By Bodhi
5. Wonder by Raquel J. Palacio
From birth, August Pullman has struggled with extreme facial deformities. The constant need of surgeries to try to improve his abnormal face has kept him out of school until he was ten years old. He was homeschooled for those years, but August’s parents realized that August needed to be taught by more qualified teachers. Although he was hesitant to join his peers in education, he conquered his fears and went to school anyway. When August finally did attend school, he hoped that everybody would look right through his unattractive appearance and see his great personality, but that was not the case. Except for one true friend he met at lunch early in the school year, Summer, August had a very difficult time making friends, but a more major conflict that he faced was sadness due to an unloyal friend. Because of August’s unique face and friends who weren’t willing to stand up for him all the time, he had to face many conflict involving bullying that were certainly not easy to overcome.
4. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Living with his beloved widowed father, Hugo Cabret felt life was splendiferous, but after a tragic fire killed his father, Hugo was left to the care of his drunk uncle who was a clock manager in a train station. Hugo’s uncle made Hugo his apprentice and taught him how to fix clocks. Once Hugo got the hang of working the clocks, his uncle left him to work and went to go to an unknown location day after day until one day, his uncle never came back. Living alone in a concealed room that was meant for the clock manager, Hugo Cabret was always alone and was forced to steal and hide in order to survive. Time passed after Hugo’s uncle never returned to him, the word got out that Hugo’s uncle has been dead for a good long while, and a question arose: who is managing the clocks? This meant that Hugo constantly had to hide and be even more careful to ensure that he would not get caught by the train station inspector. After Hugo’s father died, more conflicts kept coming at him that made his life more miserable each time.
3. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
When Brian Robeson is stranded alone in a Canadian forest after his plane crashed on the way to visiting his divorced father, with nothing but a hatchet and his bare hands, he sees and does things that no thirteen year-old should ever have to do. In this book, the setting impacts the external conflict because the wilderness setting is a very difficult place to live. But surviving in the wilderness wasn’t his only problem; he also saw his mother with another man before he left to visit his father. This may not sound that awful, but the idea of his mom marrying another man torments Brian, and is constantly swarming through Brian’s mind. However, Brian still has to work very hard because if he doesn’t, he does not have a chance of survival. From killing and preparing his own meals to coming face to face with a bear, Brian has completed tasks most people wouldn’t dream of. This lifestyle drives Brian to a point of suicidal thoughts and actions. In Hatchet, Brian Robeson faces many conflicts, but fights and endures hardships he faces.
2. A Long Walk to Water
Water, education, safety. These are three things a lot of people expect, but in Sudan, having access to all three of those is nearly impossible. Due to a civil war in Sudan, Salva Dut was forced to flee his tribe in order to survive along with thousands of others. In his journey to a safer life, he encountered murderous rival tribes and dangerous predators such as lions and crocodiles. To add to Salva’s problems, a boy who became Salva’s friend and Salva’s uncle, two of the only people who he cares about, are killed. This is very difficult for Salva to move on from because he now has nobody to care for him. Because Salva lived in Sudan during the civil war, his life became very difficult; therefore, the setting affects the conflict. In my opinion, Salva’s journey was so difficult because, for the most part, he didn’t have an adult in his life to look out for him. To conclude, Salva Dut faced many conflicts caused by the setting in Sudan during the Sudanese Civil War.
1. Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Some people may call life difficult, some may call it easy, but in Counting by 7s, Willow would call life unlivable after her adoptive parents were killed in a car accident. Having to live without your parents at any age is difficult, but much harder for a twelve year old girl who is already struggling socially. Another conflict brought to Willow by this specific plot event is that she did not have a stable place to call home anymore, and couldn’t live with any of her relatives because they were not fit for caring for her. First, Willow had been living with Mai, one of her only friends, at her house (that is actually a garage), and then she is lived in her counselor’s apartment. Previous to the accident, Willow was a brilliant child who was constantly gaining knowledge and sharing it with the rest of the world, but now that her parents are dead, this part of her personality has vanished along with her ability to be happy. In conclusion, when Willow’s parents died, several conflicts came to her including depression and finding a new home.
