Fatal Invention

This non-fictional book explains how people misunderstand the concept of race and how people used to put themselves in groups. I like how the author, Dorothy Roberts, uses history to prove her point of people using the term "race" wrong to make themselves look superior than others. For example, she talks about slavery and how it wasn't based on race before the colonial times but based on enemies of other lands. People during the colonial times started to misinterpret race and used it in slavery. Roberts also gives a modern example of race being used incorrectly. She explains how the census has many problems, such as people not knowing what race they are because the races don't fit with what they are. People of hispanic descent, for example, have problems with labeling themselves a race in the census, so they either put a race that is close to their background, or they don't put any race at all. Overall, the problem of changing the definition of race brings many problems that are still being carried by us today, and Dorothy Roberts provides example from the past that help prove this point.

The Best of Me

The book that i read was The Best of Me by Nicholas Sparks. The character i found most interesting was Amanda Collier. The Collier’s are an upper class family and they all are very proper. In high school, Amanda meets this boy, Dawnson Cole. the Cole’s have a terrible reputation. they are part of the lower class in society, and looked upon as dirty. Eventually, the two end up dating and become inseperateable until their senior year. the reason Amanda is my favorite character is because despite what everyone said, she still went with what her heart told her to do. she went against her friends, her parents, and society during that time by being with a Cole when she was born into a more classy family. she caused many hardships ( especially in her household ) from sneaking out to lying that took a major toal on her and her father’s relationship, but in the moment she did what she felt was right for her. eventually after senior year, they split up and moved on, but are brought back together after many years apart. her development of character is shown when she reflects on her high school days. she tells us how she now understands ( being a mother ) how her own mother felt and how she would feel if her child did that. but, she also brings in that she would let her children love whoever they felt, because it really hurt her to leave Dawson. this character development helps to story in my opinion because it shows how she goes from a “dumb” high school girl whos in love to an adult who now understands why what she did was wrong, but still justifies the reason for doing so. in her high school moments, Amanda can be seen as being reckless, immature, and not thinking before she acts but by the end of the novel she can be seen as an optimistic person, and she becomes more aware of the situations around her before making a decision.

The Jodi Arias Story: Picture perfect Author: Shanna Hogan

Travis Alexander was normal citizen, he worked as a salesman and was also mormon, he was found murdered in his own home in Mesa, Arizona. IN his own house Alexander laid dead in his shower, on June 4 but was found dead until 5 days after the murder occurred on June 9. Automatically people just assumed that the person who killed Travis was his ex- girlfriend Jodi Arias. Jodi was always with Travis , people even noticed that Jodi was extremely clingy, after Jodi met Travis, Jodi became a devoted mormon as well. They both had a physical attraction through their relationship causing them to go against their religion, but they mange to keep it private. But after so long Travis began  to see the real Jodi and noticed she obsessive behavior, so Travis called the relationship off. Although Travis began to see other people Travis was still having a sexual relationship with Jodi Arias.  Later Travis continued his relationship with Jodi but was blindsided by her evil side. The relationship became extremely toxic. One evening the couple had a bad argument and Travis told Jodie that he didn't want anything to do with her anymore later that day Travis Alexander was killed.

The book is a really crazy story the way that everything unfolds is insane. I recommend this book 100% the author did an amazing job.

High Fidelity

This book starts off with the main character's "desert island, all-time, top five most memorable split-ups, in chronological order." Rob Fleming, the protagonist, discusses and goes into detail for each relationship he's had from his childhood to his adult life. This book can basically be captured as describing his love life and how they've failed in his arms. In the chapter I'm at now, he's in his 30's and he own's a record store in London. The author creates Rob as a character who is depressed, self-conscious, and overall a human being who lacks confidence as the next. Because of how his mood is after a breakup, he either closes himself up away from everyone or he unleashes his sadness or anger towards others. I am enjoying this book so far as the author writes it in a way in which we can relate to the text or the main character. We've all been depressed when you have the experience of going through a breakup. We all have different ways in how to cope with our feelings. Rob has a difficult time in coping with his feelings, he contemplates his self worth, and is a character in which you can relate to emotionally or mentally.

The Sun and Her Flowers

The Sun and Her Flowers is a collection of poetry about grief, self-abandonment, honoring one’s roots, love, and empowering oneself. It is split into five chapters: wilting. falling. rooting. rising. and blooming, and it is such a simple and eloquent read. If you’re someone that wants to get into poetry, starting with Rupi Kaur’s works would be a great start. I really was intrigued with the chapter “Rooting”  dealing mainly with the author's experiences as the daughter of Indian immigrants because my own parents are immigrants themselves, and I can see connections between us. Many of the poems discuss Kaur’s parents' journey to finding and creating a new home as immigrants, and other poems discuss how people are always leaving their homes and how you should always respect where you came from. For example she says,

Perhaps we are all immigrants

Trading one home for another

First we leave the womb for air

Then the suburbs for the filthy city

In search of a better life

Some of us just happen to leave entire countries

In my opinion, this is one of the strongest poems in this section because all humans are in search of the same thing: a home where you can thrive, find love, peace, and safety. Immigration has been a big deal ever since, and I cannot stress enough how much immigration has ruined many families.

