It’s week ONE of the SISTERS IN SANITY read along, part of the 5 month long Gayle Forman read along! The lovely Judith at Paper Riot is hosting the SISTERS IN SANITY part of the Gayle Forman read along and if you missed any questions or posts, you can find them all here!
Haven’t signed up for the read along yet? Don’t worry! You can still join us for SISTERS IN SANITY or any of the other four books coming up!
Questions week 2
1. “I can’t think too much about how I got here, because when I do I feel like I’ve been betrayed by you, and that makes me feel worse than everything else that’s happened.” (p. 85) Brit says that she feels betrayed by her father. In which way would she feel betrayed by him? Do you think she should feel this way?
Oh, of course. Later on in this section of chapters, Brit breaks down and even admits to Clayton of all people that she’s been betrayed, more or less. Her mom raised her to “march to the beat of her own drum”, she said, and punk rock, hair dye, and tattoos used to the the norm in their lives. That’s how it was growing up. It wasn’t until her mom started showing signs of schizophrenia and her dad ended up marrying “Stepmontster” that things started to change. What Brit once knew as normal all of a sudden wasn’t normal anymore. Oh wow, that part in the book… It just hit my heart! I felt so bad for her.
2. “Sooner or later, you’re going to have to talk about your mother, about the ways in which her nature mirrors your own.”(p. 117) When Clayton says this to Brit, Brit has a major freakout. Do you think Clayton was right to say this to Brit? Do you think she takes Brit’s mom’s illness seriously? Should she?
I don’t know if Clayton really fathoms how seriously Brit’s mom’s condition is… It seems like she’s trying to blame Brit’s “rebelliousness” (which we’ve already established is not that at all) and fit that piece into an incorrect puzzle, if you get what I’m saying. She’s trying to make those two things go together and they really don’t at all. Brit is not “crazy”, not showing real signs of mental illness — She already knows what that looks like from watching her mother break down — and it’s rude and ignorant for Clayton to try to use that to break Brit down.
3. “Crazy concept. Trusting your child.” (p. 126) Brit says this to V when they talk about how their parents trust the Red Rock instead of their own children. Do you think the parents of Red Rock girls are wrong not to trust them? Do you think it’s understandable that they trust these so-called professionals instead of their own child? Do you think all of the girls need to be locked away in a special “school”?
I think it’s tricky. Cassie’s parents seem to actually want to help her. They may not be doing it the right way (Yeah, you’re not going to “ungay” her by sending her to Red Rock…) but they actually seem to care for her and want to help her. Same with Martha’s parents — they even come for the parent visitation days! But Brit’s dad, probably Bebe’s mom, and maybe V’s parents (I feel like we don’t hear a lot about them…?) seem like they just put their children in Red Rock so they wouldn’t have to deal with disagreements, hard times, or you know… raising a teenager. It’s not all going to be sunshine and rainbows, but it seems like their parents put them in RR just to get them out of the way.
I digress… and NO. None of them really should be there… Some of them may need therapy or family counseling sessions — but probably for their family relationships and not for random, fabricated illnesses like ODD. Then again, their parents wouldn’t recognize that anyway.
4. At the end of chapter 14, there’s a bit of a cliffhanger. Brit and the Sisters are trying to sneak her out to see Jed. Do you think this will work out? And do you think that Jed will actually want to see her?
JED!!!!! Dude, it HAS to work. Personally, I think that she’ll get out (Yes, Jed will show up. He’s writing her letters about fireflies. It’s adorable) and they’ll be able to spend some time together. Things may end up REALLY CRAPPY when she gets back (getting caught, etc) but I’m looking forward to seeing more of Jed. Fingers crossed!
5. Talking about Jed and Brit: do you think there is a future for them? From what we’ve seen from Jed, he keeps reminding Brit of Fireflies, but would they work as a real couple, or does Brit just have an innocent crush?
The firefly thing is super cute. I think he likes her too! He could just write normal letters and not keep mentioning inside jokes or personal connections… I think they could really have something! Once Brit finally gets out of Red Rock…
Oooh yay, those were great questions for week two!
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2 thoughts on “Sisters In Sanity/Gayle Forman Read Along – Week 2”
I looove your answers! I can’t agree more with what you said, especially about how it seems that Brit/Bebe/V’s parents just sent them away to not have to deal with them, which is a crappy excuse for a parent imo. Jed and Brit are SO CUTE. The whole firefly thing is just adorable <3
Great points! It drives me nuts how ridiculous of a place Red Rock is. It infuriates me that people with no background in adolescent development or mental health are dealing trying to “help” these girls. And Brit’s dad, I want to think he’s just trying his best, it’s not like his life has been easy, but how can he not see how Brit is just doing what she was raised to do! Obviously I always think about how I want books to end and I was thinking about what I want to happen with Brit and her dad. I would love for him to realize he’s being an idiot and apologize to her and take her home, but then what happens to the Stepmonster? I feel bad hoping a couple that just had a baby get divorced. But that’s what I want!