Breakfast of Champions

        For the second quarter, my ssr novel was Breakfast of Champions by author Kurt Vonnegut. The book follows the meeting and events that led up to of Kilgore Trout and Dwayne Hoover. Kilgore Trout is a struggling science fiction writer who soon finds himself successful. And Dwayne Hoover is a well off businessmen who is progressively going insane throughout the book.

        The novel begins by introducing both protagonists in their respective settings and giving a brief summary of what and who they are. Vonnegut places short passages of Trout's work as an author himself and uses these as a way for the reader to gain a deeper understanding of what is going on in the mind of himself. These short yet enticing texts often depict some form of alien species and oddly enough some form of sexual vulgarity. Trout's novels are also not published as individual novels, but they rather sold in various "Sex Shops" as explicit magazines that often lose his true intentions as an author. It's Vonnegut's somewhat crude and vulgar sense of humor in this novel that really draws me into it. I believe he uses this as a way to keep readers like myself interested.

        As for Dwayne Hoover, the mad man of the two it is easy to see part of myself in him. I saw this because Hoover is an ordinary man at a first glance, but inside his own head he is rapidly evolving into someone who he himself does not even recognize. On page 48 of the novel Hoover absolutely destroys his coworkers poor taste in clothing and soon after its revealed that he in fact is a "secret transvestite... and his wife would pull down the window blinds, and Harry would turn into a bird of paradise". It may just be me, but I found this particularly funny because it was sudden and out of the blue.

         If I were to collapse the book into a statement without any spoilers it would go as follows. Two lonely unsuspecting men live their own wild and interesting lives until they have a bizarre meeting which results in a strange narration about the creation of the universe. 

        I would recommend this book to anyone with a controversial sense of humor who also enjoys deep thinking. 

The Night Stalker

     The Night Stalker was one of the books I read for the second quarter. It was the first true crime book I have ever read and it was really interesting. It was different to read about a murderers thoughts and perspectives during murders. The author, Philip Carlo, did a really great job at including multiple perspectives in all the crimes of the book. This book was based on the famous serial killed, Richard Ramirez. Later he was famously known as the Night Stalker.
     Philip Carlo wrote the book into different sections. At first I didn't understand why he wrote his life story backwards but I later realized that I liked it better that way. The first part was about the murders, and the second part was about his life growing up. I think the author did this so when people read the second part, they will be shocked at how normal he was raised and how he wasn't different from the most of us. The Night Stalker will leave you with eerie feelings and send chills down your back after reading about the gruesome things Richard Ramirez did to innocent people. His capture will make you jump up out of your seat and cheer. I wouldn't recommend reading this book at night or else you might not be able to sleep well.

Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie

For second quarter, I read the book Sleeping Murder by Agatha Christie. In the book, the main characters, Gwenda and Giles were moving to England from New Zealand. The house they moved into gives Gwenda dejavu, and she soon finds out that she once lived there during her early childhood. Not only that, she finds out that her step mother mysteriously disappeared from that house while they lived there, 17 years before. This book is very slow, and focuses on one plot, so there was minimal development among side characters. Because of this, my favorite character is Gwenda.

Gwenda does not lead a similar life as me, but I relate to her drive to find the answer to the mystery of her step mother. Throughout the book, Gwenda continues to find out more and more dangerous revelations about what happened between her father and her step mother, but no matter what she found, she did not quit her search, and continued to find justice and close the case. Gwenda was driven to find the answer to this puzzle in her life, which I also find myself doing. In the same way that she was not satisfied with the sugar-coated answer she was given about her Step mother, I do not like not knowing the answer to something, and go out of my way to find it. 

Friday Night Lights

For the second quarter of SSR, I read Friday Night Lights. This book is obviously about football and how games are most common on friday nights when the lights shine upon the field and the fans pile in. In this novel, many characters are introduced, some being side characters and some being main characters. The main character in the novel is James Earl Miles Jr. who faces a tragedy. My favorite character from Friday Night Lights was Brian Chavez. The author H.G. Bissinger portrayed this character as a motivated Hispanic male. I can relate to him not only with his ethnic background but also with his goals academically and desire for a scholarship. Chavez is the only Hispanic player on the Permian team and gives a tough time to each of his opponents. I like how Chavez is not only gifted physically but academically as well. He does not need to rely upon his skills on the field to receive a scholarship which sets his character apart from many of the others. 

