All
February 2012
That
Glitters
The Truth About Ashley Barnum
Exclusive Interview
Music and Lyrics Book Soundtrack
$3.99 A Sadie Publication
Books Worth Reading?
“Perfect” Book Review
“Try going to bed with a dad and waking up without one. Try having a mother who is sad all the time but pretends she’s not. Then we’ll talk.”
~Isabelle Lee
Table of Contents Page 4-5 - The Truth About Ashley Barnum Page 6-7 - Song Analyses Page 8 - Where ` Im From Poem Page 9 - 11 Perfect Book Review
The Truth About Ashley Barnum Written by Sadie Clark With her blond hair, thin body and pretty face, 13-year-old Ashley Barnum is the most popular girl at school. All the guys want to date her; all the girls want to be her. To many her life is flawless, a picture of perfection. This however is not the case. She struggles with bulimia and self-image, as well as with her dysfunctional family situation. In this interview she shares her thoughts on the subject of her eating disorder and what her life is really like. Questions asked by Sadie Clark (SC) and answered by Ashley Barnum (AB)
SC: A lot of people believe that you are pretty, thin, popular, and you have a perfect life. Is this true? AB: No that is the exact opposite of the way my life is. My life is probably the farthest thing away from perfect that you could
ever imagine. First of all I am not thin. It’s true that I have some popular “friends” that I hang out with, but they are so mean to other people that I can barely stand it. My parents are hardly ever at home, and on the days that they are home they’re fight-
ing all the time. My parents hardly ever talk to me, and they can barely stand to be in the same room together. I just found out that my dad has a girlfriend. He told us that there was nothing going on, but my Mom found out anyway. My
parents are getting divorced. If you think my life is perfect, you don’t know me at all.
belle finds Cliffs Notes in your desk drawer. Your teacher Mr. Minx told you, “Cliffs Notes are for cheaters. If you SC: What was the use Cliffs Notes you are mood when you not only cheating the walked into “The Eat- system, you are cheating Disorder Therapy ing yourselves.“ Why and Body Image did you decide to use Group” On the first day them anyway? and saw Isabelle Lee, AB: I had to. I’m not from your English class pretty, or thin, and I there? couldn’t stand lookAB: At first took a while for me to remember that she was in English with me. We hadn’t really talked before then, so that’s why it took me so long to recognize her. After I did though, I was petrified that she would tell someone that I was in Group. I was also shocked that she had the same problem that I did, and that she was as concerned about her weight as I was. SC: In the novel Isa-
when your friends are being unkind to him you don’t do anything about it. Why? AB: I think that Brian is a nice person, but I can’t stand up to him in front of my friends. I don’t know what they would think of me if I did.
SC: You aren’t happy when you are around “If you think your friends from my life is school, and they are perfect, you not nice people, but don’t know me you still hang out with them anyway. Why? at all.” ing dumb on top of all of that. If I didn’t use Cliffs Notes, I wouldn’t be have been able to answer all of the questions right, and would have ended up looking stupid in front of everyone. I couldn’t let that happen. SC: You are so nice to Brian King in class, but
AB: If I didn’t hang out with them, I don’t know who I would hang out with. I feel like they are the only people who accept me. I am fat, and I’m not good looking. I don’t know who would want to hang out with me if I left my friends.
Tied Together With a Smile Written and Sung By Taylor Swift
Seems the only one who doesn’t see your beauty Is the face in the mirror looking back at you You walk around here thinking you’re not pretty But that’s not true, cause I know you... Hold on, baby, you’re losing it The water’s high, you’re jumping into it And letting go... and no one knows That you cry, but you don’t tell anyone That you might not be the golden one And you’re tied together with a smile But you’re coming undone
I guess it’s true that love was all you wanted Cause you’re giving it away like it’s extra change Hoping it will end up in his pocket But he leaves you out like a penny in the rain Oh, cause it’s not his price to pay Not his price to pay... You’re tied together with a smile But you’re coming undone... oh Goodbye, baby With a smile, baby, baby
S
ome people often have a distorted view of the way that they look, and will go to extreme measures to look beautiful. Isabelle Lee struggles with self-image, and as a result wrestles with bulimia. She is not happy and has a lot of problems within her family. In the song “Tied Together With a Smile” fits really well with the book “perfect.” In the song it also talks a lot about beauty and self-image. This song fits really well with my book. The theme in both the book, and the song is about how self-image can have a big effect on people. The theme of the song Tied Together With a Smile is about body image. In this way the song speaks to the way some people view themselves and their voice of negativity that actually ends up influencing the way they feel about themselves. In the song Taylor Swift says, “Seems the only one who doesn’t see your beauty, is the face in the mirror looking back at you.” You can see here how Taylor is trying to show how people may think or view themselves in a distorted or a different way. She also says “you walk around here thinking your not pretty, but that’s not true. This is another line in which Taylor is trying to show that people may not have a realistic view of themselves. This supports my view that the song is about self-image and the way people view themselves.
