Simone Elkeles How To Ruin A Summer Vacation

525 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Dysfunctional family in literature essay pdf

"Simone Elkeles." Contemporary Authors Online. Detroit: Gale, 2014. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.

This website provides a biography for Simone Elkeles and also informs that she was born in Chicago, Illinois where she still currently lives. It wasn’t until Elkeles had her second child that she realized that she wanted to pursue writing. Both her father and husband are Israeli. She has visited Israel several times, which inspired her to write her first novel, How to Ruin a Summer Vacation. Amy Nelson is a spoiled American teen that has to spend her summer in the Middle East. This is a character Elkeles created in hopes of “providing readers with a balanced view of the Israeli people and their culture”. Elkeles has written many …show more content…

The novel deals with the constant struggle for the main protagonist, Caleb Becker and Maggie Armstrong to return to their normal lives soon after they try to cope with the results of a drunk driving accident. As Caleb is preparing to leave the juvenile detention after a year for crashing into Maggie while driving drunk, Maggie is recovering from the accident. In the novel we view how difficult it is for both Maggie and Caleb to readjust to their normal lives after the accident. Maggie struggles to forgive Caleb for causing her to lose her tennis scholarship to Spain due to her leg injuries. Caleb has a difficult time letting go of his hate against the world for keeping his secret. The two characters soon find comfort in one another and realize that they need to look after each other. Maggie and Caleb fall in love but soon break up due to Maggie not allowing Caleb to look at her scars. By the end of the novel Caleb decides to leave his hometown. We also find out that Caleb was not responsible for the car accident that injured Maggie but his sister, Leah. Elkeles teaches the reader about family tensions, teens growing into their own skin and about the reality of overcoming a painful

Show More
Related

  • The Wolves Of Mercy Falls Trilogy Summary

    917 Words  | 2 Pages

    The diverse alternation of point of views also provides the story an effective way to reach out to readers and be felt. The characterisation is effectively done and applied as Sam, Grace, and the other supporting characters play individual, crucial roles in the course of the story. All the elements of a typical young adult novel, consisting of a gap-filled relationship between children and parents, emotion-driven teenagers, and a unique conflict that makes the book distinct from fellow novels, combined with the dangerous consequences of the challenges the couple encounter, make the book different from all other of the same genre. The plot unfolds slowly giving readers enough time to adjust and anticipate the heavy conflict when it arises. It has gotten us so hooked but the only thing we could possibly dislike about it was the slow pace of plot. The anticipation was too much to handle and we were practically buzzing and bouncing to know how the story turns out as we read. It builds the anticipation, excitement, thrill, sadness, grief, loss, and longing in such an effective way to entice and hook readers further into the world of Sam and

    Read More

  • Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse

    636 Words  | 2 Pages

    Karen Hasse’s novel is an attention grabber because of the way it is written. Moreover, it is very interesting and is broken up into four different seasons which are spring, summer, winter and fall. Many young adults reading the text and undergoing challenges in their lives can identify themselves with the character Billie. The story is told in first person point of view and narrated from the main character’s view who is Billie. Billie faced a lot of challenges in her life and she did her best in trying to overcome them. At Billie’s age, many young adults will always want to escape from their lives and look for a change just as she did but they will learn after reading her story that one needs to face her challenges because running away makes things worse than they were.

    Read More

  • Transformation of Carl in A Bridge to Wisemans Cove

    942 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... then meets Joy Duncan and Justine who just like him the way he is, they are not concerned with his social status, they like him because he is a kind, genuine boy. As the text goes on, we watch Carl and Justine?s relationship flourish into something bigger. This helps him with his self esteem. Justine shows him the true meaning of friendship and shows him that he is loved and worthwhile. There is also Carl?s relationship with Maddie. At the beginning of the story, Carl follows Maddie around because he notices her, she stuck out from a crowd. He then helped her on New Years Eve. Maddie was quite cruel to Carl but he never gave up and near to the end of the novel, they form a true friendship. Maddie, Carl and Justines friendship was very important because they all leaned on eachother through hard times, like the hard times Carl and Maddie were going through.

    Read More

  • Challenging the Content of "Vegan Virgin Valentine"

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mara, the main character, is a perfectionist. She has straight-As, is in National Honors Society, and is a future Yale student. She is competing with her only ex-boyfriend for the Valedictorian. Her life changes completely when her niece V, who is only a year younger than her, comes to live with Mara. V is a slutty, druggie that has an attitude. This story takes the reader on an adventure of two complete opposite girls who have to learn to love each other. Mara eventually learns that she cannot control everything and has to take life as it comes.

    Read More

  • Individualism in "Anthem" by Ayn Rand

    814 Words  | 2 Pages

    This book teaches the importance of self-expression and independence. If we did not have these necessities, then life would be like those in this novel. Empty, redundant, and fearful of what is going on. The quotes above show how different life can be without our basic freedoms. This novel was very interesting and it shows, no matter how dismal a situation is, there is always a way out if you never give up, even if you have to do it alone.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Mitchell Stephens

    717 Words  | 2 Pages

    Mitchell Stephens plays on our emotions in so many different ways in this novel. At first Stephens comes in almost like a hero, trying to find justice for these hurting people in the small town of. Stephens causes our perspective to change with his statement that “ there are no accidents. I don’t even know what the word means, and I never trust anyone who says he does.” “Someone must be to blame.”

