Jordan Amsel
Period E
12/7/14

Phoenix Rising Rough Draft

“Sometimes you have to do things you’d rather not do.” (p.18) This quote may be what this whole book is about. Many people in life can relate to this because many people have been in bad situations at least once. In literature, authors often put characters in situations they would rather not be in to make the book more interesting. In the novel Phoenix Rising by Karen Hesse, many characters are in situations they do not like. This quote can apply to Nyle, Ezra, and Mrs.Trent.

Nyle Sumner has already been in many tough situations, as she does not have her mother, grandfather, and father. “Both my mother and Gramp had died of cancer.” (p.44) This has taken Nyle to the point where she has to refer …show more content…
Ezra has to deal with no Father to raise him. Ezra partially believes that its his fault for his fathers death. “Nyle, if I hadn’t said--he might have walked away. Some guys on duty that night--they walked away. Ran away. My father might still be alive” (p.140) Ezra’s father kept going in the power plant while there was a lot of radioactivity in the area, even when he was starting to get ill. Ezra feels like he should die too. Secondly, Ezra has to deal with being sick. Ezra lived close to the plant before the accident, until it forced him to start living with Nyle and Gran. Ezra is in critical condition, yet his mother is in good condition. Ezra starts to get hope after standing up and walking. Finally, Ezra has to deal without having any friends, except for Nyle. All of Ezra’s friends are dead because of the accident. When Ezra has to go back to school, he doesn’t have that much difficulty making many friends. “He always had two or three girls around him.” (P.157) Ezra doesn’t have any real friends like Nyle that actually know him. Ezra has to make new friends with people but shouldn’t get too close,because he could