Reflect, Your Choice:
The story I selected was Good with Boys by Kristen Iskandrain. Despite the mixed reviews it had in class, this story and its main character, Jill, was probably my favorite out of the three that we read. As I detailed in my third journal entry, Jill’s POV, inner monologue, character development, and relatability were what drew me in. Her behavior was cringe-inducing, partly because many of us have made mistakes similar to hers and know what she should do, and yet, no matter what we do, Jill will make those mistakes.
The part of the story that stuck out to me the most was when Jill, Esau, and Adam snuck off into an area of the museum they weren’t supposed to be. During this scene, the readers are able to see Esau up close for the first time and one of the first things he does is specifically choose his friend over Jill. While this is normal behavior for people in general, to choose spending time with friends rather than acquaintances, one of the next lines is Jill trying to convince herself that the way the two boys look at each other is merely boyish camaraderie. It communicates to the audience how futile Jill’s quest for Esau’s heart is, but I think this is where Jill starts to realize it too. She makes a couple more desperate attempts to get close to Esau again, and doesn’t seem surprised when they fail, only embarrassed.
Reflect, Bookmaking:
I wanted to put as few words as possible into the book. We have already read the story, and a part of me wanted to challenge myself to see if I could communicate the subject matter with only visual cues. However, there is also the knowledge that the characters’ words are not often what they mean, or they aren’t the purpose of the paragraph/scene. The characters’ actions speak louder than their words, so, by projecting Jill’s observations onto the page, I wanted to see if the story could still be told, or at least interpreted in this way.
During the scene I centered on, all Jill wanted was to spend time with Esau, but he instead wanted to hang out with Adam. As he unknowingly left Jill in the dust, she makes a comment in the narration about observing Adam and trying to be more like him in order to gain Esau’s attention. The scene ends with the kids being called back to the rest of their class, but I think it was the most important part of the story, other than the end with the butterflies. I already explained why I think this in the previous reflection, but the design of pages 3 and 4 is also supposed to coincide with how she focuses and compares herself with practically everyone else. Hopefully, the butterflies at the end symbolize Jill’s eventual chrysalis and emerging from her current situation to truly take life in her hands.
