Noah Torres displays his favorite book
The $100.00 winner of the Espi Essay Contest is Noah Torres! Noah is a freshman at Moses Lake Christian Academy. This young man lives in Moses Lake, Washington. Congratulations Noah! Thank you to all of the people that entered especially Cameron Traeger, who was the youngest contestant – a fifth grader in Mt. Angel, Oregon – he gets $20.00 for his solid effort.
Noah wrote a one-page essay on the book I published in 2011, Poor Kid, Wealthy Kid. Enjoy the essay which is posted below.
Noah’s Essay:
David Espinoza has written a total of three books. NOZA: A True Basketball Success Story, The Professor - Grayson Boucher Plus More NW Sports Stories, and Poor Kid, Wealthy Kid. Noza: A True Basketball Success Story was about Matt Espinoza and all of the adversity he and his family overcame together. The Professor - Grayson Boucher Plus More NW Sports Stories tells the stories and the hardships each of the eight athletes overcame. Lastly, of all the books David has written, Poor Kid, Wealthy Kid is my favorite book.
Every book he has written is amazing, but personally, Poor Kid, Wealthy Kid stands out to me as David's best book because tons of people can relate to this book, and also, it is his only book that is realistic fiction.
In this story, the author tells of a young teenager named Carlos. He starts out as a normal kid in Dimmitt, Texas. Later he is forced to move to Gervais, Oregon. Just like any kid, he hates the idea of moving, especially because he has lived his whole life in Dimmitt. He has so many memories, friends, and sports teams he has played with.
In this story, Carlos is a phenomenal athlete. To describe how great of an athlete he is, David writes that Carlos has an incredible and accurate arm. It was so accurate that when Carlos' family was low on food, his dad would make bets with people that his son would hit a road sign fifty yards away! Sure enough, Carlos would hit the sign spot on! Moving to Gervais was pretty difficult for Carlos, but because he was an incredible athlete, he attracted attention.
Most importantly, this story tells of the poor kid, and the wealthy kid. Carlos becomes friends with a boy named Harv. Harv is not a great athlete, but he is a very wealthy and intelligent person. Carlos' weakness is maintaining good grades in school, and because Harv is pretty smart Carlos asks Harv for help in school. Eventually the two become best of friends. Harv has a sister named Liz. Later in the book, Liz finds herself liking Carlos quite a bit, but unfortunately, Liz's father prohibits her from being around poor Hispanic kids. The rest of the story goes on from there.
This story is my personal favorite. I remember the day this book came in my mailbox – I could not put it down. I had to read what was next! I definitely recommend this book to everyone. The two other books this author wrote were really good, but I believe, for me, this book was the best – mainly because it has a great message.
We all find ourselves fighting for who we are and what we believe in. We also find ourselves fighting for the people we love. In this novel, Liz could have listened to her father and stayed away from Carlos, but she didn't, she really loved Carlos for who he was. Later in the book, she tries to convince her parents that Carlos is a great person. That’s a problem in today's society. People judge other people by how they look. We also need more people like Liz. Standing up for the people we love. Author David Espinoza's message in this book is loud and clear.
Hands down, this book is probably the best book I've ever read. Yes I think it's better than the Hunger Games, Harry Potter, Divergent, etc. Since it is the Christmas season, I would even recommend people to give this book to people they know who haven't read it. It would make a great stocking stuffer! This amazing book is a definite must read!
Merry Christmas & Happy New Year,
-Noah Torres