Over the past year, we have been writing on our English blog on books that we read over the course of the year. The end of the year is very close, and this is a final reflection blog on all the work that we’ve done. Looking back at all the work, you can really see the time go by.
At the beginning of the year as we were settling in, I found there was an adjustment to my English class from previous years. Grade nine being more structured and literature based. Being our first book, I found that I struggled with Romeo and Juliet quite a bit, carelessly checking my work. The “Lovesick Romeo” writing had twenty-two errors in it. Looking back I’m shocked that I slipped up with twenty-two. Luckily for me we were not penalized for our spelling and grammar errors that much. Jumping ahead to our “Memoir Writing” I had written an essay three times longer with only three errors. I’m very pleased with myself as I have learned over the years I have a tendency to rush things and no check them over. It’s a skill that I have started to pick up on over this year.
Another skill I feel improved on was taking literature and using it in more creative ways. Writing about a book and certain aspects is easy, but when you take the book and use it to creatively do more, it reaches into your brain and really makes you think. A good example of how I have improved would be the Romeo and Juliet “Comic Strip”. I found I had a lot of trouble with trying to think of how to make it in a way that was artistic but still had the content. Skipping ahead to the Paper Shadows “Radio Dramatization,” it was a similar project in the sense you had to paraphrase the words from the book. Even though this was in a group as to the comic, I still felt that my ideas were much better expressed than they were many months before.
When given the songwriting project for Of Mice and Men, I was very excited as this was the type of project I had been looking forward to quite some time. I was very proud of myself for this work as I felt I connected my knowledge of the book with rhythm and timing, to collectively put it together. As said above, I felt my need to take the information and display it in a new way was what I needed to work on and I felt that I did that very well for the song. Personally when trying to write a song I never seem to finish, but because this was school work it pushed me to finish and helped me out in a couple of different ways.
As we leave grade nine and enter grade ten, there are two goals I have in mind for the coming year. My first goal is to try really hard to not make too many little errors in my writing. To do so I will do my best to work on my grammar and spelling and see if I can learn any new grammar techniques. The second goal is to try learn styles of writing to further my own way so that when I’m writing I can change it up a little bit for writing things where I’d normally just use one format.
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Lullabies For Little Criminals-Heather O'Neil
Over the March Break, I had read the award-winning book Lullabies for Little Criminals by Heather O’Neil.
The main character in the story is a teenage girl named Baby. The whole book is about the struggle through Baby’s life of inconsistency. When she was born, Baby’s mother past away, leaving the infant with her father named Jules. Jules has a very big heroin addiction, often leaving Baby to herself as he gets himself into a lot of trouble. Baby bounces around from guardian to guardian, trying to find out where she fits into the world. With no parental guidance, Baby experiments with different things such as drugs and prostitution to see where she stands in the grand scheme of things. Although her father is abusive and dangerous, Baby can see past all he’s done to ruin her life and see the good inside of him. Having so much happen at such a young age, Baby is a very mature girl who holds onto things for as long as possible.
In the book, there are two quotes that I thought were very interesting and very well written. The first was:
“I was silent and confused as I put the tape back in my pocket. One thing I thought I really knew about Jules was that he liked Charles Aznavour. It was my favourite too. I had tried to get some friends of mine into that tape. They looked at me with a pity and disgust that was way above their age and maturity. I guess you had to be a child with some tragedy to understand that music.”
I found this effective for a few reasons. First I find the opening two sentences to be her way of trying to reconnect with what she lost. Her connection with Jules’ old music shows she lingers onto things that many people would have forgotten. The comments she made about appreciating the music shows that she’s much more mature than most of her friends. Baby understands that the troubles she went through growing up are not the problems most children face. I think from this passage we can see that she can decipher between important problems and childish problems.
The second quote is:
“I realized that kids like Theo and me weren’t even suppose to have real friends. We were supposed to be alone and confused. By being each other’s friend, we were defying our laws of gravity”
This quote to me is a big break through for Baby in the book. She connects with Theo and realizes he can actually feel her pain. He’s been in very similar situations as Baby, and she sees that they are two of a kind. I think Baby feels like what she thought was a real trust bond, was not and this is the real deal. I think because Theo could feel what she went through, she could truly confide in him. What she means by the first two lines is that normally people face these problems by themselves, but now that they’ve found each other, the can face the world with one another. The last line to me means that normally kids like themselves could not open up to each other, but only in Baby’s moment of vulnerability could Theo reach out to her.
