Remembering the Good Times

Reader reviewed by Makaygan P.

This story, Remembering the good times, was boring and interesting at times. Sometimes the book did not make any sense to me. To me they should have used characters that were like us and used a whole different time period so we could relate to it more. I did like it at times because it taught you what other kids go through that have lost their friends. The message of the story to me was that no matter how much you think you know someone you dont actually know what they will do. This story showed all the signs people should have seen but didnt. When people blame their selves for other peoples actions is what I didnt like. Their were a lot of things people could have done to prevent this. Examples would be his friends could have been their more for him, his parents should not have put so much tress on him, and the school should have had more educated classes for those who wanted them. Buck mendenhall and Kates characters could have been in more detail and went through their personal life too. Travs character was displayed very nicely. I thought it gave a vivid picture and brief details on what hes like and his life. The fact that Trav actually died I did not like either. In my opinion, the writer of the story should have portrayed it where he tried to kill himself but didnt succeed in. Also I didnt like that everyone thought it was other peoples fault. It was no ones fault. No one could have stopped this. But I also thought it was interesting because it shows the emotions and the hardships kids have to pass when one of their close friends died. On a five-star scale I would have given this book a 3 because it gave great details but could have had more interesting parts.

Reader reviewed by Darian V.

If I would have had a friend recommended this book to me, I wouldnt have read it. It is just simply not my kind of book at all. I had many troubles and struggles keeping on task when it came to reading. I even had to sit down it the quietest most tiny room I could to actually even get startedthe closet. It took me a large total of ninety minutes to read ONE chapter. That is exactly how difficult it was for me. I would never recommend this to my friends because I feel they would feel the same as I do because we all have the same taste in books (specifically by Stephenie Meyer) and we love reading. I feel that there needs to be a selection of books to choose from rather than having a book shoved in your face and forced to read it even though you mentally can not. Reading should be fun and you should want to just spend your day in a good book, not reading a book you just can not. I feel it is just not fair to not let us choose which book we want to choose and if there are any people of my age that wish to have books RECOMMENDED by a teacher, than that should be their choice. All in all this book just was not my type of book and I am happy and content reading books of my choosing. I hope that others find good books too.

Reader reviewed by Jessica S.

Remembering the Good Times

I liked this book because it gave a lot of different types of morals and told about real-life situations that can be painful. It reminded me about the relationships with some of my own friends, and how much I really love them. The way the book talks about grandparents and step-parents definitely relates to my own life.

My friends and I are very different. No matter that our grades, interests, or where we live are sometimes totally opposites. We have a great time together no matter where we are, just as long as were there. Kate is the Slocum norm female, Trav is the super-genius sub, and Buck is the drifting somewhere unknown foreigner. Theyre not judgmental and they stick together.

Although my grandma isnt as old as Polly, she can get mean. But she always means it to teach, never just because she feels like being grouchy. My grandma always seems to know something no one else knows. Shell give you a sly smile and surprise you later. You can come to Grandma with anything and shell find a way to fix it and make everything alright, like when Polly found the group costumes for Halloween or when she gave a meaningful speech for Trav at the end of the book.

My parents divorced when I was really young, so I didnt mind that they werent together because I couldnt remember a time when they were. I do recall, though, not enjoying the changes in parents. I gained two new parents and a couple of new siblings too early. I have two homes now, and it can get very frustrating. Theres always changes somewhere else, or Im not use to that place and they have a separate life that Im not a part of because one family lives states away. Its like Bucks situation, because he felt like he was intruding on Mr. and Mrs. Wunderlichs new marriage.

Reader reviewed by Spencer H.

