Critical Question: if the character in your book has problems, can you see how those problems are about having or not having money, struggling with others for power, or being cheated or helped by society rules?

            In the book, "Just Breathe” by Heather Allen is about a teenage 18 year old girl, that just dumped by her boyfriend. It has been three whole years that they were dating.  She is miserable. She doesn’t know what to do. She doesn’t know if she should look at him anymore. This book has many serious topics about problems in the world and how the characters feel in the moment.

            One example is breaking up with someone. Ever, the main character just faced this problem and it isn’t going so well. She just got dumped by her boyfriend, Michael. He is a guy that everyone wants as a boyfriend. If I was her, it would feel terrible dating someone for three years and then getting dumped. It makes you think what did I do wrong? They would be millions of things that would be going in my brain for a while. “I was very hard to live with for a while, to say a least.” I could imagine the tempers some people would have in this type of situation. I would want to be alone for a bit, until I got back to normal. Especially, when you have that feeling that “he’s the one.”

            Another example would be struggling for power or being the one on the top.  After the break up, Ever just wanted to get payback and make Michael feel jealous.  Of course in the book, she thought of the idea and then the very next day she got a date with this boy named Jack. Surprisingly, it went very well. In the middle of the book, he turns out to be friends with Michael. It turns out to be a very hard decision for Ever to make. Jack is always hanging out with Michael that they is no space for Ever. She learns that she has a life and she should use it wisely as she can.   

This book teaches teens to forget about one bump in the road because everyone’s life has a bump in the road. But, you have to forget about those and just live your life.  

                

READING RESPONSE

In the book, “You’re the Closest to Heaven that I’ll Ever Be” shows a girl and a new boy who are outcasts in school. There are a lot of issues in this book that includes suicide, and peer pressure.

            The main character Lily has a special box that she would never trade in for.  It is a box of razors that she cuts herself with.  She meets a boy where she sits down and cuts herself and brings him in for dinner. I feel like she wants to have friends. I feel like she is trying to fix her problem with cutting herself. Hayden, the boy she met is very similar to her. He is very lonely because he moved and he is depressed. On the first day of school, Hayden got bullied and Lily didn’t do anything about it. I think she doesn’t want to be all the way on the bottom of the school friendships. She wants to protect herself first.

            Hayden and Lily have a difficult friendship. They just met so they don’t know pretty much anything about each other. Hayden sang a song to her and it end with a kiss. Hayden also has always wanted to be in a band.  Lily felt bad of what she was doing ignoring him and all, that she said she was going to make that wish come true for him. 

            Lily’s parents are slightly mentioned in this book. Her parents don’t care about her. I think that’s one reason why Lily cuts herself. She doesn’t have parents to support her and guide her through tough times. I bet Lily sometimes wishes she could have a normal family. This is so sad to me. If I have a tough day I know my parents will always be there for me. But for Lily, she doesn’t have family. But I think having a friend like Hayden will make her feel better.

            These issues happen a lot. They are big ones and someone needs to help these innocent teens. They could end there life just like that. But, this age, teens don’t know what to think, what to say and when to take action.