Party of One: The Loners’ Manifesto

Party of One: The loners’ Manifesto, talks about how, where, and why “loners” are mistreated in the human society. Each chapter tells about a different aspect, religion, childhood, sanity, film, art, etc. Each chapter shows how, through out time, “loners” have been misunderstood and shamed. The author, Anneli Rufus, also describes herself as a loner and weaves in her own personal stories within the book. Although she exaggerates on some of the mistreatment a bit, most, if not all, of the things she says is true.

One thing I learned from this book was how shallow the human race really is. I’ve always know that people were somewhat self-centered, but this book puts it into a whole new light. One of the actions that I see “nonloners”, as Rufus puts them, exhibit is that they can’t be left out. People have labeled me many things all because they want to get “inside” of me, so to speak. The fact that I don’t let most people in, and that I prefer to be alone confuses them so they think I’m “weird”. Because I lack their same tastes and that I actually have others, confuses them. The list goes on and on.
One thing I learned about parents from this book, is that they want us to be popular. They keep on telling us that we don’t need to be popular, but yet, they pressure us to spend more time with friends, even if we bluntly refuse. They want us to have so many friends so that they can boast about us. They don’t see how some of us would rather be alone. When they do see that, be immediately think something is wrong. They think something is wrong with our mentality and send us off to therapy. My mom has tried.
Something I really liked about this book was that Rufus made sure that whoever was reading this book, knew the difference between being a loner and being an outcast. Many times, loners are outcast, but not all outcasts are loners. People tend to use those words interchangeably, and that is not correct. Many outcast are lonely, that is the exact opposite of a loner. Loners like being alone. They cannot get lonely.

When I was reading “Party of One”, I took a closer look around me and those who I associate with, and I realized that they were just that, associates, nothing more, nothing less. They were just there so I wouldn’t stand out so much, and that’s want all loners try to avoid, standing out. Reading the book, Rufus states that the whole human society has something against loners, there are constant implements that loners are crazy and should be changed, examples are Christmas cards that say that being alone is wrong, ads that imply that you can’t have a good time if you’re alone. Reading this book, I looked closer at my habits and surroundings and realized that allot of the time, Rufus was exactly right, with the ads, how I would react to somethings, even sometimes, why I react that way. Once again, there are some things, mainly the way other “nonloners” act, that she just slightly overemphasizes, but overall, she does a really good job on recording all of her observations like she did in this book.

-Tiffany P.

The Privilege of Youth

This is the sequel to the book, “A child called it” and “The lost boy”. This book starts off with Dave in present time. He is looking back at all his teenage years and reflecting on his life. It tells of his teen years as an abused child. He is placed into foster care in California in the 1970’s. Despite the freedom and sense of family he got from his many foster families, he was still bullied and torment at school and in his neighborhoods as he struggled to fit in. Then he moved to Duinsmoore. He felt this place was heaven, the had good neighbors and started to make friends, David and Paul. Life was better for Dave but still very traumatic as he approached the dreaded age of 18 when foster children are cut loose and must go it alone in the world. Dave admits he made poor choices along the way by sacrificing school for working many jobs to save enough money to make it on his own, dropping out of school to work as a car salesman, and dreaming of a career as a Hollywood stuntman. He was fortunate to have the friendship of two men from his neighborhood of Duinsmoore, Mike Marsh and Dan Brazell, who preached to him to finish school and make something of his life. It was here in the world of Duinsmoore, CA that he gained a sense of belonging that he had never known. After he was 18 he went into the Military and lived a happy life with his new wife and son.

I learned something about others from this book. In this book Dave had a hard time fitting in. Back then a lot of people thought very low of foster kids. He got beat up, forgotten and left out. It showed me that you have to live life to the fullest and never give up. Dave had a bad life, he could have given up and turned out like the rest of the loser foster kids, but he didn’t. He made friends, he had car, he enjoyed his teenage years. You just have to believe and you can make it through

I learned that you can have a rotten life, but still enjoy it. This book has given name better understanding of what happened or made me feel the emotions he was feeling. You may make wrong chooses, but hopefully you will get past them and still live a good life. I have learned a lot from this book.