My next favorite chapter would be the last one: Blooming. It is about being your whole self and accepting every portion of what makes you, you. This world is constantly trying to make us tear each other down and envy one another, but that is no way to live. Acceptance is key to life as said in one of her poems:

I will no longer compare my path to others

Refuse to do a disservice to my life

Learning to not envy someone else's blessing is what grace looks like

Their concept of beauty is manufactured i am not - 'human.’

This poem stands out to me because of the fact that people are always trying to be the best, thinking that they will gain some superiority over others when they “are the best”. However, that’s not the point of what being yourself is. Being yourself means you aren’t trying to impress anyone and to make them like you. In fact, if they don’t like you for who you are, then so be it. Life is short so don’t pretend to be someone you’re not. Commit and take risks!

Plato: Five Dialogues

                Hello friends from second period. Once again another blog, WOW our time is certainly coming to an end, But enough with our senior year.... LETS GET INTO SOME BOOKS. Plato: Five Dialogues is written by the man himself Plato, and it has been refined by many people to make it a little more readable. It is a set of 5 dialogues of Socrates speaking with people. Yes Socrates, you thought it would be Plato, BUT NO. As one of Socrates' followers, Plato would write down a lot of what Socrates would say. This would soon be a major part for people to understand Socrates' way of thinking, religion, and his teachings. The 5 dialogues are, Euthyphro, apology, crito, meno, and phaedo. Not very liked by the people of Athena, he soon would on trial for a big misconception that he was misguiding young kids in his teaching.
                 If you are the type of person to go back and reread the same sentence you were on 10 minutes ago then this book may not be for you. The level of speech that Socrates uses to talk is highly advanced and only people that watch Rick and Morty would understand. If you are the type of person that is open to learn about some great morals, and pious ways of living is for you!!! What is pious you say? well you'll find out if you read these dialogues! From my personal experience, this book has certainly made a huge impact in my every day life, and choices. You don't have to be religious to take in these great morals that Socrates speaks of. Make sure you ring that bell, Smash that subscribe button, and turn on your notifications, so you can know when I upload.

Bone the complete series

I will not be talking about the first comic of this specific series because I feel it simply would not be enough to talk about. This is a fiction adventure comic series. The series is based on the adventures that take place between the three cartoon characters known as "bones", named Phoney bone, Smiley bone, and Fone bone, these bones were run out of their town due to the dirty and sly deals made by Phoney bone. Of the three you have the typical selfish one, Phoney Bone, the playful, Smiley Bone, and the kind hearted Fone Bone. Fone Bone being the cousin of Phoney stuck by Phoney's side while being run out of their town and Smiley joined along for the ride having known both of them for many years. These three being run out eventually come across a new town and regular humans. The first friends that they make are a granddaughter "Thorn" and her grandmother "Rose" and they take care of them. Soon mysteries of the town they stay in and evil people surrounding them start to come out, being the good guy Fone decides to try and help out the people with their issues. This leads to a discovery whole war that is silently in the making. To no surprise these new friends of theirs seem to play a big role in this and they decide to get involved and help out with what they can. This comic series really caught my attention because although it was a childrens book it did have some themes which were kind of dark and intriguing, this and I still have memories of reading one of these a long time ago when I was younger. I thoroughly enjoyed these books and was very passionate about spending most of my days reading them. Due to it being a children's book I would finish them quite quickly and I actually finished the entire series in about one week and a half reading on and off-which still I felt the story was to its fullest length not being to long but not being too short. I recommend this to anyone looking for a action comic that has pretty much everything you could ask for in a story. This story also has the nice added factor of romance mixed up in all the madness of the story going on around them and ends with a nice cliche while still leaving you wanting more. I believe they could've ended it on a better note but it was okay in terms of story they can continue this much more and I am assuming that is what they originally planned on doing.

Reboot

The character in which I am reflecting on is the main character of this whole story, Wren. Wren is a young girl that had died in the slums due to being shot, instead of dying some people reboot. The longer you’ve rebooted the stronger and less human you are. Since she rebooted for 178 minutes she’s the deadliest one out of all of them. She’s strong, deadly, and does not feel any type of emotion. Wren is a dynamic character because she did go through many changes. Due to an interaction she had  with a boy, his actions make her notice more things she starts to slowly  have and gain feelings for him. She begins to feel sad, mad, and happiness because of this boy, which are things she hasn’t felt ever since she rebooted. Wren also starts to question why the facility has them do certain things to the  humans in the world, and why they inject the reboots to have them act differently, She has never questioned her duties but everything changes once she starts noticing. There was one cool interaction Wren had with one of her friends that rebooted 80 minutes or so. The facility had objected her friend that had her acting out of control, there was a fight between them that has the friend breaking Wrens bones, but since they are rebooted they heal faster. Overall, this character went through major changes throughout the story due to the fact she fell in love.

