Category: Independent Reading

The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald. Right now at the beginning of Chapter 3 Nick is describing his neighbour Great Gatsbys house ragger where the guests get louder and rowdier the more they drink. Now, it’s not only about the party. Majority of this chapter explains that Gatsby has an odd out vibe to him, Nick and Jordan try to dig around for more information

“I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited they went there. Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission.” (Pg.41)

I believe that this quote shows more than just what it says. It shows a sense of entitlement from Nick about being one of the few who actually was invited. He felt interconnected.

 

 

kissing Kosher by jean meltzer:

this a is a part of the book in which avital meets ethan.

“Im here for the job intervew he said, speaking quickly, waving in her direction.

“my name is ethan rosenberg” he explained , nervously glancing toward Rafi. “I have an interview scheduled with the general manager here at two thirty. I believe her name is—” he glanced down at this sheet to double check”—-Avital Cohen . we confirmed via email on monday” p.15.

Avital squeezed her eyes shut, wanting to die of embarrasment.

I chose this part because it makes me very nice that people who love each other know each other because it can end in something very nice.

In Kissing Kosher by Jean Meltzer there is a part when Avital rejects Ethan’s kiss because of her illness, she is so distracted and can’t have a relationship right now because the pelvic pain was always worse and worse. This happened when Ethan was helping Avital and working extra hours because she couldn’t work at the bakery alone, they started looking at each other’s lips and they kissed, at the half of the kiss Avital told him that she couldn´t.

“Why are you so good to me?” she asked quietly.
“Because you’re good to me,” he said simply.
Her heart ached. Here he was again, saying all the right things.
“So where does that leave us?” Avital asked sadly. “A woman who can’t have relationships , and a man who’s lying to everyone about his identity?”
“I don’t know,” Ethan said, resting his head on her shoulder. “But we’ll figure it out together.” (p. 250).

This part of the book really breaks me out because both of them want to be together but the fear of not being enough, being disappointed and being in a relationship is stronger. So we can see that two broken people with a lot of personal issues is not helping. To love other people, you have to love yourself first.

This book Nexie, is written by Scott Cawthon, he is one of my favorite writers because the end of his books usually end in gore and violence, and as you may know I love that type of stuff.

“The girl was there at the bottom, but suddenly her gray skin was pale again, like porcelain. There were no more green veins on her skin or black teeth in her mouth. Her black hair looked thick and healthy under the water as it floated around her. She was actually pretty, Kara realized. She reminded her of Peggy” (pg. 134)

What happened is she is in a VR waterpark and she was being taunted by this girl (the girl in the water). When the girl changed her appearance, it reminded Kara of her dead sister Peggy. This made me confused because if I saw a replica of my dead sister in a VR game, I would be sad or scared but she was thinking of how beautiful she was and it seemed like she loved it. I loved this quote though because it was like the VR world knew about her dead sister and tried to give her a safe place, but in reality that place is the thing that killed her at the end.

To be frank, I wouldn’t say I like this book. I don’t like the writing, the pace, or even the characters themselves. In Colleen Hoover’s book, It Ends with Us, she writes about a girl called Lily Bloom and her exciting brand-new life in the city. Nonetheless, we come to find out information about her past life and how it’s affecting her now.

My mother stepped inside and quickly shut it, locking it behind her. I’ll never forget what she looked like. She had blood coming down from her lip. Her eye was already starting to swell, and she had a clump of hair just resting on her shoulder.

Although I dislike this book there is only one thing keeping me from putting it down. That is the small almost miniature paragraphs like this one. There are numerous amounts of depressing books about how sad the world is and how we are all going to die, yet this book somehow never turns into one of those books. Lily Bloom, although having a terrible upbringing, never lets that stop her from doing anything, which is why Colleen Hoover also never forces that part of her life. This book was a notable example for me to understand how writers can make stories not horrifically sad even with the most depressing subjects like abuse.

