Have you ever wondered what it’s like to have a place all to yourself. No adults, no rules, and no annoying siblings. In the book Fort by Gordon Korman, all of the main characters are having to suffer with losing their old hideout due to a recent hurricane that came through the town. Unexpectedly, this new kid named Ricky shows up coming from a magnet school and has to tag along with all of the others. C.J, Jason, Mitchell, and Evan see Ricky as an outsider, as an intruder. Later on, when they go looking for their fort in the forest made from sticks, shower curtains and many other things. Without notice, when the rest of the boys go looking, Ricky stays behind and finds something very unexpected. All of the boys come rushing over when they hear that Ricky has found a latch to the opening of an old bunker from the Cold War. All of the kids have the choice to either keep this new hideout with electricity, running water, and most of all food, but each of the kids are having to deal with their own personal problems, while simultaneously keeping the fort a secret. C.J is having to deal with his outrageous father who has anger issues and is the reason for why he has all these cuts and bruises on him. It even causes C.J to do his own DEATH DEFIERS, from jumping out of a car to making himself a human stunt dummy, just to cover up for his fathers wrongful anger. On the other hand, Mitchel has to deal with OCD, and can’t deal with the number thirteen. The number thirteen means a lot to him because it symbolizes bad luck, which is why he has his OCD. While also having to manage his OCD he has to deal with his mother who went into rehab. In addition, his older brother Luke has a friend whose name is Jaeger who has corrupted him from being the old loving and caring brother to Mitchell when they had nothing to hold onto. Lastly, Ricky has been isolated from the others even though he is the one who found the fort in the first place. Ricky currently notices something very unusual when they are buying new paint for his room. Soon later, the cops are on their trail and looking for this mysterious bomb shelter. Marcus, C.J’s father has found out where C.J and his mother have moved to escape him. Soon after both the police and Marcus have shown up and unexpectedly Luke and Jager. Will the boys be able to save their fort or will their only hideout be taken away. Matters are more desperate than they realize they could even be arrested? To find out, read Fort by Gordon Korman.

In the book Fort by Gordon Korman, the quote I chose takes place when Ricky Molina is at the maintenance store going to buy paint for his room. During this scene Ricky notices C.J’s dad, who to them and his friends seems like a really nice guy. Buying everything for C.J, brand new and untouched, but in the moment C.J’s “step”- dad Marcus is snapping immensely at his local employee for getting the wrong paint and looks like he is going to murder someone. At the moment, Ricky states, “We were oblivious, but now we know. That has to count for something.” (pg.167) The reason why I picked this quote is because this has happened to me before. I know what it feels like because one time when I was super mad at my friend Jackson for not responding I came over to his house and banged on his front door. Although, when he opened the door I was about to start screaming at him. His face was streaked with tears and I never realized he must be going through tough times. This helped me learn to not judge what I see at first glance and understand that everybody has their own personal problems. This is why you should read Fort by Gordon Korman.