idknowyouanywhere

__** RULES & REGULATIONS: **__ Throughout this book club, each individual member is expected to follow these rules and put all their efforts into the book discussions, evenly distributing the work. If one member of the group does not live up to the expectations of the group, they will not receive credit for the assignment. Each person is expected to read the given amount of pages and make their best effort to analyze the book on their own. Unless there is a legitimate reason, there should be no excuse for not reading or failing to complete the given tasks, having plenty of time to complete them. Each individual is also responsible for their own work and shouldn't burden the other members by not completing their roles on their own. However, the group members can assist each other in understanding the book and further explaining the specific tasks of each role. Each person should also be able to complete their assignment on time, instead of procrastinating. Again, if the individual does not follow these regulations, they simply will not receive credit for that week. The only exception to this is if they did contribute to the group, but didn't put an equal amount of effort into their assignment as the other group member. In this case, the "slacker" of the group may not be penalized, but they may have to make up by doing extra work the following week. -Caitlin & Hana

__** GUIDELINES: **__ -each book will be divided into chapters, so we will read them by a few chapters a week -keep tasks and assignments organized

__** WEEK 1 - October 1: **__ -A & D = Hana -B & C = Caitlin

(Hana): The family had spent much of their time in London before coming back to America because Eliza wanted to escape her dreadful past. She wanted to completely erase all of the unwanted memories from her summer of 1985, when she was kidnapped at the age of fifteen. In addition, she hoped that by raising her two children, Iso and Albie, in London, they would not be affected by her childhood. Along with the fact that she wanted to protect her precious kids by moving to London, she also married a successful husband, changing her last name, as well as her first name to Eliza, instead of Elizabeth. In conclusion, Eliza felt safe with her new identity and her whole family living happily in London, which is why they had spent many years there.
 * Caitlin's Questions: **
 * Question 1 (Caitlin): What was the purpose of having the family spend so much of their time in London? **

(Hana): I think the author purposely described Iso as a "rebellious" teenager to show the similarities, yet the differences between Iso and Eliza. While Iso seemed to have a certain control over her own mom, Eliza seems to ignore her rude behavior and attend to her needs. However, Eliza seems to be doing this not to purposely spoil her daughter, but to avoid any arguments that might damage their relationship. Furthermore, the author seems to indirectly relate Iso to Eliza, who was also a rebel who wanted to do whatever she pleased, but didn't have the audacity to try anything too irrational or dangerous. Most importantly, the author shows how even though they both had similar characteristics, Iso lived a rather normal, typical teenage life, where Eliza had been traumatized by her kidnapping incident when she was fifteen.
 * Question 2 (Caitlin): What do you think the author's purpose of Iso's attitude is? **

