Rough Start but A Happy Ending

Sinopsis:

Finally I reached the end of the book.
These final pages start after the dinner, when Juli didn't ignored Bryce anymore. Moving on, Bryce has been chosen as one of the top 20 "basket boys"which was an auction to raise money, but Bryce wasn't so exited about this because he had to bring a basket of food for the girl that wins him on the auction. Anyway, when Garrett knew about this he told Bryce that two of the most popular girls were gonna bid for him on the auction. So, on Friday of that same week, Bryce arrived at school with his "oversized picnic basket". He was kind of nervous about the auction because he thought it really was a "meat market". By the way Bryce was basket boy number 9. Later on when the auction finally started in was the turn on Jon Trulock(the boy that was before Bryce) but no one was bidding for him. Juli felt bad because she was the one that voted for him, so after a while Jon was sold to Juli Baker. That's when Bryce thinks that Juli doesn't care about him anymore. When it was the turn of Bryce, 2 girls were bidding for him, so he ended with the two of them. When all the "basket boys" had a date, they all went to the class multipurpose and had lunch. Bryce was with two of the most popular girls in the whole school and he couldn't stop looking at Juli. He couldn't stand seeing Juli laughing with Jon so he grabbed Juli by the hand and first he asked her if he liked Jon and then tried to kiss her, but she got to break free from him and when the final bell rang she ran home. Bryce got to admit that he does liked Juli. Bryce would't leave Juli alone, he would call he knocked the door all the time, he even climed the fence of her house just to knock on her window. But one day he went to Juli's house and dug a hole on her yard, then he placed a tree, a sycamore tree. Juli was shocked, but after she got time to realize that Bryce did change she wanted to talk to him and she knew she had to "meet him in a proper light"

Quotes:

"The old Bryce wanted to go back in time, wanted to hang with Garrett and short the breeze, wanted to hate Juli Baker again. wanted to be the man.

But in my heart i knew the old bryce was toast. There was no going back. Not to Garrett or Shelly or Miranda or any of the other people who wouldn't understand. juli was different, but after all these years thet didn't bother me anymore.

I liked it.

I liked her.

And every time I saw her, she seemed more beautiful."

I think that Juli made Bryce change, like he said she was different. She made him see people by who they are. Why did it took Bryce so long for admit that he liked Juli? Does he was afraid of what people would think about him? Me myself don't really take this amount of time to figure out what my feelings are.

"Then the basket boys came out of the stage. Bryce looked so adorable holding a picnic basket with red-and-white-checked napkins peeking out from either side, and the thought od Shelly Stalls flipping one of those napkings into her lao nearly made the bills in my pocket burst into flames."

Juli don't want anything to do with Bryce but she also don't want another girl to have lunch with him. Like Bryce, what is making Juli hesitate about her feelings? Why is she jealous? Maybe she still have feelings for him.

Final Thoughts:

I really, really liked this book. It explains  the two main characters points of view and show different perspectives of what happened. Once you start reading this book you can't stop reading it. My last prediction was right Juli and Bryce are starting their friendship all over again but this time withought lies. I stongly recommend this book to people who like to read, I really enjoyed reading this book very much.

Apologies and Regret

Sinopsis:

In these 42 pages didn't happened much.

Bryce doesn't know how to defend other people. I say this because Garrett told Bryce that the retarded uncle of Juli must give him a message from her. On the other hand, one Sunday morning Juli and her father went to visit David (Juli's uncle) at Greenheaven. Juli was a bit scared because she never met him and she didn't really know him. By the way Juli and her father went to Greenheaven because it was David's birthday. So, after they gave him his present all three of them went to get some ice-cream. Right then, when David's cone smashed into the table and into the floor, he had a meltdown. That's when Juli understood the situation of his uncle and wondered what else could have happened in the past. Anyway, when Juli and her father were arriving home, he apologized for "providing" so little to her and the family. When they finally arrived Trina announced that Patsy had invited them over to dinner Friday night. Days after that event, when Juli was at the library she overheard Bryce's and Garret's conversation. She heard them laughing at his uncle, which made her very angry. Anyway, the day of the dinner arrived. In the viewpoint of Bryce, he felt uncomfortable because Juli had told him she heard mocking his uncle, but still could not stop looking at her. In the view of Juli, she has every right to not go for all that Bryce has done to her, but she didn't say a word because her mother seemed so happy for the dinner. Surprisingly Bryce tried to apologize to her but she didn't let him at all, she also didn't wanted to talk at him too. But after having time to reflect, Juli felt like the "rude" one and SHE went and apologyzed to Bryce.

