Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie

As we continue to read from the novel Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie in class, most classes made it to the chapter titled "Trouble." In the previous chapters, "Take Me" and "Fever," we saw Steven's mother helping him get ready for the school dance and telling him how handsome he was, while he was thinking he looked like the original "dorkmaster." We come to the conclusion that Steven's opinion ("Dorkmaster") is probably a more accurate description as his mother reminds him to zip up his fly and Steven throws on a black band (geek) t-shirt. The chapter ends with Steven asking God to please "Take Me" (instead of Jeffrey) because his mother rushes in to the dance wearing her sweat pants. She asks the DJ to stop the music and call Steven Alper to the front. Steven is so embarrassed, but his mother is in a total panic because Jeffrey has.... you guessed it.... "Fever."

In the next chapter, "Fever," we get an inside look at exactly what Jeffrey has been going through in the hospital. It is ironic because in earlier chapters Steven had sarcastically referred to Jeffrey's hospital stays as "Vacation." Once Steven spends a little time with Jeffrey in the hospital and watches as Jeffrey is poked with needles and exposed to cold, scary machines, he realizes that it is no vacation to be in Jeffrey's shoes. Steven does a good job comforting his brother in the hospital and pretends to be one of Jeffrey's favorite toys, Matt Medic. Jeffrey is glad that Steven is there with him in the hospital.

Many of the chapters in this book seem to end in suspense. This is a good way to keep the reader involved and eager to keep reading. We are still in the rising action of the plot. All of the action in the plot is focused around the conflict (Jeffrey's cancer).