Question: On your group's wiki page, describe the main characters in your text. What makes them interesting? What is their story or background? Why are you drawn to them? Conversely, are there any characters that you just cannot stand? Why not? (A)
 * Additional Response Questions (Hana): **
 * Eliza Benedict: Eliza's background really caught our attention because even though she was a normal, teenage girl, she had been kidnapped at the age of fifteen. Although we couldn't imagine what it was like to have something so traumatizing happen to someone our age, we were surprised when she began comparing the summer of the kidnapping to her tranquil, suburban life that she now lived. As she refers back to the details of her past, we began to realize the huge impact that it had on both her past and her present. Not only are we eager to know how she will respond to Walter Bowman's letter (if she even decides to respond to him at all), we can't wait to discover how she will finally resolve her problem and look forward to seeing her build up her courage as she once again faces her worst nightmare.
 * Peter Benedict (Eliza's husband): Eliza's husband was a successful man, who had married Eliza despite her horrible past. Even though we don't know much about his past, we were touched by his affectionate gestures towards Eliza. His comfortable, friendly aura drew us closer to his personality, and we admired how he didn't run away or avoid her problem, but simply consoled her and showed how concerned he was when she told him about the letter from Walter Bowman. However, he still decides to support her in her decisions, no matter what she plans to do about Walter's unexpected approach.
 * Iso: Iso was described as a slightly obnoxious, selfish, and sometimes bossy girl, yet seemed fairly innocent and naive. Even though her rude behavior towards her mom made us dislike her rebellious personality, we found it amusing that she put up a tough facade, yet she didn't have enough courage to disobey her mom or do anything too bold or daring. At first, Caitlin and I both couldn't stand her and discussed how bratty she acted, but later on, we realized that she was only a thirteen year old girl. Therefore, her ill-mannered behavior seemed appropriate due to her young age. Although she is currently going through the first stages of an adolescent teenage girl, we looked forward to seeing her mature throughout the book.
 * Albie: Both Iso and Albie had grown up in London, but while Iso changed from an obedient girl to a "rebellious" teenager, Albie seemed slowly mature when he was only eight years old. Not only was he able to quickly adjust to his new environment after moving back to America, he also learned not to bother his sensitive sister and listen to his mom's instructions. On the other hand, due to his curious nature, he frequently asked questions that Eliza found hard to answer, and he seemed very eager to go out and explore the world. We both adored Albie, wanting to keep him as a little brother, but wondered if he would also change if he became a teenage boy.
 * Walter Bowman: Even though all we know about Walter Bowman is that he kidnapped Eliza when she was fifteen and was currently in jail with a death sentence, we were very absorbed by his mysterious character. His sudden attempt to carefully make contact with one of his victims was interesting, making us wonder what his hidden motives were. Overall, despite the fact that Walter seems like the "bad guy" in the story, he seems to be the most complicated and fascinating character in the whole book.

1. “And then- just in case she didn’t fully remember the full name of the man who kidnapped her the summer she was fifteen and held her hostage for almost six weeks, just in case she might have another acquaintance on death row, just in case she had forgotten the man who killed at least two other girls and was suspected of killing many others, yet let her live, just in case all of this slipped her mind- he added helpfully: (Walter Bowman)” (Lippman 14). 2. “I hate how swiftly everyone moves now, how glib everyone has become. We need to think more, not more quickly” (Lippman 65).
 * Two Quotes (Caitlin): **

At first, Caitlin and I had no idea how to start off our book club meeting, so we were a bit frantic for the first few minutes of class. However, once we began to discuss some of the questions Caitlin came up with, we slowly began to share our opinions about the book. We started off by simply answering some of the response questions and jotting down notes. We then talked about the quotes and realized that even though it had given away a lot about Eliza's past without even reading the story, by reading the book, we were able to go in depth and dig deeper into the details of her terrible past. We also agreed that even though neither of us had ever been kidnapped, we could relate to some of the characters' thoughts, rather than their experiences. In addition, we thought it was rather confusing how the author kept switching back and forth between the present and the past. However, we were more interested in reading about Eliza's past, which explained why her past had such an impact on her future and helped us to understand the characters more. Despite the fact that some parts of the story were boring, we couldn't wait until our next book club to discuss what would happen to Eliza and her family and discover what Walter's true motive were. Overall, by the end of our first discussion, we both agreed that it was relaxing to eat our breakfast while discussing our book and thought the first book club meeting was very productive.
 * Summary of Book Discussion (Hana): **

