SSOJ Blogs

Before I begin, I wanted to point out that this review will have some spoilers from the first book in the series. If you haven’t read the first book yet, I’d recommend you check out my other review on Flame in the Mist first. Smoke in the Sun by Renée Ahdieh focuses on Mariko’s journey as she finds her place as the wife of the emperor’s brother, Prince Raiden, and an ally to the Black Clan. Mariko knows that gaining Prince Raiden’s trust is of utmost importance while in the castle.  To complicate matters even more, Ōkami, her love interest, has been taken as a prisoner in the heavily guarded castle. Mariko struggles to find ways to ensure his safety while trying to act as detached and indifferent about him in front of everyone else. She knows that the emperor will kill him as mercilessly and ostentatiously as possible when given a chance and won’t hesitate to kill her if she shows any signs of being close with Ōkami. Mariko has to find a way to save Ōkami, gain the trust of he...

The final major work of Ernest Hemingway, The Old Man and the Sea, published in 1952 is set in a fishing village in Cuba. It features an old fisherman named Santiago and a young boy named Manolin that admires him. After 84 days without catching a fish, Santiago is deemed “the worst form of unlucky”, and Manolin’s father does not let Manolin fish with Santiago anymore, and he instead must go fish in a lucky boat. However, he still cares for the old man and visits his shack at night. The next day, Santiago heads out to the sea in his skiff, and is intent on ending his unlucky streak. The story continues with Santiago’s adventure at sea where he finally hooks a fish after 85 days, and ultimately is a test of his grit as a fisherman.  Throughout reading the book, I admired Santiago’s persistence. He refused to succumb to any mental or physical challenge brought upon him. From surviving off of dolphin meat to spending hours and hours alone at sea in his skiff, Santiago persisted. His...

Written by Lois Lowry, Son is the fourth book and conclusion to The Giver series. At the beginning of the book, Son takes place in the community, which is the same setting as The Giver . The book begins by introducing Claire, a young girl assigned the role of birthmother. Women assigned the job birthmother are prepared to have three products (babies). When the babies get old enough, they are assigned parents who raise them until they get old enough for a job assignment. When Claire is 12, she begins preparing for labor and at 15 years old she produces her first product. However, there is an issue during her labor and she is no longer qualified to have any more children. Because of this problem, Claire is tasked with a new job working in the fish hatchery. Even though Claire is reassigned to a new role and everything seems quite normal, Claire feels different than before she had a child. She feels an urge to find her son. Claire goes to the nursery to reconnect with  her child a...

                                                                                               By: Jenna Purnell Quentin Jacobson is a senior in Orlando Florida. He thinks he has the most amazing neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman. They were friends and played together when they were younger, but as they grew older, they grew apart. Now, they go to the same high school, but Margo is the most popular girl in the  school. Although, that does not stop Quentin from being very much in love with her. He watches and admires her from afar and is pretty much obsessed.  Everything changes when in the middle of the night, Quentin wakes up to Margo knocking on his window. She invites him on an obscure adventure with her. They stay up all night, gett...