Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Killing Mr. Griffin, Chapter 3: Everybody's Gram Poops #evanreviews

What would happen if Quentin Tarantino took a blow to the head and started writing John Hughes-esque teen ficiton? This book, that’s what. Welcome back to Evan Reviews for Chapter 3 of Killing Mr. Griffin. 

When we last left off, Beebop, Rocksteady and Cordelia had come up with a brilliant plan to kidnap their archenemy, Mr. Snape. Will El Guapo, the most hansomest kid in class, feel like joining in?

******BEWARE THAR BE SPOILERS********



Summary
We cut to El Guapo, busy making himself a sandwich. He takes the time to talk to his grandmother and learns that she watched game shows and his mom did not leave the old lady lunch. As he goes to fix her jello, we can all reflect on what we can learn from the old and elderly abuse.

Or we could reflect on how women always leave you which is what El Guapo does as he thinks about his single parent mom. Then we learn the grandmother is the dead beat dad's mom, and our opinion of her improves. We listen in to more of El Guapo's thoughts as he does the dishes:

"My dad was as hansome as me. My mom must have liked him, being so handsome and all. I don't want to help my dirty, lying Gram to the bathroom..."

While waiting for Gram to evacuate her ancient blatter, he goes to the phone and thinks of all the fun he could be having if he were not such as maxi dweeb that comes home right after school and hangs with his grandmother instead of having friends. He also thinks about how his mother is a spinster and how he will go to college someday as long as he makes good grades. I think he also decides to sing a few bars of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Then El Guapo goes to the dark place. The place he rarely allows his mind to travel. English Class. Snape is mean.

A great author once said that when he was stuck on a scene, he just had a guy with a gun show up at the door. Rocksteady shows up. El Guapo walks him to the Beebop's car where Beebop and Cordelia are waiting. Rocksteady gives El Guapo the basics of the kidnap plan and El Guapo says he is for it and he will meet them later at the library after he gets his Gram from the bathroom.

*Observations*
1.  I wish I was kidding about the bathroom thing.
2.  He has a CD player and his friends have cellphones... For some reason I was imagining this book happening in the late 70s and everybody as the cast of Carrie, but that's probably just a product of my 80s built imagination.
3. I was kidding about the singing.

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