This author wrote the WAKE trilogy which contained the books WAKE, FADE, and GONE. Many people might find the details within the books a bit disturbing, but I feel that the author wanted a real highschool prospective which totally worked. I will seperate this trilogy into its books.
First up is WAKE. I read this book during my freshman year of highschool. This trilogy starts off with an introduction to the life of Janie Hannigan. This girl has issues, but she also has the ability of dreamcatching that is just uncontrolled at the moment. She doesn't think that anybody out there has the ability, but she is so wrong. Janie meets Cabel and they realize that they both have issues yet are perfect for each other for that reason. The plot sort of takes a shift into using Janie's gift to help catch bad people, the types of people who hide their secrets in their dreams. I really think that this was the best book out of the series and I should have stopped reading after this book, but I just had to know what happened in the others.
In Fade, the reader gets to see Janie's undercover life with Cabe. Janie is sent on a mission, not really for her dreamcatching, but rather to stop teachers at her highschool from using date-rape drugs on the students and then the students don't have a clue what happened. Guess what...Janie is sent as a student to one of the parties. Aside from the job, Janie starts discovering what she really is through the help of Ms. Stubin and even working on how to control the dreamcatching. If she continues the dreamcatching, bad things might happen and Janie has so much to lose.
Gone is more of a slow paced book. I personally thought it was pretty depressing. In this book, Janie wants to run away from dreamcatching and from her entire life. She finds out that her father is in the hospital and that he needs her to help him die even though he's in a coma. She finds out why her father really left and what has happened to him. Janie chooses to take control of her mother by becoming the parent of her mother. In the end, Janie has a decision to make. Will she run away from her entire life and what WILL happen if she continues dreamcatching or to stay and face everything with Cabe. I think the author wrapped this series up pretty nicely even though there aren't many surprises.
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Suzanne Collins (did I hear someone say Hunger Games?)
I think this is my favorite author...EVER. She finished off a trilogy less than a month ago with the book "Mockingjay." This entire series is fast paced and exciting. I would suggest this series to everybody (boy or girl) because it has so much to offer. I think it is appropriate enough for middle schoolers, but I don't think people are too old to read this book.
So let's start from the beginning. "The Hunger Games" is THE ultimate intro. The reader is plunged into Katniss Everdeen's life and her struggles, how she becomes the person she is. It is often difficult to explain this book because it's so different from other books. Basically, There is a country called Panem made up of 12 districts and a capitol. There used to be 13 districts, but district 13 was destroyed in a rebellion 74 years ago. The capitol "destroyed" 13 and from then on, to keep the districts in line and from rebelling again, they started the Hunger Games. It usually serves as entertainment for the Capitol people, but everyone watches it. 24 tributes, 2 from each district, one boy and one girl, are chosen at random to compete. What is interesting is that the tributes are all children. They have to "fight to the death" until only one remains. That child is crowned victor and just about gets everything they ever need for the rest of their life. So we have Katniss. She goes in the games with a boy named Peeta, the baker's kid, and so much happens I cannot even describe it. The games themselves are simply CRAZY and the reader gets sucked in almost immediately. This book truly demonstrates survival of the fittest.
In Catching Fire, the next Hunger Games will be a "Quarter Quell" where every 25 years, something changes. In the 50th Hunger Games, the number of tributes was doubled. What is interesting for this Quarter Quell is that they are picking the tributes from previous victors of the Hunger Games. Guess what...Katniss is going back into the very Games that cause her nightmares. The major plots in this book involve the mockingjay becoming the symbol for a rebellion. Katniss becomes more familiar with President Snow and his true intentions for her. There is even a little glimpse that the "destroyed" district 13 might actually still be out there. When I read this book, I was really confused until I got to the end where there is like a big explosion of information, the true intentions of the tributes and even future leaders of a rebellion.
"Mockingjay!" This is such a terrific book. The book starts off a month after the 75th Hunger Games where Katniss Everdeen is pulled from the games and taken to district 13 while Peeta is captured by the Capitol and probably tortured. It is revealed that Katniss' home is destroyed as well as a lot of the history of district 13. There are several plots within this book like getting Peeta out of the Capitol and President Snow's grasp as well as Katniss' personal vendetta against Snow. I must warn you readers, there are many deaths. I felt that I wasn't really affected by all the deaths but the book is still very depressing. If my sister hadn't told me what was going to happen I would have cried. Several people that I have spoken to have had mixed feelings about the book as to whether they loved it or hated it, but I guess you'll have to read it yourself and make that opinion.
