Annie’s Baby edited by Beatrice Sparks

The book I was currently reading was “Deadly Little Secret” by Laurie Faria Stolarz. I didn't like it too much so I found a new book.

The book I am reading is “Annie’s Baby” edited by Beatrice Sparks. This is a very disappointing story. Annie is a fifteen year old teenager that has a responsibility no one her age should have to endure. She was raped by her boyfriend Daniel, and later found out she was two months pregnant. Annie is self-conscious about herself. She always thinks people are talking about her and she is constantly hiding herself from the world around her. She is not a social girl, and barely speaks to anyone. She does not like to express her feelings to anyone. Instead, she developed a relationship between herself and her diary.

By reading this book I learned not to trust anyone because words are cheap. You really should not believe what people say all the time. I said that because Annie truly believed that Daniel loved her. Annie met Daniel on the soccer field. They got together because they loved each other (well that’s what Annie thought). But you must learn not to let anyone take advantage of you. While they were going out they would call each other a lot. But what I’m not sure of is why they never hanged out as much in public. They usually just talk on the phone and never really hang out. I began questioning if Daniel really loved Annie because of the way he was treating her. I felt pain for Annie because of the way Daniel abandoned her. He would sometimes pass her and say nothing or just give her a quiet ‘hi’.

I’m not sure what Daniel wants from Annie exactly. I think Daniel is just using Annie for his own purposes. Many times at lunch, he would ignore Annie, and would always say to her “I’m hanging out with my friends; I’m hanging out with my friends”. He never has time for her at all. I think Daniel is a big ‘show-off’ always trying to prove something to his friends. He is always laughing and acting like… yeah I got a girlfriend, but he shows her no care or love at all. Annie needs to know how to speak up and just be a leader and not a follower. I say this because she is following Daniel and keep giving him chances, and the more she continues to do that the more he is going to hurt her. The bottom line is Daniel is using her. After Daniel and Annie went through some difficult moments in their relationship, they decided to go on a date. But here is the tricky part… he decided to go to ‘his house’. He was like “let’s go to my house and watch a movie or something”, so Annie was up to that and so they did. Everything was going good. Annie felt loved and wanted all over again. She was so much in love with Daniel that she did not realize any danger in what she was doing. But things turned around… in seconds.

The good moments did not last for long. It only took seconds or this is how it looked. Daniel showed his ‘true’ colors. He wanted to have sex with Annie. Of course she refused to do what he wanted and then he raped her. This is a painful and devastating situation for anyone. The sad thing is Daniel hurt Annie and she never spoke up. She did not tell her mom or any of her close friends what she experienced or went through. I felt that he used her like she was a dog or trash. I don’t understand why Daniel raped Annie. There were plenty girls at the school, so why did he treat her that way. I wonder if it is because she was not popular or she was quiet hmmm…. He knew that she loved him so he took advantage of her. I think Annie needs to know how to speak up and don’t let people walk over her like that again.

Annie needs to tell her mom, friends or the teachers at her school. She needs to let the pain out. I think by not telling anyone will make the situation worse, it can get her in a stage she doesn't want to be in. Sometimes you need to speak up and not hide your feelings. It does not make sense to pretend everything is ‘okay’ and you’re hurting inside. Annie is silent about her pain, but she has to ‘speak out’. Although I understand how Annie feels, I still strongly believe that she should not stay quiet about this matter. By speaking she can help other girls her age from guys like Daniel. I think Daniel should be reported for what he did to Annie.

I hope as I further read this book, Annie tells her mom what is going on in her life, because I know she cannot leave this in for much longer!

Deadly Little Secret by Laurie Faria Stolarz

The book I am currently reading is “Deadly Little Secret” by Laurie Faria Stolarz. This book is about a girl name Camelia who lives and changed and been very neutral. But now she going away from that, this boy Ben, starts junior year at her high school and everything changes.

