In side a we meet Sasha, Alex, Rob, Bennie, Stephanie, Rhea, Scotty, Alice, Jocelyn, Chris, Mindy, Joe, Carlie, and Rolph. I read side a at a later time than the rest of my class, so I knew everything that was going to happen to these characters before actually reading it. Now that I've finished reading it I definitely have a different perspective than my classmates. The first chapter is all about Sasha, her stealing problem, and her date. She's my favorite character in the book because she was independent and although her life had spiraled out of control like the other characters she had the intentions of fixing herself. From class discussions (I have yet to read, but I intend to because I am hooked) I learned that she ends up happy. She has two kids and she marries Drew, who we meet in part B. What I find interesting about her stealing problem is that she is tempted to steal things with significance to others. It gave her a high, "leaving them untouched made it seem as if she might one day give them back; because piling them in a heap kept their power from leaking away" (Egan 16-17). I picture Sasha as Jennifer Lawrence if this book was made into a movie.
Then in chapter 2 we get to know more about Bennie, while Sasha is still his assistance so we're in the past. We meet his kid, Chris, and how his life has taken a turn for the worst; he's divorced from Stephanie at this point. The theme of time is now introduced and how no one wants to get old, but its inevitable. He's been thrown off his game and feels the need to use a "cure." He doesn't make my top 5 favorite characters list from this first impression. He thinks, or he may be, that he's in love with Sasha. I thought that was cute. But according to Sasha they need each other. Sometimes people become a part of other people, and a relationship would ruin them. I picture Bennie as Ralph Macchio.
Next in chapter 3 we go back in time when Bennie, Scotty, Rhea, Alice, and Jocelyn are all in high school. Bennie was more of the underdog, Scotty the hot shot, Rhea the wing woman, Alice is Alice, and Jocelyn is the definition of live fast and die young at that age. The title of the chapter is "Ask Me If I care," thats the most popular phrase among high school students now a days. Lou is Jocelyn's what we call now a days, sugar daddy. He's 43 years old and he's a music producer. We also meet Charlie and Rolph, his children. My favorite part in this chapter is when Lou is having a conversation with Rhea. When he says, "You're going to keep me honest, Rhea" (Egan 56). He knows what he needs, but probably won't do it. He tells Rhea not to change because she's beautiful the way she is. The question, "is not caring what makes a person real?" (Egan 58)is asked and at that age everyone is trying to be real, but who really knows who they are at that age. I pictured Scotty like Sodapop Curtis from The Outsiders, Lou as Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jocelyn as a young Miley Cyrus during her Liam Hemsworth stage.
Chapter 4 for me was the most innovating, but it wasn't my favorite. It was in the past tense, but then a separate paragraph there was something describing the future. One can compare the current with the future, and thinking about the future gives me depression. Because how did someone get from side a to side b. One never realizes the transition from side a to b. Before we know it we're divorced with two kids along with the other kids the man one married has already had with past wives.
Chapter 5 was definitely one of my favorite chapters. It was the biggest on nostalgia and we're in present time I believe. Lou is dying, he got old something he thought he could avoid. Rhea and Jocelyn go to visit him because Bennie was able to contact everyone to come visit and say goodbye to Lou. At this point Scotty has disappeared. Jocelyn recalls the parties Lou held, Rolph, and how she had lost herself. My favorite quotes from this chapter are, "We know him from a time when there was no such thing as normal people dying" (Egan 85), "So this is it - what cost me all that time. A man who turned out to be old, a house that turned out to be empty" (Egan 87), and "We're there, the three of us, like before. We're back at the beginning" (Egan 91). Sometimes really depressing words or realizations that you can't figure out the deeper meaning to are sometimes the prettiest things you could have read and you sit to think about it and just get sad. You're like plato trying to figure it out, but sometimes words are just words, but these are my favorite words. I was somewhat sad at this part of the book. Sympathy towards the life Lou had lived and what became of Jocelyn.
Chapter 6, we finally get back to Scotty. His life has definitely gone downhill since high school. He married Alice and then got divorced after four years. He works for the sanitation department and fishes out of the East River thats filled with pollution. He goes to visit Bennie after all these years and Bennie is now a big music producer. While in the waiting room he thinks about how socializing in his day and age wasn't a thing anymore and what can you do outside that you can't do from the comfort of your couch. The situation in which Scotty ends up in depresses me the most because what happened between a and b. He remembers feeling pain watching people in a library gala, and he tries to convince himself there's no difference between being "inside" and being "outside" because it all came down to X's and O's (Egan 97). He avoids thinking about his reality like he avoids thinking about Alice or Bennie. Bennie feels superior to Scotty when Scotty goes to visit him. Scotty realizes they aren't friends anymore because they're not the same person anymore. Losing a connection you once had with a friend you once shared a telepathic connection can certainly put a damper on your day. My favorite line and metaphor from this chapter are "It had been a long time since anyone had thanked me for something" (Egan 107) and the metaphor of cleaning his jacket. A simple thank you had brought Scotty joy. Its the simple things in life that are unappreciated. He believed that every time he cleaned his jacket it was like starting over. Maybe thats what has been keeping him going all these years. Scotty definitely makes the top 5 favorite characters list.
I loved to see these characters grow and see their happy endings or their ending because it gave me some type of closer.