~Bridget

On Burning Ground: A Son’s Memoir

The book “On Burning Grounds: A Son’s Memoir” by Michael Skakun is about a Jew during the eve of the Nazi purging of Poland, and his attempts to disguise his Jewish faith and origin and pose first as a Christian, then to the Nazi SS, a German fighting squad. This Jewish man is Michael Skakun’s father, Stefan Osmanov, and the the story was written from stories that Michael’s father told him about the war. The story starts in Novogrudek, a large Polish town of Jews that is being held by the Nazi party. In Novogrudek the Jews are taken from their homes and separated from their families. Stefan tries to smuggle away his grandmother in the basement of a Nazi General’s house, but they were later found. The Jews are then all brought into a courtyard and are loaded in to trucks and shipped away. Very few Jews were allowed to stay, and Stefan was one of the only members of his family left, along with his Uncle. A few hours layer, the remaining Jews in Novogrudek hear machine gun fire and realized that the Germans had exterminated their family and friends, who were later buried in a mass grave. The remaining Jews knew what had happened to the Jews that were shipped away, and they knew what was going to happen to them in a matter of weeks if they could not escape. Knowing that escape was his only way to survive, Stefan devised a plan and hid in the woods during his labor hours and waited for the others to return to Novogrudek. Once he escaped, Stefan turned to the woods and began a long journey to where ever he could go to escape the Nazis. In the woods Stefan met up with many other Jews who had all escaped and they traveled together to Sorok Tatar where they find some refuge working on a labor camp in the forest. After weeks of spending nights in the woods after his work, Stefan decided that he would need to find a family or hut where he could stay like all of the other Jews had. After a few hours of searching he found a small hut owned by the Franzkeviches. Here he was told that he could pass as a German due to his blond hair and blue eyes, but more importantly Bronek Franzkeviche told him about the Lithuanian Auxiliary which had sided with Germany and would provide him with an escape over the allied side. A few days later Stefan joined the Lithuanian Auxiliary and posed as a non-Jew. Over the course of the next few months, Stefan was nearly discovered or turned into the Gestapo, but by shear luck he stayed alive and Enlisted in the Waffen SS one of Germany’s most renown military squads where he escaped over into the allied lines and into the allied territory, and later to America.

This book “On Burning Ground: A Son’s Memoir” was a great book and I would recommend it. This book was thrilling and breathtaking and it was amazing at one a man can do to get his freedom and to stay alive. Another reason I liked this book was because of the non-stop action and the fear of what could happen to Stefan next. I was amazed by how Stefan managed to pose as a German and join one of the Waffen SS which was a renown fighting division. But through bravery and luck Stefan managed to avoid detection and win his freedom.

The main character in this book is Stefan Osmanov. One of Stefan’s biggest character traits is his courage and his cunning. With these skills Stefan managed to overcome his fear and with an outstanding will to survive, escape from the Nazi’s and avoid death. Stefan’s courage allowed him fight through enemy lines and pose as a German, which later brought him to freedom and to America. This story of Stefan’s live shows how great a man’s courage can be, so great that he overcame an entire Nazi force, and escaped detection for many months.

LUKE!!!!! HONORS 7th HOUR!!!!

Oprah Winfrey Speaks

“Oprah Winfrey Speaks” is a non-fiction book on Oprah Winfrey. Oprah is one of the most influential women today. She was born on January 29,1954 in Kosciusko, Mississippi to Vernita Lee and Vernon Winfrey. When Oprah lived with her step mom she was abused at age 14 and had a premature baby boy who died right after birth. Ophrah then moved to Nashville wiht her father and she left her past behind and started a new life as an honor student. Overall Oprah has lead a very interesting because of her unfortunate childhood but she was determined to make the best of things and look who she is today; one of the most influential voices.

