12

Overall, I liked my book, because it was pretty interesting. It was good to learn about how black peoples' lives were back then. But, at some parts it got kind of boring, because it would talk about the same thing throughout a few chapters. There lives were hard, and they couldn't ever do anything they wanted to because they were black. And at other times it was kind of confusing. Because they would talk about life back home, and life now, so that would always get confusing.

What really went on in my book though, was that a family decided it would be best to leave their hometown because they didn't feel safe. They had felt this way, because a black boy had been shot for doing absolutely nothing wrong, and them being black, they felt like it wasn't a safe place for them to live. They then moved to some run- down apartment, and tried to live a normal life there. But, that hadn't worked out too well, because their father did nothing but sit on the chair, and their mother did nothing but go to church. And all the children would do, is go to school and then come home, do their homework, and stay in their room. They were pretty much living a sheltered life. Evie (the main character) had loved to run, so she decided to join the track team. And Anna (Evie's older sister) was super smart, and she got accepted into a college even though she was a junior. Their mother then got a job as a teacher, but their father still stayed in the chair in the living room. Evie thought everything was starting to take a turn for the better. She started getting friends, and hanging out with people, and getting better at track. Until, her sister told her she would be leaving for college in a few months. Evie didn't like this idea, because she didn't want to be alone. Evie then decided track wasn't for her, and she quit. Then an accident with her father happened, and he ended up in the hospital. The book then ended with her and her father in the hospital, and Evie felt like she was back at her old home.

What I learned from this book, is to think before you take action. Because the cops shot the black kid because they thought he was in a gang. But really, the black kid wasn't, and he was just a normal kid. But, I actually did enjoy reading this book, and I liked learning about the blacks back then. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes to learn a lot about other people's lives, and know how hard their lives really were. Or if they want to know anything about black history, because this was a good book to show that anything wrong happening to a black family, could effect another black family too.

11

Hearing the sound of a gun shooting a black kid
Understanding that they would never get treated equally
School was an escape from home
Helped each other get through the hard times at the apartment

10

Evie's older sister is leaving the family to go to college. If I was Evie, I would be really upset if my sister was leaving for college. Because Evie would be an only child then. And she already has a hard enough life, and without her sister there it will probably get even harder. So, if I was her I would beg my sister to stay back. Even though, Evie already told her sister to stay back, her sister didn't want to listen to her and she just wanted to go to college.

9

In my book, I learned about how hard it most have been for the blacks to live back then. Even though nothing happened to their family, they were still worried when other black families had gotten murdered or something. Because, they thought that one day it could happen to their family. I'm understanding my book pretty well, and realizing that it would have been hard for the blacks to live back then. I just wonder if the would have ever moved back. Would they maybe feel like it was safe sometime, and it was okay to go back?

8

I am now done with my book, and I finished it in about a week. It was actually a really good book, so I kind of liked reading it. But some of the main things that have happened, is that Evie, Anna, their mother and father have moved from Colorado to some other place. But, they have no idea where they are at, because some men took them there. They moved, because a black kid had been shot, even though he did nothing wrong. Evie and her family -being black- thought it was a bad idea to live there still. Her father had thought that they would maybe get shot too. So, they live in this apartment and Evie and Anna don't really have friends, and her mother and father don't have jobs. They are just kind of living life in a horrible way. Anna and Evie go to school, their father does nothing but sit in the same chair everyday in the living room, and their mother spends most of her time at the church. Anna is going to attend a college, even though she is only a junior, and Evie joined the track team (which she enjoys a lot). Their mother also got a job as a teacher, which she enjoys a lot too. But their father hadn't really had any luck, and actually ended up in the hospital for a while. After he got home, everything was actually okay with living in the little apartment. Even though before, it really wasn't.

7

I predict that Evie will move back to Colorado with her family, even though the black kid had gotten shot there. I think they will go back there, because they all miss it, and I'm sure everyone there misses them too. It said that their grandmother sends them letters every now and then, so I'm sure that their grandmother misses them a lot. But also, her father is scared of moving back, because he is afraid that one or both of his daughters will get shot for just being black.

6

If I was in the shoes of Evie, I don't know how I would go about life really. Because she lives in a run down apartment with her sister Anna, her mother, and father, and he doesn't really have much of a life. She has to go to school -where she has no friends- and then go back home and do nothing. She can't ever really hang out with people, and nobody really knows her. Her father sits in the same chair, looking out the window everyday, wondering where his life went wrong. If I was her, I would probably not like the life I was living, and I would want to go back home to Colorado (where she used to live). But, if she went back to Colorado it would be hard on her family because of the black kid that had been shot there. But over all, if I was her, I would just live life and hope for the best and hope something good comes along.