Remembering the Good Times

Reader reviewed by Amanda W

Remembering the Good Times is a great book to read. In Remembering the Good Times it starts from the beginning of Kate, Buck, and Travs friendship. Throughout the book it shows the forming, fun, and hardships of friendship. Kate and Buck met in the woods, and then they met Trav in school during the seventh grade. They learned that Trav is the biggest worrywart. He sort of blew things out of proportion sometimes. Though Trav gave many signs of him committing suicide, Kate, Buck, Polly, nor anyone else ever noticed anything or took it too seriously.
There were many unique things about each of them. For example, Trav, he lives with his parents who are lawyers. His room was made up of childish doll figures, teddy bears, and rocket blankets, that was part of what made him unique. Kate on the other hand is pretty and the only girl of the group, with the exception of Polly of course. Kate is not very close to her mother, though, she mostly lives with her grandmother Polly, and is responsible of taking care of her. Polly is almost part of the gang too because she often plays games with them after school. Buck on the other hand lives with his father in a small cluttered trailer home. He does well in school and loves his friends, especially Kate who he secretly is attracted to. So as you can see they are completely different people, yet their friendship could last a lifetime.
This book was great. I was really interested. Maybe in some way I could relate to the characters. I would give this book a five, because I got into the book right away and often struggled putting the book down.

Reader reviewed by Shay D

Remembering the Good Times

This is a touching and meaningful book story of three friends- Kate, Buck, and Trav. They share a bond like no other. Everything is going jolly in Kates and Bucks minds, but, for Trav, it is different.
Maybe he felt like life was not going anywhere for him or he was not worth living. I think that he has it all going for him; he just did not know how to do more for others and himself.
Many kids and adults every day commit suicide every year. Something is wrong with their life and they dont know how to deal with it.
I quote from the book- & suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. &one suicide can lead to more.
Why is that? Maybe more people think that since another person ended their problems easily, they can too. Then, after awhile, more and more people commit suicide. It really is a permanent solution to a temporary problem. So why would someone end their life? All problems evolve eventually, but once you are dead, you are dead for good. You hurt everyone who ever cared about you and you influence other to take their lives as well.
I think that anyone who loves a true reality story about real life situations should read this book. Also if you are thinking of taking your life, you should read this to realize how it would impact people who care about you. Maybe you would realize that more people care about you than you think.
I believe that suicide is not the option and I wish I could do something to help those who feel it is their only option.

Reader reviewed by Carrie S.

Remembering the Good Times by Richard Peck was a well written book. Travis is one of the main characters who found problems in the world that could not be solved. His dearest friends were Kate, Buck, and Polly. No one saw such a treacherous act coming. Travis, suffering from failed attempts to fly, ended up hanging himself in Kates orchard. Like I mentioned before, the author, Richard Peck, did an excellent job writing this novel. To begin with, it explains a sensitive subject, teenage suicide. Would the average person ever think that a straight A student that comes from a well known family commit suicide? No. This is what makes the book unique. An average person would never think of a kid like Travis to commit suicide. The author managed to make it happen though.
Richard Peck also has a variety of characters. You go from the meanest person in town, Polly, to the most sensitive person in town, Travis. Buck, another main character, is slightly shy. Buck was Travis best friend. Kate, another main character who was Travis best friend, has more responsibilities than an average teenager. She cares for her Great Aunt Polly and her mom is never around. These are the four characters that make up this novel. Examples of the other characters would be Skeeter, Rusty Hazenfield, and Sherrie Slater. These three people were mentioned mostly when it came time for Travis, Buck, and Kate to go to school. Richard Peck helped describe Kate, Buck, but mostly Travis characteristics by having Skeeter, Rusty, and Mrs. Slater come into the novel. To summarize, it helped a lot to have such a variety of characters. I would suggest that teenagers especially, read this well written novel. Great lessons will be learned.

Reader reviewed by Kara T.

These Things happen Every Day, We Just Dont Know about It;
Remembering the Good Times
I thought the book, Remembering the Good Times (RTGT) by Richard Peck was an excellent book. The book was amazing even though Trav commits suicide.
Buck, the main character in this story, meets Kate in an orchard. Kate asks Buck if he wanted to see a foal being born. Next Kate and Buck went to watch the foal be born, the vet. did not seem to mind that they were there though. After that Buck thought he would never see Kate again.
Later in the day Buck was helping Irene and Scotty pick tomatoes. Irene asked buck to bring some to Mrs. Prior down the road. While he was down there, Mrs. Prior, Kates great aunt told him that she was too mean to die.
Buck had to go back to Farnham to live with his mother when Fred Wundrelich told him that they were moving to Cleveland. Buck argued his way into living with his father in Slocum.
When Buck and Kate go to school they meet Trav. Skeeter, the bully always goes wild at the new and weak teachers. After Skeeter sits down from attacking Mrs. Slater, Trav goes over, calmly lays his hands on Skeeters and everyone is calm for the rest of the period, until the bell rings.
Around Christmas Kate and Buck get invited to Travs parents Christmas Party. While at the party Trav gives Kate and Buck a tour of his house. When they get to his room they were expecting High-Tec stuff and computers. When they got inside the door it was full of toys.
I guess we all should have known when Trav was going to kill himself. Trav had given Kate his Teddy Bear and Buck his calculator. The next day Bucks dad was going to work on Pollys orchard, which she sold. They found Trav in a little clearing with a rope around his neck, and the other end tied to a tree. Trav had hanged himself. I think he did it because he was pushing on himself so much. It was self pressure; he thought he had push himself so hard for his parents to except him. There was no funeral for Trav, but there was a little meeting for the people who wanted to go, just for people to stop worrying. He is in a better place now.

Reader reviewed by NatashaP

Remembering the Good Times was an interesting and entertaining book. Personally, I liked it because it never seemed to get boring and always had you thinking about something. Another reason I liked it was that it would almost make you go back and see all of the clues that led up to Trav's suicide. Like when they talked about the poem being a sign, my first instinct was to go back and read it to see what they were exactly talking about.

This book also dealt with real life issues and addressed them, I think, very well. It's one thing to put it on television or hang signs but there is something different and more professional about putting it in a book. Richard Peck did and excellent job on weaving a series of events into an interesting plot leading up to the main point of the story (Trav killing himself). Somehow he made you believe that there was something not quite right and made you keep reading to see how it turned out.

In conclusion, I would totally recommend anyone to read this book. It is very true to life and paints a very precise picture in you head. Also, it leaves plenty of room for your own imagination which is very important. If anything i would borrow the book for the library and at least read the speeches they made at the meeting they held for Trav. If that does not convince you, this book may not be for you. However, if your heart was as warmed as min, I can guarantee that you should turn the book over and start at the beginning. Then, HOLD ON TIGHT!

Reader reviewed by K.T.

This is a great book! The friendship that develops between Trav,Buck,and Kate is really exceptional.I like how each of them comes from a different walk of life but they still become good friends.The way Richard Peck tells the story made the characters seem real,the last two chapters almost made me shed tears.I think that Remembering the Good Times reminds the reader to take a closer look at your surroundings and the people you know,and to appreciate the good times for as long as they last.