Small Steps

Small Steps is a novel by the award winner author Louis Sacar. In Small Steps Armpit faces different problems as he tries to keep going with his small steps, a list of things he wants to do to get a better future. One day X-ray, his old friend from Camp Green Lake, comes to him with an idea for him to double his money. From a simple busness of ticket scalping a huge problem starts. The day of the concert Armpit asks X-ray to give him two tickets for him to go to the rock concert of Kaira DeLeon. X-ray starts a series of breathtaking, funny, and sad moments when, instead of giving Armpit the tickets, gives him fake tickets to get $400 sealing thus tickets.

            In the concert Kaira invites Armpit and Ginny- Armpit’s handicapped neghbore that symbolizes perseverance- to see the concert backstage because they were selling counterfeit tickets. From that moment a huge friendship between Ginny and Kaira started wile a romance between Armpit and her flourished.

            While there is a friendly relationship between Armpit and Kaira another problem happens in his life. A police woman starts to investigate the counterfeit tickets, which gets to become a big problem because Armpit lies to her to try to keep X-ray from going to jail. The lies get him in such a problem that in no time he got a guy black nailing him. Felix, the dude that is black nailing Armpit, tells Armpit to give him the love letter Kaira wrote to him. The letter becomes a symbol of catastrophe and the cause of Kaira breaking up with Armpit.

            The climax of the novel is when Kaira invites Armpit to a fancy hotel at San Frasisco for them to be together for 3 days. While they walked Armpit asked a favor to Kaira destroying the relationship. When he gets back to the hotel and goes in Kaira’s room for him to apologize he finds Jerome, Kaira's step-father, trying to kill Kaira. Armpit bets up Jerome and saves Kaira and himself.

            The novel is full of characters and problems but from the moment you read the title you can see the theme of the story. However, it is easy to say that the theme is to take small steps but you need to read the book to understand the real meaning of small steps. I the end of the novel the author make Armpit hear the new song of Kaira. If you read the song you understand what small steps will do in your life. The novel shows that taking big steps in life, obviously symbolically, will knock you down. At the end small steps will help you discover who you are and will ensure you a great future. Small steps may be something that you think only happens in books but no. taking small steps is one of the healthiest practices you may have to get a bright future. Luis Sacare brought out this novel to encourage the young masses to take a hold on their future and to take small steps. I was moved so much by this novel that by the end I made my own list of small steps.

1.      Save money for university.

2.      Avoid situations that may turn violent.

3.      Graduate from school with exemplary grades.

4.      Look for a good university.

5.      Lose the name Armadillo

I finish this with; to the public at large, take small steps