Mentor Texts discussion

I read "Drowning Ruth" by Christina Schwarz during spring break, and I enjoyed the suspense, change of perspectives, and the character development within the novel. Schwarz created suspense by purposely excluding the main problem and plotline of the story. At the beginning, the reader finds out that Mathilda Neumann, the sister of the main character (Amanda Neumann), drowned in the lake near her house in the middle of winter. Amanda had been staying with her sister and her sister's child, Ruth, but throughout the story, Amanda avoids explaining what happened the night Mathilda drowned. For example, Amanda says, "We wouldn't talk about what had happened. We'd only be glad that it was over and that we could go on as we had before" (page 17-18). So, Amanda and Ruth live together in the farmhouse where Mathilda and her husband, Carl, had lived (Carl is serving in the war for the majority of the story). Schwarz keeps the suspense going by including little clues about Mathilda's drowning throughout each chapter with the point of views of Ruth and Amanda. Her use of character voice and perspective also grabbed my attention because Ruth believed one side of the story and Amanda believed a completely different one, so I couldn't tell (until the very end) who's story was the most accurate. Additionally, Schwarz hooked her readers with her character development. In the beginning, the reader is led to think of Amanda as a wise, kind woman that raised her deceased sister's daughter out of the kindness of her heart. Then, in the middle of the book, we are led to believe that Amanda is a crazy, selfish person that only raised Ruth to relieve her guilty conscience. The drastic change in character occurs as Ruth gets older and finds her aunt's defensive and clingy presence concerning. For example, Ruth claims, "She (Amanda) was stuck like a burr in my hair. No, it was deeper than that... She'd seeped into my blood with the air I sucked into my lungs" (page 329-330). However, after the end of the story reveals the night Mathilda drowned, the reader is once again in love with Amanda's character. That night Amanda had tried to save Mathilda and Ruth from drowning by sacrificing her own baby. However, Amanda could only save Ruth and her baby, so Mathilda had drowned. Ruth changes her opinion of her aunt: "Aunt Mandy was selfish, but what she wanted for herself was me... She'd given Imogene up, but she wouldn't let go of me" (page 330). So, Amanda was both selfless and selfish by raising Ruth and wanting to keep her all to herself because she had no one else. Schwarz did a fantastic job of developing a complex, round character. Therefore, I learned that in order to create an interesting character, I may want to use suspense, a change in perspective and character development.