Zeitoun pgs 1-40

This book is about a family during hurricane Katrina. The books starts out with a man named Abdulrahman Zeitoun who is the main character having a past memory of when he lived back in Syria. He and his wife Kathy have three daughters. It later starts with everyone getting ready for the day. Zeitoun which he referred to because his first name is too hard to pronounce owns a painting business with his wife. The first 40 pages in discuss mostly of the painting business and it shows how busy it really is and how stressful it is. Both Zeitoun and Kathy are in a rush throughout the whole day. This is an everyday thing for them. Also they discuss the storm that is coming which is hurricane Katrina. Zeitoun and Kathy do not think much of the storm and they keep doing their regular thing. Also it talks about both their pasts and about Zeitoun's family and background. They are both of the religion Islam and it is mentioned throughout the first 40 or so pages. Zeitoun is from a hardworking background and hard work means a lot to him. He has really good work ethic and that is why he has been so prosperous in his business.
To me this book looks really interesting. Zeitoun is a very hard worker and comes from a different background. To me it seemed kind of weird that Zeitoun's wife Kathy converted to Islam. Also it shows that they are hard workers since all they have been doing for the first 40 pages is working. They do not seemed too worried about the storm that is coming. They seemed more concerned in their work. I wonder whats going to happen next. I wonder if their family is going to be safe. This is definitely a good book so far.

Weekend

Overall the weekend was pretty lame. On Friday I went to my friends house and hung out with some people. Played some Madden and some poker there. Then we went to Scotts's to get some food and we ordered some pizza. On Saturday I watched movies and hung out with my neighbor. I watched a movie called Red and a movie called Takers. Takers is a good movie its got Chris Brown in it...he gets shot and dies though. On Sunday I woke up at like 1, went out to lunch with the family, came home and watched the Lakers game. The Lakers lost. I finished up some homework played some Madden and relaxed the rest of the night.

hole in my life pg 158-199

In these pages Jack is starting to get acquainted with prison life. He witnesses many horrific things in prison. In order to stay away from these horrific things Jack gets a job in the prison hospital as a X-ray tech. He took this job so he could get his own private prison cell. He sends a letter to get his prison sentence shortened but this fails. He also sneaks into a office and looks at his record. The record states in a nut shell that he is a liar. He applies  for college after a while and he gets accepted to a 2 year college. This shortens his prison time and he gets a job and a place to live from one of his fathers friends.

To me jail time was exactly what Jack needed. He now knows what he wants which is to write and he knows what he wants to write about. He finally straightened up his act and got his life on track. He knows what he wants to say. He stays away from the crime and the drugs and pursues his dream of writing. He is doing exactly what he wanted to do in the first place. The crime was just a mistake and a speed bump in him becoming a writer. He finally found himself and found his place in society. Jail helped him become the person he was to become

hole in my life pg 115 - 131

During these pages this is where everything goes downhill and Jack, Rik, and Hamilton are discovered by the cops. Hamilton is the first to be discovered by the FBI. Jack is watching while Hamilton has a melee with the FBI. The FBI had discovered them because of the American counterfeit money that showed up in Morocco. Jack runs to his room and lockes the door and starts to get all of his stuff together. He walks straight out the front door and gets away. He goes to a movie theatre to wait it out before he gets on a train station back to Florida. He reaches Fort Lauderdale and he goes to his old friend Davys motel and stays there for a while. He calls his father from a pizza parlor and his father tells him the FBI has been watching them and was wondering if Jack was ever gonna show up. His father tells him to go back to New York and he has arranged a lawyer for him. Jack meets up with the lawyer and they discuss the charges. Jack later finds out that Rik snitched on him and Hamilton and also the whole operation.

Now that Jack has been caught for the crime he has committed everything is gettting serious for him. He is being charged with lots of crimes. Now that reality has kicked in for him he is starting to realize that he made a huge mistake and he has to pay the consequences for it. Jacks father's business was not going to well and now he has put more stress on his family because now they have to worry about him. It looks like his foolish choices have got him in the gutter and he is gonna face some jail time.

hole in my life pg 101-115

Jack and Hamilton meet up with Rik in this next chapter. They are planning to distribute the drugs around the city. They meet up with someone named Jerome. He is stated waiting for them in a psychedelic hippie van, which was decorated with Day-Glo Peter Max designs. Jack jokes and also states that he might as well as well a neon sign saying "we have drugs! Arrest us now!" Jerome had a money connection who they could sell the drugs but they did not arrive and they were starting to get worried. Jerome convinces Rik, Hamilton, and Jack to spend the night at his house while they wait for the buyers to arrive. The next day the buyers arrive and thats the end of that. On the way back to New York Hamilton thinks they are being followed. Hamilton starts driving like a madman. until he thinks he loses them. They keep making and setting up drug deals through out the next few pages. He also gets his cut of the deal and Jack becomes so happy. Hamilton talks about another deal with Jack that requires him to go to England. Jack does not feel like taking this deal because he wants to get started on his future.
Jack has arrived in New York and all he wants to do is get this mess he has got himself into over with. He wants to start on his future and go to college. He is also started to feel guilty and have second thoughts on this task that he has took. Hamilton also says that Jack looks so guilty all the time. Jack is just waiting for this to be over and he wants to move on. He wants to become the writer and he wants to go to college like he always had planned. He always feels like someone is watching him. He calls a few colleges and they ask him to write a sample paper but he is being lazy and says he has not finished anything before. To me Jack is looking like he is not going to do anything with his life if he keeps being lazy.