__** WEEK 2 - October 8: **__ -A & D = Caitlin -B & C = Hana

**Hana's Questions:**
 * Question 1 (Hana): Why do you think Walter let Eliza live? **
 * Walter let Eliza live, because he felt some sort of connection and pity for her. He indicates in the book how he sees a lot of himself in Elizabeth, therefore killing her would be like killing and giving up on himself. Walter mentioned in the book how he almost wanted to kill Elizabeth, but at the same time he felt that Elizabeth was special and different. She behaved when he told her too, and it was almost like finally having someone listen to him. She made him feel more intelligent and creative with the stories she told and read.
 * Question 2 (Hana): Based on what happened in the story so far, why do you think Walter decides to contact Eliza now? **
 * There are two sides to why Walter contacted Elizabeth now. One side is to possibly receive forgiveness from her and the other is to possibly get to her and her children, specifically Iso. He has a short life span left, therefore he is wiling to do any reckless thing imaginable. It would make sense if Walter was almost mentally insane. He has been in prison for approximately fifteen years, therefore he has had a great amount of time to plan whatever devious act he wanted to. Getting Eliza'a forgiveness is the first step in his plan to get to either her whole family, or her daughter, Iso. Part of Walter might genuinely want Eliza's forgiveness, however the majority of his motive is to get to her family or to use her ot get out of jail.
 * Question 3 (Hana): What was Walter's "issue" with women? **
 * It has been indicated since the beginning of the book that Walter has issues with women. He always thought of himself as a good-looking and attractive person. Walter could not figure out what was wrong with him that girls did not want to be with him. However, that was his main problem. He thought too highly of himself and the girls he encountered did not appreciate his cockiness. This characteristic then elevated into something greater. Walter eventually turned everything around which made him believe that it was not him with the issue, but it was the women he was pursuing. This then led to him completely changing his mindset into thinking that by killing the women that did not appreciate him, it was taking a burden off of everyone.

Our book uses a few complex words, but overall, it is fairly easy to comprehend what the author is trying to explain. The author's use of vocabulary also enhances the plot of the book, filling the reader in on the intricate details that piece together the ultimate mystery. In addition, even though the book has a few conversational parts when two characters are e-mailing each other, but otherwise, the story is mostly told as a narrative. Not only does it include flashbacks, often referring back to the past every other chapter, but the book also presents both sides of the two main characters -- Walter and Eliza. Because both characters use pretty common vocabulary and speak and think with a kind of simple-mindedness, it is easier for the reader to understand what is going on. Therefore, although the constant change from the past to the present may be confusing at times, the vocabulary and format of the book is straight-forward enough, and I have no doubt that everyone our age, from young adult readers to adult teens, could definitely read this book without any difficulties.
 * Additional Response Questions: **
 * 1. On your group's wiki page, discuss the type of language that your book contains. Is it easy to read? Conversational? "Classic"? Does it use a lot of words you don't understand? What grade level do you think the book is written at, and why? **

- "She decided to write Walter a letter, nothing more...A letter would be private, final," (Lippman 60). - "Walter never said anything that he didn't want to say. He hated, more than anything, to be forced into saying he was wrong, no matter how small the matter," (Lippman 65). - "Elizabeth wanted to say: "He's not my boyfriend! I've never had a boyfriend! I'm more like you than you think, except I'm not old enough to work or drive a car." He had kept squeezing her hand. It seemed to her at the time that he managed to exert just enough pressure to let her know that, in the next squeeze, he would crush every bone in her hand if she disobeyed him," (Lippman 70). - " "Shush," he said. "With time, when I can trust you, it won't have to be like this. But you have to earn my trust, okay? You earn my trust and you can have all sorts of freedoms. But if you wrong me, I'll kill you and your whole family. I'll kill your family while you watch, then kill you. Don't think I won't," (Lippman 72). - "This girl was the only one who could hurt him. Yet there was something about her, struggling to choke down her eggs, that reminded him of someone. 'She's like me,' he thought. She's polite and nice she does her best, and people don't hear her, don't pay attention," (Lippman 84). - "Peter never wondered why she was the lucky one. He took it for granted that she was, and he was glad for it. "We don't ponder why lightning strikes where it does," he said once," (Lippman 95). - "He wanted something from her. A visit, a call. He wanted something, and if she didn't submit, he would find a way to use Iso and Albie to get it," (Lippman 124). - " "She'd be begging, begging for it," he said. "But still, I would make her wait. A woman like Maureen, she needs to be broken down. That's what the book is trying to explain. Women have to wait. Their anatomy dictates that. They wait, they receive. Men pursue, men give" " (Lippman 134).
 * Quotes (Hana): **

