Paula Yoo's Good Enough

A big job for authors is trying to get the reader to feel as if they have a personal connection to the main character. In the book, Good Enough by Paula Yoo, I definitely felt a strong bond between Patti, the main character, and myself. I not only felt a relation through her mindset, but, also, through the contemplation she faces throughout the book. During the book, Patti faced many experiences good and bad, some quite similar to obstacles I have faced. There are five overall experiences and lessons that I feel like Patti and I learned or recognized that play out in the book. Those experiences dealing with work ethic, ambition, decisions, accomplishments, and friends.
From the beginning, it was clear Patti worked hard in everything she did,

Just like her work ethic Patti strived to be the best in everything she did. On page 199, Patti is talking to a Harvard interviewer and she explains what her weakest point is, “I’m very ambitious and sometimes I take on too many projects”. That piece of dialogue more or less sums up my school career. I want to lead and be a part of everything that interests me. Sometimes it gets to be a little overwhelming, but in the end I always seem to find my way out of it with a good outcome. It is one of my biggest pet peeves to start something that I know can’t be finish or I can’t do to the best of my ability. Similar to Patti, if I was the one to start a practice quiz, like in the beginning, then would have to finish it before I took a study break. Finishing her sentence on page 199, “, but because I work hard, I always manage to finish these projects”, Patti shows that every downfall has the opportunity to end on a high note. During the project it might be a lot to handle but at the finish line I know that with a little help and ambition I can always pull through, and so does

But the last one had to deal with the accomplishments and the future of friends, this brings the last three pages to attention. Within the last three pages, Paula Yoo manages to create a fast forward for a few paragraphs and then flash back into the scene between Ben and Patti. It explains the future of the closest characters to Patti, some continuing with her on the next chapter, others taking a different path. When you grow older I need to learn to live with separation, just like Patti did. She experienced that some friends stay in your life for a reason and others just pass through, and she didn’t force for anyone to stay. With moving a few years ago, I still struggle with the fact that not everyone is made to stay right by your side through everything, sometimes people are meant to teach you a lesson and then fade from your memory. High school is a lot different than middle school, not everyone is going to stay by my side, entering the next chapter in my life I realize that. Similar to Patti, I want to not be caught up on who is staying in my life and more on the memories we