Theme

The theme of this story is really important. I belief that the main theme is Discipline. Today in society we seem to think by our believes that we should do and act certain ways. since child hood you have been brought to believe that the things around you are correct and that we shouldn't be any other way. Depending on the type of society you grew up, in your parents eyes you will always have different expectations of you. some of your parents might want you to become scientists, some rockstars, some teachers, some lawyers. No matter what the sircumstance I believe that when you start to be rebellious against your parents beliefs. They seem to think of ways to turn you around. What they dont understand is that you dont have the same brain or share the same believes as them. Some parents seem to think that sending you to a boot camp is the right thing to do. Yet when you face the facts you realize that you are signing their rights off to some stranger.A stranger who you think might turn your child around. The fact is that these camps are design to treat them like dirt, and that they dont really care about what happens to your child. As garrets parents think the same way garret believes that he can do whatever he wants. His biggest mistake was making his teacher his lover. This is why they decide to send him to camp. They are willing to pay as much money as possible until he is dicipline the way his parents think he should be discipline. In these camps Todd Strasser describes how each detainee is braiwashed into these discipline kids. They are barely surviving with all the beatings and all the harsh rules they have been faced with. I believe Todd is trying to say that just because your child was not raised the way you expected, doesnt mean you should send him to a camp because this is just to harsh.

Recommended to you

I recommend this book to all the people who think they can survive by disobeying and that think that the world is not there place to be.To those who think theyre smarter than the people around you.This book teaches the disciplinary style of Lake Harmony a camp in which you will barely survive if you dont change your way of thinking. Garret decided he can smoke and ditch school when ever he liked. Yet i think his biggest mistake was having an affair with his teacher. His parents in specially his mom were very social people they are rich and are well known by society. So Garrets mom is afraid that they might find out; so she goes and calls the school and by all means gets her fired. Now that doesnt stop garret he's sleeping at her house and coming home in the morning. This is why Garret ends up in boot camp. I think you should rethink about your current decisions and instead of following garrets and all the detainees foot steps, READ THIS BOOK. I think this book will help you regret what you have done. So by all means this book is really good read it!

Quetion and info.

There's things in this book that still puzzle me. I wonder what would have happened if Garret would had been rebellious. If the camp was meant to teach these students manners and to go against there own believes. I think this would violate the Constitution. These camps shouldn't exist but they do. This story is based on a true story, in which in the united states these camps exist more than any where else in the world. Although we dont know it these camps are better known as boot camps. According to the book theres about one hundred to two hundred camps . Now, in them theres about four thousand and ten thousand. Most boot camps avoid publicity so that the U.S goverment doesnt use the mistreatment of teenage detainees. Now you dont have to commit any type of crime to make it into these camps, you dont have to admit anything you just have to be under 18. My question to you is how many people do you know that have gone to these boot camps. Or how many people do you know that know where one of these boot camps are?

Through out the story Garret is struggling to accept wether he can outsmart the leads of camp. At lake Harmony you are not the boss like you where in your house. Here's where you really must accept the fact that you screwed up and that theres no gettting out. As Garret thinks about his family and about Sabrina; he's thinking why did they put me here or have they finally forgotten me. Meanwhile in camp he and his fellow campers are barely managing to survive. All the rules and all the beatings, I really couldnt imagine surviving in the conditions. It's extremely astonishing how theres camp that do this kind of behavior. For example the rules are as follows:" you must earn the right to speak." You will not critize Lake Harmony.""you will share the intimate details of your life." Thats not it there's still more to be plunged into your brain.
As I see it the only way i would have survived is if i didnt get all the beatings. I am the type of person who is not meant to be left alone. I dont like to treated like im a peace of paper. Once i remember they where trying to send my cousin to one of these camps because they believed that he was not the type of person he should have been. So his mom was about to send him but he gave a chance. I wonder if the camp that they were going to send was like Lake Harmony.

Boot Camp By: Todd Strasser

Garrett is dragged out of his bed in the middle of the night, handcuffed, and taken to Lake Harmony, a teenage boot camp, completely against his will. His parents sent him to this behavior modification camp in order to teach him respect and self-discipline.

Garrett is an extremely bright fifteen-year-old. School has never been a problem for him. In fact, he quite often gets bored. He can finish in three days what it takes most students a whole week to accomplish. So, he doesn’t always go to school. Instead he goes to museums or the park with his friends. And on weekends takes a couple of hits with his friends.

The main reason Garrett’s parents sent him to Lake Harmony though, is Sabrina. Sabrina was one of his teachers until his parents found out about their relationship. His parents got her fired, but didn’t want to go to the police because they didn’t want the story to go public. His mother is always afraid of how things will look to others. Garrett doesn’t stop seeing Sabrina and even begins to stay at her house overnight. His parents feel that Lake Harmony is the only way to break off the relationship.

At Lake Harmony, Garrett experiences isolation, torture, and both physical and mental abuse. His resists the attempts of the staff to brainwash him into thinking he is wrong about everything. Garrett doesn’t accept the fact that just because his parents are paying $4000 a month for him to be at Lake Harmony, they are right about everything.