five+people


 * Week 1**

A. Rachel B. Gab C. Marie D. Victoria and Amanda


 * Week 1: B- Gab**

After reading the first fifth of the book, only one main character has been introduced. His name is Eddie. Eddie is an 83 year old war veteran who now works at an amusement park called Ruby Pier. He apparently has lived most of his life near Ruby Pier. Within the first fifth of the book, the story basically describes Eddie's 83rd birthday, which is also his last day on Earth. He died to save a little girl from a ride-accident. Eddie seems like a brave and courageous man for sacrificing his life to save a girl he barely knew. Also he was crippled and had many injuries from being in the war (the war he was in was not yet revealed). However, he seems like a lonely old man. The book mentioned that everyone who was once dear to him was dead. Because he no longer had anyone special to him, it seemed like he didn't really care about his life. His doctor told him he had the shingles and Eddie didn't know/care what they were. When reading the book, I felt really bad for Eddie because he was lonely and crippled. Also, because of his loneliness, it seems that he became really skeptical on life. I don't really know whether I like him yet because (being the only main character introduced) there are no other characters to compare with him.

At the end of the first fifth of the book, a man with blue skin is introduced claiming that Eddie killed him. So far, this man has no name, but it is hinted that he may be part of a circus freak show that came to Ruby Pier when Eddie was a kid. And briefly saw Eddie there. He seems like a strange person, but he has not really done anything big so far.

Two other minor character are introduced that only speak for about two lines each. First is Dominguez who seems like a nice guy and works with Eddie at Ruby Pier. The other is a girl whose name is either Annie or Amy and she was the little girl that Eddie died to save. The book has not yet revealed whether Eddie actually saved her or if she died anyway.

Between each chapter, there is a spinoff story that talks about Eddie's past. In these stories, Eddie's parents, brother Joe and family friend Mickey are introduced. They all seem to be nice people that care a lot for Eddie.

Besides Eddie, not much is revealed about any character so it is hard to determine an opinion about any of them.


 * Week 1: C- Marie**

At the first book club meeting for The Five People You Meet in Heaven we discussed a variety of things. But before we talked about anything, we ate Rachel’s delicious Pop’ette doughnuts. They were so good, that Victoria ate six of them! After we ate doughnuts we got down to business. The first thing we went over was Victoria’s five discussion questions. We had a great discussion about Ruby Pier, where Eddie works and why this is the first place he goes when he goes to Heaven. Although Eddie claims that Ruby Pier is unimportant to him, the five of us agree that at some point in his life or throughout his life Eddie The Ruby Pier was like a second home to Eddie.

After we finished off Victoria’s questions we went on to Amanda’s questions and we had another big discussion about if we thought Eddie knew he was going to die. We all agreed that he did take a big risk trying to save the little girl, so he probably expected something bad was going to happen. After we went through the other questions we talked about how little kids really like Eddie and we wondered if it was because he was always at the amusement park, or if there was another reason. Then Rachel brought up an important point of how a lot of kids and teenagers find little old men and little old ladies cute. We all agreed.

Finally we talked about how much better we like this book than the last one. It is so much better than Picture Perfect. It is not unnecessarily long, and it makes sense. We can all somewhat connect to it and we enjoy talking about it. We cannot wait to see what happens next!


 * Week 1**: **D-Victoria**

1. The way that Eddie goes to heaven, do you think it is that way when you go to heaven? Why or why not.

Totally different, the colors seem unrealistic.

2. Why is it you think that the children love Eddie so much?

The children love the amusement park and therefore love him, or they have a fascination with old people.

3. Do you think the only reason why he is so cranky is because the girl left him when he was younger? Or do you think its because of the war? Or is it just old age?

He was lonely, and everyone he knew was dead, therefore he was cranky.

4. When Eddie went through the sideshow curtains, there was a man there. What was your first reaction to the man?

He was really scary, and his blue skin only contributes to the fear factor.

5. If Eddie thought that Ruby Pier was just some other place of no importance, why do you think he was sent there in heaven?

He met his once lover there, and maybe he's just denying himself and he really does like being there.


 * Week 1:D-Amanda**

1. Do you think Eddie knew he was going to due? -Yes, he probably saw it coming.

2. Do you think the little girl lived?

3. Why is Ruby pier Eddie's heaven? -Because he grew up there and it has a place in his heart.

4. How do you think Eddie killed the Blue Man? Do you think he did it intentionally?

5. Do you think likes his job at Ruby Pier? -Yes, but he just doesn't like to so it.


 * Week 2**

A: Gab B: Rachel C: Amanda D: Marie and Victoria


 * Week 2: B-Rachel**

We like the style in which this novel is written because it’s simple and easy to understand. The entire novel is short and to the point, without the endless ramble that annoys us when we read other books. There isn’t much vocabulary that we’ve had trouble with so far. We also like how the dialogue is relatively simple as well, but it helps us get to know a bunch of different characters. Even though the book is so easy to read, Albom managed to write in a pretty descriptive manner. This way, the reader can picture Eddie in various scenarios with different people who played important roles in his life. I like how between every chapter there are flashbacks that fill the reader in on some of Eddie’s past. These often relate to the situation he’s reliving in Heaven. Gab thinks Albom has a special talent for writing in a way that makes people cry. None of the other members of our group cried. Anyways, we all like the novel so far and are excited to complete it.


