A Long Way Gone

         A Long Way Gone                        By Ishmael Beah
       The book "A Long Way Gone" By Ishmael Beah, is really emotional book.  It is a memoir about a child solider in the African country of Sierra Leone.It tells the journey of him and the brutal things he saw on his way. Things such as genocide,rape, and mutation and other gruesome things no child should ever see.The worst thing about this all is that you know it is all true.

 

 The main thesis state is Ishmael is really strong and makes the best of situations. For example, after all of his family were killed he still had fun and played with him and his group of friends. This shows me that he is really strong, mostly optimistic, and really wants to have fun no matter what happened in his past. Another example is when he arrived in a village in a town named Yele he went from depressed to really happy. So to wrap it up, Ishmael is really brave and just wants to put the things that he saw in his past behind him. He also looking forward to the future and hopes for a better life.

 

 All in all, Ismael really just wants to be a kid but the war has stopped him from doing that. I also think I am no where close as being as brave and strong Ismael is.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Kieran Hogstrom 810 Summer Book Response
           

          Book: The Absolutely True Diary of Part-Time Indian
                                         By Sherman Alexie

     The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is an amazing book. It is about a 14 year old Native American boy named Arnold Spirit, aka Junior. He lives on a poor Indian reservation in Welpinit, Washington. Junior was born with water on his brain and not anything like the other kids on the reservation. Most boys are really big and tough and like to get into fights, but Junior likes to draw, read comic books, and play basketball. Junior's best friends are Rowdy, who is the toughest kid on the reservation, and his dog Oscar. Unfortunately, his parents had to put down Oscar because they couldn't afford to pay for a veterinary care. Junior also has a odd family. Junior's Mom has never left the reservation in her whole life. His dad is an alcoholic and loves basketball. His sister, Mary, ran away with her boyfriend and now lives in a trailer park in Ohio. His Grandmother seems to be the only normal one in the family and gives Junior great advice and is also a great chef

     Junior's story begins at school. As Junior's teacher passes out textbooks he looks to his front cover of the book and realizes that his mother used the same textbook when she was his age. Junior gets very angry at this and throws his book at the wall. But his teacher happened to be standing in front of the wall and the book hits him in the face. He gets expelled for this and then he has stay home all day. While sitting on his front porch, his teacher forgives him. They start to relate to one another, and his Teacher tells Junior that he is too smart for this reservation, has lots of potential, and should go to a better school. He tells his parents this and they enroll him in a school called Reardan, a preppy, rich, white school 22 miles from his house. But everyone in the reservation hates him for doing so because they think he is putting down his people by going to a better school. Even his best friend Rowdy beats him up for abandoning him.

     While at his new school, things are not going any better then they are at the res. He gets bullied alot in the first week or two but then he have had enough. He punched a bully in the face for calling him Tonto. After he does this, everyone gains respect for him and stops messing with him. He even begins to make friends with the popular kids like Roger and Penelope.

            This book is really good but also really sad. I think the main themes/issues are Alcoholism, Poverty and Acceptance