Someone gave us this book when our oldest son was born. We had a rather rough time getting him interested in books and one day when he was about 28 months old I got this book out (I'd been saving it) and he actually sat still long enough for the whole story. That was what finally gave him an interest in books. He soon had the book memorized and had something funny to say at every page. Now our 18-month old son brings this book to me at least three times a day and enjoys it as much as his brother did (whose main interest is now Winnie-the-Pooh books). I enjoy reading it myself; it doesn't bore me to read it over and over like some children's books because there are so many different things in the illustrations that you can point out something new to your child every time you read it. I recommend this book for any new parents.

The Story: A mouse is in the process of picking a red ripe strawberry when you, the reader, come upon him. You warn the mouse about "The Big Hungry Bear" who loves "Red Ripe Strawberries." Though the darling little mouse looks up at you with wide, worried eyes, he really wants that strawberry and continues to pick it and drag it back to his little home, where he tries hiding it, guarding it, disguising it, etc. Finally, the reader tells the little mouse the only way he can save his strawberry from the "Big Hungry Bear" is to "Cut it in two, share half with me, and we will eat it all up."

Your little mouse will love this book, and so will you. The illustrations are absolutely fantastic, and the mouse is one of the most expressively drawn characters in children's books. It's a quick read accompanied by bright, colorful, beautifully painted pages that will keep the attention of even the youngest child, and have your older child giggling and reading along with you.

What's a little, strawberry loving mouse going to do to keep a big, hungry, strawberry loving bear from eating his fruit? Especially when "the big, hungry Bear can smell a red, ripe strawberry a mile away..." Well, with a little clever help from the reader, this turns out to be an easy problem to solve..... Don and Audrey Wood have authored an entertaining, interactive treasure that's sure to charm and delight kids from 1 to 91. Their simple text is joyous and engaging, But this is really a story told through the marvelous illustrations. Mr Wood's bold, bright, and amusing artwork stars a most endearing little furry friend, and youngsters will love all the captivating facial expressions and wonderful, humorous detail in each two page spread. The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, And The Big Hungry Bear is a masterpiece little ones will beg to read again and again, and a timeless classic to share with friends, family, and future generations.

As a long-time Lurlene McDaniel fan, perhaps I'm a bit biased, but this is truly a lovely story that blends romance with the right approach to realism. As a long-term Hodgkin's survivor diagnosed at age 15 - yes, I was a bit younger than Luke in the book - I find that too often people cling to the good prognosis so common in this type of cancer, ignoring that it isn't a totally rosy picture. L. McDaniel skillfully navigates the reality balance by creating a picture neither overly cheerful or inappropriately bleak. I've read books featuring teens with Hodgkin's, and hers are the *only* ones realistic enough to satisfy me. For an unrealistic view, go read the sappy love stories where people are miraculously considered cured after a few treatments. For the real thing, read Lurlene McDaniel - particularly this book.

-Kimbra

"Don't Die My Love" is the best Lurlene McDaniel book so far. I've read it five times and I've cried every time. Julie reminds me of what I would do if the guy I was in love with had a deadly disese. The characters make you fall in love with them. It is one of the most sad, romantic, tear-jerking, all around PERFECT books. My friend Brittany and I got stuck on Lurlene's books a couple years ago and haven't been able to stop reading them, plus got most of our friends to read them.

Ok It all started out by my summer reading i had to read a book. So i looked through the younge adult sectiona dn this one just hit my eye it really sounded good. I picked it up and read the summery and i knew i was in LOVE true love. I got back and just plowed right into it. I read it for a couple of hour then my phone rang and all throught the conversation i was reading it. I couldn't put it down then my friend asked me to go out with her and her cousin and after an hour of debating i decided to go. As soon as i got home i started reading it again till the end. Let me tell you right now it was 2:30 in the morning when i finished it. I could of swarn that i'd wake my parents up cause i was criing so loud. I couldn't go back to bed so i came down and wrote this. This is one of the BEST books i've ever read. I will rent the movie based on This stroy " A champions Fight as soon as the movie place opens in the morning. I garuntee you'll love this book. It made me realize how lucky i really am i have a good home and am very healthy. I would pratically die to be Julie. In the thing of having a boy LOVE me that much. I wouldn't want him to die but if he did i'd already be married to him in my mind. I would be His Bride Forever. Then i'd meet up with him in heaven and live the same life that i had when he died.