So let's start from the beginning. "The Hunger Games" is THE ultimate intro. The reader is plunged into Katniss Everdeen's life and her struggles, how she becomes the person she is. It is often difficult to explain this book because it's so different from other books. Basically, There is a country called Panem made up of 12 districts and a capitol. There used to be 13 districts, but district 13 was destroyed in a rebellion 74 years ago. The capitol "destroyed" 13 and from then on, to keep the districts in line and from rebelling again, they started the Hunger Games. It usually serves as entertainment for the Capitol people, but everyone watches it. 24 tributes, 2 from each district, one boy and one girl, are chosen at random to compete. What is interesting is that the tributes are all children. They have to "fight to the death" until only one remains. That child is crowned victor and just about gets everything they ever need for the rest of their life. So we have Katniss. She goes in the games with a boy named Peeta, the baker's kid, and so much happens I cannot even describe it. The games themselves are simply CRAZY and the reader gets sucked in almost immediately. This book truly demonstrates survival of the fittest.
In Catching Fire, the next Hunger Games will be a "Quarter Quell" where every 25 years, something changes. In the 50th Hunger Games, the number of tributes was doubled. What is interesting for this Quarter Quell is that they are picking the tributes from previous victors of the Hunger Games. Guess what...Katniss is going back into the very Games that cause her nightmares. The major plots in this book involve the mockingjay becoming the symbol for a rebellion. Katniss becomes more familiar with President Snow and his true intentions for her. There is even a little glimpse that the "destroyed" district 13 might actually still be out there. When I read this book, I was really confused until I got to the end where there is like a big explosion of information, the true intentions of the tributes and even future leaders of a rebellion.
"Mockingjay!" This is such a terrific book. The book starts off a month after the 75th Hunger Games where Katniss Everdeen is pulled from the games and taken to district 13 while Peeta is captured by the Capitol and probably tortured. It is revealed that Katniss' home is destroyed as well as a lot of the history of district 13. There are several plots within this book like getting Peeta out of the Capitol and President Snow's grasp as well as Katniss' personal vendetta against Snow. I must warn you readers, there are many deaths. I felt that I wasn't really affected by all the deaths but the book is still very depressing. If my sister hadn't told me what was going to happen I would have cried. Several people that I have spoken to have had mixed feelings about the book as to whether they loved it or hated it, but I guess you'll have to read it yourself and make that opinion.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
ahhhhh!!!!!
TOTALLY! done with school right now. chillin out, listning to great indie/alternative music. :) also doing some studying for nats. going to sabrina's friend's party later on b/c i'm kind of a "chaperone". what a lovely thing? lol. yeah, but at least i get to do some reading and some other stuff at panera bread. yum! so not too much else is going on. ACT is on Saturday. I've been working out and swimming a lot and I feel really good. i'm reading the book titled "Willow" by Julia Hoban. It's really good. about this this girl whose parents were killed in a car accident while she was driving. Now she faces awkwardness at a new school b/c of rumors and she cuts herself. It's kinda depressing but some parts are interesting. Kind of a subjective point of view, yet not quite first person in that it talks about Willow's feelings and her thoughts, but it's not her telling the whole story. I finished "The Last Days" by Scott Westerfeld the other night and it wasn't as good as it's prequel "Peeps" but it was okay. um um um i guess that's it for now.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Good Grief!!
So here's what's been going on in my life:
I've been reading a whole bunch of books and i'll try to put reviews and summaries up soon because they're just so good. :) I've also been preparing my team for national finals this year in Troy, Michigan. Sadly, i've gotten sick several days out of certain weeks. Also, school will be out next week and afterwards I get to swim and work out just about every day, which I desperately need. A good friend of mine will be visiting on Sunday and I haven't seen him in about 6 years. I plan on doing tutoring next year and I want to use this site for my notes and just a resource for people who need help in a variety of subjects. Well, I guess i'm just trying to stay organized and keep my mind at ease. These are some of my favorite songs at the moment:
"Where it ends" by 16 Frames
"Tiny Light" by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
"Uprising" by Muse
and "The October Song" by Nico Stai
I hope the rest of the week goes well.