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil

     For the 2nd quarter I read Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil a non-fiction novel by John Berendt based in Savannah, Georgia. The book is mainly plotted on the series of murder trials of a local prostitute, Danny Hansworth by Jim Williams, a famous and well respected antiques dealer. Although the book is quite a long one, Berendt describes the Savannah lifestyle in an intriguing way while sharing real experiences with even more intriguing people.
     My favorite character in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John is the legendary Lady Chablis. She was a black, transsexual nightclub star also known as the "Queen" of Savannah. She is feisty, spontaneous, and bold, not only in her dress but in her words. In this non-fiction novel John Berendt and Lady Chablis first meet when Lady Chablis introduces herself at a car dealership where Berendt buys a car and she persuades him to give her a ride home. Lady Chablis is what I would like to call, my spirit animal. She does not care what anyone has to say and will tell you what she thinks. She was live on the scene of Savannah. I also gained a deep respect for her because she was one of the first people ever to actually make it big not only as a drag queen but a black drag queen. Her boldness is the main reason why I feel so drawn to her. She is not afraid to turn up uninvited to parties, as she has, crack jokes to important people that she has never met, then make a scene at the event she wasn't invited to. She chases money while still keeping her standards high as a bad witch. There wasn't much change in her character throughout the book as she was just basically someone who was well known at the time of the trial and didn't really affect trial. However, her casual pop ins were the most interesting and funny. My favorite quote from her is, "Yes I'm a b***h, and I'm proud of it." Lady Chablis is an icon.

De Colores Means All Of Us by Elizabeth Martinez

Last quarter I read De Colores Means All Of Us by Elizabeth Martinez. While the book didn’t have a set character list, it was full of ideas, history of the Latinx community in the U.S. and setbacks that all minorities go through. Martinez really focuses on the struggles that many latinx’s go through. From having to deal with being the minority with most of its community in poverty, the protesting to gain equal rights in any workplace and having many future generations of latinx dealing with a loss of identity.

      One idea that really stood out to me was how Martinez explained that white people have/still classify by minorities by how “white” they seem. White people have engraved many ideals and stereotypes of all minorities. For example, Latinos and Hispanics are lazy and careless. Martinez explains in her book how the Asian, Black and Latinx community have always competed against each other. Always trying to find ways to one up each other. When in reality the real threat to all of us are white people. Martinez makes the point where we all need to come together and uplift each other up. That we make sure our communities are represented equally and the barriers whites put are destroyed.

How to Influence People and Make Friends

This book was a self-help book that focuses on people skills. Rather than follow one person or a group of people, it used a large sample of short anecdotes that the author had learned throughout his life time to help teach value lessons on how to handle people. One of my favorite was his study of Abraham Lincoln, who according to the book was not always the mellow man he is made out to be. In his youth he was known for publicly bashing and criticizing people to the point that they were embarrassed out. He would do it every time he grew angry with some who made a mistake. Well there was one instance where he criticized the wrong man and was challenged to a sword duel. The book doesn’t go into detail on how the situation was resolved but after that he learned to control his temper and words. Even when faced by a general who during the Civil War had the forces of the South and general Lee against the river and could’ve ended the war at that attack waited and to the despair of President Lincoln escaped. Rather than blame and criticize the general he told him he forgave and understood his rational of following orders and felt he more than likely would have done the same in his shoes. I highly recommend this book it has lots of great advice and teaches you a lot about the way others think.

V for Vendetta

When reading, we are programmed to identify characters information such as a character's family, background history, age, sex etc.  These information are important as they give us a clue as to why a character behave a certain way. However in the case of V, the main character, we are cut off these information leaving us completely clueless of V. I can understand why the author, Alan Moore,  choose to do this, because it rids readers from our own preconceived biases on characteristic attributing to certain traits. In addition, I also think that the author does this to save time on writing on background history of V building the dynamic of his character, rather the author wants us to focus on the his/her action which in a way gives us build on his/her character traits. Furthermore, I believe that the main reason why the author decide not to give reader on V character traits, is that Moore wants to create a impartial character that fights for everybody not just one specific group. For example, in book 1 chapter two V said "They eradicated some cultures more thoroughly than they did others. No Tamla and no Trojan. No Billie Holliday or Black Uhuru. Just his master’s voice every hour on the hour." which shows us that if he identify with one of these group, he would have a motive to help but since we don't know about his background can assume that he want to help the people to escape tyranny of the government. 

