Paige Gallagher

Paige Gallagher
Waiting For You
Susane Colasanti
Realistic Fiction
Just Right
54

1) Right in now in my book Marisa is starting sophomore year. She loves the beginning of the school year because its a chance to reinvent herself and start fresh. What she wants most this year is her first real boyfriend. She gets a assigned a project with her neighbor Nash. When the two were in elementary school they were best friends and were always around each other. Once middle school hit they stopped talking. Now that they are assigned a project together she can work at his house with him. Surprising they get along well. One day when they are working Nash asks Marisa about his love life. He asks her what to do if he likes a girl and doesn't want to tell her. Marisa suggests a note, when suddenly it hits her. Does Nash like her? She wonders if this is his geeky way of saying he likes her. Another thing shes wondering is if Nash is the podcast guy. Most nights at eleven someones voice comes on for a podcast show and he seems to know a lot of inside information about a lot of people in the school. The DJ's voice is electronically changed so Marisa doesn't know who he is, but she thinks she has a clue.

2) I am really enjoying this book. It has a lot of aspects to it, it has multiple things to think about. Unlike other books this story has more than one problem and more than one story line. I love how real the characters are. Marisa the main character isn't perfect. She's never had a boyfriend, she isn't the girl every one's jealous of. Also she has an anxiety disorder. She isn't your typical main character who is perfect and has everything she wants and ends up coming over her problem. The author is pulling me in as reader by adding an aspect of mystery. We don't know who the mysterious DJ is. She is also pulling me in by adding real life conflicts. One example is when she and her friend go shopping. Marisa tries 3 pairs of jeans and none of them fit her. Even though that isn't a terrible conflict, it still makes the characters come to life, and show how they run into the same problems a normal teenage girl would.

3) I think the theme of this book is Youth and Beauty. One reason I think that is because Marisa is very self conscious. She thinks her friend Sterling is prettier than her. Marisa thinks Sterling is easy to talk to and that everyone likes her. She can have a hard time excepting herself. Marisa also has an anxiety disorder which can make her worry about little things. Once she knows she can't and won't change herself, she learns to accept herself and realize her inner beauty. One reason I think the youth part comes into play, is because Marisa is still young. Finding out who she wants to be and where she wants to go in life. Her biggest problem is not having a boyfriend. Which may make her feel upset but it shows she still has her whole life ahead of her and has many more things to worry about.

4) My favorite character is Sterling. She is my favorite character because she is a really good friend. Sterling is there for Marisa when she has anxiety problems. I also like Sterling because she has the possibility to be popular and get everything she wants. Instead she sticks by Marisa knowing that even though she could be popular its not worth it because she has such a good friend. Another reason I like Sterling is because she is not cocky. Sterling is the kind of person that may not always be treated well or get everything she wants, but she is such a kind person she deserves it. One last reason I like Sterling is because she pushes Marisa, in a good way. Not peer pressure, but Sterling gets Marisa to talk to new people and take more chances. I think without Sterling, Marissa would have a harder time, which is why their friendship works.

5) My least favorite character is Sandra, Marisa's younger sister. She is my least favorite because she is very over dramatic. One example is when their family is having a guest over named Jack. When Sandra starts debating with Jack about nuclear energy, it starts to get heated. They are arguing whether it would be a good environmental choice for America. Once the arguments goes over the edge and they start raising their voices, Marisa's dad asks Sandra to go to her room. Sandra tries to talk back and refuse but he excuses her and sends her up. Under her breath Sandra mutters this isn't fair, as she stops away. As she reaches her room she slams the door behind her. I think it was very over dramatic, and rude of her in the first place to argue with a guest.

6) In the end I think Marissa will go out with Nash. One reason I think that is because it is unexpected. I think the author is leading me to this because in a lot of her books she finds a place for the reader to learn something. In this case I think she is trying to show not to let others judge you on your choices and to go with what you want. Not to let others influence your decision because it isn't 'cool'. One other prediction I have is that I think Nash will be the podcast DJ. I think that it will be him because it is so unexpected. Nash is described as a geek, and very shy. It will be a good plot twist to figure out it may be Nash. Another reason I think it might be Nash is because he might be shy but he can probably get a lot of information by hacking into phones and information for these secret broadcasts. Also he would be smart enough to know how to computerize his voice to make sure nobody recognized it.