Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie

            Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie was written by Jordan Sonnenblick. This is about an 8th grader named Steven Alper. He's not popular nor cool. He is just a typical 8th grade boy trying to enjoy life. On a usual school morning his younger brother, Jeffrey Alper, has blood cancer a.k.a Leukemia. Being the oldest brother can put a lot of pressure. You take responsibility for the choices you make. Its definitely hard for Steven. From that point on Steven has taken a big step for his whole family, and even himself.

          It all started with moatmeal. Steven Alper was the utmost geek ( to himself) in middle school. Starting with that morning, Steven went to school. Having Jeffrey on his mind shift his thinking. Steven Alper was an extremely self-conscious boy. He cared about what other people thought of him. He rushes to his locker and there stands Renee Albert. Renee is Steven's crazy crush. Whenever he thinks of her its like a shine of colors speaking to him. He tells his self that he forgot to brush his teeth! Literally! Steven forgets all about his poor little brother. Steven goes back to his class and continues his day.

       Steven Alper has matured in brother-hood. The first thing that he bravely did was to kick Renee Albert to the curb! He actually did that because Renee was sick. If Renee came into Steven's house then Jeffrey would've catched her flu. When someone has any cancer its not good to have a sick person going around. If you want a family member to not risk of dying then keep them away from sick people. The other thing was that he left his concert for Jeffrey because Jeffrey had a fever. He was throwing up and it was time to leave. It was a hard decision to make. Steven practices all year long, and he was ready. Now he is doing something big for his brother Jeffrey.

      As Jeffrey is sick, Steven is having stages of depression. He is angry about Jeffrey and how he got cancer. He is blaming himself on all of this new family issue. Its getting to the point were he is not having use to himself. Steven doesn't do his homework! He was seeing a councilor to fix out his depression. Everyone was worried about Steven's future. As soon as he thought about everything it was time to get his things together. That made Steven accomplish middle school!

     There isn't an ending. It's just the beginning of a new life. Steven graduated happily with Jeffrey being there. Having a life with a diagnosed cancer family member isn't easy for anyone. At the end of Steven's point of view at the concert they raised abot 23,000 dollars I think. Now there is time. The Alper family has been through a tough time but, they got out with a living son.                                    

MEMOIR

Memoir
Ava Ojo
705

IS SANTA REAL MOMMY?

    " You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not shout I'm tell'in you why,....Santa Claus is coming to TOWN!!!" The smell of hot coco and freshly baked chocolate chip cookies are in the air combined with the cool scent of peppermint. It's Christmas Eve in the dry desert area of Davis, CA. In Davis there are no white Christmas's. There are only high winds and lots of rain. I am with my brother, Kristian, my mom, Eva and Danny, seeing the Christmas Parade. Eva is my mom's closest friend. Danny is my friend from when we were little. Suddenly we all hear loud Christmas music and elves waving. They are tossing out Santa hats. We see all different character’s from Christmas movies on floats. Like Jack frost, Frosty the Snowman, even the Grinch. Each float has a background of were the characters live.  After all of the characters go down the street we see Santa! He is in a huge red sleigh with his reindeer’s (Mouse). Santa is repeating “HOHO MERRY CHRISTMAS!” over and over again. As he rides down the street, people start leaving. We pick up our stuff and head to the car.
        *                *                *
     We pull up around 7:30pm at my house. Most of use are tired and ready for tomorrow morning’s surprise. But before we go, my mother has a present for Danny.      
"Mommy I got the Thomas the Choo-choo train. I got Thomas the Choo-choo train from Santa." Danny yelling. He’s running up and down. We we're only 7 years old.
"Mom, can I open just one present...too, PLEASE!" I begged to her with my puppy face.
"No honey.” She said. “You are going to open your presents tomorrow morning. Today we just did the parade, and we are now just giving a little gift for Danny.. ok." My mother says.
"But-"
"AVA."
"Fine!" I say with frustration.
11 minutes later
    I needed my sleeping bag. It is chilly and my feet were getting numb.
“Mom....” I say.
“What?” My mom says.
“ I need my sleeping bag. Were is it?” I ask.
“It’s in my room, in the closet on the top, but I’ll get it.” She says. My mom goes back to talking to Eva on the couch. I leave without remembering that last line she said. I get out of the living room and turn a sharp right on the rugged carpet. Before I even open my mother’s white wooden door I see a note, it read:
Dear Children in this household,
    Please do not! I repeat NOT! Open this
door. If you do, Santa will give you coal.
Love,  Mommy XOX