The book I am currently reading, called Sober Living for the Revolution, is a very interesting look into a subculture of punk, called straight edge, in which people abstain from intoxicants. A very common theme throughout the book is linking this subculture to radical politics, and the idea that social change cannot be obtained within the throes of “intoxication culture”, meaning, at its core, the culture we have built around intoxicants.

This is a quote taken from an essay about alcoholism in radical communities

“Think of all the power we could have if all the energy in the world – or maybe even just your energy and effort? – that goes into drinking were put into resisting, building, creating. Try adding up all of the money people in your community have spent on corporate libations, and picture how much musical equipment, bail money, or food it could have paid for.”

p168-169

I found this entire essay very interesting – it showed how much our upbringings, and the political climate really do affect our use of intoxicants, and how it prevents meaningful social change from being attained. Although i may not agree with some of the more radical beliefs in the book (I know how ironic that may sound,) it was an extremely engrossing read, encompassing many essays and interviews, and it really helped make light of many issues our society has with intoxication.

 

Stick and Rudder; written by Wolfgang Langewiesche. The book showcases the first attempt at the analysis of flying. The ambitious claim from the author insinuates that a thorough reading of the book is equivalent to many flying hours in the air.

“Low and fast is fairly safe if you don’t get to daydreaming and hit a tree, and if you don’t let them catch you at it, for it is illegal. High and fast, which your girl friend thinks must be awfully dangerous, is the safest. Thus, if you want to keep well, you have to keep speed or altitude, or best of all, some of each.” (pg. 82)

I chose this quote because it shows the contrasting options posed in flying during a final approach to the runway. Both are good options, and both have their pros and cons. As a pilot flying VFR (Visual Flight Rules), the glideslope and approach you choose is your choice, relatively speaking, (as long as you are not interfering with restricted airspace or special protocols for the airport.) What Langewiesche is communicating to us is that whatever you choose to do for your approach, be aware of your surroundings and try to keep a balance between speed and altitude on final.

The Pearl is a novella written by Jhon Steinbeck and published in 1947. The story is set in a small village in Mexico, the main character is kino a poor fisherman that one day founds a pearl of great value and he thinks that with that pearl he will be able to pay a doctor to his son who has been stung by a scorpion and is in very poor health.

“It will destroy us all” Juana cried. “Even our son”.

“Hush,” said kino. “Do not speak any more. In the morning we will sell the pearl, and then the evil will be gone, and only the good remain. Now hush, my wife” His dark eyes scowled into the little fire, and for the first time he knew that his knife was still on his hands and he raised the blade and looked at it and saw a little line of blood on the steel. For a moment he seemed about to wipe the blade on his trousers but then he plunged the knife into the earth and so cleansed it. (p.39)

I think Kino is affected by the situation in a very negative way because his feelings are also affecting his wife (in my opinion makes a lot of sense of why she feels this way, I imagine it must be very complicated to be losing a son and not only you suffering your pain but your husband is also taking it out on you in some way.) since he yells at him and how kino is described in this part is a little scary because we can see in what person kino is becoming.

The Traitor’s Son, by Perdro Urvi, is about a boy who is born to a famous person who had, apparently, tried to kill the king and who had led the king into a trap. The boys name is Lasgol. He is trying to prove his fathers innocence and he joins a group called the Rangers who are tasked with protection of the kingdom. Some early foreshadowing as to an explanation that could explain his father’s innocence is the following:

“There are those who can manipulate others minds. Just think, they can make you do things you’d never do.”

“That’s awful.”

“Exactly. They call them Dominators. They’re very dangerous as they can affect peoples minds, making them believe things that aren’t real. They say they can make you fall asleep wherever you happen to be, or take your own life….and what’s much worse, make you take somebody else’s life.” (p.83).

If you look closely you can see the obvious clue hidden in this quote. I chose this quote because it tends to distract you with the description and you end up not seeing the clue that is hidden inside it.