Where they found her

        In the book titled “where they found her” by Kimberly McCreight my favorite character is the main character. Her name is Molly. She shows many different mood throughout the book and her attitude changes at times. As the audience, we get to see her mindset in many of the situations that occur during the story. She was a determined character because she was willing to get to the solution of who killed the child inside the book by the college. That is one of many characteristics Molly possesses. She is also smart. Her friends can see what makes her such a smart and easy going person when it comes to talking. She is seen as the problem solver within her group of associates. She married so I’d give her the characteristics of  kind- hearted because she shows it throughout the book with her boss and her husband. Molly is a dynamic character because of what she finds out through the book. Because of her being a writer she shows good emotion in the book making it easy to relate to her. The book shows a good connection between a mother and a daughter. Molly finds out some very dark things about the murder of a child in a book. The murder of the child bring her and her 5- year old daughters closer together. After losing her young child she wants to grow a healthy relationship with her and daughter. Molly being a dynamic character helped the story motion through smoothly. She is a very unique character that will have one feeling exactly what she feels. I personally connected with Molly because she is open-minded and discovers out a lot. She is determine and bright, she won’t stop until she find what she was looking for. A cool interact I seen in the story was at the beginning. Early she was talking to the sheriff to get more details about the crime and Molly used her smooth talking ways to find out what she needed to. That interaction early let the audience know what type of character she was.

Mouse Tales: A Behind-The-Ears Look At Disneyland

Title: Mouse Tales: A Behind-The-Ears Look At Disneyland
Author: David Koenig
The book I read for the second quarter was a non-fiction book. Since I have no characters to talk about, I will instead talk about things I learned or found fascinating. The book I chose was about a behind-the-scenes look at Disneyland. Each chapter talked about a new subject regarding Disneyland.
 One of the chapters I found most interesting was one that talked about ridiculous things guests have done in Disneyland. People get so lost in the fantasy aspect of Disneyland that they forget there are still rules in place. Many people choose Disneyland as a place to act out. The biggest offenders seem to be teens, especially on nights like grad night. There were stories involving booze, fights, and nudeness. It blew my mind that these people thought they could get away with things like this just because they are at Disneyland.
A part of the book that infuriated me was a chapter discussing the switch in the running of Disneyland after Walt Disney’s death. Disney wanted his theme park to be a place anyone could afford, even if it meant he made no profit. However, the people that took over after were in it for the money. There was a graph in the book showing the price raises of Disneyland over the years. In the years Disney was alive, prices raises happened less and were smaller. After he died, the new CEO drastically changed the prices. The CEO now has also raised the prices many times, which is something Walt Disney would have not done.
Overall, I enjoyed this book. It taught me many new things about Disneyland. Even though I see Disneyland with new eyes, it is still my favorite theme park. Disneyland has always been near and dear in my heart, and that is why I chose to read this book. I now have a greater appreciation and knowledge for Disneyland.

A Walk to Remember

This novel, by Nicholas Sparks, takes the reader into the life of Landon Carter, a high school student whose main concern is his reputation. His life was normal, until he met Jamie Sullivan. Jamie was the daughter of their town's well-known Minister, Hegbert. At first, Landon despises spending time with Jamie & he avoids her at all costs, but after finally getting to know her, he realizes how kind, generous, & optimistic she is. Eventually, she earns his heart. Soon after that, she delivered the soul-crushing news that she has leukemia, & has no plan to recover. Landon suddenly proposes, & they end up marrying before her early & tragic death.

Though this book was full of wonderful characters, my favorite was undoubtedly our protagonist, Landon. His character development was insanely impressive, and he expressed himself so casually and creatively in everything he did. As one reads this book, they get to see Landon become bolder & prouder of his interests. He started off as a shallow, stressed out teenager whose only concern was fitting in, & he turned into a man who was unapologetic in his love for Jamie. His relationship with her taught him to be selfless, forgiving, & self-assured. By reading this, I was able to witness Landon's happiness override his need for validity, & it was definitely the highlight of this book.

