Position paper

Maria C

English 9 Greens

1 September 2012

 

My summer reading book was called Going for the Record by Julie A Swanson. My first choice of research topic is treatments of cancer. The topic has two sides to it, since some people who have been through or watched someone go through cancer think the treatments don’t work because the person they knew died from it. However, my paper will argue that some methods of treatment work, it depends on what kind of cancer and what treatment was used. My second choice of research topic is causes of cancer. I will write about one type of cancer, Pancreatic Cancer, because what is what Leah’s dad had. The topic has different views because some people think smoking cigarettes will not cause you to get pancreatic cancer, but my paper will argue that it is one of the top causes. My paper will show the side of treatments of cancer I think is the truest.

Part 1 and 2 of summer reading novel, what did you think?

Maria C

English 9 Greens

31 August 2012

Going for the Record

 

In the book "Going for the Record" by Julie A Swanson, the main character Leah is a huge soccer player. She goes to many camps to prepare for soccer season after she got cut from her high school team. After her first camp of the summer, her dad picks her up breaking news to her that he has cancer and only has about 3 months to live. Leah goes to another camp in Colorado Springs, and is called home because her dad’s condition gets worse. She wants him to stay alive long enough to see her to go her dream collage, Notre Dame or North Carolina to play soccer. Before she makes her decision, and at the end of the book her father dies. Leah and her mother are very depressed by this. I chose this book because it was something I could relate to in a way. When I play certain sports, I try very hard and get distractions during the way, but not as severe as someone's death in my family. A very serious issue discussed in this book was death. Leah's dad gets Pancreatic Cancer and just when Leah thinks it is not life threatening, her dad breaks the news it's only 3 months he has to live! Leah can’t believe it and wants to give up on everything. This includes school, soccer, and even her almost boyfriend Clay. Leah is left in the dark after the passing of her father quitting soccer all together. I though this book was very good. It was action packed and suspenseful. This is a story some people can relate to. Cancer is a very dangerous thing, and people all around the world go through this terrible sickness, or have watched a family member they loved very much suffer till the end. I loved this book and recommend it to anyone.
There are many differences between my summer reading novel and another student’s. For example, in her book, there were three main characters in most of the action compared to only one in my book. Also, the three main characters in the book did not watch someone else face a problem, but instead they faced the problem themselves. The mother in the book Rules of Survival abused her children by hitting them. So, the children try and find a man for the mother to date so they might get less attention on them, making them not get as much abuse as they had gotten in the past. This works for a short time until they break up and the mother is sad and tries to get the boyfriend in trouble. At this point, the children began getting hit again, and later move to their real father’s house for safety. I think this story tells the reader not one person can make a difference in someone’s life, but someone older may be able to help. In the other student’s story, this is true because the boyfriend could not make the mother happy, but when they told the father what was happening, they got to move in to his house. That theme is different than my story, because they had different events happen. My stories them is setting goals in life can be hard, especially when a big tragedy occurs.

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