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Three Days Off
William's truthful but impolite answer in class gets him suspended for three days where he takes the time to look around at the hard working world of his north Paris community and then quickly comes to realize that an education is the key to a comfortable future.
- GenresFictionYoung AdultTeen
89 pages, Hardcover
First published November 18, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
March 30, 2022
Originally written in French, Three Days Off is a story of finding one's search for living life. Irritated by his teacher's pestering for his tardiness, William blurted out an obscene response that got him a three-day suspension, with an essay as a punishment for a Monday deadline. For William, he is thrilled, as he plans about what he can do now that he is "freed" from the imprisonment of schooling. As from any teenage boy, he wants to travel about the country, binge the TV, get to next base with his girlfriend, etc. When the girlfriend make-out doesn't work out, he resorts to finding hookers. At the back of his mind, he wonders how he will tell his mother of his record?
One his three days off, his little shenanigans got him to interact with a few strangers who got him to start thinking about what he wants to do with himself. It's clear he doesn't want to return to school, but the folks he speaks to all have something in common: they all wished to have an education. From a tourist who is trying to find himself, a return to school is something he considers. Two movers regret quitting school early on because now they have nothing to get them anywhere in life. And a college grad who is working on her degree, chooses the worst of studies to go in, only to do so because it is one she loves that it doesn't matter what job type it is as long as she loves it. All this got William to rethink about his life decisions, with the hope that he is still young enough to correct his mistakes, he sets out to refocus himself towards a new day as a changed man.
Surprising, or not surprising, that a YA book deals with a relatively overlooked subject about life goals & education. For its very short length (89 pages), it manages to convey its message that education is an important matter. What one doesn't take serious enough to consider can be at a grim cost that reality shows too well on those who are deprived of learning. The plot is slow enough to comprehend everything that is going on, given that the timespan is literally three days. Since the story is from William's POV, he is the most fleshed out while everyone else is relatively a satellite, though that does not take away merit from the story. Three Days Off is an okay read for a younger demographic to understand why education is a necessity, with a little more improvements on smaller areas can make this an even better story.
One his three days off, his little shenanigans got him to interact with a few strangers who got him to start thinking about what he wants to do with himself. It's clear he doesn't want to return to school, but the folks he speaks to all have something in common: they all wished to have an education. From a tourist who is trying to find himself, a return to school is something he considers. Two movers regret quitting school early on because now they have nothing to get them anywhere in life. And a college grad who is working on her degree, chooses the worst of studies to go in, only to do so because it is one she loves that it doesn't matter what job type it is as long as she loves it. All this got William to rethink about his life decisions, with the hope that he is still young enough to correct his mistakes, he sets out to refocus himself towards a new day as a changed man.
Surprising, or not surprising, that a YA book deals with a relatively overlooked subject about life goals & education. For its very short length (89 pages), it manages to convey its message that education is an important matter. What one doesn't take serious enough to consider can be at a grim cost that reality shows too well on those who are deprived of learning. The plot is slow enough to comprehend everything that is going on, given that the timespan is literally three days. Since the story is from William's POV, he is the most fleshed out while everyone else is relatively a satellite, though that does not take away merit from the story. Three Days Off is an okay read for a younger demographic to understand why education is a necessity, with a little more improvements on smaller areas can make this an even better story.
March 13, 2015
Friday September 19, 2014
In this story, the author, Susie Morgenstern developed a young fifteen-year-old debauchee teen, William that is learning to mature and understand the real meaning of life. After being suspended for having an inappropriate thought regarding his teacher in class, he changes his mindset from being an extremely lazy and ignorant child to a matured teen, aware of his responsibilities. Furthermore, seeing how he changed from developing negative ideas about most of his priorities and being reluctant about them, to awaken to his priorities, is a big improvement in his character. For instance, when he was enthusiastic to get away from school, he quickly regretted it and understood that it was his only get away pass from his miserable life; “School isn’t as dumb as I thought, and life is… Life is just life’’ (Morgenstern 88). The protagonist also engaged himself in changing into a better person and being more active in his life. As a case in point, considering how he helped the two struggling old moving men to unload crates, it was a step forward into his new turn of mind. William decided to explore the world, making new friends and having a more active life. In conclusion, the protagonist of the story exhibited an extreme change in his personality displaying a contrast of his changing mindset.
The theme of the novel could be considered to be self-discovery, as the protagonist, William, discovers himself through the story. The theme is significant moral, teaching the readers the lesson that it is important to believe in oneself and know what are people’s roles in life. To emphasize the point, as noticed in the story, William’s journey to discover himself wasn’t easy, he had to step out of his comfort zone and take control of his life by reflecting on his past actions. For instance, as he thought of the three days suspension he received, understanding the amplitude of his mistake, William determined a new goal to his life. Furthermore, the theme demonstrates the importance to acknowledge the essence of each one’s personality to open towards the world and enjoy its positives. In other words, during his journey, he enjoyed discovering this new part of himself as a young adult, controlling his life. Therefore, one is able to see the significance of the theme, seeing how it plays a big role and is crucial to captivate the reader’s attention into the book.
