the freezer with him and duct tape on the latch. He could have gotten out of there if he wanted too and he had enough air, so I was pondering why he decided to go into the freezer to die. While waiting at her audition, when Gwen opened her letter, Grandpa had given her his dogtags from the army. On the back it had the bible verse John 15:13 carved into it, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” I finally concluded that he died in the freezer so he could possibly hide from Gwen long enough for her to be able to get her auditions for college done without his burden.
The main character really got better perspectives of her Uncle Hank throughout the story. Her opinion of Uncle Hank first started out as him being bitter, cranky, and heartless to his own brother. He would yell and scream because his Lawrence wouldn’t sell the house. But that perspecive changed as Hank finally found out he was dead. Uncle Hank was welling up in tears mourning for his brother. Gwen knew she had only seen him from one point of view, and never knew he was so emotional. There was another time when Gwen knew her perspective of her Uncle had changed, it was after going out to dinner when he appologized. His appoligizing was something Gwen never would have seen her Uncle do if Lawrence hadn’t died. He was a puppy dog deep down but she just couldn’t see from the surface.
Overall, this book was quite a twister. It started out from barely having much going on to being chocked full of so many events! I loved how this book played out, but I couldn’t really tell the theme of this book. I wish some of the events were more suspenseful, it would have made this book even better! Andrew Clements did a fantastic job and kept pulling me toward the end, eager to know what will happen next!
Yours Truly,
Missy
Period 6-7
