Dear Mr. John H. Ritter,
Hi, my name is Riley and I am in the fifth grade. I want to tell you that my teacher read your book Choosing Up Sides in class. Why did you name your book Choosing Up Sides? I mean, it was a good book and all, and I liked it a lot. It's so good that I want to buy it and have you sign it. My best part was when Luke strikes out Skinny Latmann. It was all cool except for the end. It was sad.
At first I didn't know why the dad had to die. I wish that after his son saved him, his father and him would get close and spend time together and do things together like baseball. My teacher told me to look at the story again and try to think why you did that. She heard you talk before. It took me two days to think about it. Then I remembered about how my dad used to hit my mom. But he never hit me. They always would fight. Then we moved away. I did not want us to go. That was the worst time in my life. But now I know why my mom had to leave
My dad doesn't hit my mom anymore because we moved. I can relate to the book because I feel like my mom. My dad used to hit my mom so hard that I would sit in my room and cry all night. I never knew why he never hit me, but the book helped me figure it out a little. My mom would stand up to him, but I couldn't. When I started writing, I started to cry. I also want to thank you for writing this book 'cause it taught me a lot about life and told me without saying it. For instance, when "Pa" broke Luke's arm it told me what could have happened if we had stayed. Now I know why my mom left. I mean, I knew, but now I understand. When you write your next book I would like for you to remember this letter. What made you write this book anyway?
Your friend,
Riley
