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Summary: I Am the Cheese Essay
Review: Hi I am a middle schooler and I will be explaining this book. In the book I Am the Cheese there are many times where events occur. I will be sharing the comparisons of these times. The first time I will be comparing was when their family name was Delmonte and when their family was the Farmers. The second time I will be comparing is when Brint is talking to Adam, and when Adam is going on his imaginary trip to Vermont. The third time I will be comparing is the life inside the hospital and the life outside of the hospital. Last I will be sharing what I liked about the book and what I did not like about the book.
First I will be comparing the time when their family name were the Delmontes, and when their family name were the farmers. When their name was the Farmers there was no problem. Paul was not a mental kid, his family was safe, and they had nothing to worry about. But that was only when Paul was a baby, before they were witnesses. As Paul grew up and his parents were now the witnesses for what the government officials had done, their family name was changed to the Farmers, Paul's birth date was changed, and Paul's name was changed to Adam. When the Delmonte family was the Farmers things were much more dangerous. Adam didn't know what was going on and for the whole time he thought his name was Adam Farmer. When they where the Farmers the family had a theme song, "The Farmer and the Dell." When they were the Farmer family Mr. Grey always came over to their house talking about serious things that Adam did not know. When they were the Farmers, Adam was eager to learn more facts about what is going on with their family. When they were the Farmers their Parents die and Adam becomes mental and is sent to the hospital. That is all the differences between those two times.
The second time I will be comparing with you is when Adam is imagining that he is going to Vermont and when Adam is talking to Brint. Since Adam Farmer is mental and he stays in a mental hospital Adam gets bored and does a crazy thing. He goes around the hospital thinking he is going to Vermont to meet his dad. He even packs a gift for his dad and he meets other crazy people in the hospital, and he pretends that they are the people he meets on his trip. Adam is out of his mind and is out of control. He wouldn't settle down, and he acts weird. But then Brint would always stop him and would ask him questions. When Adam was with Brint, Brint would give Adam a chill pill so Adam can settle down. Somehow the drug would make him answer all his questions with no complaint. Brint would keep on asking questions that had to do with all his life. Adam didn't really get why he was doing this. But Adam would share abut his whole life really detailed. Sometimes when it comes to when the medicine wears off Adam would stop and would not say a word. He would just say he is tired, and sometimes Brint would get mad because he could not get the information he wanted. Then the journey of the imaginary trip would continue.
The third thing I would be sharing is between the life inside the hospital and the life outside in the real world. Life inside the mental hospital seems miserable. You can not go anywhere outside and every morning you would always be asked questions to be answered. Also you would be fed drugs just like Adam was, and you would be controlled over the physiologist. There you would be having many painful shots and you will be all tired and stressed. In the hospital that Adam went to he had his own room and the hospital was like his house. But Adam would not complain and would do whatever he had to do. On the other hand the life in the outside of the hospital, the real world is much more convenient. In the real world you have freedom and nobody controllers you. You also can keep your personal information to yourself and not tell it to some corny old doctor. In the real world there is friendship and you can spend time with your family. But also in the real world you can face many hardships. Since you become independent you have to use you money wisely. You have to buy your own food, and your own furniture. Also friendships can be broken and you can also be lonely. Unlike staying in the hospital, in the real world you have to work, and study to support your life. There are many bad situations in both ways, but I think we are very lucky be living in the real world.
The last things I will be discussing with you are some of the things I liked about this book and some of the things I didn't really like about this book. The thing I liked about this book is that it has many actions to it. Always there is at least one situation in each chapter. The book is also very adventurous and is really mysterious. When you read this book you can get confused and it wants you to keep on reading it. Just by looking at the front cover it looks like the boy is running away from something and you want to find out what he is running away from. Another great thing about this book is that it is a great thriller, since Adam is a mental kid. I also like this book because it is very well written and used a great amount of great vocabulary.
The things I don't like about this book are that it is terribly confusing. I didn't get anything that happened in the end and it twisted my brain over until my tutor explained it to me. Another thing I hate about this book is that it changes from the bike ride to the conversation with Brint. This irritates me because I want to read on in some parts but suddenly it jumps to a different topic. This book is not so good because when Adam talks to Brint they talk about things that run out of the topic so I get start to get bored. Since this book is really hard to understand it would not be any fun for middle schoolers unless they have someone to explain it to them. After reading the last two pages it killed me. It made me think about it for a very long time and I still didn't get it. At the end this book is really sad and it makes you really mad, and you start to be filled with tons of questions. This book is totally different from what I expected, and I bet nobody would be able to figure out the end without reading it. I think this book is far too difficult for me, next time I think we should read an easier book to understand next time.
Reading this book make me think in many ways, and it changed the way I was thinking about life. It also made me realize how people all around the world can be like Adam Farmer, and that we should be thankful for being normal. Also making the comparisons made me understand more about the book, and the differences in life. I think this book was a great book to talk about and I hope this book was meaningful to you.
Rating: 
Summary: superb
Review: A ably-written thriller for young adults -- not at all what I expected it to be. The ending is totally unexpected yet reveals the book's carefully thought-out structure.The author's other well-known work, "The Chocolate War," is not even in the same league.