This book goes through different steps in Oprah life, starting out with the woman that raised her and that was her Grandmother. Oprah says that she is who she is today because of her grandmother, she has given Oprah her strength and sense of reasoning. When Oprah was starting out in the television industry she went trough constant humiliation until she took control of her destiny which brings Oprah to were she is today.

Today Oprah has her own show The Oprah Winfrey Show and just two years later she won an Emmy for outstanding talk show host. Oprah then created Harpo Entertainment Company which means that she owns the show, the production company, the studio and now major part of the distributor. Know that Oprah has succeeded her personal worth is over $600 million. It easy to see that Oprah has a fortune of money but she also has a big heart and she is always giving away not only her money but her time to charities. That is the reason I admire Oprah Winfrey because there are so many other people int he world he might even have a greater fortune than her but she she shares and cares about others.

Through good and not so good times Oprah continues to strive to reach her goal. Oprah’s goal is to reach the highest level of humanity that is possible to her. For the future Oprah plans to continue her charity work and educating others about life through her show.

Overall this book has been more than inspiring because it really showed another side of Oprah which makes you love her even more. This book was also very educational because there were segments in which Oprah herself explain how to live your life. My favorite quote from Oprah is “Be persistent in pursuing your dreams”.

Laura

Needles by Andie Dominick

The book Needles by Andie Dominick was about a young girl named Andie. The book starts with her as a young girl, living with her loving mom and dad, and her older sister Denise. Her family is pretty ordinary, except for one thing. Her sister Denise is living with Diabetes. Andie always watches Denise giver herself her insulin injections, and longs for it to be her giving herself her own injections. Soon, her dreams come true, and Andie is faced with living with diabetes. The book follows Andie through elementary school, high school, college, and her adult life. Soon Andie moves in with Denise, since both of them lived alone. Then, there comes the day that Andie will never forget. After going on vacation for 3 days, Andie returns home and is faced with the image of her dead sister lying on her bed. What does she do after this tragedy? I guess you’ll have to read to find out!

Some of the themes that stood out in my mind as I read this book were “Be careful for what you wish for”, “Never take family and friends for granted” and “See the people, not only their disability.” The setting was pretty present, and was in the 1900’s. It switched from the hospital, then to Andie’s house, and then back again. The moods were up and down, but unfortunately they were down most of the time. Living with the disease, Andie doubted her life frequently, and had suicidal thoughts off and on. Dreary, negative, and depressing were some of the moods, but there was hope sometimes, and sometimes Andie had a good outlook on life.

Some of the reasons that I enjoyed this book were what I learned from it, and the new outlook it gave me on life. There was so much about diabetes that I had never known about. I learned how hard it was for someone living with diabetes, the things they couldn’t eat, the activities they couldn’t participate in, and the severe complications that came with the disease. Eye complications and low chances of healthy pregnancies are two examples that Andie had to face in her life. Like I mentioned before, I really did learn to appreciate my health so much more. Every time I have to go to the doctor to get a vaccine, I’m terrified. I absolutely hate the sight of needles, and the cotton swab with alcohol. I couldn’t even imagine giving my self a shot every single day of my entire life. I became so much more grateful for my health by reading this book. I also enjoyed the memories that the author put into this book. She describes her experiences with vivid detail, and there was never a moment in the book where I put it down because I was getting bored. The length of the book was good, and it didn’t drag on like some of the other non-fiction books I’ve read before.

There weren’t many things I disliked about this book, but there was one I thought of. Sometimes Dominick skipped different time periods in her life. One minute she was in elementary school, and then it seemed like she got bumped up to high school. She would go at a different rate, and seemed to only write about the important parts. I wished she would have at least written a little bit about each time period she experienced. Overall though, I enjoyed this book immensely, and would recommend it to anyone looking for a good non-fiction!