As a child in elementary school, WAY BACK in the 1960's, one of my teachers READ this book to our class over several days.
I never knew who WROTE the book, but from time to time, remembered the story of the blind boy, Jimmy, and his faithful guide dog, whom I now know was named "Leader"...This is the kind of story which can capture a child's imagination, and stay with them for a long time to come. I highly recommend James B. Garfield's "Follow My Leader" (with illustrations by Robert Greiner) to any parent who desires that their child read a book that will inspire a young person to overcome whatever obstacles or challenges which life may deal unto them.
This book touched my life over 33 years ago, and it's lessons of courage, inspiration, faith, and determination to succeed can and will leave a lasting impression in a child or young adult, even in our world of today.

This is one of the best children's book ever written. I read it when I was 10 yrs old and 39 years later I still remember it. As a child, the look into the world of the blind and how they learn to live and cope in ours, no pun intended, was a real eye-opener. I think i should be recommeded reading for all school-aged children(and some adults!)

I first read this book when I was in third grade (that was about 33 years ago). At the time I lived about a block from a Guide Dogs for the Blind training school. Over the years I had the privilege of meeting numerous "students" training at the school. I was able to see firsthand the courage that was portrayed by Jimmy in this book. My children will be reading the same copy of "Follow My Leader" as I did; I still have the same book on my shelf. It has been read many times over the years; I trust my children will be inspired, as I have been, by this special book.

Daughter Anna (now 19 years old) loved this book. It was her favorite above all others. As we sorted through some old kid things for give-away purposes, we stumbled upon this old, well worn copy of "The Velveteen Rabbit." She insisted we keep the book for HER children.

This was her book that Mama (me!) had to read to her again and again and again. As soon as the last word was read on the last page, it was "Mama, please read it again!"

(how I miss those days, by the way!)

The book also has a powerful message about Love that children understand and cherish.

This is a wonderful book. No child should be without their own copy of "The Velveteen Rabbit."

I make sure I use this book with each class I teach--3rd and4th graders. They always get it--that love makes us real, too. Theymake the connection between the Skin Horse becoming shabby and people getting old. I always bring in my stuffed velveteen rabbit I bought years ago and it starts making the rounds and popping up on different children's laps. It is a pleasure to see them become attached to the rabbit instead of "mechanical toys that were very superior, and looked down upon everyone else." They also relate to the lessons the Velveteen Rabbit learns from the Skin Horse about how becoming real is a painful process sometimes and can take a long time.

It's a sweet story of a 'simple' stuffed rabbit amidst the more 'complex' modern toys in a boy's "toy collection". The rabbit starts to believe that in order to get the love of the boy, he needs to appear 'real', or be able to zoom about like the motorized toys...
(And I'm not going to tell you the end hahahahaha!!!)
It was great having that read to me, while I was hugging my stuffed animals in bed.
But -- in a way, at first glance it looks like a simple story, but it is actually a surprisingly complex story. Leave it on your child's bookshelf as he/she grows up and he/she will reread it again and again as he/she questions issues such as "who am I?", "what does it mean to be 'real'"?, "what is my role in this world?", and even "what is death"?

How can anything new about love and relationship be written - hasn't it all been said? Mr. Ruiz manages to approach love and relationship with a perspective that is so fresh that it opened my eyes to new possibilities. The author reveals the differences between relationships based on love and those based on fear and gently guides the reader to recognize the symptoms when fear is shutting out the warmth and joy that is our birthright. Reading this book is invigorating - I came away excited to practice the author's principles - and I find myself less judgmental and more relaxed about my relationship with my husband. Buy this book - it is an insightful guide to a more satisfying relationships.

Another book that contains amazing insights into life is Working on Yourself Doesn't Work - by Ariel & Shya Kane. In this book, the Kanes describe three principles of transformation - they are simple but very potent and contain profound and original insights. Unconscious destructive behaviors and attitudes dissolve in an instant through awareness - a non-judgmental observing of what is. Reading this book resulted in some profound changes in my perceptions of who I was, and, as a result, my life circumstances began to shift - as if by magic. I don't know HOW it worked - only THAT it worked. I highly recommend this book.

