2nd Quarter SSR

The book I decided to read for the second quarter is a book called War Child by Emmanuel Jal. It is about a young child named Emmanuel. He lived in a small village and when his family found out that war was coming closer, they moved away looking for peace. Sadly one day, Emmanuel and his mother were separated, he later learned that she was murdered. He was forced to join an army at the age of seven, he was 1 of 10,000 child soldiers. Luckily, Emmanuel survived the war and later in life turned to music. He produced an album which ended up having the number one hip-hop song in Kenya on it. He travels around the world telling people about his story and how he overcame his harsh childhood.

SSR #2 Reflection

For this second Quarter, the book I read was called the Loner. In the beginning it starts off really slow, and the main character doesn't have a name. Usually people just call him kid. He doesn't have a name or a family because at the age of ten he was abandoned at some run down crop field.  The kid gets all of his food by begging people for it or using the little money he made from crop picking to get it.  Every where he goes, he travels alone and seems to hitch a ride from from anyone who crosses his path. As he's trveling one day, he stumbles upon this big butch lady herding some sheep.  Hes mesmerized by it, so he trys to get a closer look, but what he didn't see was that there was a steep drop off. So after the kid falls the butvh lady see's it all happen, and she saw that the kid was unconscious, so she ran over to him and tried to help. When the kid woke up he was in a tiny trailer house all wrapped u in blankets and he had new clothes on. When he was all healed, at brought back to health he started to do sheep herding wiht the lady, which of whos name was Boss. This went on for awhile, until one day the lady brought the boy in to her house and looked at him straigh tin the eye and said your new name in David. David finally felt like he belonged somewhere and he knew she would take care of him for the rest of his life.

2nd quarter SSR

   The book I read for the 2nd quarter was a book called Scouting. In the book there were no characters, the book is mostly about college sports and how to pick the perfect school. Scouting is set up in chronological order. The book is intended for all athletes that want to play in college. The author shows and gives information about colleges and why not to pick certain ones. First the author points out that to get recruited you have to play with all you got and if the scout catches your attention he goes to the coach. The author states that a scout will tell coaches about a players work habits and grades. Then the book goes into detail about not going to a college that just has a good sports program it mentions that if you just go for the sports  program you will suffer in the class. The author recomends that an athlete should search up acadimic rankings and graduation rates. Although if an athlete goes for the program the athlete should search up the coaches contract and get informed about the sport they want to play in college. In conclusion i think this was a facinating book and i learned alot about many different colleges and what to do as an athlete.

Quarter 2 SSR

    The book I read for our second quarter reading assignment was the Red Dragon by Thomas Harris. The story follows Will Graham, an ex FBI detective, who was asked to help investigate a serial killer referred to as the "Tooth Fairy" who broke into houses at night and killed entire families by shooting them in their beds. Graham reluctantly agreed to investigate the case. Graham investigated the house of the Tooth Fairy's victims, the Leeds. He couldn't find any clues that could lead to a suspect, so he decided that he needed to consult Dr. Hannibal Lecter for help. Lecter is my favorite character because of how mysterious, strong, and intelligent he is. Hannibal Lecter was a psychiatrist who was also a cannibalistic serial killer. He is very strong and was said to have ripped a nurse's tongue out without his heart rate going over 85. The doctors didn't even know what kind of mental illness Lecter has, but he is called a "pure sociopath" by Dr. Chilton. He was a static character without any character development and only played a vital role in a small part of the book. His main role in the story was giving the antagonist, the Tooth Fairy, Graham's address in a letter, causing Graham's wife and stepson to evacuate their home, fearing that the Tooth Fairy will come after them.

Quarter 2 SSR Reflection

     During quarter two I read Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for SSR. During my read, I really liked the character Ron Weasley. Ron is just a cool, laidback type of guy and is really funny as well. I feel like I’m like him and I connect with him more than the other characters. All the other characters were very serious, he was like the only jokester and that’s why I really like him. Ron was a dynamic character, and him being a dynamic character really helped the story. His development over the story was good because he was learning how to get over his fears and his jealousy he had over the better wizards. It was also cool how he got along with two best friends and that connection between them is just so amazing because all of them seem like they have nothing in common. Especially how he was so different from them two. I feel like I just connect with him more than anyone else because he just acts like how I would in every situation.

