Did you learn?

Kids today are getting hooked to books that are about violence such as murder, school shootings, rape, kidnappings, and other violent subjects. They will start to read, and never put it down. But are kids taking the right perspective to the book?
    I am reading the novel, Hate List , by Jennifer Brown. I began reading the book with the outlook as wondering what is gong to happen, and didn’t know if I would like it or not. But don’t we all? The more I read the more I was drawn to it. I think the things that drew me to tit he most was because it is about kids my age, and a school just like my own. But am I reading it the right way?
    Whether you know it or not, you need to take what you read from books in different ways. For instance, if you read a fantasy such as Harry Potter you think to yourself, “this could never happen”, and then the books becomes like a candy read. I know you’re thinking, “well then what way do I need to read a book like the one you are reading?” Which is where the weirdest thing comes in, which is safety. When kids read books they can think in their head that the event would never happen to them, but they are wrong. What do people think that kids who have been kidnapped were thinking before they were taken? It’s not like they knew it was going to happen.
    Which brings me back to my point, make sure you take the right perspective from your book. You never know what is going to happen.
   

Running to the Sun

Willie Gray was only 12 years old when the panic of 1983 occurred. It was very similar to the depression, every one was poor and it was hard to find work to feed your family.  But Willie’s parents had been in the government and were very wealthy. Willie went to school in a normal school in El Paso, Texas, which the students there were all poor. He didn’t think of himself as anything better than the others. He didn’t want to be known as the wealthy kid.

So Willie decided  to keep his wealth a secret, because he knew the kids at his school would be mean to him.

It was December 5th, 1893, the panic had been in action for a while now. It was a very normal day, Willie woke up, got dressed, ate breakfast, and went off to school.  

A few days earlier Willie’s classmates asked Willie how he got clothes like he had, and too scared to reveal his wealth , he lied. He told them that he he stole them from the market. Willie’s classmates were all rough, tough, and we’re ready to scrap for any money they could. They dressed in ragged clothes, with holes and stains galore. But they didn’t care, that was who they were. Willie knew telling them this story, he would become one of them. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to become one of them or not, but if it kept his secret from coming out he was willing to do whatever.

The biggest and meanest of all his classmates were the twin brothers Mark and Matthew Smith. They were used to being poor even before the panic began, so they had experience in the scrapping business. The boys were known for pocket picking, and sneaking from the market.

They had their own little clan of six friends. They all lived in the same neighborhood, so they spent a lot of time together. The group consisted of Spanks, Roscoe, James, Poncho, Garrett, and Johnny. They were all big, tall, and mean... so Willie was quiet intimidated. Willie finally got to school, it was hot and nasty outside so every one was starting off cranky. The Texas sun was shinning brighter today than ever before.

As soon as Willie came in and sat down, he knew something was up. Everyone just kept staring at him, he’d worn his play clothes that had holes and stains in them, so that he would blend in.

He thought to himself, “Do I look too fancy, or do I not look normal?” He was afraid that the other boys had caught on to him. The teacher Mrs. Martin came in and everything began as normal. Mrs. Martin was a young teacher, she was as sweet as a honeysuckle, but could be as mean as a snake.

Roscoe pinched Willie and said, “You better watch out you little punk.”

Willie began to become frightened, curled up in a little ball. All day the boys chuckled at him, and growled. Willie was a little nervous about going outside to play. His class drug on, and the teacher said it was time to go outside and play for a little bit. Willie began to have chills.        

The whole group followed him out the door and swarmed him when the reached the back of the school yard. The yard was very large and long, the only hidden place was behind the school house. As soon as they reached that spot, Mark pushed Willie to the ground and started yelling at him. Willie got to where he couldn’t breathe from the boys being so close to him, he felt as though they were covering him with a blanket, a wool blanket that had been covering a wet dog. He felt sharp pains all down his body, like someone was stabbing him with a thousand knives, the boys were punching him and kicking him without pulling back. Willie wanted to scream for help, but his body wouldn’t let him do it. He started to choke on his own blood, he was so scared of what was going to happen next.

Finally the teacher found them and got to Willie, but it was too late. He could barely breather , his eyes were swollen, and all the bones in his body were broken to pieces. The teacher ran Willie down the road to a doctors home in hope that he could help him. The doctor put Willie in a bed, and checked him up and down his body. Two hours later, Willie’s whole rib cage collapsed and he died. That group of boys watched as the layed his body in the ground with their guilt crushing them inside.