Having now read all of Don Miguel Ruiz's books including "The Four Agreements" and "Prayers", this is the one work where all of his challenging ideas come to beautiful fruition. Each detailed chapter, exhaustively illustrated with carefully chosen parables and examples, expresses his remarkable knowledge of the human condition based on ancient Toltec teachings. Many of the ideas in "The Mastery of Love" focus on how we as human beings have long ago surrendered our childlike willingness to love without fear (our true selves) and have accepted the world's yoke of domestication. According to Ruiz most of us exist in a state the Toltecs referred to as the "dream of hell" where we have allowed our collective beliefs (primarily based on fear and emotional poison) to determine the course of our lives and relationships.

"The Mastery of Love" is far more practical and down to earth than most other books found on "self help" or "new age" shelves these days. It is one of those wonderful books where the reader pauses frequently to digest the often profoundly insightful information Ruiz is offering and to constantly affirm that the knowledge expressed is certainly true in his or her own life and relationships. The answers and remedies Ruiz provides to address the human conditions described therein may seem disturbingly simple to some...as simple as ending the old "dream of hell" and dreaming a new dream for ones life. But this is a suprisingly helpful and moving work about the human heart and the art of relationship almost certain to have some impact on every reader who invests the few hours it takes to complete this little book. It is a treasure.

Reading this concise book I had the feeling that I was glimpsing real wisdom, not psychobable or "self-help".

Don Miguel Ruiz takes his interpretation of Toltec wisdom explained beautifully in his previous work "The Four Agreements" and applies these concepts to the realm of human relationships. Ruiz has an easy writing style that is very accessible and a joy to read numerous times.

This is a book you can finish in an afternoon sitting, yet it's simple truths have the potential to alter profoundly how you view loving relationships as well as your relationship with yourself. There's a lot here. I've read this twice and it's spoken directly to me in ways beyond what I can explain in this review.

Don Miguel teaches through parable and direct suggestion the transforming power of self-love. He says that all relationships start with you, and how you feel about yourself. You will allow just as much abuse and what he calls "emotional poison" as you inflict upon yourself. A truly loving relationship requires self love - which is so lacking in most of us. Ruiz compares the ideal relationship to the one we have with out pet - say our dog. The relationship with our dog is perfect because we get exactly what we expect from our dog. We never wish that our dog would be better at being a dog, and we love it freely just as it is. Yet with our mate we tend not to accept them as they are, we expect them to be different, to act in ways they would not naturally act. Then we are unhappy with them. We think we are in love with them, but really we're in love with how we want them to be. He says that we do not truly accept this person we say we love because we don't accept ourselves.

Ruiz tell us that humans hunt for love because we don't have it. We don't have it within ourselves. We hunt for love from other humans who also don't love themselves and are also on the love hunt. Then we are surprised and upset that we don't get the love we want from them, and they feel the same. So true! Other people don't have the love we need, only we do.

Don Miguel ends the book with a guide to healing our "emotional body" and also prayers for ourselves.

I have read many books by Margaret Weis, but I was skeptical about the idea behind this book. I heard it was about a bunch of draconians, and I thought it sounded boring. Well, I finally got around to reading it, and am I ever glad I did! The draconians came across as interesting and believable, and I actually found myself rooting for them from time to time, a thing I never thought I would find myself doing. These ARE draconians, after all!

As an added bonus, this book was hilarious! Very few books actually make me laugh aloud, but I was practically rolling around on the floor. If you are a Dragonlance fan who is used to reading dark, serious, dramatic novels, there is not a lot of that here. But there is enough action and humor to keep you turning the pages. I mean, what other book has the commander of an army telling his men, "As you know, we're on the verge of a crisis situation. Our supply of dwarf spirits is running low." (p. 33, paperback edition) If you want a good laugh, and/or you are interested in the draconians during the Chaos war, read this book!

Have to give the authors credit, this is DEFINATELY a great book. At first i thought draconians were kind of boring to make a book about, but i was wrong.. this book centers on a community of draconians, sustaining themselves on brew and Dwarf Bashing, until they learn of a secret treasure(one that could mean the life or death of the draconian race). Unfortuantely, a group of wayward hill dwarves(who are also main characters) also know of this treasure, leading up to a thrilling race to the bowels of Thorbardin(where draconians and hill dwarves aren't exactly welcome). along the way, the dark queen sets the commander of the draconinans on a mission to help save the world from chaos, which happens to go hand in hand with his treasure plans.. Though the dwarves presented interesting characters, I was really cheering for the draconians through this one, they were portrayed in a humorous and intelligent manner, and I have the sudden urge to get my hands on some Dwarf Spirits.. at any rate, a wonderful book for any reader of fantasy novels!