SSR #2 Reflection

In the novel, Glass, written by Ellen Hopkins, the protagonist, Kristina faces many challenges but her biggest obstacle is overcoming her meth addiction. Many of the characters in the novel have their own internal problems. Kristina’s family cuts Kristina off from their lives, they don't try to help Kristina with her addiction, they only criticize her. A majority of Kristina’s friends, like Kristina put their addiction before their loved ones. My favorite character in the novel is a young father by the name of Brendan, unlike Kristina’s other friends, Brendan is determined to get over his addiction and cutoff anyone or anything that can negatively affect his two daughters. Hopkins perfectly captures the unconditional love Brendan holds for his daughters. Brendan takes control over his addiction towards the end of the novel, in order for Brendan to withhold custody over his daughters and for the involvement of the mother of his children.

Second Quarter SSR Reflection

   For this second quarter, I read Among the Enemy by Margaret Peterson Haddix. Among the Enemy is the sixth sequel to the beginning of the story which was Among the Hidden. This is a fictional story about how cruel government officials can be when they have gained so much power. The world that these people live in is that the law requires that no family can exceed over the limit of 2 kids. Any children who were born third or more, would be stripped away from their family and work in these factories or just be executed.
  My favorite character is the main character Matthias. He was the first third-born child introduced in Among the Hidden and he has lived throughout all of the sequels. He started out as only thirteen years old in the beginning and he is now sixteen years old. He is very brave and cannot be intimidated so easily. Whether it's by the population police or strangers from the outside world. He always cares for those that are just like him and he does whatever it takes to keep them safe. He is not selfish and he takes the blame for when he has done something wrong. He will not leave his friends behind no matter what the cost. One time in the story they were captured, he had an opportunity to escape, but he wouldn't leave them to rot with the police. When in dangerous situations he doesn't freak out, he is calm and always thinks before his next move. Most of the decisions he makes for himself would most likely get him killed, but he has last this long and doesn't seem to be going anywhere. At least I hope. I would want to fight alongside those who are like me and against those who cannot accept us for who we are.

Quarter 2 SSR

     For the second semester I read the book No Easy Day by Mark Owen. It is the sequel of the book by Owen I previously read named No Hero. My favorite character would be the main character and author himself: Mark Owen. Owen is a very relatable and humane person; he was excited and confident yet very nervous with becoming a SEAL member. Once he passed the nerve wrecking tests and became a SEAL member, he feared of dying and hurting someone innocent, but engaged without hesitating causing no harm unless needed. In his childhood, he was not experienced with weaponry and the military. He once accidentally shot a rifle into the floor in his house kitchen. Of course he was ashamed because he forgot to properly follow instructions given to him, but he eventually became more reliable and responsible with age. With this change over time, Owen witnesses multiple deaths, including his best friends', and becomes a killing machine for the United States. With all of this, Owen is considered a dynamic character. His improved developments helped him cope with and survive in the military and through life. This enriched the plot of the story and made Owen more of a relatable character. I didn't have any direct scenarios to relate with Mark Owen, I just felt most empathetic with him.

Second Quarter SSR

During the second quarter, I read a book called We Were Liars by E.Lockhart. This novel is about a girl named Cadence Sinclair who lives her life without knowing what happened during a summer vacation. One of her biggest obstacles is having to be what her mother wants her to be, a Sinclair. She has to live without being able to show emotion or weakness. The Sinclairs were born to be as perfect as possible. Even though at moments Cadence feels tired of her own life, she keeps on living without being able to express herself. She goes through so many obstacles but seems to survive each one of them. Her love life does play a role in distracting her from her problems, however, her character is mainly what makes her be able to pass her troubles. She is a strong character with the ability to show strength when there is only weakness. Cadence impacts me because she represents the strength needed to go through tough times. Human beings are fragile and delicate when talking about feelings. We can get joyful easily, however, as well as melancholy. I can relate to Cadence because she like everyone suffers for reasons that are common in today's world, such as a divorce. Children who have parents who are going through a separation are at a crucial moment of their life because the people they most love will not be together anymore. The family becomes broken when a divorce occurs. This is not easy for a kid to understand or get used to. In addition, Cadence has to act like the person she was put to be by her mother's family. I can connect to this because sometimes us teenagers while growing notice that we don't want the same things our parents want for us. Of course, we don't hate our parents, however, we want to live our dreams and not the desires our parents wanted for themselves.