eldest

The book I read second semester was the second of a four book eragon series, Eldest, by Christopher Paolini. I chose to read this book because of the amazing story that came along with him and his dragon, saphirra, he found in the woods. The pair together are my favorite character/ characters; as they start from their first time meeting, they grow together as an incredible duo. In the first book, Eragon, he found the dragon as an egg and had to care for it until it hatched. The dragon at first was disobedient and small in size compared to in eldest. The only way the two could communicate was through their minds because they became connected from the moment they first touched. As they grew together, eragon was trained by his acquaintance in the art of magic and hand to hand combat. The journey made him physically and mentally stronger which allowed him to have better communication with his life partner. In eldest, Saphira was bigger than the average horse in size, with new great capabilities: and Eragon has grown into more of a man, also mastering more of his powers. He finds love and becomes more courageous, fighting enemies with a lot less fear and becoming more of a hero. The main reason I chose the duo for my favorite character was the great character development between books the two books and how Eragon and Saphira grow together, allowing them to reach new levels of capabilities. That is the reason why I will finish the series reading brisingr and inheritance on my own time.

Dark Places by Gillian Flynn

 The SSR book that I read for the second quarter of this year was Dark Places by Gillian Flynn. The character that I am going to write about is the main character of the book, Libby Day, although I do not think that I share any connection with her because she went through a lot as a kid which shaped her into the way she is at the beginning of the book. Libby had a troubled childhood being one of the two survivors of a shooting that only left her brother and herself alive. That happened when she was younger and ever since then she has not worked for anything as she depends on the pitty of others since they've been sending her money. She is really depressed during the beginning of the book but as the book continues, she becomes more normal and aware of what is happening and what she needs to do. She is a dynamic character because she changes throughout the book from being depressed at first and depending on everyone to being like more independent and investigative as she is trying to find out who the real culprits of her family's murder are. Libby being a dynamic character really helped the story because nobody wants to read a book where the character is depressed throughout the whole book so having her change made it easier to read. I can’t really connect with this character because I don’t really think I have had any traumatic experiences that have made me get depressed or anything of that sort. At the start of the book, Libby did not even want to know anything about her brother since he was in jail for supposedly killing her whole family, you were able to tell that she hated him as she still had not visited him even after all those years that had passed; however, at the end of the book she wants to build on her relationship with her brother Ben to make up for all the years they lost due to him serving time in jail for something he didn't do.

The IceMan by Anthony Bruno: @nd Quarter SSR Book

The book I read as my 2nd quarter SSR book was The Iceman by Anthony Bruno. The book is a biography about the ruthless killer Richard Kuklinski. Kuklinski was know for freezing one of his victims (Louis Masgay) in order to disguise the time of death which gave him the name "IceMan". His first murder was in 1948 at the age of 13 when he beat his victim to death with a pole due to being bullied by him and his friends. When he was convicted of five murders in 1988 he took credit for 200 other murders he had committed as well. The one whom helped take this killer down was my favorite character Special Agent Dominick Polifrone. He is my favorite character because he went face to face with a cold-blooded killer and was able to maintain his cool around him in all scenarios. It took him years in order to even get close enough to talk to him and when he did he had control over the situation. Polifrone is a dynamic character and I think that helped the story become better because by the end of it the he was able to over come his fear of the IceMan. At the beginning he wasn't as confident about getting to Kuklinski as he was at the end of the story, although his nervousness never went way. Throughout the biography Richard was killing his own people because he no longer trusted them, so Polifrone was kind of feeling that cydaine was going to be in his food next just like Gary Smith. Smith was part of the Percy House Gang, he was poisoned and strangled because he no longer wanted to be in the gang. Everyone thought he would snitch so they wanted him dead, Richard knew just how to do it mess free. For twenty-one years Dominick was audio taping everything the IceMan told him from how to kill someone with cydaine and how he killed some people with cydaine. When it was time for Kuklinski's arrest they used all of that information against which helped win the case. Dominick Polifrone was asked to comment on the IceMan's future he responded with, "For twenty-one years the first thing I saw at night before I shut my eyes and the first thing I saw in the morning when I opened them was Richard Kuklinski's face. But now, for the rest of his life, every time Richie goes to bed at night and every time he wakes up in the morning, hes gonna be seeing mine." Furthermore, Richard would've never been caught if it wasn't for Dominick's bravery, due to that Richard was not eligible for parole until he was 111 years of age. That is why Dominick Polifrone is my favorite character him and his team locked up a cold-blooded killer.

