Whirligig by Paul Fleischman | Teen Ink

Whirligig by Paul Fleischman

April 6, 2008
By Bapalapa2 ELITE, Brooklyn, New York
Bapalapa2 ELITE, Brooklyn, New York
1044 articles 0 photos 1 comment

Whirligig is a trying tale about Brent Bishop, who in the heat of the moment makes a drastic choice which results in a tragic accident. It all starts when Brent goes to a party, where the gorgeous Breanna, Brent's Dream girl, is attending. After following her around for a while Breanna turns around and hollers and humiliates Brent in front of all his class mates.

Brent leaves the party in a wrath of anger. Being that he is drunk he decides that life is no longer worth living since Breanna denied him. He lets go of the wheel and hits and kills 18 year old Lea.

Brent does not get jail time for his wreckless actions but, Lea's parents ask him to make four Whirligigs and place them in the four corners of the United States. Oregon, California, Maine, Florida.

This book is an easy read and keeps the reader interested in the book. I also found this book to be very useful to show teens that drinking and driving is not only dangerous but can also be a fatal action. All though Brent did not get jail time for his actions it shows that he will have to live with this horrible memory of killing a person for the rest of his years.

I found this book to be very inspirational and very informative. It showed me that when you get behind the wheel you are taking your life and everyone else's life that is on the road into your hands. By reading this book it taught me to be cautious when I drive and if I am upset or angry about something to wait and cool down and then get behind the wheel so I don't end up hurting someone else on the road.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has just gotten their permit or has had their permit for a few months. It can really show a new driver some perspective. I would also recommend this to someone who has known a person that was killed by a drunk driver. It can show you that they are subconcisely getting in the car and driving, they may know it's wrong when they are sober but when they are drunk they don't.

In closing I would recommend this book to teens or someone just getting their permit. It is a spectacular book and an easy read and I would read it if I was you.


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