Bet Me

The ending of this book was pretty predictable, from the tone of the storyline it was obvious it was going to have the 'fairy tale' ending. It fit well within the context of the plot, even if it was expected. I think it was a bit 'cheesy' to say the least but I guess that fits within the whole aspect of a fairy tale ending. The book wasn't bad but it's not necessarily my type of novel, it was a real easy, entertaining read but it wasn't as deep as the other books we've read. It didn't have any real significant depth that spoke to me but I think it was a more light hearted style of book.

One of the things I found interesting was the aspect of Min's body image throughout the novel. In the beginning of the book she's insecure and has no confidence in her physical appearance. Like Cal had pointed out to her, she "dressed like she hates her body". Which seemed to hold true from the descriptions of her style in the first few chapters. By the end of the book she has more confidence in her physical appearance and a lot of this seems to be due to Cal's influence. We talked about this in class earlier this week but it was still something I keep thinking of, especially while I was reading the book. It's wonderful that he helped her self esteem but this confidence seems to be largely dependent on him. I have a feeling if they were to split up, permanently, this confidence would not still be present. Even just from the moments in the book when she became unsure of their relationship, her mindset easily sank into depression and that confidence seemed to vanish. Maybe I'm just a cynical person but I don't necessarily find confidence that depends upon a significant other to be healthy. The types of people that base their self worth on what others perceive are usually the ones who have the hardest time coping when they do go through a break-up, etc. It just doesn't seem like a healthy concept to me. It's wonderful that he helped her find confidence but I don't know if it's necessarily as fulfilling if that confidence is solely dependent on another person's approval/love/etc.

Overall, this book wasn't my favorite of the ones we've read. It was entertaining and easier to relate to since it is set in a more recent time period. Perhaps it was just the character of Min that discouraged me from really enjoying it. Don't get me wrong, she is definitely an enjoyable character, but she had some attributes I had a hard time agreeing with (as I mentioned above).