Year Of Impossible Goodbyes By Sookann

Throughout history there has been 450 school shootings in America. Since 1840, there has only been eight school shootings in Alabama. The book I read was about a school shooting in Alabama, in a small high town called Opportunity. This book was called, This Is Where It Ends. Marieke Nijkamp is the author of this book, and published it January 5th, 2016.

Nobody fully understands what drives people to undertake a mission, but it often causes people to take many risks. For example, Farah Ahmedi climbed a mountain on a prosthetic leg with a sick mother just to reach freedom. Rikki-Tikki fought for his life to save his family. John Steinbeck eavesdropped on people's conversations just to get material for his book. These stories show different people who had each set a goal for themselves. Ahmedi and Rikki-Tikki fought for their lives to survive and save their loved ones. While Steinbeck traveled to great lengths to write his book. Their goals may be different but they all had set a goal and they all eventually accomplished their goal.

If you ever wanted to get revenge on people who have wronged you, then you may be able to relate to Mr. Chiu, the main character in the short story “Saboteur” by Ha Jin. Mr. Chiu’s revenge is ironic as the conflicts he finds himself in throughout the story.

I am reading This is Where it Ends by Marieke Nijkamp, and I am on page 217. This book is about a former student at Opportunity High School who surprises everyone by being the shooter in the worst crisis at the school. The shooter, Tyler, locked nearly the entire school body and staff in the auditorium, including his sister, shooting those that went against him. He left all those inside and outside the school in fear and agony. In this paper I will be questioning if Tyler will shoot his sister or not and characterizing Tyler.

Michael Gow’s play Away is the story of three different Australian families who go on holiday for Christmas in the sixties. By going away each family is hoping to resolve their issues. Although Away is set some time ago the themes and issues explored in the play are still relevant to a modern day audience, even one of a non-Australian background. Shakespearean plays that were written many hundreds of years ago and are still understandable and relevant to people all over the world today.

“Where Worlds Collide” is an essay by Pico Iyer who talks about the expectations and reality of Los Angeles through the perspectives of travelers from different backgrounds. In “Where Worlds Collide,” Pico Iyer argues that even though Los Angeles is depicted as a vicinity to receive wealth, happiness, and many opportunities- it is actually the antithesis, and instead, many harsh prejudice and unending craziness will occur instead; Iyer argues this by using allusions, anaphoras, and juxtapositions to help convey what he is saying.

“April Morning” by Howard Fast is a novel that takes place during the Battle of Lexington on April 19, 1775. The entire book takes place during a 24 hour time period. Adam Cooper is the antagonist in this novel. When Adam goes to bed on the eve of April 18, 1775 he is a boy. When he awakens the next morning he is forced to become a man. In the early hours of the morning he, along with the rest of the town, is awakened by a lone rider racing to Lexington to warn them that a British army, of maybe a thousand men, is marching their way. Immediately the town is in a frenzy to prepare for the British arrival. The book is about Adam’s journey during the Battle of Lexington.

Michael Gow's play, "Away" expresses the idea of going through changes and receiving help from people around you. The key characters of the play experiences change and renewal as a result of their relationships with others ad the summer vacation. Coral and Gwen is two characters that undergo the most changes throughout the trip. Coral manage to moved on from her's son death while Gwen changed from a snobby person to a person who is more understandable. Tom is one of the critical character that help Coral and Gwen realised their issues and surpasses it. The play showed lives of people and their own struggle during the 60s and how they overcome it.

What causes people to undertake a mission? Is it to survive, achieve greatness, or to support others? Many people all have different reasons for what do, however in one form or another, they have some form of motivation to have them pursue their goals.

Jamie Fader’s book Falling Back which was published in 2013, is based on ethnographic research over three years, from 2004 to 2007, of black and latino males on the edge of adulthood and that were incarcerated at the Mountain Ridge Academy reform school located in a rural area: “within a dense forest in western Pennsylvania, is Mountian Ridge Academy … ninety-acre campus contains eight dormitories, each of which houses thirty-two young men between ages 14 to 18” (p.1). The criminal thinking approach was intended to help young people identify the patterns that had led them to delinquency and replace it with corrective and prosocial thoughts. These young boys had been involved in drug offenses and violence within their suburban communities and were now in the process of behavioral change in order to help them reflect and be able to make better decisions which would lead them to a better life.

When the Europeans came to America they forced the Native Americans to leave their ways and their culture. In the book When the Legends Die by Hal Borland, an Indian boy, Tom Black Bull, is forced off the mountain and into the modern world, out of the old way and into the new way. He should’ve been allowed to choose how to live, on the mountains, not forced to attend the school and adapt to the new ways. Life on the mountains was the only way he knew how to survive, and he was happy there.

A book that will be read should not be judged by its cover because the importance is the word that is being written and the meaning that is being express by the writer experience. A Long Way Gone, an autobiography, written by Ishmael Bech need to be read. This book can lead to many connections that will bring back memories of many people. Including its wonderful description that is very understanding. However, one may disagree because this book contains much confusion due to the flashback. But because of the flashback it leads to having a better understanding for the reader to know more about Ishmael Bech.

In Ismael Beah’s A Long Way Gone, War, Survival and Harsh conditions show that all people are capable of evil. This theme is often shown throughout the story and proven through Ishmael’s actions and the horrific cruelty of rebel soldiers who were only children. Being only 12 Ishmael and his friends were stuck searching abandoned villages for food after spending many nights sleeping in the wilderness. Eventually the only way they could survive was stealing food and so they did. Beah explains and tries to justify his methods of survival when he wrote “That night we were so hungry that we stole people’s food while they slept. It was the only way to get through the night.” (29) This quote portrays that how no matter who you

When you start to read the first words of a book by Jeff Zentner, you immediately become entranced by it. Especially with his second novel Goodbye Days, page after page you want to know more of what’s to come and it’s not an easy book to put down.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines culture as “the beliefs, customs, and arts of a particular society, group or place.” These different cultures are viewed several different ways around the world, and these views sometimes lead to misconceptions and stereotypes. Two novels, Persepolis, By Marjane Satrapi, and Things Fall Apart, By Chinua Achebe, take their works and shatter the stereotypical views of their cultures (Native Africans and Iranians) made by the western world. They show you that what you always hear about one culture or individual may not always be accurate, and the only way to learn about one’s culture is to learn the facts.