Reader Response

“Mick Jagger Wants Me” is a story about two teenage girls and their adventures through the time of their life. Susan and Michelle spend hours upon hours waiting outside a studio called Electric Lady trying to meet the famous Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. This story was very interesting because it showed how most teenagers’ lives were back in that time period. Basically, alcohol, drugs, and sex were the activities that teenagers were mostly involved in instead of the activities teenagers partake in now. This story was really crazy and even funny to read, especially how Susan’s favorite activity was making out and drinking alcohol. One quote that was very amusing was “Most of the time, none of us knew where we were, or who we were with. People were taking speed, smoking grass, dropping acid, making out with whoever was around: it was a druggie, psyhchedelic mess.” Overall, this story did not make much sense to me because, in my opinion, it lacked a purpose.

“Us and them” is a story about a teenage girl trying to figure out the actions and beliefs of this Tomkey family. This story shows an example of how people are inconsiderate and closed minded. They talk among certain people, but exclude others just because they do not have something or believe in what most others do. In this case, it is the Tomkey family not having a television. Most of the community excluded this family from their daily lives just because of this, instead of possibly finding out the reason or not looking so deeply into it. This story was interesting to me because the girl basically watched the Tomkey family through their window as if they, themselves, were a television show. An amusing event in this story is when the Tomkey family goes trick-or-treating a day late and the teenage girls have to give up their own candy to the Tomkeys. In my opinion, this story has a message and that is to not exclude people solely because of their beliefs or their way of life, and be prepared to make hard sacrifices in life.