letstakethelongwayhome

Let's Take the Long Way Home ﻿﻿by Gail Caldwell

Book Club Jobs: PERSON A - GROUP LEADER - This group member will be responsible for both keeping the group on task throughout the meeting as well as responding to the week's topical questions, listed below. PERSON B - QUOTATION FINDER - This group member will be responsible for finding 5 important, meaningful quotations from their section of the text. They will also facilitate a discussion regarding these quotations. PERSON C - KEY QUESTIONER - This group member will be responsible for providing 5 open-ended questions regarding the week's reading section. These questions, and their responses, will be posted on the group's wiki. PERSON D - GROUP SUMMARIZER - This group member will be responsible for posting a thorough, two-paragraph summary of the group's Friday meeting, to be posted on the group wiki no later than the Sunday following the meeting.

Week 1:
Kelsey- Group Leader Alexa- Summary of Meeting Dara- Quote Finder Erin- Key Questioner

Group Leader (Kelsey) : Gail Caldwell, a washed up drunken writer, who seemed to have a hard life, was someone who wasn’t accustomed to letting people in. Considering the fact that her last relationship ended terribly many years ago. This was something about that in Gail that attracted her to Caroline. They were not romantically involved or extremely close, they were friends, best friends. The loneliness that kept them apart from everyone else brought them closer together. They would call each other, do activities together, and even walk their dogs together. Ironic how two little dogs can mend too lonely souls together, but that’s what happened. After Caroline had lost both of her parents, she began drinking. Caroline did the same, around that time and these events had nothing to do with each other, whatsoever. After Caroline had broken up with her boyfriend, whom she insisted on marrying, Gail was there to help her. When Gail tripped on her own feet on their hikes in the woods, Caroline was there to catch her. These two characters make me think of what a true friendship is like and sets high standards for me in the future.

Quote Finder (Dara) : <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. "What they never tell you about grief is that missing someone is the simple part." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. "From the beginning there was something intangible and even spooky between us that could make strangers mistake us as sisters or lovers, and that sometimes had friends refer to us by each other's name." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. "Having survived both anorexia and alcoholism, she had already walked through her version of worst fears." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. "I had a number of old and solid friendships, male and female both, but these days most of the local ones belonged in the second circle of intimacy - the people you'd call when you were hit by a bus, but not necessarily if you'd merely sprained an ankle." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. "When I woke up the next morning, instead of feeling shattered, I felt safe for the first time in months."

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Questions (Erin) : <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1) Do you think that the author chose to be alone (isolated herself on purpose) or do you think that it just ended up that way? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- We think that she didn't have a choice in the end because of the fact that she stopped trying or even didn't start to find someone to be with. SHe may have stopped trying because we think she had no desire to be with someone and rather have someone like Caroline as a friend. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2) Do you think if it wasn't for Caroline's almost harassment of Gail (when she called her constantly, and even showed up at her door) that they would still end up being such good friends? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- We don't think so because they wouldn't have anything to do with each other. They wouldn't have gone on their long walks, which made their relationship what it is. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3) How big of a role do you think the dogs will play in their friendship? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- Everything. The dogs were their common ground and the only thing they had in common, other than being alone. The dogs triggered their relationship and gave them the excuse to spend time with each other. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4) So far, can you relate any of your friendships to the one talked about in the book? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- Alexa says that it reminds her of herself and her close friend. A couple of bad choices were made and these were the choices, when they were resolved and everything was put back together, that brought them together. Kelsey feels that she had not yet experienced true friendship. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5) How do you think their pasts (alcoholism, anorexia, etc.) will play a part in their friendship? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">- It's their common ground and this will give themselves something to talk about. It allows them to grow and learn from their mistakes. They will take this journey together and help each other get through it.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Summary of the Meeting (Alexa) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Let's take the Long Way Hom e is a memoir of friendship. We were all really excited to start this book because the prologue grabbed the reader's attention. The is a true story and I like the way that the author, Gail Caldwell, uses her actual name in the book. There was four in our usual book club group, but then there were two. The others we being superstars in a commercial, while Kelsey and I discussed the book and ate our bagels and chips.We realized that the book jumps around a lot and keeps you on your feet, turning the pages, never knowing what to expect about Caroline and Gail's relationship. Caroline and Gail's experiences as friends is the main focus of the story. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dara's quotes highlighted major parts of the book and by reading her quotes it is almost a summary of the fist section we read. It is amazing how five sentences can do that. The questions that Erin posted truly made us think. We talked about how our friendships relate to the relationship of Caroline and Gail and figured out that the dogs, being writers, and past problems, such as alcoholism, anorexia, and being alone are their common ground. This is what makes them friends and gives them so many things to talk about when they take their long walks through the woods and on icy surfaces with their dogs. Me and Kelsey were very surprised that the first fifth of the book was not sad because we know from the prologue that Caroline dies. We figure that in no time the book will begin to get sad, but are excited to hear more about their friendship with each other, individual careers, and if they meet people to spend their whole life with.

