Up Country

Written 2.22.06

Reader response to Up Country by Alden Carter

Prologue: Ok. I'm going into this book completely blind. I've never heard of this author. I know nothing of the story.

p7. Excellent hook. Awesome first paragraph. It already seethes with attitude. Oooh... it's ANGRY! A book for the more mature readers, methinks.

p8. OOH! It's in Milwaukee!

10. Pretty harsh- definitely for older readers. "My stomach found its way back from my shoes and growled that it could use some feeding." Fragment for emphasis- love it.

12. "Pretty neat how love makes so many bastards in this world." heheh. The plan? Thge Plan sounds quite facist at this point. IT's gotta be pretty important if it's capitalized. (sarcasm)

p13. "I was saving my money for a worthwhile cause." There are answers to questions already... I don't know what the questions are so i wanna keep reading. "I'll join the resxt of you sinners today." heh.

p14. Car thieves. How the hell old are these guys?! The Plan has something to do with college.

p15. "I kicked my inner voice in the teeth before it could get out that last word." reminds me of me and Rats saw god. I'm liking this character already.
Garish? Function: adjective Etymology: origin unknown 1 : clothed in vivid colors 2 a : excessively vivid : FLASHY b : offensively or distressingly bright : GLARING 3 : tastelessly showy lmao. source: www.m-w.com

16. Mrs. Staggers. What a suitable name- if not a bit desperate. Kind of confused because there was only a space to denote a change in setting. I'm still back at the bar while they're in the courtroom.

18. central theme emergin here- parents controlling life- every teen can realate to that. I dunno WTF he's doing that he's got $300-or more- sitting around in a shoebox but I really wanna find out. He's either 17 or older- I don't think I'd have been willing to part with $300 at that age. Certainly not now, either.

21. WTF. he sounds like my dad.

22. Seniors

25. Is this part of the Plan?

26. Lines to separate flashbacks?

27. "Better start praying harder." Veronica- Wiped the face of Jesus- patron saint of photographers. You could have a FIELD DAY deconstructing the names in this book.

28. Love the letter- title mentioned- maybe foreshadowing- will he see them soon?

29. Favorite fantasy= the Plan

30. "What the hell was I doing with this idiot in my car?" LMAO

31. "Not m,any people can tell you the day and the hour when their lives changed forever." I beg to dispute this. This shows us that the narrator trusts the audience enough to share and step inside his head. It also tells us that he's a complex character.

32. That's how I felt my Frosh year when my English teacher said, "you know exactly what you're talking about."

33. "For the first time in my life, I'd discovered something that was completely, absol.utely predictable. You only had to learn the rules." .... If life were only that easy.

34. He lies to Steve because he thinks he's an idiot. "Well, hell, let's smoke a joint, then maybe that'll turn you into a human being." It's overrated. and icky. The Plan involves college. An escape Plan. Reminds me of escape plans for fires. He's trying to escape from the fire eating his life.

35. "My inner voice was telling me to shutup, but I didn't pay attention." He is VERY ANGRY. I can certainly identify with this. It gives the work a certain tone and language that are wonderful.

37. I love how he personifies his stomach and talks to himself. I do this.

39. His inner monologue is awesome- it echoes how I write on my xanga.

49. I kind of fell the same way with one of my relatives. I only have next semester until I'm done with school. I can't wait for the day I get to tell her, "Oh no. You don't get to tell me what to do. EVER. AGAIN."

53. PSYCHO

58. Ronnie is a really big C-Word. I don't like her. She's a horrible parent and relies on men too much to define her. I'm glad she's getting arrested. I also really HATE how she constantly calls him "baby."

59. Rocking back and forth is a psychological coping mechanism.

62. I KNEW IT!

From this point forward, I'm not going to respond ad nauseum. I' write a final summation when I'm done.

118. "Or at least some very pissed of rabbits." I FLIPPING LOVE THIS.

141. "I'd iced her, and that's what I was going to do to all of them. From now on, straight ice. The ol' professor was back, his stainless-steel heart pumping frozen methane--a creature designed for one of those distant outer planets where nothing lived but the wind and the cold. That's where I belonged, standing on a planet a billion miles from earth. I wanted to look up and see the sun no bigger than a pea, a sun so small that I could pinch out the light between thumb and forefinger and imagine I heard a pop." Love this description. He reminds me of Steve in Rats saw god. Gets soft but toughens right back up again.

Final Summation:
This is a great local book. I know exactly where the greyhound bus station is in GB. I could really imagine him sitting there. He's a great narrator. This story is awesome because it deals with real issues and consequences- not only for the kids but for the scumbag parents. I would use this in my classroom. I think that there is a great opportuntiy to compare and contrast novels with the similar theme of juxtaposed settings.

For instance: Huck Finn: River/Land, Hoot: Nature/School, Harry Potter: Hogwarts/Dursleys, and Up Country: Country/City.

Just a thought. I think guys will definitely love this book. tough call on the girls. I think any child of an alcoholic can definitely relate to it... and anyone who's ever been angry before as well. definitely worth recommending.