-Julia Amezcua

Return to Paradise by Simone Elkeles

Return to Paradise is the second book of the Paradise series written by Simone Elkeles. This book is told from the perspective of the two main characters Maggie Armstrong  and Caleb Becker. Out of the two protagonists my favorite is Caleb because since the last book more things are being unveiled about him. In the first book, he is a troubled teen who is just getting out of juvie because he plead guilty of a hit and run that crippled his neighbor/love interest. After serving a long year in juvie, he became very reserved and mysterious. However, as the story progresses we learn that deep down he is a good person who put himself in a bad situation that has affected him greatly. At first I didn’t think I would like his character because he appeared to be very arrogant and manipulative. It turns out that it was just his way of defending himself and pushing people who wanted to help him away, so I felt sympathetic towards him and decided to wait and see the character development. I’m glad I followed my instinct and waited until the character showed who he really was. I would recommend this series if you enjoy reading books that contain love, drama, and plot twists. Overall, I feel like I connected with this character because through the series he’s been wanting to do good by everyone but has had to overcome many obstacles at a very young age and although we didn’t go through the same situation I’ve had to overcome obstacles myself.

The Handmaid’s Tale

My favorite character from The Handmaid’s Tale was, Offred, the story’s main character and narrarator. Offred is a woman who is given the role of Handmaid in the dystopian society of Gilead. This new society was created after a rebellion against the US government, and her sole role as a handmaid is to produce children for this society. Offred was a very quiet and closed off character who generally  follows the rules of the oppressive environment , but she only does so in order to survive. When she is given power to rebel by characters with more power than her she takes it. Throughout the story, Offred has flashbacks from the past where she misses her old life with her husband and daughter whom she is not even sure if they are alive anymore. Because of the tight restraints on her life by the government her character is quite static in terms of not making much action; however she over time is more tempted to join the rebellion against the oppressive government. Some examples of her dynamic actions are her starting an affair with Nick which is illegal, and when she agrees to go out with the commander to a club. I personally connected with Offred because I can relate to the pressures society puts on people especially women to act or appear a certain way. For Offred this pressure was more serious as it had to do with life or death and for our current society these pressures are more subtle and enforced through social norms. My favorite aspect of the character Offred, were her flashbacks because they allowed us to see how  the horrors of her environment were created and enforced; Furthermore, her flashbacks from a time when her life was just like ours it brought up the themes of true freedom and the power of communication.

Ignite Me By Tahereh Mafi

         

Tricia Roserie


            In the novel Ignite me, my favorite character would have to be the main character only because she's very lost in the beginning of the book. The novel is about a girl, Juilette, who has telekinesis powers and has been locked up because she is seen as a monster, but she isn't locked up by law enforcement  but its more of a utopian controlled lifestyle. She is sent to be locked up by her mother and is used as a weapon, and because she hated hurting people, she decided to escape but to escape she needed to open up to people who could help her. However, opening up was one of the biggest struggles she needed to overcome throughout the entire novel. Juilette goes through waves of ups and downs because of how difficult it is to get away from the people who are trying to put her in harms way. However, she is extremely determined not to go back to the jail cell that she was in.
           Juilette definitely highlights the entire book, her development shows how strong one person can be espesically when they really need to be. Throughout the book she slowly discovers that there are other people who have some type of special talent/skill and develops a sister/brother bond realizing that she is not the only one in that situation.
           This book is the last book of the series and Juilettes's growth is remarkable, she goes from a girl who wanted to hide, to a bold girl that will take anything that's in her way. After reading this book, obstacles can seem immense only to have a minute solution.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

This is the fifth book in the Harry Potter series and the author introduces one of my favorite characters, Luna Lovegood. The other students at Hogwarts find Luna strange and unique, they even have a nickname for her- Loony Lovegood. She doesn't have very many friends, she's not very rich or well-known, besides the fact that her father publishes newsletters that aren't very popular with the wizarding community, and she has an eccentric sense of style, however, none of this seems to bother her. I really like Luna as a character because she doesn't care about what others think of her, she is very intelligent and kind to everyone around her, she is soft spoken, she seems to always be happy and ready to help, sweet, innocent, loyal, and unique because she is unlike any other character in the books. She seems to understand Harry in a way that the other characters might not, which creates a different type of bond between Harry and herself.  Throughout the series, she gains a strong personality and gains more importance in her role to help Harry in his journey to defeat Voldemort.  Even though she was placed in Ravenclaw for her intelligence, I think she would make an excellent Gryffindor because she is very courageous when it comes to fighting or standing up for what she thinks is right. Sometimes I wish I could be more like Luna and not worry so much about what the world thinks, or like worldly things in general. I love how much of herself she is and how she doesn't try to hide it to fit in. One of my favorite phrases of hers is "Don't worry. You're just as sane as I am".

-Sophia Parker

The Hobbit

My favorite character in this book was Bilbo Baggins. He was a simple man who lived a peaceful life alone, keeping himself busy with his favorite hobbies. Bilbo was always in his comfort zone and never did anything risky. However, that all changed when he was lured into an adventure by an old wizard, Gandalf. Bilbo was to accompany a group of dwarves who wanted to retake their kingdom from a dragon. Throughout the journey, the little hobbit was put into some very dangerous situations that nearly ended his life but he persevered and survived everything that was thrown at him. The dwarves he was accompanying saw him as a liability at first but as they continued their adventure they began to respect him and considered him one of their own. This is what I love about Bilbo, his ability to overcome any obstacles that are thrown at him. He went from being a feeble man who only did things he was comfortable with to a resilient and brave adventurer who overcame so many obstacles and proved the doubters wrong.

