Non-Fiction RR

In the article, “The Fury of Fire,” the author, Kristin Lewis, wants the reader to know how wildfires spread and what they do. The author describes what it is like to be in a wildfire. The author also talks about what life is like after a wildfire. The article shows the reader how destructive and frightening wildfires are.

Kristin Lewis writes about a kid named Kevin Conaway and his family whose town was caught in a wildfire. In San Diego County back in 2003, two wildfires were started by people, one accidentally and another on purpose. When I read this it makes me think how important it is to be careful when I am in a forest. In the article, “The Fury of Fire,” Lewis says, “wildfires can move at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour” (Lewis 5). Lewis also describes how hot a wildfire can get – 2600 degrees. Lewis’s details make the reader aware of how horrible a wildfire could be especially since it could be 2600 degrees before the fire gets to you. The article shows the reader how hard it is to escape a wildfire since wildfire can move 10 times as fast as a normal person can run.

The second half of the article explains how Kevin’s town was affected. Lewis tells how Kevin’s house was spared from the fire but other parts of the town were not so lucky. Lewis describes the scene. “As the Conaway’s drove onto their street, Kevin saw a blackened hillside. But their house was ok” (Lewis 6). Hundreds of other homes in Kevin’s neighborhood were damaged. After Kevin got back to his house they started helping to clean up the town. They also gave out supplies and blankets to people who lost their homes. This crisis is similar to Hurricane Sandy because people came together to help their neighbors rebuild their homes and made sure they had enough food and clothing.      

After reading this article, I understand how terrible wildfires can be. I now know how wildfires can spread and kill people really fast. I also learned what it is like to be in a wildfire from Kevin’s story. This article makes the reader aware of how wildfires are started so they can be prevented.

Works Cited

 Lewis, Kristin. “The Fury of Fire.” Scholastic Action. 8 October 2012: 4-6. Print. 

Blog Post Due on the 17th

In the book Peak by Ronald Smith, the author started the book in an interesting way. He did that by having the main character write the story as if he is explaining what happened to him in the last couple of months. Peak, is a 14 year old, who loves mountain climbing and tries to climb a skyscraper in New York and gets caught. From there he goes to court and ends up getting parole and has to go live with his dad who he never sees. His dad brought Peak to Mount Everest where Josh, Peak’s dad, had to bring a climbing party up the mountain. That was not all Josh planned to do. He planned on getting Peak to the top so he could be the youngest person to the top which would get more business for Josh’s mountain climbing company.

            I thought the author’s way of starting the book was a good idea. It made you wonder why a kid was writing about what happened to him in the past year. It also made you wonder why he was writing about it in the back of a van driving away from Mount Everest. The best part was how the author explained why he was writing in the back of a van slowly. He did this by first explaining the why he was writing in the beginning. He first described what Peak’s teacher said he needed to do to pass 8^th grade, which ended up being a writing assignment on anything he wanted to write about. Then in the middle and end he explained why he was in a van driving away from Mount Everest. He did this by bringing Peak and his dad to Mount Everest. The way the author wrote the book was interesting.