“You heard about the fingerprints, huh? They just came in and told me about that a little while ago. They still think I took that snake. But I didn’t! I swear!”

In the book Nancy Drew #18, by Carolyn Keene, Nancy is trying to prove one of her good friends innocent. It is hard because every little bit of evidence is leading to say that he is guilty. But Nancy Drew  is determined and will not give up until she proves him innocent (like he says he is).

Charlie Adams, the “guilty one” knows he’s innocent. I think he is a nice person who would't steal a thing especially a poisonous snake from the zoo. I’ve inferred that it is really hard to prove yourself innocent if every little bit of the evidence that the police has leads back to you. I know Charlie wouldn’t do such a thing. Then who would fake this and why? Based on the book, Charlie Adams is a really good guy who is locked up in jail for nothing and I believe he did no harm. Nancy is a smart, loving and a great detective; I know she will prove them wrong.

Things are not looking good for Charlie Adams. I feel really bad for him because even his friends are suspecting that he stole the snake. No one is sticking by him except for Nancy Drew. I hope Nancy can prove him innocent or it will be bad. I can tell, about the way he talks on the phone and directly to Nancy that he is innocent. “Nancy!” he cried, sounding both relieved and embarrassed as the clerk left the room. “They told me you where here. What are you doing here? Never mind-I don’t even know what I’m doing here; why should I know what your doing here?”. When will everyone realize that?  

“It is much easier to be brave if you do not know everything.”

In the book Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry, Kira learns that Jamision, her defender/boss/leader is lying. He told her that her father is dead and was taken by beasts. In the beginning, I thought Jamision was trust-worthy but by the end, I found out that her was a lier. 

In the beginning of the book, I thought Jamision was trust-worthy because he saved Kira from having to go to the field. He helped her and gave her anything she needed/wanted. I think he was nice and caring to help Kira even with her disabled leg. When he told Kira that her dad was dead and he actually saw the beasts take him away I was surprised. I knew I trusted him but it was a big surprise to Kira and myself. “Don’t forget, Kira,” he continued, “I saw your father taken by beasts. It was a hideous thing, terrible”. I trusted Jamision and his 3 syllable wisdom (each time you get older, you get one syllable added to your name) but something seemed fishy about the way he was acting all nice and goddie-goddie to Kira.

My feelings for Jamision kind of started to turn when Kira discovers that he locked a toddler with great talent inside the big castle/house. Then Kira realizes that she really isn’t really free, she always has to stay there and work; she can’t even sew what she wants to. I feel really bad for Kira because she starts to realize that this isn’t the life for her but she is forced now. Also, she talks to Jamision about beasts; how Anabella said that there is no such thing and men are just trying to scare you. Jamision overreacts and that makes me think that maybe Anabella is telling the truth and Jamision is hiding something. “She’s very old,” he said firmly. “It’s dangerous for her to speak that way. Her mind is beginning to wonder". But really, he is lying and Anabella is telling the truth. I think Jamision is a lier and he is just hiding something from the reader and most of all, Kira.

I realize that my inference is true by the end of the book. Jamision is hiding the fact from Kira that there are no beasts and that he tried to kill her father and maybe poisoned her mother into dying so her could have Kira’s wonderful talent all to himself. Her father says “Yes, he tried to find a place for me before. Jamision is the one who tried to kill me.” But when Kira meets her father at the end of the book she decides to stay with Jamision and try change the ways of living in their society.

I don't know if I agree with Kira's decision because even though Jamision took care of her all her life, he is a lier and that will never change. If I was Kira, I wouldn't of forgave Jamision that quickly and would have went to live with my poor old lonely dad. Maybe I would have tried to changed Jamision into a better person, I don't know. Although I question Kira's decision to stay with Jamision at the end of the book, I trust her to make the best decisions that will carry her through the rest of her life.

"Stanford Wong? Are you Sarah Wong's little brother?" my teachers always ask. Eventually, when they find out that I am nothing like my sister, I can sense their disappointment. Sarah skipped a grade. So it only seems right that I flunk a grade to balance things out. Hey, maybe I'll be in Ripley's Believe It or Not! The headline will read: STANFORD WONG, THE ONLY STUPID CHINESE KID IN AMERICA!"

In the book Stanford Wong Flunks Big-Time by Lisa Yee, Stanford gets put in summer school. His dad isn't happy about it. Stanford’s relationship with his father is upsetting because his dad doesn’t listen, isn’t supportive and is jealous of him.

When Stanford tries to talk to his dad, his dad doesn’t listen. When Stanford’s dad tells him he has to go to summer school, he doesn’t even want to hear what Stanford has to say. He leaves the room before anything else is said. Another example of when his dad doesn’t listen, is when his dad misses dinner several times on purpose. He knows Stanford and his wife wants to talk to him but still he doesn’t want to listen. As you can see, even when Stanford might have something important to say, his dad still doesn’t want to listen.

In the middle of the book, Stanford loses confidence in himself because his dad isn’t supportive. When Stanford improves from a F to a B+, his dad says “You could have done better, you could have gotten an A!” I think his dad is really mean not to say anything nice to Stanford, he improved a lot. Also, his dad keeps comparing him to his sister Sarah, who is a genius. It makes him sad to think his dad doesn’t believe that he can get an A! Instead of wanting to prove to his dad he can do it, he loses faith in himself- I know he could get an A. Besides all that, his dad never comes to his basketball games. It is sad because that’s where Stanford excels. It seems that Stanford’s dad doesn’t want to see his own son perform well (which is in basketball).

Eventually, Stanford learns that his dad might actually be jealous of him. Stanford is great at sports especially basketball. He thought his dad would be too but every time he offers to play with his dad, his dad rejects his offer. Then, he finds out from his grandma that his dad has always been really bad at sports. Stanford is really surprised about that news. Also, he learns that his dad was so bad that he couldn’t even do the monkey bars. Who can’t do the monkey bars? His dad also got teased a lot as a child. I think Stanford’s dad wanted to be a great student, so nobody would ask him if he was good at sports. It is clear, that Stanford’s dad probably wished to be Stanford growing up and is now jealous that Stanford has such an amazing talent for sports. Therefore that is probably why his dad won't come to any of his games.

Stanford learns it is challenging to live with his dad (like any relationship, it has it's ups and downs). Although it was hard to live with his dad (because he didn’t listen, wasn’t supportive and is jealous of him) Stanford dealt with these problems delicately (for a guy). It definitely showed a different side of him. By the end of the book, Stanford and his father built a stronger relationship and I think really connected in a "father-son" kind of way.