If I were to write to the author, Heather O’Neil, and write three questions to her, they would be:
1. Baby as a character is quite intricate. Many different aspects and qualities fit together to make her who she is. Were any or all of these aspects based off of a real person?
2. In the novel, it seems that Baby jumps from place to place a lot. Meeting new children who she seems to have a connection with (Linus Lucas, Zachary, Felix, Johnny, Etc). Which of these would you say helped shape Baby along the way of her life?
3. When reading Lullabies for Little Children, your emotions are really drawn in by this sad plot. How and where did you get the inspiration to write such a tragic tale?
The main character in the story is a teenage girl named Baby. The whole book is about the struggle through Baby’s life of inconsistency. When she was born, Baby’s mother past away, leaving the infant with her father named Jules. Jules has a very big heroin addiction, often leaving Baby to herself as he gets himself into a lot of trouble. Baby bounces around from guardian to guardian, trying to find out where she fits into the world. With no parental guidance, Baby experiments with different things such as drugs and prostitution to see where she stands in the grand scheme of things. Although her father is abusive and dangerous, Baby can see past all he’s done to ruin her life and see the good inside of him. Having so much happen at such a young age, Baby is a very mature girl who holds onto things for as long as possible.
In the book, there are two quotes that I thought were very interesting and very well written. The first was:
“I was silent and confused as I put the tape back in my pocket. One thing I thought I really knew about Jules was that he liked Charles Aznavour. It was my favourite too. I had tried to get some friends of mine into that tape. They looked at me with a pity and disgust that was way above their age and maturity. I guess you had to be a child with some tragedy to understand that music.”
I found this effective for a few reasons. First I find the opening two sentences to be her way of trying to reconnect with what she lost. Her connection with Jules’ old music shows she lingers onto things that many people would have forgotten. The comments she made about appreciating the music shows that she’s much more mature than most of her friends. Baby understands that the troubles she went through growing up are not the problems most children face. I think from this passage we can see that she can decipher between important problems and childish problems.
The second quote is:
“I realized that kids like Theo and me weren’t even suppose to have real friends. We were supposed to be alone and confused. By being each other’s friend, we were defying our laws of gravity”
This quote to me is a big break through for Baby in the book. She connects with Theo and realizes he can actually feel her pain. He’s been in very similar situations as Baby, and she sees that they are two of a kind. I think Baby feels like what she thought was a real trust bond, was not and this is the real deal. I think because Theo could feel what she went through, she could truly confide in him. What she means by the first two lines is that normally people face these problems by themselves, but now that they’ve found each other, the can face the world with one another. The last line to me means that normally kids like themselves could not open up to each other, but only in Baby’s moment of vulnerability could Theo reach out to her.
If I were to write to the author, Heather O’Neil, and write three questions to her, they would be:
1. Baby as a character is quite intricate. Many different aspects and qualities fit together to make her who she is. Were any or all of these aspects based off of a real person?
2. In the novel, it seems that Baby jumps from place to place a lot. Meeting new children who she seems to have a connection with (Linus Lucas, Zachary, Felix, Johnny, Etc). Which of these would you say helped shape Baby along the way of her life?
3. When reading Lullabies for Little Children, your emotions are really drawn in by this sad plot. How and where did you get the inspiration to write such a tragic tale?
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Letter to the Author: Paul Quarrington-King Leary
145 Leacrest Road
Toronto, Ontario
M46 1E7
Toronto, Ontario
M46 1E7
March 4, 2009
Mr. Paul Quarrington
17 South Grouse Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
H0C K3Y
Dear Mr. Quarrington,
My name is Riley Wong. I am a fourteen year old student, currently enrolled at Royal Saint George’s College. Over the last couple of weeks, I had reread your book (I had already read it in the summer) King Leary. I really enjoyed the book both times, but the second time around, three specific passages stuck out to me, and I thought I would explain to you what each of the three meant to me.
“‘I say! Mind if I join you chaps?’
We said, “Huh?” because we thought he was speaking a different language. All it was was a classy English accent, but we’d never heard the likes. So he asked again, and Lloyd understood, and he says okay to the fat boy….”