Rating:
Summary: superb
Review: A ably-written thriller for young adults -- not at all what I expected it to be. The ending is totally unexpected yet reveals the book's carefully thought-out structure. The author's other well-known work, "The Chocolate War," is not even in the same league.
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Summary: I Am the Cheese
Review: I Am the Cheese is a psychotic thriller placed in the late 1900's in New England. The story is about a teenager named Adam Farmer who leads the reader on a journey to uncover his own hidden past. Cormier transitions well between the views of the story. In one view, Adam is riding his old bike from Monument, Massachusetts to Ruttenburg, Vermont to visit his father in the hospital and give him a secret gift he had brought with him. The other view is that of Adam doing interviews with a psychiatrist who is trying to help him remember what happened in his shady past. Another unusual part of the story is that Cormier often leaves the reader unsure of the events transpiring because the story is told from a backwards point of view. This means that the readers must use their intelligence to try to sort the events out. This can also be a negative because it isn't a book that should be taken up for pleasure reading because the confusion may be too much to handle along with the story's often depressing plot. Another downside is the story's setting. Cormier has Adam riding his bike on his way to Vermont for almost the entire book. In conclusion, despite the negatives, I Am the Cheese still may appeal to the kind of reader who likes to figure things out for themselves.
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Summary: Interesting and melancholic
Review: I am the Cheese is a story told through flashbacks in three parts. First, the psychiatrist interviews the protagonist, Adam Farmer, to unearth his lost memories; then long periods of remembrance where Adam talks about his past; and finally his trip to a hospital to see his father. All three sections meet and make complete sense at the end where he arrives at the hospital where he had the interview, where he ends off describing the event that has left him so traumatised.
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Summary: kim's review on I am the Cheese
Review: I Am The Cheese is one of the most beautiful books I have read in my entire life, and because I was so surprised by this tale I was forced to read it several times. I Am The Cheese is the poetic story of self-discovery and confusion narrarated by a high school boy named Adam Farmer. His family is one of many dark secrets because of the very dark, threatening world around them, and the Farmers' tale reveals the significance of the phrase "trust no one." In the beginning of the book Adam is on his way from Massachusetts to Vermont to visit his father, and as the story unwinds both the reader and Adam learn many things about the boy's life...Unpredictable, surprising, and oddly familiar secrets about a boy who anyone who comes into contact with this novel may assume that they actually know.
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Summary: I Am the Cheese by Robert Cormier
Review: I Am the Cheese is the story of a young boy who is trying to uncover his past while at the same time trying to comprehend it. It is an excellent book if you are looking for something new and creative that will leave you sitting on the edge of your seat. I had never read a book such as this one, and found it to be very intriguing. At some points, I just couldn't put the book down because of the way Robert Cormier weaves real-life, teenage situations into a captivating mystery. It stands out from other books in its genre of writing because of the way the clues are hidden deep within the text.
The story follows a 14 year old boy named Adam Farmer who notices strange things occurring within his home, and decides to investigate, discovering well kept secrets about his family history. Soon Adam's parents become strangers to him and his life as he knew it had been filled with lies and deceptions. As Adam struggles to find himself as a person, he tries to keep his secret hidden from his closest friend Amy, whom he confides in, and anyone else he comes in contact with. The story jumps back and forth from three different narratives of Adam's journey, which can be confusing at times but is mainly a creative way of reading a book. You get to look through both a narrator's and Adam's eyes as he tries to run from a past that will always be after him.
Robert Cormier created such amazing characters for this book, people that the readers can truly relate to, especially young adults. Adam's affiliation with his parents is one that so many people can understand because of the way he is isolated from them. His bond with Amy and timidity among his peers are situations that teenagers face throughout their high school years. Adam's parents are so well developed that at times I felt the mother's burden myself by the way she is described as so depressed in the story. Robert Cormier strays away from describing the characters physically in this book, but more emotionally and mentally. This, surprisingly, gives the reader a much needed vision of what each character feels, and thinks about. That is something that really stood out in the story.
There is excellent imagery in this story as Adam travels throughout New England in search of his father who is allegedly staying at a hospital. Adam encounters many different people who both help and destroy his chances of reaching his final destination. Many questions are left unanswered until the very end of the book when everything comes collectively together. Every small background character that is introduced in this book is important, as well as every setting Adam finds himself in. Paying attention is key when reading this story because of the clues that are given off very subtly. The ending brings everything that the reader once thought to be insignificant, to be very vital in understanding the plot better.
As certain instances occur, Adam learns that he cannot trust anyone, even the people that he once thought he could. He learns many things about himself during his adventure and even finds courage, something he never thought he possessed. Suddenly, he grows into this person that he had never known before, and does things that he never thought possible.
One very different part of this story was the tape sessions between Adam and his therapist. They were written so the readers could see the interactions between the main character and this doctor who pries answers out of Adam that he isn't even sure of. Adam really finds a better part of himself within the walls of the tape sessions because of what the therapist tries to dig out of him. Adam's faults are also very visible in this narrative voice. He is seen to be on medication and readers get a whole different out look on the character.
