Dear Mr. Horowitz:
For a while I thought that everyone had a normal life. After reading the Alex Rider series I now know that is not true. I realize that everyone has an individual story to tell, if you just stop and listen. I feel that someone hearing my story would think I have an odd and interesting life. It would have the same effect on me if I stopped and listened to someone else’s story.
Like Alex Rider, what is normal to me would be an adventure to most kids. It is comforting to me that even though Alex Rider is a fictional character, I’m not the only one who has an unusual life.
My life is different from other kids in a lot of ways. My family owns thirty sled dogs we use for mushing mountain climbing gear to Mt. McKinley, the tallest mountain in North America. We live in a log cabin we built all by ourselves near Denali National Park, Alaska. My brother has the disorders Autism, Bi-Polar, and Tourettes syndrome. They cause him to freak out (yell, shout, lash out) and have weird interests. It is hard for me to relate to him, not only because he has so many disabilities, but because he is my twin. My life isn’t exactly ordinary.
The Alex Rider books have helped me think that it is okay to be different. Everyone has a story to share about their life if you slow down and listen. Sure life will go on, but it’s my choice to try to learn about others because that’s what makes life interesting in this world. I wish everyone would feel the same way.
Sincerely,
Stony Emerson Yanuchi
Stony Emerson Yanuchi 5th Grade Tri-Valley School Library, Healy, Alaska Individual Entry