William is a young teen, living near North of Paris in which seems to be the twenty-first century. One day, in school, he gets three days of suspension for describing his fantasy about his English teacher. Unwilling to tell his diligent, full of problems mother of the incident, he gets into a bigger adventure during the three days by meeting new people. Also, he met new people that faced him to the reality of life and explained to him the importance of education and the pride of life. The plot is put in a way so that the reader can easily read the book, making it more gripping to read. Furthermore, after the morals given by numerous characters, the protagonist is beginning to change his way of thinking and seeing things. Moreover, when William started to mature and understand the meaning of what he was doing, he took more pride into his life. In deduction, in the development of the plot, identifications of changes in the story could straightforwardly be made thanks to its good structure.
In this story, the author, Susie Morgenstern developed a young fifteen-year-old debauchee teen, William that is learning to mature and understand the real meaning of life. After being suspended for having an inappropriate thought regarding his teacher in class, he changes his mindset from being an extremely lazy and ignorant child to a matured teen, aware of his responsibilities. Furthermore, seeing how he changed from developing negative ideas about most of his priorities and being reluctant about them, to awaken to his priorities, is a big improvement in his character. For instance, when he was enthusiastic to get away from school, he quickly regretted it and understood that it was his only get away pass from his miserable life; “School isn’t as dumb as I thought, and life is… Life is just life’’ (Morgenstern 88). The protagonist also engaged himself in changing into a better person and being more active in his life. As a case in point, considering how he helped the two struggling old moving men to unload crates, it was a step forward into his new turn of mind. William decided to explore the world, making new friends and having a more active life. In conclusion, the protagonist of the story exhibited an extreme change in his personality displaying a contrast of his changing mindset.
The theme of the novel could be considered to be self-discovery, as the protagonist, William, discovers himself through the story. The theme is significant moral, teaching the readers the lesson that it is important to believe in oneself and know what are people’s roles in life. To emphasize the point, as noticed in the story, William’s journey to discover himself wasn’t easy, he had to step out of his comfort zone and take control of his life by reflecting on his past actions. For instance, as he thought of the three days suspension he received, understanding the amplitude of his mistake, William determined a new goal to his life. Furthermore, the theme demonstrates the importance to acknowledge the essence of each one’s personality to open towards the world and enjoy its positives. In other words, during his journey, he enjoyed discovering this new part of himself as a young adult, controlling his life. Therefore, one is able to see the significance of the theme, seeing how it plays a big role and is crucial to captivate the reader’s attention into the book.
William is a young teen, living near North of Paris in which seems to be the twenty-first century. One day, in school, he gets three days of suspension for describing his fantasy about his English teacher. Unwilling to tell his diligent, full of problems mother of the incident, he gets into a bigger adventure during the three days by meeting new people. Also, he met new people that faced him to the reality of life and explained to him the importance of education and the pride of life. The plot is put in a way so that the reader can easily read the book, making it more gripping to read. Furthermore, after the morals given by numerous characters, the protagonist is beginning to change his way of thinking and seeing things. Moreover, when William started to mature and understand the meaning of what he was doing, he took more pride into his life. In deduction, in the development of the plot, identifications of changes in the story could straightforwardly be made thanks to its good structure.
October 26, 2015
The title of my book is called Three Days Off by Susie Morgenstern. The main character, William, is tall, has blond hair and green eyes.Also,the setting is in the school where he learns and takes place in the present. So the main character William gets suspended for three days by his teacher.When he gets suspended he is really scared about his mother's reaction. In his three days of suspension, he learned how to work hard to get something and he thinks about his life in the future.In the book Susie Morgenstern writes,"William ripped off his jacket like superman and opened his notebook one more time"(pg.89 Susie).
This book gives me many lessons about school. First, this book gives lessons because when you get a suspension you can do many things so you don't get into more trouble.The main character treated his friends very well and was known all around the school. Before reading this book, I thought the main character was a spy.
My favourite part of the story is when in the suspension he tries to do well so his mistake would be forgotten.The part I did not like is when they talked about his friends and teachers at the beginning of the story. This part was boring. I would not read this author's books again because they are annoying and have not much to say.I would not recommend this book to anybody in middle school because it's boring.
This book gives me many lessons about school. First, this book gives lessons because when you get a suspension you can do many things so you don't get into more trouble.The main character treated his friends very well and was known all around the school. Before reading this book, I thought the main character was a spy.
My favourite part of the story is when in the suspension he tries to do well so his mistake would be forgotten.The part I did not like is when they talked about his friends and teachers at the beginning of the story. This part was boring. I would not read this author's books again because they are annoying and have not much to say.I would not recommend this book to anybody in middle school because it's boring.
August 18, 2015
greatest adventure book ever
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews