Boot Camp Escape

The book Boot camp started slow and then in one instance everything started to happen. I was very surprised that all three of the main characters escaped. Garrett also manages to punish Joe for all the abuse he had been giving. The next few chapters really were interesting wondering if they would be caught. Seeing that most of the book so far has taken place at Camp Harmony it is a nice change to be out in the real world. It also seems we may never find out back stories of the supporting or the main characters. At times I had wondered if the main characters were bad and if their parents were right in sending them away. It doesn’t make them look any better escaping and running from people. Everything in the escape seems to have gone too well so I’m expecting a big twist at the end.

Letter to Garrett's Parents

I can’t believe you would send Garrett to boot camp. Your duty as parents is to help raise your children and you seem to have just given up. Listening to your teenage son could have helped you understand what you were going through but instead you just push him away. It’s bad enough that you sent him to Lake Harmony, but that you also allowed them to kidnap him in the middle of the night by two strangers. Once they get to the camp the teenagers are starved and beaten. The camp is nothing better than a brainwashing factory. If they succeed they will just have destroyed any of Garrett’s personality. The children are used to beat up and police the other children with promises of rising up in a system that will eventually let them go home. The entire place must be shut down. You may not have agreed with things that Garrett has done like trying drugs and dating his ex teacher but you need to remember what it was like to be a teenager. Everyone makes mistakes and choices and it’s up to parents like you to help them through the difficult times. It is sad that you have just sent your problems away.

Boot Camp so far

The book Boot Camp started out very slow. Usually I have a hard time getting into a book that has a slow start but the mystery really pulled me in. The story starts out with Garrett going to Lake Harmony, but gives us no real idea of how he ended up on the bus headed there. We meet a few different characters but they keep everything quiet and mysterious. Once we find out why Garrett’s been sent to the camp everything starts to make much more sense. I thought back to the way it was growing up and how difficult it can be as a teenager. I could not at all imagine my parents sending to a place like that. I have to wonder if places like this actually exist. I doubt that any could be as violent as the location in the book though. We meet other characters that rebel along with Garrett and so far have gotten just a basic background of why they are at the camp. Joe is the main villain of the story and its very easy to feel anger at the character and what he does to Garret and the others. David and Robert are kids that have been sent to the camp, yet they do not rebel instead they help the leaders of the camp keep others in control. I can see that an escape plan is in the works. I really just hope I can get some more background on the characters before any kind of major action begins.

Boot Camp Sentences

So far in Boot Camp there have been some very good revealing and interesting sentences and phrases.


Never forget these kids have had years of experience lying, manipulating, doing whatever it takes to get what they want.
This was very early in the book and showed me that the people employeed by Lake Harmony take their jobs very seriously. They also have seen many other kids that have done terrible things.

Because he lied, he stole money, he took drugs, and he was missing around with his teacher, who was eight years older than her.
This was the first real background information we got about Garrett. This possibly explains why his parents sent him to Lake Harmony, yet I suspect that we will fully understand why he did those things if he did.

Lake Harmony has your parents consent to administer whatever punishment is deemed necessary.
This sentence let me know that there would be some very violent parts to the book. This also makes me wonder what kind of parents Garrett has that would let him be injured.

You little brat.
This was part of the flashback Garrett has and these three words sum up what his Mother thinks of him. I was very surprised to have read it.

If parents weren’t paying for us to be here, could they ever be wrong.
This was the sentence that Garrett used to try and get some other kids on his side, and none of the workers of Lake Harmony really had an answer for him. I wonder what happens to the kids if the parents are unable to pay for them to stay there.

I’m going to mess you up big guy, TI (temporary isolation) is nothing compared to what I’m gonna do to you.
Garrett has already made enemies without even speaking a word to some of the people. This shows that in group settings there’s always someone that already has a problem with you.

You’re the one who doesn’t understand. You are the child.
This sentence shows me that the workers at Lake Harmony have no respect for anyone. It angers me and reminds me of times I was treated like a child.

I love her.
This sentence very simply silenced everyone at the meeting and showed that Garrett really wants to get out and find Sabrina.

Because wasn’t enough for me.
I can’t stand when people use because for an answer. Like Garrett I don’t think it’s a good excuse.

So Pauly’s going to stay here until he makes the football team?

This is the question that Garrett asks the director of the facility. It seems that some kids are being sent to Lake Harmony for different reasons then others.

Hate List Conclusion

As I neared the ending of Hate list I stared to wonder how it would end. As good as the book had been I wondered if the ending could live up to everything that had played out before. I did not find myself disappointed in the ending.
The last few chapters changed the story in a few good and unexpected ways. Everything with the student council meetings seemed to be going to well, especially with Jessica. I found myself confused on why Josh would want to dance with Valerie after not wanting much to do with her at school. Then the pages with Troy pulling the gun came, and were some of the most emotional and powerful pages of the book. This led Valerie to push everyone away including Jessica. Then at Nicks gravesite was the game changer of the book.
Both Jessica and Duce make Valerie realize that she had abandoned all the people she cared about. She was so concerned about protecting herself that she never thought about the other students and parents and teachers that had been affected by the tragedy. It really made me think about how selfish humans are and how they only really think about their own problems and how bad things affect them.
The way that Angela dash is handled in the book and her reporting is very interesting. I loved that the end of the book showed that bullying was still there and that people had not moved on from the bad feelings towards others. Even Valerie’s dad had not forgiven her, so it was not a completely happy ending like some stories. It also made me think about how you might think you know someone when you’re really don’t until maybe it’s too late.

