Who if your favorite character in the story? Why?:
Harry: My favorite character is Bob English Who Draws because he draws, like me. I like how he has a nickname. And I like the sound of the name Bob.
Calvin: I like Bob English Who Draws because he's a cool kid who never did anything wrong to anybody else.
What did you think about the bullying in the book?:
Cameron: It made me feel sad because the guys who bullied Georges were mean. It made me feel happy Georges ignored them.
Harry: The taste test plan was genius.
Andreas: I think Dallas was a big bully and if I was the author, I would omit him but a bully is good with a story!
How would you react to the bullying that they endured?:
Cameron: I'd tell my parents, adults and teachers so that they could try to solve the problem together.
Calvin: The bullying made me sad and happy. No one would want to be bullied. I was happy for Georges because he ignored them.
Harry: I thought the following thing with the bullying: "What the ...... is wrong with that person?" Dallas took control over all of the others even though he wasn't that strong. He was a total JERK.
What did you think of Safer?:
Calvin: At the beginning, I thought he was really nice. When he lied, I didn't like it.
Cameron: I thought he was cool. And then he lied and I didn't think he was cool. It was lamosity for him.
Harry: I think he was a dynamic character who needed to change. He seemed really nice in the beginning but he kept getting more and more mean. He was brave at the same time, though. When you discovered he lied, you didn't like him. He's a big baby.
Cameron: I think that he grew up afraid and stayed afraid. He got used to being afraid.
Re: Safer's phobias:
Cam: Maybe his parents should have done something earlier to get Safer some help.
Harry: Maybe his parents didn't know how bad his fears were.
Calvin: At the beginning, I thought he was really nice. When he lied, I didn't like it.
Cameron: I thought he was cool. And then he lied and I didn't think he was cool. It was lamosity for him.
Harry: I think he was a dynamic character who needed to change. He seemed really nice in the beginning but he kept getting more and more mean. He was brave at the same time, though. When you discovered he lied, you didn't like him. He's a big baby.
Cameron: I think that he grew up afraid and stayed afraid. He got used to being afraid.
Re: Safer's phobias:
Cam: Maybe his parents should have done something earlier to get Safer some help.
Harry: Maybe his parents didn't know how bad his fears were.
If you could change a scene in the story, which one would it be? Why?:
Harry: I wouldn't change any scene.
Calvin: I would change the part where Georges finds Safer on the beanbag when he found out that he lied. I would make it so that it was the truth and Mr. X was real. But then this would be a different story.
Cam: I wouldn't change any scene. I really liked this book. And my mom did too. There was stuff in the beginning that made us ask questions and then it all came together at the end.
What about Mr. X?:
Calvin: I knew that Mr. X was fake all along and wasn't that surprised that he wasn't really bad. There were so many different parts that pointed to him being fake.
Cam: I wanted him to be real so that there would be some action with the saw in Mr. X's apartment!
Harry: I think it would be awesome to have a scary cliffhanger to the story.
Harry: I suspected that Safer thought that Mr. X was a psycho.
Then all of us talked about playing games with friends when we were little and how you would start believing in the make-believe.
Cam: I wouldn't change any scene. I really liked this book. And my mom did too. There was stuff in the beginning that made us ask questions and then it all came together at the end.
What about Mr. X?:
Calvin: I knew that Mr. X was fake all along and wasn't that surprised that he wasn't really bad. There were so many different parts that pointed to him being fake.
Cam: I wanted him to be real so that there would be some action with the saw in Mr. X's apartment!
Harry: I think it would be awesome to have a scary cliffhanger to the story.
Harry: I suspected that Safer thought that Mr. X was a psycho.
Then all of us talked about playing games with friends when we were little and how you would start believing in the make-believe.
Please rate this book from 1-5, with 5 being the best:
Calvin: 4 1/2
Harry: 4
Any more thoughts?:
Calvin: In the book, there's the quote, keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I think that Jason was pretending to be Dallas and Carter's friend so that he could be popular and not a target of theirs.
Cam: Jason separated himself from Georges knowing that Georges would get bullied.
Re: Taste as human experience:
Cam: I was playing football with pals. I was the youngest kid there. They had me be quarterback and I played really well. It was sweet. Sweet revenge for an earlier comment about my abilities.
Calvin: There was a hula hoop competition. The adults tied and the kids tied. I was one of the kids winners and it was umami.
The book for the next Book Club meetings is In a Glass Grimmly by Adam Gidwitz. There will be copies waiting for you behind the Circulation Desk. We will be meeting on Wednesday, April 3 at 3:00 p.m. to discuss this book.
