Chiara's Reading Log

Chapter 1

The first chapter of “Snakeman” talks about the girl Cathy Crosby who’s new at Portland High School. That’s her third school she visits past the last four or five years. She wants to play her role of the “cute and nice girl” before her new classmates will know her really because she wants to be part of a group and no outsider. On her first day at school the homeroom teacher Mr Deedles introduce her to the class. There she meets the boy Jamie Hanson who writes for the school newspaper. She likes him and he caught Cathy’s eye since he walked in. He interviews Cathy for the newspaper. They talk a lot about her hobbies riding and reading. After that Jamie asks Cathy to write for the school newspaper too. She wants it but because of her “role” she got to play she told him that she will think about it. The teachers are also nice but she doesn’t like the math teacher because she couldn’t stand math.

Chapter 2

In the second chapter of "Snakeman" Cathy meets a guy when she was almost lonely in the school building. While she takes out a jacked of her locker a tall and thin guy with a small head and empty eyes like a snake stands behind her. He and two other boys tell her she’d be in his club where she got to pays dues of five dollars. But she hasn’t sign up for any club so the boys just wanted her money. She already knows this situation from the other schools she visited. So she gets angry and kicks the tall boy between his legs. But he wears a cup which is used by catchers of baseball. So she doesn’t hurt him but herself. The boys laugh and they tell her if she wouldn’t cooperate they’ll hurt her or her brother Mike. So she cooperates and pays the first dues.

Chapter 3

The third chapter of “Snakeman” deals with the afternoon of Cathy. While she sits in the bus she just thinks about the meeting with the tall and thin boy in school. When she comes home her little brother asks her about her first day at school. She just answers in the same way like she usually answered this question. So her brother doesn’t notice that she hides the meeting with this thin boy of him. They talked about school but then Mike leaves to play basketball in the park. While Cathy was alone at home and waits for her mother Eileen she has one question to answer : Should she tell her mother what happened in school or not. She isn’t sure about it because she knows her mother’s problems because of their moving and her new job. When her Eileen enters their house Cathy talks with her about her new job but she doesn’t tell her mother something about her first school day. After that Cathy was sitting alone in her room and thinks about how she could deal with her enemy.

Chapter 4

The fourth chapter talks about the few weeks after the first meeting of the guy and Cathy. Privately she calls him “Snakeman” now. The payments work perfectly and she doesn’t try to defend herself against him or to attack him. But something has changed the last time. The Snakeman looks at her as if he wants to tell her something. Cathy thinks she makes it to easy for him. One day he asks her about her necklace. She lies to him when she says “It’s not real”. The necklace was very important to her because her mother gave it to her last year on her birthday. The Snakeman wants to have it to check if the necklace is valuable. She gives it to him and he takes it with him. She was very angry about it.

On this day Jamie calls her and wants to know if Cathy wants to write for the school newspaper. He tells her about the nice team of the newspaper but she doesn’t want to be so easy to get so she holds off before she agrees with him.

Chapter 5

In this Chapter of the novel Cathy meets the principal because she reminds the Snakeman’s words “friends in high places”. She isn’t sure how high the places are so she goes to the principal and just talks with him. He is very friendly but one time he gets kind of nervous and so Cathy was skeptical if she can trust him. After a lot of small talk with the principal she leaves his office with a feeling that he’s the wrong person to talk with about Snakeman.

Chapter 6

The 6th Chapter of Snake man talks first about Cathy who observes the peoples in her school if she could trust them or not. So she makes a kind of mental list where she grades the peoples who she talks to. The categories of the list are “those people she felt she could trust”, “those she isn’t sure about” and “those she thinks she can’t trust”. In this chapter she visits the counselor Mr Black. He seems to be very friendly and funny to the other students so she tests him if she can trust him. She lies to him that her necklace is stolen. And after she makes him sure that she wasn’t already with her “problem” at the principal’s office he was very relieved. So she was sure she can cross him out of the “peoples she can trust” on her list.

Chapter 7

This chapter deals with Cathy who talks to her mother about the Snakeman. Her mother was shocked and she wants t talk with some parents or teachers. But Cathy can convince her to cooperate with her because she wants to look for people she can trust. She knows that she can’t handle it by herself so she needs a team. Now her mother is part of the team and stands proud and impressed behind her daughter.

Chapter 8

In this Chapter Cathy and Jamie go canoeing. They have lots of fun but then a storm was raging about them. A lightning struck in a tree witch starts burning. They got panicked and the canoe gets out of control so the two of them fall into the water. Jamie and Cathy take the canoe out of the water and thy lay at the sore and wait until the storm is over. They look for their stuff and cook some fish. After the meal they start to massage each other to get warm and it ends with lots of tickling and laughing. In the evening Jamie shows Cathy an beautiful place with lots of animals were the kiss each other.

Chapter 9

This Chapter talks about Snakeman who looks at Cathy in a different way than before. He asks her about getting a dragon tattoo or about choppers. He tells her about his Harley Davidson and that she must go for a ride with him. She doesn’t want it but she has no choice so she said she had to ask er mother first. He wants to wait till the next week for an answer. But now Cathy noticed that the Snakeman wants her to be his girlfriend.

