I certainly enjoyed Everything Matters! by Ron Currie Jr. the most out of any of the books we have read thus far in AP English. First off, I loved the contemporary nature of it. I felt like this made it much easier to relate to. Even in very small instances, I could relate my current life to the book. For example, Junior has to use a “Gatorade of the Fierce Melon variety” at one point during the novel (Currie 89). “Fierce Melon” is without doubt my favorite Gatorade flavor so I could easily relate my life to Junior’s in this small but important instance. Additionally, I really enjoyed that Rodney played baseball. I love everything about the game and I really came to admire Rodney’s character. Rodney simply “doesn’t feel pressure…It’s what makes him so good” (Currie 72). I am very jealous of Rodney’s baseball abilities and approach to the game. I often think way too much in the batter’s box and end up letting that prevent me from having a quality at-bat. The final reason I enjoyed the book revolves around Junior’s decision to focus his life more on his relationships when given his second chance by the entity. The entity basically tells him, “Do whatever you want, I don’t care” and he decides to go back and cherish the time he has with the people he loves (Serensky 5-27-11). I absolutely loved how Junior spent his last moments in the second universe in “a warm package of humanity” as opposed to “alone at the summit of Maine’s tallest mountain” (Currie 302, 261). The juxtaposition of the two endings highlights that Junior’s decision to focus more on the people he loved really helped to make his life better and more enjoyable. Everything Matters! encapsulated many of my own interests and also conveyed messages that hit home to me. I consider it one of the best novels I have ever read.
Jimmy, I also really enjoyed this novel! Although it was sad at some points, I too liked the fact that it took place in present day, and the science fiction aspect of it made it a very interesting read. I have to say I liked the play The Importance of Being Earnest the best though, because it was so comical an unlike any of the other literature we've read for English so far.
ReplyDeleteJimmy, I too wrote about this novel in my blog. I feel as though it was the only book we read this year that I could relate to in the slightest bit. I wish we could have read more books of this nature because it really caught my attention and forced me to reflect on the way I live my life. This book also made me realize that one, seemingly insignificant moment can severely impact one's life. It was quite painful for me to read the other novels other than "The Namesake", because these books had many unpredictable twists and turns.
ReplyDeleteJimmy I think this blog is great. You went way over the top with it. It even made me thirsty. I liked how you could relate your life to the book. Kind of like how I related my life to One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
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