CeeCee Wilkes Section 1

Erin and Rachel started a book club blog that I am participating in.  Since I didn't blog before, I thought now was as good of time as any to begin.  The book they have chosen is The Secret life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain.  I could not put it down!  I finished the whole thing in like 2 days and am now skimming back through the weekly sections to be sure not to give anything away to those who may not be finished yet.

You can check out the book club blog here.

Below are my thoughts on the discussion questions.

1. What was your first impression of Tim?

I really wanted to like Tim.  He seemed like a good, kind guy.  He seemed to really try to build CeeCee's confidence and encourage her to be all that she could.  Once the age difference was established though, things got a little iffy for me where Tim was concerned.  I couldn't understand why a graduate school aged guy would want to be with a 16 year old girl unless he wanted to use her for something.  And then the author just cemented my feeling of uneasiness regarding Tim with the last lines of Chapter 3, "She was a completely honest person, though.  It would never occur to her that he was not."

2. If you were in CeeCee’s position, would you be willing to help your boyfriend in the way that she is willing to help Tim?

If I am answering this as the person I am today, the answer would be absolutely not, but when I try to put myself in CeeCee's position I can empathize.  Here is this older man who is paying attention to her and I'm sure she thought that the only way to keep him around was to do anything that he asked.  Tim was really the first male figure in her life and it almost seems like she was desperate to not lose that male attention and would do what she could to keep it.

3. Why do you think CeeCee is so eager to please Tim?

I think CeeCee found an acceptance from Tim that she hadn't had since her mother passed away.  Someone was interested in her and her life and I think she was willing to go to great lengths to not lose that.

4. Who do you think has it harder? Tim or CeeCee?

 I have to go with CeeCee on this one.  She has no family while Tim still has Marty and his father.  Tim also has a better financial situation than CeeCee could ever imagine. Tim is in college and has all the potential in the world while CeeCee is working with the hope that maybe one day she will be able to go to college and make something of her life.

5. What character trait(s) about CeeCee stuck out the most to you in these first ten chapters?

I would have to say the main thing that stuck out to me was how naive CeeCee is.  She just seems entirely too trusting of everyone.  She also seems very compassionate and willing to help anyone in any way that she can regardless of how ridiculous and crazy the scheme may be.

6. Do you think CeeCee is as mature as she seems?

No, though she has been through a lot in her life, she is still just a 16 year old girl who needs love and attention.  I'm sure she is more mature than some other 16 year olds who led more privileged (for lack of a better word) childhoods, but you can tell she still has a lot of growing up to do.