I really enjoyed this passage, and the pages following it because it is the first tale of Clay Clinton. The way you wrote this flashback makes it seem like Little Leary and Clay would not be friends, but through everything they became best friends. This is my first year of high school, and I am at a new school, knowing only but one to start off the year. This passage reminds me that sometimes the oddest of people become the best of friends. I also like that it shows Percy loved hockey, even when he was a child. I think it was a smart memoir to put at the beginning, enforcing his love for the game.
”At the Bowmanville train station, I was turned over to my new keepers. I thought things had gone from bad to worse.
They were monks.”
The second passage that stuck out to me, when Percy was first sent here from his crime, he had thought he had it really badly. From the minute he got off, he saw the monk’s and thought for the worse. He perceived right away his time with them would be long and boring. Following his adventures with the monks, he starts to really get along with them, sharing the common interest of hockey, and really starts having a good time. It is here that he meets Manny Oz, one of his other best friends. From this, I get two messages that I learned when I was growing up. The first being, make the best out of everything. Percy right away assumed he would not like the monks and would have a miserable time. Once he let up and found common ground, he started to enjoy his time with the monks. My second thought is one I take to a bit more than the first. The universe has a plan for you. If Percy had never gone to see the monks, he would have never picked up the hockey skills he used in the pros. He would have never have met Manny Oz either. In my eyes, something such as his trip to the reformatory was all just apart of the plan the universe had for him. As one door closes, another one opens.
“It’s hard to imagine that this is the same town me and Manny came to to recruit ourselves all those many years ago. Everything is lights and loudness in the city. Many of the people are deranged. The psychiatric ward at the South Grouse Home got nothing on these sidewalks, that’s for sure”
The third and final passage, I really liked this one because of the fact that Percy was coming back to a place he had been before, and seeing all the differences from what he remembers. It had been a long time since he had seen the streets of Toronto, and as his ride is going by, small flashbacks of this place are relived in his head. At the same time, he’s noticing what age has done to the place he once knew. As said above, I had gone to a different school than most of my friends, majority going to the local public school. I do see them very often, but it’s not the same as when we were younger and all together. Whether I’m walking to my piano lesson, or driving by, I see the places that I went to often when I was younger. Just like Percy, I saw all the memories that I had, and saw the decay of time. I can relate to this passage, because like a special place, people can change to. I look at some of my friends and see the child I went to kindergarten with, and I can see how they have matured. Needless to say, I’m definitely the same way, it’s just much less evident to see for myself.
To conclude, I would like to commend you on your amazing book, I really enjoyed how much I could relate. Especially because it’s a book about hockey, but I don’t play or watch hockey. But still, I can relate to the emotions of the characters, and compare certain situations to ones above. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my letter. If you would ever like to reply, send the letter to the address above.
Sincerely,
Riley Wong
Mr. Paul Quarrington
17 South Grouse Avenue
Toronto, Ontario
H0C K3Y
Dear Mr. Quarrington,
My name is Riley Wong. I am a fourteen year old student, currently enrolled at Royal Saint George’s College. Over the last couple of weeks, I had reread your book (I had already read it in the summer) King Leary. I really enjoyed the book both times, but the second time around, three specific passages stuck out to me, and I thought I would explain to you what each of the three meant to me.
“‘I say! Mind if I join you chaps?’
We said, “Huh?” because we thought he was speaking a different language. All it was was a classy English accent, but we’d never heard the likes. So he asked again, and Lloyd understood, and he says okay to the fat boy….”
I really enjoyed this passage, and the pages following it because it is the first tale of Clay Clinton. The way you wrote this flashback makes it seem like Little Leary and Clay would not be friends, but through everything they became best friends. This is my first year of high school, and I am at a new school, knowing only but one to start off the year. This passage reminds me that sometimes the oddest of people become the best of friends. I also like that it shows Percy loved hockey, even when he was a child. I think it was a smart memoir to put at the beginning, enforcing his love for the game.
”At the Bowmanville train station, I was turned over to my new keepers. I thought things had gone from bad to worse.
They were monks.”
The second passage that stuck out to me, when Percy was first sent here from his crime, he had thought he had it really badly. From the minute he got off, he saw the monk’s and thought for the worse. He perceived right away his time with them would be long and boring. Following his adventures with the monks, he starts to really get along with them, sharing the common interest of hockey, and really starts having a good time. It is here that he meets Manny Oz, one of his other best friends. From this, I get two messages that I learned when I was growing up. The first being, make the best out of everything. Percy right away assumed he would not like the monks and would have a miserable time. Once he let up and found common ground, he started to enjoy his time with the monks. My second thought is one I take to a bit more than the first. The universe has a plan for you. If Percy had never gone to see the monks, he would have never picked up the hockey skills he used in the pros. He would have never have met Manny Oz either. In my eyes, something such as his trip to the reformatory was all just apart of the plan the universe had for him. As one door closes, another one opens.
