When I first opened this book, it struck me that I could almost relate to everything this book was about. I have always been the new person in a school and have always lived like that. I never had any "friends I've known since I was two" or anything of that. The main character, "Junior", does every stereotypical thing a 14 year old teenager would do. The only thing I thought was slightly boring was how Junior always telling everyone that he actually loves them, but he keeps bragging about it , till the point where at the end of the story, personally, I didn't want Junior and his "ex best friend" to be friends again! Anyways, the conflict of the story was the fact that Junior had a chance to go to a wonderful High School, were the level of education was purely just incredibly higher than in his school at the camp were everyone beat him up for how he looked!
Junior had a very tough time growing up, not only because he came from a extremely poor family, lived in a reserve with other very poor uneducated families (which 1:100 graduated college), but also because he cried all the time, he had sicknesses which made his brain extremely delicate, and he had a lisp, and everything a teenager would NOT want to have. Fortunately for him, well not very throughout the story, but he had a very tough and strong friend who could protect Junior. Let me break up the unfortunate features of Junior. He came from a poor family, where Junior's dad would spend all the money he had, on alcohol. He would be lucky to have breakfast, and for Christmas (while his dad away getting drunk) would get maybe 5 dollars if lucky. At the reserve, nobody really interacted with other races since they were sort of a community. The "white people" were often recognized as rich educated ones who would succeed in life and live in a giant house, have two kids and live a happy life. Unlike the Indians at the reserve, they would have three good meals every day. This is were Junior faced an incredible decision in his life. He was getting beaten up, and did not learn anything in school (he was very smart), he felt useless! He was given to go to a school in a white village, where no Indian had ever been, probably never even one Indian! This school had good teachers, good students, but he would be the only person who wasn't white.
The reserve had always kept a tradition, where no one really should leave before the finished school. They should stay at the reserve, go to school there and start a family there. Tat is exactly of what Junior wanted to do, and did. As he entered his High School back in the reserve, he only got beat up by other students (cause everyone hates freshmen) and did not learn anything. He was very smart and worked thoroughly but the level was just too low for him! That's is when Junior had to do the biggest choice in his life. He could stay at the reserve, pretty much ruin his future, but stay close to his family and friends, as well as keep his tradition, or on the other hand leave the reserve and loose all the friends he had including his best friend "Rowdy", it would ruin the tradition and everyone would hate him, and when he would get to school he would be the outsider, but that was what his destiny told him to do. Follow your guts!
When Junior made his decision, I could completely feel for him. When he chose to leave everything he had except family, that is an enormous challenge that everyone should face at least once in their life time. Everyone hated him at the reserve, they would all beat him up. But I think that Jobi made an excellent decision. He should care about the future no matter what happens! YOU have to trust your guts and do what you love or care the most above all, regardless of what people say.Stand up for your self and make the right choice!
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