“We did that.” Johnny stated.

The boys couldn’t believe what they had done.

“Why did we do this?!” Mark yelled.

He began to crouch towards the ground as his guilt ate his organs alive. He felt a warm hand rub across of his head and looked up to find Johnny. Johnny looked over at the family, right at that time Willie’s mothers eyes caught Johnny’s with a shattered look on her poor face. He can began to feel his heart throb as he walked away from what he had done.

The group of boys knew what they had done, and began to run. It looked like they were running to the sun because all you could see in front of them was the sunset of the big Texas sun.

It Hits You Hard

     Certain memories can stay with you and not mean a thing, but someone can hit you like a rock. At first it stays on your mind more than anything else then it slowly fades to the back of your mind and other things become more important. But some people get an unexpected reminder of that memory, and it hits them like a train.
       In the novel, The Dark Divine by Bree Despain, Grace is experiencing this crash. Daniel, Grace's older brothers pal was a crush of Grace's when she younger. Daniel joked around with Grace saying he liked her, and was just wanting Grace to smile and be happy. But Daniel struck Grace in the heart like lightning. He was her world, she watched his every move thinking one day, she could be the girl he would fall in love with. Until he disappears. Now that Daniel's returned, her attraction is growing. Seeing Daniel brings back memories for Grace that she would've never remembered on a regular day.
     I relate to this so much because I have memories that I would never just think about, but get hit hard with.
I'm pretty sure everyone does. This book is beginning to show me how to handle memories, and also how to never take anything for granted because it's some of the biggest memories you'll have.

KFC.

The moment I found out that Uncle Robert was dead, I knew I would have to face my Aunt Pam at  one dreadful moment in time. My heart felt like it was rolling on glass, but seeing her will completely destroy what strength I have left. The house was covered with people, people I didn’t know, people I sometimes see but don’t know, and my family. KFC chicken, Italian bread, barbecue, and the chocolate aroma of the desert were covering the whole house. I tried to eat a little but my stomach felt as though it was going to fall out through my butt, I hadn’t eaten all day but the thought of food made me feel groggy. Like everyone else, I found a spot to sit and wait, I leaned up against the counter and started listening to soft chatter amongst everyone. My stomach starts to tighten and flip as I hear gravel shifting under her vehicle. This was it, my heart and soul was about to shatter into pieces like a piece of glass. I could feel Shelby’s cold fingers start to wrap around my hand as the door starts to creak open. I felt like m heart was draining as knife were poking holes and more holes through what I had left. Until the woman with the unrepairable heart, walked through the door.

Judging More Than What's In Front.

It's a hassle to find the perfect dress, the pefrect shoes, the perfect swimsuit. It's even tougher to have the perfect body or the perfect hair, but you'd be amazed. As a little girl my mom was a really big fan of putting me in pageants, but you know as a 6 or 7 year-old you really don't have a say in anything. As I grew older, I grew fond of being on that stage watching cameras flash and having people who I don't even know to look me up and down. The part I hated the most, was being judged. In the book, Abosultely Maybe by Lisa Yee, Maybelline lives in this world. Her mother, Chessy, runs and operates a Charm School. Her mother is blonde, beautiful, skinny, and very perky; which sounds just like a pageant queen, doesn't it? Well that's is exactly what she is, you would think her daughter would be rolling in the crowns. But Maybelline turned out to be the complete opposite. She wears clothes that are too big, she has pink hair, and wears dark lipstick. She is unique, and loves the way she is. But being judged was a huge part in her life which caused Maybelline to figure out who she really was. Read this book, your life may be changed.

To Kill A Mockingbird. By: Harper Lee.

Have you ever wanted to be in the crowd, or stand out? I'd stand out, but would you go to lengths of doing the right thing even though society thinks the opposite? In the novel, To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee, one man amplified standing out in a crowd. Helping an innocent black man convicted of rape battling in trial against a drunk who commited the crime himself. The commuinity knew that he was innocent, but during the depression racism was a big key. Everyone wanted to do what was right, but couldn't because of society's thoughts, because no one wants to have a bad repuation. To the society, being white during the great depression meant you had more authority and power over blacks. So the man was scared for his life thinking that he would be sentenced and that they would hang him. So the man ran off and the sheriff wanted to stop him from running so he tried to shoot him in the leg, but when the sheriff accidentally shot him in the back and killed him, that innocent man was dead. So would you go to the lengths off killing an innocent man to be in the crowd, or do what you know is right and stand out?