https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/35134091-all-we-can-do-is-wait
I recently began reading All
We Can Do Is Wait by Richard Lawson. This is a young adult novel about
several teens who all had friends or family on the Tobin bridge when it
suddenly collapsed and sent the people on the bridge crashing into the river.
The book is written from the perspective of four different people. The first
are siblings Jason and Alexa, who are waiting to hear about their parents. They
have a struggling relationship, and both are hiding things from each other. The
next person is Skyler who is desperate for news on her sister Kate. Kate has
always kept Skyler going, and taken care of her when she was going through the
hardest moments, so she is terrified at the thought of not having her in her
life. The last person is Scott who’s girlfriend Aimee was on the bridge when
disaster struck. They were having many conflicts with each other, but Scott
would do anything just to see her one more time. All these teens are all
waiting at the hospital for news on their loved ones, all alone and scared.
One
of the most interesting aspects of the structure of All We Can Do Is Wait is
that it is written from different perspectives with different narrators. We as
readers get to see the experiences of many different individuals. We have more
information as a whole than any of the characters on their own, because we get
all the stories, and this makes for a very interesting read.
One
of the ways in which this structure of multiple narrators proves to be the most
interesting is with Alexa and Jason’s chapters. Because they are siblings and
their stories are so intertwined, it is particularly fascinating to hear their
perspectives, especially on their own relationship with each other. Alexa has
gone to a private girls’ school and maintained perfect scores for years, and
Jason only views her as a perfect stuck up brat. When their parents suggest
going to a beach house for the summer, he thinks, “Even before she did it,
Jason knew that Alexa was going to take their parents side. […] Jason knew his
sister would say and do the right thing, the good thing, the responsible thing,” (Lawson 10).
This quote really shows Jason’s disdainful view of Alexa and her perfectness. Meanwhile,
Alexa is unhappy with her life of blindly following her parents command. When she
talks to a friend about not going to college, she says, “I mean, at least not
right away. I want some time to, like, figure life out before I just go off and
do the next thing that’s like, expected of me,” (46). While everyone else
around her thinks she is a goody two shoes, she is contemplating taking a gap year,
something her parents would dislike. She even has had frequent meetings about
improving her slipping grades. As readers, we get to see this from both
perspectives which makes it interesting. We can learn how our judgments may not
actually be as true as we think they are.
I
would probably recommend this book to people. I think that the idea is good,
and the structure is really interesting. By reading it we can see how people
judge each other, the harm that this has, and maybe go into our lives with a
little less judgement. However, I think the actual story is a bit boring and
slow going, so it may not interest many people. If someone were to read it, I
think it would be best for middle to early high school students.
All We Can Do Is Wait sounds like an interesting story about suspense, and the fact that the story switches narrators throughout the book seems like it would keep the novel fresh. I like how the book seems to juxtapose the relationships among the living against the relationships between the living and people who might be dead or dying. This book reminds me of how I tend to appreciate things more when they are gone. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I uploaded this I guess I didn't copy the whole thing, so I have added the rest of the blog. It is complete now. (Ms. O'Brien if you have already graded it, could you grade this actual version?)
ReplyDeleteThe plot of this novel seems very intriguing. I find it interesting how the book is written from the different perspectives of the main characters. I specifically appreciate how you include the uniqueness of the sibling's relationship. You did a great job on this post!
ReplyDeleteGood job! You made the book seem really interesting and unique. I think that the realism in this book and the fact that this is very much something that happens in real life is interesting and thought-provoking. I also think that the idea of judging people is interesting too as we don't know everybody's story, except for in this book, which is a cool idea. Good job, and I might check this book out soon.
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