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Jason Reynolds's stories in Look Both Ways show friendships, problems, and solutions. They show how middle school can have many hard times and how friendship can help you through them. The central message of this book of short stories is friendship and how it can help you through many difficult times or situations.

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They show friendship in many ways in the stories. Although the main character goes through many hard times in the stories, they always have their friend there for them. For example in "Five Things Easier'' Simeon shows that he cares for Kenzi by helping him through the halls. He waits for him after class, "Kenzi never rushed out of Mr. Fantana's class like the other students."( Reynolds 99) Simeon would be waiting for Kenzi so he would not get trampled by the other kids. Simeon knew he could help show friendship to his little friend Kenzi because Simeon was the tallest kid in the class and was always there to support his friend. In "The Low Cuts" they all helped each other because their parents all had cancer through the hard times they had to deal with "When the four of them never talked about how all the surgeries and treatments were what knocked everything in their lives." ( Reynolds 21) They would steal money not because they were greedy but because they would get it for each other so the four of them could pay for their parents' treatments and surgeries, and make them happy. In many ways, they showed friendship to their friends in good and bad times.

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Trista went through a hard time because her mom had bad cancer and the whole group went through a hard time all together because they were not alone, "And it was this, not cancer but the strain it put on everyone, that formed "The Low Cuts". ( Reynolds 22) They all formed a strong friendship with each other because all their parents had cancer. Trista struggled with money to pay for her parents' surgery because they were just young kids in school who couldn't get jobs so she had to steal some spare change from people to help them get money for food because the rest would go to her parents surgeries and treatments.

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In "The Low Cuts". they bought candy to trade for money so they could get their parents ice cream to make them more happy because they were struggling with cancer. So they went and bought "Lifesavers, individually wrapped. Bit O-honey Charleston chews, bazooka bubble gum." ( Reynolds 31) After purchasing the candy, they resold it for more money to help their parents through cancer treatment. The stories being interconnected and told from different perspectives helps us understand each person's opinion and thoughts on how to show friendship and their struggles.

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In many ways, Look Both Ways can relate to today's world, by showing how we all have struggles and hard times during this part of our life. Also shows us how friendship is very important to your own life and how they will always be there to help and support you. I can relate to this story in many ways because when I was in middle school at a big public school there was always drama but I always had my friends that were there to support and help me through my hard times and good times. The central message of Look Both Ways shows us that the stories have different ways of showing friendships.