So far in the book, I love the suspense; Camelia is getting these notes from a mysterious guy name Ben. This book is leaving me to predict what is going to happen next. Ben seems like a jerk, because he is acting like he is “full of himself” why? I think he knows that Camelia like him, after he saved her from the car accident, so he is playing ‘hard to get’ in a way. She then finds out information that she didn’t want to know. He is in her school, because he might have something to do with his ex-girlfriend’s death, which makes her want to know more. I think Ben should be honest with Camelia and tell the truth about what he did.

I think this book is a real-world issue because so far as I am reading, I am realizing that this always happens. You met a boy, that you like and they have deep-dark secrets that you don’t know about. Eventually by hints and details you gradually put clues together and solve the problem, and realize your ‘crush’ is not who you think they are.   I cannot put this book down! I am excited to get further into it, and really dig out all the information that Ben has to hide. 

November Blues by: Sharon Draper

The book I am currently reading is “November Blues by: Sharon Draper”. This book is about November Nelson losing her boyfriend Josh, and now she is pregnant with no father. But, along the way she has support from her friends Jericho, Dana, and Olivia. While reading this book, I realize you have to love someone to do stupid things. Now as she is pregnant I think "what is November going to do?" This book  about November Blues, takes you on the adventure of a pregnant girl and all her ups and downs and the joy of a baby.

On the cover of the book it states ‘one night can change a life forever’ I think Sharon Draper put this as a cover to show, how by doing one stupid mistake can change your future forever. November is pregnant now and is ‘lost’ she has no idea of what she is doing, and she doesn't even want to be a mom. The main purpose of writing this book is to show the real world issue of teen pregnancy. November got a scholarship to Cornell College, and I think Sharon wanted to show how when things go really well for you, your live can turn upside down and everything can go within a blink of an eye.  With the support of her friends, it helps her get her mind off of the fact that she is pregnant,

To me, this is a must read book Why? Because it shows how serious teen pregnancy can be and one mistake can change your life. I love this book so far, and I can’t wait until the ending. I know teens take this as a joke, but they should know the reality of having a baby and it is not all about the cuteness, they cost a lot of money!

“Am I Blue?” by Bruce Coville

In the story, “Am I Blue?” by Bruce Coville, The protagonist named Vincent is a young boy who is questioning his own sexuality. While in a process of not knowing if he is gay or not, he is a getting bullied by Butch Carrigan for being gay. Vincent then finds himself talking to Melvin, his fairy godfather. I think by bringing Melvin in the story, Bruce Coville uses supernatural forces from a fairy tale , to put across a real-life message of sexual abuse. As Melvin is his fairy godfather, he gives him three wishes, and his first one was changing his coffee into mocha. His second wish was everyone to have gaydar for 24 hours. What this gaydar did, was it showed whether a person was gay or not, and it should how many people were gay. Whoever, was gay was blue, and it depended. According to the story ‘The dark blues are pretty much excluding queer, while the lighter ones are less committed—or maybe like you, trying to make up their minds. I set it up so that you’ll see at least a hint of blue on anyone who has had a gay experience”.  Just showing whether people believed in being gay or not.

The relationship between Melvin and Vincent was strong. In the story it says “They’re always assuming someone is or isn’t for all the wrong reasons”. When I read this this is when it came to my attention “don’t judge a book by it’s cover” . I think many people are guilty, of calling someone “ugly, or stupid”, and they don’t even get to know the person for who they are. In the story, Vincent it getting builded by the way he walks, “do you have to walk so swishy?”. This is a phrase that Melvin asked Vincent to maybe get to the facts to see if he is actually gay. Also according to the short story it says “I’m really here to watch over you, advise you, guide you, till we get things on track.” this is what Melvin says to Vincent. This makes me think that Melvin is their to support him, till he knows that he is comfortable in his skins, and knows that he is good on his own. But, until then Melvin is not going anywhere. There relationship between them is father to son almost, because it’s like Melvin is always their for Vincent, and wouldn’t let go until he knows that he is ‘ok’.

This story was definitely an ‘eye-opener’ to gay bullying. Towards the end of the story, Vince’s bully is ‘blue as a summer sky’ , which makes Vince comfortable with himself, knowing he won’t be bullied again. But Vince is still not sure what his own sexuality is. I loved this story because it shows how a little support can go along way. It can motivate you to trust and believe in yourself.