Endings.

I just finished the book, "Nineteen Minutes," by Jodi Picoult.  When I finished it, something immediately struck me.  Though most books end with a good event, or at least a little hope, this did not at all have this effect.  In the end, Peter is sentenced to more years than he will live in prison, and Josie is in prison for five years.  This certainly was not the ending I had envisioned.  And though this ending made me sad that the characters were not ending up well, I feel like it was deserved.  

Because the reality of it is that even if you think Peter doesn't deserve to go to jail, that he was provoked,  he killed 10 people. And even if Josie thought she was making the world a better place by killing Sterling High School's meanest bully, she still killed him. We may do things that we think will make the world better -- and maybe it will -- but we have to think of everyone when we do something rash and and reckless. Would it be nice if Josie and Peter didn't go to jail? Yes, I think it would. But, at the same time, even though they had reasoning, what they did was wrong.  And any way you look at it, it was not the right thing to do.  And even though it is disappointing to have to look at their futures in this way, I think it is necessary.  Because, I believe, even if neither Josie nor Peter had gone to jail, I would still not be content.  Two people who broke the law and ruined people's lives, I believe deserve to be punished.  So, in a way, I agree with this not so typical ending.

A Reason Why

I recently reread the book, "Thirteen Reasons Why," by Jay Asher.  This book is about a boy Clay, and his relationship between a girl in his school, Hannah. He liked Hannah, but never really talked to her that much. But then, he discovers that she committed suicide. And about two weeks after that, he finds out that he is one of the reasons why. Hannah had sent a tape around to each of the thirteen reasons why she killed herself, explaining how they affected her.  Throughout the story, the reader sees how other people's stories have affected Clay, and how Clay is affected by his own story. In the end, Clay comes out scarred, but also better prepared for what life may give him.

In life, we are tested. We have to prove that we can overcome obstacles, no matter how hard they may be. In truth, we will overcome them, even if it takes a while. But at the time, we usually do not know that. So when Clay received this package and listened to the tapes, he was torn apart. I cannot imagine how hard it must be to sit and listen to a dead girls voice talking about how she was abused, and waiting to hear how you played a part in it. And at points, Clay wasn't sure what to do, how to go on. But once he finished the tapes, he must've felt at least a little relieved, because he now knows why Hannah committed suicide, and he knows what to do in the future, even if he can't change the past.

Don't Judge a Book By Its Cover

I am still reading the book "Nineteen Minutes," by Jodi Picoult.  In the beginning of the book, it seems like one of the characters, Josie has a near-perfect life. She is a "pretty, popular, straight-A student".  Other people at her school are jealous of everything she has, a rich, successful mom, a cute boyfriend, a seat at the "cool" table for lunch. Everyone feels like Josie has the ideal life.  That is, everyone except Josie. Inside, Josie is constantly freaking out about her life.  She feels like nobody knows the "real" Josie, and that now, she has no way of going back.  She is so paranoid that somebody will find out that she is fake, that she keeps pills stored by her bed, so she has a "back-up plan" of killing herself.  

We always hear the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover". Yet, everyday, we constantly judge people. We automatically assume that pretty people have a good life, and that people who don't have a lot of friends have a boring life, and so on. But do we actually know what is going on in their lives? Is it fair to judge them based on the little things we know? It isn't. It is not fair to assume that just because Josie is popular or pretty, she has no problems.  And that is what Josie is thinking. Though I do not believe she should kill herself, I understand why she is considering it. Everyone thinks that they know everything about her. But they don't know everything, and if they did, she is afraid everyone would hate her. Josie has to realize that people love her no matter what. She is the only one that has doubts in her.

Catching Jordan

I'm currently reading the book, "Catching Jordan" by Miranda Kenneally.  In this book, the main character,Jordan,  is constantly doubted. She is on a football team with all boys and all they do is disrespect her. She knows she has talent in the sport of football but no one else really seems to care. People don't appreciate her talent just because she is as girl.

Another reason people look down at Jordan they think she is just there to make a good impression on all the boys. They think she just wants the guys to think she is cool and to like her.  People assume she is just seeking attention from them because she is lonely.  They don't think that she would just be playing football because she enjoyed it.   They don't even bother to watch her play because they don't expect anything. 

This theme is really apparent in the outside world.  Girls are often labeled as attention seeking so people don't expect them to achieve greatness.  People commonly just think that all girls care about is guys, and what they think of them. But that is not at all the case.  Many girls actually have things they are good at, that they enjoy to do.  But people just decide that they are doing it for guys.  I think that this is really unfair.  People need to realize that girls do not just live to impress guys, and that is what this book is about.