Hellobee Boards

Thanks for hosting! I am only on chapter 3 so I need to catch up fast!

1. When Lou meets Will for the first time he is less than welcoming to her, even playing a mean trick on her to put her on edge. What were your first impressions of both Will and Lou?

I thought that Will was being guarded - understandably so! He probably feels very emasculated and annoyed that his mother is making all of those decisions for him. I agree with PPs that Lou seemed much younger to me, more early 20s than late. I thought the obsessing about wanting to go back to the chicken factory was particularly immature.

2. Lou's family depends on her income to support them. What do you think of Lou's family, her boyfriend, her sister?

I think it's unfortunate her family depends on her so much, and that her sister treats her like crap and basically uses her. I think her parents probably underestimate her, and encourage her life to stay small. Also I hate the boyfriend who seems disinterested and full of himself.

3. Who is your favorite character so far? Who is your least favorite?

I like Lou. I hate Patrick, he's awful.

4. What is your favorite scene between Will and Lou thus far?

I need to go back and figure out where chapter 6 ends - reading on a Kindle!

5. If you were in a similar situation, would you have taken this job? Even though Lou wasn't hired to do anything medical, she quickly had to learn medicine schedules and there was also the scare when Will had a temperature. Do you think it was fair to Will to hire someone with no knowledge of quadriplegia?

I would have taken the job, mostly because of the needed money. I similarly had to learn a lot of medical stuff very quickly to care for DS2 - you have to do the best with the situations that present themselves! Particularly in this case they wanted her as a companion, someone with medical knowledge I think would always been seen as more of a nurse. I do think she should have been more proactive in communicating with Nathan/the mom when Will was getting sick, that was irresponsible.

Ok I'm going to try and keep my answers vague because I honestly can't remember what events happened within what chapters so don't want to give anything away

1. When Lou meets Will for the first time he is less than welcoming to her, even playing a mean trick on her to put her on edge. What were your first impressions of both Will and Lou?

I liked them both, even though Will seemed grumpy and guarded I can see where he is coming from, and if I were him I would have acted the same way, most likely. I liked Lou's different personality and how she seemed different and not afraid to be herself.

2. Lou's family depends on her income to support them. What do you think of Lou's family, her boyfriend, her sister?

I didn't mind her parents, but felt like they put a lot of pressure on her to support the family. I felt like her sister took advantage of her, though.

3. Who is your favorite character so far? Who is your least favorite?

I like Will and Lou the best, something about their relationship thus far has grabbed my attention.

4. What is your favorite scene between Will and Lou thus far?

I can't remember which parts were within these chapters so I'm going to pass on this question.

5. If you were in a similar situation, would you have taken this job? Even though Lou wasn't hired to do anything medical, she quickly had to learn medicine schedules and there was also the scare when Will had a temperature. Do you think it was fair to Will to hire someone with no knowledge of quadriplegia?

I definitely would have taken this job. The pay was great and although she ends up doing things she was not hired to do, she learned how to do them and seemed ok with it.

@mrsjazz: @autumnlove: @Bao: not sure how book clubs normally run, and if this isn't on topic we don't have to discuss it but.. have you seen this story about the family in the UK? This + the Brittany Maynard story are so applicable to the book.

This article seems pretty neutral: https://www.yahoo.com/parenting/moms-fight-to-let-12-year-old-daughter-die-in-peace-101190836767.html

"No parent can stand to see his or her child suffer, and Charlotte Fitzmaurice and David Wise of London were no exception. It’s what led the mom and dad to wage a legal battle to allow their severely disabled 12-year-old daughter, Nancy Fitzmaurice, to die. They won their landmark case in August, with a High Court judge granting Nancy’s parents the right to end her short life."

This article is pretty strongly slanted against the family: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2014/11/04/u-k-courts-grant-mother-right-to-end-her-12-year-old-disabled-daughter-s-life.html

I don't know what I think about this... As I've mentioned at length, my 1yo DS2 (D) is reliant on a feeding tube but it otherwise pretty much a normal kid.. so I'm in a tangential situation but it's not the same severity. I feel that the situation is very different in an adult that is cognizant and making informed decisions, and a child (or elderly person, or otherwise incapacitated person who has not indicated their wishes previously). Then again, to be in charge of the care for someone who is suffering so much, all the time... it puts you between a rock and a hard place, for sure!

1. My first impression of Lou was that she was a bit of a sad sack, funny but slightly pathetic and I wished she wouldn't let people walk all over her like that. I found Will to be quite funny and was taken by his acerbic wit.

2. Lou's family really drove me nuts. Especially her sister. If her sister is so special, why is she working at a crappy flower shop? Why should Lou have to take horrific jobs at chicken factories and yet her sister doesn't? Her boyfriend was just so annoying.

3. Who is your favorite character so far? Who is your least favorite? My favourite character is a draw between Lou and Will. Least favourite character by far is Treena.

4. I have so many favourite scenes but can't remember which ones fall within these 6 chapters so I will skip this question for now.

5. I absolutely would have taken the job, the money could not be passed up. Although at first I thought it was unfair to hire someone with no knowledge of quadriplegia, I could see why it made sense given the desire to be seen as more than a patient.

@Mrs. Tiger: I actually found it quite hard to believe that Lou took all that crap from her.