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Week 2:
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kelsey- Key Questioner <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Alexa- Group Leader <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dara-Summary of Meeting <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Erin- Quote Finder

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Group Leader (Alexa) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Let's Take the Long Way Home is a very easy read, meaning easy to understand. While reading, I usually find myself ending up looking up words I don't understand in the dictionary, but in this book the language is very straightforward, understandable and simple. This quality of the book makes you want to read it more. The interesting part about this memoir of friendship is that it is told in first person. The character of Gail, is the author of the book and the book is written in point of view of Gail's friendship with Caroline. Having a narrator in the book makes it clear who is talking, but doesn't allow the reader to fully understand the other character's perspective as much. There are little bits of conversations in this book, but is mostly just the two girls and their life stories. I wouldn't say this book is a classic. It is a good read, but tends to get a little boring a drawn out at some times. Let's Take the Long Way Home is written for high schoolers. Even though the vocabulary isn't very complex, the topics are. Relationships and alcoholism are definitely geared toward hight school students.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Quotes (Erin) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"By then I was 30 years old, and I'd learned that courage in a bottle could get you throught all kinds of doors, and all kinds of troubles, and a lot of dead-end nights" pg 51 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Alcoholics- a word i couldnt even think of without shame and terror-were broken people who had drunk themselves into a corner, and the only way out for them was to give up the drink." pg 54 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"Jackie had dared to ask what i could not; my answer had let someone else in the room with al that fear, if only for a minute." pg 58 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"I had realized, as life is always willing to instruct, that the world as we see it is only the published version." pg 7 "'I'm afraid that no one will ever love me again.' He leaned toward me with a smile of great kindness on his face, his hands clasped in front of him, 'Don't you know' he asked gently, "the flaw is the thing we love." pg 72 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">"It was like covering a blackboard with writing every morning, and then that night erasing everything you'd leaned" pg 74

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Questions: (Kelsey) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. Gail seems to be attached to her dog, Clementine, why does she have so much sentimental value? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Gail is lonley and this her dog is the only thing that she can have a relationship with, because she shut out the world. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. "Of course you do, why wouldn't you? We have the same life."- How does this quote from Caroline describe her thoughts about her friendship with Gail? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Caroline thinks that Gail and herself are in the situation, lonely and depressed. They used drinking and drugs to solve their problems and now found eachother. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. What was the reason for Gail's drinking? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's the only thing that keeps her happy, the only thing that she thinks can make her happy. She thinks that she is unimportant in the world and uses drinking to make life's miseries better. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. Why do you think, everywhere Gail goes, she compares it to Texas? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Because its her home town and we think that she belongs there and not in a big a city. SHe needs to be back in an environment that she knows what to expect of. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. How do you think Gail's alcoholic past will affect her life and relationship with Caroline in the future? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We think that this will bring them closer together. Instead of their positives giving them something in common, their negatives are more affective.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Summary Of The Meeting (Dara) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This week, our group discussed how none of us are really enjoying this book. We talked seldom about the book, so there is not much to say. We had the idea brought to us by Mr. Morone to switch books, but we decided to just stick it out with, "Let's Take The Long Way Home," because maybe, and hopefully, it will start to get better. Of course we couldn't just say we hated this book with no reasoning. We decided that we disliked it because it has no true storyline to it, since it is about her life. I guess that helped us discover that we need to pick a book with a true storyline! Also, we agreed that we thought the relationship between Gail and her dog was a little bit creepy. Among the many things we dislike about this book, we discovered that each of us liked some of the topics being discussed. Things such as alcoholism, relationships, and just living life really sparked our interest. I think that if this story was written in more of a format to attract high school kids, we would really be able to enjoy this book!

