Blog Post on Independent Reading Book

"Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" by Maria Semple

The book Where’d You Go Bernadette? is about a family, Bee, her mother, and her father. They are a close family with special traditions. They are honest, and loyal to each other. Bee is incredibly smart, and receives a perfect report card. Her family is struggling with a health finical bill, that they receive because Bernadette, Bee’s mother, ran over another parent’s foot, after picking up Bee at school. There is a lot we don’t know about Bernadette. The book takes place in her perspective most of the time, and her emailing back and fourth with people, heeling her out with her personal or financial problems. The book has a interesting way of starting, it starts with Bee’s report card.

I think the author started the book this way, to suck you right in. Instead of giving background information, it started right away with the conflict. Bee had a flawless report card, and suggest that for her good grades, they go on a family trip to Antarctica. This suggested along with a few other things, cause Bernadette to panic about the trip. She doesn’t like traveling much, but wants Bee to be happy, so she throws herself into preparations. There are money problems too, it costs a lot to go to Antarctica, because you have to travel by boat, and Bernadette doesn’t like to travel. Bernadette throws her self into preparations to distract her self from the fact that she is living a life she didn’t want. For example, the blurb stated an important fact about the Bernadette, “Bernadette throws herself into preparations for the trip. Worn down by years of trying to live the Seattle life she never wanted, Bernadette is on a brink of a melt down.” Bernadette is struggling with many things, that all get revealed through the beginning with the report card.

Another conflict that gets released with Bee’s pristine report card is her going to a private school. The private school her mother attended. “Dear Bee, After a careful review of an outstanding group of Early Decision applicants, it is our great pleasure to offer you admission to Choate Rosemary,” the letter Bruce Jessup, the dean of admissions at Choate wrote to Bee. Bee is thrilled to get this letter. But the problem, is the letter that her parents receive. “Dear Mr. and Mrs. Branch, Congratulations on Bee’s  acceptance to Choate Rosemary. As you know better than anyone, Bee is an extraordinary young women… This year, Choate Rosemary will accept one in ten applicants…Boarding tuition is $47,260. To guarantee Bee’s place, please submit the enrollment contract and deposits by January 3rd… Sincerely, Hillary Loundes,” director of studies at Choate. All these problems are building up to Bernadette’s break down, and are all caused by Bee’s perfect report card introduced on the first page of the book.

In this book the author doesn’t include much of the father or Bee’s perspective. I think she does that on purpose to create a little mystery between the honest family. They don’t really know what happened to cause Bernadette’s meltdown. In addition, when it is the mother, Bernadette’s perspective, there is usually the equal amount of the daughters, since most authors like to include that mother daughter connection. Clearly, the author started with the report card on purpose, to start off the conflict right away.