Drums Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblick

In Jordan Sonnenblick's "Drums Girls and Dangerous Pie" we follow the main character Steven as he learns to cope with middle school life, classwork, drums, and girls of course. One thing that separates Steven from most other middle schoolers, is that his brother Jeffery has cancer, throughout the book, he learns to deal with his brothers illness and challenges in school. At the end of the book, and Stevens 8th grade year, we see that he has matured greatly, through the sacrifices he willingly makes for his brother Jeffrey.
Steven shows a lot of maturity when he leaves his All City Jazz Band concert to rush Jeffery to the hospital with his mother. Steven had practiced all year and also had a solo, the concert was even a benefit for Jeffrey! He had been looking forward to that concert all year long, but when Jeffery had a fever, Steven dropped everything to be by his brothers side. He thought about what his friend Samantha, that he had met at the hospital had said about being with his brother no matter what. He wouldn't even let the most important day of his life so far stop him from doing just that. Steven made sacrifices for his brother even though it meant he would miss his concert.
Steven shows the reader his maturity when he shaves his head for Jeffrey.  Steven is usually a very self conscious person , I was shocked when he actually did, it was very selfless and kind of him to do that, even though it probably made him feel uncomfortable. Jeffery had been feeling very embarrassed about having to shave his heat and be bald, Steven did it too, so that Jeffery wouldn't feel alone. Steven was willing to make sacrifices for his brothers and not think about himself in the process. 
When Steven didn't let Renee Albert, the love his life since 3rd grade into his house, because he knew she was sick and Jeffrey couldn't be around that, the reader saw his maturity shine through once again. Steven had liked Renee for a very ling time and knew that any boy would do anything to have her come to their house. But Steven knew a virus would be a great threat to Jeffers health, he once again, thought about his brother instead of himself, so he turned her down even though it meant that he wouldn't get one on one time with Renee Albert!
In the end, Steven went from being a  selfish boy who only cared about himself and what people thought of him, to an amazing young man who cared for others and most importantly his little brother. He matured a lot from beginning to end by making many personal sacrifices for Jeffrey and not thinking about himself. That's why Steven is such a remarkable character. 

Complex Plot

I love books like Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl that have very complex plots. What I mean by this is they're constantly being added to and more secrets are found out which make it more complex.

For example, in Pretty Little Liars, you're trying to find out who the mysterious person called "A" is. As you're reading you're hinted that it is someone but then something else happens or someone shares a secret and you're suddenly convinced it's someone else.

To me, these are the best types of books.  I like them because they keep you interested in it throughout reading it. They very often are part of a series too, an throughout the series, you're usually trying to figure out who did what, or what happened and how. Also, in these kinds of books, I can usually imagine everything very well. It's like a movie is playing in my head and I can see perfectly what is going on.

I often struggle with boring books, I just can't seem to get into them, but with books like these with complex plots, I'm always left wondering.

Memoir

Heart beating, heads aching from the tight, high buns our mothers gave us. The smell of sweat, hairspray, and deodorant overwhelm me. I can't breath. My throat feels tight and I'm sweating. I think I might pass out . Daniela grabs my hand before I do and snaps me out of it.

“Are you nervous?” She asked.

“Me?” She nodded, “Um no, just excited.,”I lied, I'm an eight year old girl about to perform with the Mark Morris Student Company. “Not nervous at all,”

The 14 of us stand crowded in the unfamiliar tech room, reserved for performers only. We watched the older girls on the small T.V. They were amazing,

“I hope to dance like that when I'm older” I whispered into Layla's ear.

The purple and blue lights from their dance flash through the tiny windows on the door. Layla and I held hands, our way to give each other good luck, we were too anxious to speak. My leotard was making me irritated. It was itchy and I couldn't wait to take it off. It was ugly too, light blue and green velvet leotard and blue water colored chiffon skirt, with a butterfly sewed to the hip. Yeah. I hated it. We apparently looked “cute” and “so adorable”, and thats all that really mattered, so I guess we were stuck with it.

“Ready to go,” Misty and Sarah said in unison. “Break a leg!” Their faces were red and tired, like they just ran 5 miles and hadn't slept for days. They've been anticipating this moment for months.

So were we. All our practice would finally pay off and we would perform.

We walked on stage. You could hear the quiet pitter patter of out feet prance across the floor. We took our places. The first dance was fast, the “Texas Wildflower” dance, or the hoedown, as we liked to call it.

I danced the best I could, we all did, we danced for Misty, what she told us earlier was going to change us forever.

I felt betrayed and angry but I wanted to cry and hug her and never ever ever ever let go but I knew this day was coming but it could wait right she didn't have to leave? She did, we all knew it. In the middle of dance, I looked and saw her crying, I missed my music que, I was late, she's not crying anymore.

The dance teacher I've had since I was 4 years old, was moving to texas to take care of her mom after her dad died. I didn't know how to feel. All these thoughts screaming to come out.

I felt guilty for even thinking I was mad at her, everyone did. But we weren't mad, we were just confused. I didn't want to be selfish so I put on my happy, brave face.

At the end of the show, when we went to do our bows, everyone was crying, even our parents and especially Misty and us. We ran up and hugged her, one big crying circle. It was out last dance together, ever. The bright stage lights stung our red, puffy eyes.”I'm going to miss her so so much” I said to myself, “We all are.”

To this day, I remember Misty so well. The way she taught, and danced, her loud country accent, and cheesy jokes, the way she owns every room she'll ever walk into with her fun personality. How she loved to sing along the piano and sing old themes songs from ancient TV shows. Shes the teacher that taught me how to dance, she taught me all the fundamentals, she sparked the fire, and she did it so well. I miss her, but I know how shes owning up the whole state of texas.  

