If I Stay (revised)

     I recently finished reading If I Stay by Gayle Forman. The book is about a girl named Mia who has a pretty nice life. She has a perfect boyfriend named Adam who plays in a band called Shooting Star and she has a pretty neat hobby playing the cello. She doesn't even realize what she has until the moment it is taken away from her on that snowy morning. It started out as a normal snow day with her and her family driving in there car when a truck rams into the side of the car and causes Mia to lose her brother, teddy, and both her parents. Mia is left an orphan, barely clinging on to life in a second world body. She's like a ghost, but not dead. She's separated from her body, but it's still her body. Nothing makes sense and she doesn't know how to get out of this second world. As she tries to figure out what is happening, Mia flashes through different memories, memories that will determine if she will choose to leave the world and die like her family or if she will stay and choose to be an orphan.
     Throughout the book Mia tries to convince her self to leave the world. Mia tries to find ways why living would be unbearable like how her family died, how she only has her relatives and her friend Katie and her boyfriend Adam left. She also looks at her memories thinking about what she will be upset about if she decides to live. ' I think about Willow's face, which looks like it has been scrubbed free of all joy. And I think about what she told Adam, that I need him now. More then ever. And that's how I know. Teddy. He's gone, too.' page 152. In this part of the book Mia finds out that her brother Teddy died as well and that really shifted whether she would stay or go because before she thought Teddy was alive too and thats the reason she was going to hang on if at all, so that she could be with him. But now that she learns Teddy is gone it seem as though her reason for staying alive is gone and there's no point in living anymore, like her anchor to live has magically lost it's weight and floated upward and there's nothing left holding her to earth. This part was sad because it kept talking about how he was only ten and his life was so short and how he didn't get to experience everything that Mia has and most likely will experience in her life. Now Mia has nothing left to stay for, so why would she stay?
     Even though Mia has lost a lot and only in one day Mia still has things to live for. Mia tries to see the side to staying on earth. She sees her grandparents, extended family, family friends, her friends, and especially her cello before she decides to leave. ' ...the low moan that in and instant takes flight and turns into something sweet. It's the cello. Adam has placed headphones over my lifeless ears and is laying an ipod down on my chest. He's apologizing, saying that he knows it's not my favorite but it's the best he could do. He turns up the volume so I can hear the music floating across the morning air. Then he takes my hand.' page 231. This part really changes Mia's mind about her decision. She realizes that choosing to leave means giving up the cello forever and also adding a fourth family member dead to her family's already large sum of grief; this is the part where she finds a new anchor connecting her to the earth: her cello. Mia has different reasons to stay or go but which should she choose? Which would she choose?
     Even though it ends with her finally waking up (sorry I know I'm a spoiler) like any other story, at times you really think she will choose to go, actually most of the time it seems she will choose to go. If I were Mia I would never be able to decide, I mean which would you rather choose die with your family and let your relatives and friends grief or live with the pain of losing people that are so close to you that you can't really live with out them? I think the message of the story is to really let the reader think deeply about if this were them and what would they choose. Choosing is Mia's biggest problem that she will ever have to face.

If I Stay

     I recently finished reading If I Stay by Gayle Forman. The book is about a girl named Mia who has a pretty nice life. She has a perfect boyfriend named Adam who plays in a band called Shooting Star and she has a pretty neat hobby playing the cello. She doesn't even realize what she has until the moment it is taken away from her on that snowy morning day. It started out as a normal snow day with her and her family driving in there car when a truck forces Mia to lose her brother teddy and both her parents. Mia is left an orphan barely clinging on to life in a second world body. She's like a ghost but not dead, she's separated from her body but it's still her body. Nothing makes sense and she doesn't know how to get out to this second world. As she tries to figure out what is happening Mia flashes through different memories, memories that will determine if she will choose to leave the world and die like her family or if she will stay and choose to be an orphan.
     Throughout the book Mia tries to convince her self to leave the world. Mia tries to find ways why living would be unbearable like how her family died, how she only has her relatives and her friend Katie and her boyfriend Adam left. She also looks at her memories thinking about what she will be upset about if she decides to live. ' I think about Willow's face, which looks like it has been scrubbed free of all joy. And I think about what she told Adam, that I need him now. More then ever. And thats how I know. Teddy. He's gone, too.' page 152. In this part of the book Mia finds out that her brother Teddy died as well and that really shifted whether she would stay or go because before she thought Teddy was alive too and thats the reason she was going to hang on if at all, so that she could be with him. But now that she learns Teddy is gone it seem as though her reason for staying alive is gone and there's no point in living anymore, like her anchor to live has magically lost it's weight and floated upward and there's nothing left holding her to earth. This part was sad because it kept talking about how he was only ten and his life was so short and how he didn't get to experience everything that Mia has and most likely will experience in her life. Now Mia has nothing left to stay for, so why would she stay?
     Even though Mia has lost a lot and only in one day Mia still has things to live for. Mia tries to see the side to staying on earth. She sees her grandparents, extended family, family friends, her friends before she decides to leave. ' -the low moan that in and instant takes flight and turns into something sweet. It's the cello. Adam has placed headphones over my lifeless ears and is laying an ipod down on my chest. He's apologizing, saying that he knows it's not my favorite but it's the best he could do. He turns up the volume so I can hear the music floating across the morning air. Then he takes my hand.' page 231. This part really changes Mia's mind about her decision. She realizes that choosing to leave means giving up the cello forever and also adding a fourth family member dead to her family's already large sum of grief; this is the part where she finds a new anchor connecting her to the earth: her cello. Mia has different reasons to stay or go but which should she she choose? Which would she choose?
     If I were Mia I would never be able to decide, I mean which would you rather choose die with your family and let your relatives and friends grief or live with the pain of losing people that are so close to you that you can't really live with out them? I think the message of the story is to really let the reader think deeply about if this were them and what would they choose. Choosing is Mia's biggest problem that she will ever have to face if she chooses to live.

The Drummer Boy of Shiloh

     In the beginning of "The Drummer Boy of Shiloh" by Ray Bradbury Joby lacked confidence but in the end the General helped him understand how important he is. I remember a four year old girl sitting on the side of the stage in her ballet shoes not wanting to go on and perform. Her parents came over and told her there was nothing to be scared of and she got on the stage and did her ballet routine with the rest of her ballet class. Even the simplest of words could help and change someones confidence.
     In the beginning of the story Joby hid behind his drum so no one would see him. 'There wasn't a man-boy on this ground tonight who didn't have a shield' page 50. When I read this I felt sorry for Joby because he was sort of left out and I also think this is why he doesn't have confidence because everybody has a shield and all he has is a drum, like the confidence is the shield but since Joby doesn't have a shield he doesn't have confidence.
     In the middle of the story Joby started to gain confidence because the General  came over and told him that it's alright to be scared. 'You want to cry some more, go on ahead. I did the same last night' page 52. This line shows Joby that he's not the only one with out confidence and is scared. It also shows him that even people with shields could be scared and lack confidence even the General. Joby starts to open up to the General and accepts his words of confidence.
     By the end of the story Joby gains confidence and isn't scared anymore of the war. 'Do you now know you're the General of the army when the General's left behind?' page 53. This part really boosted Joby's confidence because it talks about how important Joby's job really is,  how he is the heart of the army and not just a drummer boy. All of Joby's confidence was gained by the General just talking to him, so words really do go along way to boost someone' confidence.
     Joby is like every other kid who doesn't have confidence and then somehow realizes that they did have confidence, a shield to protect them from negativity. Even though it may not be in a war situation all of us or at least most of us have felt being scared or unconfident and everyone at some point needs kind words of confidence to help the move forward.