In the book the Wealthy Barber, by David Hilton. A quote that was said in the book made me jump out of my seat. It was mind blowing!

”When the Indians sold Manhattan to the dutch for beads,

worth twenty four dollars,

it seemed like the natives got taken.

But if they had invested that money at eight percent interest,

today their tribe would be worth trillions of dollars.” (p.35)

I chose this quote because it showst that if your patient, then your investment will succeed in the long run. Plus 24$ to a trillion$ is absolutely ridiculous. When reading this quote, I think of what it would be like if the First Nation peolple had a trillion$. Would it change our history with the First Nations? Finally, another thing that caught my eye was the author saying: ”Indian.” Nowadays we don’t use that word, it’s extremely racist.

The Love Hypothesis book written by Ali Hazelwood, it was published Sept. 14th 2021.

This wonderful book is about a girl named Olive, a third year Ph.D candidate, and Adam, a professor at the college. When Anh, Olive’s best friend, starts dating Olive’s former fling, Olive attempts to show that she is unbothered. Olive tells Anh that she’s also dating someone, and to prove it, Olive kisses the first man she sees: Adam. This brings them together to “date” and puts them through sticky situations through-out the book.

This is one of my favourite parts from the book, they had started to get more comfortable together in this part of the book now;

 His smile was more uneven than ever. “Where do you want to go smart-*ss?”

“Let’s see . . . What do you like? Aside from tap water and hard-boiled spinach?”

He gave her a dirty side-look. “How about burgers?”

“Meh.” She shrugged. “I guess. If there’s nothing else.”

“What’s wrong with burgers?”

“I don’t know. They taste like foot.”

“They what?”

“What about Mexican? Do you like Mexican?”

“Burgers don’t taste like–”

“Or Italian? Pizza would be great. And maybe there’s something celery-based that you could order.”

“Burgers it is.”

 

Written by James Clear
This book talks about how little things can do a big differences in your live and strategies that you can use in your day, I chose this book because it helps you know the art of how small things can make a big difference, like making your bed, since how you make your bed is how you start your day, small things that can help you a lot that you don’t do. realized that they are very essential that is connected with the discipline, helps you how to achieve your goals with small things that are essential, something that i liked of this book is that it tell you phrases that are important for example this phrase that say “If you are having trouble with changing your habits, the problem isn’t you. The problem is your system” this phrase change my point of view of my goals that’s why I liked a lot this book

This book is written by Catherine Fogarty. She is a fan of murder and mystery stories. She wrote this book because she is really interested in that kind of stories and wanted to share them to the world.

 “Why do you like telling stories about murder?”

“How do you sleep at night?”

These are questions I have been asked many times when I tell people I write and host Canadian true crime podcast. And the answer is that writing about terrible crimes and cold-blooded killers does often keep me tossing and turning into the wee hours of the night (Fogarty, 1).

In this very first quote of the book, the author clarifies her rare fascination on crime and murder. Throughout the book, she tells many different stories with different contexts on crimes and misteries that occured all over Canada.

Fern goes back to working in her family’s resort, which she wasn’t really happy about it, but since her mother passed away she must run it.  Once she got there she was surprised to see her ex being the manager there. Fern promised he would visit the guests in the dining area that night, Fern doesn’t feel ready to take her mother’s place. It’s already time for dinner and Fern chats with the Hannovers, who are long-time resort guests, in the dining room. Just after that day, Fern started hanging out more in the club, with the guests, etc. Meanwhile, Fern meets with the resort’s longtime accountant, Reggie Oswald. Reggie gives Fern a review of the resort’s finances, which haven’t been the best in the last few years. Fern realizes she doesn’t know much about the resort’s operations. She’s sad her mother didn’t tell her about having financial problems, because she didn’t know how to help the resort. After all those problems Fern started to worry about all the problems her mom was facing. Just after talking with Reggie, she got motivated to work in the resort. Fern goes shopping, she’s still unsure if she’s staying to work there, but finally she said yes.

