Monday, May 31, 2010

For some outside sources

Some reviews:

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/We-Beat-the-Street/Sampson-Davis/e/9780142406274
http://youngadultbookreviews.com/2009/05/12/we-beat-the-street-by-the-three-doctors/

Other Websites:

www.threedoctors.com
www.sharondraper.com
www.fantasticfiction.co.uk

Summary

The story We Beat the Streets by Sharon M. Draper is the remarkable true story of how three kids from bad neighborhoods that were just full of drugs, gangs, violence, and crime and how they banded together to overcome these disadvantages to become doctors. They made a pact to do well in school, get good grades, go to college, and become successful doctors. They did this by always being there for one another and supporting each other whenever they needed it the most. Without the support of one another, they each would probably not have accomplished their dreams and most likely would have just became another nameless victim of the streets where each of them grew up.
The story starts out by first telling the back stories of each of the three main characters who would later become doctors. The first character that you read about is Sampson. The book tells about his first experience with doctors and hospitals when he was just a little kid. When he was just six years old, he broke his foot and had to go to the hospital to get a cast.
Then the book starts to talk about Rameck. Now he never had an accident or an incident that required him to go to the hospital, he kind of doesn’t realize his dream of becoming a doctor until he goes and sees an orientation for medical and dental school with Sampson and the third main character George. There Rameck realizes that he should become a doctor and decides to chase after his dream with the assistance of his two best friends.
The book then finally starts to talk the third and final character of the story, George. George wants to become a dentist. He first decides upon this profession when he had to go see the dentist when he was just a little kid. He had to get braces and was very excited. One of the reasons he wanted to become a dentist was because of the dentist that he had. George really liked him and this dentist had a great influence on George.
Then the story starts to talk about each of their own lives, including family, school, and friends. Each of them came from a troubled area and had a tough childhood. They each had their own personal family problems and also had money problems that made their family lives harder. Each of them did not think they would go to college because of the fact that college costs money and they did not think that they had enough money to get that far in life.
Another thing that held Rameck, George, and Sampson back were each of their own personal groups of friends. All of their friends seemed to be more harmful then helpful, always getting them in trouble, whether it is from drugs, violence, crime, or with the police. Their friends were definitely a negative influence.
Then it talks about their schooling and how each of them met and started to hang out with one another. The book talks about how they stood by each other and helped one another out throughout their lives.

Is the story Realistic

Yes the story is realistic. It was based on a true story. Everything in the story really happened. That is one of the reasons that i liked it so much.

Setting of the story

The setting of the story is very important. The reason is that the three kids grew up in a bad neignborhood where there were a lot of drugs and lots of gangs. That is why they made the pact in the first place, as a way to avoid the negatives of the neighborhood that they grew up in.

My feelings while reading this book

Some times I kind of get annoyed while reading this book. I think it's because the main characters keep on getting in trouble and then they'll say "never again" but then they just get into more trouble. They never seem to fully learn from their mistakes until they make the same one for third time.

My least favorite character

My least favorite character would have to be Rameck. I don't like him much because he is always letting his emotions get to him and he is also very quick to anger. He kept getting in trouble but never seemed to learn from his past mistakes.

My favorite character

My favorited character would have to be Sampson. I like him the most because he seems like the more responsible of the three. He is also more responsible and tries to do the right thing all the time but always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

How are the events in the story influencing the characters?

The events in the story are influencing the characters because they all want something better and are working towards it by going to school. They try to avoid trouble but sometimes get involved with something they shouldn't be doing one way or another.

Reacting to the Charachters

I find all of the characters in the book interesting. Since the story has three different main characters, you get three different stories in one book. One thing that surprised me was the fact that all of the characters want to be better than what they are, they still make a lot of bad decisions and get in a lot of trouble.

Why did I Choose This Book?

I chose this book because it was one of the only books that i had left in my house that I have not already read. Otherwise I would have had to gone out and got another book to read. So far I think the book is alright. It's an easy read and it is somewhat interesting to read.