Teenage Wasteland

Although this story almost seemed as though it had no actual point, I think it was my favorite. I liked Donny and I can relate to him. I don't let myself get in as much trouble, or fall behind as much as him, but I can still relate to being lazy with my school work and not caring as much as I should. I think Donny's parents were oblivious to what was really going on, and I don't think they wanted to see what was really wrong. His mother went to the conferences, but she never talked to Donny about how he felt or punished him for what he did wrong. She merely kept encouraging him instead of getting him the help he needed. She should have taken him to a professional psychiatrist and Silvan. This way, he could solve his emotional issues and get help with school without feeling dumb. I didn't really like Cal. At first I thought he was going to be a great character and the person that kind of saved Donny. However, he quickly turned into the bad guy. I think that a lot of younger people find a person that they can confide in and trust, that is if they have problems at home or something like that. I thought Cal would be that person for Donny, but then I started to think that maybe he was a pervert or something. I don't really understand his character. He went against Donny's parents, but he didn't do anything to Donny. The whole situation was just a scam. He kept the kids that actually came to him happy so that their parents would keep sending them and paying money. I didn't think of that until just now, but that is my final thought on Cal. Although I must admit that I thought he was going to turn out to be a child molester or something. I wasn't suprised by Donny running away either. I would have done the same thing. His parents should have taken the time to see how he really felt, but instead Donny probably felt as if no one was really listening to him. That is something hard to deal with. He was forced into a new school with no help or friends, and his parents weren't even asking him about how he was feeling. Most kids say that they don't want to talk about it, but really they do. They just want someone else to show them that he or she cares and wants to know what's going on. Donny didn't get that attention. His little sister was the perfect example of how his parents didn't care about how he feels. When his sister would try to talk to their mom or do something with her, her mother would just say "not now sweetie." I definitely think the parents are partially to blame in this story.