dope sick continued......

I read further into dope sick and found out that as the book goes on the story goes backwards after getting shot by a cop he runs to an abandoned house where he met Kelly a guy not too much younger than him ( by his looks) and he shares how he got where he is now with tiny pauses in between to remind you that that was just the past. so far he told wat he was doing earlier that day, why he's on the run, why he needed a job and if it wasn't for him needing money for his baby mama ( lauryn) he would be in this situation right now, as he tells his stories Kelly always finds a way to sneak in a couple of complicated questions. in my opinion I believe that Kelly is not just some homeless guy in a abandoned house I believe that he's much more than that, the fact that Kelly wants to hear what lil'j has to say, the fact that he keeps asking him after he complains a little bit"so that's the thing you would to change If you could?" I know that things don't always end with a happy ending but I think that's how this one will. I believe that Kelly's going to ask one last time " so that's the thing you want to change?" and finally he'll reply yes and somehow, someway Kelly's going to make it happen.
if I were lil'j I would have asked him why he kept asking me all these questions I. the first place he probibly wouldn't have told but I would have kept perusing it until I got an answer.

my social action issue #2

i was sitting on the couch on you tube  has this ever happened to you where you start off watching a music video and end up watching something completely different well that happened, and i came across this video where this 15 year old boy mad a video saying "who needs school? i'm going into prostitution anyway?" is that what our generation of kids are really aspiring to do? the bad thing of the matter is that now they don't have to worry about going to jail for it depending on where you live in this country  our country is morphing into something terrible. we now live in a place where people want to sell themselves for money and where the authorities are letting them do it. recently states have started to legalize prostitution. are we telling our children that an education isn't important that there are things that you can do out there that don't require an education that if you work hard enough you can experience people of all religions  races, and from other countries  what have we done at one point prostitution was foul, disgusting, and illegal now its sexy, respectable  and legal. can we bring our country back or do we have to go from here. have you heard the stories of the girls who were kidnapped and forced into prostitution, the children went to homes and therapist to help them get out of that terrible state to help them forget about that terrible time i n there life and now children go to jail for it because the cops don't know if they were forced into this vial trade, or they voluntarily went in because they could easily be a working girl or they could be a sex slave.

dope sick

how does that sound? dope sick is actually a really interesting book so far. this book is about a boy who goes by the name lil' j. he is not a bad guy. he takes responsibility for what he does in life but he has not gotten to that point in life where he can accept everything that happens to him. his mother is mentally challenged on some degree so he has to take care of the one person that should be taking care of him and on top of that lil' j's girlfriend LAURYN  recently had a baby (their age range 18-20). he didn't abandon his baby no. he wants to see him but that's not up to him. and when he cant he has what you might still consider tantrum, he might yell sometimes or he might not but when he doesn't he does something much worst he gets DOPE SICK  dope- drugs for example weed, pot, etc. he smokes till' he forgets his own name, till he's slurring his words. lil' j is trying to prove himself to Lauryn and her mama by trying to make some money and provide for them like a good father should but that day when he goes to that home depot for a job is when it all goes bad. the line is down the block and around the corner, and because of lack of patience he goes for another way to make money, he goes to sell dope. he meets up with a friend they go to make the deal, the buyer ends up being a cop, now if that was me once i heard the word cop i would have been up three blocks and around the corner i would not have stuck around, but being scared he stayed they grabbed the cops handcuffs they handcuffed him to the stairwell inside of the building they were in. on their way out his friend decides to be greedy and everyone knows where greed gets you. he went back to see if the cop had a wallet on him a couple of seconds later he heard gun shots he didn't wait this time he sprinted over the fence and just kept running with no sense of direction until he couldn't run much longer. if i could ask him one question i would ask him how he could have handled it all up until now. i will soon figure it out once i reach that last page until then

p.s. i apologize for not using proper words or grammatically correct words that's the type of book it is, for some reason i tend to gravitate towards these types of books

