Nina vs. Nina: A Comparison of Myself to the Character from the Book, The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson

I once Googled my name and The Bermudez Triangle came up, where I found that one of the characters have the same name as I do. Nina Bermudez. After a few months, I actively began to look for it in several bookstores, until one day, I got my very own. Despite the title, though, Nina Bermudez is not the main, main character in the book. She shared the spotlight with her two best friends, Avery and Mel.

Nina from the book:

1. Tall, cocoa-skinned - "...her mother was black and her father was Cuban (and white)..."
   
2. The known 'achiever' among her friends
3. The planner
4. Went to a summer college program
5. President of the Student Council, hence, in charge of every school activity
6. Had a long-distance relationship and only spoke with her boyfriend over the phone and through email and IM
7. Felt 'excluded' from her friends' lives when she returned from the summer program
8. Got caught in the middle when her friends broke up
9. Long-distance boyfriend broke up with her over the phone
10. Found a not-boyfriend in Parker
11. (Presumably) Got back with long-distance ex-boyfriend when he apologized
12. "TiVos every episode of Trading Spaces and What Not to Wear because watching people rip down bad decorations, cast aside bad clothes—these things soothe her."
13. Styled her hair in Princess Leia buns, and then later cut it to get Diva Hair

The 'me' Nina:

1. Tall, though I'm not really sure what to call my skin color but it's got yellow undertones - I'm Asian.
2. Used to be the known 'achiever' among friends - I now have a new reputation of being the clown and the canine.
3. The planner
4. I did not go to a summer college program, but I did a lot of studying and going to class during summers when I was in college, does that count?
5. Never went into school politics
6. Had a long-distance relationship with a younger guy
7. Felt 'excluded' from my friends after graduation
8. Never had any friends who hooked up with each other, but I did have my share of getting caught in the middle of things, like fights.
9. Long-distance boyfriend broke up with me through text. How lame is that?
10. Found a rebound guy that only made things worse
11. Got another boyfriend who lived (almost) close by
12. Only watches TV for the commercials. Water soothes me.
13. Has only two hairstyles: A pony tail and witch hair
    

As I read through the novel, I thought, "why is Nina so flat?" her character was so flat, it gave my chest some competition. But then, it's not like the whole story is about her, there were her friends to write about too. She did have her moments, though, I love how she did not let the feeling of being 'excluded' from her friends' lives get to her that much and still tried her best to be great friends with them. What happened next was not her fault though, she had to go with the flow. However, those things did not prevent her from helping Melanie move on and come out. As for Avery, I'd like to think that she did not really push Avery away, especially that time when she got her hair cut; her boyfriend just broke up with her so of course she'd feel out of sorts and would not want to spend time with other people for a while. When she did admit that she did not like what Avery did, she clarified that it was not Avery she hated, so at least it meant that there was still something in her that would welcome her friend back.

I was very happy with what she did in the ending. She forgave Avery, without question, without any explanation. I'm still getting over the fact that she is considering getting back together with Steve, but I liked what she said: "Sometimes you have to let people say they're sorry." She's got a very forgiving heart, not very much like moi. She was even the one who initiated that the three of them, The Bermudez Triangle, triangle off once again, after months of being confused, separated, and estranged. She took the step towards turning a whole new leaf for the three of them, preserving their friendship, to proving that friends do stick together til the end.

On that, I think Nina is a better person than I am. Things happened between me and some friends, and it was I who excluded myself, much like Avery. However, I don't think Nina's treatment of Parker was very nice, no matter that it was the latter's fault he got hurt. She should not have asked him to be the 'not-boyfriend' since she knows he likes her a lot and she was not very sure of herself that time, that she might end up just hurting him. Admirably for Parker though, he was able to bounce back. Man I love that character.

The problem with going into a relationship (not-boyfriend thing included) so soon after a breakup is almost like just saying outright what's on your mind when you're really angry. Most of the time, whatever you said would come back and haunt you. Better let the anger pass and then compose yourself before saying something you might regret. In this case, Nina and I made the same mistake - we went on the rebound. We deluded ourselves - into thinking that the next guys could help us forget. In that, we were very wrong. I just compounded the pain I was feeling, while Nina hurt a really great friend (really tough talking about another person with the same name). At least she still gained Parker's friendship.

