Michael

Michael Parsons November Blues by Sharon M. Drapor

"She must now find the courage to take responsibility and face her uncertain future with all her strength. This compulsively readable book deals with the all-too-true reality of teenage pregnancy and accords it a dignity that is not found in many books."-__**Children's Literature Review**__

Though written as a sequel to The Battle of Jericho (2003), this gripping novel stands alone. - __**Hazel Rochman**__- Voya Magazine

They act like teens, though, one minute laughing as they playfully toss junk food into their grocery cart and the next minute soberly contemplating the price of baby formula. Their world is the urban high school, but their struggles will resonate with teens everywhere. -__**Marla K. Unruh**__- Voya Magazine



1. "But that's okay, November. That's no reason for you to feel guilty" "Josh died two months ago today" said November 2. I'm pregnant Mom, I'm pregnant! 3. "I would kick him in the nut's right now for doing this to me!"

media type="youtube" key="99j0zLuNhi8" height="344" width="425" __**Song #1:**__The first song is very significant to my book because it is dealing with November being pregnant and her hardships she goes through and dealing with the pain and suffering. This song is significant in one way because it talks about how he is not ready to be the man he is suppose to be when his girlfriend is pregnant he is not ready to be a father because he is young. It is mostly significant because he talks about how he can't be the man he is suppose to be because he can't be there for his girlfriend and i think this song just explains how Josh feels because he is not there for November because he is gone. He is just implying that he can not be the man November wants him to be because he is gone and not there for November to help her when she is pregnant and getting made fun of everyday in school. Towards the middle of the song he states that he is there for November with arms wide open and he is there whenever she needs to talk to someone when she is having troubles. In this video i think it looks like Josh singing to November from heaven.

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__**Song #2:**__ I chose this song by skillet called yours to hold because it talks about November accepting responsibility as a young woman having a kid and saying hey I can do this by myself. This song is relevant to the book in two ways. The other way is that Josh is saying even though i am gone and not with you, you will see someday that all along the way I was yours to hold. Which just kind of means that November is saying to her child even though that child is too little to understand now that baby will see someday that November will always be there for her when she is taking care of her in those hard times as a teenager. I mostly just like this song because it is just stating that even though Josh is not there it is just a re-assurance to November because he is gone even though he will never see November again he is just saying I love you and i will be yours to hold.

__**Picture #1:**__ I picked this picture of the football player that is failing at what he is doing. If u read the caption it reads "when giving your best just isn't enough". I just think that it is significant to my book because before Josh died he had a best friend named Jericho and he wanted to play football for a change to take his anger out on people. Jericho decided to take up in that sport because he wanted to be able to deal with Josh's death by taking it out on people. I really liked how this picture was like my book because it showed that Jericho is trying his hardest in football and it's just not working out for him and he feels upset because he is not very goo but it does help that he taking up football to deal with the death of Josh.

__**Picture #2:**__ I picked this next picture because it is just self explanatory because it is just the picture of November holding her stomach wondering how she is gonna deal with being a pregnant teen. Her expression on her face defines how she feels and it just kind of shows she is not sure if she can do it on her own.This pregnant teen is very sad and you could not imagine what she goes through having a child at age 16. She is very patient and she is very sad all the time you can see the expression on her face you can just feel how she feels. Finding out when your pregnant at a young age can be tough and hard to deal with. November is probably just thinking in this picture because she probably is thinking about what to do by herself knowing she has to accept responsability and raise this child by herself.

__**Quote #1:**__ I really like this quote and the way it's meaning to the book because it is the first time Josh talked about in the book because November came home crying one day from school and throwing up because it was exactly two days since Josh died. It is the first time Josh is talked about and he is never actually in the story but the way it is just said is significant because he never gets to be in the story because the story is told two months after his death. When November says that quote in the book she feels as if Josh's death is her fault or she had something to do with it. November is very sad at the beginning of the book because she is Never able to be the real November because she is either getting made fun of or getting sick or crying because she feels bad for herself and for what happened she feels as if it is all her fault.

__**Quote #2:**__ This next quote i chose because it's about the turning point and everything starts going downhill from this point. November admits to her mom that she is pregnant. She asks who it was and she yelled and said of course it was Josh who else would it be. This quote is the most touching of the book because it is when she tells her mom that she is pregnant and that would probably be hard for her. Her mom was the most supportive throughout her life and her father was never around for her. Her mom was the only person she could ever talk to about the personal things because she had no one else she had now lost most of her friends because she got pregnant but she also made some new friends who were dealing with getting made fun of.

__**Quote #3:**__ This is my favorite quote not just because it sounds funny but because it shows November's sense of humor, November had a sense of humor when she was younger and she had a good time hanging out with Josh. That all went down the drain when one night she decided it was time she thought it was it was the right moment. November talked to her mom and her mother asked her if she used protection. November said yes but that night we spend alone in the basement we didn't event think about anything we were just in heaven. November just thought that night was perfect after ordering wings and pizza she decided to kiss and you can just imagine what happened. Mostly i really liked this quote because she had alot of humor to share but she could not show it because her life after Josh died was bad and she really had no reason to be happy or laugh.

media type="youtube" key="1j7GkrCNvbY" height="344" width="425" This was just an additional video that was cool and it just shows that people can do things and enjoy life even when they are pregnant just like these people and i think the first black woman on this video to dance reminds me of November