Second Quarter SSR

For the second quarter, I read a book called Life As We Knew It. The story is about the moon getting hit with an asteroid and it gets pushed closer to the earth. As a result, there were many catastrophic events, such as large tsunamis. The main character, Miranda Evans, was a normal girl in high school. After the event, she tried to make things normal until a certain point. She idolizes her older brother, Matt, who was gone for the first part of the book. Miranda was the one person who had stayed sane in the first few weeks of the book. When most people left to go be with their families, she kept going to school. Even when her mother stocked up on cans and supplies they might need in case it turned into an apocalypse, she questioned whether they needed all of the things they got. She tried to hold onto her life for as long as she could. However, later she gained a lot of responsibility. In time, her family all got a deadly strain of the flu, but she was the only one who didn't get it. She had to take care of her family through their sickness because she was the only one well enough to do it. I think that that was one of the things that made her realize that her world was more serious than it used to be. I think that she is how most of us would be if we were living through an event like the one in the book. I know that I would try to keep things from getting too out of hand and I would not want to accept the change that had happened.

Quarter 2 SSR

             The book I read for our second quarter SSR was The Contract by Derek Jeter and it is a novel that consists of Jeter’s past experiences with baseball. Jeter made a great emphasis on his struggle as a baseball player from little league all the way to the majors. In this story, Jeter recognizes multiple coaches and teammates that basically make up the storyline, but of course the stud shortstop Derek Jeter was my favorite character in this novel. Jeter is my favorite because he shows great confidence and good attributes not only while playing baseball, but also in his schoolwork. He shows that he loves the game of baseball and will stop at nothing to try and get his shortstop position back from his antagonist Pete. Pete plays the bad guy in this novel as he tries to take Jeter’s position from him and attempts to embarrass him. Eventually, Jeter’s epic skill set strikes once again as he shows off with diving catches and home runs. The lessons taught by Jeter in this book recognize some of the most common conflicts and show how the legend himself dealt with them. After reading this, I feel inspired by the work of the former yankee and 5 time World Series champion and I hope that he continues to be a hero to his future fans by his amazing literature.

SSR Quarter #2: How Societies Choose To Fall or Succeed

     Many fiction books have acquired my interest however, I decided to read a non-fiction book this quarter. Written by Jared Diamond, Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fall or Succeed claims the ecological problems that can lead a society to crumble. We can observe from past societies that have collapsed suffer from difficulties such as soil problems, overfishing, overhunting, effects of introduced species, human population growth, increased impact of people, water management problems, deforestation, and habit destruction.
     Instead of reflecting on a character in a story like I would have normally done if I read a fiction novel, I will be evaluating the problems we have today that can lead to our downfall.  One problem we have today is destroying or losing natural resources such as natural habitats, wild food sources, biological diversity, and soil. More than half of the world's original area of forest has already been converted to other uses which are destroying or decreasing our income of raw materials. This may lead to our demise as raw materials are harder to gain and can end up destroying the ecosystem.

     Another problem that is evident in our civilization involves harmful things that we generate or move around such as toxic chemicals, alien species, and atmospheric gases. Chemicals are being released into the air, soil, oceans, lakes, and rivers that are damaging the ecosystem even further. A recent example of this would be the use of insecticides, pesticides, and herbicides that had damaging effects on birds, fish, and other animals. Just like the destroying our natural resources, spreading dangerous chemicals in the environment may lead to negative, irreversible changes in the habitat that can bring dreadful complications in the future.

     An increase in human population has also served to be a problem in our society. The more people that inhabit a community, the more food, space, water and other resources required. The number of resources used by these people lessens our supply and in turn, causes more consumption and destruction of natural habitats to support the increasing populations. If we do not find a solution to these problems we may find ourselves exhausting our environment and stimulating new difficulties that may be too great to solve.  

2nd quarter SSR reflection

For our first quarter assignment I read the book the shining by Stephen king placed in a scene of a haunted hotel located in the Colorado Rockies. My favorite character in the book is dick Halloran who had a rare shining ability. Dicks shining abilities allowed him to be able to save lives including other clubbers. Within the book dick puts his life in danger to save others and even though he struggles throughout the book at times he still is portrayed as a hero. An interesting fact about dick Halloran is that he appears in the Stephen king's IT as an army cook member at a nightclub. But his shining abilities can have some bad effects too. Dicks ability to be in the overlook makes him have moments of having the urge to kill. Dick is my favorite because at the end of the novel he shows his inner strength by overcoming everything. Dick and another character named Danny Torrance have connected in the book. They both overcome internal struggles. Danny has broken the “curse” of father son violence that continuously haunts his family.

