Inside Out by Terry Trueman

639 Words2 Pages

This book was set in a coffee shop, modern day Spokane, Washington.
The main characters in this story were Zach Wahhsted, Alan Mender, and Joey Mender. Zach Wahhsted was a schizophrenic sixteen year. He often hallucinates voices and people; but when ever he would forget to take his medication, he would hear two voices that would tell him to kill himself. Zach had a hard time understanding what was real and what was in his head. Alan Mender was a seventeen year old who grew up in a rough neighborhood with his little brother and their mom, who was diagnosed with cancer. He has a kind disposition, but lives in rough circumstances. Joey Mender was a fourteen year old younger brother of Alan Mender, who also lived with his mother, he is temperamental and thought zach was just a retard.
The book began in a small coffee shop. Zach was sitting at a corner table waiting for his mother to pick him up when two boys with guns burst in and told everyone to stay calm. The boys went straight to the cashier and told the girl to give them all of the money. While the boys were at the cash register Zach saw that a lady parked in a blue car called someone, then drove away. As the cashier was shoving the cash into bags that the boys had handed her, the cops rolled up so the boys made everyone go in the back storage room. There were nine hostages, Zach, two middle aged businessmen, a mother and daughter, the cashier and the coffee boy, and two older ladies who smelled like soap.
The cops surrounded the building and tensions rose. The younger of the two boys started to get anxious and shot a table. The younger boy freaked out and shot a table. The cashier, threw up and the little girl started crying. Zach, who had been supposed to take his medication h...

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...d shots and Alan’s hand had gotten hit. The boys were back inside and the police called and told them that Doctor Curt had arrived. Doctor Curt spoke to the boys and told them that the first shot had been an accident; and that he had read the paper and it looked fine, so they could come out. The kids all walked out, they dropped their guns and were handcuffed, except for Zach who went to his mother and got his medication.
The book then jumped in time to three months later. The boys were tried as juveniles and sentenced to nine months in juvenile detention, and two years on probation. Zach on the other hand had successfully committed suicide.
I liked this book because it shows a part of society which is usually kept hidden. Many people think schizophrenia is just a form retardation, but this book gives you a small amount of understanding for people with this disorder.

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