-Sonia

The Lost Boy

I read the book The Lost Boy by Dave Pelzer. This is the sequel to A Child Called “It.” This book is just a continuation of the first book, now having the young boy grow up even more, getting through all of those little problems in his life. Dave, who writes about his life experiences as a little boy, tells the reader his difficult living. David moves from home to home, never staying somewhere for a long time. He learns to trust adults and hate others. His new nickname is F-Child, (Foster Child), according to his not trusting peers. He learns more about his Foster Care life, and loves his social services worker named Ms. Gold. She helps his through many experiences, helping him get through his feelings towards his life, and his mother. David learns what expectations he must accomplish. He also feels that he can’t be taken seriously so he must go above and beyond only because he is a Foster Child. He has to prove him self. How will David learn to live? Will he every find a real life, or will he just be left in the shadows?
I liked this book because it really got into depth about all of his life growing up form the age of 12 to his 18th birthday. The book talks about his expectations, and I felt that I could really relate to what he was being asked to do. Actually, he was asked nothing, but he did everything possible. This book added some memories that were touching and and other memories that would make someone smile. I really liked this book because it really shows the reader how much courage that this writer, Dave Pelzer, must have to share his whole life story. This book may be a total of 340 pages from cover to cover, but I practically read the whole thing in a week. This is not a really hard book, you just need to keep up reading it, and not put it aside for a month.
I didn’t really like this book because someone it seemed to unreal and over exaggerated. Some times I wondered if he was just showing off in some weird way. Other times, it seemed really long and boring; only knowing that works were there on the page in front of you. This book also got confusing from time to time, him telling the reader about all of his past experiences. Though I was confused with all the names and people he was talking about, I felt that Dave felt that way too. Over all answering this question about what is disliked about this book was hard. I found most of the book very good and straight forward. I would recommend that you read this book.

Nikki
Hour: 5
5/2/08

Metallica, This Monster Lives by: Joe Berlinger with Greg Milner

In this book about Metallica and it talks about there life . This book includes their drummer Lars Ulrich, guitarist Kirk Hammett, bassist, and singer. This book is based off a non-fiction film that was filmed about there life as rock stars. This was a great book because they had so much detail and that made it more exciting to watch it explained their studio recordings while they where their. The best thing about the book was that it was all true and all about there life together. This book has conversations that look like scripts to show what and who is saying everything. It takes about past and current problems that the band faced.

I would recommend this book to people that don’t mind swearing and to people that like Metallica and want to see what their life is like, but if your not that kind of person you might still like the book. So if your a person like me I would tell you that you would enjoy it.

Another thing about the book that made it special was the mood of the book. The mood of the book was different in some places than others. Also the setting wasn’t set in a certain place, but most of it was in the recording studio and their apartment which is where most of the film took place in also.

by: Zach, 5th hour

The Glass Castle By: Jeannette Walls

Jeannette Walls, author of The Glass Castle, had a tough childhood. Through her work, she documents the struggles faced by her dysfunctional family, and how she eventually breaks away to begin a successful future. Jeannette is the second oldest of four children, and lives with her parents. Jeannette’s mom and dad are not very good providers, for the dad is an alcoholic, and the mom takes several unsteady jobs. They are a very poor family, and can’t even afford the simple things such as electricity or a car or even lunch money for the kids. They have had to move frequently as the government is trying to track them down for not paying taxes, in run down apartments, cars, and even out in the desert. However, the parents try to make this fun for their children, saying that these types of things make you stronger and that is was an “adventure”. But once Jeannette gets old enough, she realizes that she cannot cope with this dysfunctional family much longer. Throughout her scattered, incomplete education in various schools, the Walls kids begin saving up for their future. The end basically describes their future, which could turn out for the better or the worse. Overall, it is a very inspirational story, and I found myself constantly rooting for the Walls’ children and their futures. Also, the Glass Castle refers to a giant building make of glass that the dad was planning on making. Once they could afford it, he planned to build it, move in to it, and live their together as a family. He never got around to it, but throughout the novel, it represents hope that that the Walls’ look torwards even in their darkest times.

