Top 10 List

1.Jenny Fitzgerald-She is the main character in the book. Jenny has grown up with her mom, step dad, half brother, and twin half sisters. Before Jenny's mom met her step dad, she thought that she would never get married so she applied to have a donor to produce her child. That's when Jenny was born. She has never met her biological father. Everyone in her family is athletic except for Jenny . She's an artist. She is a pretty normal looking and always has paint splattered all over her clothes. Sometimes she feels left out and like she doesn't fit in anywhere.

2.Tate Brodeur-He is the boy that everyone in the high school has a crush on. Jenny has admired him from a far for many years. He is the star football player and very athletic all around. Tate is one of the most popular kids at Jenny's high school. She would have never imagined they would cross paths and become a couple. She finds that Tate is gentle, caring and loves art too. This is the opposite of how Jenny viewed him.

3.Alexa-She is Jenny's half sister. Jenny found her on a sibling donor registry website. They found out that they had the same donor father. Alexa lives in New York City with her two moms. She is the kind of girl that can do anything if she sets her mind to it. When she comes to stay with Jenny, Jenny starts to see that Alexa has something in common with every person that she meets. She is very talkative, pushy with decision making, and doesn't think before she acts. She makes every decision out of impulse. Her personality attracts everyone because she is so fun and outgoing.

4.Setting-This book takes place in a small town near New York. The whole story takes place during the summer. This is very important because Jenny often gets nervous about summer ending. She feels that things will be different between Tate and her when they go back to high school. Jenny thinks of high school as their "real world" and they couldn't possibly be together in high school. Jenny also talks about how her best friend leaves every summer and now she has no one to talk to about everything that's going on in her life. Having the setting be in the summer impacts a lot of the events.

5.Trust-I think that this is a huge motif in the book. Jenny lost her parents trust when she didn't tell them about her new half sister or even that she was looking for her other siblings. One day at dinner, Tate accidentally told them about Alexa because he thought that Jenny had already told them. Her parents were mad that she had kept this a secret from the whole family. She always lied to her parents about Alexa coming to visit. She told them that she wasn't going to and her parents were furious when she showed up unexpectedly. This made them not trust her anymore. Jenny also didn't trust Alexa after she saw that she had been calling Tate and lying about it. Tate and Alexa were always whispering and Jenny couldn't trust her around him anymore.

6.Theme-I think a theme in this book is trying to find yourself and discovering where you fit in. Throughout the whole book Jenny feels left out. She doesn't feel like she belongs anywhere. To her it seemed like everyone around her at a place and she didn't. She couldn't even accomplish the things she enjoyed doing, like painting. Her family were always doing athletic activities together and she could never do any of them. To her she felt like she was in the wrong family and like she wasn't apart of the family cause it wasn't her real dad. Through Alexa and her experiences over the summer she finds out where she fits in and it doesn't really matter if you are not like everyone else.

7.Quote-"Events matter, whether they are marble-small and ordinary, or the enormous ones that stretch out ocean-wide. Each moment pulls you from the past into now, and then into whatever is next on your horizon." This is an important quote in the book because this is what Jenny learns. It takes the whole summer for her to realize that changes and events in the future don't have to worry her anymore. She can live each day by each day and not have to worry what will come next. I think that her painting and Alexa made her come to realize that. This was a good quote to finish off the book with.

8.Main Event- One of the biggest events in the book was the one that led Jenny to finding her half sister Alexa. One night Tate and Jenny were in Barnes and Noble looking through books and magazines. Tate came to a magazine article that was about finding your other siblings through donors. After a lot of thought Jenny went over to Tate's house. They logged onto the website and typed in all her information. A lot of different people came up but a girl named Alexa seemed like the right fit. So she emailed her. And a few minutes later she replied and they found out they were half sisters. This event changed Jenny's life.

9.Conflict-The biggest conflict in the book is having Alexa come stay with Jenny. At first Jenny was excited about her coming to visit. She had this perfect image in her head that they would have everything in common and be perfect sisters. When this turned out not to be the case, Jenny was disappointed. Alexa seemed to be taking over her life. She was creating better relationships with Jenny's siblings than she had with them because they had more in common. The biggest conflict between them was with Tate. Ever since Alexa arrived she was all over Tate. She would try to get Jenny to go work on her art or anything so that she could spend time with Tate. To Jenny it felt like they were keeping secrets from her and that they had a thing. This caused a huge fight between them and Alexa decided to leave in the middle of the night unexpectedly.

10. Style- The author wrote the book from Jenny's perspective. By the author writing this way, you felt like you were friends with Jenny. You could start to feel how she was feeling and predict what was going to happen next. She defiantly wrote like she was a teenager and with topics that we have to deal with. This made it easier to connect with the book because most teenagers have gone through some of the experiences that Jenny had gone through. It was more enjoyable to read about something you could relate to and learn about a girl who had a donor as a father.

Week 7. Post B.

The last section was really good and it pulled everything together that happened during the book. Jenny finally gets up the nerve to tell Alexa what has been making her mad Alexa's whole visit. Jenny hears Alexa talking on the phone and she can tell she is lying or keeping something secret from her. When Alexa is in the shower, she checks Alexa's last call and it was from Tate. Jenny is furious and that's when she tells her all the anger she has and why she is mad at Alexa. Tate and Jenny go to her art studio and finds her paintings missing. Worst of all, she goes outside to see Alexa kiss Tate on the cheek. Jenny is now mad at both of them. She yells at both of them and it seems that things are over with the half sisters and with Tate and Jenny. The next morning Jenny wakes up to find Alexa gone and all she left was a note. Jenny is very sad by this but it all turns around when she finds out one of her paintings were picked for the art show. Jenny's whole family shows up at the art show and so does Tate. He explains everything to her. Alexa was planning a big surprise party for after the show and that was why they had been so secretive. Jenny feels terrible. And as soon as she gets home to the party, she goes upstairs to call Alexa but she doesn't answer. She emails her saying she was sorry and that she still wants them to be sisters. Jenny is so happy. Because of Alexa she created a better relatiosnhip with her dad, with her siblings, and with Tate. A few minutes later Alexa writes back saying she found another donor. I thought this book was really good because it taught the lesson everyone should learn.."Each moment pulls you from the past into now, and then into whatever is next on your horizon."

