For a book project that we have been doing for the last 2 months, we had to show  character change. So my character change is that link down there.

Esperanza

Esperanza Rizing

By: Pam Munoz Ryan

Blurb by: Jason

Esperanza Rising is about a rich and kind young lady named Esperanza. Esperanza was having a wonderful life and she was about to have her birthday, but her father died. Esperanza life was changed forever. First her uncles who treat her like a ghost get to own the land, second of all her house is burned down and the uncles are suspected for the crime. Scared and confused, Esperanza  flees to America with her family and some former servants, and along the way Esperanza goes on a very cheap train ride to the American- Mexican border. On the train ride Esperanza is disgusted on the conditions and the passenger.  Esperanza learns a valuable lesson along the ride,  the rich help the rich while the poor help other who have less. Equipped with this knowledge, Esperanza thinks twce before rejecting a peasant. When Esperanza reaches America, she goes  on a truck and meets a girl who lost her dad in the Mexican Revolution named Marta. Then she reaches a work camp and is welcomed  warmly by Miguel’s (her best friend and servant) family. Then Esperanza learns how to be a good worker and how to be like a peasant or servant, like cleaning, babysitting, farming, and etc. Esperanza mother soon gets valley fever and Esperanza sees that her mother needs Abuelita(her grandma). So Esperanza works in the fields and gets lots of money, but one day strikers strike about the working conditions and Marta was among them, but the Immagration Services send them back to Mexico. One of Miguel’s cousins, Isabel helps Esperanza get used to living a life of  peasants and they become friends. One day Miguel and Esperanza fight about hope and being on the same side of the river.  The next day, Miguel disappears and so does Esperanza tresured money she saved for Abuelita arrival. Miguel returns and brings a special guest, Abuelita! Then Esperanza teaches Isabel how to crochet.

Flush

By: Carl Hiassen

Blurb by Jason

Are you the type of person who enjoys mystery, humor, and family? Then Flush is right for you. Flush is about a man named Paine Underwood who cherishes the Florida Keys and will not stand for  people who will destroy its beauty. This time he went too far and ends up in jail for drowning Dusty Muleman’s casino boat because supposedly Dusty deposits human waste into the ocean. Paine’s wife is near the edge for filing a divorce. Noah Underwood, Paine’s son, is determined to prove his dad’s reason for his exaggerated act. Will Paine lose his family and reputation or will he be proven right and become a great father. Read the story to find out.

The Silver Donkey

By: Sonya Hartnett

Blurb By Jason

On a cool spring morning in France, two sisters, Coco and Marcelle, discover a soldier in the woods. The first World War raging not so far away, the soldier is a deserter and is blind from battle, trying to steal away home through the dark and unforgiving world. The helpless soldier becomes their only concern, and their precious secret. Every morning the sisters treat him to a satisfying “feast” and give him scarves, socks, and etc. In return of the girls hospitality, the soldier tells them heartbreaking stories. With some help from their brother and a family friend, the girls watch him safely cross the Channel to his home and grieving family. The soldier meanwhile enchants the girls with stories about bravery, loyalty, and courage- all linked to a minuscule treasure in his pocket…. a Silver Donkey.

I personally found this book heartwarming yet saddening. All in all this book is a great book and I highly reccomend this book to other kids who like friendship, historical fiction, and suspense.