Quarter 2: SSR Reflection

For the second quarter, I read The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. My favorite character is probably Katniss Everdeen because she is the main character in the story. She is a girl who lives in District 12 and is very poor. She is selfless and determined because when her sister was picked for the Hunger Games, she volunteered herself as tribute to save her. She is very determined because she knew that she had to win to survive and therefore trained really hard with her bow and arrow. During the progression of the story, Katniss develops as a character by becoming a confident, well-known, and skillful woman from a poor and regular girl. I can connect to Katniss because if I put my mind to something, I will accomplish it and surpass my goal. I can also connect to her because she is family oriented and will do anything for her family. A cool interaction with Katniss is with Prim because Prim didn’t want her older sister to volunteer for her and was screaming for her to not do it. Something that I don’t get is why Katniss falls in over with Peeta instead of Gale because Gale always gives a helping hand and cares for her family while she is away while Peeta was her partner and gave her bread.

2nd Quarter SSR

    During the 2nd quarter, I read a novel called Before I Go To Sleep by S.J Watson which is supposedly a psychological thriller, but it had more components of a chick-lit where it consists of a heroine centered narrative. The plot revolves around a woman in her mid-40s, Christine, who is afflicted with Alzheimer's; henceforth, each day is a clean slate and she must recollect her memories before she goes to sleep. Ben, Christine's husband, remains a skeptical figure as he hides her son's existence and always excuses his reticence. Due to Ben's frequent absences from home, Christine has a rendezvous with Dr. Nash who helps her receive treatment in gradually attaining her memory back. As her therapy starts to take effect, Christine begins remembering some moments in her past and grows more troubled of Ben's omissions. The novel is told from Christine's narration which gives readers an unusual depth of insight of how terrifying it is to wake up the next day with no memories of the previous day. From this premise, the author creates a claustrophobic feeling within the context, which showed how confined Christine's world has been due to her memory loss. The novel displays psychological acuity, enough to make Christine's story discomfiting and anxious to an uncomfortable degree. Not only is she facing internal problems, but she also faces an external problem. Due to Ben's neglectful behavior, Christine is conflicted if he is leaving out the most painful details to save her from remembering the trauma or if he has another motive. I sympathize with Christine the most, since her character is admirably determined to improve her memory. Throughout the novel, the narration begins to differentiate compared to the beginning where Christine is confined in her mind and at the end she experiences more freedom within herself.

Quarter 2 SSR Reflection

In the novel "Interview with the Vampire" by Anne Rice, my favorite character in the book is Claudia, she is not the main character but has a very close relationship him. The main character is Louis de Pointe du Lac and the book is based on his life as a vampire and Claudia was the ill daughter of one of  Louis's victims and he noticed how poor and sick she was and the only way he could save her was to turn her into a vampire so he did. At the young age of five, she would stay forever and she will eventually become like a daughter to Louis. She is very spoiled by Louis but he cannot grant her everything she wants, which is to grow into an adult and live all the stages of a mortal life. At first she was very content with her immortal life but as she mentally aged she started to notice all the things mortals experience as adults and she wants to be able to live through that one day, but she soon became aware that  it will be impossible for her to do so since she does not age and she will blame Louis for changing her but little did she know that he did it to save her. What Claudia wants is to become a woman in all the aspects, and she knows that she will never achieve that if she stays in the body of five-year-old. I like how realistic she is, she knows that she will never experience some parts of being an adult if she does not age and change into an adult woman. Louis's friend Lestat does not put up with Claudia's tantrums about her wanting to grow old and thinks she should be grateful. He can be a little too rough with her which is why Claudia takes matters into her own hands and decided to kill Lestat by feeding him cold, dead blood. I like how she is so complicated and naive but mature she can be at the same time, mature as in she does not want material things like most children at that age want, and naive as in she throws a huge fit because she cannot get what she wants and blames Louis even though he did what he thought was best for her. I feel like anyone can relate to this including myself.

