NICK EARLS AND
REBECCA SPARROW
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Jul 30, 2007
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No preview
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Joel &
Cat Set the Story Straight
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Authors
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Publisher
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Penguin
Group Australia, 2007
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ISBN
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0143006916,
9780143006916
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Length
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252 pages
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Subjects
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Physhical appearance
1.
About Cover :
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247 page + cover
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HVS 70 gr
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Cover from Asturo
2.
About writer :
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Rebecca Sparrow : Joel and Cat Set the
Story Straight, co-written with fellow Brisbane author Rebecca Sparrow.
Abstract :
A
blue ink that falls on the head Joel started the day in the morning. Be
continued by he came late to the extension English by Mr. Ashton. and over
again unfortunately he had to pair up with the Cat who was already 15 months do
not ever talk to Joel. Joel and Cat they were broken home. Joel has a mother
who always mutually boyfriend and Cat have a father who was always busy with
the affairs job. In the beginning manufacturing of their tandem story they have
trouble because they did not have to communicate for 15 months. But luckily
they found the idea when they both were in a restaurant. After getting the idea
and they started making them in the story to each other each other down. Time
passes quickly and Joel Cat began to close, although they contain tandem story
about each other down with each other. Cat finally little by little began to
speak openly to Joel and Emma. And Cat admitted his guilt. Then they became
good friends and their tasks tandem story of Mr. Ashton get high appreciation
from teachers and friends for unique and funny story.
Main Disscussion :
Theme :
About
Family relatationship :
In many ways, Joel love
his mother. He is there for her, supportive of her, and looking out for her.
When Joel forces his mother to accept the truth about Jorge a new her boyfriend
he feels bad.
‘You had to do it,
though. You knew he was a fake so you had to let her know.
Well, yeah. But I kind
of liked it. There was this evil moment of triumph.’ (page103)
•
Does Joel break up this relationship for
his mother’s sake or for his own?
Cat too assumes a lot
of responsibility.
‘All I can think is that this is what parents
are supposed to look like. They’re supposed to be at their son’s soccer practice.
Doing the crossword. Looking daggy in high-waisted jeans. Not hungover. Or in a
holding cell at the police station. I feel like I have Britney and K-Fed for
parents.’ (page85)
‘For some reason I
can’t tell my mum how desperately I want her back. I don’t know why. It’s like
the evil me wants to see how badly I can hurt her feelings – the way she hurt
mine by leaving.’ (page93)
‘Mark shouldn’t have to
get a train to Toowong to see his mother. He’s five years old. You should be at
home. With us. With Dad. You don’t even look like you’re trying to work this
out.”
“Cat, believe me, I’ve
tried.” (page93)
‘She has all these unfulfilled dreams as Vanessa Lang – the person
she was before she married my father. Before she had us kids and her life
became all about lunch boxes and soccer practice.’ (page94)
‘I feel like my world has
officially come apart. And the worst thing is, I caused this.
This is my fault. I try
and get my parents back together, and somehow my father
ends up dirty dancing
in a restaurant with Joel Hedges’ mother.’ (page147)
Cat’s mother leaves the
family, frustrated that she has put her life, her career and her dreams on hold
for them. When she comes back she announces that she is going back to any
part-time.
About School :
This
story beginning from the school when Mr. Ashton give assignment “Tandem Story” which
is make in pair in two weeks.
‘We’ve changed the seating arrangements
today, Joel, he says. We’re working on something new. I head for the nearest
set of empty desks and he says, No,no, we’re all sitting next to people today.
Pairs. It’s all about pair. Mr.
Ashton writes TANDEM STORY on the board while I walk over and sit next to Cat.’
(page2)
Plot :
The Plot of the story, it is begin with the class of language extension
of Mr. Ashton, and he gave the students about writing the Tandem Story and the
students have to make a pair with the other to accomplished it, Joel Hedges who
gust came back from rest room with his hand soaked of with ink has been paired
with Catriona Davis, his nemesis.
Both of them never be able to get along
wherever, and whenever they are and after they got home they back to their own
personal life.
And after Joel arrived at home, Betty frost, she
used to be his baby sitter when he was a little child reheated a toasted meat
and made a bowl of salad for her own to be ate. She asked about his activities
at school and what happened to him while she was watching “The Simpsons”, Joel
explained about his Tandem story that have been paired with Cat Davis, but he
don't want to told her more than that because he didn't want if the subject
changing into “Emma Marchetta”.
