A Broken Home, A Broken Mind, A Broken Girl

     I'm currently reading the book Fallout by: Ellen Hopkins. There are three protagonists telling their stories of their lives in broken homes. Their names are Hunter, Summer, and Autumn.  All three of them are the product of Kristina Snows neglectful life. This book is the third in the Crank Series. In the first book Crank, Hopkins goes through how Kristina got hooked on crystal meth. She got raped and had a baby (Hunter). In the second book Glass, Hopkins takes the reader through Kristina’s struggles with her child, her mother, school and her relationships. Kristina’s point of view ends with Glass because now it’s her children's chance to tell their side of the story.

     Although Hopkins has three protagonists in her book, I'm only going to focus on one and that is Autumn. Autumn is the second born child of Kristina and Trey. I feel like she is the only child who has tried to forget about her birth mother and who has almost replaced her. Who has she replaced her with? Her Aunt Cora, Trey's sister. Her and her Aunt live with her Aunt live with Autumns grandfather. Sadly, Autumn is the only one of Kristina's children that has never met her mother. She does know Trey though from a vague memory of him showing up at their doorstep. 

       I feel really bad for Autumn. She's so curious about her real mother but her grandfather won't expose anything to her. She doesn't even know her mothers name. I couldn't imagine being so unattached from my mom, she's really the key to my sanity. I think that her grandfather is right to keep Autumn from her mother. Think about it, the reason that Kristina got into all of this trouble is because she when to visit her father. That's when she got addicted to the "monster." What if she meets her mother and then the cycles starts all over?

      On one hand, I think that meeting her mother will give Autumn some sense of security but on the other hand, how will she find security in a stranger? Someone she has no emotional connection with. Someone who hasn't been through her thoughts for how many years? Maybe if she just sees a picture of her, she'll stop being to insecure about her background. At least she won't be thinking of a stranger. 

    In conclusion, Autumn is very insecure about herself and I feel sorry for her. I think Hopkins made three totally different personalities to get the readers thinking about how they're similar and different. Do you think that Autumn should meet her real mother? Do you think that it will give her some closure? Comment below! :) 

       

     

      

Why Sarah?

 I just read the book Why Me?  By: Sarah Burleton. It’s her auto-biography about how her mother abused her as a child. She had no reason to hurt her, but she continuously made her feel unwanted. She does bring up many times in the book that she was an “accident.” Sarah’s mother even says at the beginning of the book “Do you want the whole building to hear you? I’m sick of you! I didn’t want you in the first place!” I couldn’t even imagine how I would feel if my mom were to say that to me.

   Through out the book, she tells stories about all of the times her mom neglected her growing up. Some examples are when Sarah’s mother poured Ajax Liquid Soap in her mouth and made her keep it in her mouth. This was her punishment for raising her voice to her because she didn’t want to eat the oatmeal that she made her for breakfast. Another example is when her mom cut and permed her hair herself. She purposely used too much perm solution so that the smelly, sticky substance would drip down the side of her face. She rolled the little rollers too tight so that the little needles hurt her scalp. She did all of this because she wanted the kids at school to picked on her and make fun of her. Sarah even thought to herself while looking into the mirror at the mess on her head “This hair is going to really get them going today,” referring to the kids at school.

    One thing that was going through my mind while reading this book is "if her mother knew she couldn't get an abortion, then why didn't she put Sarah up for adoption? Sarah's mom couldn't get an abortion because when her mom found out that she went to the clinic and was planning on getting one, she forbid it. I honestly agree that abortion is wrong... but that's not the only solution. 

   If she knew she wasn't old enough to raise a child on her own, then why couldn't she be mature and give Sarah up for adoption? I mean, if she didn't want her anyway (which she clearly states multiple times throughout the book) then why make the child suffer? I understand that she might not have been financially or emotionally stable... but then she should have told her mother that. Maybe her mom would adopt the baby. 

   Another thing I don't understand is why do mothers and fathers abuse their children? Don't they realize that that child is something they made? Something they brought into the world? If you went out and bought a new car, would you break the windows, scratch the paint and hit it with a hammer? No, right? So why would you mentally and physically and mentally a helpless child? I think "Why Me?" by: Sarah Burleton was an amazing emotion roller coaster. I'm not afraid to say that while reading some parts of her life, I cried. She was so descriptive and did an amazing job of making the reader feel her emotions. 

  It's a good read for someone who likes auto-biographies and who can handle intense story lines. Do you agree with my opinions? Do you disagree? If so, comment below! :) Thanks for reading. 