When I was reading the book Remembering the Good Times I thought it was a very boring book. The reason I thought it was a boring book was because it had no meaning to it and it wasnt my favorite type of book. We already get a lot of lectures in school about people getting bullied and stuff like that. My favorite kinds of books are sports and adventure. Remembering the Good Times was an adventure book and sort of mystery. The reason it kind of mystery is because when Trav killed himself I think Kate and Buck should have found out why he did it. One of my favorite parts is when Sketer and Buck get into a fight over his dads hardhat. My least favorite part was when Trav killed himself because a lot of my relatives have died. I was surprised when the grocery store got robbed and Scotty got shot. Because it was in the middle of the night they couldnt find the robber. I was also surprised when Scotty died in the hospital like a week after he got shot at the grocery store. All in all this was a very boring book. I think that we should have read a book that had more meaning to it and was more exciting. I thought that there was a lot of boring parts in Remembering the Good Times. One of the parts when it was boring was when they were finding Halloween costumes in Polly closet. That was pretty boring. Another boring part was when Buck had to go to Cleveland and live with his mom over the summer

Reader reviewed by Justyne B

Justyne Burghardt
Period 8


Remembering the Good Times is a book about friendship, love, and the lose of a loved one. This book has high points of suspense. I would recommend this book to people that have lost someone they loved, especially if they were young.
This book is about 3 friends, Buck, Kate, and Trav. All these kids are smart and athletic. None of them have a bad home you life, so I wonder why one of them would feel so bad about them self. It might not make sense now but if you read the book it will.

They have fun times together and like to play card with Polly. Polly is a fun, exciting old woman. All of them get along very well. They enjoy each others presence. Just one thing tears them apart. They never thought it would happen but it did. As you are reading you could never expect it. They always act like everything g is ok.

Sometimes things just happen. And they find that out the hard way. All of a sudden he dies. And they can do nothing about it. He is gone and he is never coming back. A lot of people can relate to this. I would recommend Remembering the Good Time to someone who needs to know that it happens and that they are not the only one.

The book my take a while to get into but once you get into it its very interesting. So give it a chance it is a heart warming book.

Reader reviewed by GageJ

Remembering the Good Times Critique

I thought that Remembering the Good Times was overall a good book. I liked the characters that Richard Peck created because they are easy to relate to. I didnt like the fact that the author had Trav kill himself though. He had many benefits from being smart and could have grown up to be really successful. Trav had good friends that cared about him and he really hurt them by committing suicide. I liked Bucks character because he is determined, like when he didnt give up trying to get his dads construction hat back from Skeeter. I thought it was horrible the way that Kate had decided to get back at Skeeter for harassing Ms. Slater. I didnt think that Kate would do something like that because she was always trying not to start things and didnt like violence. Trav also didnt like violence so he was mad at Kate when she did that and said that he deserved it. Trav wanted to go back and help Skeeter even though he was a menace and a jerk to everyone. Trav always knew the right things to do and thats why he made a good character. Buck was didnt really ever know to take Trav or Kates side in the conflicts because he didnt want anyone to be mad at him. I thought that this was a great book and it teaches us about how some people deal with things when something bad happens in their lives and how to think back and remember the good times.

Reader reviewed by Daisy M.

In Remembering the Good Times novel, I thought the book was good, but not the best it could be. I really like the part when, Kate and Buck became friends, and how she asked him if he wanted to see a foal being born, and how they watched it while it was coming out, and how Buck thought Kate was beautiful in her sneakers, shorts, and her tank top. I also liked the part when Kate read aloud her poem, which Trav had written her for which she used in the play that was called: The Glass Menagerie. After the tryouts were done and Kate was walking down the hall with Buck, and Buck asked Kate if she had written the poem, and she said no, Trav wrote it for me for the auditions. And out popped that Mr. Jealousy onto Bucks back. Buck felt his ears redden. On the other hand, I didnt like the part when Irene and Scotty were not even hurting a fly, and out of nowhere, Bucks dad woke up from a dead sleep, and ran as fast as he could to the gas station. When he arrived at the gas station, he found Scottie with his foot wedged between the door and the wall. When buck had arrived shortly after his dad, Bucks dad told him to wait outside and to wave down the ambulance when they arrive. The next day when they visited Scottie he was hooked up to IVs galore. It turned out that he had been robbed, and shot at, when he was working at the gas station. A few hours later Scottie was pronounced dead, from the painful shooting. Another part I didnt care for was when Trav killed himself. And how they chose Polly to tell Buck and Kate. Even though I dont really know why Trav hung himself, thats why I thinks the book is good but could be better.