2nd Quarter SSR

     For our second quarter assignment I read the novel Crime and Punishment, a Russian novel written by Fyodor Dostoyevsky who escaped death row for revolutionary activities, centers around the Russian youth and human nature. This work of literature is praised and a part of the high school curriculum and even evaluated and appreciated by psychologists and analysts such as Sigmund Freud. The main character/ protagonist of the story is not a hero at all. In fact he is twisted and unstable in the sense that he wishes to commit murder during his struggling years as a poor and paranoid student. Due to this behavior and the double homicide he actually commits, I gravitated more towards his only friend Dmitri Prokofitch Razumihin who is almost the opposite of the protagonist, Rodion Romanovich Raskolnikov. Dmitri is in the same boat as Raskolnikov because they are both highly intelligent and educated students who have little to no money to support them. Dmitri was the main force that kept Raskolnikov as grounded as he could be from the murders and his troubled thoughts and was a positive energy in his life. Dmitri also took care of Rodion's family, specifically his mother and sister who he eventually married. Unlike Rodion, Dmitri does not succumb to crime and veer away from sanity under the cruel treatment they faced as youth in an impoverished Russia to cope. That being said, Raskolnikov also prevents Dmitri from falling into a drinking binge that would bring nothing but trouble and make matters worse for Dmitri. Dmitri also provides most of the information in the book due to his urge to gossip essentially. Despite dropping out of college alongside Raskolnikov he did not let this deter him and had aspirations of opening up a publishing house instead of murdering an old pawnbroker and her sister with an axe in cold blood. Dmitri was generally a stable character; however he still possessed his downfalls like drinking and remained loyal to Raskolnikov and his family which was admirable.

Quarter 2 SSR Response

For the second quarter, I chose to read a novel called Atonement, by Ian McEwan which is divided into three major parts with a final resolution from the author. The first section of the book tells a story of one day/night in 1935 at the Tallis family property north of London, England. It concentrates on Briony Tallis, the thirteen-year-old youngest daughter of three, who strives to be a writer. As she prepares for a play she has written, she witnesses a spectacle between her older sister Cecilia and the son of the family chairwoman Robbie Turner. What is an innocent scene is greatly misinterpreted by the young imagination, which will initiate a series of events with eternal consequences. Then the second part takes place five years later where it follows Robbie Turner as a soldier during the war in France after he served three years in prison for his crime and is now able to exonerate himself by serving in the army. Lastly, part three picks up with the eighteen-year-old Briony who has applied as a nurse in London. Suffering from guilt for her misconduct as a girl, Briony dreams nursing will act as a penance for her sin.

While the book includes several fascinating characters, one of the characters that struck me the most was Cecilia who is Briony’s strong, beautiful, and independent sister. Out of all the character in the novel, I think that I took a liking to Cecilia because of the hardships she had to face. In the novel, she realizes that she is in love with Robbie Turner whom her sister accused of rape, so she had to choose between her family or her love life. She ended up choosing Robbie over her family; however, she loved her sister so much that making that decision must have been so difficult for her which made me sympathize with her. Also, Cecilia, I would argue, is a dynamic character since, in the beginning of the novel, she was someone who had a soft side for those she loved especially towards her sister; however, in the middle of the novel, she cuts off her own ties to her family and promises to wait for her lover, Robbie.

I think that Cecilia became my favorite character because of how similar she is to my sister who is as confident as a lion. She has the audacity to do what she ever she wants even when people are watching her which is how Cecilia lived when she decided to wait for Robbie. Also, I think she became one of my favorite character in the novel because of how her story ended, I wish that her final moments were different, but it made a great twist in the story.

SSR 2 Reflection
For my second quarter SSR book I choose Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs. The book is fiction and revolves around Jacob Portman, our narrator. The book focused on the main protagonist , Jacob who pursues his search on his grandfather's mysterious past. This character starts off in the book being unsure and curious of who his grandfather really is.

Jacob's only friend is Ricky who was there when his grandfather was found dying in a nearby forest. His last words led Jacob to follow his grandfather's youth days, so he goes to Cairnholm island. Before this, his family had thought Jacob was starting to loose it because he had reported that a monster had killed his grandfather . Jacob's parents had sent him to therapy which did not help him as much. In desperate need of closure, Jacob went on his trip with his dad to the Cairnholm island to find out if his grandfather was actually telling the truth. We see Jacob's first interaction with the peculiar children and he seems startled; however, chases after the child to seek answers. Though, Jacob seemed unsure and uncertain he quickly turns into a determined and curious character. Jacob is more of a dynamic character due to his certain transitions throughout the book. As Jacob finds the home for the peculiar children, he finds out certain unique characteristics about himself that reveal many things about who he is and what he can do. The book digs into Jacob's relationship with his grandfather as it was much stronger than his father's and grandfather's relationship. He describes this situation when his father brings it up as being awkward. 

Quarter 2 SSR

This past quarter, the book I read for SSR was Turtles All the Way Down, a novel by John Green.  Its genre may be described as young-adult fiction, though it can also be depicted as a mystery book.  Essentially, much of the book's plot revolves around our protagonist's search for a billionaire-gone-missing, as well as the tribulations that come to afflict some of the main characters as a result of the man's disappearance.  Additionally, such subjects as romance, friendship, and personal growth also prominent in this novel.