Forgiveness

My parents have always told me they will love me no matter what. I would imagine that they would forgive me for any mistakes I have made. Valerie’s father became one of the most important characters in part three of Hate list. He changed the way I began to look at him with just a few important revelations.
The first revelation is that Valerie’s dad is going to move in with his secretary. This showed to me that he was ready to leave the family and that only the shooting had kept him at Valerie’s house. I can understand why he would not want to stay. I also understand why he had to stay at the house with his family. Valerie seems to really understand his situation and I’m sure that she would forgive him.
This leads to what I think is the biggest revelation for Valerie’s father. When he asks if Valerie will forgive him for leaving she asks if he will forgive her. When he states that he will never forgive her I was stunned. It was definitely one the most powerful moments in the book. I know that what Valerie had done was wrong by making the list, but if he took more time to talk with her he would realize it was a mistake. She didn’t mean for anything bad to happen to anyone.
I can’t imagine either of my parents telling me they could never forgive me. Valerie’s father has the right to leave and be with Briley, but I was upset in knowing that he would even sit with his daughter and talk with her about the tragedy that changed her life. She was still a victim of the tragedy that struck the school and it is his responsibility to talk with her about it.

Praise Vs. Criticism

One of the greatest kinds of characters in a story is the anti-hero. It helps that the character is not characterized as a hero or villain or as good or bad. The best area to find interesting characters is the gray area between good and bad. The main character in Hate List is Valerie and I still have yet to decide if she should be called a villain or a hero.
Without her actions of creating the hate list the people that were killed and injured might still be alive. Specific people she put on the list were hunted down by Nick Levil on the day of the shootings. Although I still wonder what part Jeremy played in the shootings. The same attack at the school could have happened, excluding the targets that Valerie had picked. Nick seemed to be racing towards the same destiny of shooting, killing, and eventual suicide. There’s a chance that with Jeremy’s help this same outcome could have happened. It might have been even worse if Valerie hadn’t been there.
Valerie did end up saving Jessica and possibly many other students and teachers in the process. This has kept me questioning whether I see her as misunderstood or someone that got away with a terrible crime.
Overall I think she deserves praise for saving a life and stopping the shootings. She also deserves to be criticized for making the list, even if she didn’t know what it would end up being used for. She can’t go back and stop the terrible things that happened at the school, yet she has learned from her mistakes and can only try her hardest to move forward.

Hate List So Far

When getting to choose the book to read I really wanted to read Hate List. I thought it would be interesting since the subject material had been close to the real life situations that had happened in the past decade. I enjoy the way the story was told with chapters jumping back and forth in time. Some of the best stories have been told without conforming to chronological order such as Star Wars and Lost. These and others along with Hate List are given a sense of mystery as to when something is happening in relation to the other parts of the story. It can be somewhat confusing starting a new chapter and jumping back or forward 5 or 6 months, but it is also very rewarding.
The characters all seem to be very interesting, all with their own strong back stories. I am very interested in finding out more about Valerie’s parents and their issues. I mostly want to find out more about Jeremy and what his motives and impact have been through the story.
Even though the book is not a diary it still seems as if I’ve stumbled upon Valerie’s diary. She talks to the reader as if they’re someone she can confide any information with. I think it’s a great writing tool to make the reader feel more connected with characters. The characters also seem to be real people each with their own flaws. No one in the story is perfect. Characters have troubled marriages, friendships, relationships, family problems, trust issues, and other interesting situations.

So far the book has lived up to my expectations for good characters, an interesting plot and a unique writing style. I hope it will continue to impress in the coming pages.

This Monster Lives

A book I recently read was Metallica: This Monster Lives. The book is by Joe Berlinger with Greg Milner. It shows the human side of the band and the daily troubles that they must face. The book is the companion story to the movie Some Kind of Monster that chronicled the bands near breakup for three years. It gives the story of the filmmakers instead of the band, giving a different perspective. The title of the book and movie refer to a monster. A monster can be thought of as a powerful force destroying all in its path. In that way the band had become a monster in that they were unstoppable. Every album they released in the past decade had won awards and been a number one record. The monster also had become a burden for the members and while it brought them together, it also nearly tore them apart. One band member left the band and another ended up in rehab for many months. The fear of failure and the many temptations in a band almost brought the band to destruction yet they pulled together to finish the album, movie, and book. In this way they band, producer, filmmakers, and author came together like one monster to complete the process. The monster not only lives but has become stronger than ever and more of an unstoppable force. It is significant that the title of the book combined with the title of the movie and one of the songs off that album shows the feelings of the band at this important time in their lives.

Mustaine

The last book I read was the book Mustaine.  Reading the book about one of my favorite musicians has been a very eye opening experience.  Even after finishing the book and I keep going back and reading particular chapters.  Many issues are talked about in the book.  Family issues, drug use, betrayal, love, and it really is a true story of someone’s continually picking themselves up after terrible things had happened.  The author talks to the reader as if he is just casually talking to a friend at lunch.  He doesn’t try to be something he’s not and doesn’t talk down to anyone.  For more than half of the book the author is addicted to some kind of drug and it really brought up some emotions.  It made me think of some of my friends and family members that have tried so hard to break free of addiction.  I admire the author for allowing the reader to enter the world and see how crazy and bad things got over the years.  It also makes for some uncomfortable parts of the book and I was surprised as I read them. 

I sometimes have trouble reading, especially if it is an assigned reading.  I hear the words in my mind and then they are immediately lost without any understanding of what they mean.  Even in this book I found myself having to go back into a paragraph to find out what I had just skipped over.  It can be a very exhausting problem and I try mostly to visualize what I am reading about.  Of all the books I’ve read in the past couple years they have all been about heavy metal.  Recently I’ve found two autobiographies and before that it was biographies about bands where I knew most of the information already from the internet.  I enjoy reading the books that I pick out, yet it frustrates me that reading about a subject that I’m not that excited about is so difficult.