Sammi+Chapter+Discussion

= Chapters 49-End =

-In the last few chapters of the book, Emma starts to realize even more how the things she does today affect her future, and that it may not be the best idea to try to change things, for they can lead to other things that were worse than the original. It is ironic how the things that Emma thought she wanted most turn out to be the things that she cannot stand. For example, in chapter 54-56, Cody is finally giving Emma the attention that she has been wanting him too. However, she then finds out that he is just doing what he does with every girl-- bring them to his uncle's house and try to seduce them. She doesn't fall for it and realizes he is just a scumbag. On page 312 in chapter 56 Emma says, "Kellan's therory is wrong. When Cody jerked into traffic, then snapped at me for screaming, I didn't see my future husband. Sitting next to me in that car was a guy so different from what I'd hoped." **__Do you think this is the major realization for her that things are supposed to happen the way they are intended to happen and trying to change the outcome makes things worse? Why do you think it took so long for her to realize that?__**

-The bonfire scene at the end up the book brings together a lot of loose ends and links everything together. Emma uses Facebook for a good use rather than a selfish use when tries to help her friend prevent the pregnancy that was destined for her. __**Do you think Emma should have given Kellan the condom, or do you think she should have let things go as planned? Or, do you think the fact that she gave the condom to her led to the "kidnapping" scene that ends the book? Do you think that the events would have happened the same way if that hadn't happened?**__

-At the end of the book, we realize that the events that had happened because of facebook led to Emma and Josh's relationship. However, when I was reading this, I wondered if the facebook thing did not happen, would Emma and Josh still have ended up together? __**What do you think?**__ I was thinking that if they kept living their lives without knowing their future, was it really meant to be that they were to end up together? It kind of frustrated me that they got the best of both worlds by knowing they would be happy together because of facebook letting Emma know she was miserable before. It is kinda hard to relate and accept that fact that it cannot happen in real life.

-Overall, I think the ending of the book showed the main reason of the story- sometimes what you may think you want turns out to be something you really don't want and whatever is meant to be will happen and the choices you make today affect what you will become in the future. I think it is a great book to teach in an English classroom because it teaches a great lesson. __**Do you guys agree? What do you think you as a teacher would emphasize the most with the points and themes of the book?**__

I would say the moment in the truck with Cody when Emma realizes Cody is not her dream man is a pivotal moment in her thinking. It seems to be a culminating point when she realizes all of her planning and attempting to change the future is actually not working out in her favor. To me, this is a part of growing up, which is essentially what is happening with Emma. I think this is part of the reason why it takes Emma the entirety of the book to reach the point when she's aware of the fact that life cannot be controlled. She was naive and childish in the beginning when she believed she could make her future self happy by controlling and changing her present actions. Many events throughout the story force Emma to grow up and learn that life will works itself out on its own.

I like the aspects of the book that teach readers the importance of present decisions and how they will affect your future. Students need to keep this in mind as they grow up, and especially as they are tempted throughout adolescence to make poor decisions. These are the points that I would emphasize the most throughout the book if I were to teach it to high school students. There are also some other interesting points for discussion. The issue of family and what is "normal" is addressed through Tyson. His family is very different from Josh's whose consists of a overly-concerned mother and father and a protective big brother. Most students in school will have an unusual family life at home, and reading about a family that is also different may comfort them in that fact.

-- Yes I think this shows that you cannot control the future and what happens happens. Who really knows what our futures hold? Facebook doesn’t tell us everything. It says relationship status and then in a relationship, complicated or single. Just because the person is in the relationship doesn’t mean they are truly happy. And her status says she’s upset with her future husband but doesn’t explain why. Rather than breaking up with the guy she has never met, Emma should have still given him a chance because there is a possibility that you can fix whatever upsets you. I do think because she changed her future, other things got screwy because she messed with the “plan.” There’s a plan or path that we take, that leads us to our future. Prince Charming Cody turned out to be a scumbag because the universe is telling her that he is not the guy for her. I think it took her so long to realize Cody was a jerk because she’s like most teenage girls—they have a crush and are head over heels in love with him and make him out to be something he’s not, that he is perfect and refuse to accept reality—they like the man they created in their head. I think it took Emma a long time for her realize how her present changes Facebook and such because she had this dream of having the perfect life—perfect job, perfect husband, family, etc. and refused to accept anything else. In reality, no one’s life is perfect. -- I think if Facebook didn’t exist, yes Josh and Emma would still end up together. It’s the typical storyline for friends to end up together but also because if that is what the universe planned then it’ll happen. I agree with the frustration part about the best of both worlds. I was hoping this book would prove me wrong with the stereotypical friend wants to be more then friend but she wants it platonic but in the end realizes, she loves him so they end up together. But I was also hoping that if they are going to end up together, it shouldn’t be because of Facebook and that their relationship was perfect and all lovey dovey. Even friends who end up together in the end still have arguments. No couple is perfect.

--I do think that what you think you want turns out to be something you don’t want. I feel like we all face that at times of our lives. Not just with love, but with simple material things like shoes or a car. We save our money and spend it on gadgets and other materialistic things because they look so cool but once we get it, we are kind of disappointed. It’s not as cool as it seems. If I were to use this book in my classroom, the themes of the book I would use are change, impacts and how they shape our future, and like you said, things we want but then don’t want.

I do think that the major realization for Emma was that things are supposed to play themselves out, and intervention only makes things worse. Thinking about this book, it’s kind of a PG version of //The Butterfly Effect//. I think it took so long because if she found out any sooner, the book would be over and there wouldn’t be much of a story. It’s a plot-hole.

I think that she made the right decision giving Kellan the condom- she gave her a second chance. I think things would have probably turned out the same if she didn’t give it to her.

Using the logic of the book, I think that if the whole Facebook thing didn’t happen, Emma and Josh would have not gotten together in the end. I think that they did the Whitman thing and took the road less travelled by.

__**Home**__