The peach book I chose was Breathing Underwater, and it was very good it’s about this guy named Nick and he is a freshman in a new school year with his best friend since kindergarten Tom. Nick meets this girl named Caitlin and they start talking and hanging out and the grow very strong feelings for each other. Nicks father beats him and the only person that he trusts enough to tell is Caitlin. Caitlin can kind of relate to him, because she used to be fat and she has gone to fat camp every summer since she was little. Her mom is living her life through Caitlin and she always tells Caitlin that she is never good enough. As Nick and Caitlin’s relationship grows Nick becomes like someone he never wanted to be like. His father he starts getting mad at Caitlin a lot and he always yells at her and tells her she is fat or she shouldn’t to the singing show at her school because she will embarrass herself. He makes her feel the complete opposite that he used to. Other times he is sweet and he feels bad that he treats her like this -and Caitlin always accepts his apologies and everything is back to normal. One day he hits her and from there on Caitlin was always scared, trying to do everything she can to make him happy so she won’t make him mad. After the last fight they have it was done for good and Caitlin took him to court and put a restraining order against Nick. Now Nick has to go to Family violence and anger classes to help him with his problem that he has. Meanwhile back at school with his friends is not going so good. Nobody will talk to him not even his best friend Tom.
The main characters in this novel are Nick, Caitlin,Tom,Elsa,Mario,Leo.Nick Is Caitlin’s boyfriend and him and Tom are best friends and Elsa is Caitlin’s best friend. Mario is Nick’s teacher when he goes to family violence classes to help with his anger. He gave nick a lot of advice and they became pretty close. Leo is a friend that is in that class with nick and he has been through what Nick and Caitlin are so they become really good friends but he abuses his girlfriend and he ends up killing himself. Caitlin is a round character because she is a girl and she is just more outgoing. Nick is very dynamic because one moment he is sweet and happy the next moment he is a prick and he is being mean to Caitlin. I can’t really relate to anyone but I can definitely identify Caitlin the most strongly. I can identify her the most is because I’m a girl and I have had boyfriends never ones like Nick but I have had mean boyfriends and I know what it feels like to constantly have to try so hard and do anything to make someone happy so that its not your fault.
In my opinion to be honest I’m not really sure what the theme of this book is because I’m pretty sure the theme isn’t don’t abuse someone you love but in my opinion that’s one of them. Another theme I would consider appropriate is to treat others like you would want to be treated, because Nick knew what it felt like to be beat up on and it probably hurts him so why would he do it to Caitlin?
The major conflicts in this story are Nick being abusive and being mean to Caitlin and also that it just gets worse. I mean he apologizes and then he promises he won’t do it again and that he loves her then he does it again and ten times worse. Also the conflict with his dad, his dad hits him but not all the time and not too badly but he does stay home from school for a day or two because he had a bruise and didn’t want anyone to see it. Nicks problems are very internal and Caitlin doesn’t really have a problem besides him. So I would consider that an external conflict that Caitlin has.
I slapped her across the face and reeled back from the force of the blow. Her head smashed into the light pole. I stumbled, regained my strength and advanced on yelling. She started to sob holding her hand to her check. I hit her again this time my fist was clenched, my feet set. I hit her again not seeing her face, could make her real if I wanted. Only anger, red, violent, on me like a cloak. My hands closing around her neck barely knowing who she was. Then she was on the ground, not even crying, whispering something I couldn’t hear. Get up I screamed. No I could barely hear her. Please, Nick. No more. (pg.243)
This passage was important to me because it sounds so realistic if I were to actually imagine it I get upset to even try to think that that was me on the ground in Caitlin’s situation. That’s what makes this book so good. It’s memorable to me because to just think of how upset I would be if my boyfriend did that to me I would be devastated if my boyfriend ever hit me or anything. I just can’t imagine how I would feel or how my boyfriend would feel. Probably, worse than me.
I don’t really think the title is appropriate because I don’t really know what breathing underwater means and it never does explain it in the book it only says it once. I guess it does relate to the theme somehow and I would be able to tell you if I knew what breathing underwater was.
I would defiantly recommend this book to someone I love it I could probably read it a couple more times it gives me chill bumps and could make me cry if I really think about it. I love it because its so realistic and its about teenagers and relationships and I cant relate to it in someway. On a scale of 1-10 I would give it a 10 =] Because its just amazing and once you pick it up its really hard to put down. I definitely think its worthy of peach book nominee because it is a book for young adults and teenagers. Yes I would vote for the book to be the winner of the award because I really like it.

