The Secret Language Of Girls (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
It seems that people are only popular because they are unstable with who they are, and if they ‘fit in’. Popular kids act all cool around others, but on the inside they are asking if the other person likes them. In my book Marylin doesn’t think she is pretty, or smart, and she insults herself a lot about dumb things like her toes, lowering her self confidence. Then when she gets the chance to become a cheerleader, she drops her whole life and best friend Kate who has helped her through many tough times that only friendship and junk food could cure.People strive to be popular, and when we get the chance to be that way, we let go everything that kept us who we were in the past. It’s like the want to be cool is a disease that takes our mind over, and we will do anything to cure it. But the thing is, the disease only lasts for a little while, yet we will give up the things we have been clinging onto our whole lives for stabilization to have a few minutes of sweet fame. Marylin ends up wanting to get Kate back as a friend, but thats hard to do because Kate already moved on.Popular kids think since they become cool, or ‘in’, the world stops exactly how they left it, so they can always jump back into their old lives. Once you destroy something though, it takes work to build it up again. Marylin has to take the initiative to get Kate back on her side, because she feels totally lost with herself, and guilty that she ever threw Kate away like an old shirt. The price we pay for popular seems way bigger than to just stay who you are. We pay the price though, and then we are in debt, because when you are popular, people expect so much of you. They expect you to always look great, always diss the nerds or weird kids, and to always be on top of things. Why would we want to do these things? As a kid, it seems a lot to be held for.Marylin gets tired of her cheerleader ‘friends’ insulting the boy she secretly likes, just because he is crippled. A lot of kids have disabilities, and yet the popular kids still think it is ‘weird’ and that it reflects who they are on the inside. But what really is normal? Are kids expected to want to get the ‘disease’ to become popular? I think normal is being a little shaky about some things, because then you are forced to make changes or face challenges, which always happens when you are an adult. In the end, being who you are, even with your doubts, seems like a better choice than to become popular, and give up everything you know. And besides, who would want a few days of fame when you could have a life-long friend?
Kaylyn Mason1/29/2015Goodreads Book ReviewReadingThe story takes place in neighborhood and a middle school, probably sometime in the summer when school is just starting. The main characters are Kate and Marylin who are best friends, Flannery is like a second main character and she is friends with Marylin. The two main characters encounter lots of obstacles while they are trying to survive their first year of middle school. Eventually they split up to find other friends only to realize their friendship is worth way more. Marylin comes across more obstacles when she trys out and makes the team she is now going to parties and having more of a responsibility on who likes her and what she looks like. Kate comes across friends and then settles into a relationship but is nervous. The girls are just getting into wearing nail polish and barely learning how to dress fashionably. Personally the things they went through I can relate to like getting in fights with your best friend and not talking to them or trying to fit in a place you know you don't belong. The author Frances O'Roark Dowell didn't really captivate my attention with her word choice or how she developed the characters because it seemed to me that one thing after another just happened and it was calm and i guess I'm more of an action reader. To me the plot and the rise and fall weren't there, if you were to graph it it would have tiny ups and downs but nothing big they have to solve. the storyline to me was way predictable and i guess i don't like the story in books to be predictable it makes me not want to read it Also in the rise and fall sometimes I wouldn't get it until later when i was thinking about it, for example when she had her first kiss playing a game she got nervous but then it was over and she said that she still hadn't had her first kiss really. I liked how the author ended the book with the friends coming together again (or it seems that way to me), and how the characters werent really in the popular group they were just average kids in middle school.tThe book overall was a 2 star book it didn't intrigue me into wanting to read more of her books and it was way too predictable the author needed to hide some things a little more and make the rise and fall one thing to overcome and not many. I would not recommend reading this book unless you are in a younger age group and like predictable books. I would also like to add a question to the author, I would like to ask if she was rushed when she wrote this or she got bored with it and quickly finished it.
What do You think about The Secret Language Of Girls (2005)?
tIn my opinion, this book was okay. I liked the theme of the book because it was about navigating friendships and peer pressure. One of the main character, Marilyn struggles with making new friends, while staying loyal to Kate, her childhood best friend. When a 7th grade girl named Flannery moves into the neighborhood, Flannery is mean to Kate and tries to get Marilyn to be mean too. Marilyn follows along because she thinks Flannery is “cool” just because she is a grade older. I thought the book was boring because it needed more exciting events. I liked the theme, but the author didn’t hook the reader, it just dragged on. This book wasn’t my type of book, but I would recommend it to someone who likes to read about middle school “girl drama” and gossip. This book is part of a series, however I will not continue reading it.
—Sophia M
Ashlin Koontz9/9/15 Staring off with two best friends, Marylin and Kate going into a middle school. Part of their friendship creates a big conflict when a new girl moves in the old Savory's house. Her name is Flanney and she is a sixth grader. The world changes for Marylin when she becomes more friends with Flanney, but not Kate anymore. After a big sleepover party, and Flanney came back from Washington D.C at Marylin's house, Kate started to get ignored. Kate started to get feelings like she never had before. She got more interested in boys and kissed one named Andrew. Marylin was always studying other girls seeing what they dressed liked or what kind of make up they are wearing. Marylin wanted to be like them. She became a cheerleader and more bossier. Kate and Marylin's friendship was ripping apart. They realized that they miss each other and want to be friends again. "A friend is someone whose face you can see in the dark." The poem called "Talk to me" was by Kate getting read by a real poet, Sara Catherine Toole. Kate shows that once a friend is always a friend when even if you can see her. What I liked about this is the conflict between best friends being apart and then strange things happen to them.
—Ashlin Koontz
The book The secret Language of Girls By: Frances O'Roark Dowell the main characters are kate and marylin.The conflict in this book is Kate and Marylin who have been best friends since their memory can remember are broken apart and don't know how to get back together when both know they want to be friends again but neither will show it to eachother. This book was a great book because it's modern day and easy to connect to.I would recommend this book to anyone in sixth or seventh grade because you will relate to it.If you do end up reading this book then trust me if your smeone like me then you won't be able to stop turning the pages to see what will happen next.
—Leslie