“It’s hard to imagine that this is the same town me and Manny came to to recruit ourselves all those many years ago. Everything is lights and loudness in the city. Many of the people are deranged. The psychiatric ward at the South Grouse Home got nothing on these sidewalks, that’s for sure”
The third and final passage, I really liked this one because of the fact that Percy was coming back to a place he had been before, and seeing all the differences from what he remembers. It had been a long time since he had seen the streets of Toronto, and as his ride is going by, small flashbacks of this place are relived in his head. At the same time, he’s noticing what age has done to the place he once knew. As said above, I had gone to a different school than most of my friends, majority going to the local public school. I do see them very often, but it’s not the same as when we were younger and all together. Whether I’m walking to my piano lesson, or driving by, I see the places that I went to often when I was younger. Just like Percy, I saw all the memories that I had, and saw the decay of time. I can relate to this passage, because like a special place, people can change to. I look at some of my friends and see the child I went to kindergarten with, and I can see how they have matured. Needless to say, I’m definitely the same way, it’s just much less evident to see for myself.
To conclude, I would like to commend you on your amazing book, I really enjoyed how much I could relate. Especially because it’s a book about hockey, but I don’t play or watch hockey. But still, I can relate to the emotions of the characters, and compare certain situations to ones above. Thank you very much for taking the time to read my letter. If you would ever like to reply, send the letter to the address above.
Sincerely,
Riley Wong
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Wimbledon Green-Seth
Over the last few weeks, I read, Wimbledon Green, a graphic novel by the cartoonist named Seth, or Gregory Gallant.
The story is about a world famous comic book collector named Wimbledon Green. Wimbledon was a smart and determined collector and had completed many sought after series of comic books in mint condition. Of course because of all of this success, Wimbledon had many rivals in the business that would stop at nothing to see Wimbledon Green go down. The plot revolves around a comic book that was supposedly gone missing, but was found after many years. Wimbledon Green and all the comic book collectors must retrieve this comic book before one another does, stopping at no costs, even risking each others lives. The quest is broken up between little snip its of information about who Wimbledon Green really is. A very similar looking Don Green is accused of being an alibi for Wimbledon, but he proclaims else wise. Wimbledon claims to be an H. Arbor Grove, but H. himself does not agree. The book is trying to find the missing comic, but to also solve the mystery of Wimbledon Green.
Before the book starts, a note from the author is written about the artwork of the novel. It basically says that the book was originally a sketchbook exercise that he was doing for practice, which eventually sprouted into a book. In my opinion, the artwork is very done for this novel. Although maybe not his best artwork, the style of cartoon and animated drawing is what caught my attention in the first place. The novel is about a dysfunctional grown man comic book collector, I think the humorous style of artwork compliments very well. Although I do like the artwork, because it lacked detail, much of the artwork is very basic, leaving out depth of a characters feeling. You couldn’t really see much beyond happy or sad. So yes they are communicated, but not to the level you would expect in a novel.
My favourite part of the graphic novel would be pages 82-89, about half of the way through. In this part of the novel, Wimbledon Green is chasing after a man working for one of his enemies. This man holds a very rare comic book vital to many collections. Wimbledon is chasing him down, using a walky talky to communicate with is assistant. What you see is another one of his enemies using a frequency machine to listen to wait Wimbledon is saying. The enemy in a car drives away thinking he’s so smart, little did he know Wimbledon knew he was following him, and set up fake instructions. Wimbledon switched to a new frequency and gave the assistant real instructions. Then, without the second enemy, Wimbledon then chases down the enemy to retrieve the book. This is my favourite part of the novel because it shows although he looks like a bumbling fool; he is quite a smart man who can easily trick his foes. I guess this is why they hate him so much
The story is about a world famous comic book collector named Wimbledon Green. Wimbledon was a smart and determined collector and had completed many sought after series of comic books in mint condition. Of course because of all of this success, Wimbledon had many rivals in the business that would stop at nothing to see Wimbledon Green go down. The plot revolves around a comic book that was supposedly gone missing, but was found after many years. Wimbledon Green and all the comic book collectors must retrieve this comic book before one another does, stopping at no costs, even risking each others lives. The quest is broken up between little snip its of information about who Wimbledon Green really is. A very similar looking Don Green is accused of being an alibi for Wimbledon, but he proclaims else wise. Wimbledon claims to be an H. Arbor Grove, but H. himself does not agree. The book is trying to find the missing comic, but to also solve the mystery of Wimbledon Green.
