Friendship in Hard Times

         Drinking and driving is a huge problem in teens. Many teens end up getting drunk at parties and drive home themselves because they are too scared to tell their parents that they are drunk. However, by doing this they are, instead of avoiding trouble, just getting themselves into more trouble. As an example of the kind of trouble teens can get into while drinking and driving, let's look at Alex, from "Notes From a Midnight Driver" by Jordan Sonnenblick.
         Alex is a kid with a pretty messed up life. His parents are divorced and his dad is dating his third grade teacher, not to mention that he's unpopular and can't seem to do anything right. One day he just gets frustrated and then drinks and drives- but surprisingly, it's not at a party. Alex drinks some alcohol his dad had left at the house, then leaves to go to his dad's house because he is so angry at his dad. Then, he ends up in trouble with the law for drinking and driving, and has to care for an old man in a nursing home for many hours a week in order to stay out of jail. He hates the man, whose name is Solomon, at first, but he begins to see Solomon as a good friend, and really cares about him.
            I'm not going to do a whole drinking and driving PSA, although obviously, you shouldn't drive after drinking. What I want to talk about in this post is the relationship between Alex and Solomon. I think that Solomon was a good influence on Alex, and Alex was a good companion to Solomon. They needed each other, because they were both going through hard times. I know a lot of teens don't want to be friends with adults, but I like that Alex and Solomon grew to be such good friends, and I think that they both made such a difference in each other's lives. This book was really a book about friendship. It's saying that it doesn't matter that Alex is a moody teenage boy, and Solomon is a lonely (and also moody) senior citizen, that they can support each other and become very close. Solomon brought Alex back down to earth, and Alex gave Solomon a friend when he needed one.
           I wish that there were more friendships like Alex and Solomon's. They are really an interesting pair. They have their rough patches, but in the end, they are stronger than many friendships. Friendship is really important to me and I really value my friends, so I like this book. I also have a lot of friends that are very different from me, so I feel like I can relate to Alex in a way, because him and Solomon are so different, but have such a strong bond.