The chapter, First Time opens up with big events in Susy’s life. Daphne purchases a house while Susy starts junior year at her boarding school. Susy gets her driver’s license because it is her sixteenth birthday. To celebrate, her mom takes her to the bar with her sister while they’re all wearing revealing clothes. She is given a few thoughtful gifts by her mother, such as, a pen and diary to aid with her writing. She also gives her a while packet which she can snort coke with. There, Daphne tells Susy that a guy Theo fancies her and she will try to bring him to their home. Daphne and Theo end up coming home very late while Susy and Penelope are still asleep. Susy then wakes up only to hear sounds and she discovers that the two slept together. Suddenly, she feels betrayed by her mother because she has a crush on Theo.
The next day, her sister and she move in to a new boarding school. She meets one of her teachers, Dr. Crawford and she develops a huge crush on him. Dr. Crawford, who is twice her age and has been married for twelve years, finds out about the crush and addresses it to Susy. He states that he is happy in his marriage and encourages her to date lots of boys her own age. Later in the chapter, Susy comes home only to encounter an old friend, Lincoln. The two hand out together and she almost loses her virginity to him. She is ready to lose it but he couldn’t go trough with it and that leaves her disappointed. She does lie to her mother, however, by saying she lost it that night to him.
In the next chapter Counterfeit, Susy transitions to adulthood in many ways. Dr. Crawford ends up kissing her because he couldn’t resist the temptation. The two of them also sleep together on the floor of his house for the first time ever while his wife is away. When she comes home, they act as if nothing happened previously tat day. They sleep together three more times before he tells her not to record what they do in her diary or anyone otherwise he might lose his job.
Susy and her mother set out to Mexico USA
Susy goes back to her boarding school. Still, she spends a great deal of time with Wyatt (Dr. Crawfod) and that leaves his wife concerned that they spend too much time together. They do everything in secret, messing around, sleeping together, and performing inappropriate acts. The day that Daphne is coming to campus to visit, Susy agrees
to give Wyatt her diary for him to hide in his garage so the mom would never find out. Later in the chapter, Susy is now a senior in high school. She and Wyatt more than ever now feel and act like a real couple. Regardless, out of guilty conscience, Wyatt reveals to his wife about the affair he has been having with his student. The wife feels very disappointed but Wyatt says to Susy that she allows them to continue the affair anyway. Susy also confides her secrets to her friend Jane. Jane’s advice to her is to be careful and that leaves Susy wondering what exactly she means by that.
Susy begins her freshman year at a college. There, she starts seeing a new guy, Jason and very soon, she drops all contact she has with Wyatt. She also tells her mother what has been going on for the past few years. This conversation with her mother makes it seem as if they share a common ground and leaves them talking on the phone for hours. Despite the initial praise towards her daughter, Daphne calls Susy back and tells her she does not believe her.
It is parent’s weekend in Susy’s college. Daphne visits her college and decides to take Amy, Susy’s roommate, to Planned Parenthood. Susy thinks that her mom is only doing such to avoid spending time with her. When Amy’s parents come and meet Daphne, Daphne embarrasses their daughter to the point that she moves out and never speaks a word to Susy again.
Susy and a new guy, Noah, begin dating shortly. However, she has a problem with him lying and gambling all the time. Therefore, she decides to sleep with another guy and she continues doing so in their relationship. She then proposes to him and his response is “Yeah, sure” (Sonnenberg 170). She does all the necessary things a bride would do, such as searching for a dress and making serious preparation for the ring. Shortly, she changes her mind and calls off the wedding then breaks up with Wyatt. Later on, she finds out that Wyatt has cancer and will soon die.
Quotes
"Losing your virginity" was a phrase all over our house, a companion as regular as another sister. This thing had to happen. That would happen." (Sonnenberg 106)
"Listen, darling. You can't just go jumping into bed with anyone who asks you. I know Lincoln's speacial, and I always knew he'd be your first, but you have to behave like a lady. Otherwise you'll get a reputation". I stared at her. She went to her room, forgetting the fire, and I picked up my diary and struck the same notes of indignation any teenager would." (Sonnenberg 117)
"Even with my meticulous diary pages open before me, I felt crazy, unnerved, as if my life had vanished. My eyes moved over words, but my mother could rewrite anything." (Sonnenberg 149)
Reaction
The first quote struck out to me because not only is it the first line couple of lines I read but it reminds me of the short story, The Jacket. In the short story, the narrator complains that the jacket is like an ugly brother that follows him everywhere. In this quote, although Susy is only talking about a phrase that is commonly said in her household, she compares it to being as regular as a sister and just something she is use to and has to put up with.
In the second quote, I see the mother as a big hypocrite. She is telling Susy that she must conduct herself as a lady when she does not. You should only advice someone when you abide by the same advice or can at least follow your own advice. The mother clearly never behaves like a lady so why is she telling her daughter to? Is she telling her to because she does not want her to end up like her or she isn't aware that what she is doing goes against her advice? Regardless of what the mother said, I think this quote was beautifully written, especially the last line. I love the vocabulary the author uses (indignation). I also feel as if her present life now is far different than what it was before. Perhaps it's because she's attending boarding school now but when she use to live with Daphne, she was doing grown up things and growing up very quickly. Now, at this stage, she's writing with a diary and it shows that she's somewhat similar to all other teenage girls because many keep diaries.
The final quote, to me, shows the power Daphne has over Susy. Although Susy KNOWS all that happened with Wyatt and all, a few words her mother tells her leaves her confused and she starts questioning whether it actually happened or is her brain just making everything up? Even though Susy is far from her mother, she still has that control over her and can easily make her feel vulnerable. I also love the last phrase in the last line where she says her mother could rewrite anything. It means that no matter where in the world she is, her mother can rewrite anything, or leave her speechless, oblivious to the previous events that have taken place.
**Questions
- Why didn't Daphne believe Susy when she tells her about everything that happened with Wyatt? Did she feel a sense of jealousy/rage?
- Were people suspicious that they were spending TOO much time together?
- What were her grades like? When she wasn't with Wyatt, she was thinking about him so did she get good grades?
- Did Wyatt's wife actually let him continue the affair or he lied about that?
- Did their marriage even last?
- Is Susy religious at all?
- Did she ever want to stop what she was doing?
- Now that she's married, does she regret destroying/being a barrier in a marriage?
- Did she ever stop to think...wait, I'm turning into my mother?
I really cannot believe how childish the adults in the story (Daphne, Wyatt) are acting. At least the writing style is fairly decent.
ReplyDeleteOne hopes that there was some measure of accountability for their actions