    Read More

  • The Common of Ellison's Battle Royal and Hemingway's Soldier's Home

    1172 Words  | 3 Pages

    Ed. Jennifer Smith. Vol. 11. Detroit: Gale Group, 2001. Literature Resource Center. Web. 12 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • The Space Between by Don Aker

    1544 Words  | 4 Pages

    Life is a complicated process. It’s filled with many things that keep it interesting but at the same time, very dull. Life’s what you make it and for many, it’s something we all strive for. In the story, The Space Between, the author takes full advantage of the premise as there’s rarely a dull moment- as in life. The book is filled with many literary devices that work nicely with the plot and dialogue. These include; metaphors, similes, irony, personification, and many more. We follow a young man who is finding his way in the world. He has only a week to change his life for the better. But he will face many obstacles on the way that brings the readers into a startling and fun journey.

    Read More

  • The Effects Of Death In The Lovely Bones By Alice Sebold

    1742 Words  | 4 Pages

    Throughout the novel, crucial family members and friends of the girl that died are meticulously reshaped by her absence. Lindsey, the sister, outgrows her timidity and develops a brave, fearless demeanor, while at the same time she glows with independence. Abigail, the mother, frees herself from the barbed wire that protected her loved ones yet caused her great pain, as well as learns that withdrawing oneself from their role in society may be the most favorable choice. Ruth, the remote friend from school, determines her career that will last a lifetime. and escapes from the dark place that she was drowning in before. Thus, next time one is overcome with grief, they must remember that constructive change is guaranteed to

    Read More

  • Octavia E. Butler's Short Story Speech Sounds

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    Podolsky, Marjorie J. "Octavia E. Butler." Magill’S Survey Of American Literature, Revised Edition (2006): 1-5. Literary Reference Center. Web. 14 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • Literary Analysis: "Everyday Use"

    692 Words  | 2 Pages

    Detroit: Gale Books, 2007. Literature Resource Center -. Web. The Web. The Web.

    Read More

  • Relationships in "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses"

    997 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The story employs a dramatic point of view that emphasizes the fragility of human relationships. It shows understanding and agreemen...

    Read More

  • Summary Of Somebody Somewhere Poem By Donna Williams

    726 Words  | 2 Pages

    She continues in this sequel to talk about the abuse she faced and the dysfunction that surrounded her life as a child and as a teen, and the ‘empty space’ in which she lived in as a result. She talks about the multiple personalities she was exhibiting, the rebellious “Willie” and the kind “Carol”; as well as hearing noises and her sensory problems. In this book, the author puts more emphasis on the “consciousness” and “awareness” and how important that was for her therapeutic process. She could not just be on “auto-pilot” and act normal; the road to recovery was filled with self-awareness and the need to process all the pieces of the puzzle—often with the guidance and assistance of her therapist. She had a need to analyze the abstract concept of emotions as well as feelings and thoughts. Connecting with others who go through what she did was also integral to her

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Epiphany In Araby By James Joyce

    1298 Words  | 3 Pages

    He has grown up in the backwash of a dying city and has developed into an individual sensitive to the fact that his town’s vivacity has receded, leaving the faintest echoes of romance, a residue of empty piety, and symbolic memories of an active concern for God and mankind that no longer exists. Although the young boy cannot fully comprehend it intellectually, he feels that his surroundings have become malformed and ostentatious. He is at first as blind as his surroundings, but Joyce prepares us for his eventual perceptive awakening by mitigating his carelessness with an unconscious rejection of the spiritual stagnation of his community. Upon hitting Araby, the boy realizes that he has placed all his love and hope in a world that does not exist outside of his imagination. He feels angry and betrayed and comes to realize his self-deception, describing himself as “a creature driven and derided by vanity”, a vanity all his own (Joyce). This, inherently, represents the archetypal Joycean epiphany, a small but definitive moment after which life is never quite the same. This epiphany, in which the boy lives a dream in spite of the disagreeable and the material, is brought to its inevitable conclusion, with the single sensation of life disintegrating. At the moment of his realization, the narrator finds that he is able to better understand his particular circumstance, but, unfortunately, this

    Read More

  • Female Empowerment In The Color Purple By Alice Walker

    1840 Words  | 4 Pages

    The novel follows the protagonist, Celie, as she experiences such hardships as racism and abuse, all the while attempting to discover her own sense of self-worth. Celie expresses herself through a series of private letters that are initially addressed to God, then later to her sister Nettie. As Celie develops from an adolescent into an adult, her letters possess m... ... middle of paper ... ... bservations of her situation and form an analysis of her own feelings.

    Read More

More about Simone Elkeles How To Ruin A Summer Vacation

Open Document