Meeting (note day change prior to Thanksgiving):
Monday, Nov. 24
A238
3:15-5:00
Facilitator: Susan Woodhams
Side Effects May Vary
Monday, 1/29/2024 The Night I Spent with Aubrey Fisher by Christopher M. Tantillo. Moderated by Erica Smith A boy determined to die. A girl determined to save his life. After the death of his little brother, Grayson's guilt spirals his life into chaos; it's all his fault. He wants to rewind that night back. To erase the pain he's caused. So he's decided; in twenty-four hours, he'll kill himself. Then mysterious and reckless Aubrey shows up with a proposition: a "literally insane" all-night adventure that will show him the beauty in the mundane. Grayson doesn't know why the foster girl with the piercings, crimson locks, and fishnet leggings is helping, especially when he finds out she harbors dark secrets of her own. Yet as they spend his last night learning to let go of pain, Grayson may have a new choice to make. But can he ever really be happy again? Told in a heartfelt yet poignant style interspersed with quirky humor, The Night I Spent with Aubr
I really enjoyed this book! I felt that it was different from The Fault in Our Stars because Alice was angry throughout much of the book. The author did a great job of letting us know each character and how they felt. Alice seems lost upon entering high school. She quits ballet, and hangs around different people and completely ignores her childhood friend, Harvey. Alice finds out that her mother is cheating on her dad and she holds in her feelings, even though she lives in an "open" house. A short while later she is diagnosed with cancer. From that point on she makes a list of things that she wants to complete before dying. Many of the things are counterproductive but she includes Harvey in all of the activities. Harvey is thrilled but feels like she is using him. When she goes into remission, she ignores Harvey and strings him along. Basically, she acts like a teenager who doesn't know how to communicate. This book is perfect for health class because it deals with so many issues that we discuss. Topics that I could integrate are death & dying, dysfunctional families, drug use, eustress & distress, response to stress, signs of cancer, cancer treatment, qualities of being a friend (Harvey vs. Eric), revenge vs. being a good person (getting the dog for the neighbor),, 8 Dimensions of health (how did Alice heal physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally), chaos vs. order (Alice vs. Deborah) I could ask the following questions: What do you want to do before you die? When did you see Alice begin to mature? Was there a turning point? What was her relationship with her parents? Have you ever been angry with your parents? How did you resolve it? Have you ever felt used by a "friend"? How did that feel and how did you resolve it? What is the best way to communicate your feelings?
ReplyDeleteParker- blog post for Side Effects May Vary
ReplyDeleteSide Effects’ alternating voices and time frame made for a quick-paced read. Tillotson noted that the novel fell somewhere between Gone Girl and The Fault in our Stars. I would most definitely concur, but would add in Bernadette. Moreover, I observe in each of these novels, not only alternating time and characters, but a clear bifurcation within each speaker’s mind; as the novels progress there is a maturing and self-awareness that ultimately drives the action. This developmental tension is not subtle, in that the public arena is generally unaware of the characters’ struggles, but must suffer through the narrators’ frustrations, conniving’s and disappointments, as they move towards self-awareness. At the risk of another parallel, I found Side Effects akin in tone to Jody Picoult, the former, however, somewhat more personal, the churning trauma residing within Alice, in contrast to suicides, donor children and various social ills that drive the plot. Yes, there is Alice’s cancer, but Murphy manages to have her posit questions that transcend her adolescence, thereby challenging the younger reader to actually reflect on more than Alice’s less-than-commendable actions. “I’d grown so used to the terms of my life-the conditions-that now I didn’t know how to tell the difference between good and bad,” she observes. Murphy is throwing down the gauntlet to the reader, by asking for an account of Alice’s-and by extension- their own life. Alice’s first step is a “Dying-to-do List”, her having eschewed the clichéd “bucket list.” This has a more authentic and, what I believe, more optimistic, sound. She rationalizes that “there was one privilege to dying: the right to live without consequences.” Her leukemia becomes as excuse to embraces this credo. I am sure every adolescent reader will celebrate along with Alice, as she evens the score with Luke and Celeste, at the same time trying to empathize with her pain at her faux funeral. This is the stuff of high school literature. But wait; Alice observes that she “wasn’t a very good person unless [she] wanted to be.” Here is what made the novel palpable this reader: the concept of individual choice. Murphy’s message is that much of what happens in one’s life is beyond an individual’s control, but here’s the existential kick: one’s development depends on an act of will, and one must create one’s self, cancer or any of the vicissitudes that living entails. Yes, it sucks, so does tha justify bad behavior? (Really, I’m not trying to trivialize this.) Alice comes to the realization that her actions transcend her mortality. Her remission is simply a reprieve from what in everyone’s obligation to humanity: be kind.
