The Running Dream's Theme

I think an important theme in the book The Running Dream by: Wendelin Van Draanen is to always fight for something you want.  I think this is a lesson in this book because Jessica loves to run and that's all she wants to do.  When she loses her leg, it seems unlikely that she'll ever be able to run again.  Then, her track coach finds out she can buy a running leg.  Hearing that news, all Jessica's teammates try to help her reach her goal of getting back on the track.  The have car washes, food sales, and much more.  They don't stop until they reach twenty thousand dollars which is enough to buy Jessica a leg.  Jessica wanted to run again more then anything, and with the help of her friends she was able to do just that.  In additon, Jessica made a friend named Rosa who has cerebral palsy.  Rosa told Jessica that her one wish was that people see her and not her condition, and Jessica was determined to make that happen.  She was going to run Rosa in her wheelchair in a ten mile race with shirts saying "Team Rosa".  Jessica wanted to do this so people could actually look at Rosa and realize she's just like everyone else.  This, of course, was not an easy task.  Jessica trained hard everyday for two months, but it all paid off when she got to run Rosa across her first finish line.  For these reasons I think this book's theme is to fight for the things you want.

Favorite character from book club book

                My favorite character in the book The Running Dream by Wendelin Van Draanen is Jessica.  Jessica has been going through a lot in her life.  She’ s a seventeen year old high school track runner who lost her leg in a tragic accident and may never run again.  Since running is what she loves to do, you can see how this can have a huge effect on her.  I would love to know Jessica because she is so brave.  When your true passion in life is suddenly ripped away from you most anyone would go into a depression, which she did.  She did, however, not stay depressed for too long.  Eventually, she got back to school and kept fighting.  She went back to all those people she had known before when she had two legs and forced a smile on her face.  She even went to cheer on her track team at one of the biggest meets of the year.  Clearly, it was hard for her to sit down and watch her teammates compete and not being able to compete herself, but she did it.  Then, when her team was campaigning to get her a running leg she was courageous enough to stand in front of the street with shorts on and her half a leg visible to all.  She was even brave enough to be interviewed for the news.  You can’t deny that it was incredibly brave for Jessica to go through all this right after losing her leg.  Another reason I would like to know Jessica is that after her accident, she gets a better outlook on life.  There is this one girl in her math class named Rosa. Rosa has cerebral palsy and everyone always overlooks her.  Before Jessica’s accident she never acknowledged Rosa, just like everyone else.  After her accident she started talking to Rosa and realized she was really nice.  They become really good friends and while reading the book you can tell how happy it makes Rosa to not be overlooked for once and have a true friend.  Jessica truly cares for her and I think it’s because in a way she knows how she feels.  Losing her leg makes her know how it feels to get weird stares just like Rosa.  Even though Jessica has one leg and Rosa has cerebral palsy, they’re just like everyone else on the inside.  The friendship is very heartwarming and it helps Jessica better appreciate what she has.  For these reasons my favorite character is Jessica and I would love to know her in person.

Favorite Character

My favorite character in literature is Lena Haloway from the book Delirium by Lauren Oliver.  I really like Lena because she changed greatly from the beginning of the book to the end.  In the beginning she wasn’t very confident and just did what everyone told her to do.  By the end of the book she was brave in strong.  For example, at the beginning she was just doing what everyone else told her was right, which was that love was a disease and you needed to get “cured” for it.  By the end of the story, she did what she thought was right when she fell in love with Alex and decided to not to get “cured.  I thought it was the bravest thing to do to go against what all of her friends, family, and the rest of society thought was right just so you can follow your own beliefs.  Most people would give into peer pressure, but Lena didn’t and that’s why I liked her so much.  Also, Lena showed how courageous she was when she decided to run away with Alex.  She knew that if she was caught she would most likely be put in jail or even killed.  Even knowing that, she still did it because she was in love with Alex.  At the beginning of the story she would never have even thought about going against the society or running away.  As you can see Lena grew so much as a character and became unbelievably brave.  For that reason Lena Haloway is my favorite literature character.

One book I enjoyed reading was Delirium by Lauren Oliver.  This book was a fantasy story about a girl, Lena, who lives in a world where love is a disease.  The government chooses who you marry and what your job is.  I remember loving the twist in this book where Lena falls in love with a boy named Alex.  This of course very dangerous and against the law but Lena fights in what she believes in.  This book is full of suspense and I could barely put it down.   Lena does things she never thought she would do because she decides to follow her heart instead of doing what the government thinks is right.  For those reasons I thought this book was excellent.

My favorite genre of books is fantasy.  I also like realistic fiction.  I like fantasy because it’s usually very suspenseful and exciting since it can never happen.  I like realistic fiction because it’s about things that can really happen in life.

The book I am currently reading is The Rise of Nine by Pittacus Lore.  This book takes place in the United States and Europe during present time.  This book is the third book in the I am number Four series.  This series is about seven aliens that look like humans but have amazing powers. These aliens came from the planet Lorien and are the last remaining Loric people.  There are Mogadorians trying to hunt them down and kill them, then take over earth.  The main characters are Four, Six, and Seven.  Number Six recently found Seven, Ten, and eight.  Number Four recently found Nine.  They are all trying to get together and find Five so they can try to defeat the Mogadorians once and for all.  The thing is, Four and Nine are in the US and have no idea where Six, Eight, Ten, and Seven are (Europe).  During the book they are training and fighting Mogs.  There is also somewhat of a love triangle going on.  Seven likes Eight, but Eight likes Six.  Then there’s Six who likes Four, but Four likes a human named Sarah (from the previous books).  Four is determined to find his human friends Sarah and Sam who were captured by the Mogs.  Nine, who is with Four is only focused on finding the rest of the Lorics.  Eight, Seven, Ten, and Six are trying to head back to US because Six knows that’s where Four is, but they keep running into trouble with Mogs. They finally ended up teleporting, but Six was the only one to end up in America.  Currently, Six and Eight are on their way to Ohio, where they believe a Loric ship is hidden.  Also, Six has no idea where she is and Eight, Seven, and Ten are somewhere in Africa.  On top of them all being separated, Setrakus Ra , the strongest Mogadorian ever has recently made his way to Earth.  Things are certainly not looking great for these aliens right now.