My favorite character was protagonist and narrator Aza Holmes, a sixteen-year-old high school student afflicted by obsessive compulsive disorder and an apparent anxiety disorder.  The reason I favor this character perhaps has much to do with the way Green portrays Aza’s personal struggle with mental health, though I acknowledge this has much to do with his own tribulations with both disorders depicted in this novel.  What’s more, Aza’s mental struggle actually does much to influence the way in which the reader experiences the story.  A large portion of the conflict in this novel is internal, and this can be seen amidst the arguments Aza has with herself throughout the text.  In my opinion—while mental disorder isn’t a positive thing—Aza’s mental struggles were what drove the story, and they also largely impacted how I felt whilst reading.  For example, her internal arguments sometimes make the reader feel rather suffocated, and I actually think was necessary given the point of these arguments was to show how suffocated she felt herself.

It’s not only this that appeals to me regarding Aza’s character, for I additionally find her to be a quite relatable character.  Though I don’t think I could ever compare my struggles to those she endures, there were many instances in this novel I found I could connect with her character.  She often feels trapped inside her own head, as do I, and I also felt we shared many of the same opinions regarding a multitude of subjects.  I was also able to relate to the frequent difficultly she seems to have in communicating her ideas to others, which appears is quite frustrating for us both.  Even the sympathy she shows toward her mother throughout the book is something I found myself able to ascribe to certain events in my own life.  I also admire Aza for her relatively empathetic and uncritical nature.

Aza being my favorite character also has much to do with the fact the reader gets to know Aza so thoroughly through her mental struggle.  Perhaps what I appreciate most about this novel, though, is Green’s accurate portrayal of mental illness, particularly that of OCD, which I unfortunately find many people have a fairly distorted view of.  That being said, I highly recommend this book, and there are plenty of other characters in this novel I’m sure others would adore as well.

Quarter 2 SSR Reflection

For the second quarter of the first semester, I spent my time reading Practical Magic, by Alice Hoffman. The book centered on the relationships between three generations of sisters, focusing most on the relationship between Gillian and Sally Owens. I quickly took a liking to Gillian, the spunky, spontaneous, and rebellious younger sister.

Whilst her older sister was well-behaved and responsible, Gillian grew up rebellious, choosing to spend her teenage years with as many boys as possible, using her charm and good looks to get herself through high school. Gillian moved away from her hometown and the aunts she was raised by as soon as she could in order to escape the confinement of the small Massachusetts town, making her way west. She later became involved in three separate marriages, and eventually a case involving one of her ex-husbands, drugs, and murder. Gillian's outrageous lifestyle made her a particularly interesting character, especially because of the pronounced differences that she and Sally displayed.

I reckon that one of the other reasons why I took a liking to Gillian was the dynamics within her own personality. In the beginning of the novel, and even towards the middle, Gillian displayed recklessness and irresponsible behavior, leading her to call on her sister for assistance in her greatest tribulations; however, it is seen as the story progresses that Gillian starts on the path of 'growing up.' She even falls in love, leading to a marriage that is not based off of lust, differing from her previous flings. Gillian changes her perspective of things as well, and she changes her thoughts about her sister, shifting from annoyance and anger at times, to thankfulness and love.

Interestingly enough, I am not like Gillian whatsoever. I suspect that's also why her personality appealed to me. Her confidence and sense of spontaneity are both traits that I sometimes lack in my own life, and I admired her for going through the trials that she faced.

2nd Quarter SSR Reflection

For the 2nd quarter I read, I am Number Four by Pittacus Lore.  My favorite character in the book is the main character, John Smith.  He is one of the nine Lorien children living and hiding on Earth.  He has three circular scars on his right ankle.  This indicates the death of the first three Lorien children.  John and the others that are still alive are trying to survive from the Morgadorians that are killing them in order.  He is known as number four but he changes his name every time he moves to keep his identity a secret.  John is very unsocial because if he start to make friends and become popular then he is more vulnerable for the Morgadorians to find him, so he stays under the radar.  He possesses certain gifts and abilities that helps him protect others and himself.  They are called legacies, they start to appear throughout the book.  The legacies that John has are telekinesis which all Lorien Garde have, they develop it when they get their first legacy.  Another legacy he has is Lumen, which is the ability to produce heat and light from his hands and the last one is animal telepathy.  He has the ability to communicate with animals.  I believe that he is a dynamic character.  From the beginning of the book, he is always running away and hiding from the Morgadorians. Eventually he decides that he wants to stand up and face them.  This is the one thing he has avoided his whole life.  Without hiding or running away, he fights back with the help from friends and number six, they manage to defeat the Morgadorians escaping once again.

