“Most communities just happen; the best are planned”- This is the city motto of Shaker Heights; the motto is an accurate representation of the Richardson’s. At first, I was a tad bit overwhelmed with the numerous characters that were introduced to us in the very first chapter and it was challenging to keep up with their drastically diverse personalities, but I really think that’s what kept me interested in reading this book.
Trip, Lexie, Moody and Izzy are the Richardson children. Trip is the charismatic athlete that seems to have everything going for him in life, Lexie is beautifully draped in elegance and on her way to Yale, Moody has great grades and a promising future…and then there’s Izzy. Doesn’t every family have a problem child? Well, in the Richardson household, Izzy holds that role, at least according to what the rest of her family members think of her. Once we get to know Izzy, we see that she seeks equality, justice and humanity, she is simply misunderstood. Can we blame her for being so misunderstood though? Nope. Growing up in Shaker Heights, where everything is planned and questioning your surroundings was not an option, Izzy stood out as selfish and stubborn. She was misjudged…not that she even cared of people’s opinions as this was so irrelevant to her, she had her own perspectives and felt very strongly about them. I couldn’t help but root for her.
Mr. and Mrs. Richardson lived in a big beautiful home. Mrs. Richardson aspired to always do what’s good for her community, where she spent her childhood in. Contrary to this systematized and structured lifestyle, was the life of Mia Warren and her daughter, Pearl. When Mia arrived in Shaker Heights, she had promised Pearl that this would be where they would settle for good, no more moving from one city to the next, no more sleeping in the car, and for as long as Mia could, she kept her promise.
Mia was Mrs. Richardson’s tenant and Pearl grew very close to Moody, walking with him to school everyday. Pearl went to the Richardson’s almost everyday and when Mia started working there as a cleaner, Pearl was so frustrated, she felt almost as if her mother was invading her private space; the Richardson home. As Pearl’s relationship with her mother grew further apart, Izzy found a warmth in Mia that she did not find in her own mother. Pearl had wished for Izzy’s life and vice-versa. Something I picked up on is that money does not buy happiness, contrary to general belief, a lot of people who are financially comfortable, like Izzy, are simply not happy. While others who are not so fortunate, like Pearl, wish for that life. Through reading this book I have come to learn and appreciate that happiness is derived from the way we perceive life and all our surroundings, if we take the little things for granted, we will not appreciate the bigger picture. Pearl could not see how supportive and loving her mother was, all she was able to see was Mrs. Richardson’s efforts with her children.
Sometimes we pass by through life and we forget to appreciate the little moments; the small gestures of kindness, the amazing friendships we’re lucky to have and all the simple pleasures in life. We tend to judge a book(people) by its cover the majority of the time. We almost do it unknowingly, as Mrs. Richardson did with Mia. She judged her for her past without knowing the full truth and without hearing Mia’s side of the story.
Everyone has a past, but it is who they are today that really matters. Our mistakes, failures and omissions have built us and made us the person we are today; for not if our faults we would not rise from the ashes. Izzy was misjudged but she did not judge Pearl, even though her and Pearl weren’t the closest of friends. Moody on the other hand, was quick to judge Pearl, his best friend, without thinking it necessary to hear her side of the story. So if there is anything I can take from this book and if there is anything I can tell our readers, it is that patience is a virtue.
“It bothers you, doesn’t it?” Mia said suddenly. “I think you can’t imagine. Why anyone would choose a different life from the one you’ve got. Why anyone might want something other than a big house with a big lawn, a fancy car, a job in an office. Why anyone would choose anything different than what you’d choose.”
Another example of this in the book is the storyline between Bebe and the McCullough’s. Bebe left her baby at the fire station when she felt she no longer could take care of the baby and could no longer provide her with the best life. Overtime, Bebe overcame her difficulties and desperately searched for her baby in hopes to reunite with her and have her back. Unfortunately, she came to find out that her baby was in the process of being adopted by the McCullough’s, a typical Shaker Heights family who was unable to have children of their own. When Bebe tried to get her baby back; resorting to legal action and begging while crying her heart out, she was faced with the vivid injustices of the world. Power will always conquer justice and that is the reality she had to face. Members of the community judged her for leaving her baby even though she simply wanted her to have the best life she could. Another story in the book that shows us how people are biased, how we always side with our friends and family prior to knowing the full story.
“Most of the time, everyone deserves more than one chance. We all do things we regret now and then. You just have to carry them with you.”
Life is simpler than we make it out to be. When you look at things with love, when your heart is at peace and your soul is content you will find that biased opinions will not phase you, they will push you to do better and be better.
“Sometimes you need to scorch everything to the ground, and start over. After the burning the soil is richer, and new things can grow. People are like that, too. They start over. They find a way.”
“One had followed the rules, and one had not. But the problem with rules... was that they implied a right way and a wrong way to do things. When, in fact, most of the time they were simply ways, none of them quite wrong or quite right, and nothing to tell you for sure what side of the line you stood on.”
- REEM INK
Comments