4a Group #3

1. bienvenidos a newport beach by Firoozeh Dumas
2. This story is about a family who moves from their home in Whittier to a brand new home in Newport Beach. The whole story is told from the point of view of the eleven year old son of the family. The family is Iranian and the boy describes how there is nobody else in the neighborhood who looks like his family. This move is a step up from their old home and he describes the families fascination with all of the fast food places that they see, and more importantly he describes his new home which is part of a "planned community." He is fascinated by the fact that all of the houses look the same, there is no garbage on any of the lawns, only standard trashcans were allowed and all garage doors had to remain closed. The boy talks about all of the other rules that are implemented as a result of living in a "planned community." One very important rule was that they could not lose the swimming pool key. It would cost $100 to replace. The family all made sure that they kept the pool key safe. The swimming pool became a place that they spent a lot of time at, especially the boy. This new Newport Beach home was everything that they didn't have at their old home and it made them feel important and free.
3. "We had two pool keys and they cost one hundred dollars each to replace. We never lost ours. Lord knows there was more of a chance of my parents losing me in Fashion Island shopping center than them ever losing those pool keys." (pg. 91) I thought this was funny. It's hard to tell when you read this if the keys are so important because they don't want to pay the money to replace them if they are lost or if they just love the pool so much that they don't want to lose the keys. I think it's a little of both.
4. What stands out a lot to me in this story is the boys description of the houses in Newport Beach and how they are run by a "planned community." This made me think of when I first started searching to buy my first home. I remember that all I saw were track homes everywhere that were run by a "planned community." They are now called homeowners associations. I did buy one of those homes and I chuckled at reading this story because I remember all of the rules that they had for this home and I remember feeling so excited to live in it. Now I am much happier with a home that doesn't look just like my neighbors.
5. Before reading this story I didn't know that Wienerschnitzel was a hot dog place. It's funny how universal fast food places are.

1. cotton candy mirrors by Devorah Major
2. Cotton candy mirrors is about a group of kids who find fun things to do during their summer vacation. They describe the hours they spend in the wooden cavern box that was the Fun House. The children talk about how they may not have ever had enough money for the rides and often had to pass on the sugar treats but they always had the fun house. Although there was a lot to do in the fun house the children mostly filled their time in the hall of mirrors laughing as they looked at their reflection in these mirrors and as they saw themselves transform to monsters and clowns. They made a game out of the mirrors and the mirrors were their fun. They taught them a lesson on how not to take reflections too seriously.
3. "It scared small children, irritated adults, and fascinated those in the middle like us." (pg. 97) I love this sentence because I can remember feeling all of these things at one time or another inside of a fun house.
4. This story made me think of how free children use to be. When I was growing up we were allowed to play outside and walk down the street to the store or park or to a friends house. Now I think that parents are so afraid of everything that they constantly have to watch their children 24-7 fearing that something bad may happen to them.
5. Before reading this story I didn't know that soda was once three cents. It's crazy to me that once upon a time things were really inexpensive.

1. Berkeley by Michael Chabon
2. Michael Chabon writes a story about the town of Berkeley and his love for it. He talks about the eccentricity of the people in the town and the craziness that is always going on. He also talks about how much there is to do there and how much opportunity the city has to offer all kinds of people.
3. "I can't imagine living happily anywhere else. And all of the things that drive me crazy are the very things that make this town worth knowing, worth putting up with, worth loving and working to preserve." (pg. 108)
4. This story made me think of how lucky we are to be living in Northern California. There is so many opportunities here and it's such a wonderful place to raise a family. The towns of the bay are right next door with even more opportunities to offer us and we truly are lucky.
5. Before reading this story I didn't realize all of the things that make Berkeley so wonderful. I liked hearing the authors perspective of the town and all of it's greatness.

1. california honky-tonk by Kathi Kamen Goldmark
2. This story is about four folksingers who weren't a professional band but loved performing. They performed in a honky-tonk biker bar, a night that stuck with one of the singers for years to come. The author tells stories of the good times they had in different bars performing for different crowds. Some crowds loved them and others did not. She talks about the good friends they made along the way and some of the experiences they went through together.
3. "The only real injury I sustained was a black-and-blue thigh, not from being dropped on my butt by a four hundred-pound biker, but from hitting myself, over and over again in the same spot, with a rhinestone-studded tambourine." (pg. 120)
4. When I read this story it made me think of everyone who has a passion about doing something they love. Maybe it's singing or dancing or whatever it may be, but the story made me think of how brave it is to just keep on trying to achieve whatever it is that you want to achieve no matter how hard or difficult it may be.
5. Before I read this story I had no idea who Jimmy Buffett was, nor did I know that a song called "Why Don't We Get Drunk and Screw?" existed.