I have started reading the book All these things I’ve done, by Gabrielle Zevin. She won the Borders Original Voices award. This story is obviously set in the future, though how far I can’t be sure. The simple acronym OMG that is used by most teens today is scarcely known to these people. Chocolate has also been declared contraband, caffeine is illegal, and there hasn’t been a new book printed in many, many years. Everything, from paper to water is limited and laws change so frequently you could hardly know whether you were doing something illegal or not.
The main character in this story is Anya. She is the daughter of a well known crime boss. Though her dad is dead his reputation follows her wherever she goes. She lives in a small apartment, though that’s the same as everyone else, with her sickly grandmother, mentally handicap older brother, and her little sister. The school year has just started for Anya and it is her junior year. Things do not have a good beginning for her. The night before school starts she breaks up with her boyfriend Gable only to wake up the next morning and find that he had already spread rumors of his version of how they broke up, which earns him a tray of hot lasagna over his head.
I really feel sympathetic for Anya because despite some rash decisions, such as the lasagna, she is really a good kid. She takes good care of her family and does her best to stay out of trouble, which she usually is very good at. She struggles with her dad’s bad reputation always preceding her and always being judged by others because of it. I hope that as I continue reading this story that Anya will be able to escape the dirty business of her family and show people just what an admirable person she is.