This reminds me of...

"But the million people, we don't know them so we don't care about what happened to them. A million is just a number, a statistic." -Ian, from Shattered by Eric Walters

The book that I am currently reading is about a boy who volunteers at a soup kitchen where he meets a homeless man who was a UN soldier that served is Rwanda. This book reminded me a lot about when Eric Walters came to our school in grade seven. When Eric Walters asked how many of us had heard of Rwanda, no one raised their hand, just like how the kids in the book hadn't heard of it either. He then went on and gave a very good talk about the genocide in Rwanda and taught us very similar things to what Ian had learned in Shattered. It also reminded me of watching the film Hotel Rwanda in class last year. It was a very scary movie that showed all of the horrible things that had happened. These aren't the only connections that I have to this book, but I feel these are the most significant.

My book's main character

Currently I am reading the book Fear The Worst by Linwood Barklay.

"I do know it was instinctual. Someone suggests you killed your own daughter, that you took the life of the person more dear to you than anyone else in the world, what else are you going to do but try to get your hands around his neck and try to choke the life out of him."
-Tim Blake, from Fear the Worst

The main character of the book I am currently reading (Fear the worst) is a man named Tim Blake. Tim Blake makes a living selling cars at a car dealership and has a 17 year old daughter named Sydney (Syd). Tim is a divorced father and when Syd was staying with him, she didn't come home one night. Tim's daughter was then confirmed missing and Tim is very scared and worried about what might of happened to his daughter. Ever since Tim has been searching all over for her. Tim is a good guy and is good at his job but this has all had a massive effect on him. As the story progresses Tim starts to uncover clues that slowly start to unviel answers to where his daughter may be. I think in the end Tim will probably find Syd but there will be a lot more to it than it seemed at first.

The video below is a video done to the song "A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall" by Bob Dylan. I think this is a good song to represest what Tim is thinking because the lyrics are about a father worrying about his child that he can't find.

Swim the Fly Summary and Review

I have recently finished reading the book Swim The Fly by Don Calame.

Swim the Fly's story mainly revolves around three friends who have set a summertime goal to see a real live naked girl. The story is told from Matt's perspective and therefore is mainly based around him. Matt and his two friends, Sean and Coop, are also part of a swim team. I won't go into too many plot details but as the summer progresses the boys continuously get caught up in more and more trouble in their many adventures. They do accomplish their goal but with a twist.

Despite having a funny concept Swim the Fly isn't executed as well as it could have been. It has some funny moments but it gets quite repetitive and therefore drags on way past the 300 page mark. The plot is very predictable and as a result did not keep my interest in it's story. The characters aren't really that likable and I didn't find my self identifying with them. Chances are you'll really enjoy the book at first but be disappointed by the end. While it's an okay read for teenagers, there are certainly better reads available.

I give it a 5 out of 10.