Beautiful Children Post 1

The novel I selected for my outside reading is titled Beautiful Children written by Charles Bock. I chose to read this novel because I knew that it was very different compared to books i would read normally. I chose this novel knowing little about the overall plot except for that it was considered to be rather disturbing. I found that Charles Bock himself was raised in a Las Vegas Pawnshop and had a very unhappy childhood. Like so many other great authors, Charles Bock uses his own personal life expierences to make his story that much more realistic. In the beginning of the book, parts of the plot are immediatedly established along with the characters. In the first few pages we know that Newell Ewing is missing because of the Lincoln Ewings thought about how "nobody can say how long a child will be missing" (5). These beginning events hook the reader and draw them into the plot and how each character plays a part or can relate to Newell Ewing's tragic situation. After the story is set up we meet the characters; missing Newell, hustler Ponyboy, stripper Cheri, overgrown comic artist Bing and Kenny, as well as street dwellers Lestat and Daphney. Each character is different and each character plays a fragile role in the overall plot. They are all very different and I am eager to find more about each of their roles in the Newells' conflicts.

I enjoy reading this book so far because as I predicted it is very different to all other reading material that I have so far chosen for myself. Charles Bock pays very close attention to the statistics and facts of abused and kidknapped children. This provides a strong base for his story and gives the reader more of the feeling that all of the events taking place are very plausible in life. This book also stands out to me because I can recognize some of the slang words that are randomly placed throughout the dialogue. Being a very vulgar person, I have found that I can very easily relate to the language in this novel so far, some words being "tatts" and/or "punkers". Also the reoccurring use of vulgar swear words keeps my attention and keeps me entertained. The plot so far is actionfilled and has got me fixed. The events that are taking place are different enough from my own life to keep me intrigued, but I can still relate enough to stay interested and happy.