Out with the Old, In with the New

Pages read this week: 301
Pages read total: 521


I utilized my extended weekend (absent Thursday + snow day on Friday = 5 day weekend for me!) by trying to read as much as I could. I managed to finish the book I had been working on, Running with the Buffaloes. Granted, I only had 40 pages left to go in it, but I finished nonetheless.


The last 40 pages were, just as I anticipated, thrill and anxiety filled every page as I drew nearer and neared to the NCAA Cross Country Championship. I'm not going to lie to you, the beginning of the end dragged out for what seemed like an eternity. It kept going on and on about how they were preparing for the race but all I wanted to do was skip 20 pages and read about the race itself. Me being a runner, however, I understood the importance of training and I know that it was vital for the book to include that.


That last week of training for the Buffaloes was important for not only the healthy to get stronger and maintain their speed, but it was also important for the injured to recover and be as healthy as they could be. The media had ranked Colorado of getting 4th place which resulted in creating pressure for the team. From personal experience, pressure is what slaughters your confidence in record time. One time I was playing a basketball game and my team was down by one point. I was fouled with three seconds left to go in the game. I swished the first free throw and was feeling good.. up until one of my fellow teammates came up to me at the line and said, "If you make this shot,  you could win the game." Talk about pressure! By the way, I made the basket and won the game for our team, no worries. Back to the point, 4th place wasn't good enough for Buffs. All throughout the week, Goucher creates a game plan on how he's going to run the race and is mentally preparing himself like he never has before. After all, "running is 10% physical and 90% mental."  As the story narrated all of the nerves that the runners were having to face as they toed the starting line, my heart rate started to pick up. From that point on, I was hooked and had to get to the finish line.


For nearly the whole 10k course, you follow Goucher's thoughts and actions. He is the best runner for the Buffaloes and has high hopes to finally getting first place for his senior season. You travel through his thoughts as he tries to decided how to make the other top runners of the pack slowly die and fall behind his pace. Soon enough, it's just down to G0ucher and Abdi Abdirahman, Arizona's number one runner. It's only a matter of time before Goucher kicks it into high gear for the last 2000 meters and forces Abdirahman to fall farther and farther behind. After 3 long years, Goucher is finally able to cross the NCAA Cross Country Championship finish line as the grand champion. He confesses later that Severy, the one who passed away during the season, was running alongside him the whole time. 


In the end, Colorado got 3rd place. They proved the rankings wrong and did one better than expected. 


After my reading journey with this book, the book's theme of dedication was present to me thoroughout the entire story and hard work is all it takes to be a winner. If you want it bad enough, you can accomplish it.


Since I still needed an additional 110 pages for this week, I placed a few books on hold from the ACPL late at night. Much to my surprise, they were available for pickup bright and early the next morning. As soon as I finished Running with the Buffaloes, I raced over to pick up my books.

All during my drive home I was puzzled as to which book I should read next. I decided to start off reading Tricks by Ellen Hopkins. I've read multiple other books of hers and have enjoyed them. Not only do I enjoy them but they are very quick reads.

By the end of the night, I was 261 pages closer to finishing the 625 page book. The book has multiple stories going on at the same time (five stories to be exact) which is quite exhausting trying to remember what previously happened to the character you are currently reading. 


There is one story about a kid named Seth who has just come to terms with accepting that he's gay and wants a sexual relationship with men. He meets and falls in love with a man named Loren, but soon enough, Loren has to leave the country to fulfill a job oppurtunity leaving Seth heart broken.

The next story is about Eden. She is a pastor's daughter and is not allowed to date until she is ready for marriage. She fulfills her parent's wishes until one day at church a cute boy catches her eye as she catches his. Day after day, Eden loses her self and has to come up with a new lie in order for her to see "the love of her life." She quickly begins to lose herself and everything she believed in before letting Andrew into her life. Just like a slinky, Eden's life begins the steady downhill battle.


Whitney is living in her sister's shadow, Kyra. Day after day, Whitney is compared to her sister and can't find a way to escape it. It isn't until Whitney meets Lucas at Kyra's school when he says "your sister is a bitch" that she is awakened that not every is in love with Kyra after all. Immediately, Lucas and Whitney are drawn to each other and begin to start the beginning of a relationship. Will it last?


All while these stories are happening, another story is being developed. You are now introduced to a new character, Ginger. Ginger has a troubled home life with her mom consistently not able to maintain a healthy relationship with a man. Not only is her mom constantly dating, but she is a hooker on the side to get extra income coming in. Fed up with her home life, Ginger constantly relies on her best friend, Alex. Ginger reveals the deepest darkest secrets about her life to Alex and to her only. Love begins to loom in the air and Alex and Ginger start having a homosexual relationship together but I can't help but wonder, is this love or lust?


Finally, the last story follows Cody. He's your typical teenage boy by working at GameStop, smoking blunts regularly and drinks like its no ones business. He breaks up with his girlfriend Alyssa but soon gives into temptation and starts dating her best friend, Ronnie. The two of them hit it off and they can't stand to be away from each other. Life is perfect. For now.


As you ride alongside the various character's journey and their relationships with their significant other, it is revealed that sex is the driving force behind all of these stories. Just as things to start peak of the relationships and all of their cards have been dealt, slowly each other's partner begins to start letting go and looking for the next great catch.


Remember how I said I really hoped to jump back into the bookworm wagon? Well, I'm in it! As I sit in my classes I ponder if I have time to read later in the evening or if what I'm being taught in class is less important than getting a few pages of reading in. I have an extensive amount of books sitting in my bedroom waiting for me to read each of the adventures that each of them possess. Fingers crossed that I can finish this book soon.