Finnie Walsh

First Period
I think that the impression that Paul gives off is an easy-going kind person. Paul demonstrates during the First Period that he is kind because he helps his one-armed dad and usually does what his dad wishes. I like the part where Paul’s dad explains that Paul got his name from the famous hockey player Paul Henderson, it really gives the book a meaning almost. I dislike the part where Paul doesn’t want to go to Finnie’s hockey game because if Paul wants to play hockey he should really go to a real hockey game, even though he ends up going to the game, it shouldn’t have been something to think about. My favourite line in the First Period is “Sure! Just pretend that it’s your arm; have a goodtime. For the next little while, it is your arm”. I like this quote because it shows that people with disabilities aren’t really that different when they work together, and it shows good teamwork by Mr.Woodward sharing his arm with Mr. Palagopolis which is basically what the book is based off of, teamwork. I wonder if Paul’s dad ever really thinks about weather or not it is Paul and Finnie’s fault that he lost his arm. I also like the part when they turn the slab of cement above the sawmill into an ice rink. I do not like the sentence where it Paul says “I did whatever he told me to do”. Finnie should not boss around Paul, even though they are good friends Paul should be able to do whatever he wants. I would like to ask the author if he ever had any personal experiences that he put into the book, for example the ice rink, has he ever made one?

Second Period
During the Second Period the best part for me was the birth of Sarah Woodward, the newest addition to the Woodward family. This surprise brought the family more together and way more easy-going. I like the part where Louise comes out of her little shell and starts being more social because no one should be so sheltered. I think that Paul is enjoying the way his family is coming together. In the Second Period it talks about a lot of hockey and the history of it, to me hockey isn’t really all that interesting so I found that it could get a little boring for me at times. I think that later on in the book Louise is going to get almost to involved into Paul’s life, since she was so sheltered before she might go overboard and start interfering with Paul’s life. I don’t like the part where it says “Pelle Lindbergh was 26 years old. His blood-alcohol level was 0.24 percent”. I think that is goes to show that things like that can happen to anyone, no matter who it is, and that drinking and driving is not the way to go. Pelle died in a car accident due to drinking and driving. A question I have for the author, Steven Galloway is what he was thinking when he wrote this book, did most of this all come from personal experiences that I menchined before? Or did he make some of it up as he went along.