Reading Response/ Critical thinking question 2

In the book, Slob,by : Ellen Potter, Owen faces many problems at his school because he is overweight and likes to eat oreo cookies. When the gym teacher asked him to demonstrate a gymnastics move, he did it, but when he turned over his shorts lowered and his classmates called him fat. I feel really sorry for Owen, it's extremely hard for some people to lose weight no matter how much we try with diets and weight loss programs , it still is hard. I dont think people should really be judged on how they look on the outside, but in the inside. At least Owen has determination, but that all changes when Owen goes to the cafeteria for lunch. He doesn't like the school lunch and begs his mom to put three oreos in his lunch box everyday.When someone takes the oreos out of his lunch box constantly, it is time for him for him to figure out this mess.

Bullying is a huge social issue that involves so many people in it. Bullies want to make the victims to feel smaller than them and the bullies want to have more pride and selfconfidence. Owen packed on the pounds because of all the stress that has been happening in his life, with school work and trying to find his place in middle school, his sister is kind of being bullied to because she is a group called " Girls Who Are Boys ". Jeremy, as they call her, dresses like a boy and lot of the girls make fun of her about her style.  Owen is one of the smartest kids in school, he loves participating in the Science Fair, where he gets to show his inventions that took months to build. Owen should not be teased based off his weight and how he looks, it dosen't really matter. He does so much good things, but why do people have do focus on the bad things , but when you have so much good in you that's all that hey look at.
That would be my question, why is the good things in life not as appreciated as the bad things? I know that the media and papparazzi like to put bad news about people in the magazines and such, because a lot of people would read it and sometimes believe it, but with out any doubt bullying is a major issue in this book and takes over a lot of people's actions.

Readers's Response: Bronx Masquerade, by: Nikki Gr

In the book, Bronx Masquerade, by:Nikkie Grimes, the author goes with a poetry theme . A bunch of 18 year-old students go to Mr. Ward's class to express their feelings through poems they wrote. since most of these kids are in college in time for them to come out and show who they are are. One black thinks he will not have a career in the future because he is surrounded by guns and violence, but the way how he talks will probably get him pretty far in life. When poetry from the heart is read, no one looks at you from the outside, but they admire your strong heart.

This teenage girl has been dealing with weight issues all her life, and she is pretty chubby. Her poetry is making her become more noticeable and her friends are paying more attention to her poetry instead of her weight. Its called "open mike Friday'', everyone usually enjoys it. They stand in front of the class and read their poem to the people who listen.

I really like how the poems are actually written in the book which makes it so creative , because your not just told how the poem is,but you actually get to read and understand the poem. They mostly write about their lives and the difficult times they go through in life, whether it is bullying, sexual orientation, they each have a story to be told and they go all through the main problems. The poems become a solution for it.

If the perspective of the book was missing, a way we could add it in would be..
I think that  everybody has a story to be told and that's what these teenagers are doing in Mr. Ward's class they write and read poetry to express their lives and the experiences they have had.