He broke up with her 15 months ago without her
telling the reasons to him, well.. so many times he asked her about the
reasons, but there's nothing, no answer and he decided to keep silent after Mr.
Asthon ask him and gave him a quote “sometimes girls aren't interested, and you
have to let it go. It was often for me when I was at your age”. And it is sad
that it happens maybe almost after or before his parents got divorce under the
blow.
Well, after a moment resting, his mother Sandra,
went out with Jorge Rivera, her new boyfriend from so many boyfriends that she
have relation with, yes, she is a Play girl mother, and that's why his father
divorced her. And now, Joel is finished doing his homework and he is about to
sleep, several moments later he heard his mother and Jorge Rivera came home and
start to watched the porn DVD and drop the volume drastically. Then he covered
his face with a pillow and slept.
Cat Tuesday
In the morning her nose felt unwell and she
heard something about brand names that her father mentioned while her father is
about to go to work. And while she was on a drugstore tried to found the cure
of her hay fever, the chemist assistant suggest her to have a nasal spray for
her hay fever and suggest her to quickly decided, yes she made the line holded
for too long.
Then while her brother, Mark begged her to
bought him a pack of jellybeans she has to debate him about his teeth condition
and he rebuttle her with kid childish arguments and all that made her forced to
fulfill his request. Then she sat in front of her computer and tied to write
her first para and she thinking about the throbbing manhood and such adult porn
things but her cousin Brodie told her not to.
And the advice of Brodie made her gave up from
writing the part, and she told him that she have written on draft folders, her
mind is still confused about fifteen months never talked to him and now she has
to made a pair with him and contacted him by email then Emma Marchetta texted
her and called complained about her eyebrow that looks like a man.
Well the fact is that Emma and Cat is just like
the beauty and the brain, Emma looks like a beau-tiful girl who always insecure
with her dressing and all mix and match stuff, with her appearance that looks
like Megan Gale but lack of brains, then how about Cat? Well she is tall, with
a broad shoulder which she got from swimming, and no boobs, (LOL) she pitied
herself with her imper-fectionist by saying “I'm look like an ironing board
with blond hair”.
Then after Cat got home, she resting and having
a chat with Emma, and Emma look at Mark whom riding the bicycle with the tie
folded on his eyes, then Cat yelled at him to get her attention and told him
not to do that again, then the phone is ringing and it's Cat's mother and she
said that she was at Police Office, then three of them were heading to the
police station for picking Cat's mother, as long the journey takes Emma always
said bad things that make them go to jail, just like stealing a cat, jewel
thief, and maybe she killed someone. Mark always asks that things to Cat and
Cat is always explaining that mother is okay, and it's becoming a funny debate
between those three persons.
Then after they arrived at Police Station they
finally met with Mrs. Vanessa Davis a.k.a Cats Mother, and Cat thought that she
is being caught by the officer because of overdressing, just imagine, Women
around 40 years old, wearing all pink clothes, with stiletto hung at her neck,
and a balloon snapped on her hand. More over, when Vanessa talks to her
daughter smells like reeks of alcohol, she is drunk, and pushing the door that
says PULL (LOL).
Joel wednesday
After receiving the email from Cat, he read it
over and over again but still, he didn't understand about how the story will
move. He headed down to he kitchen and he met her mother still preparing for
breakfast, and Joel starts to ask her about Jorge Rivera her Nuevo Hombre, and
her mother seems not really wants to talk about him, Jorge said that if talking
much spanish will be bad for his english. Joel suggest her to watch the DVDs
and his mother accept it, his mother said that wheter he is getting interested,
but no. He starts to curious that Jorge actually isn't Salvadorean, and he
thinks that he would like to uncover Jorges mask.
At school, Joel doesn't want to make any
conversation to Cat, her paragraph is undiscussable and she had more snot than
spirit. Luke said that Joel broke her spirit down by his paragraph and Mr.
Ashtoe noticed and told them for not talking the Tandem story in class, it
should be discussed via email. Then Luke whispered to Joel that actually Cat is
the one who should start the story and questioned him “Did she A M A Z E you?”
no she didn't obviously.
Several moments later, Joel got home and asking
Betty about Jorge who is suspected as a liar in salvadorean style. Betty
realized to when Jorge was asked about where he came from and he can't answered
it clearly, he just said that he came from “THE VOLCANO” and when Betty asked
what the village name, Jorge said that “it is the only one village, so what
they should name it?” and when Betty a little insisted him to talk then he
drifted the answer “it has an old spiritual name that I can't spell it”. Then
the two of them (Betty and Joel) was searching for the information from
internet about El Salvador, and the hellish plan begun.
