Improving?

Today’s reading (ch 26 & 27) raises many questions and answers few of them.

Early in the book we asked ‘What is wrong with Natalie?’ There were many signs that she had some serious problems. Then she was kicked out of the school that had been the reason for the family moving to San Francisco in the first place. What is a little unclear to me is if that was meant as a turning point for her or not. Is Natalie getting better? If we look back over the last few chapters we can see some ways in which her behavior seems to have improved. In the past few chapters Natalie has had some moments when Moose sees some normalcy in her, but those moment are often balanced by continued odd behavior.

Before reading, go back and make a list of some of the things she done since that last big breakdown that have cause Moose to seem hopeful – if only momentarily sometimes.

I do not want to foreshadow what will happen in today’s reading. A bad (and perplexing) situation is made even worse by – guess who - Piper! Moose’s head must really be spinning now. What do you think he will do next? How do you think Piper will use this information? (I think it goes without say that she will use it for her own good!)

NOTE 1: I thought it was interesting how when Moose was most upset with Piper he sackowledged how cute she was. Strange.

NOTE 2: The changes in Natalie are a bit confusing to me. In the Author’s note we read that Natalie’s character was patterned after her autistic sister. I know this as a condition that is not ‘curable’ – though I believe people can be helped to gain a greater sense of awareness of the world around them. I was reading an article a couple of days ago about how it has been shown that Autistic Symptoms can improve temporarily when the person has a fever. Strange.