Friday, October 1, 2010

Her Last Death: A Quick Turn Around

Summary:
The phone rings and Susanna receives a phone call that shocks her. Her mother is in a coma and is dying. To Susanna, this doesn't mean a lot. Her mother and her never had much of a relationship and had been distant ever since she left. Susanna calls her sister and her sister is going crazy saying shes going to loose her mother; she is frantic. Susanna has to make a decision; to stay or to go. In the process of making her decision she is reminiscing on the fun " adventures " that her mom, Penelope, and her would take. She doesn't go and Penelope simply asks if she thinks that this whole situation is about her and listens no longer.
Pages 1 - 41


Quote:
"It was very sunny, and the hot leaves smelled better than anything I'd smelled before. Everyone was always so happy around my mother, always doing things she suggested" (Sonnenberg, pg 25)

Reaction:
You can feel the hurt in Sonnenberg's words. You are right there next to Susanna and Penelope. Sonnenberg leaves bread crumbs throughout the pages just making you want to read more and more. The author's writing style is so vivid and the word choices are so descriptive you can honestly feel her pain. The quote shows how there is this false representation of Susanna's mom. Everyone was always so happy with her; but Penelope and her were always so confused. They never understood why her mom would date different guys all the time. They never fully got the "why" they were always broke; or why her mom had to steal or why she would lie to get her way. Susanna had to be there for Penelope as the adult figure because her mom never got to be a teenager; Susanna was her support.