Hiding

“Don’t let them see you. But I think it hurt him, to hide so much.”

- Ask Me No Questions by Marina Budhos

"...and even without clucking like a hen, everyone gets noticed now and then..."

-Mr. Cellophane, Chicago

They are trying not to be noticed, because they don't want to be remembered. They can't be too amazing at anything, nor can they be too awful at anything. They assume that if people notice, they start asking questions. But not being noticed... Not being noticed for 7 years has got to take a toll. I think Uncle is like that. I'm not mad at him, I think he's just bitter. Customs that are completely different than what he was used to, people and family who are changing, all around him... Like Aisha, his control is slipping, and he can't do anything about it.
No, he should not have taken out his anger on Nadria. But I can understand the reasoning for his anger.

Uncle and Reading

I just want to continue reading. I'm glad that she turned the tables and yelled at Aisha, I think she deserved it. I can understand where Uncle is coming from, but instead of being the kind of person who gets all sad, and low, and non-responsive, he turns his anger into violence.

I just want to read more of it. :-)

People and links

She talks about ugly black power, that she has discovered. 

And then how Tasmalia is fire.

And how uncle can be so traditional. 

90's & Chapter 5

It's set in the 90's. There is a mention of the Britney Spears poster that's in Aisha's room, it was the only one she was allowed to have, and Aishas shirt, with Destiny's Child, that Ma thinks is too tight. I just think it's cool to be reminded of stuff that I haven't heard of or seen in a while.

I think the dude with the spiffy car and loud music will turn out to be a good character. I like the way Nadria approaches him with uncertainty and the way that her cousin, the girl with the low rise jeans, black T-shirts, and cropped hair thinks about the world, and getting angry, and the bit about her being a ring of angry flames; but then again I understand Nadria's point of view, and how she cannot understand why people claim that she won't understand, and the way they talk to her, and look at her, and that pressing feeling of just wanting them all to shut up. 

Count the Links

So... Remeber my blog about how much Aisha bugged me... Yes, well, guess who agrees with me (just not quite as strongly... but she does still manage to make pretty much the same point.) CLAIRE! [Oh, and go check out her poll too.]

And, like Maya states here, that she doesn't think that Nadria likes her sister.

hmm... I also think that Alissa makes an interesting point as well, however I'm not so sure if I agree. (with her reasoning that is.) I would not know what to do in that situation, I do not know how he felt, and I have never been in a anything similar to this, therefore what to do... escapes me.

p.s. as you can tell. Hyperlinking is now awesome. :-)

This is why Aisha bugs me.

I really don't like Aisha. She really bugs me. She's the kind of person who can do anything or say anything and get away with it, and she knows it. And she can pull it off because she's perfect. She's brilliant, she's nice, she wants to get into a good college, (really badly), she's on the debate team...

"No way am I sticking with Aisha. What that really means is I'm supposed to do whatever she says, and then she gets all the credit. 'Forget it.'" -page 28

"She began to study the other kids-especially the American ones. She figured out how they walked, what slang they used. Sometimes she'd stand in front of the mirror practicing phrases like 'my mom' or 'awesome.'... ...Aisha can't go to sleep at night unless she lays out her next day's clothes on a chair: her top, her pants, her matching underwear. Then she stacks up her notebooks with the spines lined up and zips up her pens and pencils into a plastic bag. After she's crawled under the covers, she keeps talking into the dark, rehearsing who she wants to be the next day."

See, this is why Aisha bugs me. She has to be perfect. She works so hard for the illusion of natural perfection, when really every move is practiced until it looks like herself. 

People claim that Aisha is the stronger one, but I think that's not true. Aisha is the one that is more driven. Nadria is much more comfortable with who she is, and would be much more comfortable if Aisha weren't there. 

Jokes... & Frogs.

"But the jokes lie still in our throats" - (Page 1)

I liked the way this sounds, and the way it makes images pop up in my head. (For some reason, i imagine people with frogs in their throats... but everyone is trying to swallow it, and pretend like it's not there, which works ok, until *ribbit!* [Don't ask.]) I think it definitely added tension to an already stressful scene. So far, I'm impressed, granted, we've only read 10 pages, but still. There's really good language in the way she works with words. Oh, and compared to Across A Hundred Mountains... nobody has died yet! :-)