Reflection

When I read Jason's part, from the beginning it seemed that his letters would have a big significance later on in the story. I was correct when I predicted that Jason would somehow die in the end, and it is assumed that he did die because he has been missing for months with no trace. The letters Jason wrote were the more crucial than the letters that Cheryl, Heather and Reg wrote because Jason's revealed some truths in his life. Jason revealed that the twins were actually his twins and not Kent's; if he hadn't have written this note, no one ever would have known Barb's secret. I predicted that Jason would kill himself in the end, but it seems as though he actually just went missing and didn't survive in the wilderness.

When I was reading Heather's part, I had a feeling that Allison wouldn't be as good as she seemed. In the end we find out that Allison is a fake and completely manipulated Heather, so my gut instincts about psychics was correct.

As I was reading each person's perspective on Reg, knowing that he had his own chapter at the end, I figured that we see a softer side of Reg in the end. Reg was he bad guy throughout the whole book, and generally the bad characters turn good in the end, which is what happened in Reg's case.

From the critic article summaries I wrote about: “The novel begins to lose some of its narrative coherence [after Cheryl and Jason’s parts] and we cease to care as much about what happens after that." (Johnston 60)  After completing the novel, I agree with Johnston because Cheryl's part was what captivated my interest, and although I did enjoy the rest of the book, I found her part to be the best, and each perspective got slightly less interesting. Most of the action is from the school shooting part, which takes place in the first two perspectives of Cheryl and Jason, which may be why I found them more captivating then Heather and Reg, who were only indirectly related to those events.

At first, I thought the story revolved around Cheryl, but now after finishing the reading, I see that it actually revolves around Jason. Everything Cheryl did in her young life was for Jason: becoming religious, getting married. As we continue through perspectives, Heather's part completely revolves around Jason and their relationship, and in the last part of the book, Reg's part reflects on his life and the impact he had on his son Jason. In the beginning, Jason had everything he could have ever wanted, he found love in Cheryl.

After finishing reading, you see everything Jason went through and realize Jason's life was a tragedy. He had a hard life growing up with Reg, who was a religious freak. Then the love of his young life, Cheryl, tragically dies right in his arms after a school shooting, he resorts to drug trips for his thrills, and goes missing in the end and is presumably dead.

Picture from: http://tinyurl.com/6fegoy6