Book Club Meeting #4

For our fourth and final meeting we finished reading and discussing the book. We initiated our discussion with our opinions and ideas of the final two chapters. What we found most surprising was that Kevin was arrested for possession because he "didn't want to look lame." This was actually quite disappointing. While Kevin was not a major character, he nonetheless provided peer support for Jimmy, and vice versa. It was saddening to see that Duke's advice was not taken to heart in Kevin, however it did provide Jimmy with an additional life lesson. We then discussed how these last two chapters provide young students with powerful insight into the negative repercussions that peer pressure can have. We agreed that the book ended in an interesting way as it came full circle: Ernesto (who is now the new kid) is now going to the Barber shop with Jimmy. Finally we discussed the overall themes we noticed, and our opinions of them. The obvious theme that was prevalent throughout the novel dealt with life lessons. However, we also noticed that there was an underlying theme of challenging authority, albeit in a positive way. That is to say,throughout the book Jimmy listened to Duke give advice, and his usual initial reaction would be to question or challenge Duke. However, after some explanation, Jimmy ultimately accepted Duke's wisdom, and understood it. We found this an important aspect of this book. It is important for students to develop their individuality and to understand who they are and how they fit into society. Without questioning the world around them to separate the wisdom from the folly, they might never gain this ability. We all generally agreed that this book was interesting, and would be a great read for young students. We might even use it in our future teaching careers.