What to Say Next discussion

Alannah Stahl
English 3
3/8/18
3rd Hour
Part 1: My book for this IRP was called, “What to Say Next” by Julie Buxbaum. In the beginning the reader knows three things right away. They know that Kit’s dad died in a terrible car accident, they know that David Drucker is the weirdest kid in school, and they know the David has a huge crush on Kit. David is on the autism spectrum and for this reason and many others he sits alone at school during lunch. David is a very smart boy, though. He can recite pi for a very long time, he memorized the periodic table, and he does very well in all of his classes. As academically inclined as he is, his social skills are not as good as his grades. Kit Lowell on the other hand, is smart and popular. She has friends upon friends, and her grades are very good too. But, then her father dies and her whole life turns upside down. Some other main characters are Kit’s Uncle Jack, Kit’s mom, David’s big sister, Lauren Drucker (A.K.A. Miney), who was considered high school royalty, and Kit’s “friends”. One day, Kit goes over to David (who sits alone at lunch with headphones in), and sits by him. All of Kit’s friends are shocked because people don’t normally go by him. Kit doesn’t know why she came over to him, but she likes how upfront and brutally honest David is. Some people might think it’s a bad thing, but after what happened to Kit, she thinks his honesty is refreshing. The next day Kit sits by him again, and the day after that. Then, the next day at lunch, Kit asks David to help her figure out how her dad died in the car accident. She wanted to know how it all happened.
But maybe she doesn't want to know.
Part 2: My experience with the book was very good. I found this book at the library, and I read the cover, and I wanted to read it. The book also gets you attached to some of the characters, like David, because he cares about so many people who don’t realize it or take his care or his compassion for granted. David is madly in love with Kit. He tells her many times that she’s beautiful, he draws her in his notebook full of things that Miney told him to write about. She told him to make a list of people to avoid, like Gabriel, who bullied him all of middle school. In his notebook, he does have some things to keep him “alive” during the dreadful four years of high school, but he draws Kit most of all. Kit doesn’t really realize it until she starts to fall in love with him too. It was a little sad to see David so lonely, but so caring for others, but it was really exciting to see them falling in love with each other.
***SPOILERS***
Kit was driving the car the night her dad died. They were both hungry, so they went for a drive, but Kit’s dad wanted her to get the extra practice, so she drove. A car came in front of them and Kit didn’t break in time. She was the only one who made it out alive.
Kit’s mom was cheating on Kit;s dad while he was still alive with Kit’s Uncle Jack. (Kit’s dad’s brother)

Part 3: My Big Idea word for this book is “change”. Kit had a great life with just her parents and her, and then she finds out that her dad died and she had to learn that not everything is going to stay the same forever. Kit and her mom are both trying to deal with change in their own way, including the five stages of grief. Kit and her mom were texting back and forth, talking about the five stages. Kit’s mom says, (..Just stumbled across this attached article re the five stages of grief: 1. Denial 2. Anger 3. Bargaining 4. Depression 5. Acceptance…. I’ve decided I’m skipping over the first three steps and heading straight for DEPRESSION. You with me”? (Buxbaum, 70) To which Kit says, “....As for depression, I already beat to you to it” (Buxbaum, 71). Both of them were never expecting something like this to happen, and they are not very good with change. Also, David is not very good with change. He has a playlist that he listens to everyday while walking into school, and his joy of the day is when everything goes to plan and his playlist ends right when he walks into his first class. David says, “I pull my car into my parking space at exactly 7:57 a.m., which gives me one minute to gather my backpack and head toward the school entrance..I need to stay focused, follow my routine, find my peace in its rhythms and repetition” (Buxbaum, 186). Kit and David are not good with change, even though it’s a known fact that change is all around us, and no one can prevent change. Only when they meet each other and fall in love is when they first think that change isn’t so bad.