Blog Post #4

Title: Pictures of Hollis Woods by Patricia Reilly
Pgs. 109-166
Summary: Josie liked the new house that she and Hollis were staying at, but she sometimes expressed that she was homesick. Hollis didn't want to go back to Josie's house because she knew that if they went back, the agency lady would be coming to take her away from Josie. Hollis finally flashed back to explain why she left the Regans! There was a mountain at the summer house that Hollis really wanted to climb. Steven asked Hollis to go to the river with him one day when the Regans had been out for the day. Hollis decided that she didn't want to go with Steven. She said that she would rather do art work for the day. When Steven left, Hollis decided that she would finally attempt to climb the mountain. She climbed the mountain successfully. However, she fell down the mountain when she was celebrating that she had finally made it to the top. When she fell that is how she got the gash in her head(it took 5 stitches to close it) and she hurt her ankle so bad that she couldn't walk. She was just laying on the side of the mountain bleeding and crying out for help. Some how Steven knew that she had climbed the mountain and he took the Regan's truck up the mountain to get Hollis. On the way down the mountain Steven lost control of the car because no matter how hard he pressed the brakes it would not stop. The truck flipped down the mountain and left Steven unconscious. (pg.125)
When the Regans pulled up Hollis limped to them trying to tell them what had happened. She wanted them to know that it wasn't Steven's fault but they wouldn't listen to her. Mr. Regan was blaming Steven even though he was hurt very badly and they were not sure if he was going to make it. At that point Hollis blamed her self for everything and decided that when they got back from the hospital that she would be running away. She felt like she was the reason that Steven always got in trouble with Mr. Regan even though it had nothing to do with her. Steven pulled through even though he had a few broken ribs and fractured bones in his arms.(pg137) As soon as Mrs. Regan dropped Hollis off at the house she packed her things and ran back to the agency. Mr. Regan came and tried to get Hollis to come back home, but she refused thinking that she was the reason that the Regans almost lost their only son.
So the book ends with Hollis learning that Steven knew that she had run away with Josie back to the summer home. Hollis and Josie were in the newspaper as missing people and as soon as Steven heard that he knew that she would run back to the summer home because she loved that house. Steven had stacked the house with food and everything for Hollis. As Hollis was flashing back she realized that Mr. Regan really loved Steven even though they fought a lot. She came to realize that Mr. Regan and Steven's relationship had nothing to do with her. As soon as she realized this she told Josie that she was going to walk to the phone booth. On her way to the phone booth she saw Steven. She was so happy to see him! They talked and he confirmed that she had not ruined the Regan's lives. Steven went with her to the phone booth. They called Beatrice(Josie's cousin) to make sure that she would come and take care of Josie. Then they called Mrs. Regan so Hollis could ask her if she could come home! The Regans took Hollis back with open arms!

Opinion: I loved this book! At one point in the book it got a little boring, but I am so glad that I kept reading to find out what the final outcome of the book would be! When Hollis asked Mrs. Regan if she could come home I almost cried! I almost cried because the author did a really good job writing about Hollis and making her seem so real to me. I couldn't imagine what it would feel like being a foster child and never feeling loved by your real parents. So I was so happy that Hollis Woods finally was able to become Hollis Regan and get the love that she wanted so badly! When you first start reading this book you don't know what happened to Steven because Hollis just keeps talking to him in her head. I thought that the book was going to reveal to me that the truck accident had killed Steven and that is why Hollis left the Regans. I was relieved to find out how the truck accident really happened and that Steven was still alive!

Prompt:What was the best thing about this week's reading? What surprised you about this week's reading What Big Idea did your group make based on this week's reading? The Big Idea that What kind of ending does your story have? Did the ending surprise you? Would you recommend this book to anyone?