Before the book starts, a note from the author is written about the artwork of the novel. It basically says that the book was originally a sketchbook exercise that he was doing for practice, which eventually sprouted into a book. In my opinion, the artwork is very done for this novel. Although maybe not his best artwork, the style of cartoon and animated drawing is what caught my attention in the first place. The novel is about a dysfunctional grown man comic book collector, I think the humorous style of artwork compliments very well. Although I do like the artwork, because it lacked detail, much of the artwork is very basic, leaving out depth of a characters feeling. You couldn’t really see much beyond happy or sad. So yes they are communicated, but not to the level you would expect in a novel.
My favourite part of the graphic novel would be pages 82-89, about half of the way through. In this part of the novel, Wimbledon Green is chasing after a man working for one of his enemies. This man holds a very rare comic book vital to many collections. Wimbledon is chasing him down, using a walky talky to communicate with is assistant. What you see is another one of his enemies using a frequency machine to listen to wait Wimbledon is saying. The enemy in a car drives away thinking he’s so smart, little did he know Wimbledon knew he was following him, and set up fake instructions. Wimbledon switched to a new frequency and gave the assistant real instructions. Then, without the second enemy, Wimbledon then chases down the enemy to retrieve the book. This is my favourite part of the novel because it shows although he looks like a bumbling fool; he is quite a smart man who can easily trick his foes. I guess this is why they hate him so much
Monday, January 5, 2009
Street Pharm-Allison van Diepen
Over the break, I read Street Pharm, by Allison van Diepen. This is about a boy named Ty Johnson, a drug dealer, who has to battle a mysterious new dealer to stay on top of the business. Not just in sales, in customers, partners and his own life.
The main character Ty is the detective of the story. Although not a typical crime novel where they need to find who committed the crime, Ty has to figure out who this new mysterious dealer and how to send him to the police. From the beginning, you could tell Ty was very smart, sociable and confident. He is the number one drug dealer around his neighborhood, with a sure-fire team and flawless plans for any situation. The business was brought down to him from his father Orlando who is in jail. Ty lives with his mom who seems to believe all the lies that Ty feeds to her about his life. She has always been against Ty’s father and his business and does her best to steer Ty away from getting into it (Too late). Ty believes that after grade 7, he had learned all that he needed from school and started to skip. He did not believe school would help him on the streets and thought he was ready as a businessman. The book starts off when Ty gets kicked out of his school, Sheepstead Bay High School, and would transfer to an alternative school, Les Chancellor Institute of Career Opportunities. At first Ty refuses to go, but with his mom on his case eventually he attends the classes. There he met Alyse. At first seeming like a wet blanket book worm, Alyse eventually turns into his love interest of the novel. The one thing about Alyse is that she doesn’t know about Ty’s business and finds out much later in the book. Outside of his education and business, not much is said about Ty. The only other piece of information that comes up often his the fact that he works out a lot.
As said in paragraph one, there is no act of crime, but the events of figuring out who the other dealer was, and what were his motives. Ty would be considered the detective of the story along with his (literal) partner in crime Sonny Blake. Ty also has Rob Monfrey, a friend who acts as a spy in exchange for drugs for Ty new and many customers that give little bits of knowledge. The first sign of the criminal is when Ty gets a call from Rob Monfrey about a new gang of guys interrogating him about his drug dealing connections. Ty did not think much of it at first, but this is the
first appearance of them. The second appearance was when Sonny called Ty to inform him their customer Carlos was jumped and this new gang was trying to run them out of business.
A message was suppose to be given to the top of the business, Sonny and Ty. The message was: “Darkman’s in town and he’s shutting us down.”