i am sorry i didn't do a blog post last week i had just started that book on Thursday and wasn't far enough to actually right a post on it but that's not what this post is about this post is about my social action topic. which happens to be child prostitution. especially in the u.s.a because the whole world is so broad, because in some countries it is legal for prostitution in children, and grown women. specking of legalizing it, their starting to think about it and already have legalized prostitution in some states for women over 18 looking for work.
can i ask you if you think that these people are Victims? because i do. before this stuff was legal and even now i believe that people are doing this to them. that they are someones slave for example someone bought them and now they are their PROPERTY. because i really believe that no women would willing give up their body or their freedom. i believe that no child would willingly go with a guy who will be bringing them into prostitution. everyone has a choice. do they? that's what people coming from our generation, and our backgrounds. there are people in the world less fortunate than us and i know that right now i sound like the old and wise. but it is true some don't believe this. that even in Brooklyn New York this stuff is happening right under your nose. this girl was hurt in a fight between her mom and dad so she was sent to her grandmothers house. at her house her uncle came into her room and molested her. when she told her grandmother she was slapped and further beaten for "lying". after that she ran away to her mothers house. her mother and her half brother lived there. when occasionally her mother goes away to see her boyfriend in jersey she leaves her and her half brother alone. the first time this happened he molested her and told her never to tell so she never did and the molest escalated to rape. because she was in a paralyzing fear of getting punished she never mentioned it to anyone. then a couple of weeks later her mother punched her in her jaw because she heard she was being nasty with some boy and when she denied it she did it once more.she ran away. while she was walking down the street contemplating here to go these boys rolled by offered her a ride. she got in. they took her to a party. once she got drunk they took her to an apartment one guy held her down and all the other guys gang raped her. it got to the point to where she was bleeding. the last guy who walked in felt sorry and took her to his house and took care of her until she was in perfect health. after that they began to date. when there was a death in his immediate family he left her with his cousin until he came back. his cousin was now her new pimp. he started her out with it she made the most money so he would treat her the best out of all the girls. but his reign was coming very close to the end. his cousin her boyfriend was coming back. so that romeo didn't loose her he told her to say she was going to stay with him if not he would beat until she was numb in front of him and beat him till he was numb in front of her, so she did what she thought was right. she said she was staying. she became the girl who went to the clubs instead of  standing on the corner. she had to do a whole pie and got crazy drunk in order to get in a stage and dance naked. one day she was on the street and she ran into a cop he recognized her but she ran. but a couple of days later she got a call from her half brother he said her mother was in the hospital. because she still cared she bought flowers, and balloons just for it to be a trap by the cops. later her pimp was caught she was the #1 prosecutor. after his trial was over it was her turn . because she was an american citizen her unpreventable actions were considered illegal. so don't you now change your view on whether these girls were victimized based on this one story. because most of their stories are very similar. can you believe that if you were born an american citizen. you are going to jail. but if you are an illegal immigrant you are entitled to a social worker. but i bet you are still thinking about the adult prostitutes. the probability that they are drug attics and alcoholics. so they are still technically a victim in my eyes. but i cant change you view if you refuse to so think deeper about it. 

his deadly little secret !SPOILER ALERT!

     
      i just finished reading a great book called deadly little secret by laurie stolarz. this book is really great. it is about a highschool girl named camelia and this really "cute" boy who (came out of nowhere doesn't even go to the school she was behind)saved her from getting hit from an out of control car, then touched her stomach for about 2 min then ran away? Now people who haven't read this probily think that makes no sense at all, but it does and i'll get to that in a min. but after the accident she had those so very predictible teenage fantasy moments where she just cant stop thinking about him she might be in love. that is until she see's him again. then she see's who he really is or for who everyone thinks he is. everyone thinks he killed his girlfriend, he did but it was an accident. apperently he can tell a persons future by touch and "thats why" he felt her stomach that day, and apperently she has a very dangerous future. she did but no one knew what it was or he claimed not to know. so when her crazy mental ex-boyfriend kid napped her how exactly did he know where to find her? but in the first place wat normal highschool boy kidnappes their ex-girlfriend takes her to a trailer park while she is still tied up and refuses to let her go unless she runs away with him now that is really some crazy s***. tell me if  i'm wrong? thats exactly what i thought well they lived happily ever after they sarted going out and her family ordered a restaing order. so every thing really worked out........... until the sequel.

