In this coming-of-age story by Budge Wilson, a seventh-grade girl flourishes under a flamboyant English teacher. Inspired by the teacher, she learns to endure problems at home by writing metaphors. Four years later, she has the same teacher in high school. The unruly tenth graders constantly humiliate the poor woman, who has difficulty coping. Rather than acknowledge their past or offer thanks for her help in seventh grade, the girl ignores her. When the teacher dies in a tragic after-school accident, the devastated teen copes with her guilt by writing a metaphor. Themes include identity, peer pressure, guilt, self-realization. More…

In this coming-of-age story by Budge Wilson, a woman looks back on her life and the relationship between her mother and younger brother. The mother is a “do-er”, someone driven by success and always on the go. Her father and brother are “be-ers”, people who are more laid back and take time out to savour the world around them. The boy rebels after years of pressure from his mother to make something of himself, ultimately living a simple, secluded life as a part-time writer and poet. Themes include identity, family, parental pressure, acceptance (of individual differences), self-realization, courage. More…