Quotes:

"A man appeared at the door. A man I would never have picked out as my father's brother. He was stock, with thick brown glasses, and his face looked puffy and pale. But he threw his arm around my father's chest and cried, "Woobbad! Yaw heew!"

I think that Robert is so grateful and careing for his brother. He sent him to Greenheaven, he made sacrifices only for him to be happy, and he made sure he was all right and comfortable. I think Juli is lucky to have such an amazing father, and I think David is very grateful to have a brother that cares this much about him.

"So I'm standing there, wishing I'd punched Garrett out in the library so Juli wouldn't stick me in the same class as someone who makes retard jokes."

I think that Bryce finally reflected on what he should've done instead of just keep it  to himself. He feels bad about what he had done, and he does apologyze but Juli does not forgive him. This is making Bryce regret everything he made.

Final Thoughts:

Well, in the next forty-two pages what happened was that Bryce and Garrett made fun of Juli's uncle, Juli gets to know David, the Bakers and the Loski's have dinner, Juli tells Bryce she is mad at him although he apologyzed. My prediction was right!!!! Juli finally wants nothing to do with Bryce but he keeps apologizing. I think that further in the book is that Juli forgave him and they start their friendship from the begining.

Lies Always Come to an End

Sinopsis:

Finally someone of the Loski's knew about the eggs. Bryce thought that his Granddad knew about the eggs because of the way he stared at him, and he thought he would say all the truth to the family. At last Grandfather didn't, but later he came into Bryce's room and Bryce ended telling him the truth. Granddad knew about the eggs because he was helping Juli with her yard and probably she told her about it. This is the reason why Bryce couldn't stop looking at the Baker's house, he couldn't stand seeing his own Grandfather talking and having fun with Juli Baker. Days passed and eventually Bryce felt very bad about what he had done, but he didn't know how to apologyze. It was very hard to Bryce to just walk to her and apologyze because Juli was still angry and she ignored him. At last, Bryce got to speak to Juli, he thought she finally forgave him, eventhough he didn't actually said "I'm sorry". That night the Loski's had a fight because they didn't like that Granddad helped Juli. Especially Rick (Bryce's dad) did not liked that Grandfather spend a lot of time with a "stranger" when he never spend time with his own grandson, that's when Grandfather tells Rick that the Baker's did not cleaned their garden because Mr. Baker had a retarded brother. He explained to all the family that he is retarded because of the lack of oxygen he had when he was born, if he had enough oxygen he would be just fine. Patsy (Bryce's mom) had a meltdown and she walked out of the room with Rick trying to calm her down, Bryce didn't knew what was happening. Granddad told him that HE could've been retarded too because he also had his "umbilical cord wraped aroud his neck", that's when Bryce thought that his father wouldn't had appreciate him because of what he had said about Juli's uncle. After all the drama Bryce and Granddad go for a walk. Bryce realized that he and Granddad connected thanks to Juli. One night when Bryce was looking at the newspaper Juli appeared on, he finally understood why Juli liked the sycamore tree so badly, and he couldn't stop looking at her. On Juli's point of view she never cared about where they lived until Bryce insulted her yard. This is why Juli decided to clean her yard. Later on Bryce's grandfather came over to Juli's house and for weeks they worked together on the yard. Juli told Chet (Granddad) about her uncle and about her rented house. Patsy eventually told the family that she was going to invite the Baker's for a "dress-up" dinner, everyone but Chet thinks is a bad idea. That same day Bryce told the truth to his mom and felt relieved. Also Bryce talks to Garret about Juli.

Quotes:

"They handymanned all week. And every night Granddad would come in with rosy cheeks and a huge appetite and compliment my mom on what a great cook she was. Then Saturday happened. And the last thing I wanted was to spend the day at home while my grandfather churned up dirt and helped plant Juli's yard."
It is ridiculous that Bryce criticize his Granddad and Juli because in first place he is the one that made Juli mad.  Me myself wouldn't have made someone mad if then I'm going to feel regret. Maybe he liked when Juli didn't leaved him alone. What is making Bryce to feel this way?

