Authors Note: The beginning of this story was part of a journal entry. We had to include certain words in our story.I'm going to add onto it. 

The dilapidated house stood in front of me. The car honked then drove away. Why did my parents have to go on some dumb vacation and leave me here alone. They were going to Hawaii, "perfection" my dad called it. Did they think that I didn't want to go with them, where there was sun, palm trees, and ocean? Anyways, they left without me and dropped me off at my Great Aunt Wilma's. I had never met the woman. She could be a creep or crazy rambunctious killer for all that I knew about her. I started towards the door. As I said before, the house was rundown. There was a board over a upstairs window. I could tell the grass hadn't been cut for awhile and there were weeds everywhere. I continued to walk up the cobblestone path until I reached the door.The front door was closed and the shades were drawn.I rang the doorbell and a bald man answered the door." Excuse me mister, but is there a Wilma here?"
"Sorry, but Wilma died years ago. I bought the house after she died." Great Wilma's dead and my parents are on a plane heading across the country. " What did you want from her?" he asked.
"Well I'm her niece and my parents dropped me off here because they are going on vacation." I explained.
"They didn't come to the door with you? That's weird."
"Well they were really excited to go on their vacation."
"Ok, you can come in for right now." he said. The man seemed nice enough. I walked inside then realized I had made a mistake. In the living room there was a pigeon on it's perch. There was also a turtle in a tank, three cats, and a huge St. Bernard dog. "Wow, you have a lot of pets." I said. He smiled then nodded.
" Are you hungry or thirsty?" he said as he started opening cupboards and drawers. All the drawers and cupboards were filled with bags of marshmallows. Now I was sure that I shouldn't have come in here. The man seemed nice at the moment but now he seemed like a freak. " Excuse me sir, but can I please call my parents?"

He showed me where there was a cord phone on the wall. I picked up the phone then dialed my dad's cell phone number. "Your call has been forwarded to an automatic voice message...............". the operator told me in a monotone voice. Why would my dad have his phone off? He should be on the plane already and they let you turn your phone on when your on the plane. Whatever, I hung up the phone, then decided I should try my mom's cellphone.Again the operator repeated the message telling me my mom's phone was off. I hung up the phone then decided I would try later. Back in the living room, the man was watching T.V on a old T.V with an antennae. "Did you get a hold of your parents?" the man asked me.
"No both their phones were of but I guess I'll try later."
"OK, you are welcome to stay here until you get a hold of them." I agreed to staying but asked the man what his name was. He told me it was Chucky Carver.It was kind of a creepy name but I decided to go with it.

BASKETBALL POEM

We walk on the court,
to play the best sport.

The fans are all here,
and our competition is near,

We warm up hard,
and I shoot with the shooting guards.

The game suddenly starts,
and I know I must I must play smart.

Our team has possession of the ball,
we must play physical because we are small.

We make a lot of shots,
and our fans cheer lots.

The game is finally done,
and we have won.

Our fans are loud,
and we are proud.

We wait for our next game,
when we have to do it all again.

Real-Life Issue

 Authors Note: I really liked writing this piece.The introduction was different and fun to write.

Killing someone is wrong. I could never take someone's life and live with the guilt for the rest of my life. All my life I have been told think before you act, be kind and respect everyone. Killers in the world today are known as bad people, that’s their only reputation. They get thrown in jail for most likely the rest of their life all because of a mistake. So what I, Reuben Land, am getting at is that I would never and could never kill. But, I still remember the day my brother ruined his life by killing two boys.

Reuben Land is a normal American boy. His life is normal except for the minor problems and conflicts. But, his whole life turns upside down when his brother makes the mistake of killing two boys. His brother, Davy, doesn’t seem to care that he’s going to be in jail and says it was to keep his family safe.

Everything seems different for Reuben, including his little sister, who locks herself in her room and won’t show her face. With everything changing so fast Reuben doesn’t know what’s coming next or what will happen to his once normal family.

In my opinion killing is wrong. You ruin the rest of your life because you made a mistake and killed someone. I don’t know how people can live and realize they killed someone without feeling bad or regretting it for the rest of their life. This part in the book reminded me of the real world. In the USA about 16,000 people are killed every year. Most of the people are innocent and have done nothing wrong and are just killed. To me it’s sad that that many people have their lives taken from them. These people could be kids or teenagers that have a whole life ahead of them but die because of an accident. Killing is just wrong no matter what the circumstances are.