Eleanor and Park

For more second quarter SSR report I chose to do Eleanor and Park.
I didn’t really like the book or any of the characters so I’m going to talk about my least favorite character. Richard was Eleanor’s step father. He was an alcoholic that beat her mother and all of her children.  He was very controlling of Eleanor and wouldn’t allow her to do anything that would bring her joy. I don’t like him because he expected everyone to be greatful for living in his house. He didn’t buy the house. He made an 11 year old sleep by himself in the basement- he’s afraid of the dark by the way. There was one bathroom that was just off the kitchen and there was no door. There was about seven people living in the very small two bedroom one bathroom house. They were cramped and miserable. All of the children slept in one room that really qualified as more of a glorified broom closet than an actual bedroom. He made everyone uncomfortable and sad. He is hands down the worst person in this whole book and that’s beatjng out the father that abandoned her and started a whole new family, Parks mother who hated her because she says that she’s trash just like her, and every single racist person in that town. Trust me there was a lot.  Richard was a deplorable person who didn’t deserve a family like Eleanor’s.

Monica Lyons

Minority Report by Philip K. Dick

This quarter I read The Minority Report, which was a collection of short stories created by fiction author Philip K. Dick. Though this book may have multiple stories within it, I've decided to stick to one story that was really intriguing: "Explorers We." The story revolves around a group of explorers, led by Captain Stone, arriving back from an expedition to Mars. On the way down to Earth, crew member Parkhurst shows eagerness and hope, which makes him my choice for my favorite character in the book. He had very high expectations for what to come across upon the arrival on the surface of the Earth after a few years on Mars. Once they landed on Earth in the middle of San Francisco, Parkhurst immediately thought of what to do with the crew now that they've arrived on Earth. I'd personally relate to Parkhurst as I would also be pretty excited to be back home after a long vacation. However, there is one characteristic that, although all characters have, made Parkhurst stand out the most to me. When they had arrived on Earth, the crew had noticed that there weren't any people present. A few minutes later after walking around, they were approached by a couple of FBI agents, followed by many citizens watching behind them. The crew had died on the expedition, and the crew that arrived on Earth weren't human at all, as stated by the FBI agent. The reason I say that Parkhurst is a character that stands out so much is that this non-human being acts like a genuine person. This twist had led me to trust in these men to find their way home, but after finding out about their true personality, I was astonished that these human-like beings were not human at all.

"Eragon" By Christopher Paolini

In the book, "Eragon", by Christopher Paolini, my favorite character is Saphira. Saphira is the dragon that is connected to the main character, Eragon. She is described as having sapphire colored scales that match the egg she hatched from. Saphira is my favorite character because she is witty with her words. One of my favorite moments in the book is when she keeps calling "Eragon" and he asks if that is all she can say and she says, "yes." Another reason why Saphira is my favorite is because she is loyal to her friends. Saphira The last reason why Saphira is my favorite is because she is wise. She once said, "I may be younger than you in years, but I am ancient in my thoughts. Do not worry about these things. Find peace in where and what you are. People often know what must be done. All you need to do is show them the way- that is wisdom."

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky was my second quarter book. This novel told a story through Charlie a socially awkward teen's eyes in a series of letters. Charlie very quickly became my favorite character because a lot of the things he's felt I've also felt before. Charlie is going through a lot of changes in his life having lost certain people in his life, such as his aunt and a recent loss of a friend and his first year of high school. Change can be very stressful for a teenager. I know this as I've gone through dramatic or difficult changes that can take some time to adjust to. Even though Charlie is the main character he's not usually the type of character that is focused in any other scenario. Most scenarios such as TV shows, movies, high school, life, the main person everyone is interested in is the popular outgoing kid that falls in love easily. So its nice to hear from a more low key perspective, a perspective from a wallflower. A wallflower is someone who "sees things, and keeps quiet about them". Charlie is exactly that he sees a many things that he shouldn't but hes not the type to go around and tell everyone. Being able to connect with a main character gives you a sense that you're not alone, and its comforting. Charlie went through a rough time in his life when he was younger and he's still dealing with it everyday it holds a burden on him. Charlie isn't the happy outgoing kid he's the kid who's quiet and has a lot going on in his mind. Throughout the novel you can view Charlie's character progress due to the new experiences he encounters, such as as new group of friends, and high school in general. You will see Charlie go through phases of happiness and acceptance to sadness and loneliness which every teenager can relate too. Charlie always tries to find that escape that can help him through life. Whether its reading, music, writing, or friends, he's always looking for a way to distract his mind which I tend to do a lot.

