It’s week ONE of the SISTERS IN SANITY read along, part of the 5 month long Gayle Forman read along! The lovely Judith at Paper Riot is hosting the SISTERS IN SANITY part of the Gayle Forman read along and if you missed any questions or posts, you can find them all here!
Haven’t signed up for the read along yet? Don’t worry! You can still join us for SISTERS IN SANITY or any of the other four books coming up!
Questions week 3
1. Let’s talk about the most important thing here: Brit + Jed. How do you feel about them finally getting together? Do you think there’s a future for them if Brit gets out of the Red Rock?
WOOOOOO! I thought their first real moments were so sweet. For some reason I totally have a soft spot for ANY romantic scenes outdoors *cough*TheBookofBrokenHearts*cough* and I loved their little moment in Zion National Park. I’m so glad to see these two crazy kids getting together. If Jed is communicating with Brit and continuing a relationship even while she’s in Red Rocks! I’m thinking (and hoping) that he’ll stick around!
2. When Brit gets caught, V takes the blame. Why do you think she’d do that? Do you think there’s more to V than we’ve seen so far? And why would Brit be furious? Do you think this is a normal reaction?
I think V wanted to take the blame because she’s just a good friend. She had said that she wanted Brit’s reunion with Jed to be her gift and the gift just ended up costing more than they anticipated. It really didn’t seem like she wanted Brit’s moment to be tainted because she got caught sneaking out. I also think V doesn’t really have a lot to lose by being bumped down a level. I can’t remember who said it — Martha? — but one of the sisters made the point that she’ll be out soon anyway because she’ll turn 18 soon and Brit just had so much more to lose.
I’m actually not really so sure why Brit was SO furious. I mean, I get it to a certain extent because if one of my friends did that for me, I really would be upset. I would not want my friend to make such a huge sacrifice for me, but I guess me personally, I would just have to accept it at a certain point and move on. I don’t know… It kind of bothered me a tiny bit that she was SO irate about it because it did seem a bit like she wasn’t appreciating what V did.
3. “Maybe I was going to end up crazy too. Not the carving-my-skin, barfing-up-my-lunch, ditching-class- types that passed for crazy at Red Rock. But voices-in-my-head crazy. Crazy like my mother.” Brit is afraid she’ll end up like her mother. Why does she think this? Do you think she should feel this way? Would you feel this way?
It’s hard not to think that mental illness may be hereditary. Brit brought up that there’s always a risk for any disease — whether it be heart disease or a mental disease — that it may be hereditary so yeah, it’s a little scary! It’s hard not to have that thought in the back of your mind, hereditary disease or not. If ANYTHING was wrong with one of my parents or immediate relatives and something so serious, I would have that fear that maybe it could happen to me too.
4. Brit’s dad comes to visit, and Brit is angry at him for sending her to the Red Rock. Why did he send her there? Do you think he even knows himself? And do you think he’s right?
I felt so, so bad for Brit. At least her dad admitted that it was his choice to send her to Red Rock and I really think he did it simply out of fear. I honestly don’t understand another reason why he would and it really seems like he’s not admitting it to himself at all. It’s easy for Brit to blame it on her stepmom but once she finds out that it really was her dad’s decision… That’s a crushing blow. I really, truly think he did it because he was afraid that Brit could end up like her mother and he just couldn’t go through that again. He acted out of fear and immediately jumped to that conclusion — much like Brit’s shrink — even though it’s not a correct assumption.
5. And then, finally, we learn that Martha is in the hospital. For Brit, this is the final drop. She’s ready to kick some Red Rock butt. How do you feel about Martha? And what do you think Brit and the Sisters are going to do? Do you think they’ll succeed?
p212: “It was time to awaken my inner rebel, time to kick some ass.” HELL YEAH, B, YOU GO KICK SOME ASS! I was legitimately irate reading about how Martha ended up in the hospital and all of the hypothesizing (and rumors) from the Sisters that GUESS WHAT. Red Rock is going to blame poor Martha for what happened to her and not accept any blame or responsibility. WHAT THE HELL IS THIS PLACE. Can’t anyone call up some authorities and get this place shut down!? That’s abuse! These people are awful and that’s just not right. I’m right there with Brit! Bring it down! Down to the ground!
Wow, I certainly got FIRED UP in week three! What did you think of this week’s chapters??
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2 thoughts on “Sisters In Sanity/Gayle Forman Read Along – Week 3”
As you saw I pretty much agree with all your answers. It’s so crazy that a place like Red Rock can exist. I actually finished the book and there’s an author’s note in the back about how it’s based on a mix of different places Gayle Forman reported on while working at Seventeen. That was a while ago and hopefully regulation or whatever is better now, it’s so frightening to think a place like Red Rock could exist right now.
Sounds like we have similar thoughts yet again! Though I had a sneaking suspicion while reading that there’s more going on with V taking the blame than we realize. Guess we’ll wait and see!