"The Doom Brigade" by the husband and wife team of Margaret Weis and Don Perrin features the life and times of an eccentric group of Draconians during the same time period as "Dragons of Summer Flame". These draconians have made a small little settlement, and have managed to live a reletively peaceful life in the mountains. They only have to deal with a dwarf raid every once in a while.

The authors of this book do an amazing job portraying Draconians as more than just the killers they were portrayed like in the first Dragonlance books. It is nice to read a book from their point of view, seeing exactly what they feel and think about the other races on Krynn.

This books has an amazing storyline, and is full of enuogh action and adventure to keep any fantasy reader hooked. There is tons of humor in this book. All of the characters have their own personality which is nice to see. The main characters in this book, including Kang (the lead Draconian), and his right hand man..err..Draconian, Slith, are all nicely developed and portrayed well.

The story and characters keep this book a fun read all the way though. It is one of the better books in the Dragonlance world. Not only are the characters fun to read about, but it is also fun to read from the other side for once. Seeing the story through the eyes of Draconians and not through the eyes of the "Good Guys".

I have read many investment books since I started investing around 1968. This book titled "If It Doesn't Go Up Don't Buy It" is the best one ever. The investment method outlined in this book is simple to understand and easy to follow. You may be one of those people who lost alot of money during the bear market that started with the year 2000. If so, this book is a must to help prevent heavy losses in future bear markets. Al states it like it is and makes reading this book very interesting. Buy it, you will like it.

February 10, 2002, I wrote a review about "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It". I titled my review, "l SURE WISH I'D READ IT SOONER" ...Five months later, it's still true. "I SURE WISH I'D READ AL's BOOK SOONER." Thank you, Al Thomas, for being an easy to read author AND a great teacher. Thank you for being honest. Thank you for your concern for average investors; those who don't have money to lose.

I couldn't believe my profits during the bull market of the 90's. Then along came 2001 and I ate humble pie. During 2001, portfolio values continued to decline while Wall Street pundits and professional advisors proclaimed that Buy and Hold was still the best way to make money on Wall Street. I'd been investing long enough to know this wasn't true. But, I didn't have the courage of my convictions. By late summer of 2001, losses began to add up. Taking advice from my cousin, I decided to read, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" by Al Thomas. I wish I'd read it sooner.

DESPITE the market's downward spiral this year, 2002, MY portfolios are in the green. MY PORTFOLIOS ARE MAKING MONEY while the Wall Street continues to lose money for most investors during one of the most difficult times in history. I could not have acomplished this if I hadn't read Al Thomas's book and newsletters.

Al's book and newsletters, written in an easy to read manner, added needed structure to my own investment techniques. He's given me the tools I need to invest WHILE the bear is ruling and while the bull is leading us once more. And, he's given me courage to conserve my capital.

If you're a novice or an experienced investor, investing on your own or using the services of brokers or investment advisors,even if YOU are an investment pro, you will profit from investing in reading Al Thomas. "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It". Be sure you read his newletters, too.

I've known for many, many years that very few stock market investors make money no matter what the market's direction. Having come to the conclusion that the only safe mutual fund was one with excellent performance in what ever type of market we were then in, I developed my own momentum type methods for buying and selling mutual funds. I rode the 1990's Wall Street Roller Coaster up..up..up; hoping I'd make enough money to offset the decline when it came. I also began searching for ways to temper the descent. After the market began to slide in 2000, I spent hundreds of hours seeking out no-load mutuals with good performances while also looking for ways to ride the bear. I wanted top performance from my investments whether the market was going up, down, or sideways.

Despite intensive investment reading and research, I didn't find what I was looking for until I read "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It." I won't equate reading this book to "finding gold in them thar hills"...but, I could. Al's book and newsletters have added structure to what I'd been doing. The book filled in the missing pieces of my own investment strategies. Although I was already subscribing to two of the investment information sources Al uses, I didn't come close to knowing how to get the most from them. Al took my thought processes beyond where I was able to go on my own to his easy methods that make absolute sense to me.

Perhaps more than some who have struggled with their investments in totally different ways...I truly appreciate the simplicity of Albert Thomas's methods for making money from my investments;no matter what the direction of the market. Whether you invest on your own or you use the services of a broker or an investment advisor, you will benefit from reading this one.

