In Han Nolan's Crazy, fifteen-year-old Jason's mother recently died and his father suffers from mental illness, and so it makes sense that Jason is a little bit unnerved by it all. Never fear--he has imaginary friends to help him deal! In a humorous but heart-wrenching story, Jason learns how to manage life as a teenager without support from parents.
CHAPTERS 1-5: Just a few quick thoughts and NO SPOILERS! I promise!!!!
ReplyDeleteToday is the first full week of summer vacation, and I can't think of a better way to start that with a good book! I took Crazy with me to the YMCA this morning. I read for 30 minutes as I rode an exercise bike, and I think I am going to REALLY like this book! I'll try to tell you a little bit about it without spoiling anything for you.
First of all, I read the first five chapter in 30 minutes, if that gives you any indication of how quickly this book goes.
It's about a boy Jason Papadopoulos, whose mother has recently died and his father is a little crazy (and I do mean that literally. Jason is trying to hide his father's mental state from everyone.)
Anyhow, one thing that is unusual about this book is that Jason tells the story as if he is talking to an audience. In his audience, he has the following characters:
Fat Bald Guy (or FBG for short): he is a minor character who writes theater reviews
Sexy Lady: Her main purpose is to tell Jason how hot he is all the time
Aunt Bee: If you watched The Andy Griffith Show, you will know who this is. She is a matronly old woman who gives motherly advice.
Crazy Glue: He is a kid (like Jason) who crazy glued his fingers together. He provides comic relief.
Anyhow, all of this got me to thinking, if I were to have an audience for my life, what TV characters would I choose? So far, this is what I am thinking:
Phoebe (from Friends), because her ditzyness makes me laugh like no other.
Barney (from How I Met Your Mother), because even though I find him repulsive, you need that one character who always says inappropriate things so you can roll your eyes at him.
Cliff Clavin (from Cheers) because he's a know-it-all and wrong in just so many ways.
Eric Camden (from Seventh Heaven). This is probably a little known show, but I did used to watch it and Eric Camden was the wise father/preacher. So, once I've laughed at Phoebe, rolled my eyes at Barney, and scoffed at Cliff, I need that one person with sage advice I can actually listen to.
How about YOU? If you were to have an audience for your life (people that you talked to in your head like Jason does), who would YOU choose and why???
Chapters 6-10 (There may be a few spoiilers here, but hopefully not too many!) I've been trying to slow down in my reading so people can catch up with me, but frankly the book is so good that I'm having a hard time putting it down!
ReplyDeleteI mainly have one comment and one question for this section of the reading.
My comment is, I love how there is Greek mythology in this book. It makes me so glad that we studied The Odyssey so that we can understand the mythological allusions. That has been helpful for me to make the connections, like when Jason's father thinks Jason is Apollo coming home from the war. Or also when his father thinks the Furies are after him (and are the Furies the same thing as the Sirens from the Odyssey?)
Here is my question: I get that Jason is writing the school advice column as A. Nonny Mous (or "Mouse" for short). So far I like his advice and think he's doing a great job with it. But here's the part that doesn't make sense to me. Jason says that no one knows he is Mouse. How can that be??? How can they get letters to him via the school paper if no one knows who he is? Let's say I have a question, so I write in to the school newspaper to ask it...well, how does someone on the school paper forward it to Jason (aka Mouse) if no one knows who he is? Did I skip over something in the reading? I just totally don't understand how this process works. If anyone can shed some insight on this, I would truly appreciate it.
Chapters 11-15 (and yes, there will be spoilers! So if you haven't read this far in the book, you might want to stop reading the blog right now!)
ReplyDeleteI might have figured out how Jason is answering the questions as Mouse--I think people are emailing their questions to him, so I assume that somehow he made up an email account and gave it to the editor of the paper.
One question I have: how are Jason and his dad affording the townhouse? Dad is obviously unemployable right now. I realize they are low on food and keep the electric bills at a minimum, but how are they surviving?
Also, I was so surprised to find out about the theft!!! His friends could possibly be wrong, but probably not. I like their plan to return the violin by using the mail truck, but at this point I'm wondering if their plan will work or backfire?
Finally, I found a quote I REALLY like. It's on page 120. Jason says, "I had forgotten that about friends, that they could be a blessing and a curse at the same time. I'm not sure I'm ready for friends. It's safer to be on my own." Have you ever felt like that? When is a time your friends have been both a blessing and a curse? Do you think it's better to have friends, or is it better to be on your own?
