Blanket's Panel

First of all I'd like to say that I have really enjoyed this story thus far.  It is a really fast read and the story actually sucked me in right away.  I didn't want to stop reading half way through but I made myself because I didn't want to get confused when we discussed it in class today.  If I know what happens I always seem to want to bring it into discussion.  Anyway......

The first set of panels that I really liked were on page 132.  Craig described how his brother and he used to "challenge" themselves to walk across the snow without breaking through it.  He says that "Late in the winter season, the top snow would melt and refreeze, forming a crispy coating on the deeper snow.  It was most awkward to walk upon 'cuz it didn't give way like regular snow, and didn't support one like ice."  The reason I wanted to discuss this event is because trying to walk on the snow and not break it something I distinctly remember as a child.  My friends and I would try to make ourselves as weightless as we could.  Sometimes we could make a couple of steps successfully but it as always ended the same way as shown in the fifth panel on page 132.  When he breaks through the top layer the word "CRUNCH" is spelled out in huge letters.  When I read that, I could actually hear the sound and feel it under my feet.

How does Blankets form a literary conversation with Oranges Are Not The Only Fruit?  Well, they both deal with religious subject matter.  Jeanette's mother seems to be a lot more strict then Craig's though.  Also, Craig, like Jeanette, is an adolescent trying to find his place in the world but not quite fitting in.