Breaking Night Predictions

I just read another event-filled chapter in my book that change the entire layout of it! Lizzy's mother met someone else and decided to move in with him. She justified her decision by saying that she wanted to get off drugs and she couldn't be around them so she had to move out. Brick is the man who Lizzy's mother lives with. Lizzy had met Brick before her mom moved out, at a gallery. She felt very traitorous that she had met this man while her dad was at home oblivious to what was going on. Their whole family was already spread thin but this seems to have completely pulled them apart. Also, Lisa, Lizzy's sister, moved out because she wanted to live somewhere nicer with more normal family dynamics.


I think it was hard that both Lisa and her mom moved out because she describes herself being very lonely and just waiting around for her mother to return for her. Lizzy would wear her mother's clothes and watch the TV shows her mother liked to watch to feel comforted. The mood of the book at this point is a little nostalgic because Lizzy is reminising about her mom even if all of her memories weren't the best. I feel very bad for her because her dad is also very lonely and doesn't really talk to her so it's like she's isolated. I think that eventually Lizzy will move in with her mom based off how she feels at this point but I don't know if that would make things any better because then her dad would be all alone. Hopefully things will all work themselves out!!!

Breaking Night Character Post

Lizzy has changed a lot throughout this book. In the beginning, she seemed very helpless and just accepted the way things were. She thought it was normal to always be hungry and to have parents who did drugs. She skipped school whenever she wanted because she didn't really think it would affect her or her family. This all began to change as she grew older. When she got her first "job" as mentioned in the theme post I believe is where Lizzy first starts to have other thoughts of what her future can be. Also, after a social worker comes and visits her house and sees the awful conditions she is living in and threatens to remove Lizzy and her sister from their mother, I think it makes Lizzy a lot more mature. This is because she has to start cleaning her house, going to school, and have basic responsibilities instead of just having a free-for-all lifestyle. You can really see her character develop. She goes for an unruly, dirty little girl with no future to someone who's trying to make a change in the outcome of her life. She is definitely a dynamic character because of this. Lizzy is also a round character because you can see her go from angry, to regretful, to proud so you see all her sides. I really like how the author develops Lizzy's character by putting her through events that shape who she is. For example, at one point, Lizzy had the opportunity to move out of her house to go live with her mother, sister, and mother's boy friend but she chose not immediately to because she was very loyal and didn't think it was right. Even if it may have been easier or lead to a better lifestyle she chose to stick with her dad.

Both of Lizzy's parents also change a lot but they are on more of a roller coaster than Lizzy. This is because at one point in the book her mom will be the responsible parent who is always making money stretch and helping Lizzy through life but then all of a sudden her mom will get taken away to be treated for her problem and her dad will take that roll. When both of her parents are taking care of her, neither of them seem to really care about Lizzy and her sister.

Breaking Night-Setting

When I first picked up this book to start reading it I thought the setting would be described the typical way: mostly all at the begining and not overly graphic (if it was a bad situation) but this book was different. It describes the character and their setting almost every chapter which may seem boring but it was done in a way where it added to the realness of the situation. It actually makes you feel like you can see what they're living in and feel their constant hunger and pain. I feel like the author is actually taking us through Lizzy's life because you feel emotions for her. This is probably because her life was a lot like Lizzy's. I pity Lizzy because of the way the author describe her appearance. "I saw myself doubled over toilets even dirtier than my own at home, blackened along the edges, slimy and slippery. Large, evil-looking girls, stood behind me to supervise." This is what Lizzy is told she will have to live in if she and her sister don't fix up there own home and start attending school. From this quote I can picture a homeless shelter or orphanage very well so I think the author did a good job with describing the situation.

Theme of Breaking Night

The theme of Breaking Night is that one can chose their future and its not already set in stone. I realize this when I was reading the book and the main character Lizzy thought, "What else wasn't set in stone? I wonder what other opportunities there were out there for me." This was just after she had gotten her first "job" (because her parents didn't provide for her) and realized she didn't have to always be hungry. She could be different than her family. She didn't have to live from pay check to pay check in a small dirty house. She could save her own money and make a better life for herself. I think that it is amazing that understand this at 9-years-old with barely any education because most kids don't even think about their future at 9. This theme is very applicable to life because a lot of times people think they have to live a certain way or do as their parents do but they don't. Somethings may just be fate but there are many decision you can make to affect what will happen either positively or negatively.

The theme of this book was introduced oddly early because usually you don't really see the full theme until much later in the book. It was nice introduce it early but now it feels like you sort of can predict the rest of the book. The setting has really helped to enhance the theme, though, because every few pages Lizzy talks about her "agonizing hunger" and how filthy and poor she was. The way they describe her house and neighborhood gets you out of the typical setting for a book so it really helps to show how shes going to change her future to get out of all of it.

I found this famous poem by Robert Frost about choosing your future because I thought it had a similar theme to the book with the way they are both saying how you can choose your path that leads to your future.

The Road Not Taken

By Robert Frost 1874–1963 Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Breaking Night

I didn't really like the last chapter I read; it was pretty depressing. Lizzy's mom keeps having mental break downs and is suffering from insomnia. Her mom has been in and out of the mental institutes for over a year. This is wearing Lizzy out. I feel really bad for her to constantly have her mother in her life one moment and out the next. I can completely see how it would be hard to live with this let alone try to keep up with school. Luckily, it is sort of working out in Lizzy's favor though. Even though her dad is the only one raising her currently her life is a lot easier in some ways. She gets at least one full meal each day and her dad is semi-sober. Also he isn't running in and out of her life constantly like her was when her parents raised her together.

After a while of Lizzy's mom being in and out of her life, she finally is sober enough to stay out of the institutes for a while. Unfortunately, this is only stressing everyone out even more. Her mom and dad keep arguing and Lizzy feels very disconnected from them. She mentions several times how she almost hopes her mom will have another break down so her life will be more stable. I hope her parents will work it out so she can live a more normal childhood and just be a kid!

Book/Movie Connection

The book I'm currently reading, Breaking Night by Liz Murray, is about a girl named Lizzy who essentially goes from rags to riches. When she is born, she lives in the Bronx with her mom who does drugs and her father is in jail for illegal drug trade. Her life hasn't been good so far. She is a people pleaser because she just wants to get some attention from her parents. To please her dad she will play with cars and trucks and won't wear dresses. To please her mother she always helps her with the little chores and requests; and to please her grandmother, she listen to all her stories about the Bible and God.

Though I haven't gotten very far in this book, it reminds me a lot of the movie "The Blindside." This is because "The Blindside" also has a rags to riches type plot. Michael, the main character in "The Blindside" grows up in a poor part of town with a mother who was a drug addict and no father. Lizzy grows up in the same situation. They both end up going to good colleges and being successful in life but it requires a lot of hard work and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.

This video clip is from "The Blindside". It is showing the moment where Michael gets his opportunity for success.