Then, when the day that Jorge came to Joel
house, and was watching the crickets game and have a little chat with Joel
about his school, and here the hell plans started. Joel said that he read about
the El Salvador at school and he start to asked Jorge with a bear trap question
about the independence day of El Salvador and celebration with the pig and
chicken. In fact theres nothing that kind of celebration, then Betty came and
brought them a jar or two of chutney then asked Jorge to make a Salvadorean
food for the dinner at Friday.
Then Joel came to his room and have forgotten
about that fake Salvadorean, and started to wrote the reply paragraph for Cat.
Cat Thursday
She had a bad day at school with Joel at Mr.
Ashton lesson because of she thought that the pragraph tha he wrote was a kind
of plagiarism and yes, Joel and Luke stared at her and maybe said something
like “what a a bitch” and stuff, and yes Cat thought that their relation moved
from ad to totally screwed.
Cat is at her casual work place and she had no
customer to be serviced and so, she kept herself busy and her supervisor came
to her and spelt her name which is phonetically wrong “Cat-tree-oh-na?” then
Cat nodded and looked at her and was thinking that if that old aged bratz like
face is smile, it would crack. Well then Ann -Maree the supervisor asked her
about the rule number four of the employee handbook that concerned about the
appearance and because of the store has a reputation so they have to and must
obey it with all cost.
Then she had her time to a little break and took
her time to checked the email from Joel and friends, well she had email from
Joel, Brodie that have attached with the link of Orlando Bloom and two emails
from Emma that said the first email that she can't attended to the cinema
because of her sister wedding and the other is about one of Oprah Winfreys
episode. After she checked the email from Joel she thought that he was kidding
with those para, but after re-checked over nd over again theres' nothing and so
she scolded with those para that told about total dickhead crazy man
parachuting with the knive on his mouth and a riffle on his back. (LOL)
Then at nine twenty five she got home and saw
her dad in a very messed up condition and asked Cat to sat and told her
something, Her dad, Dr.Davis told her that her mother is went away from home.
And he didn't know the reasons why but Cat said that it's all rubbish, she said
everything to her dad that he never have a good time for the family and yes, he
let everything crumbled up. Then she went to her room and start to typed the
para for Joel.
Joel Friday
Eizabeth is just like a genuis who can count to
three and spent her time brushing her hair, then sipping the tea and brushing
her hair again, then stared at somewhere contemplating about nothing and
brushing her har again, after the people who get bored and die and then the
children bored and die and the wars come and go Elizabeth still brushing her
hair.....maybe that whats Joel thought of Cats paragraph.
Then, the event is happened, well the fake
salvadorean man came at Joel house and everything have been prepared by Betty
and Sandra. It seems that the trap party for salvadorean has become a big
occasion for her. And yes he had a feeling that he stepped on a bear trap but
he is on his calmness and went to the kitchen and try to make something like
salvadorean food, but not in a salvdorean way, Joel caught him cheated by using
the instant seasoning for the ingerdients, but he pretended that theres nothing
happened and just moving the box away from the cooking area. Shitty reason and
not work for joel.
The food is ready and they are all invited at
the table and eat together, and the lie revealing plan was moving, Betty, and
Joel asked a question about El Salvador, about the food, his mother, even the
origins of the pappusas, well the result is obvious he couldn't give the right
answer and for the killing question, Joel said “You're not a Salvadorean at al
are you?” then Jorge said almost yell “Diablo! Donde este la oficina de
correos, por favor” Joel shocked and he silence in fear, but her mother translate
it in falt voiced “It is the spanish for “where the post office please”” then
Betty asked Joel to washing the dish.
Joel went up to his room doing his tandem story
and heard something that his mother said “You made a fool of me”, “You lied to
me” and so many things that kids should not hear.
Cat Saturday
Saturday morning, after she read the reply email
of Joel Hedges, she seems had bad point of view about Joel, she thought that he
is a pervert and playboy in a same place under the skin. Cat went down to the
living room and saw Mark eating pizza with a bottle of coke, and Cat freaked
out, and asked him to stop it, well she didn't allow him to eat the pizza and
coke for breakfast.