The Stall Keeper

     The Stall Keeper by Anderson Reynolds

  In the novel "The Stall Keeper," Anderson Reynolds depicts a complex culture in the Carribean island. This wonderful novel is filled with religious experiences, love, cultural ideals and tragedies that highlight the moral of the novel. The novel takes place in the city of Vieux Fort, St.Lucia where culture is damaged and disappointment becomes the issue. The Stall Keeper or the inhabitants are waiting for the American people to come so that St.Lucia could be better.
    The story begins with a five-year-old boy Henry whose father died when he was a baby. As Henry got older, she would ask around about his father- trying to figure out exactly who he was. His mother, on the other hand, was a religious woman who had the capability of telling what came in the future.
          A dynamic character, Eugene, believes that he is a woman living in a man's body. Eugene is faced with the strict religious realm of St.Lucia. People of that time are extremely strict to the principles of the bible and not accepting to those who do not follow their ideals. Throughout the novel, Eugene is faced with terrible experiences by family and the inhabitants of St.lucia by the choice of his identity and Eugene grows from it.
              This novel for me was very impactful because I myself am going through something similar where religious ideas can overpower the belief of someone's identity. This novel truly is fantastic and the lesson learned is quite amazing. I truly recommend this novel because it not only talks about the history and culture of life in the Carribean, it details some essential messages that can change ones mind into proactive ones.

          Aliya Roserie

Empire of Shadows

Author: Miriam Forster

Genre: Fantasy

      The character that outshines the rest in my opinion is Mara simply because she’s such an empowering person. I felt connected to Mara because she made something out of her life despite all the things she endured. The book starts with her seeking refuge in a school which gives her a purpose for life. The rules are that she must bond herself to a person worth fighting for until her death or the death of her charge. Not long after she journeys to the imperial city to regain the honor she lost when banished from her clan. She was originally a Sune (a tiger spirit) but when she saves two humans from getting eaten by an angry sune warrior she is shunned. Its not really a surprise when one of turns out to be her baby daddy when she becomes a human. I admire that she was willing to give up everything for people she didn’t know. This is the second book in The Bhinian Empire series, in the first book Mara’s character isn’t really developed well so I would say it's pointless to read and probably shouldn't have been written. This book is a challenge to read it's extremely dry. I don’t recommend reading it at all.  

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

This book is about a fallen angel named Patch who considers it his responsibility to take care of a young girl named Nora. Overall, Patch is my favorite character because throughout the novel you question his intentions and who he is. For most of the story, he is a mysterious guy that Nora is determined to figure out, no matter what it takes. However, even though she tries endlessly to find any information on him she does not succeed, which only makes Patch a more intriguing character. Every time Nora would try to get to know Patch, he would answer in a way that only left her with more questions. Patch is a dynamic character in this story because at first his only intention was to make sure she was okay, but this was only for personal gain. After he gets to know Nora, his intentions change and what he does from that point is purely out of love. This love grows into something bigger than what he imagined and changes his plans entirely because of his feelings for Nora. I found it interesting how Patch could interact with Nora in a way that no one else could and how he could understand her in a deeper and more meaningful manner.

heaven is for real

my favorite character in the book “heaven is for real” is the main character. his name is Todd Burpo. he is the father of the family, married to sonja burpo. they have two kids together and he is a pastor. the reason he is my favorite character is because he always makes an effort to fully support his family even if it means he has to make drastic sacrifices. he stood by his family through everything even when things got extremely hard for him. he got injured and was unable to work, but he still found a way to provide for his family. he also confides in his family to the fullest extent, which made him a good role model to the people at his church. he believed his son colton even though what he claimed was very unbelievable. his faith in god stayed strong through out the whole book and that is why i find him the most interesting character.

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

The book that I have chose was The Perks of Being a Wallflower written by Stephen Chbosky.  My favorite character from the book I think has to be Charlie because he was a really good friend.  Charlie met and got accepted into Sam's and Patrick's circle and they turned out to be really good friends but Charlie had loyalty towards Sam and Patrick and kept secrets without even being asked.  Overall, he was a super genuine person and was really sweet and sensitive and most guys don't show that type of side to them but I think that the author did good with creating his character.  There is also a movie and it is basically the same as the book and I think that the director did very well when he picked the actor to play Charlie.  The actor was Logan Lerman and to me, he played the role of his character super well and he showed the emotion that he was suppose to.  Also another thing about Charlie in the book and movie as well is that whatever feeling or emotion that he felt, you could feel them also and most movies and books for me is hard to feel their emotions but I did for some/most  parts.  I really enjoyed reading about how nice and good of a friend Charlie was to everyone and how he wasn't afraid to show his soft side when he needed to.

