Blast from the Past discussion

What are your initial thoughts on the book? Any characters that are standing out to you so far? Any predictions on what is going to happen to Addie? Addie is a teenager....how is her life different from teens today? How is it the same? Her parents are immigrants from Russia, how has that affected her?

I really love coming of age stories and this one is no different! Addie goes through many of the same tribulations as kids in more recent times I think. Obviously poverty is a huge issue for them and it’s so sad the girls having to give up their education to work 😢 The family dysfunction is difficult to read about especially since it stems mostly from one person, and an important person, her mother. All of the daughters are so different than their mother, more open to change, voting, women’s rights. Seems like the Sat Club girls and others are very aware of their identities even though they are able to be Mixed Nuts too :)

I like reading about all the Boston locations. I know Diamant lives in Boston but I can’t wait to look into further how much research she did.

Oh poor Celia!!! My heart broke for her, Addie and her family.

Candace wrote: "I really love coming of age stories and this one is no different! Addie goes through many of the same tribulations as kids in more recent times I think. Obviously poverty is a huge issue for them a..."

I agree!! I can't believe how the mother treats Addie. The father seems like the strong, silent type. I wonder how Addie and her mother's relationship will play out as she gets older. Parent resentment I feel like affects a lot of people when they become adults. I wanted to smack that Harold Weeks!! Like you said Candance, I'm sure a lot of girls have been in similar situations!! I thought something was wrong with Celia right away...the way they kept saying that she's so sensitive, but so clumsy because she always cuts herself while cooking. She wasn't "allowed" to cut up vegetables. Makes me believe that her parents knew that she was doing it on purpose. Celia seemed like she was really loving towards Addie, so that makes me sad for her. It'll be interesting to see if Addie is able to forgive herself for her sister's death. Mental illness was definitely something that wasn't talked about back then!

Just finished this section last night. Really enjoying this so far. I really find the writing style easy and quick to read even though there was some heavy subject matter in the section.

I wanted to reach through the page and punch Harold Weeks. I wonder if that is the last we see of him or not. I feel like he was playing the "It's my last night in town" trick. I also wonder if he tried the same type of thing with Philomena in the past and that is why she was trying to warn Addie.

And Celia :'( It seems like getting married really accelerated her depression and then having to do Thanksgiving just pushed her over the edge. I agree that her parents knew and that is why she was not "allowed" to cut up vegetables. My guess is she had attempted before, and it probably shamed her mother so it was never talked about, Betty may not even have known. We knew at the start that something happened to Celia but even when the signs started pointing toward that, I still kept hoping that it was a physical disease that took her, something beyond her control. But this was probably the stronger narrative choice, especially has it relates to Addie.

I loved that Saturday Club girls showed up to support Addie! It really feels like an early historical example of different cultures intermingling to develop strong bonds of friendship.

Sorry that was long winded LOL! Can't wait to get into to the next sections!

Shaun wrote: "Just finished this section last night. Really enjoying this so far. I really find the writing style easy and quick to read even though there was some heavy subject matter in the section.

I wanted..."

haha!! I felt the exact same way as you about Harold! What a jerk! The part about Celia was SO SAD, and how Addie thought it was her fault...which is such a natural reaction so I can see why she felt that way.

I agree about the Saturday Club. It's so nice to see women banding together to get each other through tough times

I've read up to this point today and really like it so far. I am drawn into Addie's story. Her family situation just makes me sad - parent's fighting, Betty being ostracized, and then Celia. Oh that broke my heart! I just wondered why any of them didn't do anything! They all knew she wasn't doing well. No one stepped in to help her! Not sure that they could have done anything, but I still wanted them to try!

I love Addie's spunk and look forward to watching her grow.

I just finished this section and I'm really enjoying this story. It reminds me of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn as far as it's a coming of age story, which I love!

Addie has such a hard sad life as a child but its wonderful to watch her grow into her own self and become more independent and courageous. Even if she has to learn some of life's lessions the hard way, as a lot of us have.

How sad the story of her sister Celia. I can only imagine the guilt she must have felt not being at her sisters house earlier instead of being with that jerk, Harold, though I'm not sure there would have been anything Addie could have done for her. If Celia's death didn't happen then, it seems with her depression it may have happened eventually. So sad.

The mother obviously isn't a happy person and seems to want everyone to be miserable with her. The dad I feel is more a bit sympathetic to his daughters but he still holds those old fashion views of the place of a woman.

Betty is definately the strongest, the most out-spoken, modern woman of them all. I have to wonder what her relationship with Lavine is since they seem to talk about such intimate details together.

But I loved how the section eded with her friends of the Saturday Club being there for her after her sisters death. That club was a real club back then for progressive young women to get together and socialize, bond and network together. I just read a historical fiction book that was about that exact club. It's called The Saturday Evening Girls Club by Jane Healey. It would be a great companion book to read with this one.