Part of growing up is dealing with embarrassing things that parents and guardians say and do. Make a short list of embarrassing things you’ve seen from the adults in your life.
While Reading
You are about to read an extract from the novel Boys Don’t Knit by Tom Easton. It tells the fictional story, in diary format, of Ben, a normally quiet and reserved teenager who gets into trouble with the police. As you read, make a note of any dialogue you see in these diary entries. What do you think dialogue adds to a diary entry?
BOYS DON’T KNIT by Tom Easton
27th August 4
So I went to see Mrs Frensham today. That went well. Not. She lives in a terraced house on Park View, which isn’t near the park and doesn’t have a view. Unless the park is Sainsbury’s car park and the view is Sainsbury’s car park. I told Dad where I was going and he seemed really proud, like I was off to receive A Duke of Edinburgh award as opposed to what I was actually doing, which was fulfilling the terms of my probation by providing home assistance to an old lady I’d nearly killed. I suppose it’s good to have his support, but if he’s proud of me over this it does tend to suggest he has quite low expectations. I clearly don’t need to do much to earn his respect. If I’m ever in the dock at Basingstoke Crown Court facing a thirty stretch for a triple murder, I can be sure Dad will be there in the gallery wiping away a tear, beside himself with pride that I managed to tie my own tie.
