Choice Book Report 4 Themes: The Wild Girls

There were several themes that I found in the book The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy.

The main theme that I really noticed in this book was being who you want to be. I think that Fox portrays this theme the most out of all the other characters. She wanted to be the Queen of the Foxes, so she was. Another example of this theme was when Joan and Fox are sharing their first-place story in front of a huge story. Their short story was called “The Wild Girls”, and it pretty much was the story of their adventures in the forests. They were the wild girls. However, they didn’t feel like the wild girls in their nice new outfits. So they took some makeup and put some war paint on their faces while they read their story. This shows that Joan and Fox were being who they wanted to be. They wanted to be Wild Girls.

Another theme that I found in this novel was you are never too old to use your imagination. The two main characters, once again Joan and Fox, portrayed this theme the most. Even though these girls were in middle school, every single day they used their wonderful imagination. They went on crazy adventures and lived each day to the fullest by doing so. I think that Joan is the one that ended up figuring this out, and Fox kind of knew it all along. Another character that portrayed this theme was Verla Volante. Verla is a writer and she uses her broad imagination every single day when she teaches her writing class.

The last theme I will mention that I found is, don’t judge a book by its cover. Fox’s dad, Gus, portrayed this theme the best. Gus looks like a big, scary biker guy. But really, he might as well be the nicest man you have ever met. At first, Joan does judge him in a way, and she is afraid. Her mother reacts the same way. Gus isn’t always well-kept looking, and his house is quite messy. But, he does mean well. After Joan and her mother got to know Gus, they realized that he is really a nice guy.

This book had a lot of themes, but these three are the ones that really spoke to me. Thanks for reading! J

Choice Book Report 4 Main Characters

I read The Wild Girls by Pat Murphy. The main characters in this book are Joan and Sarah, who prefers to be called “Fox”. Joan is the new girl that moves into the house that is nearby to Fox’s. Fox is a free spirited girl and she likes to go on adventures. These characters are very different at the beginning of the book, but towards the end, they become similar.

       I would describe Joan as smart, independent, and angry most of the time. Joan is angry because her family had to move from Connecticut to California for her father’s job. Also, Joan’s mom and dad don’t get along for most of the time, and they fight a lot. Joan gets angry when they argue, and she usually goes off on her own to get away from it. Joan is also very kind and friendly. When she first met Fox, she wasn’t rude at all, even though Fox seemed exotic and weird to Joan.  She was friendly and tried to become friends. Which, eventually they did. I think that Joan is also very observant. She likes to think. She studies people and tries to figure out what makes them tick. Joan writes everything down in her notebook, even if it seems useless to her at the time. Joan is a very interesting character.

       The other main character in this novel is Sarah, also known as “Fox”.  Fox is my favorite character. She is so different compared to the others, and she likes being “weird”. Fox is very independent, and she spends most of her days outside in the forest that her house is in. I would also describe Fox as imaginative. She likes to go on “life risking” adventures in the woods with Joan, and she’s never bored. Every day there is a new game that they play. Fox is imaginative because she thinks up very creative stories, and she loves to write. Fox is very strong, mentally. When she was a little girl, her mother left and never came back. Fox stayed strong and didn’t let that bring her down. She still made everything positive and did her best to love life. I think that Fox is a very inspirational character.

       These two characters are very different, and they both have their own conflicts in their lives. But, they are best friends and are almost like sisters.