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Huh, I could’ve sworn I’d already posted my thoughts for chapter 3, but apparently not.
Well, we get confirmation that Kate is indeed “that type of person”. “Well, if you couldn’t even find my house in NY you don’t deserve to go to the Amazon with me.” Maybe don’t bring him with you, then? IDK, I really can’t believe Alex’s dad trusts any of his kids with her. I’m sure she’s very competent and Alex will learn a lot of valuable life lessons and grow as a well-rounded person, but all I can think of is how traumatic this is all going to be.
Also, I’m curious if Alex is going to be running into any language barriers on this journey. Everyone has been so far presumably speaking English, at least. And I hope he doesn’t lose his grandpa’s flute down the line. :X
I surprisingly really like Kate as a character - yes, she makes questionable (potentially to definitely traumatic) choices, but she also cares for her nephew. She just doesn’t know how to show it properly. I’d find it a bit harder to forgive her for her do-or-die mindset (as superimposed on a kid) if Alex didn’t know she secretly does care.
Maybe we’ll get to see them grow together as family as well as see Alex grow into himself as a person.
… Which, we all saw that coming with Morgana. Honestly, what are the chances she’d be heading towards the same block, what was he thinking blindly trusting her and spending his money on her? I like how willing he is to give, but Kate was right that he’d have arrived just fine on his own, with less trouble if he’d just trusted in himself.
Knowing he’d have to get there on his own might have helped, too. I’m all for trials, but not at the expense of one’s general faith in people.
Kate Cold is cold!! I don’t think we are still sure whether she deliberately left him to fend for himself at the airport, or whether she was so chaotic that she just forgot that’s what the agreed. Reading about her apartment I suspect the latter!
I know it’s just a story, but John Cold - this is your plan for your son while his mum is undergoing chemotherapy? A trip to the Amazon with your mum to search for a deadly beast among fierce Indian tribes?
I was pleased to see that despite her general pride in avoiding doctors and opticians she is happy to give her grandson half a dozen vaccines for his jungle trip!
… How high are the chances she’ll try to do it herself?
I hadn’t thought of it that way before, but it’s very plausible that she honestly forgot and is just trying to cover up her miss with with that whole spiel.
But then, why didn’t she answer the phone? Alex rang multiple times. Did she wilfully ignore it, is it not plugged in, was she out?
Considering how last minute this entire thing was and how disorganized she is, I wouldn’t be surprised if she’d just forgotten. If we’re going with that, the unplugged phone seems the most likely to me. My grandma does this as well, she accidentally doesn’t put the phone back in the stand well, so it’s slowly losing battery and she’s unreachable for literal weeks because if the phone isn’t ringing, then she won’t be moving it.
I am very glad the he got another flute, but if he’s going to be bring it into the jungle, there’s a high chance he might lose it. I hope we don’t see that, but we’ll see.
Finished chapter 3! Not sure if I have a whole lot of language thoughts to add, but I’ll chime in on the story opinions, haha.
Kate seems like the kind of person I would really hate to be around personally, especially as a child or a teen . As someone who strongly needs to have my schedule planned out as much as possible, being around someone like her would stress me out a lot… Can’t deny that she makes for an interesting character, though.
Definitely feeling a bit of the magical realism with the plausibility of Alex’s parents sending him off to hunt a dangerous beast. Especially since if it’s any sort of officially sanctioned research project, they’d likely face all sorts of issues trying to involve a minor . But that’s no fun for YA novel premises.
. As someone who strongly needs to have my schedule planned out as much as possible, being around someone like her would stress me out a lot… Can’t deny that she makes for an interesting character, though.