I was thinking this, too, but I also appreciate the nuance of this character since it hits home. We’re tired of her because I think we all know a Gladys.
“I don’t want her to have a bad life, but I can’t imagine any other kind of life than the unpleasant one that I went through” is the most agonizing generational divide.
TBH I feel the realness of Gladys and feel bad for her. She wants her daughter to have a good life, a better life than she had, but perpetually fails at understanding her. Her husband is cheating on her, her mother-in-law views her with contempt. She started having way too much responsibility way too young, had kids way too young. It’s really easy to call her a bitch in the comments, but she’s very comprehensible as a character even as she passes traumas on to Beth… idk. I’m glad her sister is in her corner and hope she gets out of her marriage someday.
Man, Beth was badly sabotaged by this whole hare-brained homeschooling plan. The answer to “Kid tried to sell drugs at school” is not to force the kid into isolation. That’s a recipe for never learning how to function well among peers or develop a meaningful sense of independence and self-pride. What is appropriate is a change of environment, an alternative or continuation school, or — at minimum, like if your parents are crazy and hate public school — third-party-administered distance learning combined with a basic socialization schedule.
And like, I’m not trying to nail Alice to the wall, but it feels like she should’ve done more in terms of stuff like enrolling Beth in group activities, even if Beth was resistant. I’m sure she was scared of making Beth feel unsafe or triggering behavior that would make Gladys flip out, but letting her stay so isolated seems to have compounded her anxiety and limited her progress. Among other things, an average teen who attends school will be more resilient when stuff goes off the rails with a friend, because they’re around other peers and distractions all day.
I’ve also seen no evidence of college prep or anything. For someone as intelligent as Beth, that’s bad news. Her mind is going to occupy itself somehow. For a lot of smart, hurt people who don’t have solid grounding for college, the “somehow” can go to dark places pretty fast.
Gladys telling that bit about their familial background explains a lot.
I’m so tired of this character lmao it’s telling if she’s this exhausting to a reader, the rest of her family must hate her
I was thinking this, too, but I also appreciate the nuance of this character since it hits home. We’re tired of her because I think we all know a Gladys.
Oh absolutely, you nailed it. This and next page really drives it home
When she was 17… So she was probably 16 when she got pregnant… How much older than her is Shane again?
“my life was shitty so yours should be too” gladys shut upppppp
“I don’t want her to have a bad life, but I can’t imagine any other kind of life than the unpleasant one that I went through” is the most agonizing generational divide.
TBH I feel the realness of Gladys and feel bad for her. She wants her daughter to have a good life, a better life than she had, but perpetually fails at understanding her. Her husband is cheating on her, her mother-in-law views her with contempt. She started having way too much responsibility way too young, had kids way too young. It’s really easy to call her a bitch in the comments, but she’s very comprehensible as a character even as she passes traumas on to Beth… idk. I’m glad her sister is in her corner and hope she gets out of her marriage someday.
Man, Beth was badly sabotaged by this whole hare-brained homeschooling plan. The answer to “Kid tried to sell drugs at school” is not to force the kid into isolation. That’s a recipe for never learning how to function well among peers or develop a meaningful sense of independence and self-pride. What is appropriate is a change of environment, an alternative or continuation school, or — at minimum, like if your parents are crazy and hate public school — third-party-administered distance learning combined with a basic socialization schedule.
And like, I’m not trying to nail Alice to the wall, but it feels like she should’ve done more in terms of stuff like enrolling Beth in group activities, even if Beth was resistant. I’m sure she was scared of making Beth feel unsafe or triggering behavior that would make Gladys flip out, but letting her stay so isolated seems to have compounded her anxiety and limited her progress. Among other things, an average teen who attends school will be more resilient when stuff goes off the rails with a friend, because they’re around other peers and distractions all day.
I’ve also seen no evidence of college prep or anything. For someone as intelligent as Beth, that’s bad news. Her mind is going to occupy itself somehow. For a lot of smart, hurt people who don’t have solid grounding for college, the “somehow” can go to dark places pretty fast.
(Ha, sorry, I did not mean to post this as a reply to Senri)
No worries 🙂
you cant be mad that she doesnt go to school when YOU are the reason she isnt