Week 7. Post A.

Significant Quote:
"You and I are done. Chills ad shakes rack my body as I leave her in the bathroom with the water still running and go back out to the entryway. Tate is gone. Looks like he and I are done, too (217)."
-This is an important quote because this is finally when Jenny breaks down. She tells Alexa everything she feels and what has been making her so upset. She's never gotten in a huge fight with anyone before and she tells her everything. She starts to ignore Tate and get mad at him too before she even knows what is going on. Tate gets frustrated and ends up leaving too.

Figurative Language:
"My half sisters motives make my whole body feel electric, as if it's being powered by confusion."
-This is a metaphor because how motives make her whole body feel electric. That's not really how her body feels but that's how she's comparing how she feels using a metaphor.

"When you realize you've been wrong, that you've been missing out on parts of your life, the wind leaves your body at an immeasurable rate."
-I think this is a bit of personification and metaphor. She's giving wind the human quality to be able to leave something at a certain rate. But she is also comparing how she feels to wind leaving her body.

Week 6. Post B.

This section starts with Jenny working on her artwork for the art show. She thinks that it is going really well and that her art might actually get picked to be in the show. Alexa calls her from Tate's party. When Jenny finally arrives there is she is actually mad at Alexa. She starts to wonder if this will be their last and only visit. At Tate's party there is a big slip n slide. Jenny is really jealous of Alexa because she is very pretty and fits in with all the other girls and jock boys. Alexa wants Jenny to come live in New York City with her but Jenny is very hesitant and says she will think about it. The next night Jenny goes on a run with Tate. He tells her that he would be very sad if he went to live with Alexa. You can tell that Jenny is starting to feel sad again. She is extremely jealous of Alexa. Alexa has come into her life, completely taken over her "boyfriend" and her siblings. Now her dad. Jenny's dad hated Alexa and one day when Jenny came home she saw them bonding in the backyard. Alexa has turned their backyard into a whole new garden area. Alexa seems to be apart of everything. She fits in much more with Jenny's family than Jenny does. She is a dancer just like Jenny's twin sisters. She gardens and fixes up the yard just like Jenny's dad and she plays sports and is very athletic just like Jenny's brother Russ. I can see why Jenny is starting to feel rejected and that everyone likes Alexa better than her. I am interested to see if she ever confronts Alexa and what happens to their relationship as sisters.

Week 6. Post A.

Vocabulary:
jaded (179)- dulled or worn out and wearied.

solidarity (185)- union or fellowship arising form common responsibilities and interests

Significant Quote:
"Then I flash to her laugh on the phone earlier and just how chummy she seems with Tate, and I wonder if maybe this visit is our one and only (177). "
-I think this is an important quote because you start to see that Jenny is getting annoyed and jealous of her new half sister, Alexa. She starts to wonder if they will ever want to see each other again. Even if Jenny herself ever wants to see Alexa again. Jenny could be just mad because Alexa is stealing Tate and really like her.

Week 5. Post B.

This section begins with Jenny, Alexa, and Tate at a mini golf course. You can see that Jenny is starting to get annoyed with her “new” half sister Alexa. In Jenny’s mind, Tate is her guy and she doesn’t like that Alexa keeps flirting with him. Jenny’s parents give her money to treat everyone for ice cream after they play mini golf. Alexa tries to get Jenny to go to her work and create some art she had been thinking about. Jenny tells her that it is closed and she might get in a lot of trouble for going there. Jenny thinks that Alexa is trying to get rid of her to spend some alone time with Tate. She is very jealous because she already thinks that her family likes Alexa better than her and now Tate might too. In the end, they all go down to Jenny’s work and sneak in. Alexa and Tate leave Jenny there to do her artwork and they go off and have ice cream with all of his friends. The next day Jenny and Alexa bond at the beach but all Alexa seems to talk about is Tate. Jenny’s dad really doesn’t seem to like Alexa at all. They were taking their annual family picture where everyone is wearing the same thing. Alexa tied Jenny’s up so it would fit her better. And the whole time Jenny’s dad was complaining about it and refused to take the picture just because Alexa did it and said that it looked good. I think Jenny is going to start to get annoyed with Alexa and want her to go home. I think it will have something to do with Tate.

Week 5. Post A.

Vocabulary:
awry (149)- away from appropriate, planned, or expected course.

rivulets (157)- a very small stream

Figurative Language:
"He's been dragging equipment down the stairs at all hours of the day and night, sweat running in rivulets from his hairline."
-This is a metaphor because sweat isn't actually running down like actually rivulets. The author is just comparing using figurative language.

"The whole world seems contained in the square blanket we're sitting on."
-I would consider this personification because the world can't really be contained on the blanket the girls are sitting on.

"In my head I talk to Faye as if she were here, but she's not-and besides, it's always hard for me to explain my churning feelings."
-This is a metaphor because she is talking about her feelings churning. Her feelings can't really churn inside her body, therefore it is a metaphor.