Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth and Ernestine Carey

For my second book, I read Cheaper by the Dozen by Frank Gilbreth and Ernestine Carey. I chose to read this story because I had recently seen the movie and I wanted to see how much it differed from the book. It was not hard to find that the only thing the movie and book share is the title. I thought I would be able to compare the movie and the book in this blog to some extent, but literally nothing is the same except the number of children.



I liked the fact how character development was not a huge part of this book. If the authors had chosen to delve deep into each child's personality, the book would be as big as a dictionary. Instead, they chose to develop the family instead of every individual person. This not only allowed everybody to share the spotlight, but it also sent the message of how a family can be close, no matter how big it is. When a certain part of the book did focus on a specific child, they were easy to relate to by showing emotions that every human encounters. Embarassement was a prominent feeling among all the children. As you read the book, you find out their dad would not be considered normal. He would come and visit them during school hours and make sure they were behaving. He would also chaperone the older kids on dates. If my dad did that, I would probably go insane from embarassement! And that is exactly what happens to the children in the story. They are not portrayed as heavenly children that do not ever do anything bad. The authors show them as normal kids, faults and mischief included.

There really is nothing negative to say about this book. It was interesting, even though there was no specific plot. It provided emotion, but at the same time remained light and fun. The book was a joy to read!

One specific theme I picked up from the book was that anything can be done if you put your mind to it. Just the concept of a family with 12 kids sends this message. Most modern day parents would be freaked out if they had that many children to take care of. However, the dad and mom wanted this many kids and they were determined to raise them the best they could. Even though there were many problems and arguments, they would find a way to work it out. Another theme I saw was efficiency is important to accomlishing goals. The dad in the book is an expert on "motion study", the study of making labor more efficient. He not only uses this in the workplace, but in his household as well. He has a set schedule for all his children to do their chores and practice personal hygiene.

The whole familiy unit seems real and believable in this book. Nobody is perfect, including the parents. In many instances, the dad will crack a joke towards one of his kids. Later on, the same kid will say the same joke towards a guest, offending the visitor. The dad then sees his mistake and admits he was wrong. Everybody in this book seemed to remind me of myself. Even though I didn't go through the exact event the characters went through, I experienced something similar.

Shift by Jennifer Bradbury

The first novel I read this year was Shift by Jennifer Bradbury. To briefly summarize the book, two high school graduates, Chris and Win, set out on a cross-country bike trip the summer before college. During the trip, Win disappears without a trace while Chris finishes the trek and returns home, assuming his friend came back. When Chris finds out Win did not return, he tries to solve the complex puzzle and find Win.

Let's start with what I liked about the book. I liked how the author switched from the present (after Chris returns home) to the past (during the bike trip). This element of flashback was used very effectively. It allowed me as the reader to try and figure out the mystery without easily giving it away. This format also gave great depth to the characters. Seeing their past allowed me to see how they reacted to certain situations as well as their personality. The author did an excellent job developing the two main characters and making them easy to relate too.

Now, for the negative aspects of the book. To be honest, this novel captured my attention to where I read for almost 2 hours straight! Although I had an idea of what the outcome was, I was still held in suspense for most of the book. I was thoroughly enjoying this mystery. Then, I read the ending. And it was horrible! I don't think it even deserves the title of an ending. It dissappointed me so much, I could only think about how I wanted the time I spent reading the book back. I will try to explain my dissapointment as best as I can. Basically, this story built itself up to end with a major conflict. Someone would have to make a choice and somebody would be hurt by it. The author wrote the plot in a way where a sad ending was inevitable. And then, she wimped out. It was like the author played an entire football game, only to forfeit when it went to overtime, the hardest part of the game. Basically, the antagonists all of a sudden became "nice" and all the conflict just seemed to disappear. Any conflicts that just could not be left out were left to the imagination of the reader. There was absolutely no real closure to the book. I don't know what led the author to believe she had a good ending, but it definitely fooled her into ruining a potentially good book.

I thought the characters, especially the two main ones, were portrayed as a regular human being with their faults and successes. They are easy to relate to as well. The author goes into detail about how they were raised by their parents and how their personality developed. There are many points to where the average reader can say, "I've been through that".

Both main characters were definitely dynamic in their growth during the book. However, Chris is the one that stuck out to me the most as changing. At the beginning of the story, he is reliant on his parents for lots of things. He isn't an independent thinker. As the book goes on, though, Win starts to bring him out of the box a little. Chris soon lets Win's wild lifestyle affect him and he starts to become more independent. Finally, going on the bike trip shows Chris he can rely on himself. When Win disappears, Chris' newfound independence is put to the test as he sets out to find him alone.