"I'd spent so many years avoiding Juli Baker that I'd never really looked at her, and now all of a sudden I couldn't stop. This weird feeling started taking over the pit of my stomach, and I didn't like it. Not one bit."
I think that now Bryce have time to process what he really thinks about Juli. At first when he saw Juli, he just wanted to run away from her, but know maybe he is starting to realize that he might like her. Why does he took so long to admit that he might like her?

Final Thoughts:

Well, in the next forty-two pages what happened is that Granddad knew about the eggs. Bryce didin't know how to apologyze to Juli but eventually he did. Rick was mad at Chet because he helped Juli. Chet told to the family that they didn't cleaned the yard because Mr. Baker has a retarded brother, Chet told Bryce he could have been retarded too. Patsy invite the Baker's for a "dress-up" dinner. My prediction is sort of right because Bryce had time to really look at Juli as a person and maybe he is starting to fell in love with her. What MIGHT happen further in the book is that Juli doesn't what nothing to do with Bryce, but he keeps trying.

Always Think Before You Act

Sinopsis:

Days after the sycamore tree was cut down, Juli's father made her a painting of the tree. So, when Juli could look at the painting without crying she "wondered if she still feelt the same thing about Bryce." On the other hand, while Bryce was at the garage of Skyler Brown with the Baker brothers, they showed him how a boa constictor swallowed an egg withought chewing. And "then the real nightmare began."Juli Baker started to bring eggs to Bryce because her chickens were laying eggs. The same chickens that she hatched for her science proyect, and of course she "dominated" the fifth grade science fair. Bryce was annoyed because of this. Anyway, Bryce ends up accepting the eggs, when he showed them to his mom she was happy to receive them, but when Bryce told her they were from Juli Baker her smile faded because she thought that if she opened one a dead chicken would fall. The Loski's argued for a good amount time because they wanted to know if the eggs were safe. So Bryce ask his friend Garret for help. Both of them ended spying over the Baker's backyard fence. Bryce got to see their backyard and he thought it was a complete mess. At dinner the Loski's  wondered if because of the mess at the backyard of the Baker's, the eggs could have salmonella. However, Juli brought eggs to Bryce for the next two years and he NEVER told her the truth... Until one morning after accepting the eggs, Bryce wanted to throw them away but the trash was full. So, he placed the carton on top of it and went to throw it away, but guess who did he found "thinking" on his porch, JULI. Sooner or later the lie is discovered, in this case not in a good way. Juli saw her eggs in the trash Bryce was holding. Finally Bryce told the truth to Juli, he told her that they were afraid of salmonella and Juli told him that other people like Mrs. Steuby were buying her eggs. On another point of view Juli's teacher gave her eight fertile eggs that she could hatch for the science fair but she wasn't anxious about this. At last she came up with charts and diagrams for her proyect and she got to keep the eggs. Time passed and her chickens laid eggs, people bought them and she would bring them to the Loski's, until she knew about the lie. Juli was heartbroken.

Quotes:

"The way she ignored me or so obiously avoided me was a screaming loud reminder to me that I'd been a jerk. A royal cluck-faced jerk."

Now the one that feels avoided and excluded is Bryce. I can say that he feels regret and wished that he wouldn't have done what he did. In my opinion people never appreciate something until they loose it. In this case Juli wanted to be his friend or maybe more than his friend, but he didn't, and when she is boiling mad and disappointed at him he is begining to value her friendship.

"My grandfather had already said more to her in this little slice of time than he'd said to me the whole year and a half he'd been living with us. What was his deal with Juli Baker?"

Bryce is definetely jealous. Why would he notice someone just like that? I think that the grandfather of Bryce thought that Juli was very special. Because not all girls appear in the newspaper because of a tree, not all girls know how to appreciate the beauty of life, not all girls make a person feel more alive, that is what Juli Baker did.

Final Thoughts:

So, in the next forty-two pages what happened was that Juli's father made her a painting of the sycamore tree she loved. Juli's chickens laid eggs and people bought them $2 the dozen, these chickens were the ones that Juli hatched for the science fair. Juli gave eggs to the Loski's for over two years, they didn't want them but they didn't say soto her. Eventually Bryce end up telling the truth to Juli and she leaves heartbroken. My prediction was right! Juli ended avoiding Bryce. Further in the book what might happen is that Bryce gets to know Juli a little more and falls in love with her.

