Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Tiger Eyes by Judy Blume

Plot: After her father is killed in a random shooting, Davey, her mother, and younger brother Jason all move to live with relatives in New Mexico. Struggling to accept her father's death, Davey's relationship with her grieving mother deteriorates as she feels suffocated under her relatives' constricting lifestyle. She meets a boy called Wolf and he begins the healing process by making her laugh.

Comments: I thought this was a great story, but I didn't like several large parts. The plot is believable and sounds very real. As a teenager, Davey already has enough stress in her life, and her father's death starts a snowball effect. She hates New Jersey - or more accurately, she hates living with her aunt and uncle. They think everything is dangerous, and this starts getting on my nerves, too! Her aunt is especially controlling, and Davey thinks she's trying to make Davey her own daughter; convincing them to stay in New Jersey for longer, enrolling Davey in the local high school, making decisions for Davey's mother. Davey is frustrated and feels like no one will listen to her.

When she meets Wolf, I think her reaction is a little weird. Admittedly a girl would probably be defensive and scared if she were approached at the bottom of a deserted canyon by a strange boy, but she seems to be overreacting. I suppose I wouldn't know. I like Wolf, but I wonder why he didn't tell her his real name. And "Wolf" seems a little childish. I like that he listens to Davey and makes her laugh and talks to her. Davey gets a little too dependent on him, though, and she seems slightly desperate as she counts down the days (approximately) until she can see him. I didn't like Davey's friend Jane. She seemed like a nice girl, but then she turned out to be an alcoholic, claiming she could stop whenever she wanted. Davey tried to help her, but for some reason Jane didn't want to be helped, and that was annoying. Maybe that sort of thing happens all the time.

I hate how Davey's mother just folds in on herself and stops taking care of her children. It's despicable the way she allows other people to make decisions for her and take care of her. I understand that she needed time to grieve and to recover, but she was a horrible parent at that time, and Davey suffered for it. Especially when she starts dating. If her mother was well enough to date again, isn't it about time she starts looking after her kids and maybe seeing if they are okay? If she'd been a better mom, she would have realized how bad "parents" the aunt and uncle were to Davey. At one point during an argument, Davey's uncle smacks her across the face. I find that unforgivable. Davey shuns him and ignores his feeble apology, but I don't understand why she didn't tell anyone. She starts talking to a councilor and even then doesn't mention it! That really irked me. I couldn't accept that she just pretended it never happened. I wish she had stood up against him by telling someone what had happened.

Rating: I rate this book a six out of ten. It's a good story about grief and moving to a new, unfamiliar place, but I didn't think the writing was very good, nor did I think the main character, Davey, was portrayed well as a teenage girl.

2 comments:

  1. she lives in New Mexico with her aunt and uncle not New Jersey

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