A Blue So Dark

A Blue So Dark by Holly Schindler

     I would say that my favorite character in this novel would be Aura Ambrose, the main character. Despite being lonely and delling with her schizophrenic mother who stopped taking her medication after her father left them for a shiny new wife, Aura manages to be strong. She’s in a hole she can’t get out of, her mother keeps getting worse to the point of always insulting aura, her dad doesn’t bother checking up on them, and on top of that she can’t turn to her best friend who’s struggling with a pregnancy. I admire this character for her strength, not only is she teen struggling with her own problems but also taking another load and taking care of her mother. 

     I think the trait that best caught my attention was Aura’s selflessness, her need to always put others before her. However the only thing I didn’t like was that Aura was under-developed, the author doesn’t give much more beside her love for her mother and art. Her mother’s condition overwhelmes everything in her life, she loves art but she smothers her talent because her mother and her mother’s father were artist with illnesses making her believe that art and mental illness goes hand in hand. Overall I really enjoyed this book and it’s intresting characters. 

The Series Of Unfortunate Events

The books I decided to read were, The Series of Unfortunate Events. After watching the Netflix series I wanted to read a childhood classic that I've never touched on. While reading, I noticed that these actors stuck very closely to the book. My favorite character from the show was Violet Baudelaire and in the novel it is still Violet. Violet was the leader of the siblings. Her care for her sister Sunny Baudelaire after the tragic fire that killed their parents was immaculate. Although there were a lot of obstacles they came across, I still believe that Violet did the best of what she could with the situation. Violet Baudelaire is known to be the inventor out of the siblings. She took on the traits her mother did which was tying her hair into a ponytail with anything and being able to invent things out of her surroundings. Violet was also the leader of the group and the most responsible. In a way, Violet is both dynamic and static. In terms of her personality, she is static and remains to be a good person throughout the novel. The reason of her being dynamic is because she has to come up with new ideas with her siblings in order to get away from Count Olaf. This makes her more developed as a character in the long run. I believe the reason why I connect with this character is because she isn't quick to judge, but cautious all the time. She also is the oldest child which, I am too. She has to hold on to so much responsibility as the oldest child and since she isn't old enough yet she is looked down upon. Although she is a child, she proves to the adults that she is much more mature than they are. This is similar to a controversy in our lives which is, should adults make decisions for us even though they aren't living in the generation we're living in.

Catch Me If You Can

Catch Me If You Can is a retelling of true events that happened to Frank Abagnale Jr., one of the world's greatest con artists. Since it is based on true stories and not a fictional tale, the individuals in the novel aren't necessarily characters. However, it is not a one-to-one recount, meaning that it has storytelling elements added in to make it flow better in novel form. One of the best side effects of this is that the main "character", Frank Abagnale, is portrayed as a hero of some sorts that you really root for. His crimes include check forgery, counterfeiting, and being an imposter of figures like pilots and federal agents. His young age, of around 17-20, really helped relate to him whenever his inner feelings were portrayed, making him an even more likable character. Even though the crimes he committed were morally wrong, you find yourself  hoping he doesn't get caught and wanting him to succeed.

He doesn't receive the character development that normal novel characters receive, but instead takes the reader through his thought processes when thinking out his crimes. The precision of his plans and the extreme risks that he takes make for a compelling story that remains focused on Frank for the entirety of it. When looking at Frank's childhood background of being from a broken home, it is no wonder that he spent a good part of his younger years running from city to city, state to state, never feeling like he belonged. Although he is not a character in the traditional sense, Frank's motivations and charisma make for a real, down to Earth guy who got in over his head.

It

The book It was written by Stephen King. In the town of Derry, an entity from another dimension terrorizes the population. The entity feeds off of the fears and flesh of the people by taking the forms of the victim's worst nightmares. Preferred targets tend to be children since their vivid imaginations allow It to have a larger variety of forms to choose from. One well-known form is Pennywise, a clown, due to the television show and the movie from 2017. The book is told from the multiple perspectives of the people who have been effected by the entity in some way.

One character that I favor the most is Bill Denbrough. This character is also known as "Stuttering Bill" because of his speech impediment, however his friends call him "Big Bill." He is the leader of the "Loser's Club"and the older brother of Georgie, the first person to die in the book. After his brother's death, Bill has problems with his family as he feels neglected by his parents. He blames himself for his brother's death since he was the one to build the paper boat that led Georgie to Pennywise. What really made me like Bill is that he never let people define his character. Bill is mocked for his speech impediment and is looked down upon by those who think he is less of a human being for it. However, when reading the story, Bill turns out to be the type of person who continues to protect the people he cares about when facing his greatest fears.


