What Cant Wait

What Cant Wait

  SUMMARY:

Marisa is a good, hardworking daughter who gets good grades and gives half her paycheck from her cashier’s job to help pay the bills.  Lately though, she can’t seem to do enough to please her parents.  They want her helping out at home more and can’t understand why she would even think about not taking the promotion and extra hours at work.  Marisa’s teachers are concerned that her grades are slipping and are frustrated by her reluctance to talk about the fast approaching deadlines for college applications.  Marisa can’t figure out how to tell her parents that she wants to go to college, or how to explain to her teachers that her parents will never let her go. What Can’t Wait is a powerful, authentic story, in turns heartbreaking and inspiring. Marisa’s an admirable, strong, sympathetic character, and it’s easy to feel for her as she struggles to find her own path in life while dealing with a multitude of distractions and obligations. She’s proof that even when you’re smart enough to understand the problem, wise enough to avoid temptation, and stubborn enough to pursue a dream, it’s not always easy to follow through. As she juggles family, work, school, friends, a relationship, and her future, we see her make some hard choices, and some harder mistakes. Luckily, she has people who care for her, and a chance at success.

Evaluation By Genre

Realistic Fiction

Motivational Activities:

Readers' BINGO. Brainstorm 25 to 30 words that deal with books and write them on the board. Give your students 9" x 12" newsprint and have them fold it into nine squares. Then have the students write nine of the words from the board into each of the squares on their sheet. Give them corn or candy for markers. Randomly call off words from the board. When a student has filled in a vertical, horizontal, or diagonal row, he/she should call out "BOOKS!" I give the winner a paperback book. For variety, the teacher can play Readers' BINGO by giving the definition of words rather than the words themselves.

Two Characters Meet. Pick a favorite character from the book and write a new story or play in which they meet. Have the members of your class act out the new story.

Ask the teens what they love and hate the most about there parents.

 Reader Response Questions:

1. What was the problem between Marissa and her parents?
2. Why did Marissa Run away?
3. What do you think of Marissa’s parents?
4. If you where in Marissa’s shoes would you have put your dreams on hold?

Personal Comments:

I’m not ashamed to admit that I bawled through much of this book.  Not because it was especially heartrending, although the story is well told and touching, but because I’ve known so many Marisas and there are so few books out there telling their story.  Marisa’s parents are never portrayed as backward or cruel, they just human – and have expectations that clash with those of the culture they have moved into.  Marisa’s teachers are kind and sometimes helpful, but their ignorance and arrogance gets in the way.  Marisa is strong and kind and talented, but still a teenager ans still without superpowers; the conflicting expectations and dismissal of her own wants and needs is often too much for her to handle.  The resolution is spot on as well, from the fights, to the running off, to the last minute blessing from her mother and reassurance that Marisa will always be family.  I want this book available everywhere because if coming across it meant this much to me, I can’t imagine what it must feel like for the girls who lives are like Marisa’s.  Its Heavily peppered with Spanish phrases, steeped in a blend of Texan and Mexican culture, this is a powerful look and a valuable insight into the sort of problems and challenges teens from that background face. As a child of Mexican immigrants, Marisa’s determined to make a better life for herself than her parents or siblings have, and it’s a fight worth cheering for. Of course, there’s plenty of other memorable characters. Her best friend, Brenda, who seems to be more interested in boys and parties, yet who proves deeper than all that. Her would-be boyfriend, Alan, an aspiring artist and a genuinely good guy (especially compared to some of the less-than-admirable guys we see elsewhere in the book.) And of course there’s Ms. Ford, the helpful, inspirational, somewhat pushy AP Calculus teacher who motivates Marisa.

Bibliography

Perez, A. H. (2011). What Cant Wait. Minneapolis.