The Vampire Lestat By Anne Rice

The second book to Interview with a Vampire, a continuation of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles, is the story of The Vampire Lestat. This mischievous vampire, who you may recall as Brad Pitt in the 1994 film Interview with a Vampire is a narrorator in this story.  Lestat is a beautiful yet wicked being who is on the search for love, and his biggest fear is to be alone for all eternity. His story follows his quest of finding the origin of his true immortality. The story also starts off with him claiming that Louis's Interview with a Vampire was a lie, Lestats plan throughout the book is to leave evidence that he is not an evil being.
Lestat becomes a vampire by the end of the eighteenth Century in Paris, France; he seems to be impetuous by nature, and is only content when he avenges or causes an incident somewhere. I enjoy him as a character, even in the first book, Interview with a Vampire, because his mischevious manner caused the great events in the story. He is a secretive bad-guy who starts off his side of the story as if he was innocent all along. However, as he developed into immortality he broke some of the traditional vampire rules by attending mass still, and transforming the love of his life as she was on the brink of death. As an obsessive individual who holds many grudges, his love was killed off by the coven and he sought to rebel. He had a reason but yet held hate and fear, which as always leads to a dark path. He becomes a womanizer to bait and kill, as well as cause drama that affects the vampire council. With all the human blood he comsumes everyday, he strives for power to avenge the vampire council for what they have done to him. This dynamic character having to explain his thoughts makes him more gulity to what lo manipulativeuis accuses him of being in the first book. Lestat is by far my favorite evil character since he has the manipulative wit to really mess up others which creates a very interesting story. 

Dumping Billy by Olivia Goldsmith

This past quarter I read Dumping Billy by Olivia Goldsmith. To be short, the short is narrated from the pov of a woman named Kate Jameson from New York. She recently receives news that her best friend, Bina, recently got dumped by her boyfriend of 3 years. That's when Kate is introduced to a man named Billy Nolan that dates a lot of girls and dumps everyone of them; however, every girl Billy has dumped has quickly gotten married after. Kate decides to try to get Billy to date and dump Bina so that her boyfriend will come back and propose to her. Although the main characters in this novel are mostly Kate, Billy, and Bina, my favorite character was more of a minute character named Elliot: Kate's funny exuberant friend from New York.

I really enjoyed Elliot because he spiced up the novel a lot when it got dull. He always made funny, rhetorical remarks and had a very strong personality. Honestly, he reminded me much of myself because he was very outgoing, friendly, and easy to talk to you. For example, when the novel starts Elliot has never met Bina in person. He first meets her when she explodes in tears from being dumped, and he immediately comforts her and seems like he has known her forever. He also mostly comes up with the scheme to get Bina to date Billy and eventually get her boyfriend back. All in all,  Elliot is one of the most perfect supporting characters and fits really well into this sassy and humorous book.

Delirium by Lauren Oliver

A book I read throughout the second quarter was Delirium by Lauren Oliver. It walks through a society where everything a person does, is decided by the regulators. This includes who they marry, what they do, what school they go to etc. Lena, the main character/narrator became my favorite character as soon as I had realized her and I weren't so different. She has lived in a set way for her entire life, so anything that could go wrong or deviate from what is normal, seems like the end of the world to her. Also, due to this very structured and restricted life, she has control issues. Lena has seen an order to pretty much everything. So, when her best friend Hana starts to talk about parties, she tends to freak out by demonizing parties and how they obstruct the order. Lena is very much protective of herself and what she deems important enough to care about. She does all she can to make sure she won't get "sick". In her society falling in love was outlawed and its called "amor deliria nervosa", which has its own cure. Any time she feels any type of emotion she doesn't know what to do for fear of being taken and given the "cure". Overall, Lena was someone I connected to most throughout the book because she was stuck in her head for so long until she learned to live through many experiences and newfound knowledge by actually thinking for herself, which was unlike anyone in her society. She can speak volumes through her thoughts or even a look. She is different.