Cat offered a cereal but Mark said that there
was no milk at all, then she bargained him with a toast and nutela choco jam
and it works. Then Cat looked at the clock and its almost 20 minutes before the
soccer lesson start, she looked for daddy and asked him to took Mark to the
soccer, but daddy didn't want to do it.
So, the last option was she took Mark to the
soccer by her own with the car of her father and it is quite disaster when she
got it on the way to soccer field, she didn't good enough with her fathers car.
So after she got the empty parking lot then Mark whispered to her that he is
late, but Cat said that it is ok joined the training, because it was just late
for a minute or two. After that, they went to the field looked for the trainer
and they found it, his name is Rick without “P”.
He warned Cat to bring the hat next time when
she took him to the soccer training, Cat said yes and she looked after
Christiansen family asked for help to lift him home. After everyone is away,
she lean her head at the car steering and she started to cry.
Cat felt not going to work today, well she did
not in the mood of going to work because of the problem with her parents that
made her in a very bad state of condition. She called Myer from the empty phone
box which lies six meters from the Myer, the place that Cat work in. She called
and second person, well maybe it's Ann Marie assistant took the phone and
speak, Cat asked for permission that she won't be in today. She quite surprised
that it was that easy and she headed to the station to get the train ticket to
Toowong where her mother lived after she left home.
Joel and Luke caught her in her way to station
just right after she finished the phone call from the phone box, then they
asked her questions about what she was doing, then the complicated moments came
when Cat said that she was going to visited her mother, and she made a fake
reasons that her mother was in comma from appendicitis. Well then she got to
leave them.
Well, she finally arrived at her mother
appartement and her mother surprisely greeted her and Cat came in to her
mother's appartement. They have a little chit chat about the condition of their
family changed just after she's gone then, Cat asked her mother to came back at
her and family but still, there is a contraversion inside Cats heart, she
wanted so bad to had mom back at her family and in the other side, she didn't
want her back because of the hurt feelings after her mother leaving still
surrounded her heart.
Then she went at the library looked for the
articles about family counseling and she got some, after she got the material
that she needed, she went back at home and still with a very gittery feelings
surrounded her and she replied Joel email.
Joel Sunday
He stayed at home looked at her mother seemed
depressed because of two days ago's dinner, where they're all kicked the butt
of the fake salvadorean. To tell the truth Joel felt a it guilty because of
that incient, but his mother encourage him that it is necessary things to do,
if don't they will live in a lie.
Then he palyed at the pool with his friend Luke,
they taked about what's going on with Joels mother, about Tandem story, Cat
weird para, and Cats mother whose in comma. Well Luke seemed like to teased
Joel about “Cat wants a slice of Joel” and stuff. Then it was time to bake
Betty was planning to bake some maccaronies and as usual, she prepared a pot of
tea with milk and sugar.
Betty said to Sandra that Luke is a good boy and
she just answered “hmmmm” then she explained that Joel and Luke has been
friends since they at Chapel Hill State School 1996, and now she tried to pour
everything that she felt for that day and a half, she poured everything and
compared Jorge and Enzo, the fake salvadorean and fruit packer.
Then after that moment his mother asked Betty to
re heat the leftover in the fridge which are “Mexican food” and told them to
spent it all without her. And so the battle begun after they've had dinner, he
tried to accept the slight logical error about the Mad Eyes Eislander stuff.
Cat Monday
The day has started by her fathers woke her up
and asked her to have a breakfast together, then she surprised that her father
have changed, a hundred and eighty degrees changed! She wondered what had
happened to him, then she asked and her father said that he joined in a Single
Parents Support Group or such a thing that her father mentioned it as “Single
Groups”.
And she knew the reasons why the behavior of her
dad is totally different even he had recepie exchange with another women, and
that's not supposed to be happen. Then at school she felt rather disturbed for
Luke and Joel talking about the last saturday accidental meeting at Myer phone
box, Luke pretended to be Cat while she ducked around. Both of them laughed
about that all the time at Mr. Ashton Language Extension class.
Mr. Ashton explained about autobiography and experience
based writing on writing story, and Luke said something about his sex
experience but Cat made it became a joke, Joel and Prue laughed and Luke was
drained from the idea to confront with her.
Cat tried to reply the email from Joel by campus
computer, and before she was able to replied Emma came to her and caught her
have sent Joel many email since then, and Emma surprised and thought thet they
have a special relationship, but Cat explained that it is just for the
ridiculous tandem story. And then when she was ready to tell her about her
mother left from home Prue came in between thos two and asked them to see Ms
Turner baby.