2nd Quarter SSR Blog

                 In all honesty, for the majority of the 2nd quarter, I have been reading and focusing my attention on Thing Fall Apart, yet we've already talked quite a bit about this class novel, so I will be emphasizing on a another book that I happened to stumble upon: Every Falling Star: The True Story of How I Survived and Escaped North Korea by Sungju Lee and Susan McClelland. Ok, let me provide a brief background as best as I can. This book is basically an autobiography of Sungju Lee, telling the incredible tale of his escape and what life was like for him in North Korea. In the beginning of the book, Sungju lives a comfortable life in the capital of Pyongyang with his mother and his father, who worked for the government. Sungju was just an innocent child, always daydreaming about whatever kids daydreamed about, surrounded with love, care, and a place he called home. Soon things took a turn as Sungju and his parents are forced to live in the countryside, in a smaller house, with not as many amenities that would be found in Pyongyang. The cause of this migration was due to the fact that Sungju's father may have done something that offended the government. In the countryside, Sungju was perplexed and horrified at how life had drastically changed in front of him. He witnessed people starving and stealing as schoolchildren would abuse various substances and take fieldtrips to watch brutal executions of people who tried to escape the country. Sungju's father left in search of food since resources were incredibly limited, promising that he would return even though he never did. Sungju's mother did the same, leaving Sungju to fend for himself as he tried to comprehend the horrors of a country he was taught to be proud of. With no one to look after him, Sungju organized a gang with his new friends from the countryside, whom he called "brothers", where they would steal from markets for their survival. They were basically kids, yet they stole, smoked cigarettes, and drank to cope with the horrors of reality.
            Sungju and his "brothers" became a family of their own and were dependent on each other to survive the harsh environments of poverty and starvation. They got into gang fights and were even caught at one point by authorities, but they managed to thrive on the streets as the toughest gang in all of the North Korean countryside. Sungju later had to leave his "brothers" behind when a person who had connections with Sungju's father arranged a protocol for Sungju to escape. It was a long, panic-inducing process, but by having a forged passport and pretending to be mute, Sungju reunites with his father in South Korea, however Sungju's mother's whereabouts are still unknown. Ok, I lied about providing a brief background, but this book is remarkable and is quite a bit to digest. Obviously Sungju is my favorite character (well he's a real person), mainly because of his transformation and development. In the beginning, he is just a little innocent boy living a content life in the capital with a warm home and family. Little did he know that he was blinded from the truth of North Korea by propaganda and being taught that his homeland is the best country in the world. The world pretty much flipped upside down for Sungju when he was first exposed to the poverty, desperation, and brutality of the countryside. When his parents had to leave in search of food and never returned, Sungju gathered the courage to defend himself in a dangerous environment by stealing food and creating a bond with his "brothers" to survive. Plus he managed to escape the country, fearing that he would get caught any minute, and succeeds. He is such an inspiration, telling the audience to be brave and courageous, hopeful, and to always keep wishing on every falling star.

Quarter 2 SSR Reflection

In The Kite Runner, written by Khaled Hosseini, the main character Amir tells his life story from the beginning of his life when he lived in Kabul, to the time when he went to America to get a better future.  Amir would be considered my favorite character because he has character traits that no other character had such as patience and determination.  He is a story writer, he enjoys writing about his life, as well as writing fiction stories.  His father thinks it is something for women to do, so he rarely pays attention to Amir for that matter.  In his childhood though, he lived with his friend Hassan and told him many stories that he wrote.  Amir was kind to him and sometimes taught him new words or phrases because he could not read or write and did not have the knowledge of vocabulary like he did.  People sometimes made fun of Amir because he was into writing, but he did not let that bother him and continued to be himself.  As he grew up, he moved to America because the Russian Army started invading Kabul so they could transform it into a communist government.  When he arrived, he started looking for a job so he could help his father pay the rent and the food.  He was a hardworking man who worked all day long and still managed to write more stories.  I feel like I connect to Amir because he was hardworking and did not let anyone stop him from doing what he wanted.  In my life, I have always wanted to be in the medical field.  Although some people think it's too difficult for me, they aren't going to stop me from fulfilling my dreams.