Chapter 10

This Chapter deals with a bad dream of Cathy. She’s driving with the Snakeman on his Harley and he drives into deep and dark woods. He shows her a big mountain were they get of the chopper. Mr Black and the principal of her school are also there but the don’t help her when she shouts for help. Snakeman wants her to kiss him and to be his partner. But she doesn’t want that so the Snakeman turns into a creature like a snake and wrapped around her and squeezes the last breath from her body. When the creature opens its mouth Cathy wakes up and is glad that this was just a nighmare.

Chapter 11

In this Chapter Cathy told Jamie all about the Snakeman. She wants to publish an article about the Snakeman to gets help. But the school newspaper just get published every month so she has to wait two weeks and that would waste time because the article needs to get published quickly. As well the faculty adviser doesn’t want bad thinks in the school newspaper so Cathy and Jamie need to talk with her. Jamie promises Cathy to help her and so they will talk with the faculty adviser.

Chapter 12

This Chapter talks about the meeting with Ms Southerland. It isn’t easy for Cathy. Jamie sits next to Ms Southerland so she was alone. Then Jamie doesn’t help her. He prefers it to support his boss. And Ms Southerland doesn’t like the idea of Cathy because she just wants to publish nice things in the Bacon. So she says that Cathy just was exaggerating and that the Snakeman maybe wanted to impress Cathy. Cathy gets very angry and leaves the room.

Chapter 13

Chapter 13 This Chapter of the novel deals with a conversation of Cathy and Jamie. It takes place after Cathy’s date with the Snakeman. Jamie was kind of upset when he sees the way Cathy was dressed. A tight T-Shirt and shorts. She said that the Snakeman likes she like that. In this moment Jamie notices a painted tattoo on Cathy’s arm. Cathy tells him that the tattoo is for her date today with the Snakeman. Jamie was upset and sad because he thought Cathy is his girl and not the girl of the Snakeman. He wants to know everything about her date and she says that they had fun. Cathy let Jamie know that she was very hurt because Jamie “let her down” at the meeting with Ms Southerland. She tells Jamie that she knows the Snakeman better now. His real name is Gordon Baker and she thinks that he isn’t such a bad guy after all.

Jamie hopes that he could get Cathy back. So Cathy issues an ultimatum. Jamie must take care that they can print their story in the Bacon. If not their relationship will be finished. Jamie promises that he will try his best. After this words Cathy washes her fake tattoo away.

Chapter 14

In the 14^th chapter of Snakeman Jamie told Cathy that Ms Southerland hasn’t changed her opinion of their story. So Jamie will bring out a special edition of the bacon without the permission of Ms Southerland. Cathy was happy but she wants to stay careful and doesn’t show her feelings first.

It will be very dangerous because Jamie could lose his job at the school newspaper and the both of them might get suspended from the school. But they will take that risk.

Chapter 15

This Chapter talks about a meeting of a twelve men team of Cathy and Jamie. In this team are staff members of the Bacon and other pupils of Cathy’s list who she could trust. As well there were some strong pupils of some sport teams who are used as bodyguards. They all know that this will be very dangerous but they all want to sale all of the newspapers. Everything is planned and as the bell rings the six newspaper stands are all at their places in the hall. Each of them has a bodyguard and a staff member. After the bell rings a second time every newspaper was sold.

Later in the class Cathy and Jamie are wanted in the principal’s office. The two of them know that this would happen. So this wasn’t a big surprise for them and they go.

Chapter 16

This Chapter deals with the conversation at the principal’s office. Dr Callahan and Ms Southerland are looking very angry while Jamie and Cathy enter the room. Dr Callahan shoutes at Jamie and wants to know the reason of the special edition of the Bacon. In this moment the principal is called by the mayor who found out about what happened at Portland High. After that he smiles and he starts to explain. He had already known about a gang in the school before this edition of the bacon came out. But he didn’t do anything against that and now he sees that this was a mistake. He also explains that he doesn’t talk like that because the call of the mayor. But now he wants to start to do something against things like that. Then Ms Southerland wants to explain something too. She says that she always thought that it would be the best for the school when the people just read good news of Portland High. So she left bad news out of the newspaper. But now she sees how wrong she was and apologizes for that.

Cathy and Jamie understand this and forgive the two of them. Now the principal explains what the mayor told him. He said that he liked it that the story came out and he wants that the two authors and Ms Southerland and Dr Callaham come to a press conference at the city hall this evening. The Snakeman and his gang will be expelled from the school and now they all need to bring out every single information to help the police.

Now the four of them practice what they will say at the press conference.

Chapter 17

In the last Chapter of Snakeman Gordon (the Snakeman) has left the town before the police could find him. Cathy is very happy that he is gone. Now lots of other victims of the Snakeman talk to Jamie and her. One evening Cathy’s mother gave her the idea of making a group with other students where they can talk about their problems with the Snakeman and their feelings and experience. It would be the best way to deal with their feelings and fears now.

So the group started and some of the pupils manage it to overcome some of their fears. But Cathy had the fear that the Snakeman will return and come for her anyway. So she is afraid to be alone because she thinks that Gordon Baker just will come when nobody is with her.

At the last meeting of the group, which is a party, Cathy’s friend Ophir arrives with a newspaper. She shows Jamie, Cathy and Eileen a special article. In this article they say that Gordon Baker was seen by the police while he was selling some drugs to school children. When he saw the police he took out a gun and there started a gun fight. He was hit twice in the chest and died in a hospital.

Cathy is shocked but they all are glad that the Snakeman is over.