Since the Walls were being tracked, and could not afford a place to live, they went to several places. The story first starts in a desert down South, but eventually they move to a city called Welch with their grandparents. All of the places they live in are either in bad neighborhoods, completely run down, or they are unable to afford it and abandon it. They live with minimal possessions and only what they need to survive. Since they live more down South, their dialect is that of a Southerner’s. The dad especially uses slang and phrases that Southerner’s often use. Then, once the kids graduate, they move to New York, into much fancier homes and a much more glamourous lifestyle. The story took place in the 1970’s to the present.

The setting influences the story in many ways. It is mainly a conflict for them, whether its battling the forces of nature, such as weather, or in places they cannot afford. When the family finds a place in Welch, it is very run down and tacky. The school kids make fun of them because of the way they live. Also, the time is very crucial. Before noting that “The Glass Castle” was a true story, I assumed that it took place in the early 1900’s. Families like the Walls’ seem to be much more scarce in times like this, or rather, I don’t see them around. The condition in which they lived was very low-class, and to be able to live without necessary items such as electricity and running water made me think about the people of the past. The time simply adds to my awe for how this family was able to make it through.

Overall, I was moved by The Glass Castle, especially Jeannette’s determination to start anew. I would definitely recommend this book, as it is very thought-provoking and life-changing.

- Christina

Mistaken Identity

The book “Mistaken Identity” is a heartwarming but yet tragic story of two families lives and how they are altered when they find out that their daughters were in a terrible car accident. It tells the stories of the Van Ryn family and Cerak family and what their lives were like after the dreadful phone call on April 26, 2006, and the battles, tears, and tissues they went through together.
Laura Van Ryn and Whitney Cerak both attended Taylor University but weren’t really friends, but on the dreadful night, neither of them knew just how close they would get to one another and their families. The van of a group of students and a few staff members from Taylor University driving home when they were hit head on, was the moment when thousands of peoples life had altered, they still had yet to find out. Whitney was thrown fifty feet from the car and was pronounced dead at the scene. Laura was one of the few lucky ones to still be alive, but yet still in very critical condition. Upon hearing the call the families rushed to the hospital to find what awaited them. After the Cerak family had heard the news that their beloved Whitney had no made it they had nothing else to do but plan her funeral and grieve over the loss, and cherish the time they had with her. The Van Ryn family was told Laura was in a serious coma and could possible never come out of it but they knew their daughter would not give up and they were willing to do whatever it took. Every day the Van Ryn family was at Laura’s side rooting for her and praying to get better and heal. Every day got better, she would move a finger, bat an eye, say a word. Every move she made insured the family’s hope that Laura was on the road to recovery. The Cerak family had made funeral arrangements and had chosen to not see Whitney’s body before it was buried for they wanted their last memory of her to be a happy one and not one of her lying in a casket lifeless. As time went on the Cerak family grieved and talked about their many times with Whitney and reminisced on all the fond times. For five weeks the Van Ryn was by Laura’s side and cared for her, once in a while they would notice something about Laura that didn’t quite seem right, such as a new belly button piercing or how she would continue to say someone else’s name who they did not recognize but the family thought nothing of it and figured her mind was just adjusting. But one morning as Laura became stronger and stronger, a physical therapist sat down with her and tried to spark some more memories. The therapist told her to write her name. The girl in the hospital bed had written “W-H-I-T-N-E-Y.” It was then the families became closer then they ever would have imagined.
This book is a great nonfiction read and is sure to pull on the heart strings of anyone who reads it. It a story of great hope and love. And how the power of faith and will can do anything. I loved this book because it was full of power and healing and showed just how strong the families were and how they never gave up and fought through it all. This book help shows how every moment is a gift and you should never take anything for granted because in a flash it could all be gone. This story is a true miracle of life lost and life found. The true and heartfelt story of two families, with one survivor and an unbelievable amount of hope.

