Characteristics of Olivia

Olivia is an girl with distinctive characteristics on her. She is very independent. She can find her ways to live in a good life. She is not that kind of girl who will cry a lot. She is very tough. From the letter she wrote to her father, as well as Lorenzo's father, she told him that she didn't need his help and he just needed to mind his own business. Olivia either like someone or hate someone; she would be in the middle, nor she would use tears to solve problems. She is a very "cool" person. She is also very smart. When she got the phone call from Lorenzo's mother, she knew exactly what to say and she acted perfectly as Alessia's mother. 

Summary of Ch. 5

It was the first day Lorenzo lives in the cellar. He woke up at nine o'clock and decided to explore the cellar a little bit. Then he got a phone call which he thought was his mother but it was actually his stepsister, Olivia. His stepsister asked him whether his parents were at home at that time. Lorenzo thought this strange phone call was a trap and he realized that he has more serious problem to solve ---- his mother wanted to talk with Alessia's mom. Then, he just threw that thought and started playing games until a person came down to the cellar. Lorenzo immediately hid himself, but then he was found and he found out that this person was Olivia. Olivia came here to try to find her box and the money in it. After she found nothing, she left and Lorenzo reminded her to keep his staying at the cellar. When he was remanaging Olivia's box, he read her letter to their father and he was very angry at Olivia. At the midnight, Olivia came and asked for staying at the cellar for one night. Lorenzo strongly opposed her staying, but because of her "threatening", he had to compromise and let her in. 

In class writing

While Lorenzo and his mother were stuck in traffic on Corso Vittorio and his mother saw a dress she really liked and she decided to park in a free parking space which a Smart car was going to pull out to pull the car in. This yellow Smart car was hit by their cars. Their BMW didn't have a scratch on it, but the Smart car had damages. A big guy got out of the car, shouted to Lorenzo's mother and screamed bad words, too. People in the Smart car insulted Lorenzo's mother and asked her to be responsible for this incident while Lorenzo was sitting in the car. Lorenzo felt angry when he heard them insulting his mother with bad words, but he didn't choose to get out and try to protect his mother, because he was so afraid of that man. When he thought about what else the man would do to his mother, he finally decided its the time to get out, but then he fainted.  When he was in the car, he felt he was sitting on a huge giant made of stone that was hugging him and won't let him go. This is important to him because he should have been a man who can stand out and speak for her mother, instead of being a boy that needed to be cared of.  He is scared of being hit by the man. It's the fear that held Lorenzo in the car. Fear beat his anger in this case. 

chapter 3 summary

Lorenzo's mom calles him again. She wants to talk with Alessia's mom and Lorenzo lied again to his mom. He knows her mom will insist to talk with Alessia's mom in her later calls, and he is afraid of he can't come up with a good reason anymore. 

Response to "Lorenzo" Question

From the book I read so far, I think the main character Lorenzo is an very interesting character. He is very special and smart. He isn't like other children at the same age with him. He doesn't like to socialize with other people or make friends. He wanted to be left alone. He even was seen as an abnormal child when he was young. However, he knows himself well by heart and don't need others' judgement. Every time when problems come up, he will solve it by using his intelligence. For example, when Lorenzo was in high school, he was bullied by those "dangerous kids". Then, he saw a documentary about insects that mimic other insects. He immediately got inspired and came up with a solution that is to camouflage himself among those "dangerous kids" in the school. He wore the same things the others wore and behave like them, too. Although from my point of view this is not right, but it worked perfectly keeping Lorenzo from being bullied. After his imitation for a while, he realized he could not imitate those dangerous kids for the rest of his life. He thought it is pushing him to precipice, and he needed himself back. 

This is why I like Lorenzo: always has special ways to solve his problem and never will lost himself. 

Reaction to Me and You

Today, I just started reading the book called "Me and You", which was written by Niccolo Ammaniti. After I finishing the first chapter, I think I like this book but I'm kind confused by some of the plots. I don't know why he tries to escape from the ski trip and goes back home to a forgotten cellar. Also, one thing that confuses me most is that if this is a forgotten cellar, why there are so many food and even television? Has there already been a person living there? These questions keep coming out of my mind. However, this is a fiction which tells readers some stories, and this is my favorite type of books. This is a very interesting book, in my opinion. I think by the time goes on, I will get answers of these questions in later chapters. 

Three choices of suggesting books

1. My Year with Eleanor 

2. We are Liars

3. The blue yonder