Manav Komal

     To begin, the circus in the story, "The Night Circus" is strange,  and it's not what a typical circus would look like. The circus is called Le Cirque de Reves. It has an unusual color palette consisting of black, silver and white and only opens at night. Our two characters, Prospero and Alexander compete with each other throughout the story in order to find out who is the strongest. In the story, there are several themes involving magic, love, rivalry, and commitment         Magic is one of the biggest themes in the story. While our protagonists have a serious rivalry with one another, we see how the characters in the story react to the idea of magic. They seem to be scared of it, but also are fascinated with it. This reaction seems to be legitimate, and a reaction that a majority of people in real life would have towards magic, similarly to aliens or other supernatural experiences. When people visit the circus, they use cards to read into the future. It seems that m

 The Hobbit was a story I enjoyed both reading and watching as a film series. The character Bilbo Baggins is one of the most compelling characters in the story because of his character arc through the course of the story. His development as a character was really fun to explore because at first, he is this humble little hobbit who minds his business and secludes himself from others. Bilbo's home in Hobbiton is his safe place and he has lived there for his whole life. when he is offered a job by the dwarves to be their personal burglar, his whole world changes. He acquires a sword, encounters goblins and monsters that he must fight off, and is tasked with stealing the Arkenstone, a prized possession among dwarf kings in the musty mountain. At the end of the story, Bilbo is a different hobbit. He does not return the same, and the other hobbits in Hobbiton seem to lose respect for him. He is not worried about it and seems to have grown as a better hobbit from his long, dangerous quest

 Akata Witch - Nnedi Okafor Akata Witch is a tale about a 12 year old girl named Sunny. What makes her such an interesting character is her weakness to the sun due to her albinism. This struck me as something a witch would experience. It reminds me of the Wizard of Oz, when Dorothy throws a bucket of water on the Wicked Witch, accidentally killing her.  I like Sunny's name, as it's really forwardly, ironically directed to the story. Her name is Sunny, but she can't enjoy the sun! I see Sunny as an underdog character. She is an intelligent girl, but is bullied by her peers because of her appearance and her sex. this story reminded me of Peter Parker's character in the Spider-man stories, a young intelligent underdog character who is good at science. He is bullied for being a nerd, but acquires super-human powers. In the case of every Spider-man story, he uses his powers for good. Sunny can cast spells, create potions, and summon spirits. She also has this very unique con