Tangerine ~ Part 2
Well, my interest in blogging is really starting to die out. I haven't checked the blogs in days, and although I've already finished the book, I am just now commenting on Part 2. I told you blogs weren't for me... =)
Anyhow, I think Part 2 is definitely my favorite part of the book. Paul's character really comes out in these pages, and he begins to grow a lot. At first I thought that perhaps he was compromising himself and his character at his new school in Tangerine, but I don't think that's the case. He is slowly learning who he is, and starting to gain the strength that he needs to face his future and his fears. Just by crossing that school district line he begins to learn so much more about the world around him. He experiences life in a completely different social class, that of the middle/lower class, agricultural and blue-collar workers. Racial lines are blurred at the much more diverse Tangerine middle school. One of the things I thought very interesting is that Bloor (the author) never describes people by their race. Yet we know by what they say and their names what they probably look like or their background. Is this type of stereo-typing wrong? I don't think so. For example, we know that the Cruz Family (Tomas, Luis, Tino, and Teresa) as well as Victor are all Hispanic. And we can most safely assume that Antoine and Shandra are Black Americans. Interesting enough, back at Lake Windsor, kids were called by their nationalities (i.e. the Filipino soccer player).
One thing I really loved about Part 2 was all the interesting information we learned about the Tangerine Groves. This was fascinating! The author obviously put a lot of work into researching this book. I never knew that all different kinds of fruits could grow on the same tree. Cool!
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