Theme of the story

I think the theme of my book would be, stand up for what you believe in. When Cassie was friends with Mona, she believed that she gave her soul to Satan and that everything was lost. She shared this belief with her parents and her friends. It doesn't matter whether this is a 'right' or 'wrong' opinion, but what is important is that she stood up to everyone and wasn't afraid to share her beliefs. When Cassie got with the 'right' group of friends, her whole attitide changed. Again, she showed her courage and would not back down from her opinion even though it may seem 'uncool' to her peers. She now had complete faith in God and wasn't afraid to express it, even though it cost her life.

Favorite Character

             I think that my favorite character in the book is Jamie. Jamie was the girl that was Cassie's first friend when she moved away from her old school. Jamie took Cassie to her youth group meeting thing and it really helped Cassie change her attitude. I also like Jamie because despite her appearance (looked a lot like Cassie's old friends, 'the wrong crowd') she only had good intentions and helped Cassie as much as she could. She helped Cassie escape her suicidal/murderous thoughts and change her mind about life. Jamie seems like the kind of person that wouldn't do any harm (unlike Mona) to anyone and is a life long friend.

My Favorite Character

         I think that my favorite character would probably be Deo from Now is the Time for Running. He really stands out to me because he can be so selfless while caring for his brother. In the beginning of the story , Deo was very content with his life. Playing soccer with the other village kids, living with his mother and grandfather. Even the huge lack in food really didn't bother him that much. It was when the government officers came and killed everyone that Deo realized that something was wrong. So he ran with his brother to South Africa, hoping for an escape. At this point, he is starting to realize that maybe everything isn't ok. As he finds his brother dead in one of the riots, Deo doesn't really care anymore. His whole life revolved around his brother, and now that he's gone, Deo doesn't know what to do. In the end, Deo is picked up off the streets and taken to train for soccer, where he could compete in the world cup. Deo learned that its not okay to try and forget everything, or to live in the past, but he should try to move on, never forgetting the ones that he lost.

First assignment

My favorite book would be the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling because it was very well written and it is about something that only exist in peoples imagination.

I like to read realistic fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy.

I am currently reading, Now is the Time for Running. It is about a boy, Deo,  in South Africa that is very poor and has very little food, like the rest of his town. The townspeople believe that their government will save them and it is only a matter of time before they are rich and have plenty of food. When the government officials do come, it’s not what they were expecting. The man, who labeled himself as officer Jesus, took the little amount of food they had left in their houses and put it in the back of their truck. When a church from America sent them food, they took that too. Now the town is left with no food. Officer Jesus then continues to slaughter the town while the boy is out looking for his mentally unstable brother, Innocent. When he gets back, he finds his mother and grandfather dead on the floor.  He runs back to his brother and they flee to another village where they can hide from the government and hopefully find their father.  After hiding in a truck for a day and a half, they finally get to rest outside of their father’s town and wait for the gates to open up. No one knows when this could happen. It could be today, tomorrow, or next week. While waiting, they come across some other kids waiting to get into the cities with their families. Innocent and Deo, need the help of a “witch” to cross the river and get to the city without being caught, or eaten by crocodiles.  There have been stories of people who have fallen off the rocks and into the open mouths of “gaters”, hopefully, Deo and Innocent can cross the river alive.

Nicole