Kayla Hernandez
Stolen
By: Lucy Christopher
Gemma, 16-year-old teen, has a life of adventure and travel. At an airport she goes off to get some coffee before her flight. She leaves her parents at the gate to wait for her. At the coffee shop she isn't able to buy her coffee because of her money, and then this mysterious guy offers to pay for her. He asks to sit with her and talk to get to know each other. They sit down and he introduces himself, as Ty.
Gemma wakes up at the back of a building next to a dumpster and Ty is taking her clothes off, but she's all too drugged up to try to figure out where she is and how to stop Ty when she doesn't have the strength. Ty then covers her mouth with a cloth and Gemma slowly goes back to sleep. Next, "All I remember after that is the numbed-out jolt and sway of being in a car. The engine grumbled on, forever"(12). Then Gemma wakes up on a bed, feeling sore and sweaty, but still not aware of her surroundings. She eventually is able to make out a, "'Where am I?'" and the response is, "'You're safe'". This makes her more anxious and full of rage that she begins to yell at him for what he has done with her.
Gemma comes to find out that she is in the middle of a desert in Australia, where all she's surrounded by is red sand and an abandoned building. No signal, no one else to call for help, only Ty. As the days go by, she asks him why he brought her here, he tells her "'That's easy.' ... 'Company.''(30).
Ty treats her like she is a doll, a toy he wants to play with and free him of boredom. Trying to escape could put her in a lot of danger, so for now she has to go along with his plan until she familiarizes herself. I believe after having to spend so much time with this man and being the only way of communication, Gemma's feelings could changed from hatred to heart felt feelings, maybe love.
This is a scary topic of discussion, but unfortunately it's something some people on this world have had to go through. It brings some of that reality into a book to make readers aware of what could happen. I don't personally connect with the book, but it does make me aware of how things could change in the matter of minutes and what occurs in the outside world. How this world is full of evil and we always have to acknowledge our surroundings and make sure to be careful, because we can't trust anyone now a days.
Thursday, March 30, 2017
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
The Unsolved Case
Preeti Sharma
Far From You
By Tess Sharpe
Have you ever lost a loved one? Maybe a family or friend. Have you ever suffered through something as terrifying as a car accident? Maybe you know someone who has a drug addiction. Seventeen year old Sophie Winters has been through it all. At the age of fourteen she escaped a car accident which gave her a limping walk and an addiction to Oxy. At seventeen, Sophie and her best friend Mina, were confronted by a masked man. Sophie Winters is shocked and speechless as she sees Mina lying on the cold ground in the woods; a once beating heart, now stopped. The cops show up at the crime scene which looks to be a drug deal gone wrong, with the man in the mask gone and the blame given to Sophie. Everyone refuses to believe what is true: Sophie has been clean for months.
As she returns from the Seaside Rehabilitation Institution, she has the same goal that she has when she went in: To find Mina's killer. Sophie Winters struggles with every obstacle that comes in her way. With her bum leg, her parents afraid she'll relapse, Mina's brother, Trevor, not speaking to her, and counting down the days she's been clean, her determination for finding the murderer keeps her going. Sophie Winters is the girl with a lot of courage, love, and motivation. She turned her life around just for Mina. From quitting her drug addiction to finding justice in this unsolved case, she won't give up.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in mysteries. You see the story bounce back from the past to the present. It's full of suspense and very intriguing. The story pulls you in and is told in a lot of detail. I feel like it's relate-able to those who are going through a difficult time with the scenarios mentioned in the beginning.
Far From You
By Tess Sharpe
Have you ever lost a loved one? Maybe a family or friend. Have you ever suffered through something as terrifying as a car accident? Maybe you know someone who has a drug addiction. Seventeen year old Sophie Winters has been through it all. At the age of fourteen she escaped a car accident which gave her a limping walk and an addiction to Oxy. At seventeen, Sophie and her best friend Mina, were confronted by a masked man. Sophie Winters is shocked and speechless as she sees Mina lying on the cold ground in the woods; a once beating heart, now stopped. The cops show up at the crime scene which looks to be a drug deal gone wrong, with the man in the mask gone and the blame given to Sophie. Everyone refuses to believe what is true: Sophie has been clean for months.
