College Students! discussion

1518370 Please use this thread to talk about the book as a whole after you have finished.

Some general starting questions:

Did you like or dislike the book? Did you like the ending? Favorite characters? Favorite quotes? Did you like the author's style? Were you confused by anything in the book? etc.

Feel free to post any discussion questions that are more specific to the book once you have finished. The moderators and discussion leader will try and facilitate the discussion but since everybody's reading schedule/life schedule are different, they may not be able to do so at the beginning of the month. So, any discussion questions are welcome! :)

I read this book about two years ago and I really enjoyed it. I remember not being able to put it down. I loved how the book told the story of the whole family, spanning decades. Also, I'm currently taking a sociology course on sexuality, and from what I've learned it seems that Calli's experience is pretty acurate for hermaphrodites.

Just finished it! Took me a while to get into it, but once I did I really liked it! I can't say Milton was my favorite character, but I was sad to see him die in such an avoidable way :( Did any of you feel like Cal didn't take his death very dramatically? It wasn't like he was very old or sick...it was such a freak accident, and yet I feel like Cal just accepted it and moved on. It seemed a little heartless to me, especially because part of the reason why he was dead was because he was trying to get Cal back. I understand how he felt like his parents wouldn't accept him and why he ran away, but a phone call to let them know he's alive, or even a call to his brother would have saved them from so much grief and suffering. It seemed beyond thoughtless that he never attempted to make contact with his family. What do you guys think?

I read this book in January while backpacking through Uganda. I was completely absorbed, and I think I even skipped some of the lovely scenery to finish the book. I liked teenage years of Cal best because I'm 21, so that felt easier to relate to. I loved the book overall. I think it gave me a better appreciation and understanding of people who consider themselves to be transgendered.

I loved the history that was essentially the first half of the book... I found it so interesting how Cal's family came to get to America and get so tangled up in themselves. I read it for my school's senior book club and everyone really liked it... and personally I felt like it hit home for me because I have a few friends who are gay/lesbian, etc., and it really helped me understand some of what they must go through in society (even though they are not necessarily transgendered). Lovelovelove.

This is my second time reading this book, and I think I loved it even more this time. Definitely a five star book. That being said, does anyone find the middle section to be a bit slow? The entire beginning with Lefty and Desdemona is so gripping, and yet their move to Detroit I found a bit blah. To me, the story doesn't really begin to pick up again until Callie is born. Thoughts?

I felt the same way MacKenzie! The beginning of the book was so interesting but the middle was so boring! I had to force myself to pick the book back up after a few days.

I also really enjoyed the book. I'd agree with basically all the praise that everyone else has given it. I thought it was super well written and really enjoyed the history that spanned back to Cal's grandparents. It was fascinating.

That being said, I do have some qualms - one being what Emily said. I thought that if Cal's father died because Cal had run away Cal would have a lot more emotional turmoil. I also found myself a little put-off by the whole running away bit. Why? Well, first off I felt it was a little cliche. The idea that he was "so tall" that he could pass for 18 kind of came out of nowhere. I felt like maybe it was a cop-out to figuring out how Cal would fit in, mixed up with everything back at home. It's easy to have a character figure themselves out if they don't have to deal with anyone they know. Also thought it was cliche when Cal did come home and he asked his brother to drive through all the areas of Detroit - Cal was only gone for about a half a year, maybe a little bit more. He was still 15. I felt like the author portrayed the passage of time to be more like 5 or 6 years.

OH and my final issue with the book. Why did /everyone/ have a real name except for his brother and his love interest? It seriously drove me nuts. There was no explanation for "Chapter Eleven" and although there was the slight reasoning for the "Object" - I though it was pretty weak. What was the purpose behind that?

OMG Ashley, the name issues bothered me too. I was wondering if I had missed an explanation for Chapter Eleven, apparently I didn't. "The Object" bothered me the whole time...and I even wondered about Lefty. I didn't get it.

I also agree that the section about Cal's grandparents was really interesting, as was the actual part about Cal, but Section 2, with his parents in America, was really boring.

It was a different kind of book than what I usually read, but it was pretty interesting...I think I read it in two days.

