A Fraction of the Whole

           If you flip through the novel A fraction of the Whole, you see that it is about a young boy named Martin Dean and his bond with his criminal brother Terry, and both of their journeys through life. However, when you read it thoroughly, you see that in reality it's about Jasper, Martin's son, and him hearing the stories of his fathers and uncles lives. Through illness, injury, fights, murders, friendships and murders, Jasper hears it all. " He talked and talked until eight in the morning," says Jasper when hearing the stories of his fathers lifetime. However, this is just what I have read so far, only 131 pages into the 561 page book, and I know many more crazy characters and outstanding plot twist will come. However, something I found interesting about this book is it tells you instantaneously that Martin Dean is dead. To express this, the author Steve Toltz announces from Jaspers point of view, that his fathers body will never be found.
         
     This is interesting, because the majority of the pages i've read so far are about and from the perspective of Martin. The first couple pages are from Jasper, but when he asks about Martins past, it immediately turns around. I think it's cool that when it's about Martin, it's from his point of view, so it's like he's talking to you, and you almost forget that he's speaking to his son. When he finally says the name Jasper when declaring an important point of his life, you just say "oh, yeah. I forgot."
    
      The plot is as crazy and interesting as the writing technique and Toltz's creativity. When Martin was 4, he fell into a 4 year coma, waking when he was 8, to find out about his little brother, Terry. As they grew up, Terry turns from a sports- fanatic and local celebrity to a young criminal, due to a leg injury and under the influence of Martin's and Terry's good friend Harry, who they met in their town's prison. Despite Harry's good advice of a low-profile for survival in the criminal world, Terry because a wanted murderer by the age of 20. This entire time Martin is struggling with first being a cripple, then generally disliked and though of as ugly, and eventually as just with being the brother of a wanted murderer.


      The whole time, you know he's gonna die.
What I find so weird about this is that at first, your waiting for any sign of Martin's death to be visible. Obviously it'd have to happen after Jasper Dean was born, but your still on the look out. But by the time you figure out it's way to early to see any sign, your used to it. As you forget that this book is about Jasper as well as his father, you forget that Martin will die. And I'm really anxious to figure it out. This book is giving me a single part of a puzzle and leaving me to fit together all the pieces of Martin Dean's life and death.

BETSY IN SPITE OF HERSELF

po·seur (pō-zœrˈ, pōˈzər)

noun

One who affects a particular attribute, attitude, or identity to impress or influence others.

      Mid-way through her second year of high school in around 1907, Betsy Ray feels how most kids her age feel about themselves. Bad. Although she's plenty popular, and is considered pretty, she doesn't feel glamorous or mysterious enough. So when she's asked to Milwaukee for 2 weeks by an old friend, she grasps the perfect-ness of this opportunity to change herself. 

     When she returns to her home town Deep Valley she's totally different,  much to the dismay of others. She's dressed all in green, drenched in Jockey Club perfume, and determined to stay beautiful and neat at all times. Another aspect of her changing is her goal to be much more "foreign" now, throwing in random german quotes when ever she feels the need to. One of her goals when she returns is to enchant the new-comer to town, a rich kid with a divine red auto," Phil Brandish. He simply must be crazy about her, for the good of her image. However, this just isn't Betsy. As her friends, especially Cab who calls her new air " La de da," recognize, you can't pretend to be something you're not. Betsy can't hold back her distinct laughter, nor can she prevent her well-known smile from peeking out. Although she's desperately trying to be more serious, and more mature, she just cant.

    Basically, Betsy is a poseur. In this part of the book, it's clear that she is pretending to be something that she just isn't. It's very simply put that she wants to be this other Betsy, this more elegant, thrilling Betsy, but she's not. So the fact that she tries to be someone she's not makes her  a poseur. She plainly admits to wanting to change, and even made a list about what specifically she can do to improve herself. Throughout the book, she struggles with being this.

          Betsy is the kind of person who sees the worst in herself. But truth be told, she's far to pessimistic. She has a best friend, who with many others, adore her. I don't understand why she feels that she must change herself to impress them. So she doesn't have flocks of boys surrounding her like she would like, but she has plenty of friends who are boys, so what if they're not romantically interested? If one was, great. But I don't think Betsy, or anyone else, should change herself to satisfy others. Especially when, like in this case, it's unwanted. Although Betsy might have been pleased with her idea, many others weren't. They just wanted the old Betsy back.

