chap10

1. David took his many different jobs as priority over school. He felt that what he learned in school was irrelevant to being successful in the real world, and so he was constantly working long hard hours instead of focusing in school.

•2. David spent most of his time working at on of the numerous different jobs that he had.

•3. David thought his father was in some kind of trouble because he had called many different stations and had heard no word from him. All they said was that they would get the message out to his father, and that he worked at different stations on different shifts.

•4. Mr. Tapely was David’s English teacher. David would often go and visit Mr. Tapely on his off period and ask him questions about his future.

•5. His relationship with his father is pretty much nonexistent. When they do see each other both of them say very little, and they find it hard to express their emotions. David describes his dad as having a dead soul.

•6. I think that his dad is probably very damaged because of all the things that have happened with the mother and the rest of the family. He feels as if he has failed his children and wife, and so he has turned to drinking to alleviate some of that pain. David is able to recognize the hardships his dad is going through, and wants so much to help but knows it is best fro him to move on to better things.

•7. The meeting with has dad was very serious and mutual. Both of them were not really comfortable sharing their emotions with the other. David’s father told David that he must get out, leave and go far away so that he could start his new life and separate himself from all of the evil memories that have trapped him.

•8. Yes I can relate to David’s and his father’s relationship. Me and my dad act very similar to the way they do. We do not discuss private matters with each other, and we never talk about how we feel or express our emotions efficiently. Honestly I am quite happy with the type of relationship me and my dad have. Not to much talking. Not to much problems.

•9. He tells David to get out of there because he does not want to see his son end up like him. He wants success for David, and he knows the only way that it can be achieved is if David moves on and starts with a clean slate and an optimistic mind set.

•10. During the summer of 1978, after dozens of interviews, David landed a job selling cars. Selling cars felt mentally exhausting to David. The upper managers would threaten the sales staff one day, then bait them with money incentives the next.

•11. More than ever, David sought guidance from Duinsmoore Drive. He talked with Mr. Brazell of his dream to become a Hollywood stuntman, and he also went to talk to the Marshes about his future in the Air Force.

•12. David rode north to the Russian River where his old family had spent countless happy hours. He did not quite remember how to get there but he eventually found it by instinct.

•13. After David finished high school he proudly enlisted into the United States Air Force.

•14. I do believe that enlisting into the Air Force was a good choice for David because it will allow him to obtain the discipline and strength he will need in any occupation he may choose later in his life.

•15. After he enlisted in the service, David heard from his mother. Her voice was not that of the evil mother, but rather his mommy from years ago. She told David that she thought of him all the time and that she always wanted nothing but the best for him.

•16. I think his mom really does not know what she thinks herself. I fell as if she has a split personality, and when she tells him that she has thought about him it is genuine. However, her feeling of love towards David is short lived because of all the stress she likely has. She is just a little crazy.

•17. Alice has taken the place of David’s mom. She always stood by David through hard times, and she loves and embraces him as her own son. David finally sees who his real family is, and feels at peace.

•18. Of course David will visit them, but as far as move back in, I don’t think so. David is a very independent and mature young man now, and I think he embracing any challenge that life has to offer. He is ready to live on his own.

•19. David has lived at his real families house, Aunt Mary’s home, the Catanze’s home, Alice’s home, the Null’s home, Vera’s home, the Hill, and finally the Walsh’s home.

chap10

•Prod-to poke or jab with or as if with something pointed

•The doctor prodded the girl on the operating table.

•2.Resented-to feel or show displeasure or indignation at (a person, act, remark

•The boy resented his mom for beating him.

•3.Strutting-walking or moving with a strut; walking pompously; pompous.

•The man was strutting his stuff on stage.

•4.Swerved-to turn aside abruptly in movement or direction

•The drunk driver swerved side to side.

•5.Deliberately-carefully weighed or considered; studied; intentional: a deliberate lie.

•The little girl deliberately spilled paint on her dress.

•6.Gleaming-a flash or beam of light: the gleam of a lantern in the dark.

•The watch was gleaming in the sun.

•7.Shuddered-to tremble with a sudden convulsive movement, as from horror, fear, or cold.

•The boy shuddered in the cold winter night.

•8.Wheezed-to breathe with difficulty and with a whistling sound: Asthma caused him to wheeze.

•The boy wheezed as he had an asthma attack.