Walking into class on Friday morning was enjoyable, because, once again, Hana and I brought in Starbucks and bagels. We had great confidence for the book club meeting which would soon start. I took a gander at our wiki page and came across a problem. Hana was confused and had already started answer the discussion questions posted on the wiki by Mr. Morone. Hana and I quickly solved this issue and got back to the book discussion. Hana and I started discussing the book by thoroughly going over the quotes Hana had posted on our wiki page. The discussion went wonderfully and we even linked together a couple of the quotes Hana had posted. After that, we examined the questions Hana posted. This is when our discussion became rather intense and we started to make predictions and discuss how we felt about the book. Hana only like the chapters from the past. She thinks they are better, more interesting as of right now, and builds up the suspense a little better. In regards to the chapters in the present, Hana thinks they a a little slow and kind of boring. My perspective is actually the same as Hana's. I think the past chapters are much more interesting than the chapters in the present. The mystery keeps the story going. Also, we predict that at one point in the novel, the past and present will come together as one. Overall, I do believe that our book discussion was very successful.
 * Summary of Book Discussion (Caitlin): **

__** Week Three: October 15 **__ Cait: B & C Hana: A & D

(Hana): I think that the author began to switch from one character to another in order to reveal their perspective on certain events, such as the Holly's tragic death or Walter kidnapping Eliza. In addition, during each new chapter, a different character would share their opinions about certain people or their outlook on specific situations. For example, Trudy, Holly's mother, strongly believed that Walter deserved the death penalty. She was also convinced that the death of her daughter was partially Eliza's fault, and therefore, she resented both Walter and Eliza. Furthermore, the author was clever enough to have each character uncover a small part of the mystery in order to piece together the missing puzzle pieces to the story behind what Walter had done to Eliza, Holly, and several of his other victims.
 * Questions: (Caitlin) **
 * 1. Why do you think the author began to switch from character to character? **

(Hana): I don't think that Walter had a devious plan because throughout the chapters we read, he showed no intentions of harming Eliza or her family. In fact, he was worried about her well-being and carefully approached her because he didn't want her to feel threatened or pressured to talk to him. However, although I doubt that he is literally an insane man with no moral virtues or logical reasoning, I think he is a bit irrational when it comes to his thoughts about women or the unwavering fact that he is always right, while everyone else simply doesn't understand his "logical" point of view.
 * 2. Do you think Walter has a devious plan thought out on what he is doing, or do you think he is just literally insane? Why? **

(Hana): What is the overriding emotion of this book? What examples back up your claim? (A) This book is overwhelmed with contempt, sadness, and a touch of sympathy. Without a doubt, many readers will probably feel contempt, disgusted by Walter's irresponsible and inexcusable crimes. (Besides the fact that he murdered several girls and kidnapped Eliza, he also "betrayed" her by raping her the last night before he was arrested.) Others might feel sadness after they figure out that Walter had killed the lives of many young and innocent women, who could have lived a more fulfilling life. Moreover, a majority of the readers might feel sympathy for Eliza, Walter, and Trudy (Holly's mother). While Eliza had been the one who was kidnapped and had to face her horrible past once again, Trudy had nothing to look back on because her daughter had already died. On the other hand, while it was too late for Trudy to do anything to restore her precious daughter's life, Walter had a chance to become a new person while he was in prison for so many years. As a result of his consequences, he had become a much decent human being by learning from his mistakes. However, as his life comes to a rather tragic end, some of the readers may not be able to help themselves from feeling the slightest bit of sympathy for this murderer and kidnapper, who had the heart to apologize to Eliza and contemplate his mistakes. Overall, with the building suspense in each page of this book, I believe that most readers will feel anticipation and almost excitement as they rapidly flip through each chapter to finally unravel the mystery.
 * Additional Response Questions (Hana): **

