Jo Knowles Jumping Off Swings

not a big deal at all. He even states that it really isn’t even an operation. The boyfriend keeps insisting that they will be happy after it is done and that the baby is making them unhappy. He states, “That’s the only thing that bothers us. It’s the only thing that’s made us unhappy.” (Hemingway 924) He was referring to the baby. The girl questions him asking if he thinks they will be happy afterward to which his reply is “I know we will.” (Hemingway 925) The girl is clearly torn on what to do, but the man has his mind made up that he does not want the baby or care about it. He does not even understand that when she

In The Crossover by Kwame Alexander, life lessons are told through the use of an extended metaphor. At first glance, The Crossover appears to be a book about basketball. However, basketball is just the vehicle to carry this story and keep it moving. Through the use of poems, this verse novel tells the story of twins, Josh and Jordan Bell, as they navigate adolescents. Throughout the novel, tremendous growth is seen in the characters, particularly Josh. The book is sectioned into “quarters” just like a basketball game. By the time the reader gets to the 4th quarter, emotions and tensions are running high. One particular poem that exhibits this tension is “Mom, since you asked, I’ll tell you why I’m so angry.” This poem shows Josh’s anger and frustration over his father being in the hospital. At this point in the novel, Josh’s dad is still alive; however, the father’s prognosis is not good.

In the reading it talks about the mother's thoughts about his schooling choices in New York. Most people would say if they went through it, it's okay for their kids. However Joy stepped up and knew that the New York public schools were extremely sketchy and unsafe for her son and rather work harder and have her kids go to a private school. His mother also would not let the sadness of their father's death interrupt the time she had them. She would put on a happy face and encourage her kids to take advantage of all the opportunities there are out there. In the reading it shows Wes Moore’s realization of the amount of effort his mother put in to make the family happy,“But no matter how much the world around us seemed ready to crumble, my mother was determined to see us though it.(47)”

abort the baby. He is still uncertain as to whether she will in fact go through with the abortion,

The book “Eleanor & Park” was written by Rainbow Rowell and was published in February 2013 by St. Martin’s Press. Rainbow Rowell is an American author who writes young adult novels. It is a romance novel between two misfit students in 1986. The novel is portrayed from two different viewpoints, from Eleanor’s and Park’s who live in Omaha, Nebraska. Eleanor was a 16-year-old girl with big red curly hair and big body, she has pale skin with dark eyes. Park was a 16-year-old boy who is half Korean with nice black hair and had an average body, not ripped nor skinny. The love story was unusual because not only the main characters have contrast look but their social and family life is different too. This essay will provide summary of the book “Eleanor & Park” and provide the response focusing primarily on bullying, domestic abuse, and child abuse from all the chapters in the book.

It is inevitable for someone to go through life and not ever have to feel the unfortunate feeling of grief. Eden Robinson provides a heart wrenching novel that gives readers the feeling of hope and doubt all at once. When a tragedy strikes it is in those moments that people show their true character. Although, when some people experience tragic situations they are never able to recover. Monkey Beach tells a story of a teenage girl named Lisa, who just so happens to face death, discrimination, and the spiritual world all at once. For Lisa she discovers who she is, ironically through the losses of others. Even though Lisa has to face many struggles in the novel, not only does it bring her closer with her culture, it lets her connect with people who have been disconnected.

Sonja Livingston is a talented and unique young writer who uses an unusual structure in her work. Structure is the form that an author’s writing takes; how the sentences are formed and how they are placed together to create the work. In Ghostbread, her award-winning novel, Ms. Livingstone uses a freeform chapter structure that, while roughly in chronological order, is not necessarily linear. In chapter 3, Ms. Livingston speaks of her father, “I had no father” (6), and then in chapter 4 she speaks of a childhood friend, “My favorite person should have been Carol Johnson.” (7) Through the course of the book, Ms. Livingston chronicles her life from birth to age 18, but it is not a strict telling; she meanders and explores events as they are remembered, not bound by a rigid timeline. The structure of her work is unconventional and through that unconventional structure she gives the reader an experience that is more like poetry than a conventional novel. Towards the end of Ghostbread, Ms. Livingston contemplates the effect that her miscarriage and the revelation of her sexual activity will have on her relationship with her mother with this passage, “Sex. Pregnancy. Men. What were they to her? Failure? Freedom? Power? Paths she followed, but did not prescribe. At least not aloud.” (212). The use of partial sentences and imagery are elements commonly associated with poetry and it gives

The book I chose to read for this assignment was Expecting Adam, authored by Martha Beck, which is based on a true story written in 1999. Martha and John Beck are a young couple living in Cambridge, Massachusetts pursing their doctoral degrees. Martha writes the book from when their daughter, Katie, is a toddler (18 months old) and they are expecting their second child, Adam. She tells about the nine months from conception to the birth of her child, Adam, who has Down syndrome and her life changing values and experiences.