–Amanda

“Winston Churchill: A Life” by John Keegan

In this biography of Winston Churchill, the readers review Winston Churchill’s life in the normal biography way- as boring as possible. The book starts off describing Churchill’s family- his socialite mother and his politician father. Even though his father was cold to him, little Winston still admired his father greatly. Winston was surprisingly horrible at school, but still found time to read extensively- only allowing his love for his country to grow. The book follows Winston’s infamous army life and his political point of views. Then it ends, as most biographies do– with about five pages of how awesome Churchill was.
As a nonfiction advocate, I was looking forward to reading this biography- thinking that it would be enormously interesting and entertaining. But I was proved wrong. This book made me forget my love of biographies. Normally people say how much they love fiction books– and how nonfiction books are so “not cool” or just “boring.” And usually, I stand up for nonfiction and the biographies that are included in it. But this book written by the well-known historian John Keegan was indescribably dull. The characters were discussed well and the setting was expertly recounted; yet it lacked wit, or something- anything- that allowed readers to not fall asleep. The mood- well, there wasn’t one. Readers might have felt a bit of pity for Winston when his father died, or a little suspense when he was off in the army, but otherwise- for someone with such an interesting life- John Keegan sure made it sound monotonous. Instead of liking the person even more, which normally occurs after the reading of a biography, I felt almost indifferent to the legendary Winston Churchill.
I know I sound harsh, for someone who (usually) thoroughly enjoys biographies- so I’d like to point out the good parts in this review of Winston Churchill. The information in this book was portrayed with articulate sentence structure. The paragraphs were skillfully written. The details were accurate, or at least made to sound accurate. The book embodied a true fan of the army hero-turned-politician. The summary of his beneficial being to the world was beautifully written. Yet the stodgy feel of the book was too much of a drawback. As an eighth-grade honors English student, I give this book one out of five stars.

Meghan

A Dog Year

A Dog Year is a story that makes you want to get a dog. The story has its good sides and the bad sides. All of the paragraph’s lead up to one big lesson. The story I will now tell you is about Jon Katz and his dogs. So here is a summary of the book

The story starts out in New Jersey where Jon Katz is with his wife Paula, with their two dogs Stanley and Julius. Jon Katz dogs are Labs and they are about 5-6 years old. Jon later in the Story get a call from a breeder (that has read this book) To say that there is another dog here if you want him. The dog was a border Collie and was 2 years old. They got he dog even though they had two dogs already. They named him Devon. Jon now has to train the dog so it is obedient with Jon. Jon later gets into a fight with Devon and hurts him. Jon said that he didn’t ever want to hurt him again. From that on Devon was good. There are some parts in the book I don’t want to tell you about because they are shocking and sad, but then get happy. This is a summary of what I read in this book.

This was a good book because it told me that dogs will always be with you, because another one will be in your life. This book was about him and his dogs and to me I thought this was a good book because my dog pasted away this year, but later in the year we got a dog at the Last Hope, but we were actually suppose to go to Golden Valley to find this dog we found on the Internet. We got a 9 month beagle name Ike (but we named him Spike) and this was good because I was good with puppies because my Grandma has a puppy named Sophia (who was a Canadian who flew to Minnesota) They have fun together though and so do I. This also was a good book because it had very good parts that were very suprising. Jon’s dogs were always with him and will always will. This is a book that I would read again.

Nick

The Night Stalkers

“The Night Stalkers”, by Michael J. Durant and Steven Hartov is about the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) [SOAR(A)]. This regiment is a tight knit group of piolts that fly secret operations for the army and navy, delivering Rangers, Delta operators and SEAL teams to any target, day or night, within thiry seconds of a said time. they are the best of the best and these are their stories.

