Besides Animal Dreams I have recently read the novel 'Gossip Girl' written by Cecily Von Ziegesar. Gossip Girl is a novel written for teenagers, based on a group of teenagers living the fabulous life on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. However not everything is fabulous, the teens of the Upper East Side are constantly dealing with drama. Drama regaurding sex, drugs, and relationships. The thesis of this novel is connected to trust. Who you think you can trust isn't always the one you should trust. Cecily Von Ziegesar proves this thesis through the relationship between two of the teens, Blair and Serena. Blair and Serena were best friends until Serena had sex with Blair's boyfriend, and a rivalry was born. Since the rivalry began between the two "frienemies" drama has filled the air on the Upper East Side, along with many rumors. I agree with the Von Ziegesar's position on the novel because it's the truth. When it comes to girl drama, especially teenage girl drama, it's tough to recognize who you can and can't trust. Therefore I loved this novel, the drama and situations actually seemed realistic, making it very hard to stop reading.

  Dependent is an adjective that describes both Hallie and Codi. The two sisters depended on eachother to survive their whole lives. The girl's are inseperable, they could be described as one soul, one heart, one person. "A slice of of white moon from the window divides their bodies deeply into light and shadow, but not one from the other. No light could show where one body ends and the other begins when they're sleeping like this. Maybe a mother's eye could tell, but that is the one possibility that can't be tried." (page 3 chapter 1) This quote proves how close Codi and Hallie were to each other, so close they couldn't even sleep without being together. "For how close together these two are, and how much they have to lose. How much they've already lost in their lives to come." (page 4 chapter 1) This quote describes how dependent they are on one another. They literally only have each other after losing their mother and being neglected by their father. Codi played the maternal role in Hallie's life, supporting, caring, and loving her. Without Codi, Hallie could not have survived. On the contrary Codi could not have survived without Hallie. Hallie was the one thing in her life that wasn't complicated or lost. Codi was guided by Hallie, as Hallie was guided by her. Though the two were referred to as one person, they were very different. Codi was one to observe and wait for things to happen on their own time, while Hallie was out making things happen. As Hallie grew more independent, Codi stayed the same. Codi continued to depend on Hallie to help guide her through her life. Codi even asked Hallie how to teach her own class. As the story progresses and Hallie is kidnapped, Codi does gain a sense of confidence. I believe this confidence does come from Hallie's absence. Without Hallie's guidance Codi must learn to live her own life and make her own decisions. Therefore Codi and Hallie can both be described as independent women. The relationship between Hallie and Codi is very strong, Codi just takes more time than Hallie does to live life.