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 Tuck Everlasting |
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Carmen: Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt is a book for anyone who thinks living forever might be a good idea. Death is a hard thing for most people to accept. Just think about the folks who plan to have their bodies frozen after they die. They hope that one day scientists will have the technology to thaw them out and send them on their way. Who knows—maybe right about now you're thinking, "Sounds like a plan to me!" Well, one of the main ideas in Tuck Everlasting is that there is a natural cycle to life. The story suggests that maybe people shouldn't try to interfere with this cycle by doing things to avoid death. Even if you violently disagree with this idea and are bound and determined to live forever, Tuck Everlasting is an interesting and entertaining book worth reading. The issue in Babbitt's book is not frozen bodies but a special spring that gives everlasting life to those who drink from it. The main character in the story, ten-year-old Winnie Foster, stumbles on the spring one day while exploring her family's woods. At the spring she meets Jesse Tuck and quickly gets drawn into the unusual life he has with his brother and mother. The problem is, until Winnie came along, only the Tuck family knew about the secret spring. And they have powerful, thoughtful reasons for wanting to keep it hidden from the rest of the world. The rest of the book focuses on what the Tucks, and eventually Winnie, go through to protect their amazing secret. As you read, you will have some tough decisions to make: What would you do if you were Winnie? Do you agree with the Tucks' attitude toward the spring? Do you agree with Winnie's actions? Tuck Everlasting asks readers to examine the idea of "forever" and think about the role of death in the cycle of life. It also looks at ideas such as loyalty, friendship, making responsible decisions, and dealing with the results of these decisions. But it's not all seriousness. You'll simply enjoy this fun fantasy story and the adventures of its interesting, likable characters. Raoul: I was truly moved by this book because I believe some of us should be more permanent than others. In fact, I even plan on having myself frozen after I die. Why not? It's my contribution to future generations—people who might otherwise never get to know me. In my opinion, the Tuck family just doesn't know what to do with all that time they have. They're too boring to have everlasting life. Let me tell you, if the book were called Raoul Everlasting, it wouldn't be about me living out in the middle of the woods acting high-and-mighty about the meaning of life. This is how it would go: I find the spring. I get dragged to the Tuck home. I listen to them whine about what a curse the spring is, and I pretend to take it all to heart. As soon as they trust me and let their guard down, I go back to the spring, have a nice long drink from it, then get to work on a business plan and a plan to keep the Tucks quiet. Let's face it, a spring like this would be a real benefit to mankind. I mean, I would be careful with the stuff. Believe me, I would only like to spend eternity with a select few people. I would use my natural-born wisdom and business sense in sharing the water. In short, this is a sad book about what happens when people lack ambition and common sense. The main characters mean well but they have bad attitudes. We can learn from their mistakes. |