They Read, They Won!

Mitchell Carlson, 11, Victoria

Meg, Charles, and Calvin learn that being different is a good thing. They realize that if everyone were alike, the world would be a boring place and no one would be able to be unique and express their own emotions and feelings.

Meg, Calvin, and Charles aren't the most normal kids around, but if they were the same as everyone else, the world wouldn't be any fun at all. The lessons learned are different for each character. Meg learns that being able to be yourself is a wonderful thing, being able to express your own emotions is a gift, and "being different makes life worth living.” Charles learns that even though he isn't like most other kids, if everyone thought alike, the world would be so controlled that no one would have their own ideas or thoughts, no one would learn anything new and nothing new would be discovered or invented. Calvin finds that even though he has lived by himself for most of his life, there is always someone out there who will take care of him and invite him into their family. They all learn that if all of humanity were exactly alike, then the world would be a boring, uninteresting, and even terrifying place.

Hadley Mills, 11, Long Lake

I think Meg is the hero of the book. She doesn't have typical hero qualities in the beginning of the book, but near the middle it begins to show she is a hero! She was the one who took Charles away from IT with her love for him. She is a lot smarter than she thinks. Meg found her father and thought fast to get him out of his jail cell. She knew right away that something was wrong on Camazots. Her quick thinking got her out of a lot. Though her negative attitude got in the way, her flaws pulled her through. Meg was brave and understanding. She was caring and respectful, but most of all she was responsible. She was responsible by doing whatever she had to save her brother and her father. Meg is loyal and will always be loyal. She is definitely a true hero even though she may not know it.

If anyone else would be the hero of the book I think it would be Charles. He risked his life to learn more about it. The reason I don't think he is true hero is because he was brave but not very understanding and he did not change by the end of the book. He was a loyal brother and friend, though at sometimes he did not act like it. He took care of his sister and Calvin the best he could. In the book he tried hard and I respect him for that.

If either of these charters were real they would both be wonderful friends and even better family. They would try their hardest to please and do their best. They are both heroes!

Mohit Jindal, 13, St. Paul

I think Meg is the real hero of this story. Though she is a plain girl, she has qualities in abundance in her. She is very bold and straightforward. She has an excellent IQ of which she is not fully aware. She is not considered an attentive student because she prefers doing things in her own way, which is being smart. Her parents often tested her and discovered that she had a spark in her that made her a different child. Her mother assures her of being a ‘brainy’ child. She was excellent in math and her father nicknamed her ‘megaparsec’. He had a lot of confidence in her and he knew that she would be able to achieve whatever she attempted to as she grew up. Meg had full faith in her parents and she was determined to bring her father back in spite of hearing all the rumors of him not coming back.

The urge of having her father back enforced Meg to travel the universe in adverse conditions. During her expedition she was not always brave but she never gave up. After saving her father, Meg had to take the risk of going alone to a planet on which she already had a dreadful experience so she could save her brother. She was reluctant initially but she faced the circumstances and finally did bring both her father and brother back to earth, safe and sound.

Meg’s love and affection for everyone around her is worth praising. She cares a lot for her brothers. She tries to make people around her comfortable. Not to forget Calvin her friend, she treats him as a family member. Meg has been a courageous and responsible girl. She has the qualities of a true hero.