5. Wonder by Raquel J. Palacio
From birth, August Pullman has struggled with extreme facial deformities. The constant need of surgeries to try to improve his abnormal face has kept him out of school until he was ten years old. He was homeschooled for those years, but August’s parents realized that August needed to be taught by more qualified teachers. Although he was hesitant to join his peers in education, he conquered his fears and went to school anyway. When August finally did attend school, he hoped that everybody would look right through his unattractive appearance and see his great personality, but that was not the case. Except for one true friend he met at lunch early in the school year, Summer, August had a very difficult time making friends, but a more major conflict that he faced was sadness due to an unloyal friend. Because of August’s unique face and friends who weren’t willing to stand up for him all the time, he had to face many conflict involving bullying that were certainly not easy to overcome.
4. The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick
Living with his beloved widowed father, Hugo Cabret felt life was splendiferous, but after a tragic fire killed his father, Hugo was left to the care of his drunk uncle who was a clock manager in a train station. Hugo’s uncle made Hugo his apprentice and taught him how to fix clocks. Once Hugo got the hang of working the clocks, his uncle left him to work and went to go to an unknown location day after day until one day, his uncle never came back. Living alone in a concealed room that was meant for the clock manager, Hugo Cabret was always alone and was forced to steal and hide in order to survive. Time passed after Hugo’s uncle never returned to him, the word got out that Hugo’s uncle has been dead for a good long while, and a question arose: who is managing the clocks? This meant that Hugo constantly had to hide and be even more careful to ensure that he would not get caught by the train station inspector. After Hugo’s father died, more conflicts kept coming at him that made his life more miserable each time.
3. Hatchet by Gary Paulsen
When Brian Robeson is stranded alone in a Canadian forest after his plane crashed on the way to visiting his divorced father, with nothing but a hatchet and his bare hands, he sees and does things that no thirteen year-old should ever have to do. In this book, the setting impacts the external conflict because the wilderness setting is a very difficult place to live. But surviving in the wilderness wasn’t his only problem; he also saw his mother with another man before he left to visit his father. This may not sound that awful, but the idea of his mom marrying another man torments Brian, and is constantly swarming through Brian’s mind. However, Brian still has to work very hard because if he doesn’t, he does not have a chance of survival. From killing and preparing his own meals to coming face to face with a bear, Brian has completed tasks most people wouldn’t dream of. This lifestyle drives Brian to a point of suicidal thoughts and actions. In Hatchet, Brian Robeson faces many conflicts, but fights and endures hardships he faces.
2. A Long Walk to Water
Water, education, safety. These are three things a lot of people expect, but in Sudan, having access to all three of those is nearly impossible. Due to a civil war in Sudan, Salva Dut was forced to flee his tribe in order to survive along with thousands of others. In his journey to a safer life, he encountered murderous rival tribes and dangerous predators such as lions and crocodiles. To add to Salva’s problems, a boy who became Salva’s friend and Salva’s uncle, two of the only people who he cares about, are killed. This is very difficult for Salva to move on from because he now has nobody to care for him. Because Salva lived in Sudan during the civil war, his life became very difficult; therefore, the setting affects the conflict. In my opinion, Salva’s journey was so difficult because, for the most part, he didn’t have an adult in his life to look out for him. To conclude, Salva Dut faced many conflicts caused by the setting in Sudan during the Sudanese Civil War.
1. Counting by 7s by Holly Goldberg Sloan
Some people may call life difficult, some may call it easy, but in Counting by 7s, Willow would call life unlivable after her adoptive parents were killed in a car accident. Having to live without your parents at any age is difficult, but much harder for a twelve year old girl who is already struggling socially. Another conflict brought to Willow by this specific plot event is that she did not have a stable place to call home anymore, and couldn’t live with any of her relatives because they were not fit for caring for her. First, Willow had been living with Mai, one of her only friends, at her house (that is actually a garage), and then she is lived in her counselor’s apartment. Previous to the accident, Willow was a brilliant child who was constantly gaining knowledge and sharing it with the rest of the world, but now that her parents are dead, this part of her personality has vanished along with her ability to be happy. In conclusion, when Willow’s parents died, several conflicts came to her including depression and finding a new home.