Taking Sides Part 1
By: Ina
Phone conversation between Lincoln and Monica: “Hi Monica,” said Lincoln, “How was the game last night.”
“Hey Lincoln, the games was great and you played really well,” Monica said enthusiastically! “Sorry you guys didn’t win,” she said.
“Oh, that didn’t really matter, it was only the first game,” Lincoln went on. “I just wanted to talk to you about something important”.
“What is it,” replied Monica.
“I just wanted to know if you, um, liked me or not”. There wasn’t a response for what seemed to be forever for Lincoln.
“Yes, Lincoln I do like you,” Lincoln started getting nervous, his heart was thumping. “But, only as a friend.” That last comment brought Lincoln down.
“Why not,” Lincoln said frustrated.
“It’s just that, you’re a very nice guy but I’m not looking for a relationship right now,” she replied in a sad tone “Please don’t be mad”.
Lincoln couldn’t be mad at her about her feelings, but for some reason he was. He didn’t know what to say so he just took a second to calm down and said “It’s okay.”
“I hope this doesn’t change anything about us and we could still be friends,” Monica responded.
Lincoln paused for a moment then said “Yes, we can still be friends,” even though in his head he thought that when she wants to be in a relationship he’ll be waiting.
Taking Sides Timeline
· Event 1: Lincoln’s house gets broken into so his mom decides to move from a not so great city to a much nicer area. I chose this part because it is very important to the story. It’s important because it includes the explanation of why Lincoln and his mom moved and why he has to go to a different school.
· Event 2: Lincoln liked his new school, Columbus, it was much nicer than his old school, Franklin, but he still missed his life back in the city. He mostly missed old friend Tony, his girlfriend Vicky, and his basketball team. This part is important to the story because it shows that Lincoln misses his old life even though his new life is in a much nicer area.
· Event 3: At Lincolns new school he meets some new friends named James and Monica. He liked James and liked Monica a lot. Monica told him that she went to Franklin before but then came to Columbus. This is important to the story because it shows Lincolns friends at his new school.
· Event 4: Lincoln hurt his toe badly while playing basketball and when he was practicing for his new team, Columbus, he hurt his toe again. When he hurt it at practice the coach was being really mean about it. This part is important to the story because it shows how the coach doesn’t really like Lincoln.
· Event 5: Roy, his mom’s boyfriend came over to his house. Lincoln didn’t like him because he seemed to be a wimp. He drove a light blue car, which he thought was a girl color, and jumped whenever his dog, Flaco, barked. Flaco was a present from his dad before he left them, who he thought was much better than Roy. This part is important to the story because it shows Lincolns feelings towards Roy and how he misses his dad.
· Event 6: Tony calls Lincoln and tells him to come over to his house and then tells him that he found the TV from his old house at a thrift store. When they went there Tony said that Lincoln had changed and became softer which made Lincoln very mad and yelled at him.
This part is important to the story because it tells about how Lincoln and Tony are mad at each other.
· Event 7: Lincoln asks Monica to play basketball with him on Sunday. That day he stopped at James’s house and then went to the basketball court to meet Monica. While he was there it started raining and Lincoln slipped and hurt his knee really badly. This part is important because it tells how Lincoln hurt his leg and his feelings towards Monica.
· Event 8: Lincoln stays home from school in the morning because of his knee, but would come back in the afternoon for basketball practice. While he took a nap another guy broke into his new house. Lincoln threw a cup at him and he ran out the door. He tried to call his mom but she didn’t answer, so he went to back to school.
This part is important because it shows how Lincoln’s house got broken into.
· Event 9: When Lincoln gets to school Monica started asking to many questions so Lincoln yelled at her and felt bad afterwards. At basketball practice the coach told Lincoln he wouldn’t be playing at the game with Franklin. When he got home Roy told him the story about coach Yesutis which made Lincoln respect Roy a little bit more.
This part is important because it tells about the conflicts between Lincoln the coach and Monica. It also shows how Roy and Lincoln are bonding more.
· Event 10: At school Lincoln apologized to Monica and explained what happened. At the game versus his old school he decides not to play for Columbus or Franklin but to play for himself. After the game Him, Roy, and his mom went out to pizza with Franklin and Lincoln apologized to Tony.
This part is important to the story because it shows how the story wraps up and how Lincoln chooses the side to do what he wants for himself, not a team.
These pictures relate to many things about Lincoln. The basketball shows his love for the sport because in the book you notice that no matter if he moves to a different school he will always still keeps playing basketball. The arrows are a really big symbol representing this book because in the book Lincoln has to decide on many things. He has to choose what team he will support, Franklin or Columbus. It shows things that separate in the book, like Lincoln moving into a better neighborhood and his parents splitting apart. The picture of the school symbolizes Lincoln moving on from Columbus to Franklin. The picture of the city represents Lincoln’s old life and old place he used to live. The picture of the dog represents Lincolns dog Flaco that his dad got him before he left. The robber represents the people that robbed both of Lincoln’s houses. The raindrop represents when Lincoln and Monica were playing basketball and it started raining which made Lincoln slip and hurt his knee. The picture of the TV represents the TV Tony found for Lincoln. The picture of the red flower surrounded by yellow flower symbolizes how when Lincoln goes to his new school he feels different from everyone else. The picture of money represents all of the bets Lincoln ad Tony make. That is how the pictures relate to Lincoln.
Taking Sides By: Gary Soto
Lincoln Mendoza is in junior high and moves from a very busy city to a nice, suburban town. Lincoln and his mom now live in a very different area with different kinds of people. Lincoln left his old school, Franklin, and all of his old friends like, his best friend Tony, and his girlfriend, Vicky. To his new school, Columbus, and made some new friends named James and Monica. Now Lincoln has to choose if he wants to keep supporting Franklin or join Columbus. He doesn’t want his old school to be mad at him but he doesn’t want to disappoint his new school. He doesn’t know what to do and what makes it worse is that his mom just got a new boyfriend named Roy who Lincoln thinks is a wimp. Now Lincoln has to fix all of his problems or Take a side.
I thought that Taking Sides was a very good book. It was good because some people can relate the characters in the novel to real life people or themselves. I also liked the book because it’s realistic fiction and could actually happen. I liked how the novel ended with a cliffhanger because that makes people end the book the way they want it to end. While reading the book I liked how it made you wonder what was going to happen next and why. That is why I thought Taking Sides was a really good book.