Winning Essays

Topic: Reading changes your life

By Adriana Lewis-Harris

          Recently I read a book called Money Hungry by Sharon G. Flake.  It was a very good book because it changed the way I think about money my responsibility to my family, and life. 

          I mostly related to the main character in the story, Raspberry.  She was a girl in middle school who lived in the ghetto.  Not only was Raspberry responsible for herself but she had to take care of her mother.  I think that was a lot of pressure for Raspberry to be under, but she dealt with it the best way she could. 

          I believe the author tried to help me see Raspberry as a young girl trying to survive in a poor neighborhood.  I don’t think the book was about the amount of money she had, but that she needed money to take care of her family. 

          This book changed my life because I also live in the ghetto.  I don’t have to take care of my family or my own, but I have a lot of responsibilities as a young girl.  I like having money and before reading this book it was hard for me to share money with my family.  I believed that if I made money babysitting that I should be able to keep all the money for me even though I knew my family could use my help. 

          After reading this book I learned that it’s not about how much money I have, but I need to learn how to share my money when my family needs help. 

          It is my dream to finish high school and go on to college so that when I get older I can really help my family when in need.  I enjoy reading books about young girls who live in the ghetto and are able to live a better life because they learned from experiences that may seem horrible at the time, but they could look back and try to live life a better way.

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