•9.Clenched-o close (the hands, teeth, etc.) tightly.

•The lady clenched her purse tight when the robber tried to snatch it.

•10.Bait-food, or some substitute, used as a lure in fishing, trapping, etc.

•The man had worms as bate.

•11.Splurge-to indulge oneself in some luxury or pleasure, esp. a costly one

•The man splurged on girls and jewelry because he had a bounty on his head.

•12.Advantage-any state, circumstance, opportunity, or means specially favorable to success, interest, or any desired end: the advantage of a good education.

•The boy that was an MMA fighter had the advantage in the fight.

•13.Withered-to shrivel; fade; decay: The grapes had withered on the vine.

•The grape withered in the sun after being left out for three days.

•14.Aptitude-capability; ability; innate or acquired capacity for something;

•The man took an aptitude test to see how smart he was.

•15.frenzied-wildly excited or enthusiastic

•The crowd was in a frenzy after the Lakers won the championship.

•

chap9

1. David feels like he has a dark cloud over him because he believes that at any moment he may be sent back to the hill. He must look around every street corner for a county car. He just wishes he had a place to call home.
•2. Every night he prayed that Gordon Hutchinson would come and decided his fate. David was wearing ragged, moldy clothes and still sleeping on the couch. He needed a real home.
•3. Alice tell David that she and Harold are working on getting their boy fostering licenses and that she would like David to stay for as long as possible.
•4. Harold never seemed to talk to David, and when he did he just utter a few word he was just trying to get David to read instead of watching television. Although Harold was much of a friend, David still respected him immensely.
•5. Ever since David was a small child, he fantasized about building a log cabin at the Russian River, so he sometimes imagined him and Harold working on it together.
•6. Dr. Robertson was David’s new psychiatrist. He greeted David with a handshake, and turned out to be the complete opposite of David’s first doctor. He treats David like the teenager that he is, and never forces David to talk about anything he doesn’t want to.
•7. I think that it will help David eventually. It is important for David to talk to someone about the things that have haunted him for so long. It is the first step in mental recovery.
•8. There are a few things in this chapter similar to my life. For example, the fact that David is deemed stunt king later in the chapter is very relatable to my life. I have always liked to perform dangerous stunts, not for any amount of money prize, but simply for a feeling of accomplishment.
•9. His speech problem disappeared because Alice taught him how to slow down his train of thought, and try to picture himself saying the words before they came out.
•10. Alice is a very involved mom. She loves walking with David to the mall, and watching movies with him. Also, she often buys him toys for no apparent reason. For the first time David feels like a real kid.
•11. David is beginning to learn how to accept presents. Up until now he has never felt that deserved presents so it is a big change for him. The most important gift David received from the Turnboughs was a chance at being a kid while being prepared for life as an adult.
•12. Being alone in the wide open world was the scariest thing that David could imagine. Up until now he never had to think more than hours or days into the future. The idea of making a life for himself seemed impossible.
•13. David felt as if he had nothing in common with the other kids at his school. Wile they all fought to impress others by acting cool, David really didn’t care one way or the other what people thought of him. He felt like the outcast.
•14. David wanted to learn how to cook. He was pushing 16, and since everyone else was either going to Disneyland or Hawaii, he felt as though he needed to find some skill that he could call his own.
•15. David left by choice because he was disgusted with the two, older foster boys that had moved into the home. They did not work, and many times they would find David’s savings stash and steal money. David made it clear to Alice that if those boys stayed he would leave.
•16. His new family were very chill and laid back, allowing David to come and go as he pleased. They neighborhood they moved to consisted of houses that looked more like miniature mansions, and every car had a astounding shine to it. It was the perfect place to live.
•17. David’s new friends are two boys from that live on his street named Paul Brazell and Dave Howard. David took an instant liking to the two, and they constantly raced each other on their mini bikes.
•18. I think she is a very stereotypical, and simple minded piece of scum. She talks to David in a disgusting tone and constantly talks about “his kind,” and how he should give up on his future because he does not have what it takes to make it in this world.
•19. The Marshes are neighbors of the Walsh's. David spends countless hours with them and their children. They have an enormous book collection in their house and David loves to read as much as he possibly can, sometimes taking books home with him and finishing them in one night.
•20. The stay at the Walsh’s was nice at first, but as arguments began to be a regular routine David was becoming desperate. Whenever he anticipated an argument, David would quickly direct the kids out of the house as to avoid any physical or verbal violence.

chap8

David was treated as an outcast. The other kids would just turn at smile at him like he was some kind of freak. For example, even big Larry waved David off when he tried to talk to him.