Tweak by Nic Sheff

In the book "Tweak" by Nic shelf, the author invites you to read his story about his painful and emotional journey and his drug addiction. The author does a great job of describing his experiences, to the point when you feel like you're going through it not him.

The main character Nic, started his addiction when he was 12 years old. At first he was just stealing liquor from his parents, but each day he did it, he realized he couldn't stop drinking. Not too long after, he started doing crystal meth, heroin, and many more drugs. By the time he was 17 he had already been to many rehabs and 12 step programs, but couldn't seem to stay sober. He started running out of money and stealing from his parents and even little brother and sister. His fun thing had turned into full on addiction that he couldn't stop.

I always wondered what it was that kept on making him relapse, and why he couldn't stay sober. I asked myself that every time I read, towards the end of the book, when he is in his final rehab, I realized it was because of his girlfriend Zelda. He always felt like she was so much better than him. And being high made him feel like they were equal. He loved Zelda but he couldn't be with her if he was gonna stay sober.

 All in all, the book shows you how much trouble you can get into and how hard it can be to stop bad habits. It took Nic a really long time to realize he couldn't stop his addiction on its own. It's amazing that Nic Sheff was able to figure his situation and stay sober.

This I Believe

     I believe in long term friendships. Having a best friend that you've known a long time is like having a sister you actually like, a therapist, a partner in crime, a confidant, and most importantly, someone you would do anything for.

     I've known my best friend for my entire life. I know everything about her, she knows everything about me. I have know problem telling her my secrets, a neither does she. Sometimes, I don't see her for months at a time, but when I do, you would think we see each other everyday.

     My best friend and I used to fight a lot when we were younger. We'd say, “I hate you, I never want to see you again,” but the next day we'd be back together, as if nothing happened. That's the best part about long term friendships, you know too much about that person to just give up and not be friends anymore. That's how you know if you have a friend or a best friend. I remember the day when we were probably 7, she came over over to my house and we were building a tent in my basement. She had been over all day, and we were having a lot of fun when her mom yelled down that she had to go home. In that moment, we both ran upstairs yelling,”Mommy! We didn't fight today! We didn't fight today!” it was the first time ever, that we had gone one “playdate” without getting into an argument. And since that day, we haven't gotten into a fight.

      Friendship is one of the greatest things in the world to me. I believe that everyone should have a friend that they've known forever, and will hopefully know forever. I have one, and for that I am grateful. This I believe.

Character Relationship

     In the book"The Hate List" by Jennifer Brown, the main character Valerie had a boyfriend named Nick. The two of them didn't have many friends, but they had many enemies. Together, they made a hate list of all the people they didn't like. Valerie didn't mean for it to get as serious as it did. Nick killed many of the people on the list. And he accidentally shot Valerie in the leg, she was trying to protect a friend. After he killed all the people he did, he killed himself.
     Valerie had a hard time getting over Nick. She still loved him, and she felt horrible about it. Many people can't understand why she still loved him. It's a very complicated relationship. Throughout the book, she continues to say, "They didn't see the Nick I knew." I think what she meant by that was, on the outside, Nick was a tough guy, very dark looking and not many people liked him. But Valerie saw a different side of him, when she was with him alone, he was sweet to her and very loving. She loved him, and it's hard to get over a boyfriend even if he did what he did.
     Nobody understood Valerie, especially her parents. Why would you still love someone even if he shot you, and killed many of your classmates? To be honest, I don't think she really understood what he did, of course she knew but I think she didn't want to believe it. She was trying to pretend it didn't happen, she still loved Nick, and she knew he still loved her.

Revolt of the Evil Fairies by Ted Poston

    The protagonist of Ted Poston’s “Revolt of the Evil Fairies” witnesses, and becomes part of an extremely unfair situation with his theater teacher Miss LaPrade, when she doesn’t let him be Prince Charming in the play because of his dark skin. He shows us determination in the face of segregation and discrimination. He also shows us that it is important to stand up for what you believe in, even if you don’t get what you desired.

     The protagonist would do anything to get the role even though he “knows” he can’t get it because of his race and skin color. He threw his soul into his part of auditioning for Prince Charming to prove he was good enough, he even stole his sister’s skin lightening cream to make his skin lighter. Nothing could work, he was black, and he couldn’t change that, no matter how bad he wanted to. It's sad that someone would try to change the color of their skin for role in play. They shouldn't have to even think about doing that.

     He was inconsolable the first year they turned him down for Prince Charming. They picked another boy, who stuttered. But he was light enough to pass for white, so apparently that was competent. This teaches us that you shouldn't pick someone because of their skin color, you should pick someone based off of their capability.

     The real heartache happens when the love of his life, Sarah Williams is chosen for Sleeping Beauty. He becomes indignant when he is left as an evil fairy sulking in the background, while another boy is onstage, front and center, kissing Sarah Williams. During the play, the protagonist challenges the antagonist (Prince Charming), to a fight onstage, after he hit him on the head with his sword. The protagonist gets in trouble, and isn’t allowed to appear in the play next year, but at least he learned that discrimination is extremely unfair, and nobody should discriminate against anyone.

     The protagonist of Ted Poston’s “Revolt of the Evil Fairies”, is determined. He shows us that it is important to fight for your rights when standing up for what you believe in, even if you don’t get what you desired. This shows determination in the face of discrimination and segregation.