-Mycah Reece

History Is All You Left Me by Adam Silvera

I would say that there’s roughly about four main characters in the story. In order of importance, it would probably be Theo, Griffin, Jackson, and then lastly, Wade. But personally, Wade would have to be one of my favorite characters. To understand why I do, you should first understand one of the main points of the story: Wade is basically a third wheel throughout a good portion of the novel. Traditionally, readers always feel sorry for the third wheeler in any romance story, especially when “the Three Musketeers” becomes “a couple plus one,” as is what happens in this story.

The main reason why I love Wade is because at first you think that he’s a typical best friend character who’s threatened by Griffin’s and Theo’s relationship, but he actually is very supportive of their relationship. He doesn’t take it to heart, and he still there for them no matter what.

Unfortunately throughout the novel, Wade loses the connection between his group of friends, but even when they reconnect, he’s still super kind, and he isn’t bitter towards anyone. I think it’s really admirable to still be kind even after you stop being friends with someone. It shows that he’s a really good person, and he cares for people no matter what.

Grace Goodwin

The Shadow Throne

On the book of The Shadow Throne, The character that attract my attention was the main protagonist named Jaron Artolius III. The reason he got my attention because hes the King of Carthya ruling one of the biggest kingdoms. Jaron is pretty young for age to be a King, hes 15 years old. He acts like a true King, very wised, protects his realm ,blesses the lives of others, brave, and, etc. A king who's highly committed protecting his people. After hearing one of his servants getting captured from thiefs and pirates. Jaron demanded to save her right away because of how he swore to save his people. This character is dynamic, which you can see his development throughout the story. This helped the story because there were times of a bad situation happening, however Jaron was always positive about it. Managing to work through the situation and have a great outcome. One of the coolest interactions in the story was when Jaron was held hostage by the thiefs and one of his partners in battle named tobias from another kingdom was in the same cell as him. They were both the strongest captains in time of war. They manage to come up with an unpredictable plan to escape the thief's army hideout.

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

Title - ¨A piece of Cake¨ 
Genre - Autobiography.
Author - Cupcake Brown.
          
My favorite character from ¨A piece of Cake" is Cupcake Brown which is the protagonist. A reason she stood out to me is because she remains strong despite everything she has been through. At a young age she has had hard obstacles thrown at her starting from when she found her mom deceased in her room due to a seizure. Imagine having to see that at only 12 years old. That can really scar you for life. Having all of this happened to her she had to go to a foster care with her older brother and that is when everything took a toll for the worst. Cupcake browns foster mom was mentally and physically abusive. She would only feed them small portions of food everyday which consisted of beans and rice and would make them clean her house from sunrise to sundown, and if it was not spotless then she would beat them. She treated these kids pathetic and made sure that her biological daughter got the best treatment. All of this is causing cupcake to become depressed and drained due to her losing her mother not too long before the abuse started occurring. Not too long being in the foster care she was raped by her foster moms nephew more than once and was left to weep in the bathroom floor. He told her if she was to tell anyone about what happened then he would kill her brother and the rest of the family she had. When she approached this issue to her foster mom she did not care so cupcake then new it was time to run away. After she had ran away she new she needed food and money to support herself because there was no way she could go back to living in hell so this caused her to become a prostitute which someone had introduced her to.  Only at 12 years old she has been through all of these traumatic experiences. She quotes "everything in life aint free¨. I connect with this character because she is a young African american young girl like me who has been through some hardships in life and no I have not physically been through what she went through but emotionally I can connect in a way. This character has been broken down physically and emotionally and is still determined to do what she has to do to survive.                         

                                                                                                                           - Maliah Manns

Fahrenheit 451

This is one of my favorites books, I've read it twice. The main character is named Guy Montag, he is very appealing to me because he always has this sense of curiosity. Also during his job, he starts to read books its illegal to do that. Montag though finds a way around his job of burning books, he starts to hide his books and he starts talking to this girl named Clarisse, she is 17 years old they start talking about life and other things that interest Montag and her. Until one-day Montag gets in trouble with the law, that's where everything changes. Montag is a dynamic character because he changes because he breaks the rules of society, he wants to change and not be apart of the world around him because there is very little meaning. So as the story goes on Montag sees the truth why people burn books, he realizes that it's not the way he wants to live, then he begins the chase of his life.


I personally connected with this character because he has this sense of reality, the same way that I do because I understand that he wants to leave the rules behind and he wants to take risks. Also along with his personality with him being strong-minded and overall, he just wants an escape because he's tired of the world around him, there was a time I felt like that and I wanted a change in my life. as well as his curiosity, I related a lot to this because I felt the curiosity was so strong and sometimes I feel the exact same way that Montag did. in conclusion, this is a great story to read because I agree that there is stuff in this world that doesn't make sense and needs to be explored.

