Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim (Character Evaluation)

In the book Same Difference by Derek Kirk Kim, there are two characters. One of them is Simon. He caught my eye because of his past, and what he feels is going on with his life. In this book, you see him moving on while collecting bits and pieces of his past, and his old friends now. He regrets what he has done, both then and now. Simon is an interesting character, and this is why I decided to make my character evaluation on him.

   Simon's past wasn't a good one. He was often teased and considered a "nerd". But that isn't what he regrets. What he really wished he didn't do. When Irene, a blind girl, transfered to his school, he helped her out. She was like his best friend. But when she asked him to a school dance, he quickly made a lie so that he would not have to go. At least, not with her. Irene was very upset and sent him an apology letter, explaining that she only wanted to go as friends and that she really did not want to put so much pressure on him, so she was sorry. When he read it, he felt so bad, because he was the one that was supposed to apologize, not Irene. And the worst part? The only reason he said no was because he did not want people to think that he was so ugly that he resulted in dating a blind girl. In my opinion, he was so rolled up in regaining his self-esteem and not damaging his ego that he lied and regected the only girl that acually showed interest in him. And now he regrets this really stupid action. Simon wanted to say something, but by then, graduation came and they never saw each other again, at least until recently, where she invited him to her wedding.

  In the middle of the book, Simon bumped into one of his old "friends" from high school. They were married, and had a child. Jane (the wife) was pregnant with another baby. After the couple left, Simon felt sad, almost jealous. He admitted to Nancy (His best friend) that he felt this way. When  she asked him why, he told her that they were acually going somewhere, that they were taking on the big responsibility. They were going to have two babies! And Irene was engaged, almost to get married. Where was Simon? Working in a library in Ohio, with no girl, and a sucky apartment. I think that he felt like while his life was going on, he was also stuck in the same place. He didn't go to college, and he was going nowhere with his life. He had almost no friends, and going on like this wouldn't do him any good. He was mad that we was not doing anything with his life.

 In conclusion, Simon's life is a hard one, and he has a lot to think about. When  is he going to apologize to Irene? Or at least tell her the truth? What is he going to do with his life? Is he going to move forward? Is he going to stay the same way? These are all questions that I think need to be answered so that Simon can get a move on. What do you guys think??

The Luckiest Girl by Beverly Cleary (Character Change)

In "The Luckiest Girl" by Beverly Cleary, a girl named Shelley goes out to California for a whole school year to go to a different school. There, she met a nice friend (Hartley) And the boy of her dreams (Philip) But when Shelley gets a D in Biology, and Philip following right behind her with a F, Shelley has to get her game on. And with Philip not allowed to date Shelley anymore, Shelley finds out that maybe Philip wasn't who she was looking for.

In this Bittersweet love story, Shelley changes a lot. At first, Shelley yelled at her parents because she wanted to be like everyone else and have a yellow slicker. But when Shelley finally wears the pink raincoat and matching hat that her mom got her, she found out that it was nice, and that she didn't really need to be like everyone else. She also found that the raincoat was very expensive, and she felt bad that she acted so childish. As for Katie (Shelley's cousin), she also had to learn this when she got an "ugly" sweater from her grandmother. Shelley realized that she wants to go to college. She wants to study botany. She wants to learn more about plants, and do crossword puzzles and learn about things that make her curious. And she has to admit her own mistakes and her own responsibility in order to make those goals possible. She really matured a lot.

This story gave a lesson. That you don't have to be like everyone else. That you have to be like yourself. And that sometimes, the "perfect" boy, isn't what he seems. But sadly, Shelley has to go home, and leave (The boy that she fell in love with at the end, NO SPOILERS!!) and so it was sort of sad. But she learned a lesson. And that is what mattered.