 * Week 2: C-Amanda**

In our second Book Club for The Five People You Meet in Heaven, we discussed various aspects of the book. But first, Gab made brownies that were delicious! After having our snack, we talked about the past section that we read. We discussed Victoria and Marie's questions. First, we started with Marie's questions. We said how being in the army impacted Eddie's life and how it changed him as a person. We also discussed how Marguerite, Eddie's girlfriend, impacted his life.

After discussing Marie's questioned, we went on to Victoria's. We said how we didn't think Eddie was really the cause of the Blue Man's death. We thought that the Blue Man having a heat attack was inevitable, regardless of Eddie. We also discussed how Eddie would be different if he never went to war. We said how being in the army gave Eddie life experiences and made him who is is.

Lastly, we talked about the topic of the week, the style of writing in the book. We all said that we liked the style of writing because it was simple, and easy to understand, unlike our last book. We all agreed that we like this book and have an interest in the story.


 * Week 2: D - Marie**

1. What did being a part of the army mean to Eddie? -He thought that all men should go and fight and he thought it was his responsibility to go and fight for his country.

2. What did you think about the story with the young boy getting the ball and the man driving? -It was sad, stupid, and the most complicated way to die.

3. Do you think Eddie also killed the Captain somehow? -Yes, he killed all of the people he meets in Heaven.

4. How did Marguerite impact Eddie's life? How much do you think she meant to him and why? -Yes, she meant a lot to Eddie because whenever Eddie's brother would tease him about her he would get really upset. He seemed to care for her a lot.

5. What kinds of things are running through Eddie's mind right now in the story? -Why did I kill these people? What's going on? He was probably really scared and sad because he just found out he killed all of these people.

1. Do you really believe that Eddie was the cause behind the blue mans death? Or do you think it was just meant to happen? -Eddie was the cause, but the guy was probably going to have a heart attack anyway because he was so shaky.
 * D - Victoria**

2. The blue man says 'fairness does not govern life or death' and 'there are no random acts.' Do you believe this? Why or why not? -No, because everything is not planned out since the day you're born. - Rachel -Yes, everything is planned out ahead of time, destiny. - Gab -Yes and No, some things were just meant to happen, like "everything happens for a reason" but other things are just random. - Marie and Amanda

3. As of now how do you like the writing style of the book? -It's very descriptive, does not use big, annoying words we have to figure out and the flash back chapters are really cool.

4. Do you think Eddie went to war by choice or because he was forced? -He forced himself but it was basically his choice in the end.

5. Eddie learned everyday skills from the war, or at least things he found very useful, such as learning to drink terrible coffee, smoke, ride on a tank, pray, and many other things. Do you think this changed who he is as a person? -Yes he would be too sheltered if he did not go and it helped him a lot throughout the rest of his life. It also taught him about life.


 * Week 3**

A: Marie B: Amanda C: Victoria D: Gab and Rachel

The tone of the Five People You Meet In Heaven is somber. All of the characters, especially Eddie never seem happy. Throughout the novel, Eddie seems indifferent and miserable. For example, he hates going to work everyday. Everyday, it "hurts" him to get up to go to Ruby Pier. Another example of this is Eddie doesn't have anyone to love. His wife and all of his family died, and he has no to love anymore. Now that Eddie is heaven, he realizes all of he experiences throughout his life.
 * B - Amanda**

The overall emotion of this book would have to be depression. This is because all of the characters seem to have a sad outlook on their life. For example, all of the people Eddie has met in heaven so far seem to be unhappy and depressed as they are telling their stories. When Eddie hears all of their stories and how he influenced their death, it makes him even more depressed. We think Eddie had a sad outlook on life and when he got to heaven, he realized how depressed his was during. Another reason why Eddie seems depressed in the book was because of his father. His always looked down upon him and never say him as good enough. We thought that his father's negativity really impacted Eddie's life, and shaped him as a person.