I predict by the end of the book Jason is going to see the value in friends. I also predict a romance between him and Shelby. :) I'm stuck predicting what will happen to his dad--I know he needs help. I wonder if he'll end up in a psychiatric ward???
Chapters 16-20
ReplyDeleteI have a few questions after reading this section.
#1 Do we REALY know that Jason's dad's violin is the stolen violin? I had suspected that maybe it wasn't, and now that the violin has been found by a priest and not a mail carrier, I really have my suspicions.
#2 Did one of Jason's friends write the letter to Mouse? You know, the letter in Chapter 17 that claims he/she is in a gang, doing bad things, and wants out? I find it odd that this letter arrived right after Jason and his friends took the violin from his dad and placed it in the mail truck, which brings up another question...
#3 Why in the world did they take Jason's dad with them when they returned the violin? Of course he was going to throw a fit! Was I the only one who saw that coming?
#4 My last question is about human nature.Obviously, Jason and his dad need help. Everyone sees it: Dr. Gomez, Jason's friends, etc. Why can't Jason see it? What if all his dad needs is some simple medication that will cause his behavior to become normal? Why are we so resistant to help? Jason has to hit rock bottom before he finally calls Dr. Gomez to come and help him.
This book is getting really good!!!!
Chapters 21-25 Just when I thought it couldn't get any worse for Jason, it sure did!
ReplyDelete#1 Reed stabbed him. I totally didn't see that coming. Did you?
#2 The letter to Mouse which appears to be written by Shelby. Jason thinks Shelby might actually know he's Mouse and this is her way of apologizing. I remember when Shelby and friends came to visit Jason at his house--he was working on his Dear Mouse letters at the time and I don't think he closed his laptop. Jason might not be too far off in guessing that Shelby knows he's Mouse. I don't think he's ready to accept her apology at this point though, do you?
Chapters 26-30
ReplyDeleteI have just officially entered the difficult-to-put-down-this-book stage. Chapter 28--Jason is hiding a secret about his mother? What could it possibly be??? I've read far too many books lately where the secret is abuse--please don't tell me he was abused by his mother? What else could the secret be? Any ideas, anyone?
From Chapter 29--is the secret he's hiding simply the fact that he's mad at his mom for dying and leaving him with his dad? Not what I was expecting. Am I missing something?
From Chapter 30--Ok, I love this quote. Shelby's mom has just died, and Jason goes over to her house to comfort her. She's a complete mess and collapses on her bed with heart-wrenching sobs. Jason says, "As I stand watching her, it finally occurs to me why I've come. I need to see this. Shelby is acting out everything I've felt inside about the loss of my own mother. I can see her pain. I can hear it.I walk over to the bed and reach out for her hand, and it's hot. It's her pain. For the second time today I'm flooded with my won grief over my mom's death and my dad's illness." I love how he is having a cathartic experience here because of the death of Shelby's mom. Grief that he has penned up for so long inside of him is now able to be released by watching Shelby deal with it rather than holding it in like Jason has done for son long. Beautiful passage of writing here.
Chapters 31-35 I'm glad to see a lot of my predictions came true, and yet there were still enough surprises in the book to keep in interesting for me.
ReplyDeleteWhen Jason calls Dr. Gomez to ask for advice, I love what she says: "Jason, you can't control the universe and everything that happens in it, but you can control your reactions to it. You can control you, and how you choose to live each day...You have to look at life that way, see the good in it, the good that can come out of a tragedy and let go of the rest. Don't hang on to your life as a tragedy you have no control over, Jason. Don't act the victim, or you'll become one. And don't shut the Lynches, or anybody else out. You never know who may come into your life."
That's good advice to live by, don't you think?
Chapters 36-40
ReplyDeleteFrom Chapter 38, Shelby is officially my hero. She takes what seems to be a hopeless situation and delivers a very heartwarming speech that sways everyone. I love that girl!
I'm wondering, since I only have two more chapters to go, will Jason continue to hear the voices in his head? Or will his issues get resolved and they go away?
Chapters 41-42: I'm happy with the ending, how about you? Is that how you thought it would end?
ReplyDeleteAm I the only one who is surprised to realize Han Nolan, the author, is a woman??? :)