The book I am currently reading is called Inside Out, by Terry Trueman. It is about a kid that struggles to cope with his mental illness. In the beginning of the novel he gets caught up in a burglary at a coffee shop. The main character Zach has a difficult time understanding what is going on around him. Instead of being nervous and scared, he has no feeling and is completely calm while the coffee shop he is in is being robbed. The other people that are in the coffee shop become afraid of the robbers, while Zach interacts and tries to carry on a conversation with these highly dangerous men. He is also focused on a maple bar throughout the whole novel when he should be worried about his own safety. This is similar to Lennie's situation in the novel Of Mice and Men. Lennie is focused on caring for rabbits throughout the entire book when he has many other things to worry about. Zach also reminds me of Charlie in the novel Flowers for Algernon. Zach has a hard time understanding other people's emotions much like Charlie did. These are just some examples of how Zach is similar to the characters of past novels.
Hey Nick, that sounds like a pretty cool novel. Would you recommend it to anyone? I liked how you were able to relate it to more than one of the novels we've read in class. Did Zach have to struggle with people treating him differently because of his mental illness? You mentioned that he struggles with it himself, but is he viewed as a person that most people in the novel tend to avoid or make fun of, or do people treat him just like anyone else? You also mentioned how Zach relates to Charlie and Lennie, so throughout the novel would you say that reading about Zach supports the saying "innocence is bliss", or does Zach live a more isolated sad life like like Holden in "the Catcher in the Rye"? Oh and did Zach end up saving the coffee shop from the burglars? I'm interested to hear more about what you have to say about the novel. Nice job relating Inside Out to the other novels. See ya Pete.
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