Duncan, Vinny, and Wayne are all friends working, wasting time, on the summer before senior year in high school. Duncan is the soul, Vinny the brains, and Wayne the muscle. At the end of the previous summer, Duncan tried to save a drowning girl and failed terribly and still feels bad. Not being a hero has really affected his life, particularly his relationship with his girlfriend Kim. Also, he is now terrified of swimming, especially when the nightmares come back to haunt him of the previous summer.
Duncan’s summer job is with the public transit lost and found. While trying to make the time not go by slowly, Duncan looks through the items, like the books and golf clubs, and his beauty a sweet black leather jacket. One day he discovers an unmarked journal with no name, which depicts sadistic animal torture experiments, boasts of arson fires, and the planning for the killings of three women. Duncan decides to make amends for his failure last summer by tracking down the owner of the journal by using clues left hidden in the diary.
After talking with his friend Vinny, Duncan decides to turn the journal over to the police, but they do not take him seriously, so he decides to get help from Vinny, does some research at the local library, and find out where the killer works and lives so they can prove to the police that the diary is real
After the show the information to the police they still don’t believe them so Duncan goes to this guy’s house to find more proof, he finds some useful thing but in a split second the Roach (our bad guy) walks in. Duncan hides in the closet in the Roach bedroom. But this guy knows Duncan is their it is like a sixth sense the guy has. He walks up to the door of the closet and in an instant Duncan rushes out and hits the guy with a bat and tries to get out as soon but he gets a gash on his arm from the roach. Duncan eventually gets out and runs for his life like a mad man with blood rushing from his arm, he also ends up rolling his ankle. With Roach right on his tail Duncan heads for the subway station because if he gets on the train he will be free. Duncan arrives their grabs a ticket and is waiting on the loading dock when he is thrown on to the tracks by Roach, every time Duncan tries to pull himself up roach kicks at his hands to make him stay in their when Duncan gets lucky and pulls roach in the tracks as well and they start fight and Roach is holding Duncan when the earth starts to rattle he knows what is coming, the lights get closer and closer then darkness. We then see the next day here is the headline “SUBWAY ASSAULT ENDS IN DEATH” The Roach or his real name which is Scott Weber was mauled by the train; Duncan is in critical condition but will be ok. He ends up forgiving himself for the girls’ death and starts to slowly move on in his life.

Duncan is our main character is a teen that has messed up a lot and really wants things to get better with his exgirlfriend and he wants to forgive himself about the girl he tried to save but he failed. He wishes things could get better but some how they just get worse. He is a dynamic character going from feeling guilty about the girls who died and by the time we reach the end he finally gets peace. Duncan is a round character and his personality changes all the time on weather he wanted to find and kill roach or if he didn’t. he have a strange mentality towards things.
Vinny and Wayne are Duncan’s best friends and they do everything with him even breaking and entering, Vinny is considered the brain and Wayne is the muscle and that because Vinny knows a lot of things and Wayne is kind of a bully. They are both flat in a sense they have the same personality thru the whole story.
The theme of this is forgive yourself for mistakes but don’t do anything like risking your life to prove that you can be a hero, everyone can be a hero based on anything a person does, and another note to other would be not to go and search for a serial killer because you can end up getting seriously hurt or even killed. The reason I think this is the theme is, life is hard there are several things you can do to try to redeem yourself but if you let someone done the best thing you can do is try to move one and live you life.
Diffidently when Duncan goes to roach’s house and searches for thing and fights roach. The internal conflict for Duncan would be his forgiveness for himself for the girl who died the previous summer and he tries to build himself to a point where he is better with himself and can move on.
“Me and you going after this guy,” says Vinny “it is like the Hardy boys meets Hannibal Lecter” I picked this quote from when Duncan tells Vinny about the diary. And Vinny is all excited to find this guy and hunt him down. “I’d whack you on the head if you didn’t already have a concussion” this is from the end of the book where Duncan’s ex Girlfriend come to see him, I chose this cause I believe that their could possibly be something there for these two again which I think would end up better for the story but that doesn’t happen we never figure out what happens between them.