Quarter 2 SSR

     One of the books that I read for SSR was The Girl You Left Behind by Jojo Moyes. My favorite character from the novel is Liv Halston. She is one of the main characters in the book. She gets caught up in a legal situation because of a painting that her late husband, David, bought in Spain. The painting of Sophie Lefèvre went missing during World War I and Sophie’s relatives are trying to get it back so they can sell it.
     Before David died, he had a very successful company and had built a magnificent glasshouse for him and Liv to live in. Liv has been struggling financially ever since he died, so she could barely afford the house anymore. When she decided to take the painting situation to court, she was warned that she would lose almost all of her money. This brings up one of the reasons I liked this character because she didn’t care that she would lose all of what she had as long as she kept the painting. She saw the beauty in the painting and felt the emotions portrayed and cared about Sophie. She actually cared about the painting itself and not the money it could get her.
     Throughout the trial, there was overwhelming evidence that benefited the prosecution, but Liv wouldn’t give up. She was confident and strong by not giving in and she defended what she believed was right.
     I think Liv is a dynamic character. When we first meet Liv, she is drowning in grief for her husband’s death a few years ago and only goes out of the house if she has to. As the book progresses, she meets a guy named Paul and he begins to show her that it is ok to live even though David is gone. She is out of her shell and has found her confidence again by the end of the book. I think that this helped the book because the reason why she was so protective of the painting in the first place was because David got it for her, but she begins to see the depth of the painting as the book goes on and her motive for holding onto it drifts from David as her character changes.

Quarter 2 SSR Reflection

      This quarter for SSR, I read The Sacred Lies of Minnow Bly, written by Stephanie Oakes. Clearly by the title, the main character is Minnow Bly; a young women whose past is challenged by the law. As there were many valuable characters in my book, Minnow Bly spoke out to me the most. For twelve years of her life, Minnow was taught to keep her mouth shut, to obey the rules, and to be apart of the Kevinians. She was shy and frightened. But as she grew older, she became more confident, talkative, and extremely strong for someone without hands. Minnow soon did what no one was suppose to do, ask questions about their forced religion. From the beginning, Minnow always bent the truth, afraid it would get her in trouble. However, throughout the book, Minnow opened up about her past to her therapist and roommate, granting her freedom and protection. I connected the most with Minnow because of the way she perceived things; like her religion, her faith, her family, her boyfriend, her leader, and her value of herself. She questioned everything and yearned to learn. I found it amazing how a girl our age was able to see past the lies that she grew up with, while hundreds of others couldn't. If it wasn't for Jude, I don't believe that Minnow would have been strong as she is. I think that she would't have argued against their leader about marrying him, therefore, not having her hands viciously cut off. Out of everything that Minnow has to offer, her not having hands makes her who she is and I believe that Oakes knew exactly what she was doing when she wrote it. To clarify, when their Prophet ordered her father to slice off her hands, he thought he was silencing her, making her weak, letting her understand who was in charge. However, when Minnow Bly's hands were gone, her words and thoughts only got stronger and louder, so powerful that the girl with no hands destroyed the man who lied to hundreds of people for more than a century.

Quarter 2 SSR Reflection

Quarter 2 SSR Reflection
This quarter I read "The 100 Day 21" By Kass Morgan. I really liked this book because it included the point of views of several characters. I always looked forward to Clarke's point to view. Clarke is the main character in the book. Out of the one hundred teenagers sent to Earth she is the only one with knowledge in the medical field. Clarke is really serious and responsible and remains focused on the main tasks. She is also one of the main leaders of the teens on Earth. In the book she is very dynamic. She often helps when there is a problem with the one hundred teens on Earth. Through out the book she grows get over her main personal struggle, the betrayal of her friend. Her  parents were scientists who were trying to find a solution to survive on the radiation filled Earth. However they were testing on young kids, who all eventually die, unauthorized. Clarke's best friend,Wells, tells his father, the chancellor. The chancellor orders Clarke's parents to be killed. Because Wells is the reason her parents are killed she struggles to trust Wells again. By the end of the book she realizes that they all need to trust one another in order to survive on Earth. I liked how strong and independent she is. 

[KC]: Quarter 2 SSR Reflection

Hi kids,

Here's your Quarter 2 SSR assignment. I know, I know, we're a little late here since Quarter 2 is technically over. Oh, well. Here it is!

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.
 - 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: Wednesday, February 7th.
COMMENTS Due: Friday, February 9th.

CONVERSE! EXPLORE! BLOG AUTHENTICALLY!