Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie Essay

Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, by Jordan Sonnenblick, is the story of Steven Alper, who takes us through his 8th grade life, girls, playing drums and most importantly, dealing with his little brother, Jefferey's,  cancer.  Steven is forced to cope with his brother's illness and learns to make sacrifices to help his brother.  The book shows how he matures while dealing with what happens to his brother and the selfless decisions he makes along the way.

One way Steven's maturity is shown is when his long time crush, Renee Albert comes to his house to tutor him.  She has a cold and Steven becomes concerned that her cold might make his brother more sick.  Even though he wanted to be near her, he made her leave.  He was willing to give up something in order to help his brother.

Another way Steven shows he is maturing is what he does when his brother loses all his hair from the chemotherapy.  To make Jeffery feel better, Steven shaves his hair off too.  This show that at a time most teens are very concerned with their appearance, he is willing to change looks in order make his brother happier.

Lastly, Steven shows he is more mature when he chooses to leave his school's band concert which he had been preparing for for months.  He had a huge drum solo in it, but Steven gave that up when his brother became sick at the concert and had to go to the hospital with him.  Steven made this big sacrifice so his brother would feel safe at the hospital.

In Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, Steven learned to make sacrifices and to take risks for his brother.  He became more mature through the story.  Even though it's not likely for young people to have to deal with cancer, the book showed that if someone you love is going through a rough time, you can think of sacrifices and things to do to make the person happier and feel loved.