Evil versus Non Evil
Romiette and Julio is by Sharon M. Draper. Romiette Cappelle is a sixteen year old African American teenager living in Cincinnati, Ohio. Romi searches for the reason behind her recurring nightmares of fear which involve fire and water. Sixteen year old Julio Montague is a Mexican teenager who has just moved to Cincinnati. Julio wishes he could move back home to his grandfather's. Julio knows it’s impossible since his parents moved to Cincinnati due to the heavy gang presence in Texas. Julio initially meets Romi online in a teen chat room and they discover that they attend the same school. As they begin to create connection, other people begin to object to their relationship. Then there are the Devildogs, an African American gang who wear all purple and make it obvious to Romi and Julio that they don't like the races mixing. As Romi and Julio continue their romance, completely ignoring the Devildogs’ view point, gang members threaten to get even. The danger escalates when the gang begins stalking the couple and decides to forewarn the couple that their romance isn’t appreciated by intimidating them with guns. Julio and Romi are terrified by the threats of violence, and create a plan where they will record these over threats of violence. When the plan goes wrong, Romi and Julio find themselves caught up in a deadly situation, where they end up in a hospital. A theme that can be well explained in this story is that “bravery is not always the key to success.” Once Destiny, Ben, Romiette and Julio forge a plan to escape the awful actions of the Devildogs, their plan entirely does not succeed. They then end up in a situation where they are caught up in tragedy. Quotes that can support my theme by showing Romi and Julio’s courageousness are “Why doesn’t Romi’s dad and his secret six investigative news team follow the Devildogs with a hidden camera, catch them threatening Romi and Julio, then expose it on TV? My dad would