Character Observation

I'm reading a book called "Cry baby" by Fay Cunningham and there is a development between the main character, Gina and a male character Adam.

There is an obvious passion between the 2, which Gina is fighting hard. She enjoys the sex with Adam but then feeling guilty for "giving in" to him. Why is it "giving in" if you gain pleasure from it? I am finding myself wanting to shake her at times because she requires so much from him yet refuses to give him a break. The guy went to cover a story in Iraq and she gave him grief about not contacting her, after hearing his reason, she felt he could have at least texted her. WTF?! It's clear that she has had some awful relationships in the past and is making Adam pay for all of them. Does she sound familiar?

There is a point in the story when they have sex and she starts to think that he is using her for sex and could have at least texted her a "thank you" and when she does check her phone, he had. She immediately finds another fault instead of being happy with the guy.

I'm not sure if it was the writer's intent to make the character so annoying towards her intimate relationship with this guy but it is working. As I've been studying relationship's paradigms, I certainly see how her behavior is sabotaging and setting her up for the let down she is expecting.

Why not let the past be the past and help each man create a pleasing story moment for moment? If you are busy with your career and know the man is busy with his as well yet when he is with you, you are his focus, what's the problem? Expectations breed disappointment time and time again.

Be happy in the moment!

Perfect Peace by Daniel Black

The story was set in a small town in Arkansas in the 1950s. A mother's yearning for a daughter causes her to do the unthinkable after giving birth to her seventh son. She decides to raise the son as a girl, who she names Perfect. The Peace family is special and gifted yet the times force them to work hard and walk the straight and narrow until they can't any longer. The emotions this books evokes and the depth of the characters make it surprisingly believable.

My heart went out to Perfect when the truth was revealed because of how raw and harsh it was. I couldn't even begin to imagine how confusing it was to find out who you thought you were was nothing but a lie. And most of all, for everyone to know because all the ribbons, dresses and frills have been stripped away. Perfect went from being loved and adored and treated special to being ridiculed, talked about and treated as if he was a freak. No longer perfect, now he must navigate through gender issues, sexuality, and societal values to become the man he was born to be.

Emma Jean, the mother, had her own demons that she dealt with as a woman and it reflected on her relationship with her husband, Gus and her children. She truly felt that having a daughter would give her a chance to prove her worth as well as allow her to relive a childhood she didn't have. Overall, she was a miserable woman who never grew up or let go of her past pains to see the pains she caused to those who loved her the most.

The writing technique mostly focused on the present moment yet, there were a few times when dealing with the brothers that the author gave an overview of how/where their life proceeds once they leave the house, almost as a rites of passage since they were no longer "main" characters, even though they remained within the present storyline just not as prominent. Interesting technique!