The plot of the novel is simplistically complex. The story is about Liesel Meminger and her life in Molching, Germany. It tells us how she got there and what her life was like there. We see that in the beginning she didn’t know how to read, but that was changed by Hans Hubberman, her papa. She found a book at her brother’s grave site and she kept it. This was the first book she stole. She kept it because this book would always remind her of her young dead brother. Her mother was sadly required to drop off her and her brother at a foster home program. That is where the Hubbermans come into play. The Hubbermans were the foster family the Liesel has come to stay with. The middle of the story is a bit simpler. Liesel steals some books. The Hubbermans take a Jew into there house. Liesel starts to fall in love with Rudy Steiner, her best friend. I don’t want to give the whole story to you, but I want you to understand how good a read it really is.

The major characters of this novel are Rudy Steiner, Liesel Meminger, The Hubberman, Max Vandenberg, the townsfolk of molching, and the mayor’s wife. Each character is there own person. What I mean by this is that each has there own personality and differences. Liesel is a determined to love and live life to the fullest. Rudy is determined to be like Jesse Owens and get a kiss from Liesel. The Hubberman consist of a very happy father figure Hans and a cardboard faced mama Rosa. Hans is the one who shows love for his daughter in the expected ways while Rosa is a bit more simplistic and loving with her in a different way. The mayor’s wife, Ilsa Hermann, plays an important role in the story. Liesel steals from this woman. She is the main source for Liesel’s books. Then there is the odd bunch that lives in molching. Those that Liesel and Rudy interact with, but have no if little actual face time.

I think that the major theme of this book is the heartache that comes from war. Losing people you love to a shell from people you have never met. You are the only one who survives a bombing in your little town. The craziness of your leader brining hardships to the people that he promised would be happy and wealthy. The theme is about watching your best friend leave because your father is suspected of helping them and there people. The theme is sadness, pain, and hatred. The hatred of the leader that promised you everything, but then gave you nothing. He lives a happy life with in a house that is well protected and well supplied while you must steal for food and clothed and you must be afraid of bombs or shells destroying your little nothing you call a home.

The major conflict of this story is the narrator. I’m talking about death. He is telling us Liesel’s story from his point of view. He dose have help from the book she wrote, but that is not the point. The point is that death in all its weird glory is the conflict. The wanting to and not wanting to die. People want to die to live. They want to leave the pain and misery of Hitler’s rule. They want to escape from the fear of losing an arm or a leg to shells, but they want to live. They want to be with the ones the care about and love. They want to see them happy and safe so they don’t want to die. They want to protect there families. It is a hard choice to make.

Two passages I found very memorable where when Liesel confessed her love for Rudy.
”She did more than mouth the word now ’Rudy?’
He lay with his yellow hair and closed eyes, and the book thief ran toward him and fell down. She dropped the black book ‘Rudy,’ she sobbed ‘wake up….’ She grabbed him by his shirt and gave him just the slightest did believing shake. ’Wake up, Rudy’ and now as the sky went on heating and showering ash, Liesel was holding Rudy Steiner’s shirt by the front. ’Rudy, please.’ The tears grappled with her face. ‘Rudy, please, wake up, Goddamn it, wake up, I love you. Come on, Rudy, come on, Jesse Owens, don’t you know I love you, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up….’ But nothing cared.”

This is especially important because it is the last we will ever hear from poor Rudy. Liesel lost her first love to people she never even knew. It’s a sad passage.

Question 1:
Peeps is all about a boy named Cal Thompson. It opens up to a scene where Cal is trying to catch his old girlfriend, Sarah. He had given her the parasite and she had transformed into a peep. Then he caught her and sent her to Night Watch. Then there was a small chapter on Trematodes. The next chapter is a whole chapter of him explaining peeps and their connections to rats and vampire legends. He told us that he is a carrier of the parasite and all the stuff we needed to know about how he got it and what his job is. This is the exposition of the novel. The rising action is Cal searching for Morgan, the girl who gave him the parasite, and him meeting Lace in the apartment. He then meets up with Lace and tells her a bunch of lies about his job so he can get information, and they go sneaking around the apartment. Cal later found an abandoned room in the basement full of rats. There are a lot of chapters in between the story that are about other parasites. The climax of the story is probably when Lace finds out about Cal and the fact that he has the parasite. The falling action would be Lace finding out she has the parasite, Cal finding Morgan, Cal finding out about the peep cats, Cal catching the peeps in the basement, and everything in between. The resolution is actually a very climactic point in the story. They find out that there are giant parasite worms living under the city. All the peeps are being tamed and trained to fight the worms when the surface in the future.