 

 

“Fernie?” Jamie calls. “What’s with the lock? You decent in there?” “I need five minutes,” I reply, voice pinched.

“You’re not gonna bail, right? You swore you’d do this,” he says. But the reminder is unnecessary. I’ve been dreading it all day. All my life maybe.

“I know, I know. I’m finishing up some paperwork.” I clamp my eyes shut at the mistake. “I’m almost done.

“What paperwork? Is it the linen order? We have a system for that.”

My mom had a system for everything, and Jamie doesn’t want me messing with any of them.

He’s worried. It’s peak season, but many of the guest rooms are vacant. I’ve been back for six weeks, and Jamie thinks it’s only a matter of time before I shake” things up.” (P.G 2)

“You with a view” is a book written by Jessica Joyce that tells the story of Noelle Shepard who is unemployed living with her parents, going through the loss of her grandmother, she discovers some old photos where a mysterious man appears, next to these photos is a love letter Upon seeing this, the girl comes up with the idea of ??recording a tik tok to search and find out who the mysterious man in the photos was, without thinking that that tik tok would go viral in such a short time, because of this she receives a message from Theo Spencer, who claims to be the grandson of the man in the photo however, it turns out that he is her school nemesis. As adults, she refuses all of Theo’s complements and flirtations, since what she is interested in is getting to know her grandfather, who is the mysterious man in her grandmother’s photos, to find out some of the best kept secrets. from his late grandmother At one point Noelle realizes that her plan is being frustrated, and this is when Paul, who is Theo’s grandfather, decides to invite her on a trip, and insists so much that even Theo decides to join the plan.

playground; by Aron Beauregard is a novel consisting of 50 chapters. it revolves around a man in his forties named Rock and explores the concepts of violence, mental health, and guilt. Through the testing of a new playground, 8 kids are forced to go through trials of pain. The playground is built with weapons like saw’s and fiber-glass.

Rock considered what came next for Donnie as his eyes twinkled with tears. He didn’t want to see Donnie’s life end that day, but if his childhood was any indication of his future, then the boy would be better off heading outside with the rest of the children. If Caroline was granted full custody of the boy, as it appeared she’d been, then how much worse was the alternative?

I find this quote interesting because though Rock is a somewhat assistant to the murderer, he still feel’s guilt and remorse when he looks at this kid, which is kind of surprising because despite putting Donnie into a literal torture chamber, he doesn’t want him to die. I think that’s interesting because rock himself went through heavy trauma and when you look into it, its somewhat of a “he reminds me of myself” kind of situation. Its where rock see’s himself as the little boy that gets us somewhere, that he feels guilty for sending Donnie out there to die because he see’s it as sending himself out there. also there was a mention on Donnie’s lack of emotion and how that affected Rock about his own lack of emotion, because when you read this paragraph (more so the chapters before it too), you see that Rock feels like he really doesn’t want to send Donnie out there because he’s already really suffering through his childhood, like Rock did himself when he was a kid too, that he feels so bad for witnessing the downfall of Donnie being a kid. And Rock thought of the fact Donnie was already basically dead, a living shell with no emotion whatsoever and despite wanting to save him, Rock realizes that there is no saving him, and then he has to let go of Donnie, not just Donnie but somewhat himself too.

The book I am reading is “The Kite Runner”, by Khaled Hosseini. The book is about an Afghan boy, whose name is Amir. Amir is the son of a wealthy man, who is a merchant. This book is about the friendship between Amir and Hassan, Hassan is Amir’s servant.

