Reading Response

In the book “Tilt by Ellen Hopkins, there are many characters with each chapter as their point of view. In the book each character are somehow related to each other, whether it is cousins or best friends, but they all deal with their individual problems.  One character that really impressed was Shane because of the way he dealt with his problems.

Shane is a young boy who has trouble with his family not accepting him, and to add to that his sister is unable to eat and talk, and is expected to not live long. Shane is gay and has a boyfriend but even that is not good enough. In the book Shane says that he wished his sister would die, but when she did he was upset and tried to kill himself. I think that he meant that she would die so that she won’t have to live with the pain. I also think so because while driving with two of his friends’ one of makes fun of his sister, and stood up for her by fighting with his friend. That was not a good idea but the author really showed how much he cared for his sister, by including that part. Shane problems gets worse when his sister dies, he starts to drink and smoke more than usual. But suddenly things start to get better, Shane’s father decides to finally accept him and his boyfriend and spend more time with his family.  So why does Shane try to kill himself? He said it’s because he feels left out and his mom pays him no attention. I agree and also disagree with Shane. I agree that now that his sister has died, that his mom should have paid more attention to him, but I disagree with him because he should understand that his mom is grieving and that killing himself won’t help her get any better.

                       BOOKS COMPLETED


-JOHN GRISHAM; "A TIME TO KILL"
-JOHN GRISHAM; "THE ACTIVIST"
-JOHN GRISHAM; " THE BLEACHERS"
- ELLEN HOPKINS; "TILT"
- Ellen Hopkins; "Crank" 
-John Grisham; " A Painted House"

2nd draft

         When  has learning from books become such a bad thing? Around the world most countries are banning books because of their strong language, or their drug use, or even because of their sexual content. What they don’t realize is that we as readers learn the character's flaws. I recently read a book called "The Contender" by Robert Lipsyte, which is about a young boy named Alfred who lives in Bedstuy and has to deal with bullies and the loss of his best friend. Though going through all of that he still tries to make something of himself. This book and many others should not be banned because it teaches the reader very valuable lessons.  
         

          The books should not be banned because it teaches valuable lessons. In the book Alfred practices boxing and wants to make it to the top, but he knows in order for him to make it he has to practice a lot and keep trying. " It's the climbing that makes the man. Getting to the top  is an extra reward." (pg.35) This quote teaches reader to not give up, working hard could get you to where you want to be.

            Another example is, all over the world kids are getting books taking away from them. In the article " The Banned Books We Loved " talks about books kids have read and what the have learned from it, one example they give is " From 'Bridge to Terabithia' we learned importance of friendship and being open to those that might not seem 'appropriate'." ( Doll pg.2) This shows that while reading a banned book students learned a very important lessons, which could help them in their lives.

            On the other hand they may argue that most books should be banned of the amount of drug use. For example in the book “The Contender” by Robert Lypsyte a young boy got hooked on drugs, and kept asking his friends for money to buy it. While focusing on the negative they missed the big message it teaches the reader; the importance of friendship. While the young boy was on drugs his friend Alfred always stuck by him, no matter how much he was betrayed.
         
          Books should not be banned because it teaches the reader very important lessons such as not giving up, and the importance of friendship. If there is something you really want and want to give up, after reading the book, "The Contender" you nwill know that is not a good idea. That is how books help us.

My favorite book is by Dr. Seuss called, " Green Eggs and Ham."I remember when I was younger my mom's cousin (my 2nd mom) used to read me the book before i went to bed. When I got older I realized that this book teaches me to try new try new things. When I moved to New York there many things to do, and I was scared to try them, but when i remembered the book I realized that the scariest thing to do is to live your life in fear. I tried football, soccer, baseball, and even basketball. Trying this things made realize who I am. I know that when I get older I want to be a basketball player. If i didn't read this book I would be afraid of trying new things and would not know what I want my future to be.

1st draft

When  has learning from books become such a bad thing? Around the world some countries are banning books because of their strong language, or their drug use, or even because of their sexual content. What they don’t realize is that we learn from it. We should not ban books because we learn from them, and it allows children to talk to their parents about anything.

            One reason why banning books is bad is because kids will no longer be able to learn from them. For example in the book “The contender” by Robert Lipsyte states, “it’s the climbing that makes the man. Getting to the top is an extra reward.” This quote teaches kids that if you try you can succeed, but the amount of dedication you put in can get you to where you want to be. Another example is in the article, “the Banned Books We Have Loved,” by Jen Doll states “From ‘Bridge to Terabithia,’ we learned the importance of friendship and being open to those that might not seem ‘appropriate.’” That shows that while reading a book that has been banned the learned very important and valuable lessons.

  Another reason why banning books is bad is because it takes away the possibilities that the child may want to discuss with their parents. For example in the article “ The Banned Books We Loved” by Jen  Doll also states, “Parents should let kids read what they want and talk honestly and openly to them about any ‘controversial’ issues that may arise.” This quote shows that when books are banned they take away the chance of parents telling their kids what they may be curious about.

           On the other hand they may argue that most books should be banned of the amount of drug use. For example in the book “The Contender” by Robert Lypsyte a young boy got hooked on drugs, and kept asking his friends for money to buy it. While focusing on the negative they missed the big message it teaches the reader; the importance of friendship. While the young boy was on drugs his friend Alfred always stuck by him, no matter how much he was betrayed.

 In conclusion books should not be banned because it teaches the reader very important lessons, such as not giving up, the importance of friendship, and allows parents to speak more openly to their kids.