•2. Gordon visited David because he had to inform him that he was to move into a new foster home. David felt very sad about the whole situation, he felt that the Catanzes had loved him more than hi real parents ever had.

•3. One rule was to never get to attached to anyone, and the second rule was to never take someone’s home for granted.

•4. Gordon had trouble finding a place for David to stay, even for a couple of days before he found a permanent home for him. All the home were either full or going to be full within a couple days.

•5. He meant that David might have to go back to Hillcrest for a couple of days until he found a foster home with room.

•6. David compared Gordon to a car salesman because of how quickly he could change his attitude so that he could persuade people.

•7. David’s new family was the Nulls family, Joanne and Michael Nulls.

•8. His new foster mom treated him as a little child. She hugged him, pinched his cheeks, and babied him.

•9. All David did was explore, read magazines, and watch television. He did this because Mrs. Nulls set many restrictions including his inability to ride his bicycle past the end of the his road.

•10. Joanne and Michael were constantly arguing, apparently because Michael had been having another affair, but David believed that he was the cause of their differences.

•11. David has been in three foster homes thus far.

•12. His second family was not nearly as reasonable as the first. They did not let him play or ride his bike more than a couple yards away from the house. Mrs. Nulls treated him like he was a little a baby, while her husband Michael thought David was nonexistent. Also, David was the only foster child in the home.

•13. Before Gordon left Vera’s house he warned David that mother’s house was off limits with a radius of one mile.

•14. There were seven other foster teenagers who lived in a makeshift room in the garage.

•15. Everyone in the home was always competing for Jody’s attention, and as cramped as things were there was a genuine family bond. Mattresses were crammed in every corner, and old lamps gave the home a soft glow.

•16. Jody was Vera's husband, who chuckled like Santa Claus and he loved playing with the children. Whenever he came everyone was at competition fro his attention.

•17. David’s new best friend was a kid named Carlos, a Hispanic boy. Carlos did not have a mean bone in his body, and could not speak English very well. Although David found it difficult it communicate with Carlos verbally, they had some kind of bond that made them understand each other instantly, without words.

•18. David runs into his brother Russell. Russell does not look good at all. He is wearing old, torn shoes and he has bruises all over his arms. It is obvious who Mother has made her next victim.

•19. I think he is concerned about what his mother is doing to his brothers and the rest of the family. He feels bad for just leaving his brothers behind, and he does not want the same type of abuse to be practiced on them.

•20. At school the next day, David saw his mother walking behind Russell.

•21. Jody was accused of statuary rape on a former female foster child.

•22. Most of the kids had to go to the Hill because there was no room in any other foster homes. Jody’s foster home had been closed permanently due to the accusation.

•23. David ends up staying with Alice’s foster home despite the fact that it was an all girl foster home. Alice smiled and asked him if he mined sleeping on the couch.

Chapter7vocab

•Degraded-Reduced in rank, dignity, or esteem.

•EXP: The officer degraded the young women

•Shuddered-shiver convulsively, as from fear or revulsion

•EXP: The young boy shuddered in fear.

•Cinder-A partly charred substance that can burn further but without flame.

•Exp: The building was cindered.

•Scurry-To go with light running steps; scamper.

•EXP: The mouse scurried across the floor.

•Incorrigible-Incapable of being corrected or reformed

•EXP: The police were incorrigible.

•Accelerated-To increase the speed of.

•EXP: The car accelerated fast.

•Validate-To declare or make legally valid.

•EXP: The lady had to validate her parking.

•Tendencies-Movement or prevailing movement in a given direction

•EXP: The boy had bad tendencies.

•Erupted-To emerge violently from restraint or limits; explode

•EXP: The volcano erupted.

•Beaming-cheerful and bright; "a beaming smile"; "a glad May morning"

•EXP: The boy was beaming with joy.

•Superintendent-person who has the authority to supervise or direct.

•EXP: The superintend told the workers what to do.

•Evaporated- To dry up

•EXP: All the

•Enchanting-Having the power to enchant; charming

•EXP: The dwarfs were enchanting.

