Book 3 Listicle

Five Reasons Why Abby Puts Up a Wall

Abby Abernathy is your normal college freshman, except that she has a gambler as a father, she played poker with professionals starting when she was 13, and by the end of freshman year…she’s married. She didn't jump into her marriage though; it took heartbreaks and allowing someone she didn't know into her life, mind, and heart. To understand the ball of fire that is Abby, you have to know her background and why she has a solid wall built around her that only a few can penetrate.

1.       Her Father Blames Her

Abby’s father was a gambler, and he was winning, until Abby’s 13^th birthday. On her 13^th birthday her father’s luck changed for the worse. He started losing money, causing him to drink. Starting on her 13^th birthday and continuing to the present, she is now 19, her father blames her for the turn in his luck. He believes that she took everything away from him.  Abby’s father, Mick, yells about Abby, “‘If it weren't for her, I woulda had my own money. You took everything from me, Abby. I have nothin’ ’” (261). This quotes exposes that Mick blames Abby for his bad luck, making Abby put up a wall of defenses around her. She thinks that is she won’t let people in, then they can’t hurt her.

2.       She Used to be a Gambler

Because her dad believes that she took his luck away, Abby herself started playing poker to make money for her father and for herself. She was forced to play professionals and to win all the money she could to try to keep her dad happy. Abby talks to her father, “Mick’s eyes were suddenly animated. ‘You can double that in a weekend…’” (260). This quote shows that Abby used to be an extreme gambler, a popular gambler. Abby wants to stay away from gambling but this quotes tells the readers that Abby could make, and used to make, a lot of money off of gambling, so she tries to hide it.

3.       She Doesn't Want Anyone to Know Her Past

She moved away from her home to have a fresh start, but she is constantly worrying someone will figure out that she is “Lucky Thirteen,” the name she was given because her luck picked up on her 13^th birthday.  At Travis’s dads house Abby says, “‘That was the nickname the papers gave me. And the story wasn’t exactly accurate.’ I said, fidgeting,” (233). This quote demonstrates that Abby tries to push away the past and tries to keep the attention away from what she used to do.

4.       She is Afraid of Who She Was

Abby doesn't want to be “Lucky Thirteen” anymore, in fact she doesn't even want people, including her boyfriend (later husband), to know her father’s name. She is scared of her past: the gambling, drinking, and fake ID’s. She doesn't want to go to Vegas to win money that she knows she could live off of. Abby later apologizes to Travis when he finds out about who her father is, “‘I’m sorry I didn't tell you, but it’s not something I talk about,’” (235). This quite reveals that Abby keeps things to herself, even from the most important people in her life, because she doesn't want to be the same person she used to be.

5.       She Doesn't Want to Drag Anyone Down With Her

Abby thinks that if she slips up and breaks the “perfect” girl way, that she will slip back into her gambling and drinking lifestyle. She is afraid that is she does she will be the weight that drowns everyone that is close to her. She separates herself from things that could potentially be a setback in what she is trying to make herself. She pushes people away to make sure that she doesn't hurt anyone with her old ways. In Vegas Abby says to Travis, “‘I don’t want you there, Trav….If I’m going to win fourteen thousand dollars in one weekend, I have to concentrate. I don’t like who I’m going to be while I’m at those tables, and I don’t want you to see it, okay?’” (262). This shows that Abby tries to cover up her “rebellious” side, in order to keep the people she loves out of trouble.

This is important because it shows that some people are not who they seem and may have something to hide, but it also shows that you can get to know someone if you wait patiently. Some people need to separate themselves from their home and that is their decision, and people should respect it.

Post #5: Truth in a Memoir

Books that are considered non-fiction need to be completely nonfiction in the authors mind. A nonfiction book needs to be factual. Laila Lalami says, “Naturally, in the process of writing, there are things that you remember differently than other people.” If the author recalls a certain event one way, but another author recalls that same event in a different way they can both be nonfiction. People experience things differently, but that shouldn't make how they feel fiction.  Books that are written to be called nonfiction need to have a strong factual evidence of what happened along with the author’s way of interpreting that event.

Half-truths are not okay when telling a story. A half-truth book changes from nonfiction to fiction with each lie. A memoir is not truly a memoir unless the events actually happened to the writer. Seth Greenland says, “And a memoir if it’s not…if it has things in it that are made up…I’m not sure it’s a novel…you could make the argument that it’s a novel, but it’s certainly not a memoir.” If the truth is stretched, if scenes are made up, or if choices are differing from what actually happened it should be considered a realistic fiction novel, rather than a memoir. There is room for error in places such as dialogue because no one is going to be able to remember the exact words said in a situation that happened 5 years ago, 5 months ago, or even 5 weeks ago. Dialogue can be falsified as long as the conversation did take place and the gist matches what the real life conversation was about.

We do need lines between fiction and nonfiction. One way a reader can classify themselves is as a fiction or nonfiction reader, without the genre lines readers would have a harder time finding what they want to read. I like to read dystopian and realistic fiction novels, but if I didn't have those labels it would be much harder to find books that are similar to books that I have read in the past. Also, the genre of the book is its purpose. If the genre is taken away so is the books main purpose, this is why books need to be classified into genres.