Surviving The Applewhites (2003) - Plot & Excerpts
The genuine chaos and lack of personal responsibility displayed by each of the adults in this book almost halted me from finishing it. No child thrives in a completely unpredictable and unstructured household, yet that was precisely what this one was, with animals and children running wild without anything remotely like decent or predictable supervision, meals, dietary practices, goals, rules, boundaries, communications, and so much more found anywhere. Each of the adults was so intensely wrapped up in her/his personal creative projects that the kids and animals were left to almost entirely fend for themselves - as though parenting were a completely optional task merely to attend to if the mood or whim happened to strike the adult in question at any given moment.The lack of social and emotional skills displayed by almost all of the characters was startling - inevitable in such a chaotic, boundary-less household with no adult tracking anything to make certain basic needs are being met and obligations/commitments to others kept. Extreme self-centeredness was the key family value displayed, from the initial appearances. The only things that kept this storyline at all bearable for me were the two protagonists who seemed to be making genuine efforts to complete some sort of balanced education for themselves (despite the complete lack of interest, insight, or assistance from the adults in the household), along with watching how the whole family finally (although quite chaotically), pulled together to make the family playhouse come into being. Even that (the family playhouse/theatrical production) would not have been possible if countless others hadn't freely donated thousands of hours oft time, supplies, and equipment. That family wouldn't have achieved much of anything, on merely their own resources.How such a family was not homeless, gravely ill, and/or living on the streets (despite their artistic fame and success) completely eludes me. Even those who have lots of money DO have to pay their bills and I strongly doubt anyone of those adults was paying any serious attention to such "trivialities" as money, anymore than they were paying any attention to their extremely bright (and profoundly neglected) four year old and pets/animals. If this were a real family, I'd be very concerned about both the physical and mental health of AlL the children (especially the son who never came out of his room). The isolation those kids experienced would, no doubt, impact them in painful/hurtful ways, for life.Most of us don't have a guru who will cook for free around the clock, for weeks at a time (along with doing all the shopping and a thousand other household organizational tasks). Taking in a hurting, confused, angry young adolescent (on top of all of the rest of the ongoing household chaos), then basically assigning all responsibility for him to an even younger child within the family, is sheer insanity, not to mention unethical in the extreme. Having worked with hundreds of such disturbed adolescents, I'm keenly aware that (if this were a more realistic story), both girls and the young boy in the family, (along with several of the animals), would have been at genuine risk for harm - though the parents/adults appeared oblivious to this. Had he been sexually/physically abused previously, his anger could have easily utilized the inherent isolation and weakness of each of them for all sorts of cruel and/or impulsive acts.Instead, the two protagonists actually turn out to become two of the most responsible members of that household, despite the horrific role-modeling going on by the adults/parents. This certainly isn't a book that encourages a wide breadth of knowledge/experience/education about either the world or how to live within it as a thoughtful, ethical, responsible community member. It does model how to take an ethical stand (only in one area), however, and how to be willing to let go of plans/goals/dreams if they violate one's sense of integrity. This is only narrowly discussed and the message gets lost amongst the chaos, fairly quickly.
I admit I have not read this book in years, but I remember it being one of my favorite books when I was younger. I still get really excited whenever I see a Great Spangled Fritillery. As a homeschooler myself, I thought the Applewhite family was a hilarious. Yes, they are all completely over the top and absurd, but I think they are better done than most characters you will find in books targeting at this same age group. What also really appealed to me for this book is that the youngest kid, I forget his name, IS one of my brothers. I don't know how the author did it, but that kid IS my brother. Of course, my brother has yet to discover a talent in singing, but there's time yet!I identified a lot with E.D., and actually, after reading this book, I was inspired to try doing the same thing she did with her school. I, too, live in a crazy homeschool family (NOTHING like the family in the book, but still crazy!) and this book actually really inspired me to take charge of my education and not have my school be something my mom hands to me. This book, I think, is partly responsible for where I am today and inspired the drive I apply to my schoolwork. For, as this book showed me, I can really decide what I want to do, and do well in it if I work hard enough. If you've read the book recently and are banging your head against the wall at my inaccuracy, then I apologize. I literally have not read this book in six years. It left a deep enough impression, though, that I still remembered it clearly enough to write the above!Read it, it's a great story and may inspire you to do a play, or categorize every butterfly in your state, or something bigger!
What do You think about Surviving The Applewhites (2003)?
The book "Surviving the Applewhites" by: Stephanie S. Tolan is about a foster kid named Jake Semple and is a great story. It stresses the idea of teaching life lessons that will help you in the future instead of things like two plus two. Jake learns that if he cooperates instead of being destructive, things work out better for him. Also, that way people aren't mad at him all the time. They are actually proud when he applies his found talent in singing. In the story he learns patience, teamwork,
—Kira Gallaher
Jake Stemple is considered one of the ultimate bad boys. He's been kicked out of every school he's ever attended. Then he ends up at Wit's End. Wit's End is where the Applewhite family lives. The Applewhite children are all home schooled and Jake's grandfather has decided that Jake will be joining them. Jake moves in with the Applewhites and realizes that they are all crazy artists, but he is eventually sucked in and joins the family for a massive project that will take everyone's skills.I liked watching Jake find his place in the Applewhite family. He gets sucked in so subtly he clearly doesn't realize it at first. I also like that you get into Jake's brain as he realizes how many of the things he's doing weren't about him but were in fact about how he wanted others to perceive him.I like the insight into E.D. as well. She is clearly the odd one out but she still plays a vital role in the family. The play could not have been pulled off without her. I guess I've been reading too much fiction where relationships play a heavy role. I was totally expecting E.D. and Jake to end up in some kind of relationship and that never happened and it felt so much more right because of it.There was lots of humor and lots of hard work. Destiny is a great example of that. He's a funny kid but he takes a lot of work. It was also interesting to see the amount of work that went into putting on the play.
—Rosa
Stick a juvenile delinquent into a home school run by a bunch of talented art family members and you've got a fun read. It describes a school environment that I wish I had and little bit like my kids had. I really liked this book even if it had problems. It doesn't dive to deep into any feelings that Jake might have about being abandoned, being dumped into a school of art freaks, any trouble he might have adjusting etc. etc. etc. (the list just keeps going)But I found the premise interesting, the characters stuck with me, I wanted to keep turning the pages. I knew everything would work out in the end so there really wasn't much drama or tension. You know, there was a lot not to like about this book the more I think about it but for some reason I just really liked it.It was a Newbery Honor book.But whatever - go read it, I recommend it.
—Scott