Lore has it that my father once wrestled a black bear in Baluchistan with his bare hands. If the story had been about anyone else, it would have been dismissed as laaf, that Afghan tendency to exaggerate-sadly, almost a national affliction; if someone bragged that his son was a doctor, chances were the kid had once passed a biology test in high school. But no one ever doubted the veracity of any story about Baba. And if they did, well, Baba did have those three parallel scars coursing a jagged path down his back. (p. 13)

I chose this quote because it shows how with at least some evidence, anything can be believable; especially with physical evidence. I feel that the author did a good job in sharing this message. In this quote, Amir states that Baba had “three parallel scars coursing a jagged path down his back”. Black bears have 5 claws, so if he was really scratched by a black bear, it would be more likely he would have 5 or 4 scars. Another fact about a black bear, is that it is near-impossible to win in a fight against them. This proves that Baba likely didn’t wrestle a black bear. To conclude, this quote shows how anything can be believable when there is physical evidence.

Freak the mighty a story about a very smart kid but with a disease that made him very small named Kevin, moves to a new city and he meets Max a vey big kid that was not so smart so when they became friends they helped eachother on everything and together they were unstoppable and go through many challenges that make them both stronger.

“Okay, boys, you’d better give us your names and we’ll call your mothers,” this one cop is saying, and there’s this other guy who is looking at me funny and he says,”Hey, isn’t that Kenny Kane’s boy? Must be. Old Killer Kane, is he still inside?” Freak is still holding tight to my shoulders and when they ask him for his name, he says, “We’re Freak the Mighty, that’s who we are. We’re nine feet tall, in case you haven’t noticed. That’s how it started, really, how we got to be Freak the Mighty, slaying dragons and fools and walking high above the world.

I chose this quote because i think it is the most important quote of the story since Max is a big kid but he is not so smart, on the other side Kevin is vey smart but he is a very small kid, this quote tells us how Max and Kevin became Freak The Mighty and they help eachother because, Kevin and Max dont feel powerfull with themselves but since Max has what Kevin needs and Kevin has what Max needs together they become Freak The Mighty and they are powerfull enough to survive school and many other challenges that they will face.

Stick and Rudder; written by Wolfgang Langewiesche. The book showcases the first attempt at the analysis of flying. The ambitious claim from the author insinuates that a thorough reading of the book is equivalent to many flying hours in the air.

“In the very beginning, when the throttle is cut and the glide begun, the ship’s nose is pointed a little too high. As the speed slackens, it wants to go down. The pilot, trying to hold everything steady, responds to this by bringing the ship back. This keeps the nose up, but means a further loss of speed, and presently the nose wants to go down again.” (pg. 64)

I chose this quote because it shows that you have to trust in your aircraft to behave properly in the air; after all, you count on it to take you from point A to point B. Pilots can also be confused in the air, and slow reaction time during a stall could be fatal. When the pilot notices a stall, the instinct is the pull the stick back. When the author talks about the nose being up as well as the speed decreasing, this shows that the pilot may lift the nose even more. The plane then goes into a stall even quicker, due to high Angle of Attack.

The quote underneath symbolises how the Soviet era t-72 entered service on the front line.

“Although the Soviet T-72 entered service in 1973, this tank (and its upgraded alternatives) remained in the front-line service in 41 nations throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century. These included Soviet-built domestic-use, Soviet-built export, and other nation licensed-production tanks.” (p.23)

This quote also states that even post Soviet Era, the T-72 (and its upgraded counterparts) remained in service as a reliable front line force.

The Vampire Diaries is a book written by L.J. Smith and published on March 15, 2011. This book is about a girl named Eleana and her parents died in a car crash with her in it but she didnt die because a vampire saved her. Early on she dates one of the Vampires and finds out what happens. My favorite paragraph from the book is.

 

“Matt held his flashlight steady while Meredith searched for a light switch. finally, the scene before them was illuminated: the altar from the front of the room lay on its side the bowl of blood smashed a few feet away. Extinguished torches had left long lines of greasy black smoke smeared on the walls. Vampire bodies lay limply in pools of sticky, half dried blood, their throats torn by Damon’s or Stefan’s fangs.”

 

I really like this paragraph because when Matt walks in on his two friends he sees who they really are or who one of them really is, and Meredith is also a vampire so she is scared because she doesn’t know what will happen to her from either Damon or Stefan.

