Blog Post Number Five - 'Tilt' by Ellen Hopkins

In the book 'Tilt' by Ellen Hopkins,

There are three different characters. But they are al connected in different ways. They also have different issues. All different from one another.

One of the characters, Mikayla, is a high school senior with good grades, great looks and a perfect boyfriend. But one day, when Mikayla and Dylan (her boyfriend) start fooling around without protection, Dylan thinks that they'll be fine. But he was completely wrong! He got Mikayla knocked up. And he wants her to get an abortion. But she wants to keep the baby. So now, she has to make a decision: get an abortion, or keep the baby and lose Dylan forever.

Another character in the book is Shane. Shane is a homosexual and his father hates him for it. His mom is dealing with more important things to worry about. Because Shane's sister Shelby is only four years old and has Type 1 SMA (spinal muscular atrophy). His family is extremely lucky that she's still alive. But because Shelby has that terrible illness, Shane's father doesn't want to deal with all of the family's issues. So he is almost never home. And his mother is always tending to Shelby and that leaves Shane all alone. Until he meets Alex. But Alex has HIV. But that doesn't stop him and Shane's relationship. When Shane is with Alex, he is happier and feels less alone. But when Shelby dies, all hell breaks loose. Not only with Shane's mother, but Shane as well. Because after the funeral, he realized that he didn't get a chance to say goodbye. 

The final character in this book is Harley. She is Shane's cousin and Mikayla's sisters best friend. Harley has a hard time being noticed. For one thing, her best friend Bri gets all of the attention and Harley is also a bit overweight. It's now summer and she wants to change her appearance. So she goes on a diet. But she also has other problems. Her parents are divorced and her father is dating someone else already. And her fathers girlfriend's (Cassie) son is extremely attractive (according to Harley). And now that she has lost a lot of weight. She thinks that she might be able to get his attention. One day Harley asks Chad (Cassie's son) why he isn't interested in her. And he tells her because he thinks of her as his sister. So Harley goes to find someone else to catch her attention. And Chad's friend Lucas is very interested in Harley. But when Harley starts going out with Lucas, he makes her do things that are inappropriate and disturbing to her. And one day, he gets her so drunk and high that she is unconscious and then he takes advantage of her. But does Lucas care? Of course not! And the day after, he breaks up with her - over text. 

Monthly Nonfiction Reading Response - Hitler Youth; Growing Up In Hitler's Shadow by Susan Campbell Bartoletti

The Nonfiction book that I read was about Hitler and the Nazis. But it was also about the child soldiers who had to fight in the war. And their stories.

One of my favorite stories in this book was about a child soldier named Herbert Norkus. I enjoyed his story the most because it was told in great detail. And at the end, after he died, it talked about his military funeral. I thought that was interesting because it also showed a picture of his grave with the guards around it. Besides that, the chapter talked about his wonderful services as one of Hitler's child soldiers. I also thought it was interesting how the chapter talked about his parents. And how they didn't want their son to join Hitler Youth. But Herbert joined it anyways because even though his mother didn't want him to, his father gave him permission. And in the end, he was shot, doing his job.

The other stories in this book were just about the same. They all talked about the children in Hitler Youth. And how their parents didn't want them to join it. But they disobeyed their parents and joined anyways. And they also all passed away and were killed.