Amador, Alexander; "My Brown Eyes" from ENTERING NEW TERRITORY

Alex lives in an area where gang activity is very high and he gets involved in a gang. He doesnt always like being involved in gangs because it causes people to die. But he says they are family. His brother got arrested and now cares for his mom. Alex prays that his life will not end up like his brother's. He doesnt want to get arrested, but he looks up to his brother for taking care of his mom.

Smith, Alison; "Curve" from RED edited by Amy Goldwasser

Alison is 16 years old and the complete opposite of Amy. Its her against healthy bodies. She is not liked by other girls because she is naturally "super" skinny. And she thinks it is not fair that she is too skinny and she thinks that other girls dont understand how hard it is to be a skinny person. As much as it sound mean, she really isnt trying to be mean because she is saying that she has a hard time being skinny.

Morand, Cindy; "The Border" from RED by Amy Goldwasser

Hunt, Amy; "Sleeves" from RED edited by Amy Goldwasser

Amy is a sixteen year old teenager that is very self conscience about her body. Most of her friends are skinny, but she thinks they are only her friend because they feel bad for her. And she hears people make fun of her in the worst possible way. But she finds the need to defeat herself way before others have the chance.

Goldberg, Karen; "Social Network benefits validated"

This article talks about how social networking is good and bad. Parents give their opinions and some think that social networks are ok, some think that they are bad. And some choose no side, they think it is up to their child to have one or not. But kids need to know that they need to be careful when they are on the internet. and who they make friends with online.

Hefferman, Virginia; "Being There"

A group of kids find facebook more conforting than myspace. Even though the two are very similar but they have there differences. The article goes on to talk about status updates and how pointless it is to know everything that someone is doing at that very moment. And it also talks about what is socially acceptable and what is not accepted.

Myspace Article

This article tells us the truth about MySpace and why so many kids sucked into using it. Kids want a place that they feel is an easy place to find social comfort and MySpace is that place. MySpace is a place where these kids can choose to portray themselves in anyway they want. So if a person is not that attractive in real life they can show themselves and become more attractive looking online.