This is a book I have recently completed called Fetch (Fetch is a murderous animatronic dog that’s killed people earlier in the book). At the very end of the book, the main character Greg finishes his shower and stumbles upon some pretty petrifying stuff.

“Then he threw open a bathroom door. Barely containing a scream, Greg stumbled away from the door and fell to the tiled floor, his mind struggling to accept what he was looking at. There was something wrapped in a sheet, laying across the doorway. As he stared, the once beige sheet was turning a deep, dark red, and it glistened wet in the room’s muted light…The phone on Greg’s bathroom counter vibrated. He couldn’t help himself; he picked it up and looked at it. Fetch had texted: CU” (pg.84).

I chose this quote because I enjoy the tension and mystery of it because what was under the sheet, or actually, WHO was under the sheet. When the deep dark red liquid seeped through the sheet it must have made him petrified, knowing that that was blood. Also When Fetch said “CU” (which means see you soon or something) it had to of put fear in Greg thinking that he could be Fetch’s next victim.

 

The Pearl is a novella written by Jhon Steinbeck and published in 1947. The story is set in a small village in Mexico, the main character is kino a poor fisherman that one day founds a pearl of great value and he thinks that with that pearl he will be able to pay a doctor to his son who has been stung by a scorpion and is in very poor health.

Kinos breath whistled in his nostrils and he opened his mouth to it. and then the startled look was gone from him and the rigidity from his body , in his mind a new song had come , the Song of Evil, the music of the enemy, of any foe of the family, a savage secret, dangerous melody, and underneath, the Song of the Family cried plaintively. (p.5)

The way the paragraph is written is very interesting because of the words the author chose. The meaning of the story changes a lot when you add more detail and emotions, because, the reader feels like they’re living in the moment, as if they were part of the story.

The Great Gatsby by F.Scott-Fitzgerald, is a book based off the time of the Jazz era of New York. It’s’ based off the tragic story of Jay Gatsby, A Self-made millionaire who is in love with the young woman Daisy Buchanan.  The story is narrated by a man named Nick Caraway; and how he sees the story of these people.

There must have been moments even that afternoon when Daisy tumbled short of his dreams – not through her own fault, but because of the colossal vitality of his illusion. It had gone beyond her, beyond everything. He had thrown himself into it with a creative passion, adding to it all the time, decking it out with every bright feather that drifted his way. No amount of fire or freshness can challenge what a man will store up in his ghostly heart. (Pg.2)

 

I chose this quote from the book because it shows the character Daisy’s husband Tom Buchanan is, and how he can care-less if she is within his plans or not. He could change his mind again and again and she would find her way to avoid them changing her plans, and I think that shows a strong empowerment to her character and a weaker quality to his. In this quote he’s sharing that Tom is more self centred “I plan to have it all.” Type of man and Daisy is shown to be a; “I plan to be realistic.” Thing going for her. She day dreams but in the realistic limit where she knows her current limits in the world and shows she knows who she is whereas tom does not.

The book “Kissing Kosher” by Jean Maltzer it´s about the best kosher bakery in Brooklyn, New York City. Avital the granddaughter of the owner of the bakery because of pelvic pain was forced to let her dream of photography go and work in the bakery. She needed some help and hired a guy called Ethan to whom she was attracted and he was attracted to her, but he was undercover for his grandparent, and that’s because the grandfather of Avital betrayed him a long time ago.

Dr. Prikh hesitated. Avital took a deep breath. She was ready to fight for her needs. “The thing is, we’re super busy at the bakery right now…and I have all these extra responsibilities.. and I just can’t afford to be in this much pain right now. It’s ruining my life. It’s ruining everything. And I just think if I could maybe have a few more pills so I can get through this flare. I think it would help an awful lot.” She stopped herself there. The worst thing a pain patient could be labeled as a drug seeker. Even though, in her mind, all she could think was help me, please. Help me feel better. See me as a human being, as a person just like you, and help me find some semblance of a life again. I have done everything right. (p. 112)

I choose this quotation because we can see that she is not happy in her life, that she can’t do the things that she likes, and that she is exposed to really hurtful pelvic pain that is taking her backward in her life. She wants to be better for herself and her family but she can’t.

