The Glass Castle

Over break, I finished the book I was reading in class called, The Glass Castle. The book was about a girl named Jeanette and her family. The family lives in a very difficult world. Debtors are always chasing them and Jeanette's father becomes an alcoholic by the time she turns ten.
Her and her family move throughout random towns, and do not always have food, clothes, or shelter. They are shooed off beaches and don't wear shoes. The only thing Jeanette and her siblings have is the fact that they are extremely smart.
Once Jeanette and her siblings are old enough, they leave their parents for New York to start a new life, but unfortunately their parents follow them. At this point, Jeanette's parents decide to live homeless, or in empty one room apartments.
Her entire family is effected by how they grew up and today they do not spend much time together.
This book has really made me think about the past. I think it's amazing how your past completely effects the future and how people get places or what they even do in life. I loved this book and would recommend it for anyone who loves true stories that will really make you think.

Sorry.... ;)!

Thankfully, I just finished A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. As I have said before, Frey lied about his book. He claimed it was a memoir, when really it wasn't. In interviews, Frey claimed he just took out the boring stuff to make it more interesting and easier to get through, (by how long it took me to get through this book, clearly his second idea did NOT work.)
Throughout the novel, the idea of "a simple decision" was a big theme. Frey would often say that when he got out he wouldn't do drugs just because it was a simple decision - do them or don't do them - and he wouldn't need the twelve steps or anything.
Now, think about addiction. Obviously I'm not addicted to drugs or alcohol, but think about a different type of addiction, maybe a habit such as eating cereal every morning. Let's say you eat cocoa puffs every morning. You grab a bowl, poor in the milk,take your spoon and have yourself some tasty cocoa puffs. What if you had cocoa puffs in the morning everyday for freshman, sophomore, and junior year. Then, as a senior you decide you want to start a healthier eating habit before college and decide to eat special k every morning before school. For the first few mornings, you might be adamant about eating special k, but after the first few mornings you might find yourself switching back to cocoa puffs just because you forget or you miss them.
With this in mind, explain to me how in the world Frey could resist one of the strongest addictions of all by just saying "oh no thanks". If I can't resist cocoa puffs in the morning, how am I supposed to believe a drug addict and alcoholic can just wake up one day and say "no"?!
Maybe all that Frey said in the book was true, but I think when Frey tried to make the book more interesting, he should have left in the parts where battling addiction (the whole point of the book) is hard. If I were a struggling drug addict or alcoholic I would not find comfort or a hero in this novel to look up to.


P.s. I also really didn't like what happened to all of his friends at the center, especially Lily. I mean if it's not even true can we at least make the ending happy?? Please and thank you Mr. Frey...

A Million Little Pieces

Alright, continuing off from my last blog, the characters have not, (unfortunately) gotten less annoying. Lilly gets extremely mad at James to the point where she comes knocking at his window in the early hours of morning and curses him out. I have no idea why this girl is so crazy, but I think the treatment center can honestly say that drug addiction has nothing to do with the fact that she's mentally unbalanced. Lilly needs some serious help. Well anyway, James pretty much strangles Lilly and drags her out into the forest and waits for her to stop screaming. How romantic, eh? Once she finally stops screaming, she starts cursing like a real trucker, and finally tells James why she's even mad. Apparently, she thought that James wanted to meet her at three in the afternoon, but James actually didn't mean that. It was so dumb. If you're ever going to curse out someone because they didn't meet you somewhere, then you're obviously an idiot. How about saying, "Hey, I thought we were meeting at three, what happened to that?" But no, I probably forgot that I'm dealing with a bunch of loonies in a treatment center for hardcore druggies and alcoholics. It's unbelievable how much help these people need, not just mental but emotional and physical.

Here's an interview I found with James Frey talking about his book. I'm really confused by it all, maybe James Frey is a little unbalanced too, seeing as he writes a 'memoir' that turns out is a lie, but he pretends it's true. I don't get it and it's extremely confusing because I'm not actually sure if he's telling the truth and this actually happened to him, but in this interview he pretends like it did happen to him.

James Frey Interview

STILL Reading!

