Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith Book Review

“Don't make the mistake of bringing your heart down here with you, there is no place for it in the Furnace.” (Gordan-Smith). Alex, the main character in the book Lockdown, was a semi-normal kid until he got framed for murder. Alex as well as his friend, Toby, were robbing a house when all of a sudden a group of men came in and shot Toby. They handed Alex the gun and then he is automatically framed for the murder. Alex overcomes the challenge of escaping prison he was wrongfully admitted to through persistence, creative thinking, and bravery.

Alex overcomes the challenge of escaping prison he was wrongfully admitted to through persistence, by not giving up on the hope of escaping, not giving up when being chased by the hellish dogs, and not giving up on his friends when they dishonored him. Alex is sitting in his new cell at the prison called the Furnace and is trying to think of a way to escape. “I wanted to tear through the bars and fight my way back to the surface so I could be free again.” (Gordan-smith, 76). Alex is talking to his new cellmate Donavan about escaping but Donavan says that there is no way to escape. He says that people come here just to die. But Alex doesn’t approve that that is how it ends. So he really wants to escape and persist through the challenges. After a while of being in the Furnace, Alex has made some friends. Zee, his friend from when he came down to the Furnace and, his cellmate Donavan. Alex and his new friends are very curious about a waft of fresh air from a secret “Room 2” and begin to think that it might be a way to escape. “‘Well, don’t lose it just yet.’ I said, leaning over the table and once again thinking of mountains of fresh air. ‘I’m telling you, there’s a way out.’” (Gordan-smith, 156). Alex’s friend is about to lose hope but Alex tells him ‘don’t lose it just yet’ to bring back the hope of escaping. Later Alex and his friend Zee are getting chased by hellish dogs when they get surrounded. “‘We’ll never make it, that thing is going too fast,’ I said, pulling him back up to the staircase we’d just left. ‘We need to go up.’” (Gordan-Smith 108). Alex doesn’t give up when they get surrounded, instead, he persists to find another way to save him and his friend. For these reasons, he is very persistent in coming to the challenge of not giving up on the hope of escaping, not giving up when being chased by the hellish dogs, and not giving up on his friends when they dishonored him.

Alex overcomes the challenge of escaping prison he was wrongfully admitted to through creative thinking by coming up with the conclusion of an underground river, coming up with an escape plan, and figuring out how to save his friends. Alex was trying to figure out what the noise he was hearing in the mysterious “Room 2” until a spilled cup on his table gave him an idea. “It's water,'' I said, pointing at the mess on the table. ‘It’s an underground river’” (Gordan-Smith 188). The spilled cup on his table led him to believe that the strange noise he was hearing was an underground river. After long deliberate thought, Alex realizes that his escape plan might not work. He had just about given up when his friend Donovan had helped him come up with a brilliant idea. “I picked up the lighter again and held it to the burner, watching the air around it explode as it ignited. I pictured the gloves filling the crack and exploding a way out.” (Gordan-Smith 215). Alex got this idea of escaping because his friend had accidentally thrown a glove over a burner and Alex saw this and came up with a plan to escape. When Alex and his friends are executing his plan when he stood up to a scary kid in the jail named Gary to protect his friends. “‘Fight to the death, little man,’ he shouted over his shoulder as he retired to his station. ‘Time to die,’” (Gordan-Smith 233).  Alex is now supposed to fight Gary to protect his friends from getting endlessly harassed by him. For these reasons, he is a very creative thinker for coming up with the conclusion of an underground river, coming up with an escape plan, and figuring out how to save his friends.

Alex overcomes the challenge of escaping prison he was wrongfully admitted to through bravery by going into “Room 2” when he knew he wasn’t supposed to, he also hid gloves full of flammable gas underneath his bed, and he stood up to Gary when he knew he couldn't beat him. Alex was set on finding a way out so he went to check the mysterious “Room 2”. “I checked the room to make sure nobody was watching, then edged my way toward the door.” (Gordan-Smith 175). Later, Alex bravely leaves his work duty to sneak into the unrestricted area of “Room 2”. Alex and his friends are starting to execute his plan. “I hid the gloves underneath the mattress at the base of my bed while Donavan kept watch.” (Gordan-Smith 219).  Alex is very brave for keeping flammable substances under his bed and the hope of escaping. After their plan is very close to being ready to execute. Alex and Gary are talking and Alex sarcastically says to him. “‘I’m sorry,’ I said, louder this time, then added ‘sir’ for good measure ‘ (Gordan-Smith 187). Alex is very brave to stand up to this psychopathic kid to defend himself and his friends. For these reasons, he is very brave for going into “Room 2” when he knew he wasn’t supposed to, he also hid gloves full of flammable gas underneath his bed, and he stood up to Gary when he knew he couldn't beat him.

Everyone has good traits, and bad, but when it comes to Alex he has many good traits that helped him in his attempt to escape from prison. His persistence, creative thinking, and bravery really help him in this tough situation. He was very persistent because he never gave up hope, he was quick to think of ideas and he was very brave in dire situations.