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Week 3:
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kelsey- Quote Finder <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Alexa- Key Questioner <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dara- Group Leader <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Erin- Summary of Meeting

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Group Leader (Dara)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the mood or tone of your book.What is the overriding emotion of this book? What examples back up your claim? The mood of this book is simple. It's the value of friendship and the love of two people for each other. Love is the overriding emotion in this book. Gail and Caroline's relationship show us how we should all care for one another, to be happy and successful in life. The way they always walk together, and care for each other endlessly shows unconditional love. I don't think I've ever read about another woman who's cared so much about her friend, ever. I think if you can find someone like they found each other, you are successful in your life, no matter what.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Questions (Alexa) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. "It might be possible, I thought that night, to give up drinking and still be cool," is a quote from the text. Since this book was published in 2010, what does this quote say about drinking in today's society? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This quote tells us that people in today's society think they need to drink to be accepted. This especially shows in high school, where many kids who never thought that would drink, end up drinking at a party because of peer pressure. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. Do you think that Gail really is going to give up drinking forever after going to the AA class? How have the AA classes influenced her and is it for the better or the worse? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Yes, we think Gail will give up drinking after going to the AA class. We also think that these classes have had a positive influence on her, and it is definitely for the better. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. How can the woods be so important throughout the story and what did the woods resemble? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The woods are where they walked everyday. The woods resembled their common ground, because in the woods there were no boundaries, and they could be themselves. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. When do Caroline and Gail's differences make them into the people that they are today and what events change in their lives permanently change them? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Their relationships are like opposites attracting. They need one to balance out the other so they can both survive and be happy. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. Do you think the 8 year age difference is a major conflict in their relationship? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No, because they seem to be best friends, and age does not matter at all. We think since they are old enough, age stops mattering. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">6. Do you think Caroline and Gail have any sexual feelings for eachother? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We think they definitely have more in common and spend more time together than best friends do.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">﻿Quotes (Kelsey): <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. "These life lessons--about grace and autonomy, about how to love without giving away the farm--were crystalized for me in the woods with Caroline and the dogs." (page 83) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2."The dailiness of out alliance was both muted and essential: We were the lattice that made room for the rose." (page 89) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. "The equanimity didn't always reign; the closer we became, the less I was able to bear her smoking. I started hollering at her on the phone that day, after I'd been pressuring her about trying to quit and she'd asked me to back off..... 'You're eight years younger than I am, I cried, 'I don't want to have to bury you'. " (page 93) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. "The competition we fostered, alone and together, became a pleasure rather than a hindrance: Er brought out rivalry into the light and tried to tame it." (page 98) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. " 'I'm afraid I'll fail you,' I said on day, with great seriousness; my German shepherd spirit at the ready, I had already turned a lark into a challenge of enormous weight." (page 103)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Summary of the Meeting: (Erin) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In this week's book club, we continued to discuss how we hated Let's Take the Long Way Home. We all agree the mood of the book continues to be an uninteresting one. We talked about how the AA meetings are changing Gail for the better. Our group thinks that the relationship between Gail and Caroline is weird. We think it goes beyond the point of being a friendship. We all think that their relationship may not be romantic, but the amount of time they spend with each other is a little pushy to just be considered a friendship. It's hard for any of us to relate to the things in this book, mainly because none of us have ever gone through anything like this, and being so young we haven't experienced friendships or relationships to this extent. We all continue to agree that this book is definitely not meant for our age group. Our group did come to agree that although this book isn't the least bit appealing to us, or probably anyone in our age group, there is a chance that people could enjoy it. We agreed it is definitely aimed at people with experiences similar to Gail, and readers with more life experience than us. We aren't completely shutting out the fact that this book could turn around, but we see little chance for redemption. At the end of this book, we are definitely writing a negative review on amazon.com because at this point, because we don't like it!

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Week 4:
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kelsey- Summary of Meeting <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Alexa- Quote Finder <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dara- Key Questioner <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Erin- Group Leader