Question 2:
The major characters in this novel are Cal, Lace, Morgan, and the Shrink. Cal is the main character of the story. He is also the narrator. He has the parasite and must help stop it from spreading around the city. He is definitely a round, dynamic character. We learn that his personality is very weird and effected greatly by the parasite. Lace is just a girl from the apartment Morgan used to live in. Cal meets her and tells her everything. They fall in love and she gets the parasite. She is kind of a round, dynamic character. Just like most girls, her emotions and opinions are very confusing, and she changes them throughout the story. Morgan is the girl who gave Cal the parasite. She is secretly working for Night Watch and already knows about everything. She is banding together other peeps and peep cats to help stop the worms. She is a round dynamic character also. At first we just see her as promiscuous and then eventually learn that she is very smart and is helping the city. The Shrink is the oldest peep in the world and the head of Night Watch. She stays in a protective bubble. She is a flat, static character. We don’t learn very much about her, but she is always staying in her bubble and telling Cal what he needs to do. I think I relate most to Cal. I’m not sure of any specific reasons, but the way the book was written we learn all about Cal’s life and follow him as if we are living it. I do have a cat just like he does though.

Question 3:
The theme of this book is completely evident. The next to last chapter of the book states the theme clearly. The whole book is full of random information about parasites and the central point of the plot is about the parasite that Cal has. The theme is parasites are us. Yes, parasites do a lot of bad things, such as killing people and animals in horrible ways; but they also do a lot of good things, such as preventing cows from over-grazing and killing other parasites. We depend on them and need them to survive. They are all part of the big system. “In a manner of speaking, parasites are us. Deal with it.”(Page 288)

Question 4:
The major conflicts in this novel are the parasite spreading through the city and Cal trying to stop it, and Cal trying to control his feelings and issues with the parasite inside himself. Cal is working to capture peeps and keep the city safe. This is an external conflict. The parasites are fighting with the world to gain control. “Basically, they want to rule the world and will crumple whole species like balls of paper and then reshape them in order to carry out their plans.” (Page 287) There is also a huge inner conflict within Cal. He has to fight with the parasite inside him. It tries to control his emotions and he can’t fall in love with Lace because of it. This conflict of Cal’s is a major part of the story.

Question 5:
Passage 1-
Cal: “Okay.” I cleared my throat. “First of all, I’m not really Morgan’s cousin.”
Lace: “Duh.”
I frowned. This revelation hadn’t provided the same oomph that it had on my mental flowchart of the conversation. “But I am looking for her.”
“Again: duh, dude. So you’re like a private detective or something? Or a stalker ex-boyfriend?
“No. I work for the city.”
“Cal, you are so not a cop.”
I wasn’t quite sure how she’d come to this assessment, but I couldn’t argue. “No, I’m not. I work for the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Sexually Transmitted Disease Control.”
“Sexually transmitted?” She raised an eyebrow. “Wait. Are you sure you’re not a stalker?” (Page 75-76)
I have chosen this passage because I found it hilarious. Cal is trying to make up something to tell Lace so that he can get information from her on Morgan. I laughed my butt off when I read this. I suppose it is not extremely important to the story line or anything, but I really liked it.
Passage 2-
Let us recap:
Parasites are bad.
They suck your blood out of the lining of your stomach. They grow into two-foot-long snakes and roost in the skin of your leg. They infect your cat and then jump up your nose to live in cysts inside your brain, turning you into feline-centric and irresponsible. They take over your blood cells in hopes of infecting passing mosquitoes, leaving your liver and brain crumbling from lack of oxygen. They incense your immune system, causing it to destroy your eyeballs. They take terrible advantage of snails and birds and ants and monkeys and cows, stealing their bodies and their food and their evolutionary features. They almost starved twenty million people in Africa to death.
Basically, they want to rule the world and will crumple whole species like balls of paper and then reshape them in order to carry out their plans. They turn us into walking undead, ravaged hosts that serve only their reproduction.
That’s bad. But…
Parasites are also good.
They have bred howler monkeys to live in peace with one another. Their lousy genes help track the history of the human species. They prevent cows from overgrazing grasslands into windblown deserts. The tame your immune system so it doesn’t destroy your stomach lining. Then the go and save those twenty million people in Africa, by laying their eggs in those other parasites, the ones trying to starve them.
Which is all quite good really.
So, parasites are bad and good. We depend on them, like all other checks and balances of the natural world; predators and prey, vegetarians and carnivores, parasites and hosts all need one another to survive.
Here’s the thing: They’re part of the system. Like government bureaucracies with all those forms that have to be filled out in triplicate, they may be a pain, but we’re stuck with them. If every parasite suddenly disappeared from earth one day, it would be a much bigger disaster than you’d think. The natural order would crumble. (Pages 287-288)
I chose this passage because I feel it is the most important passage in the entire book. It ties everything together. There was a point to all the random informational chapters. This passage is completely true. I like how it explained it. The whole book was simply to prove this.

