"Times do change, but
experiences are timeless." (9)
Growing Pains relays the
story of Kendra Foster, an awkward and insecure 13-year old living in New
Orleans. Like any kid, she must contend with the pressures and anxiety of
school, homework, peer rivalry, boys, and family. To make matters worse, her
parents can't afford much and spend many hours arguing. Yeah, sounds like a
typical childhood.
At first, the story took on a slow pace with Kendra's obsession with
cheerleading tryouts and "praying" for a second chance. Praying seems
to happen a lot for this kid, even though "God doesn't listen." Well,
she is going to a Catholic school. But even though the story recovered the
superficiality and monotony of my school days, still, I had no interest in all
that God stuff.
“Don’t be a quitter. Life will bring about many difficult situations
and the last thing you want to do is start quitting when things get hard. This is
a painful but important choice you’ll have to make. The most important lesson
for you to learn from this is that life is about choices and we have to live
with the consequences of the choices we make.” (19) Even at a young age, Kendra
must still make choices for herself. But just like with everybody else, her own
worst critic, her own worst enemy, is herself. Fear is a constant barricade for
her, and she resents the "life of her house"--all the "fussing,
fighting, all the drama."
"I wanted a normal life, a normal family. I wanted to live in a
happy home, a home where people got along, and loved each other—a home anyone
would want to come home to. I couldn’t even enjoy the times when my parents
weren’t fighting because I was so on edge, not knowing how and when the
fighting would begin again. I felt like I was in prison, with no hope of
parole." (50) Although Kendra is timid and reserved, she is also bright
and intuitive. She somehow strives to rise above her shoddy environment. I
liked how she dedicates herself to having "no regrets." Most people
would be able to admire and relate to her in some way.
Written with a prosaic style and a degree of tedium, Growing Pains, nonetheless, ingeniously wraps
all the teenage angst in one neat, little package. I didn't quite dive into
this story whole-heartedly, but this novel will surely provoke nostalgia and
motivation in many readers.
My rating: 3.5 stars
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