After those two left, Cat back on her para
writing.
Joel Tuesday
Joel shocked when he knew that his character
that supposed to be a cold-ice killer get killed because of the unopened
parachute and separated from his tongue, hehe what a shock, then he asked to
Mr. Ashton about this situation where the charaters killing each other. As he
guessed that Mr. Ashton asked him to “Share” and improved his story.
After he got back at home his mother told him
that she met a new man and this time he is very kind man and he needed help to
solved his problem, that man and his mother made a appointment at Sizzlers at
Wednesday, so Joel surprised enough to fulfill that, he have to joined that so
called “date” at Sizzler. Well theres nothing to be argued anymore so yes he
forcefully agreed with his mothers suggestion.
Just before he wrote the next battling
paragraph, he saw an email from his father and family at Canberra and some
photos of his stepsister and half sister, Laurel and Charlotte the tennis
player and 8 years old daughter who fond of plants and drawing. He read that
his father gave him kind of suggestion and samples of tandem stories that might
inspired him a bit.
Cat Wednesday
She was forced to be awoke as fast as possible,
and her dad had a plan that they should go to Sizzler, with a half concious
face she was dressing, perfectly simple, jeans, shirt, and fringe on the
forehead to cover up the zit that looked red. Okay then they went to Sizzler,
Mark and dad talked about what kind of Sizzler they like and stuff, then dad
said the truth that they not only went just for ate, but also met someone that
have helped their dad whom made the children became dads most priority and to
made everything became easier.
But Cat didn't show a good response, well it is
quite normal that she still hoped that her mother would come back, solve their
problem, and they would be a family, a complete family ever ater. Her dad was
trying to convinced her about the condition, he said that they're just a
friend, no more no less, and they're just going to talked about family caring
and stuff. They arrived and get out form the car to the Sizzler. Cat hoped that
she could meet her mother than attended this kind of unreasonable meeting.
It is quite near from Sizzler to her mother
appartement, if only her mother didn't go vacation with the Buddha things, she
would be there at that moment. Then she came in to the Sizzler and she looked
the room and she realized that there was a woman waved her hand to her dad and
they went to the place of that woman and she realize that the boy next to her
is her friend. Nemesis. You name it, and yes he is Joel Hedges.
Both of them were surprised and yes they still
started the conversation about their children school and what they were doing
and stuff, almost triggered chaos between Joel and Cat. Well Cats dad said to
Joel that he hoped his partner wasn't a nightmare like Cats, and yes Joel said
that his partner was a lazy person, and untalented, verging on remedial and
drop kick also. Then both of them were going to the salad corner and talked
about the plan to separate those two. In this situation Cat told him the truth
that her mother actually have gone for almost a week.
Joel put his hand on Cat shoulder and he said
“we'll get this sorted out, I don't think this is as bad as it seems, Cat. I
don't think this is my mother is thinking” then since that time the moment of
intimay between them was over.
Then they went back to their seat and looked at
Mark ate his potato skin. Then Cat shocked when she looked at their parents are
hugging, dancing, in a flirtatious romance at Sizzler!! Joel then looked at
them and might be whispering “Holy shit” and stuff. Cat really hope that she
had that Eislanders stun grenade, and Joel hoped that he could go to the salad
bar and kill one of the parents to stop that kind of embarassing moment.
Joel went to ask her mother to stop and Cat cut
the hibachi chicken that her brother ordered and joel parent went back to her
place, then Cats father came up with a plate of pasta, but Cat asked her father
to went back at home immediately. And she started to wrote the next paragraph
with a different feelings.
Joel Thursday
Joel put his hand on Cat shoulder, and he
thought about her family, about her mom, about her sleep that she lost, about
her little brother that always eat but never took off his eyes from his game
boy. Joel didn't know what he have to do about that, he didn't know how to ease
her burden and he told her that they're a team. Especially when they watched
their act at the Sizzler, dancing and doing unapropriate stuff to be seen, that
could put scar on a child and include Joels heart too.
Then when Joel read the email from Cat he
surprised but in good way, well I thought that they are really stop the
intimacy between them. At school Luke was trying to figured out what happened
between Joel and Cat, while Joel smirk at Cat he thought that they had a
special relationship in between.