Question 6:
The title of this novel was a very good one. Peeps are the creatures that people turn into when the get the parasite. It is short for parasite-positives. The whole book is about the parasite and the peeps. Peeps turn out to be very important to the world and are here to save the city from the giant worms. It was a very appropriate title.

Question 7:
I would definitely recommend this book to someone else, in fact, I already have. I absolutely loved this book!! I think everyone should read it. You learn something new every other chapter and the story is very captivating. You lose yourself in it. It is a good book for both guys and girls. I would rate this book a great, big 10. I think it should win the Peach Book Award. It deserves it. It had a great plot and funny and interesting characters that are easily related to by today’s youth. Along with that, there was an exciting and scary adventure with a huge twist at the end. If you haven’t read it, please do. It was an amazing book. That is why I finished reading it so early. I couldn’t put it down.

Question 1
The Peach Book that I read was The Boyfriend List. This book is centered around the life of a teenage girl named Ruby Oliver, or Roo, who is all caught up in boys and high school drama. She just got dumped by boyfriend of six months, Jackson Clarke; her best friend, Kim, backstabbed her by being the one who got her Jackson to dump her; the rest of her friends, Cricket and Nora, don’t associate with her anymore; and to top it all off, there’s a list going around showing all the boys she’s supposedly “done something with”. The list is actually a “boyfriend” list her shrink made her write. The book starts off with Roo telling us that she’s not a slut or anything of the sort. Then she goes off into telling us about her panic attacks and why she has to go to a psychiatrist. It all started when her boyfriend of six months, Jackson Clarke, dumper her for her best friend Kim. Then everything started going downhill from there. The rising action is when Jackson takes her to the Spring Formal. They’re both dancing and having a good time. Then Jackson brings her up to the deck of the boat the dance was on and they stare out into the lake. Roo then kisses him and he sees other people and he blows up like he didn’t do anything. The climax is when he realizes he really wants her back and he would’ve dumped Kim for her. But then, he catches her with another guy and he totally blows up like she was the one cheating on him, but he dumped her, so why’s he all mad? I will never know…boys are just dumb sometimes. The falling action of the novel is when Roo finally gets used to being alone and it doesn’t bother her too much. She’s getting back into the swing of things and has a new friend who has always been there for her but she never noticed. The resolution to the book is Roo being at peace in the end. She ran into Nora at the mall and she talked to her. Nora wasn’t being mean or anything, just like friends would stop and chat to each other at the mall. Finally, the good book ends with Roo being happy.

Question 2
The major characters in this novel are Ruby Oliver, our narrator; Kim, her ex best friend; Cricket and Nora, other two best friends who dumped her after she kissed Jackson; Jackson Clarke, the guy who started all this madness. Ruby is also called Roo, she’s not an “it” girl or anything, but she’s just a normal everyday girl. She’s our narrator. She has so many boy problems that it just blows my mind. Kim was the best friend. Her and Roo would do everything together. Then she’s the one who started getting Jackson to hang out with her and getting him to almost start cheating on Roo. She wins Jackson over and he dumps Roo, leaving her broken hearted and hurt by her so-called “best friend”. Cricket and Nora are the other two girls in Roo’s friend group. They’re all best friends and they hang out all the time. Finally, Jackson Clarke. He’s a bag of jerk. He dumps Roo for her best friend Kim. He hung out with Kim behind Roo’s back. He got Roo to trust him and he just cut her off and broke her heart. Cricket and Nora would be the flat and static characters. They’re in the story a lot, but not really described too much. Cricket is sassy and Nora is quiet and sweet. Kim, Jackson, and Roo would be the round and dynamic characters. They’re described a lot and have a lot of life spun into them. I related to Roo the most. I’ve been where she’s been. I’ve had so many boy problems before my head was spinning out of control. I lead a crazy “love” life in 9th grade. I had a different date it seemed about every Friday. It was crazy. I’ve never stolen my best friend’s guy though. I strictly follow the girl code. I don’t date any of my friends’ exes. Unless given permission by the girl, which I have done before.