I've been reading a whole bunch of books and i'll try to put reviews and summaries up soon because they're just so good. :) I've also been preparing my team for national finals this year in Troy, Michigan. Sadly, i've gotten sick several days out of certain weeks. Also, school will be out next week and afterwards I get to swim and work out just about every day, which I desperately need. A good friend of mine will be visiting on Sunday and I haven't seen him in about 6 years. I plan on doing tutoring next year and I want to use this site for my notes and just a resource for people who need help in a variety of subjects. Well, I guess i'm just trying to stay organized and keep my mind at ease. These are some of my favorite songs at the moment:
"Where it ends" by 16 Frames
"Tiny Light" by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals
"Uprising" by Muse
and "The October Song" by Nico Stai
I hope the rest of the week goes well.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Done with Fasting
So the last day of my fast was yesterday and I'm about to leave for the airport to go to pittsburg. I am a pretty happy camper right now. I have my stuff solid and ready to quiz and see where I stand compared to everybody else. This tournament should be hard, but I think my team can make it through it. I shall reply on Monday morning and my facebook fast ends then too.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Studying
I wish I could elaborate on this topic without giving away my secrets of how I study in teen bible quiz. I've mostly been working on concordance and my quoting and chapter analysis. the tournament is less than a week away and I'm almost ready. I'm just unsure what i'm going up against and i want my team to be ready. I may have to sacrifice a lot to get to the level I want but I think it's worth it. I shall say more at a later date.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
The Final Quest
So I've been reading this book about a man who had visions from God about a spiritual battle that we cannot see, but he witnessed these things and he wrote them down. This book has taught me many things about love and about how powerful our words can be as well as virtues and things like righteousness and calling someone blessed can actually do. We do realize how important these things are because we cannot see, but our faith is believing in what we cannot see. I love how this book talks about places on this mountain which represents Christ and how to get to the top. The man went through different doors and met people who had passed before him but they were lower in the kingdom because they only had a ministry so that people could praise them and not God. Another truth I learned went something like "the harder it is for you to forgive, the farther away you are from true love" and "the pure truth spoken in true love will always attract." So this is a great book to get and read. It has definitely inspired me and very few books actually do that.
So then, my exams are now over. I am really excited. But i'm still studying hard for my tournament. I'm not sure about 3 of my exams b/c they were really difficult but I did get A's on some of them. A song I've been listening to lately is "Invasion" by Eisley. They are a great bad whom I have heard of since 2005, and I think this is one of their best songs. Indie is great!
So then, my exams are now over. I am really excited. But i'm still studying hard for my tournament. I'm not sure about 3 of my exams b/c they were really difficult but I did get A's on some of them. A song I've been listening to lately is "Invasion" by Eisley. They are a great bad whom I have heard of since 2005, and I think this is one of their best songs. Indie is great!
Monday, January 18, 2010
Exams
Don't you just hate exams? They are just the bummer of the year. It's even worse this year b/c previously they allowed students to be exempt but now they're making no exceptions and everyone must take exams. Of course there is that small percentage of students who get to skip a few of their exams, but i'm not one of them b/c i chose to be a brainiac this year and take almost straight ap classes. but i guess this is what i deserve. so this week will be so stressful. tomorrow i start off with 2 2 hour math exams. it is my favorite subject so i don't really mind. so that will basically sum up my week. now to music. i've been watching the show "chuck" quite frequently and i've listened to some of the songs in the show and just loved them. some that i really enjoyed are "3 rounds and a sound" by Blind Pilot, "Around the Bend" by The Asteroids Galaxy Tour, "Bite Hard" by Franz Ferdinand, "Daddy's Gone" by Glasvegas, "Wait It Out" By Imogen Heap (*I also realized, just by listening to the song, that this artist is Frou Frou but i'm not exactly sure what happened with it. it's very confusing, "Christmas TV" by Snow Club, "Now We Can See" by The Thermals, and last but not least "Amazing Life" by Matt Pond PA.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Friendship Classic
So I'll be going to Pittsburg in a few weeks for a tournament for quiz. It will be challenging and I'll have to have my major concordance done by then along with my weird chapter analysis stuff. Everyday will consist of studying both for school and quiz. These 2 weeks will be crazy but I'll try to update whenever I can. But the tournament is going to be amazing and I get to see all my friends and I know I'm gonna go crazy the day before we leave.
Oh and if you're wondering why I don't consistently capitalize, it's b/c fb has morphed me into abbr. almost everything and talking like i IM all the time. But just so you know, i'm also fasting fb for about a month and i'll be starting my 2nd week tomorrow.
Oh and if you're wondering why I don't consistently capitalize, it's b/c fb has morphed me into abbr. almost everything and talking like i IM all the time. But just so you know, i'm also fasting fb for about a month and i'll be starting my 2nd week tomorrow.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
First Impressions
This is the first post of my blog. I hope i'll become good at this. Some things that people should know about me is that I love music. Some of the best songs have no words but have such strong meanings. I love bible quiz and have been doing it for what seems to be forever. I love Jesus with all of my heart and I hope to follow him my entire life. Some of my dreams include becoming a doctor, getting over my fear of heights, and winning national finals. Life has been going well especially in school. I love the medical field which explains me wanting to be a doctor. Currently I am preparing for a tournament in about 2 weeks which is a very short time. I thank God for all of my friends and my family who inspire me. With this first post I will include a song that I have been listening to recently and also telling you to go on youtube and search for: elvis and anabelle. it is a great movie and i would suggest it to everyone, not only b/c i'm a sap for love stories but it really is a good movie.
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