How are you similar to one of the main characters of your novel?

      Death. Death is the common factor that I share with Lindsay and Buckley Salmon two characters in my book "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. Their eldest sister, Susie, was murdered, and now not only are Buckley and Lindsay left to face the hardships of the mysterious murder of their sister, but the whole family is. As a child, close to Buckley's age, my older brother passed away. His untimely passing, much like Susie's, left a huge impact on me and my family. The suffering that Susie's parents face is much like the suffering that my own parents faced. I lived through it. It's easy for me to relate, mostly to Buckley because he is close to the age that I was at when my own brother passed. It's hard to fully understand what is happening at that age... you just think that they're on some sort of extended vacation. You see everyone around you struggling to smile for you, and although you're young you know this, you know when someone isn't truly happy. You do what you can to comfort them, to make them smile again, because you miss their smile. At one point in my novel, Buckley found Susie's dad sitting on the floor in Susie's bedroom, crying. Buckley was unsure of what to do, and Susie's dad called him over and they sat together. Susie's dad clung to Buckley and reminded him how special he is to him. Buckley just nodded head seriously and kissed his father on the cheek. I did something much like this when my brother passed away and I found my mom crying on the staircase the day I got home from school. I went up to her, I hugged her and I told her everything would be okay. She tried to explain to me what had happened but I had troubles understanding her... however as I looked around me and saw my family all together in the living room, and a house full of grieving strangers I knew that something awfully horrible had happened, and that from now on our lives would be missing something. I imagine this is how Buckley must feel too, therefore it is very easy for me to be able to put myself in not only his position but Lindsay's and Susie's parents positions as well. Losing a family member is not an easy thing. Watching your family go through a loss like this at a young age, and growing up with other peoples' memories of a person you should remember, you wish you could remember, but you just simply just can't remember changes you, forever.

The perfect machine.

If an ATM machine were custom designed for me, there would be a selection of things being spewn out besides money. On the big, closet sized ATM machine there are a variety of buttons. The big pink button in the middle blasts out clothing items that I pick out on polyvore and pinterest. The little sparkling button right underneath the clothing button, is just for accessories.. rings, earrings, bracelets, hair accessories, shoes, nail polish, hair accessories, you name it! Off to the right of the big pink button, is the location of a purple puppy button. Pressing this button gives me the selection of a variety of puppy dogs. Now these aren't just regular puppies.. these puppies stay puppies forever. Once a puppy always a puppy. There are laberdoodle puppies, pomsky puppies, miniature husky puppies, maltese-poodle puppies, pug puppies, german shepard puppies, hush puppies, golden retriever puppies, labrador puppies, etc. To the left of the big pink button, lies a red button. After pushing this magical red button, you were to select any place in the world you wish to travel to, and the amount of time you wished to be on vacation for, and voilà! Out comes the (free) plane ticket to the place of your desire. I, of course, prefer to select places in the wonderful Europe. Italia, France, España, Nederland, Deutschland, Danmark, Sverige, you name it! I would also select places in Asia, and Africa for missions trips, and the Caribbean for relaxation. The final button is located at the botton of the perfect machine. This nifty beige little button gives me a selection of cameras. Vingate cameras, small cameras, polaroid cameras, professional cameras, digital cameras, water proof cameras, video cameras, all the selection you could possibly need for the highest quality photography!
All of this in one machine, just for me. The machine is programmed to recognize my finger prints, and no one else's. Therefore, no one can steal plane tickets, puppies, cameras or my perfect shoes!

Changing History

     
"Please don't do this..." I manage to say, barely audible. The officer looks down at me, his eyes daggers. "Give me one good reason not to kill you. You and your kind go against everything the Fuhrer stands for. You're filth. You're a stain on the perfect Aryan race. So tell me 4587... why shouldn't I kill you."

For a moment.. just a quick moment.. I close my eyes. I close my eyes, and I think back to what my life was like before I found myself in this horrendous place. I remember where my life began to change for me.