"It was a glorious fall day, and Old Town Alexandria was its most precious self. Scarlet and gold leaves drifted to the sidewalks, almost as if the town were a theater set and someone was leaning out of the sky with a box of silken fakes, throwing them down at suitable intervals. The day, the neighborhood, shone- shop windows gleaming, delicious smells wafting from the restaurants, people strolling aimlessly, as if they had no greater responsibilities than to acknowledge the loveliness of it all. God, how she hated it," (Lippman 173). "Ugly as a mud fence, as the saying went, and the fact that Walter had never seen a mud fence didn't get between him and understanding that phrase. His mother said his sister was plain, but Belle- unfortunate name- was ugly, aggressively so, with a lazy eye and a big nose and a witchlike chin. She had been lucky to find a man who wanted to marry her. A decent-looking guy at that, who made a good living. Some men just didn't respect themselves" (Lippman 187). "The next time they talked, he resolved he would say 'I'm sorry' first thing. No small talk, no edging into the conversation. He would say the words he had never been allowed to say to her, one on one, the words that had been burned in his throat and his chest all these years...No, he had to blurt it out, straight and true: 'I'm sorry.' Then maybe she would finally say she was sorry, too" (Lippman 191).
 * Quotes: (Caitlin) **

To start off our third book discussion, Caitlin and I enjoyed eating our bagels and Starbucks, sitting comfortably in our seats. Even before taking the first bite of our delicious breakfast, we began to immediately discuss our opinions about how the plot was progressing so far. In this particular discussion, we came to an agreement that although the story was a bit boring at first, the author was able to quickly draw our attention as she began to describe, in detail, the events of Eliza's past. A few minutes later, we discussed the quotes, going into detail about what we each felt or what first came to mind after coming across those particular sentences. In addition, while going over Caitlin's quotes and questions, we both began to realize how well we were able to cooperate, as I began taking notes while we shared our insights. Furthermore, because the main topic of this week was the mood and tone of the book, we also briefly discussed how we felt after reading certain passages or chapters (since a lot of the mystery began to unravel in the chapters we had read this week). In conclusion, we ended our discussion by assigning a few chapters to read by the end of next week, which brought our (productive) meeting to a final closure.
 * Summary of Book Discussion (Hana): **

__** Week Four: October 22 **__ Hana: B & C Caitlin: A & D

Barbara is so adamant on saving Walter because she has grown feelings for Walter over the time she has been helping him. Barbara has never seen Walter and has only spoken to him over the phone, yet she does all Walter's "creepy" jobs for him. Jobs such as finding out every little detail regarding Eliza fall under the category of being a "creepy stalker". She does all of this dirty work for Walter because somehow, in her insane mind, she has developed these one-sided feelings for Walter. One-sided meaning Walter does not reciprocate these same feelings towards Barbara. In fact, Barbara is most definitely not the first person Walter goes to just to talk to. Walter does not even like her voice or thinks she is pretty. Barbara has also developed a hatred towards Eliza because Walter focuses so much more energy towards Eliza.
 * Hana's Questions: **
 * 1. Why do you think Barbara LaFortuny is so intent on saving Walter's life? Why does she seem to pay more attention to his case than any other? **

Walter's desperation to see Eliza in person comes form the idea that Eliza will be able to get him off of the death penalty. Conversations over the phone and through letters are not as personal and emotionally intense as the one sin person are. Walter would almost be trapping Eliza into agreeing to help him out. Walter also seemed to believe that Eliza was the same obeying and vulnerable girl she was when she was fifteen, however he is very much so mistaken. Eliza has become stronger and she actually has even hinted to herself that Walter is playing a game with her. This would also back up the fact that there may not even be a secret, or the secret is just being blown way out of proportion. This whole scenario of Walter having to tell Eliza a secret, but it can be only told in person, seems to back up the fact that Walter is just trying to get out of dying. There may be a little secret, for example how holly died, but it may be a secret that does not necessarily matter as much anymore.
 * 2. Why do you think Walter seems so desperate for Eliza to visit him in prison? What do you think the "secret" is that he has to tell her? **

