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Raymond, I’m addressing what you said last first because that’s too funny not to start with. I remember reading that part of THE FORT at 4 in the morning last year. I laughed so hard! I was flabbergasted but really amused. That’s not the first time I’ve read of that kind of “watering” before.
Were you talking about DON’T CARE HIGH? I’m actually reading that book right now, which is why I wonder. Classic it is indeed! The people are so different, but so blatantly teens!
Chapter five was a good one. You’re right–Reef’s life is just beginning to crumble faster and faster. The beginning was a great introduction to how the memory-swapping is not gonna be a funny, unimportant thing. If Reef forgets things that happens not even a week ago, he can forget anything, right? And unlike with his mom, the memory wasn’t just blurry. It wasn’t there. It makes the reader think that he can entirely forget about whole chunks of his life, and that makes us a lot more invested in the book.
Also, Reef not being able to know if he was the one who committed the crime of obliterating the wall was good. Just makes the realize just how serious the situation is, ‘cuz we know what happened, but he doesn’t.
I like the speculation about if the gained and lost memories are connected. It plants a seed in the reader’s head. I also like the use of Google. See, I used to read a bunch of books set forever ago or not pertaining to using the internet. Anyway, this led to me not reading about kids Googling stuff very often. It’s nice to see it in here, and it’s nice to see it done well. Not enough to kill the plot (by revealing everything), but not vague enough to be filler and deliberately making the characters seem obtuse.
The small scene about Portia totally could have been left out but I think it’s important that Gord put it in there. Shows how Coral Reef really feels about Portia! Now we know for sure that he does not hate her, and that there may have been something between them in the past. But now, their relationship is much more complicated due to his mom’s death, the circumstances, and his coping mechanisms.
The part about Declan framing Reef is totally expected for a guy like him. Adds more character to Declan to show just how devious he is and just how much he doesn’t care for Reef. I think it’s more of “I don’t wanna get caught and I want $200 so I’ll use this scapegoat” than “I hate Reef” in Declan’s mind. The best part, though, was Jenna. She really does care about Reef. And her mothering of her kids (especially Declan) has prepared her to deal with a “thieving kid”. She also probably sees his mom in Reef she sees him. Jenna is such a nice person and not just a pitying friend. This scene proves that.
Be blessed,
Jade
(P.S. This message is a little janky. Forgive my home-made tabs that are totally not me holding my finger on the spacebar for random intervals of time.)