At this moment the only information known was the name Darkman. Rob Monfrey added that he had a big Miami corporation. After doing some investigations Ty fished out some more information: Late twenties, real name Kevin King, Miami crip connection, family is big in Miami drug scene, brought three guys with him from Florida and has a girlfriend named Leanne. The big question on Ty’s mind was why did Darkman come down to Brooklyn. Although he was in jail, Ty’s dad had more information on Kevin and called Ty. It turns out, when Orlando was in the business himself, Kevin’s older brother Max tried to take him out, but Orlando stopped him and sent him back to Miami. Ty thought Kevin would be there to avenge his older brother, but the truth of the matter was that Kevin was there to show up his brother and do the job that he couldn’t do.
Back at school, kids were talking about how famous singer K-Ron was in Brooklyn for a while. When Ty heard this, he was quite confused. K-Ron was an old friend of Ty’s and always called when he came to town. Not only a friend, K-Ron was a loyal customer to Ty, but when he offered up drugs to him, K-Ron turned him down which really confused Ty. That same day Rob Monfrey, still a double agent, confirmed that Kevin’s right hand man, Crow, and girlfriend, Leanne, were ready to take him out. Later on in the novel, Crow and Leanne actually help take out Kevin.
Although confused about K-Ron and his confusing actions, all were cleared up when Sonny called Ty to tell him that K-Ron was arrested by the police for drugs, and that he pointed out Sonny and Ty as his dealers. Although once his dealers, but not now, Ty then knew that Kevin had somehow got to K-Ron, probably with blackmail.
After being accused by the police, shot the week after, Ty had finally had enough of Kevin, and enough clues to make a move to get him arrested. From then on, the novel stops giving out clues and starts the actual plan to take out Kevin.
The three quotes that I have chosen are a testimony of Ty’s character These quotes verify who he is and how he acts upon situations in his life. The first quote is:
“Time management is everything. If a brother wanna get ahead, he gotta use every minute to better himself. Everything I did made me better-tougher, stronger, richer, smarter-or I didn’t do it.”
This quote shows that he is very goal driven and wants nothing but the best. I chose this quote because as the novel progresses, Ty’s “motto” is constantly reflected upon in the book as Ty handles the situation with Darkman. He never wastes time and is always on top of what he does. Even if it meant doing something he regretted along the way, Ty did what was best for him.
The second quote is:
“I used some of what I learned in that book to make up my own personal code.
1. Know your enemies. Understand them. Figure out their next move before they do.
2. Never show weakness.
3. Rely on number one, no one else.
4. Control your physical instincts. Don’t let anybody pressure you into sex or a fight unless you’re in control of the situation.”
This quote is one that goes into detail of the first. Not only does it further your knowledge of Ty’s goal driven mind, it also shows how strategic he takes life. All points of this code could be taken for a game strategy guide (except for the second sentence of the fourth point, but what matters is the first sentence). This personal code is repeated (in Ty’s head) numerous times and proves to people his street smarts intelligence.
The third and final quote is: “One good thing came out of it: I learned never to give up control again. Not for a day, an hour, a minute.”
This quote comes from a story Ty told about his personal experimentation of drugs. After having a negative outcome, he knew that in order to keep his life straight, he would stay away from using drugs. The quote presents a time when Ty did something that didn’t benefit him (See quote one). It also shows that he is not overconfident. A boastful and arrogant person would bend the truth and try to convince people that what he did was good. Ty realized the bad that came from this time, and learned from his mistakes, which proves he is a down-to-earth guy.
The main character Ty is the detective of the story. Although not a typical crime novel where they need to find who committed the crime, Ty has to figure out who this new mysterious dealer and how to send him to the police. From the beginning, you could tell Ty was very smart, sociable and confident. He is the number one drug dealer around his neighborhood, with a sure-fire team and flawless plans for any situation. The business was brought down to him from his father Orlando who is in jail. Ty lives with his mom who seems to believe all the lies that Ty feeds to her about his life. She has always been against Ty’s father and his business and does her best to steer Ty away from getting into it (Too late). Ty believes that after grade 7, he had learned all that he needed from school and started to skip. He did not believe school would help him on the streets and thought he was ready as a businessman. The book starts off when Ty gets kicked out of his school, Sheepstead Bay High School, and would transfer to an alternative school, Les Chancellor Institute of Career Opportunities. At first Ty refuses to go, but with his mom on his case eventually he attends the classes. There he met Alyse. At first seeming like a wet blanket book worm, Alyse eventually turns into his love interest of the novel. The one thing about Alyse is that she doesn’t know about Ty’s business and finds out much later in the book. Outside of his education and business, not much is said about Ty. The only other piece of information that comes up often his the fact that he works out a lot.