What an awesome read, I really felt that this book is a combination of Gone Girl with A fault in Our Stars. The book has the suspense of Gone Girl with multiple plot twists and a deep character development. The book reads as if you are part of the action and perhaps even one of the characters. I believe that this book is an easy, quick and interesting read that a majority of our students can relate to.
ReplyDeleteHarvey and Alice. I couldn't put this book down! I think mainly because of the alternating perspectives - hearing from Alice and Harvey - and the "then" and "now" chapters. You could feel the heartache Harvey endured as he sat by Alice's side - sullen and shaking - when she was very ill. You could feel Alice's vengeance before and after her remission. Alice made me crazy at times. I was frustrated with her actions - always wanting to seek such humiliating revenge against Deborah and the gang. There was a point when you excused her actions because of her cancer, why wouldn't you? Anyone who was wronged and who has had to endure such torture should get a pass for her actions, right? It was interesting to see how Alice's parents dealt with her "teenage" behavior - hard to be honest when she has had to deal with such terrible circumstances. Eventually she did hear from them honestly, and Harvey too, which I think lead to an epiphany for Alice. She was so mean to Harvey and so kind too. She relied so much on him and he was there for her, to finish the "list" to get revenge, etc. I think that this book would be ideal for our students. The love, the tumultuous family issues, friendship . . . I also think that our students have such a difficult time understanding things from other people's perspective. They only want to see things from their point of view and hearing from both of these characters opens up a discussion about being human and understanding that people are going through things and they react certain ways because of that. I feel these characters are real, their ups and downs, their introspection. This would be a great read for our students.
ReplyDeleteMoynihan, Patricia AReplyReply AllForwardActions
ReplyDeleteTo:
Reilley, Mary A; Gamzon, Marcy
Cc:
Branca, Nija; Mueller, Marybeth; O'Connor, Sean T; Lavin, Mary; Tillotson, James A; Woodhams, Susan D; Craddock, Bradley E; Dewey, Lorie A; Johnson, Zachary S; Parker, Dorothy M; Kriegel, Janice M
Monday, November 24, 2014 12:48 PM
Still haven’t figure out how to post to the blog either – here’s mine:
Blog – Moynihan - Side Effects May Vary
I enjoyed the book. Still find it difficult to read a book written from multiple view points, however it does allow the reader to see the same situation from different perspectives, which I think would be very informative for our young adult readers. I think our students would enjoy this book, and I would be interested to learn if they felt Alice's mean actions were justified. I don't know how realistic this is, as the teens I have known, who have died of cancer seemed to become more mature, caring, enlightened individuals given their situation. Alice, on the other hand, was nasty before and after her remission. The book does illustrate however how one "friend" can totally take advantage of another's loyalty and poor communication is modeled throughout. The book has many great talking points for family/interpersonal relationships. The only science link - is that medicine is still somewhat of an art & science- not always having an explanation for outcomes. One treatment may work well for one person, and have not effect on another.
Patricia Moynihan
Blog – Moynihan - Side Effects May Vary
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed the book. Still find it difficult to read a book written from multiple view points, however it does allow the reader to see the same situation from different perspectives, which I think would be very informative for our young adult readers. I think our students would enjoy this book, and I would be interested to learn if they felt Alice's mean actions were justified. I don't know how realistic this is, as the teens I have known, who have died of cancer seemed to become more mature, caring, enlightened individuals given their situation. Alice, on the other hand, was nasty before and after her remission. The book does illustrate however how one "friend" can totally take advantage of another's loyalty and poor communication is modeled throughout. The book has many great talking points for family/interpersonal relationships. The only science link - is that medicine is still somewhat of an art & science- not always having an explanation for outcomes. One treatment may work well for one person, and have not effect on another.
Patricia Moynihan
Earth Science/Physics Teacher
A173
For Mary Reilley
ReplyDeleteThe protagonist Satan, I mean Alice, was on a demonic pity party of revenge, humiliation, and overwhelming teenage angst while trying to beat her clock to the grave. This was, hard to believe, after receiving a diagnosis of leukemia. We get to sit back while she totally abuses her lovesick,doormat of a friend, Harvey, while she seeks revenge on Eric, who accidentally witnesses her mother's affair with a neighbor. Of course, Eric spreads the gossip at school, so Alice is determined to destroy him and her female nemesis.
I could go on and on with my review, but I am exhausted and home sick. This was a book for evil 7th graders.
PS Some of you may know that I am retiring at the end of this year. Unlike Alice, my bucket list contains no revenge. I want to travel America in an Air-Stream camper .