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kelsey (Summary of the Meeting)- <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The morning started off as a slow one. It was starting to snow and everyone was showing up late. Slowly, but surely, my group members strolled into class. All except for Alexa. Even though she wasn't there, she did her work and found fantastic quotes. That was the first thing we discussed on that Friday morning. A similar topic had come up in our conversation, how we didn't like the book. After we had talked about Alexa's quotes, we answered Dara's questions. The same topic came up again. Enough was enough, we decided that we needed to get the bottom of why we didn't like it. We then had a 25 minute discussion of the reasons we didn't like it. They started of being about the plot, how there was none and the story was going no where. Then we started to talk about the two girls' relationship and how it was getting really creepy. We felt that they were a little closer than just friends. The discussion moved to the topic of the dogs and how it was almost too coincidental that they were walking their dogs on the same day at the same time in the same park. We felt that the author might have stretched the truth, more places than others. Another heated topic we talked about was that we weren't old enough to appreciate this book. We all agreed that this book helped us for the future in picking out books age appropriate.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Alexa- Quote Finder <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. Page 112 "Overwhelmed by more dire emergencies, the hospital staff gave me a cane and called me a cab. In the tree hours I had been there, never once did it occur to me, which a phone four feet away from where I lay, to call Caroline or anyone else for help." Page 126-"SCRATCH A FANTASY and you'll find a nightmare. This was one of Caroline's favorite saying, spoken originally in regard to a mutual friend, a woman who had chased a dream life abroad and wound up trapped and unhappy." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. Page 133- "THE MORNING OF September 11, I awoke to two voices simultaneously: the BBC announcer on the radio, reporting that the first plane had hit the World Trade Center, and my friend Pete on my answering machine, saying, 'By now you probably know what's happened.' The next ten minutes were the chaos of comprehension. " <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. Page 136- "'This is what life turns out to be.' We were all living those days inside Auden's vision of Icarus. Even with a boy falling form the sky, the ships sailed calmly on." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. Page 137- It's taken years for me to understand that dying doesn't end the story; it transforms it. Edits, rewrites, the blur and epiphany of one-way dialogue. Most of us wander in and out of one another's lives until not death, but distance,does us part-time and space and the hart's weariness are the blander executioners of human connection. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. Page 162-"I met a deadline the day of the night she died. Not because I was acting tough, but because I knew she would die in the next twenty-four hours and that afterward I would collapse, and for now writing would buy me three or four hours in a relatively pain-free zone. I wrote that day because ti was the only think I knew to do, and I suspect it's what she would have wanted, and would have done herself. "

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dara- Key Questioner <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. Have you ever had a friendship similar to Gail and Caroline's? How does having a true friend make you feel? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">No, we feel that this book is directed towards older readers, therefore targeting their experiences and relationships, which we can't relate to because are young. None of us have had enough life experience to make, or know if we had a connection as strong as they had. With this reasoning, we don't know how to feel about their relationship. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. In what ways do you think Caroline's death affected Gail? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She lost her best friend, the person she related most too, and the person she was so attached to. She felt like her other half was missing and with her other half missing she felt like there was no reason to live. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. Do you agree with the quote "dying doesn't end the story; it transforms it?" Why or why not? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">We agree because with Caroline's death, it was hard for Gail to move on, but she ended up being in a better state of mind. She described in the book how she has learned so much from Caroline and she takes so much away with this loss. Yes, she is sad, but Gail's story will continue on, giving her guidance in future decisions. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. What emotions do you think were going through Gail while Caroline was sick? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">She felt regretful for not making her quit smoking. Gail felt that she had a burden on her shoulder and Caroline had looked out for her so many years and, when it came down to it, she couldn't return the favor. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. What do you think it takes to truly conquer and addiction? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Even though we've never experienced this because we are only young children, we've learned from their addictions that having someone to care for is needed. They will stay with you until you quit, even in the hard times. It is much easier to conquer an addiction with someone you love than being alone.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Erin- Group Leader <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The themes discussed in this book are friendship, attachment, and loyalty. Throughout the story, it's clear how much their friendships mean to each other. They soon become attached to each other. They have so much loyalty to each other because how strong their friendship is and how much it means to one another. Some of the images used to display this are the walks, and the dogs. The walks they take every day represent their devotion to each other and their dogs. The walks are also a significant representation of their friendship, and how committed and attached they are to their strong friendship. The dogs represent their loyalty. Gail and Caroline love their dogs more than anything, and their life revolves around each other and their dogs. The dogs show how much devotion they can give to a single thing, proving their loyalty. I think the author uses these re-occuring images in order to enforce how great and influential their friendships became on each other.

