the quarrel: may 29

In this chapter we learn something about Frankys' brother Todd. Todd is her half-brother. When they were little they used to be friends but since he got obsessed with high school sports he did not have that much time for his "sisters" and he ignored them when he was home on the weekends.

I really like the way the author uses the E-mails to express the protagonists feelings and worries. Franky sends some E-mails to her brother Todd about the trouble with her parents but Todd never wrote back. Maybe I'm going to send an E-mail to Franky if I had any questions.

Furthermore, I like how the author choose the style of the house, which perfectly describes the mood and the situation of the family. "The house was designed by a famous Japanese American Seattle architect. It's what is called "postmodernist", meaning it doesn't look like a house exactly, more like a small high-tech building. Glass walls ... "minimalist" furnishing .... more module units, not rooms."
This is how I imagine the interior of the house: no colors, no flowers, no life. Krista is an artist and she hoped to furnish the house herself, but Reid insisted upon the most fashionable Seattle interior decorator. This house and its interior stand for the different lifestyles Krista and Reid have. Also the family dog "Rabbit" is a symbol for life. Since Reid can't stand the little dog he has to stay away from him.

Vocabulary: to pall around with sb. AE to associate with sb. as a friend preppy AE (adj. inf.) chic, smart to drop by to pay a casual, short visit to sb. or a place toadstool Giftpilz to be out of sb.'s depth to be too difficult for sb. to understand