No Country For Old Men

I read the script to the 2008 film “No Country For Old Men” by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on the book by Cormac McCarthy. Personally I prefer the more novel-like approach in screen writing. When reading the writer paints a better picture if it is written more like a story rather than screen directions or actions. Writers like Quentin Tarantino and the Coen Brothers do this. Along with their unique storytelling on screen, the characters in the screenplay come just as alive as when an actor portrays them. My favorite character was Anton Chigurh (the villain) a man with psychopathic tendencies that is willing to go to the end he of the earth to find his bag of money. The amount of insane violence and    tragic death he causes is written in abstract detail. His drive and intelligence for each strategy he’ll come up with is hauntingly brilliant. Not only does he need to be psychologically tested, but he tests you psychologically with the question of “call it”. The words asked in a specific scene where a store clerk is encountered by Chigurh. Chigurh begins to toy with, asking about his life,  making him stumble upon his word and posing him as an idiot as he slowly becomes more and more scared. He eventually asks the clerk to call the side of a flipped coin. When the clerk asks what he stands to win, Chigurh replies with, “Everything”. Smart dialogue like this, small and simple words that drive a character into a bigger entity. I really do love this character and admire him for being one of the best villains in film. If interested you can find the screenplay online or on Amazon, and the film you can find on Netflix.
-Roberto Hoyos

Looking for Alaska SSR #2

During the second quarter I had read the book Looking for Alaska by John Green. While yes, it is a very basic book, it is by far one of my favorites. Even though the story is told through the main character Miles perspective, my favorite character by far was Alaska. In the story she was very complex, confusing, and just like any other teenage girl. In my opinion, Alaska really shaped the whole story because majority of it did revolve around her; however, she had influenced many of the characters and the story line. Alaska’s character had also evolved in the novel as well. When first introduced she was very hard headed and a little closed off, but as the story progressed she had as well. She had become more open with Miles and did not close herself off as much.

  I really had chose Alaska as my connecting character because I can relate with her. There are many similar family oriented problems that I had to try and overcome like her. Not only that, she is very spunky and spontaneous and I most definitely can see myself as that. She would go out in the middle of the night and do the most wild things just because she felt like it. The biggest reasoning for my connection is because Alaska’s character goes through the biggest struggle as a teen which is depression, even though she doesn’t fully make it out she still tries to prosper everyday through it like any other person would try and do.

Looking For Alaska

       In John Green's book Looking For Alaska a character that was really interesting was Alaska. Alaska has that care-free spirit in her. Through the book the friendship between her and two other characters are depicted.  Alaska can also be a little mischievous, in the novel she written as someone who often finds herself in trouble. Another thing I liked about her was how important friendship was to her, when they got caught doing something they should not being doing, she took the fall for it. She also is a little adventurous in doing things that push the limit.
       Throughout the book Alaska is seen as this mysterious girl that everyone has a crush on. Alaska puts on this front for other, but she is going through issues just like everybody else. Her putting on a front for others makes her relatable because you never know what someone might be going through. Another thing about Alaska was she picked her own name. In the book the main character Miles instantly has a connection with Alaska, she knows she likes her, but she does not want to hurt him. Throughout the novel Alaska plays an important role in making the book so enjoyable to read.

The Night Stalker By Philip Carlo

So my second semester SSR book was "The Night Stalker" and if I am being honest, the reason why I chose to have this has my second quarter book was that of the Forensics project and I did not want to read two different books. :) It is very clear about who I will be writing my blog about, Richard Ramirez. It is not because he was my favorite but because of how interesting it was to learn about him. The way his mind works and how he believed everything he did was completely humane. I found it completely crazy when they went back in the book to when he was an innocent child playing outside with his bike. I mean did his mother have the slightest clue that he would grow up to worship the devil and kill a large number of people. That is not the most interesting thing about him though. What really caught my eye was that even during his trial, he had women who defended because he was beyond dreamy. He manipulated women into thinking he was innocent. He got married while he was in jail. If that didn't sound psychotic enough for you, people made merch with his face on it and crazy women bought it. He had so much power even as he was locked away. I am just mindblown.

Vanessa Gonzalez

Looking for Alaska

For my second quarter SSR book, I read Looking for Alaska by John Green. In my opinion, one of the most interesting characters in the book was Alaska. Throughout the book, we can tell that there is a clear connection between Alaska and Miles, the main character; however, they do not end up together due to Alaska being unable to commit to him and not wanting to admit her feeling for him. Although she did not date Miles, she did have a boyfriend in her life, but throughout this relationship, she still seems to have that connection and feelings for Miles.

I can personally relate to Alaska's character the most because she has a hard time trusting people. This causes certain relationships with important people in her life to begin to drift. Because of this, she does not try to gain close bonds with people. This leaves the few close friends that she does create a special bond with, all of which she would do anything for. All in all, Alaska is the most mysterious character, in my opinion, so I enjoyed her role in the book.

