Book Club Meeting #3

For our third meeting, we read and discussed chapters 12-16. Much like our previous meetings, we initiated our discussion with our opinions and the ideas we had reading the chapters. As with the majority of the previous chapters, these five all centered on providing different advice and life lessons for Jimmy and Kevin. A particular chapter that was quite intriguing for us was entitled "Lonnie G." In this chapter we learn through Lonnie G's grandmother that he recently held up a grocery store to be able to pay for his wedding. He was ultimately arrested and put in jail. Jimmy is later emotionally conflicted after Duke explains that everyone is given the same chances, and Lonnie G did not take the right ones. Jimmy genuinely believes that certain people have better chances than others. This was particularly interesting as it deals with two very strong subjects: making correct choices and equality. Personally, I do believe that some people are given more opportunities for success, however I am also a strong advocator for making your own success. We all thought that his chapter dealt with these two sensitive subjects quite well. In addition, we agreed that young students would benefit from learning about these topics. This chapter, specifically, would show young students how to make difficult decisions, and how to know the difference between a right and wrong one. Finally, we decided that we would finish up the last two chapters and discuss major themes for our fourth meeting.