Free-verse Poetry: Water Polo

The whistle blows sharp and clear.
The ball drops in the water just feet in front of the sprinters who are surrounded with white water.
Arms fly and players swipe at the ball and each other.
The ball is launched back and lands in the hands of the ball handler.
Directing traffic they draw a foul by quickly turning then going under.
Everything happens in a blur.

I size up my opponent and memorize his number.
I swim straight by him and he loses me in traffic.
The ball is thrown in front of me and I snatch at it.
I come up for the shot but my opponent has now caught up with me and is trying to grab my suit.
I thrash out a leg and hear him wince.
He then comes down on top of plunging me under the surface.
I fight for air.

I come up fifteen seconds later to find I have been awarded a penalty shot.
Five meters from the goal I stare down the goalies dull green bloodshot eyes.
The fans quiet.
Coaches hold there breaths.
Players ready to launch forward at my first move.
I feel the grip of the ball on my fingertips.
It is balanced in my hand.
I breath in and out counting to three between each breath.
I feel in control.

One sharp tweet,
One sweeping movement,
One breath held,
One goal made.

The fans cheer,
The coaches cheer,
The players yell out,
I smile.

-JP

The Pact

In book groups I am in The Pact. Even though this is non fiction it is extremely good and supper intriguing and I would suggest it to any one who wants to hear and inspiring story. It isn't that long of a book either so it would be a good just regular book. 

This book is about three boys who grow up in the ghetto or Newark, NJ. Through out their childhood they grow accustomed to hearing gunshots and sirens at night and during the day watching people get beaten up. As they grow older two of them start getting and trouble and eventually are arrested for a few weeks. Thats when it hits them that they hated the life they are in and want to escape it. Thats when an opportunity for college comes along and they make a pact to become doctors. 

Extremely good book I think that everyone should read it. On a side note I have also been reading a series called Daniel X which is really good. If you have read Alex Rider (and if you haven't you should it's about a boy who works for Mi6 in Britain) it is sort of like that but with aliens and super powers and stuff. I suggest it for anyone who likes Alex Rider, Percy Jackson and anything else like that.   

Week 11: The Dangerous Days of Daniel X

This week I read The Dangerous Days of Daniel  X by James Patterson. This is the first book in this four book series. This book is about a teenage boy named Daniel who is an Alien Hunter with superpowers. He has no family, they were killed when he was young, but he can create people out of memory who can actually do things and are like real people. He can also turn himself into anything he wants. He has a task to hunt down the most dangerous aliens on earth and kill them. The lower down on the list the more and more dangerous these aliens get because they can counter his powers so he has to find other ways to beat/outsmart them. This was a really good book. This book is 272 pages and a very easy read but it is a lot of fun. I suggest for people who are just looking for a quick read one week.

Next week we start book groups so I'm reading The Pact.

Week #10: Allegiant

This week I read Allegiant by Veronica Roth. This was a really good book. It is really hard to describe the book because so much happens in it and if some one reads this review who is still on the first or second book I could give something big away on accident. I will just say this is a great book it was written really well. The only part I don't love is the ending. It is really well written and all but it's not want you want to happen. This book is 500+ pages. It goes by really quickly though. Overall this was a very good and very well written book.

Next week I will read Dangerous Days: Daniel X.

Week 9: See You at Harry's

This week I read See you at Harry's by Jo Knowles. Let me start by saying this book was extremely sad. I have never cried at a book before this one. It was extremely good but really sad. It's about a girl named Fern who feels lonely and feels like nobody notices her. She is just going into middle school which is attached to the high school where her brother goes. Her brother has some secrets which cause him trouble. Then she tries to get involved and finds out more about her brother than she expected. Then her life really starts to turn up side down. She goes through some rough times and has only her friends Ran and Cassie to support her. Then a life changing accident happens which she blames on herself. This book is sort of a drama, I don't really know what else to call it. It is 320 pages long. I really loved this book. I loved the way it was written and I just couldn't put it down. Overall a great book.

Next week I am going to read Speaker of the Dead by Orson Scott.

Week #8: House of Hades

This week I read House of Hades by Rick Riordan. This is the fourth book in the follow up series to Percy Jackson and the Olympians. The series is called Heroes of Olympus. Because it is a series I am not going to talk about the plot because if someone reads this who is planning on or is earlier in the series it might give some things away. Still let me just say great book and great series. It is 608 pages but it goes by really quickly. This series combines greek and roman mythology. I love these books because of the descriptions and once you start reading it you can't put it down. I would suggest not to start the series till they are all out (the last one comes out next fall) because it is a pain to have to wait a year at a time just to fly through a book in two days. This is an adventure/action/mythological genre. Overall I love these books and if he comes up with another series I will read it all through because I love his writing.

Next week I am going to read See You at Harry's.

Week #7: Ender's Game

This week I read Ender's Game by Orson Card. This is a really good bool in my opinion. It about a boy who is put  in control of a International Fleet to destroy aliens named the buggers. He is put through tons of training and is put into a simulator that helps train him to be the best pilot he could. It is a super easy read. It is only 352 pages. I really enjoyed the action in this book and the author kept on tricking me with the age of Ender. When he was 12 it seemed like he was actually 18 which was fun. I would put this in the fantastical/futuristic action genre. Lot of things that are not possible right now but maybe in a hundred years happened in this book. So right now it is all a fantasy to us but it becomes a possibility in the future. Overall this is a great book. Does anybody know if there is a sequel also because it is set up to have one and it says book number one but I can't find it?

Next week I am going to read House of Hades by Rick Riordan.