Micheal Vey: Rise of the Elgen

     Last quarter one of the books I read was titled, Rise of the Elgen, by Richard Paul Evans. The book is about a bunch of teenagers who have different electricity-based powers who are rising up against the evil guy trying to capture them. Ostin Liss stood out from everybody else due to being the only one without any powers, also showed the most growth throughout the book. He started off as a chubby, socially awkward, nerdy kid, who knew just about everything there was to know, other than how to talk to people. Throughout the story, new characters are introduced every other chapter, all of which would tease Ostin. Ostin was the only character able to come up with any type of plan, so obviously he had to face all these people and give them advice on what to do. After everybody realized how smart he was, they started showing more respect boosting his confidence. By the end of the story he was directing everybody on how to improve in everything they did as well as leading them through every situation they encountered. I enjoyed watching him grow as a character from somebody afraid of social contact, to becoming a leader of those he was previously scared to talk to.

Kaleb Stephenson

To All the Boys I Loved Before

        Last quarter one of the books I read was entitled, To All the Boys I Loved Before, by Jenny Han. A character that showed the most growth throughout the book and has grown to be my favorite character, was Lara Jean. Lara Jean begins the book seemingly as a quirky, childish, and shy teenager. She had a habit of writing her feelings and emotions into letters, scrapbooks, and invested all her time into being with her family. Lara jean was a very dynamic character and showed great change when she became exclusive with her old friend Peter Kavinsky. Becoming involved with Peter caused her to experience and try new things out of her comfort zone, where she would never venture into voluntarily. Lara Jean endured many harsh criticisms and rumors because of becoming involved with Peter romantically. She had to learn how to become confident in her own skin and judgement, along with learning how to use her voice with things she wants/loves. By the end of the novel, she faced a major loss of someone she cared about and realized that if she wanted to gain back her life she needed to start taking control. I really enjoyed reading how Lara Jean changed throughout the novel and how she was able to grow from her childish ways, to a more mature adult.

Krystal Jamjampour

SSR Quater#2- Memories from an Imaginary friend
The imaginary friend, by Matthew Dicks, Budo is the narrator throughout the whole entire story. Throughout the whole book he shows his loyalty, love, and power within the little boys imagination. Budo thinks he is lucky because usually after a while imaginary friends go away because it is usually a stage in life for anyone. Budo has been alive for about five years, which is a very long time for imaginary friends to be alive. He is considered ancient. Everyday he is worried that one day Max will forget him and he will vanish. People believe he has Asperger's Syndrome, but some people think he is "on the spectrum." None of that matters to Budo because he is there to protect him from the bully. The bully has attacked him in the restroom and cafeteria. Budo can't do anything about Mrs. Patterson because in the learning center she thinks she is his care taker. After Max got kidnapped by her, all of the imaginary friends go out and try and find him. Budo decides what is more important Max's happiness or his very own existence. This book is full of surprises. It was a really good book to read because you can feel the emotions everyone feels throughout the whole book.   

The Woman in the Window

The book I read during the second quarter was The Woman in the Window by A.J. Finn. This novel was filled with multiple twists and turns that were shocking each time I turned to a new page.  As interesting the plot of the book is, the characters are even more so. The main character, Anna Fox is a psychologist who helps patients dealing with agoraphobia; which is the fear of going outside. Ironically, Anna communicates with these patients through the computer because she too has this fear. She developed this fear from a horrible car accident she experienced with her husband and daughter.  Through out the book her fear unravels the deep effects it has had on her personality.  Due to the incident, she began to have imaginary conversations with her deceased husband and daughter in order to cope with that fact that they died in the car crash. Anna's habit of having these false conversations and believing that her family is alive completely changes the dynamic of the book. Because the conversations she has seems so real, Anna portrays herself as a plausible witness to the murder she saw in front of her neighbor's house. However, once this habit of her's if revealed she sets the book off balance and is seen as unreliable. Towards the end of the book Anna accepts the fact that the way she is coping with the deaths is wrong, yet she still stands firm with the events of the murder she witnessed. While all of these events were happening, Anna still had the nerve to try and help her teenage neighbor, Ethan. She found him to be very interesting and used her psychology skills to try and diagnose him. In the end he turned out to be dangerously manipulative and tricked Anna to thinking that he was a nervous/shy boy. Ethan also plays a role in Anna's psychological mixup and in the novel all together. Astonishingly, I did not favor Anna at all in the beginning of the book. I thought of her as someone who was only making matters worse for herself. It was not until the middle and end of the book that her character started to grow on me. It was the way she believed so strongly in what she saw despite her unstable perspective on reality.