Charlie and I.... See the Difference?

      In the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower by: Stephen Chbosky, the protagonist Charlie is having trouble finding his place in the world. He doesn't have many friends and he doesn't really fit in with any groups in school. In the beginning of the book, Charlie is a freshman in high school who has no friends, has never kissed a girl, and has never had a girlfriend. When he gets to school, he meets a boy and a girl, who's names were Patrick and Sam. The two step-siblings are seniors so they're more experienced that Charlie, and they explain every thing that Charlie doesn't understand about life. They became a group and started doing things together such as going to sporting events, going to parties, and going to put on performances of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Through out the book, Charlie is writing to an anonymous friend who he tells everything too.

    In a lot of ways, Charlie is just like me. For example, Charlie enjoys reading and writing for fun. Not for school and not because he wants to. He reads extra books and writes book reports on them, separate from schoolwork. His English teacher, Bill, is one of his "friends" through out the book. He gives him classic books to read and talks to him about them when he finishes reading them. While reading these books, he connects things that are happening to the main character, to his own life. I love to read and write in my free time. I mostly read books in which I can connect to the main character. Charlie also likes music, mostly the Smiths. He realizes this after his older sister gives him a mix tape that was made for her by a boy. His favorite song by the group is 'Asleep.' (Click on the link to listen) While he's thinking to himself, Charlie thinks about mix tapes. He loves the idea of being able to hold all of his favorite songs in one little plastic box. He says "I am starting to see a real trend in the kind of books Bill gives me to read. And just like the tape of songs, it is amazing to hold each of them in the palm of my hand. They are all my favourites. All of them." Charlie means that he likes the idea of being able to hold such knowledge in his hand.

   Charlie and I are also really different. For example, Charlie is really socially awkward. He doesn't really know how to make friends and he doesn't really know a lot about the outside world. He's always asking questions. He doesn't really know how to act around other teenagers and that's why he always depends on Sam, Patrick, and sometimes his older sister. For instance, when he has his first real girlfriend he had to ask Sam for advice about everything that he did. Another way that Charlie and I are different is he is really emotional. He cries about everything. I didn't notice though that he really only gets emotional when he has time to think back to himself about everything around him. 

 In conclusion, Charlie and I may have things in common and differences, but we are both teenagers who are misunderstood by the people around us. It's really important to try to think about the similarities and differences between the main character in your book. The reason being because it helps relate to the story more and also helps you connect to the character and feel for them. 

If you have any thoughts or responses comment below!

Let your True Colors Shine

What would you do if someone walked up to you and told you they were your Fairy Godfather? Would you be scared, confused? Well, Vincent isn't sure how he feels in the short story "Am I Blue?" by: Bruce Coville. Vincent is the protagonist of the story, and he gets bullied constantly by a kid named Butch Carrigan. Butch always calls him names that refer to people who are Gay. Now. the main character isn't sure if he is gay or not, but his bully doesn't seem to care either way. One day, Butch pushes Vincent on the ground, and walks away. All of a sudden a man (who Vincent describes to the reader as a tall man with dark hair, a mustache, kind of handsome, with a gold ring in his left ear who looked to be in his thirties.) The man introduced himself as Melvin, the boys Fairy Godfather. At first Vincent thinks that the man is making fun of him and tried to make him go away, but then realizes that he really does want to help him out.

 I think that Bruce Coville added Melvin into the story so that the reader could see how Vincents thinking changed from the beginning of the book.  At the beginning of the book, Vincent isn't sure whether or not he is gay. He doesn't want to be seen as gay by his peers and he's embarrassed by his confusion. He feels insecure about himself and that's why he lets Butch push him around.

Melvins job through out the story is to show Vince that it's okay to be gay. Melvin lets Vince have the power to see people as blue if they are gay. By having this power, he is able to realize that if he is gay, he isn't alone and shouldn't feel ashamed or embarrassed. He says towards the end "All right, I suppose you're wondering about me- as in, was I blue? The answer is, slightly." At this point in the story, the protagonist has changed from the beginning of the story. He went from being ashamed of being see with a homosexual, to accepting that he is in fact bisexual himself.

I think that the way that Bruce Coville ended the story was amazing. He ended it by saying ""And my third wish? I've decided to save it for when I meet the girl of my dreams. Or Prince Charming. Whichever."
I think that the theme of the book is that you shouldn't be ashamed of what other people think of you. No matter what race, size, hair color, nationality, or sexuality you are, you shouldn't be afraid to let other people see your true colors.