I'm STILL reading the book A Million Little Pieces by James Frey. I started the book on the first day that we were supposed to pick out a choice read, and here we are in marking period two... and I'm STILL reading it.
I mean, the book is pretty good, it's not horrible, and I would suggest it to people, but I feel like I'm lost somewhere in the middle of this book, and can't seem to find my way out. I'm just stuck in the middle, and I hate being in the middle of a book, because easily, I'll lose interest and just stop reading.
I do somewhat like the book though. I like how when the author emphasizes things because he'll say them three times or in three different ways. Such as, "The Fury has dissipated and is a walking rage, an anger like fire, entirely controllable, and easy to stop it from burning or hurting anything." - pg. 229. Also, as you maybe be able to tell, the author capitalizes random words in a sentence, such as "Fury" or "Hall". I don't get why, but I do find it interesting and possibly important.
In some ways...just kidding... in most ways, A Million Little Pieces can be really annoying. I just think that some of the characters, such as James, James' Parents, Lily, and Joanne can be so strange and I kind of want to just slap them. I mean, take James, all the kid does is curse, complain, and think about getting high. He doesn't even listen to the lectures! He just talks about how him and his 'buddies' (who the treatment center doesn't even want him talking to!) play poker the entire time. I don't even think he is getting better! But then again I wouldn't even know considering he never talks about it! I thought this book was about his journey and him getting better but let me tell you it really isn't because he barely talks about it. Or, when he does talk about it, he complains. I hear enough complaining during the day, I really don't need to hear about it in this book too! Next up, is James' Parents. Pretty much the only thing James' mother does, is cry. Whenever James talks to her or tells her something or anything at all really, she just cries. Like suck it up, this is what happened to your kid and you need to help him or just get out of this story. And as for James' Father, he just consoles the mother and asks James to stop drinking or smoking, (as if that can even help James at this point) I just hate that the parents are so upset in James. I mean, I'm sure they should be upset and everything, but ok it's enough. James is twenty three and he has been drinking since he was ten. The parents say that it's not their fault, as does James, but I feel like it is. Your kid is ten and you don't know he's drinking?! Even still, thirteen years is a really long time to not realize your son is an alcoholic and does some major drugs. I mean, there has got to be something wrong with them that they don't see this. It's so obvious a third grader might be able to figure out something was wrong. I mean, even if they did see something was wrong in these thirteen years, they choose to help him now?! I know most parents don't want their teenagers in a rehab treatment center but now James is twenty three and an inch away from death. Alright, next is Lily. I used to like Lily. She is sweet, pretty, and nice, I mean you seem to almost forget that she's a drug addict in a treatment center. I just have been really starting to hate her. For example, when James and Lily have conversations on the path, she's just extremely irritating. I don't even know why, maybe because all she wants to do is take the relationship further, which is severely awkward to be reading in the middle of an English class. Joanne is one of the people that James can go to talk to, if he needs it. She also helps him and his Parents become closer through the Family Program, at the treatment center. She acts as somewhat of a therapist to him. Surprisingly, I really like Joanne. I think her character is most on target and she has a lot of knowledge to share with James. Plus, she has been in James' shoes. Sometimes she even smokes during their sessions herself, which I think gives her a lot of character.

Well, I know that was a lot about this book, but I just needed to get out my feelings on it. All the characters have been making this book really bad, but hopefully that is just a phase, and the ending, whatever it may bring, comes fast.

A Billion Little Pieces...

I'm still reading the book, A Million Little Pieces by James Frey, but really, it should be called A Billion Little Pieces because it's taking so long to finish.
Right now I'm stuck in the middle of the book and it isn't exactly very interesting. James still doesn't want to take treatment seriously and he still is aggresive and angry. Although, more is mentioned about the girl from his past, and Lily. I think that the first girl James fell in love with and Lily seem to have a lot of characteristics in common. I have a feeling they could be the same person. I mean, Lily clearly likes James and when she asks if he still loves this girl and he says yes, she is not upset or offended at all.
As of right now James is more focused on the treatment aspect so Lily isn't really mentioned, but I'm sure she'll be back soon.
I don't hate this book, but I hate that it won't end!

James Frey Lied to Me... And Oprah

Recently, I found out that the choice book I'm currently reading, A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey is a lie. I was wondering what the back of the book meant when it read, "This is Frey's acclaimed account of his six weeks in rehab." Apparently, the story, claimed to be a "memoir", isn't exactly true.
This made Oprah, and most Americans very upset. James Frey lied. He claimed something was true when it wasn't. He made things more interesting by changing around facts in his supposed "memoir".
Some people disagree with Oprah, saying they don't care whether it's true or not. They just say it was a good book, lying or not.
I agree with Oprah. I hate the fact that James Frey lied in this book. It makes me question every event that occurs. Are the stories of his roommates lies? Is there a Lilly? Was he really addicted to drugs? Most importantly, did this even happen?
In the book, Frey talks about how the other men are scared of him, how he's the tough guy. After watching an interview with him, I can tell that 'Mr. Tough Guy' is actually 'Mr. Nerd' and I could never imagine myself afraid of this guy.
I'm upset with this book, but only to a degree. If Frey had never said it was a memoir, I wouldn't be questioning things in the book, which would make it better, but it wouldn't change how I feel about the actual story line. Therefore, I think I'm just upset with the book because it's all a lie, but I have to admit, it really did ruin the book for me.


Here's a radio interview with James Frey about his new book, but it touches on some of the things that had happened regarding A Million Little Pieces and Oprah:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyLZ76HzlQw

A Million Little Pieces

My choice book is called A Million Little Pieces, by James Frey. It's an account of the author's time spent in a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Center. The wording that the author uses is very intriguing due to his repetition of words and phrases. When he'll repeat something it shows emphasis on what he's saying. For example, when James was in the dentist's office he saw a mother cling to her child when she saw a man who was dirty, ripped, bruised, and battered - James. James repeats to himself that he is a drug addict, he is a criminal, he's an alcohol, and he's in a treatment center.
I like the book, although I wish it would move along faster. The book can be very boring at times because James will mention a girl from his past, someone we don't know, someone he gives little information about but someone we know played a key role in who he is. The few times he's talked about her, he gives maybe a sentence about her. I'm interested to see what her role is and who Lilly comes to be. Lilly is a girl he met at the treatment center that he had seemed to like.
In conclusion, this book seems like the ending will be good, so I can't wait to see what it'll bring.