Main Character

In the Diary of Anne Frank, under a picture of herself on10th of October, 1942 Anne said :"This is a photograph of me as I wish I looked at the time. Then I might still have a chance of getting to Hollywood. But at present, I'm afraid. I usually look quite different."(Anne, page2) Anne was a very strong, courageous, and wise young girl. She was a Jew, and lived in Holland during the Second World War. In her diary, she talks about what is was like to go into hiding and wonder if one is going to be alive tomorrow. Anne lived in constant fear, however she was not afraid of telling the truth about the war and the horror of it all. She was scared, but also did not let that her it a way of living her life as best as she possibly could. This quote tells us that she was still dreaming about going to Hollywood, like many little girls around the world do, and no matter how how hard the times were and how impossible it seemed to get away Anne managed to be stay strong during those horrible years. Anne died, but this story will live forever. I believe that in many years people will still be reading this diary, and feeling what Anne has once felt.

 I chose this video because I think that one of Anne's most important characteristics is courage.

Meeting the Mentor

 In the Second Trial, Danny meets Nixxie, a girl in his art class, who becomes his mentor. She understands the pressures Danny is facing and she helps him become more confident. They spend a lot of time together, and Danny tells her his biggest secret about his father and his past life. He talks to her about how his life turned around when his mother was almost killed by his dad. "He leaned forward and rested his forearms along his thighs, and  started talking. The story spilled from him like blood from a wound, pumped until there was nothing left in the hollow muscle that was his heart. Danny talked to Nixxie almost every day. He told her what Mr. Ishii had said, trying to focus his thoughts by taking them out. "

Nixxie helps him deal with this problem and after almost a year of mistakes and  being scared and alone, Danny finally finds himself again.

The Call to Adventure

    In the Second Trial by Rosemarie Boll, Danny's call to adventure is when he found out that his dad is an abuser, and his family now needs to move. That turned Danny's ordinary world (where he is a happy teenager with lots of friends) around. He is now scared and alone, and has a hard time trusting people around him.

    Danny, his mom and sister are forced to move, and settle into a new place. They had to leave everything behind, and get new identities because the father is a very dangerous man, who will be out of jail very shortly.

Danny absolutely hates his  life now, and has a challenge(an adventure) ahead of him that he does not want to face. He decides not to care about anything or anyone anymore because Danny believes it will be easier.

In my opinion, Danny will suffer a lot because of that decision, and he will make lots of other mistakes along the way.

The Ordinary World...

In The Second Trial by Rosemarie Boll, Danny's home is the place he feels most comfortable in. He felt very safe there because he loved his parents, especially his dad, and did not want to admit that his father was an abuser and that his family was not "perfect". Danny had no idea about what was going on in his house and had a hard time dealing with it when he found out the truth. He spent lots of time with his dad, had lots of fun with him, and his ordinary world was his happy place.

The hero...

I believe that in The Second Trial by Rosemarie Boll, Danny's mother Catherine is the hero(so far). Her husband has been abusing her for a long time, and she finally had the courage to put an end to it. Catherine sort of makes a self sacrifice when she tells the judge about her horrible life. She knows that after she tells the truth, her and her children are going to be at risk and would have to move. It was very emotional, and she stayed strong during  the time in court.

"Catherine's lower lip began to tremble , and she blinked rapidly as she looked back at her notes, She hesitated, and then plunged ahead" (page 35) 

  I chose this picture because it represents that there is happiness after the pain  just like there is always a light at the end of a tunnel. Catherine has been abused for many years, and she finally told someone about her horrible life. The light shows freedom, comfort and safety, and it is very important for everyone, especially Danny's mother.

Character Archetypes

In the book Ghost Ride by Mariana Cohen Sam, the main character, is not a hero, and in my opinion there is only one other character archetype present. I think that Sam's friend, Mike, is in a way a mentor. The main character has been a loner his whole life, but when he met Mike, his life changed. They become best friends, and Mike helps Sam and teaches him how to be "cool" and how to act when he's getting picked on.

For example, on Sam's first day of school, he ran into the popular kids, and when they were putting him down, he thought about what Mike would do or say, and he got away.

" This was bad. Sam remembered what Mike had taught him. Mike said you could cruise through high school on nothing but reputation........Relax, show no fear, Mike always said." (page 36-38)

Ghost Ride

            A 14 year old boy named Sam McLean is forced to move to Sleepy Hollow with his family at the end of summer. It is going to be Sam's first year of high school, and he has no idea what is coming. On the way to this place he was introduced to "ghost riding" when he and his father nearly crashed because of a stupid prank. 

 On the first day of school, Sam is desperate to become friends with the cool kids - Cody, Javon, and AJ, who are famous for doing wild stunts and posting them on their blog. Sam also discovers that there is something terribly wrong with his new neighborhood, and he wants to know what it is.

          I have never thought that I would be interested in a book like this one. My first impression was that it was something I could not relate to or even like. However, when reading it, I found that I did not want to stop.  I believe that "Ghost Ride" is a  very entertaining, affecting book with a message that will get teenager's attention and help one have an open mind and a sense of what might happen if you do foolish things.