Bitter Sprinkles On An Orange Cupcake

I decided to do the Close Reading prompt today

Context: 14 Year old Arnold can't afford to pay for his dog’s medical bills so his parents decide to euthanize his dog, Oscar.

“I love you Oscar” I said.

He looked up at me and I swear to you that he understood what was happening. He knew what dad was going to do. But oscar wasn't scared. He was relieved.

But not by me.

(My face while I read that)

Holy hecc.*

This is early on in the book and it has established itself as this hilarious lightweight and enjoyable read. But then this sets the real tone for the rest of the book. I was in shock that this book had some actual weight to it and as I kept on reading, it kept on dropping these little powerful lessons and ideas. I chose this one because it was the most shocking. It was like being shot at a gun safety convention. You simply dont expect it.

It's such an interesting  idea. I bet everyone has thought of it. The idea of euthanasia and if someone would actually do it. Or at least, how much pain would be too much. Should we continue fighting for that small chance that we may break through? Or give up due to the odds against you? It's a dark and very mature idea and it's something I didn't expect from this book. The book does this a lot however, sprinkling these dark ideas throughout an otherwise fun and sweet book. Its goes from winning 1st place in a masturbation contest (Yup) to describing how Arnold found out his crush had anorexia. It's a rollercoaster of emotions. It’s sad and funny, sometimes both at the same time.

What makes this so good? Well it's built up amazingly. It starts out talking with Arnold describing his family. His mom is a human tape recorder and given the chance, his father would have been a musician. Then it continues with Arnold saying his people dont have the money to follow their dreams. His people dont have the mindset or money to pursue their dreams so they just gather dust and are eventually forgotten. He talks about how poor his people are and then, he presents the story of Oscar. How bullets were cheaper than help. It's a nice and subtle buildup that throws the final punch to engrave it in your head. That final punch being, “But not by me.” It built up the death of Oscar, which is horribly depressing itself, then it does a twist and shows that Oscar was relieved not because Arnold was there, but because he was ready for the sweet release of death thanks to that one, powerful sentence.

(How I imagine Oscar before getting shot)

*I meant to spell heck that way.