Margaret Peterson Haddix Don't You Dare Read This Mrs Dunphrey Summary Theme

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Don't You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey
First edition
Author	Margaret Peterson Haddix
Country	United States
Language	English language
Genre	Young adult fiction
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Publication date	1996
Pages	128
ISBN	9780689800979

Don't You Cartel Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey is a 1996 young adult novel written by Margaret Peterson Haddix. It tells the story of loftier school student Tish Bonner through journal entries assigned throughout the twelvemonth past her English language instructor, Mrs. Dunphrey, and follows her as her life slowly begins to spin out of command through familial and social troubles.

Formulation [edit]

Haddix wrote this novel while significant with her first child. She works hard to embody her characters when writing and while she had a happy childhood, she was able to draw on newspaper reporting she had done with driveling children. She described this writing as "almost like an exorcism--I did experience possessed by Tish's spirit."^[1]

Summary [edit]

Tish Bonner leads a fairly average teenager'south life. She has three best friends, Sandy, Rochelle, and Chastity, all of whom are described to have 'big hair and sit down in the back of every classroom.' She has a role-time job at the local "Burger Boy" eating place and lives with her brother Matt and their mother while their male parent is absent, presumed to have left the family. Despite this, Tish shows indifference to his absenteeism, while their mother seems to be getting worse and more afar every mean solar day.

At the beginning of the school year in 1992, her English teacher, Mrs. Dunphrey, assigns journal entries, which Tish initially sneers at and attempts to get past on the bare minimum requirement of two entries a week. She talks casually about her friend Sandy'due south shoplifting habit and Bud Turner, Tish'south co-worker who attempted to ask her on a date. She does this merely considering Mrs. Dunphrey has announced she will refuse to read any entry marked "Practise Non Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey." Tish begins marker every entry every bit such to test Mrs. Dunphrey to come across if she keeps to her give-and-take, and she eventually concludes that she does.

Soon, her begetter re-enters her family life earlier the holidays and begins warming upwardly to Matt and Tish'southward mother, although Tish nonetheless remains frustrated and skeptical about him. On Christmas Eve, he hands out fancy presents while dressed equally Santa Claus, which causes Tish to get over the edge and snap at him. He hits her and and so leaves, much to his wife's despair. Tish soon learns that the reason her father could afford those expensive gifts was past charging them to her female parent's credit card.

Tish's mother becomes increasingly desolate after her husband's disappearance, and Tish and Matt begin to notice she has been skipping piece of work and lying around all day. One day, Tish discovers that her mother has abandoned her children to look for her hubby, leaving but a note assuring Tish that she knows Tish volition accept good intendance of Matt.

Tish'due south schoolwork slips as she finds herself the head of a household with very little means of getting by. She can't increment her hours at work after Bud Turner is promoted to manager, spitefully cuts back Tish's wages, and then fires her. Her little brother begins wetting his bed and regressing due to the absence of either parents. Food is running out with no money to purchase information technology, and bills begin coming in that Tish cannot pay. Her mother sends no money, only a postcard proverb that she found her husband, and the 2 of them are very happy. In the end, Tish's female parent admits information technology was a fake.

Soon, Tish falls out with her friends, who don't understand her home situation and begin taking advantage of her. Tish begins shoplifting food from her mother'south workplace to survive, sending back bills only half-paid, and looking for a new job, although no one is hiring. The electricity is turned off, and food is becoming scarcer and scarcer. Tish then gets a foreclosure notice request for a $200 holding taxation or else the business firm will be repossessed, which will get out Tish and Matt homeless. Meanwhile, Sandy is finally arrested for shoplifting.

Finally, Tish marks April 29 Once more, Really April 30 Very Early in her journal "Practise read this, Mrs. Dunphrey." In this last entry, she tells her teacher to read the entire periodical and asks for help, so long equally she and Matt tin stay together. In an backwash alphabetic character, Tish writes to Mrs. Dunphrey explaining that she and Matt were placed with her paternal grandparents in Florida, her parents were plant and are now in counseling, and life is showtime to get improve for her and Matt.

Characters [edit]

Tish Bonner: A sophomore in high school, who is xv merely later turns 16, and is the story'due south primary narrator. She becomes the heroine of the book, forcing to have care of her brother. She works at Burger Boy, a local fast-food restaurant, helping to support her family.
Matt Bonner: Tish'southward eight-twelvemonth-one-time brother, whom she is very fond of, but sometimes very annoyed with. He begins wetting the bed due to fear and not telling Tish.
Mrs. Bonner: Tish's female parent, who is hinted to exist an alcoholic. She is suffering from dilapidated married woman syndrome and is dependent on her abusive husband for everything, or else she feels depressed. This goes to the extent that she will get out looking for him, abandoning her children. She and Ray dropped out of loftier school when she got pregnant with Tish.
Ray Bonner: Tish'southward calumniating and absent-minded male parent. He temporarily returns after he runs out of coin and leaves once Tish yells at him. His parents afterwards reveal that he exhibited behaviors associated with antisocial personality disorder, such equally killing a neighbor'southward dog, non having a lot of friends, and a trigger-happy temper.
Sandy: One of Tish's friends, who has a habit of shoplifting until she is eventually defenseless. Her male parent is a lawyer. Near the end of the book, not knowing Tish'due south situation, Sandy makes fun of Tish when she becomes dirty because of lack of running water, ending their friendship.
Rochelle: Tish'southward other best friend and the "feminist" of the group. It is hinted that she is more than Sandy'southward best friend than Tish's. She does the same to Tish near the finish of the book.
Chastity: Tish'southward friend, implied to be more of the 'vox of reason' for the gang.
Mrs. Dunphrey: Tish's English instructor, the just adult whom Tish seems to respect.
Granma: Tish'due south deceased grandmother, who taught Tish to crochet. Tish's flashbacks often throughout her periodical to the times when her grandmother was alive and how she was present the day she died.
Bud Turner: Tish'due south slimy co-worker, who attempted to enquire her out on a date. She refused. When he becomes the new manager at her workplace, he gets back at Tish by cutting dorsum her hours, then eventually flat-out firing her.
Mr. Bonner's parents: They appear at the finish of the book. Tish is angry at them at get-go because they were absent during her family crunch. They were purposely not mentioned by Mr. Bonner, because he was angry with them. They tried to contact the family, but he ignored them and used the money they gave him on beer and bar tabs. They are seen to be nice and supportive, taking the children into their Florida beach firm when their parents are charged with neglect.

Awards [edit]

Don't Y'all Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey has won several volume awards, including:

American Library Association Best Book for Immature Adults, 1997^[two]
International Reading Association/Children'south Book Council Book Award, 1997
A YALSA All-time Volume for Young Adults, 1997
A YALSA Quick Pick for Immature Adults, 1997
A YALSA Popular Paperback for Young Adults, 2003
Maryland Library Association Black-Eyed Susan Accolade, 1999
Nebraska Golden Sower Honor, 2000
TAYSHAS High School Reading List, 1998-99

References [edit]

^ "Margaret Peterson Haddix." Gimmicky Authors Online, Gale, 2014. Literature Resources Center. Accessed 31 Jan. 2019.
^ "ALA All-time Volume for Young Adults, 1997". American Library Association. Retrieved May 15, 2019.