Operation Desert Storm, 1991
Jim Crisafulli is a 19 year old in traning at the Naval Academy, his first mission (assinment) was to pick up the major at Snow Mt. and delive him to Wilcox Fiering Range. He succsesfuly competed with some sarcastic remarces from the general about not having a piolt. A few years after this Jim became a Huey helicoptor piolit instructer. He didn’t find the job very appeling but he really didn’t have a choice. He later learned that hueys were the platform for Night Vision Goggle traning and became and NVG instructer, he gained more then 800 hours under the goggles. A few weeks later Jim recived a phone call asking if he wanted to join a special operations team, he accepted. There are two tipes of special operations, white and black. White SOF’s are made up of mostly special forces and rangers. Black FOS’s are made up of special tactics teams sech as Delta and navy SEAL’s. For the nex few years (1985 – 1990) Jim would insert and exsert Special Forces when needed without fail. Once in a small town in Texas teh SF’s were having a drink when a drunken cowboy grabed the back of his neck in a vice gip. Aparrently the drunk guy was mad that the SF were drinking there beer and getting there women. Jim tried to get out of the vice grip but was unable to, the master sargent had to get him off of jim. Three months later jim was diployed to Sodie Aradia. well jim was in Sodie Aradia he few blackhaws along the boarder at night to look for any suspicouse activity. 20 miles north of the boarder the air force had droped blue 82.

Peter V.

A Child Called ‘It’

I recently read the book, “A Child Called ‘It’,” by Dave Pelzer. This book was about Dave’s childhood as a young boy trying to survive with his abusive and alcoholic mother. At first Dave says that things were not always bad, there was a time when his mother was nice and the whole family got along in a loving manner. When he had to retake first grade again was when things got really tough. Dave was treated like a slave, forced to do all the chores in a time limit. If he did not finish in time his punishment would be no food for days, server beatings, or whatever else his wicked mother could come up with as torture. Dave’s mother was cruel to him but Dave knew he could always turn to his father for help. After a beating his father would become furious and yelled at Dave’s mother. Though his father never won Dave still had hope in him. Dave had the most faith in his father because he thought that his father was the only person who really treated him as a real person and as part of the family. Dave had hard times at school as well as at home. Since he never was fed at home, he stole from the other students lunches before school. His mother soon learned of this and made him run to school so he had no time for stealing. Dave also struggled with having to be made fun of because he always smelly due to his clothes that he has to wear everyday, without being washed. David got some new ways of getting food while he was away so his mother forced him to throw it all up to make sure his stomach was empty. Dave’s father soon was almost never home from his job as a firefighter. When he did see his dad he was usually drunk and went to bed early, packing a night bag in the morning right before he left for the next 3 or so days. Dave knew that his parents were growing farther and farther apart he just did not know when would be the time he would be stranded with his mother with no savior or hero by his side. If you want to find out what ends up happen to Dave in the end I suggest you read this book.

I really liked this book because it made me realize how lucky I am. This book also showed how cruel people can be to one person but be super nice and sweet to another. Through out the book I felt as if I was actually part or the book, with my eyes glued to the pages. Personally I also had a bad feeling when I read the book like I was a witness and he was blaming me as he wrote the story and his experiences in life. Dave as a young boy is very sweet and nice which is easily described in the story but changes to an outcast but is still strong inside as the story progresses showing me that people don’t change people, but people change themselves.

I did some research when I was done reading the book, to find out that some of his family members don’t truly agree with all the things that he said. His oldest brother said that he was included in everything and was known to make things up because of his need for attention. Though I got the feeling that his all family had turned on him once he had turned about 12 years old, I was not too sure to believe the statement made about Dave. The overall mood of the story was sad and left an awful feeling in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to leave the book behind at times and move on, but at other times I never wanted to set it down because I wanted to be with Dave helping him overcome the beatings. The story’s end is at the book’s beginning with the rest of the book explaining the ending. It is kind of a cliff hanger but that must be why he wrote two more books as sequels. This book is very good and I would recommend it to any one who can deal with pain and know that this will hopefully never happen to you.

By: Nikki S.