Question 3
There are probably a lot of themes I can come up with from this story. But I think the main one is: if your best friend steals your guy, why is she your best friend? That’s not a friend-type thing to do. I think this would be the main theme because many many girls now have really mean “best friends” who like to take boyfriends and such. This book may be trying to say, “Hey, don’t let that girl get you down, you deserve more than her, girlfriend.” There are many other themes too. Another is: don’t kiss more than one guy in a night; you’ll look like a slut, for lack of nicer words. Another would be: don’t drink beer or any type of alcohol. And if you must, don’t drink it at a party at your house; your parents will catch you. Another important theme or lesson would be: don’t throw any sort of personal papers in a public trash can; described in question 6.

Question 4
The major conflicts of this novel are between Roo and Kim, Roo and Jackson, and Roo and the rest of Tate Prep. I think these conflicts would be a mix of both internal and external. Roo was friends with these people and she’s struggling to keep them, but they don’t want her around anymore, so she gets these panic attacks because she’s struggling so hard to meet other people’s standards so that she won’t be fighting with these people anymore. The Roo-and-Kim conflict is a big one. They both are trying to get Cricket and Nora on their sides and poor Cricket and Nora have no idea what to do. Also, Kim took Roo’s boyfriend. That’s not good at all, in fact, that would make Kim a slut, for lack of a nicer term. The Roo-and-Jackson conflict is also big in the novel. He’s the one who dumped Roo for Kim. He started sneaking around saying that he has plans with his family and stuff, but really, he was going off with Kim and almost cheating on poor Roo. What a jerk!

Question 5 [the book wasn’t on the shelves, so I just did what I could]
One memorable passage would be when Jackson took Roo to the Spring Formal instead of Kim because she was in Japan visiting family. Jackson slow danced with her and held her close to him like she was still his girlfriend. It was terrible to lead Roo on like that. Then he took her up to the deck and they looked at the lake. It was cold, so Jackson put his jacket on Roo and he held her close again. Roo looked up into his eyes and she kissed him. He kissed back, but then when he sensed other people, he pushed her away and blew up. It started out as a “YES! He’s going to dump Kim and go back out with Roo!” but then he jerkified himself. This is very significant to the novel because this is why Roo ends up having no friends. Kim wins.
Another memorable passage would be when Roo’s eating a popsicle with her dad and a school mate, Hutch—he’s there helping her dad start a green house, and she’s just truly happy for once in months. They were just sitting out on the dock, watching the sun play on the water, eating popsicles. This isn’t very important to the story or anything, but it was just a great part of the book. Roo’s finally happy for a little while. It was just great to read about her being at peace for a little while.

Question 6
The title of this novel is The Boyfriend List. I do feel this is an appropriate title. Roo does make a “boyfriend list” and the whole drama with Kim is pushed more with this list because Kim xeroxed it and stuck it everywhere. This is how the rumor of Roo being a total slut went around. This is another reason why people at her school don’t like her too much. She became a leper, a social outcast in other words.

Question 7
I would recommend this book to basically every girl. This is such a great book if you’re into the whole chick flick thing. This is a really good one that shows that everything doesn’t always happen like in the movies because in the end…well, I won’t spoil it for you. If I had to rate this book, I’d give it a 10 most definitely. It was a most excellent book. This book is worthy of the Peachiness. It’s just such a great book. I was laughing at the funny parts, and just about crying in the sad parts, I felt everything Roo was feeling. It’s very well written; kudos to E. Lockhart. I think that Twilight totally outdoes this book because it’s chick flicky AND has vampires. Twilight should win, but this book could definitely go for second place. The only reason I think that this book wouldn’t win the award is because of Twilight.

Nothing to Lose is a about a kid named Michael Daye. A year ago was torture for Michael when his mom married his new stepdad, Walker Monroe. Everything probably looked perfect on the outside, a perfect house, perfect lawyer, and his perfect “trophy wife”, so he called her. But on the inside it was all wrong. Walker hit Michael’s mom, and sometimes even Michael, but Michael didn’t take much crap from him, so it wasn’t that often. He didn’t tell anyone about it, and whenever he did Walker would deny it to whoever it was, so it was pointless. And the weird thing is, is that his mom would deny it too. And she won’t leave him; Michael just can’t figure it out. So when Michael decides to leave with the traveling fair he finds that their motto “don’t ask, don’t tell” is a welcoming getaway from the chaos at home.
And now Michael is back in Miami; a year later. And his mom is on trial for murder. Now Michael is stuck at a crossroad; deciding if he should just leave and forget about what happened in the past, or help his mom. He has a fabulous lawyer; he’s befriended by an old friend, and finds an old friend that he thought was lost to him forever. Hopefully he can get through this.