Then when Luke was looking for some books at
library Joel met Cat and tried to have a conversation about their parents and
such. He and Cat walked to the bench near the tennis court and they had their
conversation there. They talked about how to made their parents ended this kind
of madness, Joel almost did the same thing that he've done at Sizzler but it
didn't happen. It is school buddy, what do you expect? It would get worst if he
did that back caressing at school.
Then at Hedges residence his mother always
laughing when she got message from her friend, Joel thought that it must be
“Sleazy Pete” a.k.a Dr.Peter Davis a.k.a Cats father. Then Joel went to his
room and wrote the tandem story.
Cat Friday
She sat at the library and was reading the
French History book, and Emma came to her with a bit emotion in her tone she
asked “When were you going to tell me?” then Cat turn around with her knee
knocked at the cubicle desk and she felt a bit pain on the knee. Cat thought
that Emma saw her parent was dancing with Joel parent at Sizzler, so she tried
to explained everything to her that she went to Sizzler and met Joel there, and
Emma got dual shock at a time, she said “YOU WENT TO SIZZLER WITH HIM?” then
Cat seemed didn't get the idea so she asked what is the conversation about, yes
she had misunderstood about Emmas question.
Then she explained everything about what
happened between her and Joel at tandem story and when they were at tennis
court. Though Emma seemed little disbelieve what Cat said but finally she
understood the condition. And when Emma said that Joels hand was about to touch
her shoulder, Cat dying for it, and she even daydreaming that Joel will attend
at French History.
After they had a conversation about Joel then
they heard the lunch bell and they were about to go to caftearia for having a
pizza for their lunch and Emma asked her to go first and waited for her 5
minutes, but Emmas fingers said four.
She met Joel before she came out and Joel asked
her whether she had a plan or two to knocked their parents down from the date.
Cat felt that she got to go beause of Emma was around there and it would be no
good for her, and left Joel questioned.
At Davis residence, she found her dad looked
radioactive with his skin being fake tanned. Cat told him about his relation
with Sandy that won't work because of her mother. Well but her dad said that
they were just a friend, then she said that she is dating Joel Hedges to repent
her father dating Sandy, but it didn't work, and Emma came in and looked at
Cats father and gave same response about his orange skin. Cats dad said that
Cat is dating someone and Emma little bit surprised and after he said that it
is Joel Hedges, Emma surprised and little bit pissed off.
Cat cought red handed and she asked Emma to go
upstair at her room and explained everything, about her mom went somewhere god
knows, and her father dating Sandy, Joels mother that made her had to lie about
being his girlfriend. Emma knew her, she knew her condition and hugged Cat and
asked her to tell everything about what happened about her mother. Cat started
to cry.
At night, she opened the email from Joel Hedges
and read a para or two from his dad and realize that there was a folder that
contained pictures of his step sister Laurel and his half sister Charlotte, Cat
realized that she ever saw her and she recognized that she was the one who
walked with Joel and gave a hug and kisses to him and she is his sister, then
she felt really guilty. Guilty to Joel, and Emma.
Then she wrote the tandem story and asked Joel
about meeting somewhere and she would have something to tell.
Joel Saturday
Joel had a conversation with Luke about
cancelled movie watching because of dating that would happened at the day. Luke
asked to bring back the fake Salvadorean, and Joel said that he wasn't
Salvadorean, but Queenslander with Italian extraction. His mother heard that
and pretended tidied up.
After they finished talking, Joel came out and
his mother asked him to have some tea. And his mother asked about what they
tlked about and she hoped that there were nothing bad happened because of she
heard “nude” sentence came out from Joel Hedges mouth.
And yes after they had some tea Joel started to
go online and emailed Cat about the plan for preventing their parents dating,
and Cat suggested that better Joel pretended to be sick, and what kind of
desease? And she suggested to had appendicitis as the desease.
Setting :
Place:
·
The story happen in the Australia
exactly at Canberra
Time:
·
Two week from Monday until next 14 day
on Wednesday, when they sit at 3rd in senior high school.
Weather
Condition:
·
Home situation (they were broken home)
·
School situation (they were active and
clever students but they have some problem)
·
Restaurant (Sizzler Restaurant)
situation surprise and confusing for Joel and Cat, romantic for their parents.
·
Mood or atmosphere:
-
angry
-
humorous
-
fiction
-
happy
-
sad
-
confused
Moral Value :
·
Don’t judge
people by their looks
·
In the fact differentiate
between love and jealous is near
Confict :
Inner Conflict : Car broke Joel and Emma relationship. It’s totally
a misunderstanding, and totally her own mistake.
