Readers Response A (Sketches)

I am in the group Reading "Sketches" by: Eric Walters.

This is my first Readers Response, or Readers Response A.

Question 1: Copy down a quote from a character and explain why you think it's meaningful. What does it suggest about this character's personality? Personal qualities? Etc. Explain your thinking.

The quote I chose was, "I'd rather have smokes than food." Brent said it on page 21, paragraph 7. It was the quote that made me think the most and that is why I chose it. I think this quote is meaningful because it shows that if a starving street kid would rather have cigarettes than food then smoking must be very addictive. I think it's so sad that so many homeless people are addicted to smoking because it takes out a large chunk of their money and there are many health concerns around smoking and most street kids (mostly in the states) can't afford healthcare. I think Brent is probably trying to get off all other drugs--which are even more expensive--so he got really addicted to smoking so he could wind off of other drugs. Fortunately Ashley threatened him so he doesn't seem to have a problem with other drugs anymore. I don't think the fact that Brent smokes suggests anything about Brent's personality, other than the fact that more people might know he is "Street" but based on what we know about his appearance it's not hard to guess. I think the fact that he has a drug problem makes him more interesting of a character because it makes him seem more realistic. I wonder if he smoked before he was on the streets or if it was after he was on the streets because he wanted some sort of pleasure and a way to deal with stress and then he got addicted.

Question 2: What were your feelings and first impressions after reading the opening chapters of this book? Explain.

When I first starting reading the book it wasn't an insane page turner but I still wanted to keep reading. I found the beginning a little bit predictable, but it does still have mystery. I like the fact that Eric Walters decided to not tell us right away how and when Brent ended up on the streets (although I'm dying to find out) and what exactly Dana's step-father did to make her leave home. Even though the characters don't have many personality traits so far I still felt emotion towards them all. I felt like I could relate a lot to Dana, I felt a strong dislike towards Ashley (she is growing on me now though) and I felt like Brent would make a good friend and like I mentioned before, he seems very real. I found this to be a spectacular book for discussing. I could go on and on with this book and after reading 46 comments (between both discussions) so far I think most people would agree with me. I am looking forward to seeing what will happen next for Ashley, Brent and Dana.