love, read, write

          I didn't like this book. No, actually I did. I just didn't like some characters who were horribly mean to Philip. I'm not going to say who, what, or why, because that'll ruin the ending.                  
          Yes, it would. I didn't expect this kind of ending, you know... Usually, one would want a happy ending, if not, a mysterious ending. Not a saddish ending.


          Well, the ending wasn't what I'd expected. The book gets very frustrating in the middle.
          It starts out very everyday-like. You know, the usual. Go to school. Go through classes. Survive Narwin's classes (Miss Narwin is the English teacher). Ask to try out for track. Go home, etc.
Philip does just that. A normal kid, going to a normal school. Even better, he's one of those born-for-track people. He has to try out for track, even the coach says so.
          BUT.
          He fails English class. Miss Narwin thinks Philip has potential, only if he even tries to pay attention during class. Philip despises it. Tries to get some fun out of it by making some jokes when the teacher asks questions. One thing Miss Narwin hates, is not taking English seriously. Unfortunately for Philip, he does just that. 
          so, back to...
          BUT.
          He fails English class. He does have potential, if he tries. But he doesn't. So, in the exams, he fails it. 
          AND.
          SO,
          So... He doesn't really care, just says Narwin's got something against him, and gets over it. 
          BUT. 
          When he tries out for track,
he doesn't.
Can't. Because... he has to get at least passing grades.
Here's his term grades:


Math     |  A
Biology  |  B-
History  |  C
Health   |  B
English  |  D


There's the problem. Highlighted. In yellow. A D in English.
As Coach Jamison said,
"The one that really hurts is here. English. Now, if you could have gotten that up a notch. Just a bit. Even a C minus. But a D isn't -by the rules- passing. So I guess we have a problem."


          Philip blames it on Miss Narwin. Says she's got something against him. 




          Even worse. His bad grades make his homeroom teacher from the awesome Mr. Lunser to the horrible Miss Narwin.


          Every day, in the morning, on the loudspeaker, they announce the schedule and whatnot... the usual. And they play our National Anthem, The Star-Spangled Banner.
          Philip hums along. What's the problem with that? Nothing. It's just a small thing, humming along. You know, when you hear a familiar song on the radio, you hum along. Nothing big. Nothing bad. What anyone would do.
Who knew such a small thing and a small misunderstanding could lead to such big things?


          As the loudspeaker turns onto the tape of "The Star-Spangled Banner," Philip hums along. Just as I'd said.
BUT.
          
          Miss Narwin is his new homeroom teacher. She thinks.. she THINKS he was singing loudly (actually humming) for disrespect to the country and to purposely disturb the class. He wasn't. Really, he wasn't, but why would a teacher believe that from a ninth grader who always makes her frustrated during class? So she says... Who's that? Philip?; I'm just humming; Just stop; Just humming; To the Assistant Principal's office!; Fine.
(please note that's not the exact words, just my words to show you how it happened)
          And now, the Assistant Principal, Dr. Palleni, says ...Its the rule. (Please know I don't like Dr. Palleni.) Because it's the rule; Against humming along?; Yes, Philip, on the memo-; is the memo the rule? Why-; Enough. Out. You broke the rule, and that's what you're here for.
(also not the exact words from the book)
          And he goes back, the next morning, he hums, again, because he sees no criminality in humming along to The Star Spangled Banner, Narwin hears, and...
Out. To Dr. Palleni.
          Back in Dr. Palleni's office.
All along, it wasn't the rule. Anyone can sing along, hum along, whistle along, to the National Anthem. But it seems Miss Narwin and Dr. Palleni (Dr. Palleni mostly) makes up these rules.
          Back in Dr. Palleni's office. For the third time. Three times sent there, you get suspended. Miss Narwin, doesn't see why he has to get suspended, she never saw improvement from suspension, but, Dr. Palleni says it's the rule. So....
          Philip is suspended. yes, for humming along to The Star Spangled Banner.


          And, then, there's the new election for the new Superintendent (I think, or some other place), and Philip's neighbor's nominated. And, Philip tells Mr. Griffen, the next door neighbor, about his Suspended-For-Humming-Along thing. And it seems, right at that time, Mr. Griffen was getting interviewed by the local newspaper reporters. Great timing, because now, his suspended-for-humming news is spreading over the town, someone reads it, it's now spreading over the city, and soon, before he knows it, he's getting telegrams from total strangers to keep singing along to the National Anthem and that Narwin should be fired, these people from other states, right across the country.
          And for some reason, he was singing along, not humming, he's in tenth grade rather than ninth, and a bunch of other things he knows that isn't true. And the whole country is mistaken for him being some huge nationality freak who sings the National Anthem for his country, not just to hum along. And, he's still suspended, he's getting all this attention...
   He's tired. He doesn't like fame, doesn't want it, but he can't help it. Can he erase millions of people's memories? no.
          The school is confused. Narwin tells the Principal that he was making a disruption during class, not humming along to the Anthem, and the Principal tells the Superintendent (before the election) that the boy wasn't singing, of course, not at all, never true, he was only making a rude disruption during class, bunches of newspaper reporters call, Narwin says he was making a disruption... 
you get how complicated it is...
And, yet, it's still not over.
His parents move him into a new school, a private school. But he doesn't
...


STOP.
I will STOP. Because I don't want to ruin your book. SO, read the book. This blog entry is not the book.




Just know,
I was really frustrated, during the book, how the millions of misunderstandings lead up to Philip's horrible fate. To him, it's horrible, I mean. I hate fame. I realized. I mean, I hate accidental fame. And misunderstandings.


Very frustrating book, but yet a good one. Just that I wish the ending was a bit less --frustrating.
I guess I'll have to think of my own ending. I'll be sure to make a happy one! What about you? Read Nothing But the Truth to see what I'm talking about!