Story Review of Seventh Grade

Seventh Grade by Gary Soto is an extremely moving book about a young boy named Victor trying to catch the attention of his crush, Teresa. He has liked her for a long time, and he talks with his friend. Later, he talks with her for a little bit, and inside of his English class, when the teacher asks for an example of a noun, he says Teresa. When they are both taking French, the teacher asks if anyone knows any French, and Victor, wanting to impress Teresa, says he does, and the teacher asks some questions in French. Victor attempts to respond with French sounding noises, and the teacher understands he doesn’t actually know anything. However, after class, Teresa believes that Victor actually knows some French and asks him for some help with French occasionally, giving Victor a great opportunity to win her over. Seventh Grade by Gary Soto teaches us about young love and missed opportunities in a moving and entertaining way that helps cement these lessons.

Thinking through our decisions can enable us to make less mistakes and to become more successful in our lives and goals, which is completely positive and has low risk. When we think first before acting out our thoughts, it gives us the ability to choose whether we really want to do this action or whether it’s better not to. Inside of Seventh Grade, Victor was called on inside of his English class because his teacher wanted some people to give examples of nouns, and for Victor he was supposed to give a person. Without thinking, Victor immediately answered with “Teresa”, embarrassing him in front of everyone in the room. He could have stopped himself if he had thought his decision through and saved some face, but he didn’t. Thinking before we act leads to lots of helpful benefits that increase our chances of success and reduce our odds of failure. We need to remember to practice looking before we leap in order to prevent dangerous or harmful failures that can be seriously detrimental.

When we see a clear opportunity, it is a great chance to take because often, there isn’t much to lose and lots to gain. We can take small risks that have high chances of obtaining wealth or happiness which can be really powerful in helping make our lives more successful. In Seventh Grade, Victor had several opportunities to impress or talk to Teresa, and missed almost all of them. He was right next to Teresa, and could have started a short conversation, but hesitated too long and Teresa left. He also made eye contact during recess, but then instead of walking over to talk, he just sat there and eventually they both ran out of time and had to go back in. If he had taken these opportunities, he would have helped solidify a bond or friendship between them. By taking opportunities, we can help speed up our path to our goals immensely and give us an advantage in the much longer run, benefiting us all around. Utilizing any opportunity gives us a serious benefit by allowing us to strengthen our bonds and meet other people.

Trusting in the good of others can help us through our lives because they can either surprise us or benefit us a lot. Many people will simply choose an option that benefits others if all other options don’t benefit them at all either, which is what we can rely on. Inside Seventh Grade, Victor pretended he knew French in order to try and impress Teresa, but his teacher easily saw through him. However, instead of calling him out for it and embarrassing him in front of the class, Mr. Bueller just moved on to the class and started teaching. After class, Teresa thought Victor had actually done pretty well, and asked him for help if she needed it. Victor prayed for Mr. Bueller, who was watching, not to say anything, and Mr. Bueller didn’t. He ended up getting a surefire method to talk to Teresa because Mr. Bueller hadn’t decided to call him out, showing how helpful it can be to trust in others to help us out in our times of need. Relying on others is sometimes necessary for us to be successful and to enable us to have fun in our lives and with others, which shows how crucial it is that we work hard and create relationships. Trusting that others will attempt to benefit us if it doesn’t hurt them in return can help us succeed in our attempts and in our goals.

Seventh Grade is a terrific book written by Gary Soto that teaches several pivotal lessons that enable us to better our lives, such as how thinking through our actions before we act out our thoughts can help us, taking advantage of opportunities gives us higher chances of success, and that trusting others to help us can be beneficial for us. When we rethink our decisions before we make them, our mindset will be more clear and unbiased, allowing for better ideas. When opportunities appear, it’s very low risk for us to take many of them and has odds of high rewards. Trusting in other people can also give us many benefits. We need to think before we act for better chances of success, take many opportunities to maximize rewards, and trust that others have some good in them. Seventh Grade is an amazing story that I recommend for readers of all ages.