Corduroy is the story of a toy bear who lives in a department store and has dreams of finding a home. He becomes upset that no one wants to buy him because he had lost a button. So he ventures out into the store to find his button. The next day, a young girl buys and appreciates Corduroy. This book demostrates true friendship because the two adore each other because of what is in the inside. It doesn't matter what you look like but who you are. This story is great for young children. It helps them to realize that looks are not all that counts! It's how you treat other people!

There's something about kids books that, at a certain level, is inexplicable. Corduroy is a nice little story about a toy bear roaming around a department store at night searching for his lost button and then being acquired by a little girl. The story is sweet, and the books illustrations are vivid, colorful and warm.

The same can be said about a lot of books, many of which we owned over the years. Yet the kids still go back over and over (and over and over...) to a few cherished favorites, and, in our family, Corduroy was one of those favorites.

For a while I thought it was just our family that felt this way about the book, bus when friends of the kids came by they knew Corduroy immediately--and he was on their night time reading lists as well.

Enchantment is a dynamic all its own--and this book, for whatever reason, enchants. Buy it--neither you or your kids will ever forget Corduroy.

This sweet bear has been around for several generations. Living in a department store, Corduroy wanders off for the night. Up the escalator onto the floor with the beds and the lamps. Aha, he needs a new button to replace the lost button on his corduroy overalls. He pulls and pulls a button from a mattress, creating quite a racket in the process. The night watchman comes to investigate and finds the bear hiding under a blanket. The nightwatchman carries Corduroy down the escalator and places him back on the shelf. You see, the little girl's mother told Lisa that she did not want Corduroy because he had was missing a button. The following day Lisa returns with her saved piggy bank money, buys the bear and takes him home to his very own bedroom. This book is incredibly sweet and is appropriate for 2 years old and older. What's more, FAO Schwartz actually sells a Corduroy bear. What a treat. A wonderful gift for a birthday or holiday. Highly, highly recommended.

I have recently read this book, "You Don't Know Me", and found that it was a very good book. It is a book about child abuse, but it is written in a way that is funny. It is about a boy named John and it tells about a few years of hi steenage life. A lot happens in this 260 page book, like when he asks the girl of his dreams out on a date. My favorite part is when Gloria's dad is mad at him and he has to escape from their house. What he finds in this book is that looks may be decieving, and life isn't going to be as easy . It is a very well written book, and I recommend it to anyone 7th grade and above.

This is probably one of the most brilliant books I have ever found myself reading. I've read reviews complaining that it's strange, confusing, and nonsensical, and although I'd have to agree I must say that I enjoy those aspects of the book.
The narrator of the book is fourteen-year-old boy named John. His family consists of a tired mother, a father who "named me after a toilet and never stuck around to explain why," a dog, and a severely abusive almost-stepfather. He has a few friends at school, all of whom don't know about "the man who is not my father," and he lives almost entirely inside his own head.
Despite the darkness of John's reality, the book is screamingly funny at times. John has an obsession with things which are not what they seem- the apple tree that grows no apples, only gray leaves, the school which is torturous rather than educational- and spends a lot of time cataloguing them. He also enjoys mentally responding to people when they talk to him, which gets him into trouble at times.
Probably the only thing that I dislike about the book is that, at times, John uses his rather sardonic sense of humor to discuss serious things like his mother's sadness and her boyfriend's abuse. The combination of comedy and tragedy can get a little grating.
Besides that, however, it's quite a lovely book. John is an articulate and very intelligent boy who is, despite his absurdist fantasy life, highly realistic. I'm thirteen, you see, so I really ought to know.

You Don't Know Me, written by David Klass, qualifies as one of the most realistic yet a vitriolic and humorous novel. The story revolves around a fourteen-year-old boy, John, and his struggles and problems during teen years. The book beautifully illustrates John trying to cope with problems that most teenagers face at that period of time; but a dark secret lies within him. His soon-to-be stepfather abuses him. No one seems to know about this abuse and John does not intend to tell anyone either. He thinks no one cares; including his own mother.

