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"It was ill--ill being a good thing for it to be.

The basement was dim. The couch was soft and com-fortable, perfectly molded to the contours of my butt by he thousands of hours I'd spent on it. And the aliens coming out of the smoldering wreckage of the mothership were dazed and slow, ripe for the blasting.

It was a moment to savor, but there was no time for savoring. The controller was an extension of my hands as I took aim and fired. My friends Pavel and Chuck had my back, and also this guy Borje, who was in Malmo, Sweden.

Their voices rang out through my headset. We were a tight-knit team, even though Pavel was playing from three doors down, Chuck from two blocks over, and Borie at a distance of five thousand miles. The aliens were shouting, too, but they didn't seem to be as organized as we were. And definitely not as dedicated.

I heard another voice my mother's-coming from upstairs. I ignored it. Nothing that happened on Earth could be important right now.

The basement lights began to flash on and off. Now, that annoyed me."

I think this opening is absolutely splendid! It hooked me right away. The author starts the book by describing the setting and using a whole lot of imagery.

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The mood that is conveyed by the beginning of this book is easy going. It starts to change throughout the book.

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"What?" I hollered, my finger tapping the Y control, which created a steady pulse of Omega radiation that the extraterrestrials were especially sensitive to.
Another thing my mother didn't understand: "What» was not a real question. "What?" meant 'I'm busy" or 'Do not disturb" or even "Go shout at someone who isn't involved in a life-and-death struggle with seven-foot insects!"

This introduces the fact that he is immersed in videogames.

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"My mother's "blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah" came back to me then. Only this time, it sounded more like "I'm making a baked ziti for dinner. Wait ten minutes and take it out of the oven.""

This is the part where he gets in trouble for not taking the ziti out of the oven.

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1. When Cameron forgets to take the Ziti out of the oven, a lot of smoke comes out of the house. This causes the firemen to break down the door to the house.

2. Cameron is forced to participate in curricular activities so he can play more video games which plays a big role in his everyday life.

3. He wins his video game tournament at the end of the bok and that concludes the book.

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""What's going on out there?" I asked Mrs. Bachman, who owned Sweetness and Light.
The storekeeper followed my gaze, scowling.
"Those
Friends of Fuzzy! Washing cars, they are!"
Secretly, we referred to Mrs. B as Mrs. Backward, because that's how she said everything. As in, "Gummy worms, you boys want?"
I was surprised she was so down on the Friends of Fuzzy, who were really famous in our town for doing good things like fundraising and charity work. They operated out of Sycamore High. The name came from the high school's mascot, Farley J. Peachfuzz.
Foam-spattered teenagers moved among the passing vehicles, dancing and trying to wave drivers onto the shoulder, where even foamier kids waited with sponges and buckets."

This is right before they start their new extra curricular activity.

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The theme of the book is to never slack off. This is important because if you slack off you are missing so many opportunities in your life.

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Ziti- A classical dish that originates in Italy. I thought it was a dish because Cameron had to take it out of the oven.
Dumbfounded- Greatly astonished or amazed. I didn't know what this meant because it was not in the best context so I had to search it up.

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At the end of the book the mood transitions to a type of joy. He wins his video game tournament and everyone is happy.

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In the middle of the book the mood quickly changes to hard working as Cameron has to start participating in after school activities.

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"Cameron, you've become a couch potato."
This is a metaphor because it is comparing him to a potato without using "Like" or "as". This is just saying that he is lazy.

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"I was like a bolt." This is a simile because it compares him to a bolt using the words "like" or "as". This is basically saying he is fast.

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"That dog was so droopy." This is personification because it gives a human characteristic to a non-human thing.

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The word Ziti is used in this book. It is an original dish that is made in Italy. This is more traditional to them because they just so happen to be Italian but live in America.

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Just like in Harry's life, Camerons life changes so fast. In Harry's life, his life changes when he goes to Hogwarts. In Cameron's case, his life changes when he starts going to after school activities.

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Why was Cameron Forced to participate in after school activities? How did this impact him.

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Back in 6th grade my grades started to drop so my parents forced me to start taking extra curricular classes. Just like Cameron, I hated it at first but it started to grow on me. Just like that I now enjoy it thoughly.

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In the middle of the book Cameron has a flashback to when he burned the ziti that was in the oven. I know this is a flashback because it goes into the past and he reflects on it.