    “Oh well! I am only seven! And I do not. Repeat not, know how to read that well!.” I whisper to myself. I took the note off that door and pretended that I never saw it. I looked behind me and to the sides of me. For protection I take an aluminum bat. I open the door slowly with a gentle push, making sure that ghosts aren’t in there. I walk into the dark, shadowed room with a little light coming from the curtained window. Rushing, I try to find the switch. I am pretty scared of the dark.  *click*
“What‘s that?” I asked to myself. There was a blue ordinary sheet covering my brother’s crib. I walk to it slowly. With a blink of an eye I take it off and BOM! There were the presents wrapped in gold,silver, and all different colors. The presents were gorgeous. I stare at the presents. OMG! I say in my head.
“AAAAAA!(screaming)” I run to the living room. “Danny! Danny! Santa works here! HE ACTUL-” My mom cuts me up.
“AVA ADELINE OJO!” She stands up, eye to eye. “ What did I tell you!”
“ You said that my sleeping bag is in your closet right on the top.” I felt embarrassed, but yet confused. I hadn’t even get my pink sleeping bag.
“ Go to your room immediately!” I stomp loudly enough so that my mom can hear, to my room, take a left and walk to the end of the hall way. I slam that stink’in door hard. My bed is on the right and my brothers bed is on the left. I just collapse on to it. And start crying. My cheeks get red and my heart is racing. I think to myself those movies, and songs are just for little babies.
     A half an hour past and my mom comes in saying that Danny and Eva left to go catch their flight. I am laying flat on my bed, facing the wall that is filled with Littles Pet Shop wall stickers and pictures with my mom, my brother, my daddy and I . My mom rubs my back and pats it. I can feel her *gulp* and her soft warm hand going in circles.
“ I am sorry.” She says in her ok voice tone. “ I should’ve paid more attention to you.” I get up with my back aching and hug her tightly. I am only seven (thinking in my head). I can hear my 2 year old brother running from the living room in his dinosaur shirt and his Elmo diaper. He yells.
“Mommy, I want to open just one present PLEASE!” He puts up his index finger while speaking. We both laugh, then Kristian joins in.
“Merry Christmas!” My mom says.

    I always think of that day being the reasons why I new that my mom and dad were actually “santa’s helpers” or as we all teenagers say it santa. I look forward to Christmas day. Sometimes I do wish Santa were real. Then we all won’t have to worry about all these sales and Blackout Friday’s. It would be Christmas for all of us! My mother always tells me to enjoy it and be grateful. She is correct! Merry Christmas! And all a good night!



 
   
   
   

Crank

Character's shoes

 

           I am reading Crank by Ellen Hopkins. This book is about a girl named Kristina. Its summer break. She is flying to Albuquerque to see her father. Over there she has a nickname. Bree. Bree is the monster inside of Kristina. She meets a boy named Adam. On their first date, Adam gave Kristina crank. Suddenly Kristina turns into this her monster, Bree. Bree is the bad side and Kristina is the trustful side. What would I do if I were Kristina?

     Being a teen is hard. You don't have many options as a regular adult. You think you can do all these adult thing but you can't. But Kristina isn't picking the best option. If I were her first off I wouldn't date Adam. He has a crazy ex-girlfriend of his own. Then I wouldn't have taken the crank nor the cigar from Adam. Adam is a type of guy that steals and goes to parties every now and then. When you have a boyfriend that gives you all this crap, Kristina, is playing dumb. With these guys you get in to trouble. Soon you'll see your self in jail locked up forever! I guess she just has a messed up family from my point of view.

   All in all, I would recommend this book to teens. Not pre-teens. Basically 12 and under. From these books you can get an idea. Sometimes not a good one. Don't ever drink or smoke like Kristina. Its a bad habit!!!!  

Wintergirls

Conflict

            Wintergirls was written by Laurie Halse Anderson. Wintergirl's main character is named Lia. Lia has had a truly difficult time with herself. Her "best friend", Cassie  just died alone, in the motel room calling her 33 times. Lia feels guilty. She feels that its all her fault. Lia punishes herself by eating less and less everyday. She doesn't know what to do.

           Lia already has divorced parents who are living in sepreate homes. Her dad, David, married Lia's stepmother, Jennifer, and she now has a stepsister named Emma. You would think that Emma and Lia have a bad stepsister connection but they actually don't. They love each other. Lia is constantly seeing Cassie. Cassie keeps on telling Lia that she's not good enough. She even tells her to cut deeper with a bigger knife. Its all a game though. It was when they were in the 3rd grade. Lia and Cassie made a promise. It was that whoever gets the skinniest wins. They even cut their own promise to make the swear.

        All in all, I cannot tell you the ending. If you like to read social issues this is the book I would recommend to you. Its scary and a nightmare type of book. Just don't read while going to bed!       

This I Believe

THIS I BELIEVE

                I believe in waves. Waves are to me, nature that keeps on being reborn every splash it takes. Sometimes it can pull you in, sometimes it can take you out. Waves make me calm. There are small waves, strong waves, big waves, waves were you can swim in. Waves are fun. You can surf, scuba dive, play, even go boating or fishing.

               I remember when I was younger. I lived in California. My mom would always take me to Santa Cruz (an amusement park in the south of San Francisco) or the beach. We would collect rocks and sea shells. Some beaches even had sand mountains near the ocean. My brother and I would play near the water. The beach was empty. No people, no lifeguards. It was sort of 'our beach'. Even though there was no one there, I felt so relaxed. I couldn't go in the waves because there were twice the size of NY. I only played by the shore. It wasn't clear water though. The water had a muddy, blue type. To get there, it was an 1 hr. and 1/2. It was enjoyable. I remember the feeling of going to the beach. Whenever I put my hand in the water, I can feel the waves energy flowing with my hands and going into swirls. I love waves and I love the beach!

          I believe in having a place where you feel like yourself. My place, of course, is the beach. Try thing out! I still like to go to the beach but its not like it back in the open palace. DREAM. Use your imagination. No  matter how old you are, you can always have a place that reflects you;)