bang

         hello again, i am currently reading a DIFFERENT book called bang by Sharon G. Flake. this is such a great book this is the second time i am reading this. this book is about a terribly troubled child named Mann.  Mann is currently 13 and has gone through more stuff than a 40 year old might go through. he has had to live with his once beautiful but now twisted family after the death/murder of his seven year old brother. his brother was shot under his custody IN FRONT OF HIM! if i were Mann i couldn't do it, i wouldn't be able to stand it, i would feel like it were my fault. the fact that i neglected him in that short period of time and rather feed a horse than play with my brother i would keep looking back and thinking it were my fault, because in the last min. of Jason's (little brother) life he asked me to play toy soldiers with him and i turned him down i would keep thinking to myself would things have been different if i had choose him over journey? i bet he thinks about that stuff almost every min of his life.
        after Jason's death his family went crazy (in my eyes) because his father and ex military soldier kind of got very over protective and just plain out crazy he started to put bars over the doors and windows as if multiple locks weren't enough, and when Mann got into a fight at school  (because of Jason)  he BIT and BROKE someones finger. his was proud of him even though he got suspended for 1 month, but that doesn't make him crazy its just the fact that he didn't say oh you shouldn't fight or im a little disappointed in you he just cheered him on. i know one thing that is that were me i wouldn't be the the one being cheered on i would be in a world of trouble and i am not just talking about grounded level i am talking about something far more severe.
       even after he ended up cranking anyway and once that happened it was all down hill from there. it all started on Jason's birthday his mother bakes him a cake that no one is allowed to eat because Jason has to have the first piece and because Jason is no longer its just kind of overwhelming (i would think) where you have to sing and bake and buy gifts for your dead brother it just brings back all of those memories especially for Mann who witnessed it. so after that he just lost it started smoking weed with his best friend kee-lee, and after that his dad just lost it his dad and mom refused to let him  live in the house and smoke and once you do it and like it you kind-of get addicted, which he did. so his dad decided to be a good parent and take him and kee-lee on a camping trip and they probably thought that its a time to have fun to spend quality time with people who either are or like family on their part that was kind-of a terribly bad move, because Mann's dad like the crazy guy he is, he abandoned them at the camp site. what responsible parent in their RIGHT MIND does that kind of thing to their child who has already lost someone and now you have stranded him to lose just everyone. WHO DOES THAT! then when they figure out that the dad left a cell phone for them they call him he says that he planned this the whole time and wants them to find their way home on their own. now that's where some problems come in.
    after the p[hone call they do as told complaining the whole way but on their little journey the run to some people with a bunch of  "southern hospitality" they offered to buy the kids some food like normal HUNGRY kids they accepted the offer but they never bought them their food so they decided to leave but on their way out they were stopped and told they had to pay even though theh guys said they would buy their food when they tried to defend themselves the guys carried them into the back ofthe diner and tried to make them eat rubbish  when they wouldn't they were beat up after a world of hurt the waitress came out and said for them to stop because she didn't want the police to come around. they let them go. Mann and kee-lee hurt to the bone had to continue their journey home. they walked and walked and walked until they finally came to the light at the end of their tonal. when they made it home thye did get an open welcome but that didnt last long Mann was sent away once again and so was kee-lee sent to live on their own the got a job painting for others ans living in a numbers house but once again Mann has lost someone kee-lee was shot IN FRONT OF his eyes. the because he was the only one with kee-lee at the time was accused of his murder so he went out on his own scared just like a normal kid his age would be because he is still a child and a child nor any other living thing cant function properly without love and when kee-lee was there they were like brothers so now that he has no one he is alone and scared.
     now like a normal kid he needs his family so when his dad comes to apoligize he does forgive him over time. that just how the story unfolds
                                                     
 

THE LOVELY BONES

           in the book the lovely bones by Alice sebold, 14 year old Susie is lured into a clubhouse in the dark and cold night by her creepy old neighbor. and because she was blinded by the coolness of an underground clubhouse she was raped and murdered without now body knowing who she was with and where. so while her mother sits in her kitchen becoming angrier by the min.because she is late not knowing that Susie is already on her way to heaven. has to watch her killer and her family live on. her killer lives on with out any gilt and plans to attempt at murder and rape once again. Susie sits in heaven and watches what he does and tries to get her family to move on and not have to carry this huge burden forever.

          i have one question if she is 14 she knows not to go "into the earth"  with strangers grant it she met the guy, but it was only once so who would you trust a man that you don't really know. especially by yourself especially when your mother is sitting at home waiting for you. plus wouldn't you find it a little weird that he would build that in the first place he doesn't have any kids why would he want to be around other ones? if he wanted to be around kids so much he would work at a day care i assume they still had those by in the day. i mean i am younger than you and i am coming up with all this stuff 

        anyway why ponder over the future that you will never get to endure have fun do something it is heaven after all and i don't think she understands that with her doing all this weird stuff like brushing past someone you don't know before going to heaven an blowing out a candle but still letting your father see the reflection of the non blown out candle in the window pain that's just giving him hope that you are still there now he will never move on way to go you just moved 4 paces forward the backtracked 3 spaces way to go.  

    that's all i have read so far so until next time im Lauren and i have no trade mark to sign off on :)

       Am I Blue?

