Anywhere But Here
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Plot Summary of Anywhere But Here

"Ann's mother Adele is making her move across the country, from Wisconsin to California. In California, she has no apartment, no job, no prospects, but she is convinced that nothing will ever happen to her if she doesn't leave Wisconsin, where all of her family live. Ann is grief-stricken at leaving her aunt, uncle, grandmother, cousin, and step-father, but Adele is the type of person who is always excited about something and never seems to look back.

In California, Ann adapts better than does her mother. While Adele continues to struggle with finding a job and a suitable man, Ann finds friends, a boyfriend, and an acting job on a primetime television show. The whole time, though, she continues to fight with and resent her mother. The primary focus of this book is the blowouts between the generally serious Ann and the often childish, impractical, and eccentric Adele.

The narration shifts among Ann, her Aunt Carol, and her grandmother Lillian, adding a level of plot and backstory to the novel. Through those chapters told by Carol and Lillian, we learn of the women who stood in for Adele as mother figures during Ann's early childhood, and we learn of their own childhoods and secret pasts."
Melissa Rachiele, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of Anywhere But Here

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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book? - humorous
Time/era of story - 1980's-1999
Family, struggle with Yes
Struggle with: - Mother (or standin)
Is this an adult or child's book? - Age 11-14

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status: - student
Age: - a teen
Ethnicity/Nationality - White (American)
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Cynical sense of humor
Intelligence - Smarter than most other characters
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - teacher
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - throughout most of the book.
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Dumb
Physique - average physique

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 5 (an average amount)
United States Yes
The US: - Midwest - California

Style
Person - rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
Unusual Style: - a lot of stream of consciousness
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

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Mona Simpson Resident Scholar Profiles

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Melissa Rachiele

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