Evading Juli Baker

Sinopsis

It all started the summer before starting the second grade, Bryce Loski was moving into a new neighborhood. He didn't know that he was going to be facing more than half a lifetime trying to avoid a single girl,  Juli Baker. We can say that she was anxious for the arrival of Bryce because the second he arrived, she climbed into the truck where Bryce and his father were unpacking. Mr. Loski didn't want Juli to help them so he send Bryce to "help" his mother. Obiously Juli thought that Bryce was forced to go, so she wanted to grab his arm so they can keep playing for a little while. Then the most embarrasing thing happened, Bryce and Juli accidentally hold hands! Juli thought that Bryce was going to kiss her but Bryce just wanted  her to give him some SPACE. By fifth grade Juli knew how to control herself, but Bryce still wanted to give her the message that she wasn't his type, consequently Bryce asks Shelly Stalls out. This plan was perfect because Julie HATED Shelly Stalls. However, thanks to Garret (Bryce best friend) who knew everything,  Shelly soon discovered Bryce's true intentions were, therefore,  Shelly dumped him. Juli  heard about it and began to look at Bryce with the "goo-goo" eyes again but this time she also sniffed his hair. The biggest change in the life of Bryce was when his grandfather moved with them when Bryce was in seventh grade. Also, by these dates Juli appeared in The Mayfield Times because she wouldn't come down a sycamore tree, she loved that tree very much and she wouldn't come down because they were going to cut it down. Grandfather got to read the newspaper and he thought that Juli was a special little girl, but eventually they had to cut the tree. Unfortunately the tree was right next to the bus stop so Juli did not want to go by bus to school because she didn't want to go through that tree that for her was the most special tree in the whole world. When Juli didn't thought about the sycamore tree, she went outside and made his father company while he painted, that is when Juli learned that she had to look to the whole landscape to know if they where more or less than the sum of it's parts.

Quotes

"She didn't just barge into my life. She barged and shoved and wedged her way into my life. Did we invite her to get into our moving van and start climbing all over boxes? No! But that's exactly what she did, taking over and showing off like only Juli Baker can."

I think that Bryce was exaggerating about the whole Juli Baker thing because it seemed like she only wants to be friends with him. Maybe Juli didn't have much friends and she was exited when Bryce moved in...when she saw Bryce maybe she saw it as an opportunity to make a new friend, so instead of proving herself nice and everything she demonstrated quite the opposite. For me it was a little bit rude the way Bryce is describing the attitude of Juli. Well, I can tell that Juli is a bit annoying, I never in my life would just brake into someone's van and start just moving stuff around, but maybe that is how Juli interact with other kids. Does Bryce really need to be this rude? Does he know if Juli had a harsh past?

"A painting is more than the sum of his parts, he would tell me, and then go on to explain how the cow by itself is just a cow, and the meadow by itself is just grass and flowers, and the sun peeking through the trees is just a beam of light, but put them all together and you've got magic."

This quote certainly paint us a picture in our minds about what is happening in our surroundings, it also paints a espectacular landscape of a meadow that has the magic of a cow, grass and flowers, and even a beam of sunlight portrayed in someone's imagination. For example, you are on the beach and you're lucky to admire the beauty of a sunset with the sound of the sea, the palm leaves that touch the breeze, also to feel the peace that is just listening to silence. I wonder if the father of Juli is just saying this to her only to make her realize the real person Juli is falling in love with.

Final Thoughts

So in this first forty-two pages what happened was that Bryce Loski and his family moved into the neighborhood where Juli Baker lived. Juli immediately fell in love with Bryce but he just wanted her to back off. Therefore, these chapters are all about avoidance and "social discomfort". Anyway after reading this first forty-two pages I can say that in the following chapters what will happen is that eventually Bryce will give up trying to evade Juli, so he finally try to make friends with her. Of course my prediction may be wrong because Juli is a very intense little girl. However, what may happen also can be that Juli gets tired of being evaded and now she is the one that ignores Bryce Loski. Will Bryce feel excluded? or Will he feel happy that Juli at last left him alone?