“The girl I
thought he was cheating on Emma with he was his sister” (page173)
Relational Conflict : Cat and Joel hate each other. They are involved in
shit tandem story.
Emma
had dating with Joel, before Cat broke up their relationship
Characterisation :
Mayor Character :
Cat
Davis
• Cat describes
herself as ‘an ironing board with a blonde wig’. She collects
old movie
posters, reads Neil Simon plays and looks for grammatical
errors on menus.
• She is clearly
responsible, as illustrated by the care she takes of Mark, her
brother, her
concern for his eating habits etc.
• It is Cat who
holds the family together when her parents have their
respective
breakdowns.
• Cat is a good
friend who likes to protect people – hence her determination
to break up Joel
and Emma.
• Interestingly,
Cat never tells Emma that she saw Joel with another girl.
Why?
Emma
Marchetta
• “Emma has
the body of Megan Gale and the brain of a ham sandwich.”
She is very
popular at school.
• Cat believes
that her friendship with Emma is a case of opposites
attracting.
• She is perhaps
more shallow than Cat, being far more looks oriented etc.
• She would
appear to be less intelligent than Cat - she is not in the
Extension
English class, doesn’t share Cat’s love of literature and loved
the movie Joe
Dirt.
• Emma forces
Cat to be less cynical.
• Are the two
girls really so different? We only ever see Emma through
Cat’s eyes.
Perhaps Emma doesn’t really have everything going for her.
Maybe in her
eyes she is as insecure as Cat.
• What evidence
is there that Emma also suffers from insecurity?
Joel
Hedges
• The only child
of divorced parents.
• Joel is gentle
and likeable – he has great relationships with his mother of whom he is very
protective, and his elderly neighbour, Betty Frost.
• He is also
clearly quite sociable and has a strong friendship with Luke (and the other
boys it would appear).
• He has
obviously accepted his parents’ divorce and his new family with his step-sister
and half-sister.
• Cat always
liked Joel. ‘He was funny and cool and made a point of including me in conversations
and stuff, which is not something you can say for most people’s boyfriends’.
(p76)
• Her opinion of
him only changed when she caught him cheating. ‘He was a bastard in sheep’s
clothing. That’s Joel for you, obsessed with getting his grubby little hands on
as many women as possible. That’s the problem with guys who know they’re good
looking. They think they can get away with anything. Bastard!’ (p77)
Luke
Pickett
• Joel’s best
friend
• Provides a
means through which Joel can reveal more of his feelings.
• It is Luke who
sees through Joel and Cat and exposes their relationship.
• ‘I’ve liked
her – liked her in that gut-churning way you think everyone’s able to see, but
hope they don’t – for about an hour now, and Luke’s been set to out me for
days. All my denials, most of which I meant, and it turns out it’s Luke who
sets everything straight’. (p233)
Vanessa
and Peter Davis
• Cat’s parents
• Cat’s mother
resents being a ‘single parent’
• Her father is
a GP who works long hours to pay for their lifestyle
• Both
experience their own form of mid-life crisis and react badly to their marital
stresses.
Minor
Character :
Sandra Hind
• Joel’s mother
• “Men are
her hobby”. She works as a New Singles Mentor at a counseling centre. In
many ways she would appear to have embraced divorce and be comfortable with it
– as illustrated by her work. But she is clearly lonely and looking for a new
relationship.
• Joel is ‘coping
with the boyfriend issue’, but clearly her relationships affect Joel. ‘I
prefer life when she’s not feeling like shit.’ (p103)
• ‘Maybe our
plan is on track, maybe I’m a mean-spirited, selfish son who’s aiming to stand
between his mother, her introverted war-damaged lover and any prospect of
happiness’.(p49)
• ‘Don’t
change for these crappy men, I want to tell her. But that’s not the kind of
conversation we ever have.’ (p64)
• Joel is
typically reticent to tell his mother too much about school or his personal
life.
Jorge
Rivera
• ‘If Jorge
were any more of a slug he’d leave a trail, mostly between the fridge and the
widescreen TV.’ (p12)
• ‘I can’t
guess at Jorge’s story yet, either. I can’t imagine what it is, who he really
is, where he goes from here now that he’s heading off into the night. How much
of his life is this lie? What’s left of it now that the lie doesn’t work here
anymore?’ (p73)
Conclution :
Reference :
Some
point in this report were taken from the following website :