The major characters would vary from the past and future. The past characters would have to be Michael, Kristie, Michael’s mom (Lisa), and Walker. The future characters would have to be Michael, Angela, and Karpe. Kristie is a carnie; she’s the one that persuaded Michael to runaway from it all. She’s a girl that doesn’t take crap; I wouldn’t mess with her. She also has an unknown side; one that Michael finds surprising. Lisa is, I would say, pathetic. She takes all of Walkers crap, and doesn’t stop him even once. She lets him beat her, and she thinks that she has to be the loyal wife and just take it; it’s stupid. Walker is a jerk; for lack of a better term. He beats Lisa without mercy; a lot. He threatens her, and calls her names. But I think the real reason he always does it is because she doesn’t so anything about; she pretty much just sits back while he does it. And that’s where he gets the satisfaction; seeing that he can do that without anyone getting in the way. Angela is a nice woman, and also Michael’s lawyer. She is also Karpes’ stepmom. She helps Michael through all the trial stuff with his mom, and she even takes him to see her. Karpe is a cool kid, and a great friend. He was there last year and helped Michael a little, but in the recent year he helped big time. He’s the one that told Michael about Angela, and when he knew Michael was at the fair (when he was hiding there) he didn’t tell anyone. He seems like a friend that’ll stick by you no matter what. I think I would relate more to Karpe than any of the others. I know that if my friend was in some kind of situation like that I would help them in any way I could.

I think that the major themes of this book are drama and suspense. Because every where you turn in this book something is happening, and its dramatic. =) And the suspense was always killing me. Flinn writes to where every time you get to the end of a chapter, or even a page, you’re rushing for the next. I know I was kept on the edge of my seat.

I think there was only really one major conflict in this book, and that was whether or not to help his mom. I think that deep down Michael knew that he was going to help her, and he always knew that. It was just the part of saying it; finally saying ‘yeah; this is the time I help her’. This conflict was definitely and internal one. I think one conflict was when he was struggling whether or not to tell someone about what happens at home; I can only imagine how hard it must have been for him to know that it wouldn’t help anything. Another conflict was when he was trying to get his mom to leave. She wouldn’t budge for anything, and that just threw Michael over the edge.

One memorable passage was this: pg.148
“What’s my biggest fear now?” I held my breath.
The old woman turned to face me. “Now your greatest fear is here.” She tapped my forehead. “Inside you. It is anger, what anger will make you do.” Her voice was a whisper.
I like this passage because it shows what has happened to him over the years. He used to be afraid of being in closed spaces; it bothered him. But now he’s afraid of being in himself; the anger is there. It shows how he handles things, I think its deep; honestly.
The second passage is: pg.248
“You were right Michael. You can’t run, not really. I couldn’t run anymore either. I just didn’t have the heart for it, you know?”
I this passage because it’s got my favorite line form the book; ‘you can’t run, not really’. I really like that because it is so true. I mean I never ran away or anything, but it could also be taken into running away from stuff fin your head, and that sooner or later catches up with you. I also like it because it shows that things can change’ Kristie went back to her sister, and now getting help. And I know that this probably shows Michael that it’s ok to help, and to stop running from him.

I think the title is very appropriate for the book. It shows that there may be nothing to lose, but then again there always can be. In the begging that’s all your thinking; there’s nothing to lose. He can just leave. But maybe the title is also telling us that there will always be something to lose’ no matter what it is. You kind of have to look deeper into it than just the outside words.

I would definitely recommend this book to someone else. And the good thing about this book is that it’s not a chick flick type book that you would really only recommend to girls. I know a guy would like this book also, and Flinn did a very good job with meeting the needs to everyone. I’d give this book a definite ten. I think it was a brilliant book that I know I will want to read again in the future. I think it is most certainly worthy of the Peach Book Award. It will capture the reader’s interest, and that’s what this award id looking for. I think it would be one of the top five definitely.