 * D- Gab**

1. Do you think that Eddie actually saw something in the fire? -Yes, and I think he's going to meet that person later. 2. How would you react if you found out your captain shot your leg to save your life? -We would be mad at first, but then after looking back, we would be thankful. 3. What are your opinions about the Captain? -He reminds me of Max from Across the Universe- Victoria -He reminds me of my grandpa- Rachel -He cares about his soldiers- Amanda -He bores me- Marie 4. What was the 2nd lesson Eddie learned? -You have to sacrifice to save other people. 5. What are your predictions on who Ruby is to Eddie? -The owner of Ruby Pier.


 * D- Rachel**


 * Do you think one of the main reasons for Eddie to go to war was to impress his father? Why of why not?**

Definitely. Eddie said that earlier on in the book, the first person a boy looks up to is always his father. Everyone agrees with this. We think he tried to prove that he was a strong man.


 * How did Eddie’s strained relationship with his father affect his outlook on life?**

It made him a tougher person. As a man, he didn’t “take crap” from anybody. He fought to protect his family and the other people he cared about.


 * Do you think it was right for the Captain to shoot Eddie in the leg in order to get him out of the fire? How would Eddie’s life be different if he’d known one of his own friends had taken away most of the use of his leg? Would he be less angry than when he was thinking it was an enemy, or more?**

He would probably less angry because this man saved his life. It was a sacrifice that had to be made; give up his leg to keep his life. Eddie would’ve also probably been more at peace with the way his life turned out after the rest of the war. It might've been a little easier to accept the fact that his friend did what he had to in order to keep him alive.


 * Why do you think Eddie’s father was so tough on him?**


 * What kind of lesson do you think Ruby is going to teach Eddie while he’s in heaven?

C: Victoria** This week, Marie brought yummy candy canes, amazing gelt, and weird sea salt brownies. We discussed the tone of the book, and we all think that overall this book is not as good as we expected it to be. Sure, its nice and short, but overall its not the amazing book that we heard it was going to be. We analyzed the main character Eddie, and we talked about him for the majority of the period. We found that we always pretty much had the same views on him, and were all thinking the same way when we looked into his past of how he got to be the way he was today.

A: Amanda B: Victoria C: Rachel D: Gab and Marie
 * Week 4**

Today, we answered a few questions about Eddie and the people he has met in heaven so far. In this particular section of the book, we read about the woman who inspired Ruby Pier, as well as his wife. Ruby, who the pier was named after, told Eddie he had to forgive his abusive father. Amanda, Gab, and Victoria all think Eddie should follow through with Ruby’s suggestion. I’m the only one who disagrees and I think Eddie should just move on and learn what he has to in order to get to heaven. Then we had to discuss themes and images. We all agreed on what we thought were the themes throughout the novel. However, it was ultimately harder to figure out some of the symbolic images. We argued over a few, and it was hard to describe why we felt certain aspects of the book qualified as symbols.
 * C- Rachel**


 * D- Marie**

1. What do you think of Eddie's father, was he a good guy? -Deep down he was like when he saved that guy on the beach. -He wanted help his son by acting the way he did. 2. Why is Ruby one of the people that meets with Eddie in Heaven since he didn't kill her? -She was the reason the park was built in the first place, and he spent his entire life there. 3. Who do you think will be the next person Eddie meets with? -His wife. 4. What happens when Eddie decides to enter the diner? -No one can hear him. His dad is sitting in the diner and and Ruby is the waitress. 5. Why do Ruby and Eddie wish Ruby Pier was never created? -Ruby saw her whole life go away once it burned down. -Eddie's dad pressured him into working there when Eddie wanted to become an engineer somewhere else.


 * D- Gab**

1. What did you think of Ruby's story? -Rachel: it was cliché and stupid -Amanda: it was depressing because she was upset the entire time -Victoria: it was sad how she was always looking far back into the past 2. Do you think Eddie should forgive his father? -Only for certain things, not for beating and slapping him. But Eddie shouldn't hate him. 3. What do you think about Mickey? -He's a jerk -He's a good guy, but not a bad guy because he tried to rape Eddie's mom but he always helped the family out too. 4. What do you think happened to make Marguerite the 4th person? -She died somehow when they were still together because Eddie still wears his wedding ring. -Maybe their marriage was falling apart and she's going to show him that he was a bad husband. 5. If you were in Eddie's situation, how would you feel is you saw your spouse? -Victoria: I would cry, but it would be awkward. -Amanda It would be hard to handle. -Amanda: I would be happy to see them.


