DG and DP

Drums Girls and Dangerous Pie

            Drums Girls and Dangerous Pie by Jordan Sonnenblicks is about an 8th grader named Steven, who is a normal teenage boy living in New Jersey. He has a 5 year old brother named Steven who is always bugging him, when he’d rather be playing the drums or thinking about Renee Albert (the most popular girl in school). One day when Steven is making Jeffrey “moatmeal” he gets a nosebleed and is rushed to the hospital. All day Steven is only worried about being punished for getting Jeffrey hurt, but really that doesn’t matter to his parents, because when he comes home that day, he learns that Jeffrey has leukemia. Steven’s life is turned upside down as he struggles to keep his family happy and normal and is forced to sacrifice things he loves in order to be a good brother to Jeffrey.

              When Steven shaved his head is shows how much he cared about his brother. Jeffrey had been bullied at school about him being bald, and it was the first time anyone had really mentioned it.

When Steven quit his drum lessons, it showed he really wanted to help his family. Even though Steven was just a 13 year old boy, he still took advantage of what he could do. Drumming was his favorite thing to do, and it was really the only thing he had to himself. But he knew he’d rather sacrifice drumming rather than his family having barely enough money. It shows how he started to become responsible and grown up.

When Steven missed out on the concert it showed that he had become less selfish. The concert had pretty much been dedicated to him and he decided to miss it. A couple of months ago, Steven would rather have died than miss out on a concert. Not only is he no longer selfish, he is also more than that. Most people would expect for a parent to go with them, but not a brother. In fact he might’ve not even gone if he hadn’t met Samantha. “Stay with your brother, Steven,“ Samantha said. Steven knew that Jeffrey needed him just like Samantha needed her sister. This really shows how Steven changed into a kind, loving brother.

As Steven goes through 8^th grade, he has to sacrifice the thinks that he loves. By the end of the book, Steven changed into a whole new, more responsible, caring person. He realized that it was time for him to start thinking about other people besides himself and Renee Albert. When a family is going through something as difficult as he was, people often change in some way. I have been through similar experiences, and I have known people in almost the same situation as Steven, and all of us changed. Knowing that someone you love is in danger affects your personality. You become more grateful and caring and try to help the situation get better. Which is exactly what happened to Steven.