There is a big difference between changing for appearance and actually changing deep down inside, and Walter has changed more for appearances. He has not changed as dramatically as Walter or Barbara explains it. This whole "i have changed" act has been put on to influence Eliza's part in getting Walter out of the death penalty. Walter might have changed a little bit, but not much. He has become sorry for his crimes, however he still does not believe that any of it is his fault. Walter still believes, and always will believe, that he did it all to protect himself.
 * 3. Do you think that Walter has indeed changed over the course of time/during his time in prison? Do you think it was just an "act" to persuade Eliza that he was a better person now so he could talk to her? **

What are some of the images that are used? What do they seem to represent? Why do you think the author uses these images to convey his or her meaning? (A) There have been a few images and symbols throughout reading this book. Eliza symbolizes how the past never really goes away, especially when it was a very troubled past. This symbol or motif represents the idea that your past will never disappear, therefore one should skate on think ice because the second one does something they may regret, one will have to suffer the consequences of her past. Laura Lippman conveys this symbol in Eliza because she now had the "perfect life". Eliza had the perfect husband, the children, the nice home, the European experience. However, out of the blue, Walter come back into her life. This just proves that nothing will evr be "perfect" and that secrets will always come back to haunt you. Secrets are another image used in this story. Eliza keeps the secret of her passed from her children and she keeps the secret of her reasoning for seeing Walter from Walter's lawyer. Walter also keeps secret. Walter has this huge "secret" he insists on telling Eliza in person, along with the secrets about certain things towards Barbara and his lawyer. The author conveyed the image of secrecy within Walter and Eliza because Walter and Eliza have the strongest relationship between each other, because of the history they have together.
 * Additional Response Questions: (Caitlin) **

--- "Walter was good-looking, at least in photographs. Less so in person, but she had never seen him in person. She may not admit it, but LaFortuny was motivated by something more than a principled stand against the death penalty" (Lippman 244). ---"Peter saw their decision as strategy, nothing more, but Eliza was also protecting herself against perception that she was being played Walter, that he was toying with her. She would not be surprised if Walter was luring her to the prison with a promise he had no intention of keeping. Oh, he would tell her something, reveal some nugget of information that fell short of full disclosure, then argue the technicality, claim she had misunderstood. Walter was like a ten-year-old boy that way" (Lippman 260). ---"She wanted to believe him. Yet--if Walter had changed, could he answer her other questions? Would he remember the man he was and why he had treated her differently from the others? Assuming there was a new Walter, could he explain the old one?" (Lippman 262). ---"She could tell she and Peter were both weighted down by the secret they had withheld from Blanding...She was doing the right thing for the right reason. Almost" (Lippman 264). ---"Change the sound track and the setting and it might look terrifying, Eliza thought. But did that work the other way around? Were there terrible things that could appear lovely if framed differently?" (Lippman 265).
 * Quotes (Hana): **

Our book club meeting this past Friday morning began like any other. We automatically jumped into our opinion of the book and certain parts of the book the we either did or did not like. Hana and I had to stop ourselves form being opinionated so we would be able to formally begin our meeting and discuss the necessary aspects and go over the questions and quotes for this past week. We initially began to discuss how long our responses have to be because I was a little confused on that this week. We then began going over and discussing the questions Hana came up with. The discussion revolved around the quotes then followed the questions. This is where Hana and I realized that, unexpectedly, most of the quotes found by Hana supported our responses to the questions thought up by Hana. After that we began answering the assignment question for this week. I then brought up the subject of Trudy Tackett because I thought her character had become very interesting. We discussed how weird, cold-hearted, and over the top Trudy was and how much she holds a grudge. We both found it very interesting how Trudy blames her daughter's death on Eliza, even though Eliza was powerless in that specific situation. This then contributed to her hatred towards Eliza and her happy family and Trudy's feeling of wanting to burn down Eliza's house. Hana and I both agree that the book has gotten a lot better and that it makes more sense now. The characters are becoming more intense and everything is finally beginning to piece together. We talk about how Eliza has become a much stronger person in her adult life as the book progresses and then we both relate our punishments to the punishments Eliza gave Iso for the first time. Overall, this past discussion was very successful because we were both able to discuss more regarding the closure between characters and their relationships. Instead of having several questions, we have a lot more answers.
 * Summary of Group Discussion (Caitlin): **