Never in anybody’s time should you ever put someone else first before over yourself. Doing that just leads down a road of destruction, and then the fact that this whole conversation is about abortion they probably should just get rid of it because she could just end up alone. Jig sounds as if she has no will or fight in her so she probably shouldn’t take care of a child. The baby in this story played a huge role for its future possible parents. The couple had to make a decision that if it were the wrong one could have broken them up, or made their relationship a happy one.

The main character in the movie Juno is a 16 year old girl named Juno. She is witty, sarcastic and has a great sense of humor. Surrounded by the falling leaves of autumn, we find Juno drinking “like ten tons of Sunny D” as she decides to take three pregnancy tests to confirm her worst fear. She is pregnant. After a fateful and funny encounter with a pro-life schoolmate outside an abortion clinic, ("Fingernails? The baby already has fingernails?"), Juno decides to go through with the pregnancy. Juno breaks the news to her best friend and father of the baby Paulie Bleeker, as well as her parents. Surprisingly all parties seem very supportive of her plan to give the baby up for adoption. With the advice from her friend Leah she searches

In the Park is an engaging and eye-opening poem published in early 1960’s. The author of the Poem, Gwen Harwood, is Australian born and is often regarded as one of Australia’s finest poets. Her work is primarily situated on the subject of motherhood. Through her poems, such as In the Park and Suburban Sonnet she shows the hardships and inner struggles that mothers encounter. The underlying message of the poem is showing how a young mother feels as though her children have deprived her of happiness and she regrets the life she has chosen. The theme of motherhood is prevalent in this poem however it shows the alternative side. The dominant view is usually one where the mother shows the purest, undeniable and strong love for her children. Harwood explains the side of motherhood which is not joyous but overwhelming and tiring. Throughout it is made clear that wants to expose the reader to the truth that is often concealed about motherhood.

Part graphic memoir and part psychoanalytical study, Alison Bechdel’s, Fun Home, is a charming story about a girl’s search for identity within an unconventional family. The novel style autobiography frames Alison’s childhood and adolescence as she struggles with themes of sexual confusion, gender identity, and convoluted family dynamics. These ideas are explored through the examination of Alison’s relationship with her father, and their shared passion for literature.

The ending of the story is rather ambiguous as it is not completely obvious what decision the two end up making. The man could have talked the girl into undergoing the procedure, or not. At one point toward the end, Jig tells him to “please please please please please please please stop talking”, and when he doesn’t she threatens to scream. This probably means that she had made up her mind, but it could be in either direction. In the end, she smiles at him, and he asks her if she feels better; she says that she feels fine. That could mean that she had made peace with the decision to abort their child or that she was proud of herself for finally standing up to him and making her choice not to abort final. Either way, making this choice is harder on her as she would be the one to undergo the operation, and she very well knows that he most likely will not stay with her if she decides to keep the child. No matter what she chooses, however, their relationship will never be the same.

between her mind and her heart. Her mind is telling her to keep the baby, but

Eleanor & Park is a young adult novel by Rainbow Rowell. This story is praised and loved by all ages because of it’s ability to relate to the reader with it’s varied issues and themes that anyone can relate to. From romance, to bullying and violence, it has a little something for everyone. Overall themes are an important asset to this young adult novel, since they are the ideas that Rainbow Rowell explores, and helps the story take shape. It all goes back into the “coming of age” theme. The protagonists, Eleanor and Park, are two 16 year olds facing life’s obstacles, such as bullying, abuse, and even romance. This book teaches many lessons that one reader might relate to; although taking place in 1986, the lessons still relate to this day, from relationships, to issues at home. Eleanor & Park is an exceptional book that even the most hardened reader can relate to, this book handles a lot of issues and themes that anyone can relate to, and dishes out life lessons that will impact the reader, it’s written in such a realistic way, that it feels like a real story, and that is not in any way fictional. This book is a great piece of fiction that blends in pop culture, issues, and romance all in one that anyone can read.