SSOJ Blogs

SOME SPOILERS I have recently finished "Echo" by Pam Muñoz Ryan. It was such a captivating book which I am glad I read. This boo follows 3 different stories, but all connected by one thing. A harmonica. Each of these stories is very different with completely different plots and characters but with all of them, the harmonica brings them joy and comfort. The first story follows a boy named Friedrich in 1933 in Germany in the time when the Nazi party is taking power. He has a face deformity and is often made fun of for it. But it also means he is more of a target to the Nazis, because he is not "perfect". Friedrich has a sister, Elisabeth, who has always protected and stood up for him. But since moving away from home, she has joined the "League of German Girls" which is a division from the "Hitler Youth" group. Her ideals have changed and shes not the same. Friedrich's dad works at a harmonica factory and one day at the factory Friedrich finds...

Originally published in 1963, Cat’s Cradle by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. follows John, who tells us that he is writing a book called The Day the World Ended , which was likely going to be about the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima during World War II. He then begins to describe the research that he did for his book, which revolves around Felix Hoenikker, who is one of the “Fathers” of the atomic bomb in Cat’s Cradle . To learn more about the now deceased Felix Hoenikker, he starts his research by heading to Ilium, New York, where he learns of the ice-nine that Felix was working on at the time of his death , which is said to be a unique structure of water that crystallizes upon contact with water and causes the rest of the water to crystallize along with it. Then, as fate would have it, his job working for a magazine takes him to the island of San Lorenzo, an impoverished island ruled by “Papa” Monzano and home to the fictional religion Bokononism. After arriving on the island, th...

As we continue to be stuck at home because of quarantine, I struggled to find a book to write about because of my lack of options. Using the digital library, I was able to check out Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. This book follows a girl named Cath as she starts her first year of college with her twin, Wren. Cath is an introvert with a love for writing and fan fiction. Cath is nervous, especially because Wren wants some independence, and because this means leaving behind her father who tends to overwork himself. Wren, an extrovert who easily makes friends, is almost the exact opposite of Cath when it comes to personality.  When Cath gets to her dorm, she ends up meeting her roommate, Reagan, (who is the exact opposite of her) who has a boyfriend named Levi who is constantly over. The rest of the story goes on to explain how Cath survives her first year of college and the challenges she faces.  Just a warning, from this point on, there will be some spoilers!  One thi...

Since quarantine started, I have found myself having a lot more time than usual, so I decided to reread a book that I enjoyed in the past. Lord of the Flies by William Golding follows young boys that have survived a plane crash and landed on a mysterious island (with no adult supervision). Ralph, with the help of another boy called Piggy, quickly takes charge and gets the other boys to start thinking of ways to be rescued. Using a conch shell as a way to gather everyone, Ralph quickly distributes roles and makes a boy named Jack as the leader of the hunters. Jack quickly rose in popularity after successfully hunting a pig and decided that he wanted to form his own group, one he was the leader of. Left alone with only their imagination and minimal survival skills, the boys have to learn to endure the island (and each other) until someone finds them. Just a warning, from this point on, there will be spoilers! Something that I disliked about the book was how quickly everything seemed...

            Island of the Blue Dolphins is a thrilling story with a wonderful message. My mom has been encouraging me to read this book for years because it was always her favorite book as a child, and now that I have finally read I am so glad I did. This book begins with 12 year old Karana, an Island Native to the Island of Blue Dolphins. One day a group of Russian men come to her island to hunt the otter that live there. The Island Natives obviously do not like the Russian men stealing their resources, which leads to an argument where many of the islanders and Karana’s father die. The women and children are left vulnerable on the island until a group of white men arrive and takes all the islanders aboard. In all the commotion, Karana and her brother are left behind alone on the island. Unfortunately, her brother is soon killed by a group of wild dogs leaving Karana alone on the island.       ...

During spring break I was able to commit much more time to leisure reading and I thoroughly enjoyed The Giver by Lois Lowry. This book is about a sort of distopian world in which everything is the same. There is no color, no true emotions, no change of weather, no choices to make or that can be made, and most importantly, there is no love. The main character is a boy named Jonas. In each family unit, there is a father and mother who get paired up when they apply for a spouse and then every couple has one girl and one boy. Jonas' family unit is no different, he has a sister named Lily and and his mom and dad. They live in an assigned community and besides occasional field trips that students sometimes take, they know very few people outside of their community. Every year, there is a large ceremony at which everyone from newchildren (babies) turning one to kids turning twelve is congratulated for moving on to their new age and responsibilities. There a few years that are especiall...