crazy+for+the+storm



Kai- A Stephen- B Ethan- D Lou- C
 * Crazy For The Storm**


 * Week 1**

__**Character**__ Norman Ollstad is the protagonist and is emotionally attached to his father. His stepfather abuses him and thinks he is a liar. Norman Ollstad Sr. makes time for his son and only lives a few minuets from him. He likes to surf and tries to encourage his son too but he doesn’t like to surf. He does it just to please his dad, proving his strong emotional attachment to him. He seems to still have feeling for his ex-wife but puts on a façade. He doesn’t seem to like Nick but still acts nice towards him. Jan, the mother of Norman, is understanding of her son and tend to be on his side during fights with nick. This could be due to the abuse she gets from him after the fight. After a fight over Norman lying, Nick punched Jan in the facing bruising her eye. The book tries to make you not like Nick, but understanding the time was I understand the things he does. Jan seems to be clueless about things but still loves her son a great deal.

__**Questions**__

Yes. Because his parents are divorced, he needs to be more mature. His father has also exposed him to a lot more than other kids at a younger age.
 * Do you think that Norman is acting more mature than others’ his age? Why?**

Immediately following the crash, he looks for his dad. Along the way, he finds Sandra. Sandra is calling out for help, but Norman continues to get to his dad. This really shows how much Norman loves his father.
 * After the plane crash, what does Norman immediately do?**

Nick is usually drunk and high. He also walks around the house nearly naked a lot. He is extremely abusive to Jan and Norman, but also knows how to make a point. An example of this is when Norman was lying about skateboarding. Nick found his bruises and he tackled Norman to the ground to get the truth out of him. Nick kept saying that he was lying, but Norman wasn’t admitting to it. In his head, Norman knew that Nick was right, he was in fact lying.
 * Why does Nick act the way that he does?**

He wants his son to be more like him. In addition, Norman’s father believes that Norman won’t have this opportunity again in his life. He needs to be as active and have as much fun as possible at such a young age.
 * Why does Norman’s father try to teach him how to surf?**

They have a very strong relationship. After the divorce, it appears that Norman became more attached to his father. The break-up brought the two of them closer together.
 * How would you describe the relationship between Norman and his father?**


 * Group Summary:**

I think the first discussion went well for //Crazy for the storm//. It was pretty much lead by Ethan of course, but Day was right there in the action along side him. Corey and I contributed; don’t get me wrong, but Ethan and Steve were really into it and going back and forth with the discussion questions. We also wound up taking our group picture, which turned out pretty well. (Check it out) This book seemed to start up pretty well and I’m sure I can speak for every member of the group when I say that we cant wait to read our next 50 pages and have another great discussion on this well written memoir by Norm Ollestad.


 * Week 2

__Questions__**

She is a very spontaneous person. She would just go on the road, leave, and not come back for weeks. This explains how one day, she just became Norman’s father’s girlfriend.
 * What does Norman realize about Sandra in the beginning of chapter 11?**

He was trying to teach his survival skills. Also he sees these times and good ones to bond with his son. He would always have Norman do outdoor things that he didn’t always want to do.
 * Norman’s father always pushed him to do physical competitions and taught him survival. Why did he do this?**

He appears to ignore Sandra because he may not care about her as much as he should. He cares much more about his father. That is why he tries to get to his father and doesn’t listen to her cries for help.
 * Following the crash, why does Norman appear to ignore Sandra?**

They respect each other, but they needed to divorce. Norman’s father liked to pick up and go. He always enjoyed the outdoors. Possibly, Jan couldn’t handle all of his risky behavior.
 * Describe the relationship between Norman’s biological mother and father?**

She won’t get in the way. Norman doesn’t care about her enough to let her get in the way of his survival. Also, we know that will soon die and Norman will be the only survivor.
 * Is Sandra going to get in the way of his survival? How?**

B - I believe this book is at a high school level of reading. It is a pretty easy book to understand and we know mostly all of the words in the book. Crazy for the Storm is a memoir, so it is easy to read and is entirely about Norman's encounters and what he is doing on the mountain. Since it is about what he does to survive and his life on this mountain, there aren't any words that are tough to understand.

The mood of this is dark, at the times where they are deserted on the mountain. They get lighter when they flashback to the year proceeding the crash.
 * Week 3

__Questions__**

Norman’s father has spent years training his son how to react in situations like that.
 * Why does Norman appear to be more mature than Sandra?**

He felt crushed. He was hoping that this was his chance at saving his father’s life. When the helicopter left, he lost all sense of hope.
 * How did Norman feel after the helicopter vanished?**

His father saved his life. Therefore he feels that he needs to pay his father back by not giving up. He keeps trying to believe that his father is alive and he is saving his life.
 * Why won’t Norman accept his father’s death?**

Yea, dude, it’s sick. It is cool how it is written this way because it helps allow the reader to remember his childhood before the crash. Rather than writing about his childhood, then the crash, they are switching back and forth. This makes the story much more entertaining.
 * Do you like how the book switches between past and present each chapter?**

She will probably die from injuries caused by the plane crash. She will fall off of the mountain.
 * How do you think Sandra will die? When?**


 * Week 4

__Questions__**

Norman both loves and hates his father at the same time. He aspires to be his father, but at the same time, his father makes him do a lot of things that he doesn't want to do.
 * Explain the relationship between Norman and his father.**

This can be illustrated in the scene in which he doesn't accept the death of his father. Immediately after the crash, Norman goes directly to his father and tries to save him, even though he is already dead.
 * How does Norman feel about his father?**

She falls off the edge of the mountain, as we expected.
 * How does Sandra die?**


 * Week 5

__Questions__**

Norman has just come from winning a skiing competition. He learned how to ski from his father.
 * Where is Norman returning from when the plane crashes into the mountain?**

Everything that Norman's father taught him was used to help him survive. Even though Norman hated his childhood because of what his father subjected him to, it ultimately is what saved his life.
 * What is the irony of everything Norman Ollestad Sr. taught Norman?**

It took the death of his father to realize that everything he was subjected to was to help him. Everything that his father had taught him was worthwhile.
 * What is one of Norman's realizations toward the end of his journey?**

The book is pretty straightforward. Norman wasn't raised as a writer, so he doesn't have those skills, but the book is pretty well written. We like how the book goes back and forth between past and present.
 * Do you find the book difficult to follow?**

Initially, Norman Ollestad Sr. worked for the FBI. He didn't like working there very much, the government was brainwashing the employees. He also acted in Cheaper by The Dozen. This was an accomplishment that made Norman extremely proud of his father.
 * This comes up again later on in the book: What did Norman's father do for a career prior to the plane crash?**

Summary - It was a good book club today. Mrs. Recine talked with us and we gave her a summary of the book and what we thought of it. Ethan was our leader today and started up our discussion for the day. Ethan and Steve did the questions for week 5 and Corey brought in the food. We mostly talked about the irony of Norman and how he never wanted to play sports and his dad was always making him do things he didn't want to do, but in the end it keeps him alive and saves his life.