Criss Cross Book Report

Criss Cross Certain key words can tell a lot about someone or something, especially if it is a book. The words criss cross describe the story of Debbie, a girl that hopes something interesting happens to her very soon, and Hector, a guitarist that already things were changing. Criss cross plays a big part metaphorically in all of Debbie and Hector’s theories, lives, and connections, symbolizing their relationship with other people. A girl with big dreams, Debbie believes that there isn’t just one person that is perfect for you, there are many. Though no person is the same as another, some are close enough so that nobody realizes the difference. Debbie crosses in to many other people’s “thread”, creating the quilt of connection. Her theory
also reflects the fonts in the story, which change whether it is Debbie or Hector speaking. They are different, but their context have the same idea. Inside the book, the narrator gives the analogy of two blind-folded elephants crossing a tiny room- close to each other, but not close enough. The same goes for Hector. He believes that people start of like cocoons, then they hatch and become adults (butterflies). His analogy tells that people start the same, but change differently, but still more than one butterfly is similar to another. With parallel reasoning, both Debbie and Hector experience similar factors from a variety of people. Another representation of criss cross is when many of Debbie’s friends intertwine with her life, creating the stitches like criss cross. Peter, a person she meets while helping her neighbor, has a lasting experience on her, especially when they save her neighbor’s life by driving her to the hospital. Though they knew each other for only half a week, her memories were so vivid Debbie remembered them very well. A longer experience comes from Hector, who she cooperated with from the beginning of the book to the end of it, sharing many memories with him. Then comes Lenny, a talented mechanic that can fix just about anything. Hector, of course, has mixed in and out with people as well. Meadow, a girl with a strange name, might be the sole reason Hector keeps playing guitar in the first place; he likes to be with her. Debbie also had an effect on him, after all being one of his best friends. Many factors like these blend together lives, creating the criss cross that is represented in this book. The final explanation of the title comes from the events themselves.
Some things don’t even come from the main characters, yet still mix in with others. Lenny was at first a prodigy that memorized many encyclopedias, but no stitch (teacher) crossed him. Instead, his mechanical side was intersected by a woodshop professor, which is what changed him. An example involving the protagonists is, at the end of the book, while Debbie and Hector were talking, the two of them had their lives cross paths, but they missed each other by an instant. This is can be represented in a blanket, where everything is crossing but poorly made ones can become loose, like Debbie and Hector’s relationship. When the duo and their friends were listening to the radio for the first time, they formed a connection with each other, overlapping with each other’s lives to create a bond. They continued to listen to the radio every Saturday, called “Criss Cross”, just like the friendship they shared. Criss cross has many representations, as many pieces of evidence are found throughout the book. Criss Cross reveals a lot just by looking at the cover, as criss cross is expressed many times in the book. Whether it is implementing Debbie and Hector’s theory, talking about their relationships, or explaining the events, Criss Cross truly lives up to its
title.