Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Secret Life of CeeCee--Week 1

About a month ago, 2 of my favorite bloggers (Erin @ Blue-Eyed Bride & Rachel @ In No Simple Language) mentioned they would be starting a blogging book club & I couldn't have been more excited. I am an avid reader & frequently take advantage of my local library, but was thrilled at the opportunity to be a part of an actual book club. If you're interested, head over to Book Beginnings & Bookends to join up!

So...our first book is The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain. I'd never heard of this book or the author, but jumped in with both feet & managed to read then entire book in a little less than a week. I had plans to try and stick with the schedule and only read the assigned chapters each week, but my no-plans weekend got the best of me & I finished it up completely on Saturday. I promise not to post any spoilers & I'm going to do my best to go back and think about how I was feeling before I new all the details contained in the later chapters!

Now, onto the book club discussion questions...

1. What was your first impression of Tim?

At first, I really wanted to hope that his feelings were genuine & that he truly did care about Ceecee. However, there was a part of me that was skeptical that a college boy would be at all interested in a 16 year old waitress. Once the money came in, I became even more skeptical. If it was Tim who sent the money, what 22 year old boy would give a 16 year old $5,000?


2. If you were in CeeCee’s position, would you be willing to help your boyfriend in the way that she is willing to help Tim?

Absolutely not. It's hard to consider this now as a 27 year old who had a wonderful family & upbringing...but thinking back, I would hope my naive 16 year old brain would have been smart enough to say no when such a crazy & illegal idea was brought to my attention.


3. Why do you think CeeCee is so eager to please Tim?

She's missing out on love. Period. Unfortunately I've had so many female friends who have done some crazy things just to gain attention & the love of a boy, or even a family member. Maybe not something as drastic as CeeCee's situation, but the results are still hurt, devastation & betrayal. It's definitely a sad situation, but she is starving for love & doesn't now where else to turn.


4. Who do you think has it harder? Tim or CeeCee?

CeeCee...definitely. She has absolutely no one to turn to except for her roommate. While it seems she had a wonderful mother growing up, those memories & ideas are fading & she is being influenced by any small bit of attention thrown her way.


5. What character trait(s) about CeeCee stuck out the most to you in these first ten chapters?

Throughout each scene, I see her meekness & her intelligence. She's a 16 year old girl, who's had her fair share of struggles in life but instead of making her stronger it seems those situations have paralyzed her. She appears to be very smart, it's just that her feelings for Tim are clouding her decision-making ability. I also think she shows brief glimpses of her courage; however, at this point she's still a little girl with no worthwhile guidance.


6. Do you think CeeCee is as mature as she seems?

While CeeCee has certainly been through a lot, I don't necessarily think those experiences increase your maturity level. As I've said before, she's still just a 16 year old girl with 16 year old brain processes & her ability to deal with situations is certainly lacking. While I think her experiences will definitely shape her future, her immaturity still seems to be getting the best of her!

Again, if you want to join up with our fabulous blogging book club...click here!

Book Beginnings & Bookends

2 comments:

Megan said...

Oh I love to read!! What a great idea! Do you think I'm too late???

Lauren said...

It’s been so fun going around and reading everyone’s take on the book and enjoyed your insight and thoughts on the first 10 chapters. I had no self-control and finished the book in like two days, haha!!