Everything John does backfires at him, or so how he perceives. John likes a popular girl at his "anti-school," named Gloria. When John finally gets the courage to ask her out, the date turns out to be a disaster and his love story with "Gloria Hallelujah" ends. John gets suspended from school for verbally harassing his algebra teacher and he notices that Mr. Steenwilly, his music teacher, drives by the house quiet often. John realizes that Mr. Steenwilly has an idea of the abuse and turmoil that John goes through but decides to ignore the random spying. The book closes up with John going out to a dance with one of the girls from his music class. John receives a severe beating by his soon-to-be stepfather when he arrives home late, but fortunately Mr. Steenwilly sees the torture and rescues John from being beaten to death.

You Don't Know Me creates a spell-bounding atmosphere, making it irresistible for the attached reader to put the book down. The book captures the reader's minds, transforming it into John's head and becoming a part of his daydreams, scenarios, jaded thoughts and alternative realities. This book qualifies as one of the most meticulous and it seems that Klass knows his characters inside and out. I recommend this book to anyone willing to "step outside the box," and ready to accept a little bit of teenage craziness. This book defines itself as one of the best; it is practically impossible to not enjoy it.

We read this in school and it is a compelling gripping drama about a 15 year old, Tish Bonner, who faces everything a 15 year old does and much, much more. Her dad walked out on her family, her grandmother is deceased, her mother sits and stares at the TV all day, they struggle with bills, and the whole time she is keeping a journal for her English class. She thinks it's dumb, but Mrs. Dunphrey said that if you write Don't Read, she will not read the entry. Tish writes "Don't Wrote for Every entry except a few and tells the details about her life. Haddix is a wonderful writer and I think that all teens should really read this book.

Don't You Dare Read This Mrs. Dunphrey was an excellent, intriguing story, and full of suspense. That is, once I began reading the book, it became difficult to put the book down and stop reading it. The story was geared more towards teenagers making it easy for me to understand and feel the main character's emotions. In my opinion there were rarely any parts of the book that were disappointing, adding to the book's interest. The author utilized a unique format, clear characterization, and an essential setting in her book.
Margaret Peterson Haddix, who is the author of Don't You Dare Read This Mrs. Dunphrey wrote this book with a very unique format. The book's format is journal entries of the main character's life. This format became slightly tiresome, yet for the most part it wasn't a problem for me. Margaret Peterson Haddix writes about Tish Bonner, who is the main character, having to keep a journal for an English assignment at school. As Tish progresses with the assignment, she writes about private secrets and risks everything she holds dear to keep writing them. With this twist of suspense Don't You Dare Read This Mrs. Dunphrey constantly held my attention. In addition to that as I turned each page I grew more eager to find out what happened next.
The characterization done by Margaret Peterson Haddix was very simple and precise. For example there weren't a lot of characters to make the story overwhelming, but there was just enough characters to make it clear. While reading the book I was never confused about which character was being mentioned due to Margaret Peterson Haddix's defined description of them. Most of the characters were described through Tish's point of view rather than a narrator's point of view. I think that this is an interesting way for Margaret Peterson Haddix to portray the characters.
The setting of Don't You Dare Read This Mrs. Dunphrey is mostly in the same place, which is Tish's home. A large part of the story did, however, take place at the school Tish attended and where she worked at her job. Since the setting was always in one of these three places, it was easy to become familiar with the surroundings. The story's setting fit the characters very well. The setting was essential in the book's development. I honestly don't think that the book would have turned out as well as it did if the setting had been different.
To me Don't You Dare Read This Mrs. Dunphrey is a very intensive and superb book all-around because of the plot, characters and setting. Margaret Peterson Haddix wrote the book very skillfully and added a lot of exciting elements. The problems that Tish had in the story may touch close to home for some people, and to others they may be a wake-up call of what some human beings go through. This book was outstanding and I enjoyed reading it so much. I would definitely recommend it for someone to read because I'm positive they would delight in it just as much as I did.

I recently read Don't You DARE Read this Mrs. Dunphrey a few weeks ago. I thought this was a sad, yet thrilling book telling a young girl's (Tish) struggle with life. Mrs. Dunphrey assigned her English class to write in a journal once a week, but if they marked the top of their entry DON'T READ THIS, then she wouldn't read the entry. Tish gives her a few tests; then begins with her life. Her abusive father left her family when she was younger, but comes back later on. Tish must soon take care of her younger brother, Matt when their mother leaves them. She has no money, except what little she makes from a local burger resturant. I highly reocommend this story to anyone who is interested in a great book!