__** Week Five - October 29: **__ Caitlin: B&C Hana: A&D

Hana: At first, it had almost seemed as if Walter had wanted to see Eliza to apologize or possibly to fully confess his crimes. However, as several days passed and the final date of his execution drew near, Walter became more and more desperate to see her. Towards the end of the book, I was able to confirm my suspicions about Walter's hidden motives. It was indeed true that Walter had only wanted to meet up with her in person in hopes of persuading her to testify against his murder. Ultimately, his goal had been to use her to help save his life. Furthermore, because he had been so distraught, wanting nothing more than to live, he had managed to convince himself that he had never pushed Holly off the mountain. Instead, he insisted that her clumsiness was what had caused her to plunge to her death. Again, this only made him seem more pitiful and showed just how stubborn he was in believing that he was always right no matter what.
 * Caitlin's Questions: **
 * 1. Why was Walter so desperate to see Eliza? Why do you think he was so stubborn? **

Yes, I think that Lippman made it an important detail of the book for Vonnie to go along with Eliza, instead of Peter. Although Peter was the more reliable, dependable, and responsible compared to Eliza's sister, if Peter had gone with her instead, he would have taken control of the situation. However, because Eliza had gone with her less determined sister, Eliza was able to gain her own self confidence and stand up for herself. By the end of the story, the author also showed that she was able to defend herself and protect her family without relying on Peter all the time. In addition, besides the fact that this showed a particular character development in Eliza, it also revealed the loving relationship between her and her sister, showing how they had grown much closer to each other over time.
 * 2. Do you think the author had any real purpose sending Vonnie along with Eliza to see Walter, rather than Peter? **

After reading this book, my partner and I were able to find a few important messages in the text. One of the most obvious message was that you should always learn from your past experiences. This had pertained to both Walter and Eliza; Walter had learned the seriousness and consequences of his crime, while Eliza had learned about the grave impact of her horrible past. However, through both of their past events, they were able to realize that although these bad memories seemed to only have a negative impact on their life, it also taught them to gain more knowledge and insight. For example, Walter was able to finally come to his senses, realizing that he was not always right and that he would not always have it his way. On the other hand, Eliza was reassured with the fact that she could not change her past; she could only have courage and face the unknown future. Besides the fact that this book stressed how the past would always come back to haunt you, the author also emphasized the cliche saying, "think before you act." In Eliza's case, she had never bothered to think about the real reason why Walter had so desperately wanted to see her, which ultimately lead her right to his treacherous trap to help him escape from the death penalty. Meanwhile, Walter had never thought about the own crimes he had committed by killing several girls. Instead, he had focused on blaming Eliza for Holly's murder, insisting that she was just as guilty because she never did anything to stop him. In conclusion, if Eliza had thought about Walter's motives before immediately going to see him, she wouldn't have had to suffer through the traumatizing experiences of her past once more, and if Walter had stopped to think of the consequences before murdering his victims absentmindedly, he would have never ended up in prison. Even though the book did have some very important underlying messages, after reading the entire story, my partner and I decided that we wouldn't strongly recommend the text to our peers, simply because it wasn't as exciting as we had hoped. Furthermore, we agreed that the author seemed to drag out the suspense for such a long time that we almost grew bored of the plot. In addition, although my group was almost positive that there were probably many stories about kidnapping, rape, and etc. neither of us could actually recall any that discussed this topic; we only assumed that, out of the many variety of books, there must be some other story that proved to be more suspenseful than this one. Furthermore, based on this, we did not think that the book should be considered for the school's curriculum, mainly because we felt that it would not appeal to the majority of the students, considering the fact that this book was direct more towards young teenage girls, rather than guys. We also assumed that if we didn't enjoy the book as much as we should have, most of our peers would probably feel the same way. In conclusion, even though we hoped that this book would not be quickly forgotten, my partner and I came to a consensus, thinking that this book would not go down in history as an "all-time classic" because compared to many other books we had read, it did not leave a lasting impression on either of us. Moreover, while we had originally thought it would be an unforgettable, life-changing story, the morals and messages were not as powerful as we had expected after we had read through the entire book.
 * Additional Response Questions (Hana): **
 * 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? **