Heaven to Betsy #2

I'd never thought that lack of something could make me think so much about a book. Yet, as if the 

things that do happen don't already make me think so much, the absence of things are even making me 

think in my book, Betsy-Tacy. Betsy Ray lives in Minnesota, in the early 1900s, but if you want the full 

summary of Betsy Ray's life, I suggest back tracking to the previous blog post on this story. However in 

this blog post, i'll get right to it.

Betsy Ray's life consists of boys, her best friend Tacy, her family and her looks. Maybe you can throw 

school into that list also, but that doesn't seem to be high on Besty's list of priorities. Her main concern 

however, is that Tony doesn't like her, or that she has a gap in her teeth. I suppose the reason I love the 

Betsy-Tacy series so much is because it's so nice and well... normal. And it's not like the world was free of

problems then. Disaster hit all over all the time, just like now, over 100 years later. But in the isolated 

world of Betsy Ray and her friends, there are no problems.

Poverty, theft, abuse, child labor, child prostitution, slavery, and many other issues are all very common in books. As I'm reading such a pleasant, problem-free story, it actually surprises me to notice the lack of these subjects. When did authors start writing solely on issues and problems in the world? And directed at those who aren't, why aren't you? Is it that you want to pretend none of these problems exist? It's strange, on one hand I don't want even reading material to be filled with all the awful problems people try to avoid everyday. On the other hand, and don't want any doubt in the world that these problems do exist.

 Truth be told, I can answer this question. I'm glad of this deficiency of problems. Betsy-Tacy is a form of escape for me. Although many people who suffer far worse than me roam the world today, that doesn't mean my life isn't hard sometimes. And when those times come, I can just curl up and read the familiar story, with no worry that hardships are entering the story any time soon.

      Then again, as i'm writing this, i'm persuading myself to change my mind.

Heaven to Betsy, Betsy- Tacy.

I'm only six pages into the book.




     The Betsy-Tacy series is no longer new in my household. Not only is each book worn and battered, but by now, I have the story memorized. Betsy-Tacy is not the kind of book you read once, and then stop. Although you may get everything you can out of it the first time, they fun connection of reading it makes you want to do that over and over again. Heaven to Betsy is a particular favorite for me in the series. It truly stand out to me, because it's the first book where Betsy is finally a teen. In this book, she's maturing in looks and personality, and going off to high school. Also, the thickness of the books increase greatly from here on in the series.
      Although the story is fiction, it's based of the authors childhood life in Mankato, Minnesota, in the early 1900s. In the story, this town is called Deep Valley, and is a place Betsy grew up in and loves. In Heaven to Betsy, Betsy pursues her aspiring dream to be a write, works to improve her social life, and still keep the strong family bonds she has remaining.
      The book starts off in a hot, dusty, miserable farm where Betsy is visiting over the summer. Although she is "wretchedly, desperately, nightmarishly homesick," as the book tells it, she is determined to keep this a secret. Although Betsy is very pessimistic  about herself, she is really a very cheerful character. Her personality is very fun, happy, yet dramatic. Even if it instigates trouble, Betsy's main priority is to enjoy herself. So to be alone on this boring, dusting farm, it's hell. The miserable heat definitely expresses not only common summer weather, but Betsy's feelings.
      But the Betsy Ray i'm describing is incomplete. How complete can someone be, without their absolute best friend described as well? The second part of Betsy Ray is her best friend, and the girl who lives across the road back in Deep Valley, Tacy (Anastacia)  Kelly. Although they might as well be glued to the hip, Tacy is very different from Betsy. Where Betsy is bursting, bubbling, happy and opinionated, Tacy is more timid and shy. For example, while Betsy will soon have multiple crushes when she enters high school, Tacy has no interest in Boys yet. Although there might be a Tacy deep inside her that is jealous of Betsy's likable humor, i doubt it. And even if there was, Tacy would never tell.
        Yet, there is even more i'm forgetting. Tib. Although Tib recently moved to Milwaukee, Tib will always be a close friend. Tib is petite and cheerful. Tacy, Betsy and Tib have been the trio since book one. But now, Heaven to Betsy, book 5, everything changes.