What I identified with her the most though, was how our boyfriends broke up with us. Over the phone. Through text. "She sat on the floor and thought about the fact that nothing changes when the boyfriend who was never there suddenly goes away." That was exactly how I felt too. But just because the relationship was long distance did not make the pain hurt any less. If anything, it hurt more because we, Nina and I, did not even get a chance to see our boyfriends before the breakup.

I'm pretty sure the similarities end there. I don't really want to make people think I'm deluded enough to think that this character was totally molded after me. After all, the author and I live continents apart. And I'm pretty sure I am not an organizing freak that it almost bordered on OCD, and Nina's not too hyper and emotional that it bordered on bipolar.

The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson

(Photo taken from Maureen Johnson's website)

Title: The Bermudez Triangle
Author: Maureen Johnson
Publisher: Penguin/Razorbill
Category: Young Adult
Language: English
ISBN - 10: 1595140190
ISBN - 13: 978-1595140197
Rating:







Summary

Nina Bermudez, Avery Dekker, and Melanie Forrest have been friends way back when. They have never been apart, which is why it stressed Mel and Avery out when Nina had to go on a college program for the summer. Not soon after, they fall in love with each other and begin a relationship. Nina, on the other hand, meets Steve, falls in love, and gets totally bummed when they had to return home at the end of the program. She expected to come back to her friends and continue where they left off, but they appear to not want her around that much anymore; plus, she's missing Steve a lot. Then, by accident, she sees her friends kissing and the 'triangle' is never the same again.


Thoughts

The real reason I bought this book was not because the plot seemed intriguing (that was the second), but because I have the same name as one of the characters, Nina Bermudez. But more on that in another post.

I like that the story is more friendship-themed than romantic-themed. I like that it tackled gay relationships, even more, I like that it tackled falling in love with your friend - stuff that a lot of teens have a hard time coping with. In a now more gender-open society, it is still not uncommon for gay people to have a hard time coming out. I like how the author crafted Mel's character in that in the end, although she had already come to terms with her own sexuality a long time ago, she was also able to come out and gain a little perspective and strength to stand up for herself and what she is. On the other hand, the relationship between Parker and Nina and Avery and Mel showed the difficulties of falling in love with a friend, which is almost always the reason why most people think it's a complicated set-up. One day you're best friends, the next day you're lovers, and the next day you're lost - breaking up not the just the relationship but also the friendship in the process. In the end, I like how the author makes them come together and resolve their differences, as that is how real friendship is supposed to be.

However, I felt that most of my interest in the story is not focused on the main characters. Not even by Nina, who's my namesake and who seemed just a little bit too, well, me. Even though I could see a lot of myself in her, it felt that she and her two friends were too flat for their own good. There's the smart one, the cute one, and the cool one. The blue one, the pink one, and the green one. After a while, I got tired of reading about how Nina was too busy with student council and is the morally upright rich citizen, how Mel was too shy and sappy and the one with the secret, and how Avery is all grunge and spunk and plays kickass music. What saved the day, though, were the secondary characters, Parker in particular, who I liked a lot because he's got some more substance. He seemed to be the big brother type but is also cute, loves to joke, has great comebacks for almost anything hurled in his way, and proved to be a very loyal friend. Not really yellow, but not just orange - more like yellow-orange, and I think you'll agree that it looks better than either colors on their own.

As for the story, the pacing was good, warm, and entertaining. All my questions were answered by the end of the novel. I'm pretty sure that this book's target audience, young adults, would definitely enjoy reading this story with its simple, undemanding personality. As for an 'older' person like me, it suddenly brought back memories, and a sense of nostalgia for old friends and the part they played in creating the person that I am now. This coming-of-age story of a friendship of three girls will definitely have you laughing, crying, falling in love, and smiling at how real friends complete you and help you mature.