     I just finished reading the short story called "Am I Blue?" by Bruce Coville this story is about a young 16 year old boy named Vincent, who is bullied and pushed around because people THINK he is gay and even he is unsure.  but that all starts to change when he gets Melvin ( his fairy godfather) who guides him and tells him about his life and just tries his best to make Vincent understand and not be ashamed of what/ who he is. he also tries to get him to understand the fact that he is not alone and that if gays didn't have to hide for so long that no one would have to be ashamed and every one would know and every/ most people would be fine with it.
   I think that Vincent  really changes throughout the book. At first he wasnt sure of what he was and didn't want to be push away or looked down on because of it. the thing is he didnt say anything, act anyway to anyone make them think he was. some idiot named butch made an assumption that he liked him and everyone else didn't question  it they just went along with it. ever since then he would let butch beat him up and push him around and he wouldn't fight back. even after Melvin came he was still afraid. he didn't want to be seen with Melvin even if he was there to help him. the reason being is that he thought too much/ payed too much attention to what other people thought and i don't blame him he does have to go to school with them for the next 2 years and Melvin himself said high school would be miserable being the way he was but when he gets in college no one would care.
    when melvin started to tell him his story about how he delt with it. melvin said that him and his friends would call each other "faggots" to take the pain, and sugnifigence of the word away. his spirits were lifted but fell alittle when melvin kind of ruined it and told him about how he died. now people are more violent in these times so if i were him i would be frightened out of my mind, but vincent is too stong for that now he is still gaining his confidence though.boy did he gain it after melvin gifted him with the gaydar (the ability to turns gay) but only vincent saw them in that color and knew who was what ith that. after he saw the shades and who was who. for example, "dark blue is pretty much exclusivly queer. while the lighter ones are less commited- or maybe trying to make up their minds"    he gained confidence when he finally noticed what melvin was trying to tell him all along  (i guess he is one of those people who have to see something to believe it.). the fact that he was never alone just that people wanted to act like and treat him like he was even the towns congressman talks about "the great crime of homosexuality" and " the gay threat to american youth" when he was gay imself, what a hypocrite me and vincent both agree. at that moment in that very "tacky" bathroom while brushing his teeth he came up with the most brilliant idea know to vincent and melvin he had the idea to- wait that stays a secret but what i will tell you is that he used his 2nd and 3rd wish well and that butch carrigan got exactly what he deserved.

 THE DRUMMER BOY OF SHILOH!

The drummer boy of Shiloh by ray Bradbury. i feel that the setting told most of the story, it expressed most/all of the feeling. for example in the beginning of the story when he focused on on the flowers that's something that a child would think about when their about to go to war, a grown man would be thinking about what is yet to come.  the difference between Joby and a grown man is not only the the age gap but the fact that Joby is still an ammeter and still consists of most his innocence. now the difference between me and Joby is: if it was me i would still be scared out of my mind and reminiscing on the people and things i might never see again. another thing is that differentiates me and Joby ids that i probably would be there when the sun shines the next morning i would have probably been running for my life already. another thing that the setting has to contribute to the story is the fact that, when he starts to notice and empathize the dark forest it is meant to symbolize fear. like any normal person they/ he would be afraid before a battle (one of the bloodiest ones in the war but not all people are afraid of the dark mostly kids therefor he also uses that to show the fact that he is still a kid.lat but certainly not least at the end (after the speech) it shows how much he transforms he stops crying plus if you pay close attention there is a slight tweak i n the way he is speaking he went from uncertainty "you ready for tomorrow or the next day Joby?" "i think so" then after the whole speech he changes to "you'll run them through for me boy?" " yes sir". now i have one question for you, how would you react if you were in this situation?

S.R.B

     This summer I read a book called "Money Hungry" written by one of my favorite authors Sharon G. Flake who also wrote "BANG", "The Skin I'm in","Who am I without him", and "Begging for change". I thought this was a really good book that shows the life of less fortunate people, and how people who live this life style are treated and how they feel.

   This book was about a 13 year old girl named Raspberry who lives in a violent, and poor neighborhood. Because her and her mother once lived on the street and her dad is a crack addict,    she doesn't want to go back to that terrible time in her life. she is now obsessed with money otherwise known as "Money Hungry".  She will do anything humanly possible and non-illegal, for example house keeping for older women in her neighborhood, selling chips, pens, pencils in school, and carrying people's bags to their car. Her friends, and even her mom know, or think they know that she will do anything for money including illegal things ( even though she wouldn't ) so when her friends grandfather calls her mom and says raspberry stole MONEY! from him she doesn't even give her the benefit of the doubt, she just takes the one thing she loves the most and throws it out the window...............ALL OF IT! Now that's all that I am going to say the rest you will have to read the book to find out. ;)