The exposition of the book is when they all are introduced by different resident scenes, and try to convince their parents not to go to the party because they all have different personalities and different interest. The parents tell them that they have no choice and that it is a very important meeting. Next the rising action, is when the kids all then reach the party and went upstairs into the game room, a place that the have to go every time when their parents have these meeting, where they all sat of boredom miserably. They decide to make the best of the time that they have and try to decide on a game to play to make time pass by. They came up of a plan to spy on the parents to figure out what is so important that they come to these meeting. The main character, Alex, then tells them that their house had a secrets passageway that his Dad had build for security, a way that leads to the library where their parents have the meetings, and that they could use this way to see what is going on. This then leads to the climax of the story, where they then see through a one way mirror, where their parents are all dressed up into superhero costumes sitting at a round table. They all then see a so called sacrifice of Alex’s dad committing a murder and stabbed a teenage girl. This concluded to the falling action when, they all then make plans to meet up, when their parents are sleeping, and report to the cops what they saw. Although the cops did not believe them it was up to them to gain proof and find evidence on that crime they thought they saw that was committed. They go through many tasks finding out facts about themselves that they never knew about since childhood. Some of the kids inherited special powers and found out many important things about their lives and what their parents are really about, Leading to the conclusion, the parents come to find out that their children unmasked the secret that they kept a secret for years, and go through many obstacle to capture and contain their children, but prevailed.

The major characters in the story would be the children: Alex a young African American boy who is the mastermind and backbone of the plans they go through, Karolina vegetarian who then inherited superpowers, Gert the physical scientist and smart one of the group who finds out that she has a raptor for a pet, Chase the knucklehead boy who is stubborn and never listens , Molly a young eleven year-old girl who go through many body changing experiences in the story, and Nico the dark gothic girl who everyone admires and has a magical staff as a weapon. Also there are the parents, who are the superheroes, and the people that the kids try to convict of a crime. Each character has their unique way and plays an important role on their accomplishments due to their different personalities. I would identify Alex as the strongest of the group, because he is the backbone and keeps everyone in check of what they are doing. If it wasn’t for him to come up with all the plans they use, the kids wouldn’t accomplish the things they did.

I believe that the main them of the story is not to jump to conclusion. If you don’t know that facts and the reason that people are doing what they are, then you should to take it among yourself to do what you think is right. You must know and understand the evidence actual facts before you do anything you’re going to regret. The whole story could have been resolved if they asked their parents and try to communicate with them, rather than trying to destroy them and convict them of what they thought they saw.

The main major conflicts in the story would be between the parents and their children. They have to capture them to make sure they are not doing anything that they are going to regret. The kids deal with conflict with society and try to find a way to show the authorities that their parents have committed a serious crime. Some internal conflicts that the group of kids faces would be whether or not they should turn on their parents or go by their side. Major external conflicts they also face would be between them and their parents. At the Hayes Residence around 5:48 A.M. they face their parents with a fight, and defeat them trying to retrieve Molly from the house.

A very important quote that I remember is when Gert find a cave in her basement and receives a hologram version of them. “Hey, squirt. I’m sorry, but if you’re watching this projection we recorded…your mother and I are probably dead. This passage is most important and one that I most remember because they show the fact that they know what is going to happen to their lives, and have seen the future on what is to become of their kids. Another passage would be toward the end when Alex’s dad and the rest of their superhero group tell him that he is a wanted man and that if he turns on the radio station and looks at the news that he will see that he is convicted of the murder that his dad committed. “Police are still searching for sixteen-year-old Alex Wilder, wanted in connection with yesterday’s murder in Malibu.” This passage shows me how much powers the parents actually have and is why they probably haven’t been revealed in so many years.

The title of my novel, Runaways, is appropriate for my book in many ways. This title represents and quotes what and who the kids are now that they found out the truth about their parents. Running away is exactly what the kids do every time they run into conflict with their parents and what they did when they first met up to come together trying to seek justice for their parents. As you can see the title relates to the book and is appropriate for whom the kids are.

I would definitely recommend this book to so many people who enjoys reading books and loves to read superhorse stories. This book caught my attention in so many ways and due to the fact that it is a sequel, make me want to go and get the other continue version. On a scale of one through ten I would give this book a 10. Although I don’t enjoy reading books, this one in particularly caught my attention and makes me want to continue reading many other books. This book is worthy of being nominated, but although it is written in a comic version, would be a negative affect on its advantage. This book is written in a great perspective and shows many conflicts that you wouldn’t see in a everyday family. I would vote this book as a winner award, as my own opinion, due to the creativity the author uses in it and the quest that the kids must face and go through.