Lockdown by
Alexander Gordon Smith
Pages 1-50
1.) Summary of what I read: The book starts
out with a quick chapter that captures the reader’s attention with an
action-packed scene of life in Furnace Penitentiary, the prison that the main
character Alex Sawyer is sent to. Then the author proceeds to explain why he
ended up there, his criminal past breaking into houses and stealing precious
items just to sell for money. One thing led to another, and all of a sudden one
day things go wrong. Alex and his friend were breaking into a supposedly
abandoned house for the weekend when several mutated guards from Furnace called
blacksuits jumped them. They took Alex and his friend Toby into a room and shot
Toby, framing Alex for murder. He had nowhere to run, the police were already
on their way. He was caught and convincted, and that is how he ended up in
Furnace Penitentiary.
2.) Important quote from the text: “When I
think back to my life before it turned, I think about this day. I think about
how things could have been different, if I’d just walked away” (Smith, 8). This
is an interesting quote because everyone seems to think of what they could’ve
and should’ve done after it’s too late. He realized that he had it coming to
him and he knew that it would have to end sooner or later. It also makes you
think, what if you had or hadn’t done something when you were younger? Where would
you be today?
3.) Connections to the text: I could
connect to this part of the book with the fact that I am a teenager too. A lot
of emotions that Alex feels, I can relate to. I am not a thief, nor a murderer,
but I still am a teenager and am going to school just like he was. I’ve never
been to a prison, but my uncle was in jail once and when he came out he did not
look good. I remember him shaking for almost a month after he was out, and I
never want to go there again.