By reading this part in the book I realized that something that happened in a minute could change your life forever.

Setting of Peace like a River

In a novel, there isn’t usually just one setting. The characters move around according to the plot. That’s the case in Peace like a river. The characters go to many different places but I will show you a few of the important ones and how they support the plot.

The book starts out in 1951, at the hospital, with the birth of Reuben. This place is really important because it is where Reuben’s dad, Jeremiah, performed his first miracle. The hospital is also important because it is where Reuben was born. I think Reuben’s birth was important to the book because he’s the narrator, of course, but it also seems like he was put in the book to experience or notice his father’s miracles. Although the family was only at the hospital for a short time a lot of stuff happened that is important to the plot.

Next, would be the barn. The barn was where Reuben saw his father perform his second miracle, and walk on air. This part was important because what would the chances be that Reuben had to go to the bathroom at the exact same time that his dad was going to walk on air? It was interesting how Reuben never told anyone what he had seen and he kept it to himself.  This was the setting when Reuben really realized that his dad could perform miracles.

Those aren’t the only places where the characters go to in the first 3 chapters of the book. They also go to the high school, where Jeremiah performs his third miracle, their home, and their church. So far the settings are very important to the book and they will help me figure out the theme as I read on.

Authors note: I had a lot of trouble writing this, it took me two days! In the end i think i came up with a good writing piece.

                Have you ever heard of the saying ‘actions speak louder than words’?  This is the case in the novel Peace like a river. The Land’s family finds themselves in a difficult situation with different ideas about what to do. Their actions and decisions helped me find the theme of the book.

                In the novel there are two major characters, but one main character. The author describes the main character, Reuben’s dad, like an angel. In the first few chapters, other characters notice that Reuben’s dad can perform miracles. His first miracle was when Reuben was born. Reuben was born not breathing and nobody could get him to breath. The doctor thought he had brain damage and he would die.  When all hope was gone Reuben’s dad ran in and shouted “Reuben Land, in the name of the living God I am telling you to breathe”.  Everyone was surprised when moments later the baby started breathing.  This is definitely a miracle it is another reason why I believe Reuben’s dad is an angel.

                Amazingly, that was not the only miracle that Reuben’s dad performed. Another surprising action was when he walked on air. One night Reuben was going to the outhouse and he heard footsteps in the barn. He went to see who it was and he saw his dad with eyes closed and praying. He was walking across the back of a pickup truck and when he got to the edge he didn’t stop. His father was walking on air.  Reuben was the only witness of the miracle. This miracle reminded me of god and when he walked across water.

                The last and final miracle was when Reuben’s dad found two boys in the girls’ locker room being “improper” to Dolly. When he walked in Dolly said his face was glowing and he lit up the room. This miracle and walking on air really led me to the theme.

                I believe the theme of the story is, God is always with us. In this book every miracle is like something that happened in the bible. When Reuben’s dad helped bring Reuben back to life it reminded me of when Jesus brought a man named Lazarus back to life after he had been dead for four days. It is not the same situation but it just reminded me of that. The next miracle when Reuben’s dad walked on air reminded me of when Jesus walked across water, like I mentioned before. Lastly the last miracle when Mr. Land glowed and lit up the room it reminded me of when the angel came to Jesus glowing. Reuben’s dad was able to do all those miracles because god gave the ability too.

                 Reuben’s dad is almost like a figure of god. When the two boys in the locker room promised revenge and then put tar on the family’s door, Reuben asks his dad what they are going to do and his dad tells him “Nothing; of course, nothing! What those fellows don’t realize is, we’ve already won. The victory is ours.” When he said this Reuben didn’t understand he asked his father “aren’t we going to do something about it.” Mr. Land just laughed. This is another reason on why he’s a figure of god. He doesn’t believe in revenge. Most Catholics think that they can do their revenge but then still call themselves a catholic. I disagree. Reuben’s dad is definitely a true catholic.

                If this book has taught me anything so far it’s that God is always with us to lead us and help us.