Imagine losing your mom, having an abusive dad, and the rest of your family not liking you. Sounds pretty awful, right? This is exactly the life of Calvin Lee Pace, one of the main characters in the realistic fiction book “Closer to Nowhere” by Ellen Hopkins. After his mom died, his father went to jail and he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle. Throughout his time with the family, he was not appreciated, thought of as an extra person, and was hated by many of his family members. Despite his hardships at home and even in school, Calvin grew as a person throughout the book, including becoming mentally stronger and more mature. One of the main internal traits that changed in Calvin was that he became more mature. Before, he had tantrums or meltdowns when things didn’t go his way. …show more content…
Bam! I am a snob! I bumped into the judge’s table. Still trying to hold on to the shot, I don’t see whoever grabs the back of my shirt and yanks...’Leave me alone!...’ They let go, but I stay rigid, fists clenching and unclenching.” While Calvin was too focused on getting a good shot of Hannah’s, his cousin, gymnastics routine, he didn’t realize he interrupted the judging of her routine. While others were attempting to get out and away from disrupting the routine even more, he resisted and tried to stay back. In the end, he had to be forcefully pulled away by his uncle, who was very agitated that he ruined Hannah’s routine. This all shows that despite being told he was doing something wrong, he didn’t listen, thus, was pulled away, which caused him to have a melt down by screaming and trying to pull away. This all changed when there was a break in at his school. “Three ‘hard lockdowns’ mean this is not a drill.People running.