Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie

     Reading Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie over the past few months has been very interesting because it is such an intriguing book.  Steven changed so much in the book, and the changes weren't expected, as they are in many books.  Another thing about this book that made it special for me is the fact that I can relate to it so deeply.  Steven had so much pain because his little brother, Jeffrey, had cancer, and this touches me because my mom had cancer just over two years ago, and it was quite hard.  Seeing how another person might cope when they see a loved one having cancer was very different.

     When my mom was originally diagnosed with stage three breast cancer, all I knew was that was a disease.  The not knowing may have hurt me more than if I had known.  Steven knows exactly what it is when he finds out, and it makes him feel like someone had just punched him in the stomach, and it put him into denial.  When I found out, I went straight to the guidance counselor's office, because I am the kind of person that must talk about the pain to let go of the pain.  Steven keeps it a secret for weeks, until someone tells a teacher.  It is strange that how people deal with their pain can be so different from how you might. Another thing that's different between us is that he had to man-up so much, where I didn't so much because I was younger, and my older sister was given that responsibility.  I now wonder how that may have affected her, and she doesn't like to talk about her pain, like Steven.  Maybe she was in a silent denial, similar to him. The last difference between us is that it didn't change my place like it did for Steven.

     Steven changed enormously, almost like he was a new person.  He had for many years been in love with a girl named Renee Albert, the eighth grader who was sought after by all the boys.  He hadn't realized that a beautiful girl that liked him very much was sitting right next to him.  Renee was also on the top of the schools hierarchy, unlike Steven, a geek with "inch thick glasses."  It is slightly ironic that they got to be best friends throughout the book.  He also really stepped up in his family trying to keep Jeffrey busy and watched after, made him feel comfortable when he was at doctor appointments.  He became a man to everyone, and that is admirable, and I know that if there was a sequel, carma would come around, and give him something special.