In Lemony Snicket’s book, Poison for Breakfast. Lemony Snicket goes on a journey to find the soon-to-be corporate of his very own death. After just finishing eating his perfectly well-made breakfast Lemony Snicket receives a strange and mysterious note from his front doorstep which reads ”You had poison for breakfast”

 For a few moments, I stared at the scrap of paper in my hands and tried to get my thoughts in order. I even tried to number them, in case it helped.

1. Egad!
2. There’s no use thinking egad, Snicket. Remain calm

No wait, that should be your third thought.

1. Remain calm.
2. That’s better.
3. Now, then look at the message again.
4. You had poison for breakfast.
5. Egad! (p.12-13)

I believe this is an important quote for this particular and unusual book because of two reasons. One being, throughout the upcoming chapters Snicket goes through almost every single thing he is thinking of at that very moment even the stupidest thoughts you can imagine. Meaning if you think that was something that shouldn’t be in a book, then I don’t believe you should continue reading either. Second, because this very page which I find to be extremely stupid, is the reason why I even bought this book. It’s so out there and I have never read any professional book with this sort of writing that he does.

When Brystal stumbles across a secret section of the library, she discovers that she can do magic. But magic is illegal where she is from so she gets sent to a miserable Bootstrap Correctional Facility for Troubled Young Women. She is forced to hard labour, and terrible food. In the dining room she notices a banner with a message that made Brystal full of hatred and anger.

“Good Girls do what they’re told. They NEVER ask questions. Good Girls finish their work. They NEVER take breaks. Good Girls keep their heads down. They NEVER look for trouble. Good Girls are always truthful. They NEVER tell lies. Good Girls know their place. They NEVER show disrespect. Good Girls are grateful. They NEVER want more.” (p. 129)

She got so angery, Brystal uncontrollably used her magic to rip the banner to pieces. Afterwards, she was in shock and before she knew what had happened and what she had done, she was being dragged outside to get disciplined.

Thankfully, before they could do anything, an unexpected guest arrived to pick Brystal up and take her away. The faculty didn’t want anything to do with her anymore so Brystal was taken away to a better place where she will learn to control her magic.

Sloan has the necessity to live with Asa, an alcoholic person who parties everyday, because she has nowhere to go.

I have to keep up appearances by acting like I still owe my life to Asa, when in reality, I feel like he’s ruining it. Don’t get me wrong, I do love him.

I love who he could be someday, but I’m also not naïve. (P. 17)

This could be interpreted in different ways for a lot of people and still hold the meaning of having to pretend someone or something is doing what is the best for you when you’re suffering because of that.

In Kurt Vonnegut’s Breakfast of Champions, everything is explained. from metaphors, to apples, to the pyramids, within the next page there will be a sketch and an explanation, almost like science fiction novels explain spaceships and lasers. One example that stuck out to me the most was this quote:

A hamburger was made out of an animal which looked like this:

The animal was killed, and grouped into little bits, then shaped into patties, then fried, then put between two pieces of bread. The finished product looked like this:

 

(p.124)

 

It’s a masterfully executed critique on what was, and still is, modern science fiction. Everything always being explained to be “realistic” is considered the norm in science fiction, but when it’s put into our world, we see it as childish, condescending.

This could just be a general critique of people losing their ability to critically think, too, and could also be a silly little quirk of the novel. Since this was written in the 1970s, and I’m looking at it through a modern lens, I’m most likely taking something out of it that may not even be there. But that’s the beauty of this book: many of the messages are still relevant, which just goes to show the stubbornness we have to changing our ways.