Holly is a Runaway

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Holly Janquell is a runaway. Wendelin Van Draanan creates a twelve year old character in the story, Runaway, that is stubborn and naive enough to think she can live out in the streets alone, until she is eighteen.She has been in five foster homes for the past two years. She is in foster care because her mother dies of heroin overdose. In her current foster home, she is abused, locked in the laundry room for days without food, and gets in even more trouble if she tries to fight back. Ms.Leone, her schoolteacher, could never understand her, and in Holly’s opinion, probably does not care. No one knows what she is going through, because she never opens up to any one. Ms. Leone gives Holly a journal at school one day and tells her to write poetry and express her feelings. Holly is disgusted. But one day when she is sitting in the cold laundry room, and extremely bored, she pulls out the diary, and starts to write. When Holly can take no more of her current foster home, she runs, taking the journal with her. The journal entries in her journal, are all written as if she is talking to Ms.Leone, even though she will probably never see her again. Over the course of her journey, Holly learns to face her past through writing, and discovers a love for poetry. At some point in this book, Holly stops venting to Ms. Leone and starts talking to her, almost like an imaginary friend, and finally opens up to her. The starting point of this book shows how much she hates Ms.Leone and complaining about her current situations. For example, in one of her first entries, she talks about when she got in trouble for coming home late from school. Her foster parents think she is doing drugs, so they search her. After that they lock her in the laundry room. ... ... middle of paper ... ...ing to KFC every year was better than roasting an actual turkey. Although, her mother still always opens a can of spiced peaches and a small can of cranberry sauce. In the end, Holly eventually opens up completely to her imaginary Ms.Leone. In the end of this novel. Holly eventually ends up with a family and lives a happy life. Her new mother had a journal of her own, and she lets Holly read it. After while Holly decides to give her own journal to her now mother, Meg, to read. She is nervous because she thinks that Meg will laugh at all of the poems she has written in there. All Meg says to her is “I am so proud to know you.” Meg gives Holly some advice. She says to send a copy of her journal to Ms. Leone, and thank her for giving the journal to her. In a way, she cannot help but think that the journal, and “talking” to Ms.Leone helped her through some tough times.

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