7) What would you do if you were the main character in the story? Would you have acted differently? Why or why not?
In Sarah Dessen's novel "Someone Like You", Halley Cooke is a great friend to Scarlett, her neighbor. They have been best friends since childhood and out of the two Scarlett has always been the bolder and more outgoing one. She never let anything stop her. Now Halley has to be the stronger one after Scarlett's boyfriend, Michael Sherwood's death. Halley tried to be there for Scarlett and she is trying to act normal around her. If I was in Halley's shoes I would have been doing the same thing but after many months nothing is cheering her up. I would now be trying to help adjust back into the life she knew, I would be putting a lot of energy into finding ways to cheer her up. They still haven't sat down and talked about the whole situation, they have just been ignoring it. So my first goal would be to get her to open up to me again, instead of letting her recoil into a cocoon. Also, Halley is starting to like Michael's best friend Macon. I would want to let him open up to me too, or even anyone else because he is hurting inside even if he doesn't show it. Halley is sharing stories about Macon to Scarlett and I don't think that is helping her. I would keep the stories to a minimum although she is my best friend. The little stories start reminding Scarlett of her and Michael, so they're not allowing her to heal. Halley used to have a good relationship with her parents where she told them everything and they were really close. Halley and her mother are drifting apart and don't understand each other anymore. If I was Halley restoring my relationship with my parents would be another priority of mine. Halley knows that things aren't right between them and wants to fix things but she isn't their little girl anymore, so her parents also need to come to terms with the facts. Halley is a good person, she cares for and loves the people in her life. She is working hard to get everyone's lives back on track including her own.