"In that moment, Trudy understood the world at large had lost track of her daughter. It was the crime that people remembered, not the victim. Walter's execution would be the last chance to remind the world a singular life lost," (Lippman 288). "Elizabeth hadn't liked Holly. She was fearful of being displaced by her and- she was right to be. Holly was the one he wanted. Elizabeth was the one he got. Further proof that life wasn't fair," (Lippman 304). "Think about all the little crimes against humanity, all the rudeness and unkindness, that go unchecked, day in and day out, things done by people who thought of themselves as good, the same people who cheered and posted nasty Internet comments when a man like Walter was killed. They used words like animal and monster, openly yearned for more painful, sadistic executions. They were killers, too, cowardly ones who contracted their bloodlust over to the state, telling themselves that their murders were in the service of justice," (Lippman 328). "He wasn't wrong. Yet he wasn't right, either. He should have been good-looking. But there was something that caught at the corner of the eye, even when she was fifteen. Not like me, her mind had registered. Not someone I would know. But then- Holly had made the same judgment about her," (Lippman 342). "Her life had not been destroyed by Walter, far from it. She had an unusually good life, especially for these uncertain times. She had Peter, she had Albie and Iso. She had her parents- hale and hearty into their seventies. And, as the forty-eight hours had reminded her, she could even rely on Vonnie, impossible, exasperating Vonnie. What did she lack, what had been denied from her? The world at large. No truly close friends...Eliza didn't have friends because friendship led to trust and confidences," (Lippman 345). "And she started to cry. Because she was safe. Or, perhaps, because she realized she would never be safe again," (Lippman 349). "There it was, the thing she feared the most. She would be outed. Her past would become present, truth and lie would mingle, and she would spend the rest of her life explaining herself...It was everything Eliza had feared- and, she realized, she could handle it," (Lippman 354). "'Isn't living with my crimes, as an aware and remorseful person, more of a real punishment than killing me? Every day I'm alive, I have to think about what I did.'...'Do you? I mean, yes, every day is an opportunity for you to think about your victims, that doesn't mean it happens. I have a feeling, Walter, that the only person you've ever really thought about is yourself," (Lippman 355). "She knew him as well as she had ever known anyone, including her husband and children. Walter was all the gaps within her, the connective tissue that joined the two halves of her life. He was the neighborhood where she could never live again. He was the missing syllable, dropped from her name, yet forever a part of her, with her always, no matter what she called herself. God help her, she would know him anywhere," (Lippman 359).
 * Quotes (Caitlin): **

As usual, Caitlin and I brought bagels and Starbucks, which now seemed like a Friday ritual to us. However, we were less eager to discuss our book because we had already finished reading the entire story, only to find that the ending did not meet our high expectations. After discussing the quotes that Caitlin had already typed the night before, we talked about the questions that we answered together. This was done in detail since we now had no further questions about the book itself, since the author had already unraveled all the mysteries. Furthermore, after a heated discussion about how disappointed we were about the ending, Caitlin and I decided that we would be more careful about choosing our book next time and continued to arrange plans for our next book club. We ended our meeting earlier than usual, so we continued to talk about how we could improve our next book club meeting, by maintaining the order we had, and once again, we briefly went over the regulations, getting rid of and adding more rules to make our group run more smoothly. Overall, our last meeting ended with a nice closure, and we both couldn't wait until our second book club to start.
 * Summary of Book Discussion (Hana): **

__**END OF BOOK CLUB ONE! :/**__