As said in paragraph one, there is no act of crime, but the events of figuring out who the other dealer was, and what were his motives. Ty would be considered the detective of the story along with his (literal) partner in crime Sonny Blake. Ty also has Rob Monfrey, a friend who acts as a spy in exchange for drugs for Ty new and many customers that give little bits of knowledge. The first sign of the criminal is when Ty gets a call from Rob Monfrey about a new gang of guys interrogating him about his drug dealing connections. Ty did not think much of it at first, but this is the
first appearance of them. The second appearance was when Sonny called Ty to inform him their customer Carlos was jumped and this new gang was trying to run them out of business.
A message was suppose to be given to the top of the business, Sonny and Ty. The message was: “Darkman’s in town and he’s shutting us down.”
At this moment the only information known was the name Darkman. Rob Monfrey added that he had a big Miami corporation. After doing some investigations Ty fished out some more information: Late twenties, real name Kevin King, Miami crip connection, family is big in Miami drug scene, brought three guys with him from Florida and has a girlfriend named Leanne. The big question on Ty’s mind was why did Darkman come down to Brooklyn. Although he was in jail, Ty’s dad had more information on Kevin and called Ty. It turns out, when Orlando was in the business himself, Kevin’s older brother Max tried to take him out, but Orlando stopped him and sent him back to Miami. Ty thought Kevin would be there to avenge his older brother, but the truth of the matter was that Kevin was there to show up his brother and do the job that he couldn’t do.
Back at school, kids were talking about how famous singer K-Ron was in Brooklyn for a while. When Ty heard this, he was quite confused. K-Ron was an old friend of Ty’s and always called when he came to town. Not only a friend, K-Ron was a loyal customer to Ty, but when he offered up drugs to him, K-Ron turned him down which really confused Ty. That same day Rob Monfrey, still a double agent, confirmed that Kevin’s right hand man, Crow, and girlfriend, Leanne, were ready to take him out. Later on in the novel, Crow and Leanne actually help take out Kevin.
Although confused about K-Ron and his confusing actions, all were cleared up when Sonny called Ty to tell him that K-Ron was arrested by the police for drugs, and that he pointed out Sonny and Ty as his dealers. Although once his dealers, but not now, Ty then knew that Kevin had somehow got to K-Ron, probably with blackmail.
After being accused by the police, shot the week after, Ty had finally had enough of Kevin, and enough clues to make a move to get him arrested. From then on, the novel stops giving out clues and starts the actual plan to take out Kevin.
The three quotes that I have chosen are a testimony of Ty’s character These quotes verify who he is and how he acts upon situations in his life. The first quote is:
“Time management is everything. If a brother wanna get ahead, he gotta use every minute to better himself. Everything I did made me better-tougher, stronger, richer, smarter-or I didn’t do it.”
This quote shows that he is very goal driven and wants nothing but the best. I chose this quote because as the novel progresses, Ty’s “motto” is constantly reflected upon in the book as Ty handles the situation with Darkman. He never wastes time and is always on top of what he does. Even if it meant doing something he regretted along the way, Ty did what was best for him.
The second quote is:
“I used some of what I learned in that book to make up my own personal code.
1. Know your enemies. Understand them. Figure out their next move before they do.
2. Never show weakness.
3. Rely on number one, no one else.
4. Control your physical instincts. Don’t let anybody pressure you into sex or a fight unless you’re in control of the situation.”
This quote is one that goes into detail of the first. Not only does it further your knowledge of Ty’s goal driven mind, it also shows how strategic he takes life. All points of this code could be taken for a game strategy guide (except for the second sentence of the fourth point, but what matters is the first sentence). This personal code is repeated (in Ty’s head) numerous times and proves to people his street smarts intelligence.
The third and final quote is: “One good thing came out of it: I learned never to give up control again. Not for a day, an hour, a minute.”
This quote comes from a story Ty told about his personal experimentation of drugs. After having a negative outcome, he knew that in order to keep his life straight, he would stay away from using drugs. The quote presents a time when Ty did something that didn’t benefit him (See quote one). It also shows that he is not overconfident. A boastful and arrogant person would bend the truth and try to convince people that what he did was good. Ty realized the bad that came from this time, and learned from his mistakes, which proves he is a down-to-earth guy.
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