 * B: Victoria**

For the fourth part of the book, there are many themes and images throughout the story. Themes are different content/emotions that are displayed in the characters. Some themes are obvious, and others are harder to find. Some of the obvious themes are love, the existance of the afterlife, atonement, strained family relationships, and extreme sadness and regret. Some of suttle themes include periods of anger, protection people/each other, and separation

There are many images found in the novel too. Some of them include Ruby Pier, the diner, Eddy's mom, captain from the army, Eddy being crippled. Ruby Pier stands as a symbol because his whole life revolved around it. He met his wife there, it was because of his father that he worked there, and he died there. It was literally the beginning and the end of life for him. The diner stands as a symbol because it shows life before it became complicated for Ruby, and stands for wanting to go back into time. Eddy's mom was a symbol because she stood for openess and comfort. She was the only person that Eddy could talk to, and you can even go as far to say that Mickey found comfort in her, even though when he was trying to rape her when he was drunk. The captain from the army was a symbol because he was the one who shot Eddy, so he personified forgiveness and protecting him by shooting him in the leg. Eddy being crippled was an image because he lost a lot of movement in his leg, and therefore he lost the ability to do many things, along with the lose of many other things in his life, including Ruby Pier at one point, his wife, and realtionships with his family.

A: Victoria B: Marie C: Gab D: Amanda Rachel
 * Week 5**


 * B: Marie**

This marking period's book club book was definitely a lot better than last marking period's. The topic of the book was very interesting and something people are always interested in: Heaven and the idea of life after death. Nobody on the earth right now has been to Heaven so we can only think about what Heaven is like and no one knows for sure. This book was one take on Heaven and it was very fascinating to read about what the author thought about Heaven. I did not agree with the author on some parts of what he wrote, but for the most part I thought he did a great job of explaining everything and I really liked how he chose five people that greet you. I never thought of life after death in this way and I like how the five people Eddie meets are five people he killed without even knowing it.

I would not recommend this book for the school curriculum because of the topic. Some people who are not strong believers in religion may get offended or feel uncomfortable reading this particular book. But if it did get put into a school's curriculum I suggest the older grades because of the themes and moods of the book. I do not know of any other books that have discussed this topic better. I am surprised to say that I have not even heard of any books similar to this one. I would think that many books would be about Heaven and death, but not any famous ones I know of. I think it is extremely hard to write a great novel about Heaven and dying because the topic is so heavy and scary. It is also hard to imagine what Heaven is like considering we have not been there and none of us really know. This book was written very well and it was a very interesting interpretation of Heaven.

This was our last book club meeting for //The Five People You Meet In Heaven//. Victoria brought in delicious crumb cake and Ssips fruit punch juice boxes. They were amazing. After that, we went over the discussion questions made by Rachel and Amanda. We all came to the conclusion that the ending was the best part of the book. In the last fifth of the book, Eddie saw his wife Marguerite and learned that love never dies. The fifth person he saw was a Vietnamese girl named Tala. She died in a fire started by Eddie in the Vietnam War. From Tala, Eddie learned the most valuable lesson: forgiveness. We talked about if we believed in the type of heaven that Mitch Albom introduced. None of us believed the type of heaven he introduced but we all thought it was an interesting way of thinking. Overall everyone agreed that this book was better than the last book we read.
 * C: Gab**

1. How did Marguerite's early death affect Eddie? -It emotionally scarred him. 2. Why did Eddie continue to work at the park even after she died? -He had good memories of Marguerite. He had he nothing better to do. 3. Describe what happened at the racetrack. Is this accident what prohibited them from having children? Why or why not? -Marguerite had an accident. It didn't prohibit them from having children, but they had to pay for all of her medical expenses, so they couldn't pay for an adoption. 4. What did the 4th lesson teach Eddie? -Love never dies, but people do. 5. What were the significance of Tala's hands? -They were pulling him up to heaven.
 * D: Amanda**

1. Do you think it was right for Tala to forgive Eddie for letting her die in the fire after he escaped during the war? Why or why not? -Yes, because he was trying to save her, but his captain shot him in order for him to get out of the fire alive. So really, it was the Captain's fault Tala died, not Eddie's.
 * D: Rachel**

2. Why do you think it was so difficult for Eddie to see his wife in heaven? Would you have the same reaction as he did? -It was difficult for him because he hadn't seen her in so long, so it was a bit of a shock for him to find her as young as the day they were married. Yes, we all think we would have the same reaction.

3. If you were in Eddie's position when he met Tala in heaven, what would you do? Would you try to figure out a way to go back on Earth and save her, even if it meant the loss of your own life, or would you just head off to your own heaven, figuring she was already dead?

4. Did Marguerite change Eddie's view on heaven/afterlife? She did, because he hadn't seen her in so long, so it brought a whole new meaning to the afterlife when she was there. After the initial shock of her being his fourth person, Eddie was extremely happy to be with her. Also, before Eddie died, he figured his wife must be in a "good place" and he couldn't wait to find her again.

5. Did this book change //your// view on the difficult subject? How? What did you think about it //before// you completed the novel? We don't think that heaven is going to be like this. We feel that this was just one of the many interpretations of heaven, and it didn't really change any of our opinions.