Anastasia Krupnik

Anastasia’s green notebook is a symbol of Coping with Complex Emotions. Throughout the novel, Anastasia writes in her green notebook, either to make lists (such as things she hates) or to keep track of words that feel important to who she is (such as “mercurial”). Writing these things down helps Anastasia process them, and reflecting on them shows Anastasia coming to terms with the emotions behind what she’s written. For example, Anastasia initially puts Mrs. Westvessel on the list of things she hates, even though she cannot identify why she has this emotional reaction to her teacher. As Anastasia learns to separate out emotions like fear, sorrow, stress, and anger, she sees how identifying her emotions (either in or out of the notebook) offers her an opportunity to define why she feels these things. Thus, she concludes that she dislikes Mrs. Westvessel because she has made Anastasia feel angry and sad. 

When Mrs. Westvessel later calls to express her sympathies about Anastasia’s grandmother, Anastasia can then identify that she is grateful for Mrs. Westvessel’s actions. This makes Anastasia realize she likes her teacher, and she crosses Mrs. Westvessel’s name off the list of things she hates in the notebook. Mrs. Westvessel is just one example of how Anastasia uses the green notebook to manage her emotions, but it shows how Anastasia learns about herself through writing and reflecting on her thoughts.