Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, by Jordan Sonnerblick

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, by Jordan Sonnerblick, shows the story of 8th grader Steven Alper, and his coping methods, with a dramatic school year, and his brother getting diagnosed with Leukemia. Throughout the year, he faces a lot of issues, but he learns how to deal with them, or at  least do what he can. It actually helps him become a more mature person. 

One thing that Steven does to deal with the troubles in his life is that he tries to help his brother feel less self conscious about his bald head, Jeffrey is bald  because he is on a lot of cancer killing medications, that make him lose his hair. Steven shaves his head too, so that his brother isn’t the only bald one, I think that this shows how much Steven cares about his brother. You really have to care a lot about someone to do something that bold. The way he put Jeffery before himself, is a sign of maturity.
Another thing Steven does to cope with all the drama, is he decides to stop taking drum lessons. He notices how stressed out his parents are, because of the medical bills, and realizes that even though he loves the extra lessons, they aren’t a necessity. He tells his drum teacher, that he needs to stop lessons, because of all the financial problems his family is facing. Even though it’s a small change, it certainly helps. He gets lucky on this attempt to help out, because his teacher offers free lessons. Because of this, his family is saving a ton of money.
The last thing Steven gave up, to help his brother was Renee. Steven has had a huge crush on Renee since the third grade. After Jeffery was diagnosed, Steven began to slack off school work. Eventually teachers noticed, and decided to let Renee tutor him. Steven was really excited for Renee to come to his house, but when she got there she was sick. She was sniffling, sneezing and coughing. Even though those are only signs of a small cold, Steven’s mom warned him that any sickness near Jeffery could get him even more sick. Steven really wanted Renee to stay, but he put his brother first, and told Renee that she had to leave, in protection of his brother. The fact that he kicked His crush out of his house, for his brother is amazing.
In conclusion, Steven learned to deal with all the abnormal events that took place in his eighth grade year. as a result, he became a much more mature person, he learned that shouldn’t take responsibility for things he can’t change, instead, he takes part in smaller, more realistic changes that make a difference.

Memoir

          My parents left early in the morning for New Jersey to pick up my dog! I usually sleep in on weekends, but my mom promised to be home with her by eight, so I woke right up. Shirley was the sweetest, cutest, little puppy I had ever seen. Her fur was as soft as velvet, and she was tiny enough for me to hold her in one hand. I couldn’t believe she was mine. She was so affectionate, something I had never seen in a pet, after growing up with two cats for six years. It was crazy, she was so loyal, she followed me around the house, and whenever I walked in the house she was there ready to welcome me in.

          Four days after getting Shirley, I came home from school and Shirley didn’t greet me at the door by jumping up on me, and licking my face. In fact she didn’t greet me at all.
          “Where is Shirley?” I asked my mom trying not to sound as panicked as I felt. “She’s at the vet,” my mom seemed anxious.
          “Will she be home tonight?” I trembled.
          “No,” my mom started to cry.
          Seeing your parents cry is one of the most strangely awful things to encounter, but when you’re feeling the same way, it’s worse, because there isn’t anyone to comfort you.

          “I took her to the vet, because she had no energy and was throwing up, there was blood in it, and she smelled really weird.” My mom’s cry turned into a sob.
          “Is she gonna be okay?” I asked. I knew that if I cried anymore it would make my mom more upset, so I widened my eyes as much as I could, keeping in as many tears as I could.
          “I d-don’t kn-ow honey, the-e vet-t-t said sh-she w-w-ould try her-er b-b-best.” I hugged my mom, I felt my tears soaking the shoulder of her sweater.
          We went to the vet immediately. They had a special room we were allowed to visit Shirley in as often as we wanted. She had already lost three ounces. She had three I.V.’s attached to her, and her fur was shaved around those areas, and she had a cone around her head. I ran and kissed her. She seemed so weak, and helpless. My mom was right, she smelled like rotting fish.
          It was very unclear if she was going to make it. Shirley had Parvo which is
an extremely deadly disease, our neighbors had two dogs that died from Parvo. Supposedly we discovered Shirley’s Parvo very early, so there were still things that could be done to help her. She was gone for six days total, and we visited her every day. The vet’s office would call us to notify us that she was still sick, but I didn’t want to believe it. I kept on telling myself that she was fine, and that she would be home soon. This was very strange, because I normally tend to think of the worst possible thing,
and freak out; I knew somewhere in me that this was a huge deal, but I just couldn’t let myself believe it. She had already lost a full pound, and every time we asked the vet about her, they said that they would try their best. That wasn’t good enough. My normal mind had come back, and everytime I thought about Shirley (all the time), I realized that

for all I know she could be dead. Coming home from school everyday to find that she was still alive was the best feeling, even though she wasn’t even home.
          After she was gone for a week, she finally came home. Her surviving was a miracle. I love her so much, and not only has she taught me to stick through bad times, this experience helped me understand that look on the dark side doesn’t help me, and that when I stay positive, I actually feel a lot better as a person. 

Gathering Blue, Lois Lowry

     In Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry, Kira's mother dies, and she has to start her life over again. For such a young girl, she is extremely clever.

     I love the way the stands up for herself. At the beginning of the book, she comes to see her old house, which is now completely burnt down, but her and her mother's garden is still in perfect condition, she sees people who are eating vegetables from her garden and gets really upset, and tells them that it is her garden, and that they need to leave. The reason I think this is good, is since she is alone now, people have to take her serious, or else she won't be able to get things she needs, getting adults to take you seriously is very difficult at such a young age.
     Most children if warned that they were going to die would freak out, but it really wouldn't help them at all. Kira is smart, and she stays very serious, so that the people will listen to her, and once again take her seriously. She needs to convince the "government" that she didn't kill her mother, and they are actually listening to her. I think that if she was standing there sobbing, they would think that she was just a silly little kid, and not even bother listening to what she had to say.
     In conclusion, I think that Kira is very clever, if I became an orphan, and everyone was accusing me of killing my family, I wouldn't be able to handle it. Kira really kept it together.

Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry

     I am currently ready Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry, I am still pretty close to the beginning, but I really like it. I love how the futuristic aspects of the book relate a lot to the real world.
     Kira's mom died from illness in a burning house. Her mothers death had nothing to do with Kira, but the rule where they live is that who ever might have killed the dead person must be killed. Kira obviously didn't kill her mother, because she is really upset about it, but the government is trying to kill her because they assume that she is the murderer. This reminds me of now, because a lot of the time, innocent people get arrested. I think this is because the government just wants to feel like they've done their job.
     I think that the way Kira handles her mothers death is good. Of course she is upset, but she knows that sobbing isn't going to get her anywhere, so she forces herself to start her life over, and not show the pain she's feeling, it also makes her appear stronger. The reason I think this relates to the real world, is because if you appear strong, and confident, it is less likely that people will pick on you, or mess with you.
     In conclusion, Even science fiction books relate to the time they were written. The author of science fiction books are living in the present time, so they have to get their ideas from their life. Next time you read a book that has parts that seem crazy, think about how the author got the idea, and what it is similar to, in everyday life.