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<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Week 5:
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kelsey- Group Leader <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Alexa- Summary of Meeting <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dara-Quote Finder <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Erin- Key Questioner

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Kelsey (Group Leader)- On your group's wiki page, discuss your final reflections on this book. Was there a moral or ultimate message to the text? Would you recommend the text to peers? Why or why not? Has this topic been discussed more/less effectively in another book or books? Should this book be considered for the school's curriculum? Will this book go down in history as an "all-time classic" or will it be quickly forgotten? Week after week we have read and analyzed this book and every week we have put this book into the category of books that when we are done with them, go on the highest shelf, and don't ever come down. This book, unlike others, did not have a plot. There was no story line to the book and we had nothing to look forward to. However there was a message, the message was to inform the reader, that friendship is key in life. Without friendship, most of us have nothing to live for. We need that one person to push us to do our best and make us who we are today. Some may say that they are independent, but everyone needs a shoulder to cry on when the going gets tough. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I would NOT recommend this book to my peers. As teens we look for adventure, love, and a twisted plot that keeps our minds running and asking for more. This book did not fulfill these traits. However, I would suggest this book to an older female audience. This book is about life's battles and even though we are not old enough to understand this, adults might. This book has been discussed in other books frequently, but not like this. It makes me appreciate other books even more. I feel that the author tried to be like the other books with relating situations in the book to the reader's life. These connections did not occur when i was reading. This book should not be considered for the school's curriculum because it is more focused on adults and their journeys. This book is not appropriate for a younger audience. Lastly, this book will quickly be forgotten, for it did not catch the minds of us, or others and will not withstand those sagas and series out there on the best-selling lists.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Erin (Key Questioner)- <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. What are some lessons learned in this book? What lessons about friendship? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">a) There are a lot of life lessons in this book, an example of this is that you can't dwell on the past, just move on and learn from your mistakes. Bring your experiences to the future and let them guide you to make the right decisions. Friendship lessons is that you always need that one shoulder to cry on and that you can't take it for granted. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. In the book the author mentions that someone said to her "the flaw is the thing we love." Do you agree? Can you relate it to your own life? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">a) We agree with this because we always find things in each other that makes us feel bigger. We use each other as sort of a personality boost. We can relate this to our lives because we are teenagers and we all go through life experiences. However we don't have the same experiences as the adults in this book. We have our personality issues and always think lower of ourselves, so we find things in other people to put them down on. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. What are some of the things Gail learned through the death and grieving of her best friend? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">a) She learned that all good things come to an end, like her friendship with Caroline. She also learned that good things will always prosper and continue to grow. She knows that even though Caroline is dead, she will learn from her and take what she has learned and apply it to her new life, without Caroline. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. After reading about their friendship, do you have any friends who can fit this criteria? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">a) No, we are not mature and old enough to have witnesses this. Yes, we have have friends, best friends, but we have not found that one person who keeps us going. We have enough self-motivation to get ourselves through the ups and down of life. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. Caroline and Gail become such good friends because of the bond they are able to create around their dogs, do you think having something to base your friendship around is necessary for a friendship to thrive? Does having a common ground help? Why or why not? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">a) Yes, we think that you have to have a common ground or there will be nothing to base your friendship off of. You need that something that you can talk about on your friday nights or something that you can always gush about. Wether it be gossip, or boys there is always something in a friendship that keeps the spark in life.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Dara- Quotes <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1. "I know now that we never get over great losses; we absorb them, and they carve us into different, often kinder, creatures." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. "I found myself doubting or dismissing the intensity of our friendship, as though I could discard the love and therefore skip the pain." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. "What that definition left out was the body blow that loss inflicts, as well as the temporary madness, and a range of less straightforward emotions shocking in their intensity." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">4. "The body, brilliant machine, knows how and when to close up the shop." <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">5. "I sat on the porch and talked to her, as I had talked to Caroline after she was gone and to Clemmie throughout her life."

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Alexa- Summary of the Meeting <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well this is round two of writing this because I just deleted the whole wiki, but thankfully got it all back. Our meeting this week started out with bagels a drinks. Then we started our discussion and the first thing we always talk about is what we didn't like about the pages of the text we read. This can go on for quite a while. We finally moved forward to discuss the quotes. One quote really made us think and it read "I found myself doubting or dismissing the intensity of our friendship, as though I could discard the love and therefore skip the pain." We also talked about question number five for a while about how common group is a great was to form the base of a relationship. Throughout the meeting, we decided that the book was one of the driest books we have ever read. By driest, we mean that it was boring, didn't have a consistent plot, and didn't make the reader think. We all said that we found ourselves counting down how many pages we had to read while we were trying to finish up the book. I feel asleep numerous times while trying to read the book, which says a lot about how interesting this book was. We figured that the book wasn't that bad, it was bad, but just not right for our age group. While choosing our next book, I think that we should now read further into the reviews and not just what the book is about. We will definitely take more time while figuring out what to read for the third marking period and I hope we make a better decision! :)