Patience by Daniel Clowes

Patience by Daniel Clowes was my second quarter read and also the main protagonist of this novel was my favorite like the past graphic novel I had read. Jack, main protagonist, does not have healthy or good job to take care of his pregnant wife, Patience. He works as an advertiser in the streets promoting an adults club through flyers. Even through his drawing, the reader could tell that he feels embarrassed for who he has and worst part is that Patience doesn't know he works for this job. Jack talks to himself quietly revealing his thoughts about how is he going to tell Patience how he has been barely making money for this family. At the beginning of the novel, Patience sees life as a curse and that's because of old memories from her teenage years that she hasn't in detail talked it out with Jack. So, both of these characters have secrets for themselves, but the reason why I like Jack as a character is because he is actually thinking in that day to reveal Patience what he works as. When Jacks gets home, he sees his wife shot and chocked dead. Jack is broken. His tone from that point of the story changes drastically into this grumpy and damaged man. Jack's attitude and way of talking with others reminded me of how Patience used to talk before she was murdered. So Jack became this unlikable person to his society until he figures out in the year of 2036 someone who has what he wants: a time travel device. Now, Jack set himself a goal and purpose to this life he was left in; he is going to save his baby. Jack's ambition is what I love and kept me reading each page after. From that point of the story I really felt bad for Jack and at times when he would speak in a rude manner I accepted it because I knew what he saw and has been through. Daniel Clowes made a wise choice to make this story a graphic novel so the reader could see the damage and stress drawn into Jack, the best character in this graphic novel. Jack's tone and ambition were the main highlights of his character and of this time-travel adventure.

Naruto: Kakashi's Story

Last quarter I read Naruto - Kakashi Hidden Legend: Lightning of the Frozen Sky by Masashi Kishimoto. The novel revolves around Kakashi right before he becomes the sixth Hokage, but he doesn't want to become one, and thinks that he's not worthy for the position. Although the main character in this book  is Kakashi; my favorite character in the book was Might Guy. During the battle with Madra Uchiha, Might Guy went into eight gates and as a result lost the use of his legs. He is now stuck in a wheel chair until he may have a chance to walk again. Despite the fact that he is paralyzed he still lunges at any chance to get up and be active or seek adventure.
 In the novel Guy attempts at all costs to get in the first ever airship; which is basically a wind powered airplane. Guy had to get into the first launch so he snuck in with the help of his student Lee. Guy did all this in spite of the fact that he gets airsick. Guy possess admirable traits such as perseverance and joy. He is a dynamic character because he is a comic relief that changes the whole mood of the novel. I can connect with Guy because I deal with may injuries, and I always still try to play and enjoy myself. Although I have not had a major injury like Guy has it still relates to me. Also I love the relationship Guy has with Kakashi. They are so close it makes me think of some of my friends.

2nd Quarter SSR Blog post

The book I read this quarter, The Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger, was filled with many truly interesting and dynamic characters.  One that especially stood out to was a character named Billy Tyne. Billy's a young man living in the coastal town of Gloucester, Massachusetts. He's part of a fishing boat crew aboard the ship, the Andrea Gail, who are about to set off on a month-long fishing expedition. He's the baby of the crew, even though he's in his early 20's, meaning that he's picked on a lot by the rest of the crew. He's a nervous guy who has only been fishing a few times and those few times it was more a leisurely fishing trip rather than a commercial fishing expedition. This gives him some character due to the fact that he's a nervous wreck both on the outside and the inside when on the other hand, the rest of the crew members have thick skin and acknowledge the danger in long commercial fishing trips. This dynamic personality helps the story because it provides a variety of different characters and personalities to season the story. Because this book is based on a true story, the author would have to try and obtain as many different personalities as he could in order to give the story and the real-life characters justice.
At the beginning of the story, Billy's the kind of guy who you wouldn't think would go on a big fishing expedition like this due to his nervous nature. He has a girlfriend who doesn't want him to go but he knows he must in order to make good money due to the fact that fishing is the biggest industry in this coastal town. Towards the middle, the reader can take note of how Billy is having a hard time adjusting to life on the water in a rustic fishing boat. He's struggling and he's homesick because he's never been away for this long before. This all changes toward the end of the story when the climax is finally approaching. The storm that takes down the ship and its men brings Billy to his peak moment where he tries to be the hero in a situation where no one is going to survive. He ends up becoming a true member of the crew thanks to his bravery, which I belive, is pretty cool.

[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!