This I Believe - Adam Todd

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I Believe In 2nd Chances  

I believe that everyone deserves a second chance. About a year ago, one of my close friends made a comment that came off as homophobic (This was pretty specific to the time this was). I tried to ignore it at first because I knew he didn’t mean anything by it, but one day about 2 months later I decided to talk to him about it and let him know that he shouldn’t say things like that, because it might give people the wrong impression about him. He took this as me insulting his character and his intelligence. He went off on me and no matter how many times I told him I wasn’t and that I was just looking out for him, he continued to yell at me and tell me that I was wrong. 

I explained to him that he should at least hear me out considering his comment was something that directly affected people like me. That he should at least try to understand why his comment could come off in a way that he wouldn't want it to come off. But he only wanted to see it as an attack on him. I was completely in shock, he had been one of my best friends at the time that this happened, so seeing him like this scared me. This happened in October that year. We didn’t talk to each other again for over a year. Both of our moms were best friends, so I can imagine you understand how hard it was to keep a big secret like that. They would usually come and visit us at least once a week. But after that argument, they stopped visiting, his girlfriend who I was close friends with stopped talking to me, and they didn’t even come by for holidays anymore. 

In May the next year, they made an unexpected visit. It caught me off guard. I went downstairs to see him sitting on my couch and suddenly I didn’t feel safe or comfortable in my own home. I didn’t know what else to do, so I went outside and called one of my friends as a way to escape. I was panicking and no matter how much he tried to calm me down, I couldn’t stop panicking. I was at the point of tears as I sat outside getting texts from my parents asking what was going on. I lied and said a friend needed someone to talk to. They believed it, but they sent my brother outside to check on me. I was very obviously distraught, but he didn’t say anything about it. I ended up being outside for about 4 hours, until it was 11pm. When I finally came back inside they were gone, and I just wanted to be alone. 

Flash forward to Thanksgiving of 2023. They came over to spend the day with us. I decided that it had been long enough and it was time we talked things through. When they got to our house, I went up and hugged him and told him it was time for us to have a long overdue conversation. I wanted to give him a second chance, but I knew I would have to make the first step towards fixing our friendship. After we talked, everything went back to normal. It was like we had never stopped talking. We just continued on with our day and hung out like we usually did. I regained a friend that I never should’ve lost. And this is why I believe in second chances. (Cue disney Channel Music) 

Dark Matter Book Review

  

 Loyalty to Family in Dark Matter 

Blake Crouch’s Dark Matter is an extremely intriguing novel with impactful themes of family and loyalty. The story follows a scientist named Jason Dessen as he lives out the last normal day of his life with his Wife Daniela and Son Charlie. He goes through a mind-boggling journey of traveling the multiverse, understanding how it works, and trying to find his way back to his family. His goal of reaching his family in his original universe becomes even more challenging as he is faced with some unexpected visitors who have the same goal in mind.  

Jason’s family is constantly on his mind, whether it’s making sure he’s only away from them for 45 minutes in the start of the book, or while he navigates the multiverse. Bleeding out Jason says “Fuck. They came early for the lottery. Dozens of them” (335) This was a moment when Jason was thinking less of himself, and more about his family. While it wasn’t exactly the smartest decision, he knew it was one of the only ways to end this war before it began. The decision does ultimately land in the hands of Daniela, but this shows how he was willing to let go of his family if it meant they would be safe or happy. Thinking about his family and how much he loves them was the key to getting back to them. This is how family plays such a big role in this novel. 

Throughout this multiversal journey Jason is tempted many times to hook up with people who aren’t HIS Daniela. His companion throughout this journey, Amanda eventually catches feelings for Jason, as he is the only person she has left in her life after what happened in her universe. As Jason talks to Daniela about Ryan’s love for her, she says “How could he not be. I’m amazing.” The combination of his love for Daniela and his current situation leads the two of them to almost hook up. But before this happens, Jason hooks up with a Daniela from a different universe, BUT he didn’t know anything about different universes at the time, so he thought this was his Daniela. Once he realizes what he did he immediately feels regret and eventually has to tell Daniela later in the story. His loyalty for Daniela reaches beyond universes, and the fact that Daniela was the only thing he wanted in all of these universes speaks volumes about how important loyalty is in this novel. 

This is truly an outstanding novel with interesting characters, themes and an overall spectacular plot. As a fan of science fiction, I believe the enjoyment of reading this book goes far beyond sci-fi fans, it’s a story anyone can enjoy. There's never a moment in the novel where you feel bored. There are questions that you don’t get answers to until you get to the end of the novel, and these answers will leave you extremely satisfied. You never know where the story is going to go next, which constantly keeps you reeled in, and never wanting to put the book down. This is truly one of my favorite books I’ve read, and despite how little or how much you relate to the main characters, you’re always rooting for them. 

 

AR Book Review

 

The Art of Racing in the rain is one of the most emotional books I have personally ever read. The story follows character Enzo, a dog, as he goes through his life and deals with many hardships. His mother figure (Eve) battles through a terminal illness and begins to see how this affects the entire family. Denny (Enzo's owner/father figure) struggles with balancing his work life and his home life. This situation escalates as Denny is accused of a felony, and fights through a trial that lasts several years. The entire story is narrated by Enzo, which makes for an emotional read as the story plays out through the perspective of a dog who loves his family. Enzo is a very compassionate dog who has lived with Enzo for most of his life, and he also acts as a way for us to understand Denny better as a character. 

The point of view in this novel is depicted well and makes the reader both question what can or cannot be believed and see the world in a new way. As Enzo is unable to communicate with other people, especially Denny, it becomes clear that “hands are the windows to a man’s soul” (201). Enzo has to communicate with Denny through paw movements, barks, and physical actions. For example, later in the story Enzo is faced with the choice to let Denny give up and sign the papers, or to stop him from making a choice he would regret. This forces him to steal the papers from him, and “destroy’ them, to show Denny that he does not want him to sign the papers. This plan ended up working and Denny took Enzo’s side and decided to keep fighting against the accusations made against him. Enzo’s knowledge of everything that was going on would’ve  

 

 

changed every decision made in this novel, but he simply was unable to communicate it to anyone. 

The characterization in this story was done amazingly, even when it comes to the smaller characters. The author makes it clear that Denny is a determined hard worker, Eve is a strong-willed person who will go to great lengths to get her way, and that Enzo is a caring person who will set his needs aside to ensure that other people are happy. When Enzo first met Eve, he “had always wanted to love Eve as Denny loved her, but [he] never had because [he] was afraid” (44). Despite the fact that Eve seemed not to like Enzo when they first met, Enzo was always willing to get closer to her, because he knew that was what Denny wanted. So, he put his fears aside to make Denny happy. This is another example of how Enzo and Denny’s relationship is so pure and how their characterization is what makes them a perfect match. 

I would recommend this book to everyone. It makes the reader feel empathetic in a way all dog movies do. Readers will feel pain every time the dog feels it, they will always be on the edge of their seat. The writing in this novel is used in such a way that it never disinterests readers, and they are always rooting for Denny and Enzo, even when it seems like everything is going wrong. I think is novel is the perfect book for anyone who needs a good cry, or just wants to understand the point of view of a dog better than they already do.