Cormier had some amazingly creative ideas in this book. The games that Amy and Adam play in public places, called "Numbers," were something that I loved about this book. They were ideas of Amy's which included having her and Adam play tricks on people in areas such as grocery stores and parking lots. They were so well planed and worked so smoothly that I found them so believable as if kids in my town played "Numbers" on townspeople. Amy and Adam would go into unlocked cars and turn up the volume on the radio and flip the switch of the windshield wipers on, so when drivers entered their cars and turned the key, they would be in for a surprise. This proved to me the real connection Cormier had with his characters, and how he knew what he wanted them to act, think and do. The whole premise of I Am the Cheese is very dark and gloomy because of what each of the characters must endure, most importantly Adam. It however incorporates the pleasant times that Adam shares with his girlfriend Amy into the misery and depression that he also experiences with the secret his family hides beneath their forced smiles and sad eyes. The story doesn't end on a happy note either, which is something I loved about it. Every book I read always ends with the main character where he/she belongs. This ending breaks the mode for stories everywhere and leaves you feeling empty and alone along with Adam, the whole idea of the story. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a well written story with an intense plot, well developed characters, and a great mystery and ending. The only thing I would warn you is to pay close attention to everything you read, otherwise the ending will not make as much of an impact on you as it could.
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Summary: I Am The Cheese
Review: I Am The Cheese is the story of an emotionally disturbed teenaged boy ( Adam Farmer ) who is trying to understand his mysterious past, as well as uncovering it at the same time. His memory gradually unfolds as the book progresses. I have never read a book as intriguing as this one; especially the way that Robert Cormier weaves in real-life, teenage situations into a captivating mystery.
We are with Adam as he rides his bike from Monument, Massachusetts to a hospital in Vermont where his father is. Intertwined with the everchanging emotional trip, we read excerpts from a taped interview between Adam and an ambiguous interviewer. These tape conversations are conducted in a curious manner, with he doctor-like character searching for something in his interrogations, and the mystery person constantly being agonized by headaches and weariness. Through these tapes, we find the horror that has existed for Adam and we learn of his eventual fate. Moreover, it becomes manifested that Adam's memories are full of gaps and that a doctor is trying to help him regain all of his memories. Thoughts and events deriving from the bike ride link with Adam's memories in the hospital, help to trigger off flashbacks through which the past is filled in.
The story jumps back and forth from three different narratives of Adam's journey, which can be confusing at times but is mainly a creative way of reading a book. You get to look through both a narrator's and Adam's eyes as he tries to run from a past that will always be after him.At one point near the end of the book, the two worlds of Adam's bicycle travel and mysterious conversations come together and clash violently. The sad secret of Adam Farmer's life is revealed, and the mysterious doctor's identity and intentions are unveiled. Adam encounters many different people who both help and destroy his chances of reaching his final destination. Many questions are left unanswered until the very end of the book which is something that I liked from this novel because usually, novels end with the main character where he or she belongs; and everything is happy and animated. This ending breaks the mode for stories everywhere and leaves you feeling empty and alone along with Adam, which is the whole idea of the story.
Robert Cormier created such amazing characters for this book, people who readers can really relate to, especially young adults. Moving on, Robert Cormier strays away from describing the characters physically in this book, but more emotionally and mentally. Paying attention is vital when reading this story because of the clues that are given off very subtly and quietly.
I Am the Cheese is a shocking story of lies, and concealed identities. This novel is bleak, cynical and depressing. A thrill is waiting around every corner for the adventurer who dares to read this book. It teaches you to question reality. Furthermore, this novel is a really absorbing book filled with suspense and drama. I would recommend this book to
anyone who loves a well written story with an intense plot and storyline. While the story is sometimes confusing, the subplots all come together cleverly and believably in the end.
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Summary: Will Haunt You Long After You Read The Last Page
Review: I found my copy in a second hand book store.One reviewer described it as "a bikeride to the twilight zone",so I bought it right away.It seemed like a normal yet mysterious book for young adults but as the story unfolds,you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat.The writing style is different since were reading about this boy going to the hospital to visit his father,yet there are parts of the book where we find him in the psychiatrists office.Im not going to summarize the story but dont read the last few pages of the book.It contains a really surprising ending.Highly recommended but too disturbing for preteens.
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Summary: I Am The Cheese
Review: I thoroughly enjoyed the beautiful writing of this book, but after just finishing it this afternoon, I still have no idea what was going on in the story.
Using chapters that alternate between (apparent) real-life and the main character speaking with an adult named Brint, Mr. Cormier does a marvelous job at making every reader of this book confused beyond his/her wits.
The ending-although there might be a slight chance that I understood it correctly-is too irrational and outlandish to fit smoothly into the plot and Mr. Cormier is apt to puzzle you with it...that is, IF you allow yourself to go near this book. Don't. You'll be glad I spared you from it!
P.S. If anyone would like to explain this book to me, please contact me as soon as possible, putting the title of the book in the subject.
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