User:Isatakelleh/Student Draft of Beige

=Characters=

Katy Ratner Berneir is the protagonist or, main character in this book. This fictional fourteen year old girl is from Montreal Canada and has a rocky relationship with her father. This book also has her parents with a ten year age difference. They both suffered from Drug and Alcohol addictions. Her mother got cleaned first so she grew-up with her. “My name is Beige Ratner Bernier, and this is my manifesto. I was born into Hell, But I am no demon. I am Beige and colorful, I was quiet in this room. But I am learning to be loud. Can you here me?”

Beau Ratner or better known as “The Rat”, the drummer for the infamous band called Suck. He is the second main character. He is the father of Katy. He Struggled with Drug and Alcohol abuse for many years. Katy and her mother never considered him as a “good father figure” due to his addictions. Mainly because they all said he got banned from Canada for Possession of Cocaine. “Everybody sees him. The rat is six feet five inches tall and wears a tiny cowboy hat on his head. He’s got a rolled up cigarette (I hope not a joint) hanging out of his mouth” Katy’s mother used to struggle with drug and alcohol abuse too, but she got cleaned for Katy. She’s a professional archaeologist. She sends Katy to go live with her father for the summer, while she’s in Peru working. “It’s like those Greek myths,”she says “Where someone has to go to Hades and back to get the one that they love. I went to Hell and back and I found you”

Lake Suck is one of the key characters that causes change in the protagonist Katy. She is the fourteen year old daughter of The Rat’s best friend, Sam Suck. The author describes her as the type of girl that will do anything to achieve her goal. She is also described as bossy, demanding, and out going, It is truly emphasized that she has a high pitched voice and is in love with music. “My name is Lake Suck and this is my manifesto. I swear to be myself. To think for myself. I will not be led by social conventions. I will make my own way through through the world. I will live on my own terms without conforming to society’s expectations of who they think I should be. I will be the visible minority. By being myself, I will help to save the world.I swear to always look, listen, learn, think, ask, act and think for myself.”

Trixie is The Rat’s girlfriend and she is in her forties. She has a son named Auggie who is assumed to be Katy’s half brother. She is a burlesque dancer. She taught Katy how to do some burlesque dances. Trixie is not afraid to express herself no matter what. “I’ve noticed that most people hide things about themselves. Not Trixie. It’s not just her mermaids and love for burlesque that are on display; its everything, including her feelings and thoughts. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone quite like Trixie. I kind of admire that.”

Garth one of the characters that loves everyone and is a big fan of Suck.He is a fourteen year old boy that looks like a girl without his skate-boarding gear on. He has a crush on Lake and was the first boy to be Katy’s friend. “No one here likes me. Except Garth. But Garth likes everyone, so that doesn’t really count.”

Leo’s the lifeguard that Katy has a huge crush on.He’s Lake's ex-boyfriend and according to Lake he is a “player”, and a “jerk”. He spends half his time around the pool area. “Just because we hooked up at the party doesn’t mean I like you” “Let me tell you something about Leo, as your temporary friend. He’s a player. He’s a jerk. And he’s an asshole” “So yeah, I just needed him for the angst. For my songwriting. And then he got all attached. And when I started hanging with you, he tried to make me jealous by putting the moves on you”

=Plot Summary=

Katy Ratner Berneir is a fourteen year old female protagonist who was born and raised in Montreal Canada with her mother. Her father is one of the main characters and he is the infamous punk rocker known as “The Rat”. Her mother is a very professional archaeologist. Both her parents had substance abuse issues but her mother conquered them first so naturally she is the person that raised her. Katy has never been apart from her mother and has barely spent any time with her father. Even though she was raised with her mother and is extremely close to her; she is not a very big important character.That is her back story before the actually story begins to unfold. The protagonist Katy really begins to change and learn a lesson when she finds out that she has go stay the whole summer with her dad. She was not happy in the slightest way possible. She began to ask her dad questions about her mother and was actually surprised to hear some things that she never knew.She starts hanging out with Lake Suck who is the daughter of her fathers best friend.Lake is one of the key characters because she cause a lot of changes in Katy and helps her see life from a different perspective She has a lot of issues with Lake because of their personality and background differences.Katy got introduced to a person named Garth Skater. Katy thinks Garth is a girl but later finds out that he is a boy. Garth is a huge fan of Suck (her fathers band) and is really nice to everybody. There’s this boy name Leo that Katy has a huge crush on. She was eventually persuaded to try things out even if she doesn't like it. She eventually started liking Trixie (her father’s girlfriend) and actually admired some things from her. Through all these characters she learns a big lesson.

=Reception= Beige recieved bad and good reveiws. In an article by Dobrez Cindy she said "Catellucci gives a fresh spin to the familiar exiled-teen plot by mixing details of the L.A. punk scene with memorable characters and witty dialogue." "By the end of the story, Katy has lost some of her Beige ways, and the lessons she has learned wil help her deal with a sudden change in her mother's paln." That is one of the postive reveiws about the book. In a school libary journal by Emily R. Brown she said "However, this book lacks the details--from teenage sign language to sci-fi trivia--that gave Castellucci's other books credibility." That is a bad reveiw from the book.