"Notes From the Midnight Driver" is a book that grabbed my attention from the beginning. This book focuses on the life of Alex Gregory after he gets a D.U.I while driving to his dad's house. His punishment is to serve 100 hours of community service at a retirement home, visiting a patient there named Solomon Lewis. Mr. Lewis is a witty old resident who has terminal emphysema that loves to prank all the other residents that live by him. Alex and Mr. Lewis don't get along at first, but as the story progresses, they become very close to each other through their mutual love of jazz music.
One theme i got the from story is that everyone deserves a second chance at happiness. I got this theme because Alex convinced his best friend Laurie that she should talk to her mother again and to try and establish a mother-daughter relationship. Laurie takes Alex's advice and she actually has a great time being with her mother again and getting to know her stepfather.
Probably the biggest conflict in the story is between Mr. Lewis and his emphysema. Throughout the story, whenever Solomon talks, he bursts into coughing fits, and frequently has to get breathing treatments. Even though Solomon's emphysema was terminal, he still chose to be a fighter and not let the illness take him over entirely. Solomon was a hero for battling his disease for as long as he did, and he passed away with all his loved ones by him, including Alex and his daughter.
A dynamic character in the story that definately changed the most is Alex. In the beginning, Alex was self-centered and other really cared about himself. Throughout the story, Alex becomes a more sensitive person, and starts to care about other people, especially his best friend Laurie. A static character in the story is Steven, one of Alex's friends from school. Steven is the best drummer at Alex's high school and is very confident in his musical ability. Although Steven warms up to Alex more by the end of the story, his personality doesn't change very much at all during the story.