hole in my life pg 68-100

Jack has just got an offer from a friend Rik who comes regularly to Jack's fathers business. Rik has offered Jack 10000 dollars to sail some hash from the island to New York. Jack immediately says yes to this offer. In his mind the 10000 dollars would pay for any college that would accept him. Also he says all the writers go to New York so this trip could help with his writing. Jack tells his parents he got a sailing job and is going away. On the voyage Jack is partnered up with someone named Hamilton. Hamilton is a very angry and rude person. He yells at Jack Gantos a lot. The voyage takes about six weeks. Jack writes about his everyday experiences in a empty book he finds. He talks about Hamilton and what everyday brings on their journey. I stopped reading where Jack arrives in New York and he goes to a burger place and is trying to reach Rik.

To me Jack didn't think this whole plan through. He didn't think about if he gets caught what the consequences will be. He just saw the dollar amount being offered to him and he jumped on the idea of it. If I was Jack I would of stayed and helped with my fathers business which is stated is not doing well. He would of worked on his writing there and still went to college. Jack thinks this is a good idea because it is for his college but if he gets caught his whole life is going to go down the drain and he could face prison. This just sounds like a all around bad idea and I want to know what happens next in this book because it is starting to get really good.

hole in my life pg 20-54

In pages 20 through 54 Jack begins to focus more on his writing and his future. He talks about how his high school used to be prison. One day criminals that are serving life in prison come and visit his high school to talk about the choices they made and how kids should not make the same choices. One by one the inmates discuss their crime and how they wish they could take what they did back. Jack thinks to himself that he will never be a criminal and he will never go to jail. Later on Jack is at a friends house and his friend invites him to a "weed party" later on that night Jack goes their and stays for a while and does some weed. As he leaves the house he has this paranoia that the cops are going to arrest him. He also applies to college and he gets accepted to Florida State University. He visits the college and he soon realizes that the college is not for him and it is much like high school. He talked to his dad and decided that he wouldn't attend college and instead he would help with his dads company. He could preform odd jobs to help his dad out. Jack planned to leave and help his dad in a few weeks in the mean time he would get ready for his move. While Jack waits his friend Tom Scanlon calls and asks to stay for a few days but then he would be leaving. Tom persuades Jack into smoking weed. All they do when Tom is there is smoke weed and talk about books. Tom shows Jack that books about science are interesting too. Jack has sort of a revelation and takes great interest about these new genres. Tom persuades Jack to go to college again and how to make some quick money. Jack and Tom drive up to Tallahassee so that Tom can get some drugs so that they can sell. Jack thinks Tom has ripped him off so he leaves back home.

In these chapters Jack is starting to think more about becoming a writer. He applies for college but then he later decides he doesn't want to. My reflection on this is that Jack never pulls through with a plan he has. He says he wants to be a writer but he is not taking the full action on doing so. He is surrounding himself with the wrong people. His friend that first introduces him with weed was his first mistake and then he meets Tom who gets him to start smoking weed. Also he thinks becoming a writer is just going to happen. He needs to be on the right path and take the steps or precedures to become a writer. Jack needs to quit getting himself in certian situations and needs to quit slacking off.

hole in my life pg 1-19

The title of this book is called hole in my life, it is written by Jack Gantos. This book starts out with Jack Gantos stating that he is at a medium-security Federal Correctional Institution in Ashland, Kentucky. He also states he is 21 years old and has been locked up for a year and a half. He does not say what crime he has commited just that he is in jail. He describes what prison is like the people, the food, and the violence. In the first chapter he mostly talks about where he lived and how his father knew alot about people. In the second chapter Jack states how when he was nineteen and was still in highschool how he had unlimited freedom and he could pretty much do whatever he wanted. He talks about how during his junior year his family moved from Fort Lauderdale, Florida to San Juan, Puerto Rico. He says it wasnt hard for him to say goodbye to his friends even though he thinks he will never see any of them again. During his time in Puerto Rico he didnt go to school and he got a job as a electrical subcontractor and how he started wiring hotel rooms to get money. After a while of doing that and saving money he deceided get his diploma so he moved back to Fort Lauderdale and moved in with a family called the Bacons. He lives there for a while and he gets kicked out for his habits and the way he acts. The first night Jack sleeps in his car and the second day he finds an apartment and this is where i have left off so far.



I think this story is really good so far. Jack is a flawed character and he makes alot of mistakes and he continues to make mistakes. Also Jack acts like the typical nineteen year old he thinks he can do whatever he wants when he wants to and he doesnt pay attention to the consequences he might face later on. He also does a lot of moving around first he moved to San Juan, and then he moved back to Florida to live with the Bacon family, and now he lives by himself in an apartment. Jack has a mindset of being a writer and he likes reading and writing. His goal as of right now is to finish Highschool and get diploma so he is trying to better himself and not be a bum. This book is really interesting so far and it is started to sound like one of those books where you can put down and you want to keep reading.