In the Meantime: Finding Yourself and the Love You Want

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I think there's a crime story in this book - ok so there definitely is, but it's not really all that front and centre, there's so much more going on around and about it that it does, on occasion, get lost in the noise. So, if you are looking to read this as a pure crime book, you might be disappointed. Try reading some of Stuntboy, in the Meantime out loud. What do you notice about the way the text sounds? Jason Reynolds uses figurative language when he writes, which you may recognize from reading poetry. Look for examples of internal rhyme, alliteration, similes, and metaphors. Divide your class into teams and search for other examples of poetic language in the book to see who can identify the most examples. What do Portico and Zola learn about Herbert’s family and what is behind the half door? When Zola tells her mother that Herbert hides in the room behind the half door, Mrs. Brawner says, “We’re all hiding from something.” Sometimes people hide from their true feelings. What feelings do you think Herbert is hiding by being mean? What feelings do you think Portico’s parents are hiding from when they act out in anger toward each other? Our relationships and the people in them are the tools God uses to give us a soul lift. God, the creator of our life, wants you to elevate the way you view yourself and treat yourself, and ultimately the way you treat others and allow them to treat you.

In the Meantime: Finding Yourself and the Love You Want

When Portico’s mother tells him to go see what Zola is up to “in the meantime,” he thinks she says, “the mean time.” Why is “the mean time” a good name for what is happening in Portico’s apartment? Using words that sound alike to suggest a different meaning is called a play on words or a pun. Look for other times when Jason Reynolds uses a play on words. Many of the items that Portico’s parents fight over have a symbolic value (in other words, they are connected to a memory or idea that makes them important to the owner). Discuss why each item that they fight over is important to both of them. Think about an object you own that has a symbolic value to you and write an essay that describes the object using sensory details and explains why it is important to you.Look up the definition of community. Which part of the definition do you think describes the community that is created by the residents of Skylight Gardens? Give examples of specific ways that they demonstrate that they care and look out for each other. I'd give it 7/10 if I was able. I'd say I enjoyed slightly over two thirds but the other third appeared to simply be a manual on what drugs to take and when and what they did to our protagonist. I'm not going to lie. I've been putting off writing this review. Not for any bad reason, I'm just not sure I know where to begin. This is perhaps the most unconventional crime thriller (?) I've read in quite some time. And that turns out to be a good thing. Kind of bonkers, often funny, sometimes expectedly poignant, this is a murder mystery investigation the like of which I have definitely not read before. When your lead character, and part time suspect, is a self confessed stoner, and the very varied group of friends who help him really aren't much better, you kind of get a hint of where this book is likely to lead. Or so you'd think. This is a Frankie Boyle novel. I guess conventional and expected are really the last things I should be looking for, right?

Reviews of In The Meantime by Iyanla Vanzant - BookBrowse

What does Portico love about living in Skylight Gardens? What does the fact that he calls it “The Castle” suggest about how he feels about his home? What do you love most about the place where you live?I have a suspicion that there will be a strong correlation between people's attitude towards Frankie Boyle in general and their opinion of this book. The author can be something of a Marmite character and I suspect readers may react in a similar way to this novel. Meantime is beautiful in its harsh and brutal narrative. The writing is crystal clear, each word soaks into your skin like the bleak Scottish rain. No happy endings but it is intricate, it settled under my skin and had me craving more. Every mistake carves a deep and unsettling wound. If one sentence could sum it up it would be that. In this light his tanned, bloated head looked not unlike a haunted paper bag, his glazed eyes fixed on some bleak internal horizon.” The mystery that underpins this crime novel is solid enough, but I can't help thinking that its role is secondary and it is essentially only a vehicle for the author to air his thoughts - both comedic and socio-political. In many respects "Meantime" does come across as one long Frankie Boyle stand-up routine. For that reason, I found that I had to break this down into digestible portions ... Listening to Frankie Boyle for an hour or so is fine, but a stand-up routine of six hours or more is probably a bit more than I could cope with in one hit. Meantime captures the banal and lively existence of being Glaswegian like a seesaw that drops you into oblivion. There are many downs, but it’s occasionally peppered with some good. It holds a different kind of magic, one where the disappointment from the referendum eats at the shoes of people walking to work, hailing taxis, and people on serious comedowns in dingy wee flats that contain all the hope of a mouldy pizza sitting on the countertop. Felix McAveety’s life has always been the sad rendition of unrealised potential. The death of his friend, Marina, is the fuse to allow himself to care about something again.