Reader reviewed by Megan K

Remembering the Good Times was an enjoyable book to read. It not only caught my attention, but wanted me reading ahead. It was great at making interesting details throughout the book. There are many sad things that happen in this story, but it helps the reading flow along. This book tells about good times and bad times. It makes you remember the good and bad times of your life to. Some of the items in this book you can relate to with your own personal experiences. A close friend leaving, new friends coming into your life, and hard times that make your friendships come closer together.

If you pick up this book you will have it done in no time because it's easy to follow along with. Plus, it isn't to terribly long either. There are reasons for picking up this book, it has an interesting cover, the back description grabs your attention, and it's about normal day to day lives. It's not just for teenagers, or young adults. Teachers, grandparents, parents, and others will have a wonderful time with the adventure of Kate, Buck, Trav, and especially Polly. Polly is the character in the story that pulls the story together. She will know when one of the friends is having a rough time, or needs some advice. Even though she's old she is smarter than most people in her town. She knows when something is up. She'll probably be one of your favorite characters.

In the story you will notice that the three friends have a place where they can think and just hang out. It is in Kate's backyard in an orchard. Kate, Buck, and Trav are all connected to the orchard. It has a special meaning to them. Once you read the book you will know what each one has that connects them to the orchard. As usual the orchard doesn't bring all happy memories back.

Remembering the Good Times also faces Buck with some hard decisions. Should he move with his mom and new step-dad, or should he stay with his dad where all his friends are? In the end Buck makes the choice that makes the most sense, but it is difficult without both your parents living in the same state as you. Luckily Buck has Kate and Trav to help him through this rough patch.

I hope that after reading this you won't wait to read this wonderful book. This book is great. It teaches to be thankful for the great friends and family that you have to cherish every moment that you have with them because you never know when something could go wrong. Remember there are always going to be good and bad things in your life.

Reader reviewed by Savanna S

Remembering The Good Times is an okay book. I like and dislike this book

I like this book for a few reasons. One reason is it makes a good point. You should know your friends inside and out. You should know how they are feeling, what they do, you should know everything. If you dont you could end up being the one who loses a friend, family member, or a loved one. I guarantee you it would be horrible.

Another reason I liked this book was because of the characters. My favorite character was Polly because she was like one of the teenagers yet, she is one of the oldest people in Solcom. She always loved when Kate, Buck, and Trav would come over to play games with her and just to talk to her. I dont see how she is mean and they call her the meanest in Slocom.

I also dislike this book. I hate how Trav got so close to Kate, Buck, and Polly. Then he had to commit suicide in the orchard. Why there? Also I dont see why they didnt have a funeral for Trav. That would have been a whole lot better than having a meeting. When Buck and Kate walked into the school and everyone started talking about Trav. I thought that was dumb because nobody even knew him.

Overall this is a pretty good book. I just didnt like it but thats my opinion. I would not tell a friend to read this book.

Reader reviewed by Ryan H.

For Remembering the Good Times I recommend the book to adults who like books. In my mind I thought that the book was about to make me fall asleep. I think that the book should not be read by kids and teens. It does not really give action in Remembering the Good Times.
In the book it has three kids that are the protagonist. It includes Kate, a farm like kid, Buck a trailer kid, and Trav a kid like smart kid. Skeeter is the fat bully in the school who is cocky. Polly Prior is the grandma of Kate and mean until the end. Through Remembering the Good Times, Trav becomes obsessed with world crisis and media. Buck lives in a crowded trailer with his dad. Kate spends most of her time with Polly to take care of her. Trav moved at Slocum six months ago and is unhappy. He is going into advanced classes like math, language and reading. Trav is the bad one in my mind. All of them are friends because they are different.
The story goes through out many years, but the lives of the characters do not change. Through the end of the story Travis becomes crazy kid by going to jail and then ends up committing suicide. After Travs death, the school is running through chaos over Travis. The school addresses that it is not their faults for this.The story is well written, but I disliked this story, because it was boring.