You need a thesis statement in your intro paragraph. "Even" in the first sentence is capitalized even though it is after a comma. Rather than just giving background, try to relate the background info to examples in the novel.
Answer:
Before Nathan started to help, I didn’t think we could finish.
Check out this cool video that should answer your question
https://youtu.be/OkYNwYoluKY
What makes it considered realistic are the human emotions that the author vividly describes
Answer:
Sudhir Venkatesh studied the issues involved in athletes' decisions to quit baseball by following "a sample of the draft class of 2001" for about 10 years.
Explanation:
Hope it helps!