-Patrick Green

The Couple Next Door

Title: The Couple Next Door 

Author: Shari Lapena

Genre: Suspense and Mystery

Character: Anne Contis 

She is one of the main characters in the book. She's a mother who just gave birth to now 6 months old Cora and recently she has been going through postpartum depression which has been affecting her relationship with her husband, Marco. So far the book has mentioned how she is a very fragile women, not confident of herself and always comparing herself to other people and putting herself down. Always having self-doubt. So far from what I've read she doesn't like her neighbor, Cynthia because she always says that Cynthia is always better than her and way prettier than her and how she says that Cynthia is a tramp. Shes always flirting with guys even with Anne's husband even though she's married. And so far we can tell that Anne overthinks a lot and is always doubting herself and now that her baby has gone missing she's completely shut down overthinking that night her baby disappeared the many ways she could have prevented it.

She blames herself for letting herself get talked to by Marco into going to a dinner her neighbor Cynthia was hosting. She also blames her husband for making her do this because if it weren't for that her baby might still be there with her. As the detectives are investigating the house one of them is asking her questions about there whereabouts as she is answering she's thinking what a horrible mother she is for not being there with her baby and how they might think the parents are involved. 

Every Day

A character that stood out to me while I read David Levithan's Every Day was the protagonist, A, who is not confined to a gender, sexuality, or body; but, A is simply a being who occupies other people's bodies for a day. The bodies that A inhabit are:  sometimes male; sometimes female; sometimes gay, bisexual, or straight; sometimes drug-addicted; sometimes beautiful; sometimes unfortunate; and sometimes suicidal. However, one thing that was salient about A was that he/she always remained A. Though he/she inhabited different bodies on different days, his/her personality always remained the considerate, honest, and philosophical being he/she is. Typically, A would feel awkward waking up in a new body each day to realize what events the body has undergone; however, he/she always tried to keep the person's life as normal as possible without taking risks and putting the hosts body in danger. However, A's honesty is diminishing as he meets Rhiannon through her boyfriend's body, and begins to share mutuality with her through e-mails, books, and often times, in person through different bodies. A is a dynamic character, which helps the story because of his/her development of the meaning of love and life. I think A's interactions with Rhiannon were awkward because she saw new people almost every day, despite it being the same person internally. Although A confessed his/her feelings for Rhiannon and tried to show intimacy, Rhiannon couldn't react the same way because of the A's external appearance. 

-Nikk Chhou

The Idiot

My favorite character from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Idiot is the protagonist, Prince Lev Nikolayevich Myshkin. Throughout the book, the majority of which takes place in 19th century Russia, Prince Myshkin is referred to as an idiot because of his prior illness that caused him to act strangely and awkwardly. While he is mostly cured of his illness, many characters in the novel continue to call Myshkin an idiot because of his innocence and unconventional behavior. However, despite his reputation, Myshkin is actually a perceptive and uncommonly intelligent character, whose primary strength and weakness is that he is a kind and forgiving person who always sees others in their best light. For the most part, Prince Myshkin is a static character, and it is this lack of change that hurts the story and causes the reader to pity him. Nevertheless, Myshkin's character develops somewhat as he encounters new situations and meets new people, but many of these events function to highlight what is already a part of Myshkin's character instead of changing who he is.

I connected with this character because it made me think about whether or not I am changing, and if I am, then by how much; and if I am not changing and developing my character, then will I continue to make the same mistakes, and will I be aware of these habitual actions? But if I am continually changing and growing, then how can my character clearly be defined since I am not the same person at any given moment in time? I also felt a connection to Prince Myshkin because of his noticeable absentmindedness that causes him to wander off at various points in the novel. I noticed that I, too, am prone to getting lost in my thoughts at random times. As I was reading this novel, I couldn't help but notice my own irrationality and eccentricity that could be termed idiocy. But then again, who is not an idiot even three days out of the week because the people that pretend to know exactly where they are and where they are going and what they are doing have no better guess than the rest of us.

- Maximilian Kallas    

[KC]: SSR Quarter 2 Blog Post

Hello peeps,
Here's your Quarter 2 SSR assignment (I know, it's just a tad bit late):

Step 1: Create a new POST in which you reflect on your favorite character from one of the SSR books that you read during the 2nd Quarter. Title your post with your BOOK TITLE.
- Feel free to use these questions to help guide you, but don't feel tied to simply answering them: What type of traits did this character have? Was the character dynamic or static? Did that hurt or help the story? How was the development of this character across the novel? Why did you connect with this character? Were there any cool interactions between this character and any of the others?

Step 2: Once other classmates have posted their reviews, COMMENT on two other reviews. (Be sure to read the comments on your review as well and engage in conversations as necessary.)

POST Due: Thursday 1/31/19 by 11:36 pm

COMMENTS Due: Friday 2/1/19 by 11:18 pm

CONVERSE! EXPLORE! BLOG AUTHENTICALLY!