The date is January, 1933. Adolf Hitler has just been appointed reich chancellor of Germany, by our President Hindenburg. My father does not like Adolf Hitler. I've heard him tell my mother so. I do not have much of an opinion on the man.. however I do not know his ideals. Being a 13 year old girl, I do not follow politics, nor do I have much interest in them. I prefer to read books, play my violin and go out for ice cream with my friends. My father is a smart man, and if he does not like Hitler, I shall not like Hitler either. He says now that Hitler has wormed his way into the Reichstag, he will eventually become head of state, and if that happens our lives will never be the same. He will not tell me what exactly he means by this, but he is a strong believer in it.

August, 1934. Hitler is now the President of Germany. It’s amazing how much one’s opinion can change in just 19 months. I now know how I feel about Hitler, and not just because of my father’s view on him. I fear for the safety of the Jewish people not just in Germany, but perhaps all of Europe too. I can feel it in my gut, and I know better than to go against my gut feelings. Hitler strongly dislikes the Jewish people… but for now, life goes on as normal. I go to school, I see my friends every day, I go to the movie theatre, and I have violin lessons every Tuesdays and Thursdays with a very lovely elderly German woman.

September, 1935. The Nuremburg laws are passed, stripping the Jewish people of German citizenships, causing us to lose jobs, and many other basic rights. We are not permitted to display German national colours, or the national flag, which has also been changed to the Nazi symbol- the swastika, and Marriage between “Aryans” and “Non-Aryans” is forbidden. Life begins to go downhill from here. We begin to have to wear a gold Star of David on all of our clothing articles so people can tell us apart, so we can be identified as Jews. As a stain on Hitler’s “perfect Aryan race” A sore that won’t go away. Soon we are to attend different schools. In schools they teach you “what a Jew looks like.” They tell stories depicting us as menacing, perverted, beggars, criminals.. Life begins to take a sharp turn. I begin to hate Hitler more and more everyday. What did we do to deserve this? We are people just as much as Germans are.

The date I’ll never forget. It is February 18^th, 1936.
*BANG BANG BANG* There is knocking on the door. My sister sits straight up in her bed at the exact time that I do. I am now 16 years old, and I know what is about to happen. It is the German police, I know this before my father opens the door. It is the German police, and they are here to tell us to pack our bags and go with them. I’ve seen it happen. They will tell us to pack and they will take us away. I am unsure of where, I am unsure for how long and I am unsure of if I will ever see my bedroom again. My father now opens the door, my mother hiding behind him, and my sister and I peeking from the top of the stairs.

“Pack one suitcase each. You have ten minutes and then you are coming with us.” One of the two officers says to my father.

“And if I don’t?” My father asks.

“You will do as you are asked and pack your way, or you will be unconscious and I will pack for you, my way.” The officer says, nose to nose with my father. My sister begins to cry and I hold her. My mother lets out a whimper as my father continues to stare down the officer and the officer raises his hand as if to strike him. She pulls him away to their bedrooms to pack. She knows not to tell me what I need to pack, because she knows I’ve been waiting for this moment. She knows I am old enough to handle my little sister also.

Just like I had predicted, they took us. They took us to a concentration camp.. Dachau. From that moment on my life has been a series of hard labour, sicknesses, pain, suffering, and watching my loved ones, and people around me, die. Every day, death after death after death. My sister and I are the only ones left of this family. I fight to stay alive just for her. She is growing weaker and weaker as the days pass, she needs more food. I know I have to do something, so I sneak out and steal an extra ration of bread. A guard spots me, and before I have the chance to run, I feel the sharp sting of his belt on my back. I try to run, but he hits me again, this time the pain is so overwhelming I collapse to the ground. I try to crawl but he kicks me, repeatedly, over and over again. I feel myself start of cough up blood, as he continuously kicks me.

“Please… Please don’t do this” I manage to whisper. The guard says something to me… I close my eyes and think back to before my life became hell. I open my eyes just in time to see him raise his belt high above his head. Before I have the chance to open my mouth and scream for mercy, everything goes black.