Found this on wikipedia: "Chapter Eleven (a reference to the fact that he eventually drives the family business into bankruptcy) is a biologically "normal" boy...." yada yada. Huh. Anybody know what that means? lol

All in all I liked the book. I didn't love it but I liked it. The beginning was pretty good, the middle chunk... let's just say I had to really plow through that. I loved the ending, it was tragic (typical Greek) but also optimistic and hopeful (American).

I liked the "not-names" that was given. I didn't pay enough attention (read it critically or analytically enough) to the book to give to much thought to why the author didn't name Cal's brother or the Object. I mean, I'm sure I could probably come up with a whole bunch of wild literary theories as to why that is but I won't get into right now.

Overall, I think the book is a bit overrated. It was written with great style and had some interesting reoccurring themes, but it didn't live up to my expectations at all.

I read this book for senior year AP English, and I've been addicted to it ever since. I love the characters, and I always enjoy stories in which characters' lives progress through the generations. It is especially interesting in this book, where you see how the consequences of one couple's actions ripple down through the years.

Thanks for that bit from wikipedia, Kelly. I always wondered about the name and assumed it had to do with bankruptcy (after combing the 11th chapter for clues, haha).

Stolen from somewhere on google.

Chapter 11 is typically used for business bankruptcies and restructuring. It is not commonly used by individual consumers since it is far more complex and expensive to pursue. It allows businesses to reorganize themselves, giving them an opportunity to restructure debt and get out from under certain burdensome leases and contracts. Typically a business is allowed to continue to operate while it is in Chapter 11, although it does so under the supervision of the Bankruptcy Court and its appointees.

I loved this book. So much. Just put it down and I thought it was beautiful. I agree that the middle dragged a bit for me and the runaway thing was a little cliche, but I think it worked because of the time period it was set in. My biggest problem with the book was that there was really no rhyme or reason for Cal's ability to see into the other character's minds and know their experiences so well. Sometimes he could and sometimes he couldn't, I just didn't understand how it all worked. It didn't stop me from loving this book though. I think it just might be one of my favorite books of all time.

Ashley wrote: "I also really enjoyed the book. I'd agree with basically all the praise that everyone else has given it. I thought it was super well written and really enjoyed the history that spanned back to Ca..."

I agree... we got some idea as to why Cal used 'The Object,' but nothing regarding 'Chapter Eleven.' It felt out of place. At first I thought I missed the explanation somehow...

Ash wrote: "I loved this book. So much. Just put it down and I thought it was beautiful. I agree that the middle dragged a bit for me and the runaway thing was a little cliche, but I think it worked because of..."

I agree, Ashley. Throughout the book I was wondering how Cal, as narrator, could possibly know so much about others' experiences..

I just finished the book today. I really liked it, but there were some nagging questions (shared by many of you) that hindered my enjoyment.

- Why Chapter Eleven? I assumed that had to do with bankruptcy, but why use that as the brother's name and not mention the bankruptcy until late in the book?

- When they went to NYC I started wondering who was taking care of Desdemona. Had she died and I missed it? This distracted me until her screech came over the intercom and her intentional absence was explained.

- How does Cal know everything? Somewhere in the second half of the book Cal mentions that he is writing this as a form of therapy, so I think that he filled out the details based on a few facts. Sometimes he understood what a person's motives might be, or what events might have led them to a given moment, and sometimes he didn't.

I wish the book was longer! I love the amount of family history included in his own story, but that doesn't mean that what actually happens to him between 15 and 41 is irrelevant. I wanted a little more of that.

I really liked the beginning and end of the book, but like most people was slightly bored in the middle. Even though it was kind of strange I loved how Desdemona and Lefty got together, one of my favorite college classes was the social construction of deviance and it was really interesting to see how they justified their marriage ect. and the guilt the followed Desdemona about abnormalities in her children.
I think that Callie really needed to run away in order to become Cal. I guess it is sort of a cop-out but I don't think her family would have been as accepting while she went through the transition but they were forced to accept him when he returned. It was a little heartless not to tell them she was alright though. Milton's death seemed like a little bit of overkill, the preist brother-in-law pretends to be her kidnapper escapes to canada, Milton's "flying car"...really just one of those would have been enough but all of them was too much.
the side story with Julie really bugged me throughout most of the book until the end when I was glad that we had a portrait of Cal all grown up and being accepted as a man, a very fitting end.