•Circumstantial-Of, relating to, or dependent on circumstances.

•The DA only had circumstantial evidence.

•Nudging-To push against gently, especially in order to gain attention or give a signal.

•The Boy was nudging his brother.

•Corroboration-To strengthen or support with other evidence; make more certain

•The boy corroborated his story.

•Ample-Of large or great size, amount, extent, or capacity

chap7

•1. Rudy Drove David to Juve. David had to go for arson.

••2. David’s new place is a small room made of cinder blocks, with no toilet. David feels alone and scared of all the other kids.

••3. David’s dad visited him and he felt excited about a visitor until he saw who it was.

••4. Before David could sat anything his father asked David how he was.

••5. His mother wanted his father to give a mental institution custody of David.

••6. She wants David to be put away because his mother wants to be able to make it justify her disciplining was necessary.

••7. His mother had been waiting for David to screw up so that she could him in to an institution, and to be able to justify her abuse.

••8. If David was found guilty of arson and other petty crimes, Lillian could lose her foster mother privalleges as a foster mother.

••9. He is not aloud to see Ms. Gold anymore because he has a probation officer.

••10. Rudy and Lillian Catanze have full legal custody of David.

••11. He uses a simile when he says that Ms. Ctanze’s statement hit him like a ton of bricks.

••12. Her statement matters so much to him because he realized that he fate is in his own hands.

••13. Yes I think Ms. Catanze really loves David. She cares about his happiness as if It were her own. I truly believe that she loves him like her own son.

••14. Lilian had David’s pet turtle inside the chocolate box.

••15. David is described as a minor who has an extensive rebellious behavior. He was also described as being in need of close supervision, and someone who has displayed aggressive behavior towards others is argumentative and disruptive.

••16. The judge stated that their was no real proof that David started the fire, and in fact their were written statements that he was the one who attempted to put out the fire that was started by another boy.

••17. David lives with Mrs catanze again.

chap6vocab

•

•Elated-very happy or proud; jubilant. Ex. I felt elated when I got a new car.

••2. Strut-to walk with a vain, pompous bearing, as with head erect and chest thrown out, as if expecting to impress observers. Ex. I strutted away from my school in disgust.

••3. Plotted-a secret plan or scheme to accomplish some purpose, esp. a hostile, unlawful, or evil purpose. Ex. I grinned as I plotted the murder of my neighbor’s son.

••4. Objective-something that one's efforts or actions are intended to attain or accomplish. Ex. My main objective when yelling at my dad, was to hurt him.

••5. Swiveled-a fastening device that allows the thing fastened to turn around freely upon it, esp. to turn in a full circle. Ex. As I swiveled in my chair, I could not stop laughing with joy and excitement.

••6. Distinguished-made conspicuous by excellence. Ex. It was easy to distinguish between the scumbags and the posers.

••7. Aborting-to cease growth before full development or maturation. Ex. Jessica decided to have an abortion because she was scared.

••8. Erupted-to emerge violently from restraint or limit. Ex. I felt as though I erupted in ecstasy when I entered the rave club.

••9. Plodded-to walk heavily or move laboriously. Ex. As I plodded through the swamp I felt as if I were being consumed by it. As if it were alive.

••10. Britches-knee-length trousers. Ex. David wore his britches with a stained white t0shirt, and some vans sneakers.

••11. Defiant-characterized by defiance. Ex. I was very defiant as my mother told me to go to bed.

••12. Salivated-to produce an excessive secretion of saliva. Ex. I salivated in unusual amounts while I was under the influence of LSD.

••13. Prodding-to poke or jab with or as if with something pointed. Ex. David began prodding Larry with a stick when he was angered by his words.

••14. Fink-a labor spy. Ex. The pathetic little fink was killed before he even walked out of the door.

••15. Cooed-to utter or imitate the soft, murmuring sound characteristic of doves. Ex. The cooed soccer team had males and females.

••16. Quivered-The act or motion of quivering. Ex. David quivered as he thought back to the days he used to be abused by the mother.

••17. Crocheting-needlework done with a needle having a small hook at one end for drawing the thread or yarn through intertwined loops. Ex. Mother always used to be crocheting whenever I would come home from school.

••18. Bellowed-to shout in a deep voice. Ex. I heard my sister bellow in fear as she saw the bear quickly approaching.