The View From Saturday By: E.L. Konigsburg

Significance: This book was really significant to me, because it talks about kids around our age, who don't act like the typical middle schooler (in a good way). They look deeply into things to find the true meaning of them, and they're really intelligent. Plus, they're only in 6th grade! I really felt a sense of connection, like I actually care about these people and what they're going through; the author is great. The author really tries to rip you away from your own life and get involved in theirs; he did a great job. It was a book that was really important and that I'll remember for a long time, for uniqueness, being funny, and great writing.

Perspective: The perspective of the book changes a lot, actually. In some chapters it's from Mrs. Olinski's point of view, in some Nadia Diamondstein's, some Ethan's point of view, in some Noah's, and in some 3rd person. I think the author did a great job of linking these perspectives although they're totally different people. I think maybe E.L. Konigsburg might have a handicapped friend that helped her create the character for Mrs. Olinksi (or maybe she herself is handicapped). Or, maybe she is or was a middle school teacher, and if she wasn't, she must've visited middle schools to see what the kids' behavior was like.


Evidence: I think the argument being made is that not all public middle school students are obnoxious and inconsiderate. There are a lot of children in Mrs. Olinski's classroom that definitely don't behave like 'angels', but there are a lot who are really sweet; most being The Souls (Nadia, Julian, Ethan, and Noah). They're really kind, really smart, and never are mean/obnoxious and inconsiderate to anyone. A fact to support her argument is the effort she makes to show us how direspectful some students in her class are. For example, one major jerk Hamilton Knapp tried to poison Nadia's dog because he was jealous. Plus, he has his whole crew, and the insident where they wrote 'CRIPPLE' on the blackboard during lunch. (Mrs. Olinski is handicapped) It also shows that even the bad guys can have good parts too, for example she was about to pick Hamilton Knapp for the team because he really was smart and hardworking, but after the dog insident she knew she just couldn't pick him.

Connection: I connect to this story a lot because, I'm in middle school. Plus the author made you feel big sense of connecting with them, even though they aren't real. It was really great writing. Plus I'm a girl, like Nadia (haha). And I have a pet, too. Plus, I also have some kind of obnoxious kids in my class.


Supposition: My life probably wouldn't be very different if I never read this book or it wasn't published, but I guess this has made me realize how hard middle school can be in some situations. And how disrespectful people can be to handicapped people, so I should be more respectful after hearing about what things Mrs. Olinski went through.