I am from my dad’s old button down shirt hidden in my closet, That nobody knows I kept. I am from “Happy Hanukkah!” every year since I was little, Until the one person I though would never get lost, Strayed off the path. I am from pictures taken quickly off walls, Memories lost, and buried deep, Locked away in a forgotten chest. I’m from clear, blue skies full of life, To grey deathly clouds eager to block out the light. From crying in my room at night, When I think no one can hear me. Darkness as my only companion. From wiping away angrily, At a tear streaked face. From feeling like a fly trapped in a spiders web, Struggling to get free. Telling people that we’re all okay, Even though we’re not. I am from a mother hiding behind sunglasses, The line of dried tears blurring her vision. From people try to help us out, Trying to make things easier. Only a distraction from the sadness that envelops me. I am from learning to cry again. Learning to talk about what has happened. Remembering all of his best qualities. Reading out Hanukkah blessings once more, With tears streaming down my face. I am from a weight being lifted off my shoulders. A slow smile spreading across my face. From hanging b pictures back on walls. From being e able to breath again, Escaping the g spider’s web. From new i n n i n g s.
Where I’m From Writen By Sadie Clark
Is “Perfect” a Good Reading Choice for Grade Eight Students?
By Sadie Clark
I
n the book Prefect, Natasha Friend has created a character who will make readers cry and cheer as she struggles with and then slowly overcomes her eating disorder, and other problems in her life. The title of the book “Perfect” speaks for itself. I believe that this book is a perfect reading choice for grade eight students, This book is very easy to relate to, is emotional, and the characters are extremely well developed throughout the novel. The book “Perfect,” written by Natasha Friend, is a very relatable book. I feel that most or even all of the issues in the book can be related to lives of grade eight students. The main character in this story is thirteen years old and is in grade eight herself. She worries a lot about her weight, her family and her self-image. These are realistic issues that are happening in grade eight students lives. Thirteen year olds have these things happening to them in their lives and it can be reassuring to read about someone else who has these same problems.
Emotion is a key part of this book. Isabelle, the main character in the novel perfect, says this about her mother regarding her fathers quietus, “I wanted her to stop pretending that everything was fine even though it wasn’t. Mostly I wanted her to know that she wasn’t the only one who missed him. We all did. Because he was all of ours.” This sentence shows the sorrow that the Lee family feels as a result of their father’s death. Another sentence says, “You cry in your room. I cry in my room. Mom cries in Mom’s room. And in the morning everyone pretends like they never cried once in their lives. Like, ‘It’s gonna be a great day, kids! Pass the orange juice!’” This is emotional because it shows that not even the family can talk about their fathers passing. They pretend that everything is fine and that “they never cried once in their lives” even though the fathers death is weighing down on all of them, and that they all still miss their father. Isabelle is just one of the characters that grows and develops enormously during the course of the book “Perfect.” Ashley, Isabelle’s mother, and Isabelle’s sister, April, are just a few of the other people who flourished and developed throughout this book. At the preamble of this book Isabelle was very concerned about her looks, was bulimic, and was not able to talk to anyone about the passing of her father. At the close of the novel however, Isabelle was able to talk about her dad with her friends and family, and was struggling to overcome her eating disorder. This shows just how much Isabelle changed throughout the course of this narrative. In conclusion this is an excellent book full of emotion, well developed characters, and is easy for teens to relate to. This book is an excellent reading choice for grade eight students. I feel that if included in the grade eight curriculums, this book would encourage teens to read and would provoke deep thought and emotions among grade eight students.