At Home Reading Activities: True Colors- Session 10

Session 10
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            This time we read chapters 28-31 and finished book one in the series! We will start book two in the series, Best Friends…Forever? next. Find the previous sessions here: www.krystenlindsay.com/reading-guide.html

            Landry mentions at the start of chapter 28 that she once shared a short story she was working on with Tori, but Tori’s response stopped her from ever sharing her work again. What did you think of how Tori reacted to reading the story?

            This chapter has Landry dealing with up and down emotions with Devon. Once again Landry has a friend who she’s walking on eggshells around and worried she’ll upset her in some way. In the end, Landry winds up apologizing to Devon to calm things down. What do you think about Landry’s apology to Devon? Write about what you think about Ashanti and Peyton’s response to this.

            In chapter 29, Landry and Peyton go to the movies and then the mall together. How is this outing with Peyton different from when she hangs out with Tori or Devon and India? Why do you think this is different?

            In chapter 30, Landry and some of the girls exchange gifts before school is out for the holidays. At the start of the book, Landry was desperate to find new people to hang out with after her two best friends (Tori and Ericka) freeze her out. How have things changed in this scene with the Christmas cards and Christmas/Hanukah gifts that are exchanged?

            In chapter 31 we see a lot of things have changed for Landry. She has different friends, a side career she’s embarking on, some slowly emerging confidence, and she’s beginning to speak up for herself. Think back on what has changed to cause her to do this. How did stepping out of her comfort zone work for her?

            Now that we’re at the end of the book we’ve seen a lot of different aspects of friendship and traits in friends. Make a list of the Landry’s friends (or use the one from a previous session if you have it) and write down some of the traits you see in them. Here’s some to think about: loyal, generous, supportive, caring, jealous, sympathetic, helpful, compassionate, understanding, self-centered, greedy, and protective.

            Some of the characters have both good and not so good aspects. We all have our moments where we aren’t so proud of how we act, but people can often redeem themselves. Sometimes it’s important to look at why they’re acting the way they do. Why do you think Landry’s friends act the way they do? Why does Devon often change on Landry? Why did Tori turn on Landry? Why does Ericka act the way she does toward Landry? What about how Kyle and some of the others act toward Thalia?

            Behind the scenes: I used a lot of situations I either witnessed or lived firsthand to write this series. I’ve learned a lot about both making and being a friend since then. I’ve had a mix of friends like these in my life and used some situations to create what they call, “character composites.” That means the characters are all made up (fictional), but I used experiences and attributes of people and situations I’ve run into before. It’s easier for me to create my own characters than trying to recreate someone I knew years ago into a book!

            Even though a lot of time has passed since I went through some similar things as Landry, I admit sometimes rereading these things can still sting! Did you see yourself or any of your friends or people in your classes in these characters? Take some time to write about that. Maybe you saw yourself as getting pushed around or not feeling like you could speak up for yourself. Or maybe you even realized you might be a little bossier than you realized in your friendships.

            I had a parent tell me that she gave copies of True Colors to her daughter’s group of friends because she and her daughter both thought her friends were treating her like Ericka and Tori treated Landry. The mom told me all the girls read the book together and then sat down to discuss it. She was thinking (and hoping) that the girls would see how they had been acting and change their ways. Here’s the thing—they saw themselves as being more like Landry and shared with how their other friends had been making them feel like they couldn’t speak up and didn’t have control. In the end, it turned out to be a valuable experience because they got some things off their mind that had been bothering them and they wound up being more open to hearing how their actions had hurt their friend. People often don’t see themselves the way we do. And remember what I said about how hurting people hurt people.

            I hope these sessions in True Colors have helped you to see your own friendships in a new light and will help you make good choices, strengthen good relationships, rework some not so great ones, and be strong enough to walk away from the ones that might be hurting you.
 
       I can’t wait to start the next book with you! I’ll post session one for Best Friends…Forever? in August.

The previous sessions can be found here: 
www.krystenlindsay.com/reading-guide.html

Find the books here