As she returns from the Seaside Rehabilitation Institution, she has the same goal that she has when she went in: To find Mina's killer. Sophie Winters struggles with every obstacle that comes in her way. With her bum leg, her parents afraid she'll relapse, Mina's brother, Trevor, not speaking to her, and counting down the days she's been clean, her determination for finding the murderer keeps her going. Sophie Winters is the girl with a lot of courage, love, and motivation. She turned her life around just for Mina. From quitting her drug addiction to finding justice in this unsolved case, she won't give up.
I recommend this book to anyone interested in mysteries. You see the story bounce back from the past to the present. It's full of suspense and very intriguing. The story pulls you in and is told in a lot of detail. I feel like it's relate-able to those who are going through a difficult time with the scenarios mentioned in the beginning.
Monday, March 27, 2017
Survivals Tale
Isaiah Quinones
Lost in Shangri-La
By: Mitchell Zunkoff
There is nothing better then that of a strong independent woman breaking the gender barrier in our heavily masculine society that we live in today. "Girls cant do this", "Girls cant do that", with no true consideration for the great accomplishments woman have had in America and around the world. there is nothing better then a woman proving men wrong in the military, and if that excavates great curiosity in you then the book Lost in Shangri-la is the perfect book for you.
The book is all about survival, taking place in lucrative New Guinea during WW11 where the Americans brutally fought against hostile native tribes and the Japanese freshly kicked of the island with many guerrilla style warriors stay hidden among-st the vast jungles. To most this would be no place one would want to travel but for Margaret Hastings, this is exactly where she wants to be. As a woman looking to fight for her Country and break social norms, she finds her self a survivor along with Two other G.I.s in a plane crash in the middle of the vast jungle of the great island devoid of any chance of rescue.
This book is not for the light hearted. I would recommend it to most but it does have its flaws as well as the language is not as sophisticated as i had hoped for but overall it is a great novel. The book for me comes down to three major points as to why i enjoy it being: opposition to social norms, Survival, and Patriotism which really make this book stand out from other war time story like novels.
The first major reason i would like to address that makes this novel stand out above the rest is that of its great opposition to gender inequality and social norms. For Margaret Hastings, she stood out among her siblings as she always wanted to go and make a true impact on the war hands on. She joined the WAC in hopes to provide front line support that men saw not possible by a woman which she greatly blows out of the water. When offered special treatment she refuses to prove the point of independence as she is not without hard work proven where it says "Margaret spent nearly a year in basic training"(9). challenging all the stigmas for women in the 40's which gives this book its edge. Her survival skills in the jungle also support this greatly which i love and the author intended to make her into a heroine.
Another stand out reason for my passion of the book is the survival aspect of it. Being at first one of three to survive a plane crash, being the only women her grit and determination to survive is impeccable. Margaret is also very selfless as she exclaims "Wished that she before they left the crash site they'd said a prayer, built a cross, or laid some kind of marker for the twenty-one friends" showing just how much she cares for others. she takes risks for the better survival of her friends, and never sees a day where she gives up. This great determination in the face of eminent danger or death is what I believe truly sets Margaret apart from any other character and makes me love this book.
lastly the major thing setting this book apart from any other is Margaret's Patriotism which is something that can be loved by all. "WAC's were 'my best soldiers" because the worked harder and groused less then male troops" (11-12) As stated by General MacArthur showing just how important her role was overseas. Margaret never lost sight of her family and her country for which she served which makes me fall in love with this book. She fought valiantly for her life all for the American people as this was a highly published story giving hope back home.
This book is not for someone looking for complex text but rather the every day American looking for another reason to have hope. This book would also suit activists alike looking for innovative was to define gender equality. The book is best suited for the "war time story" category excelling in all critiques possible under this criteria. Lost in Shangri-La is by far the best war time story book i have ever read and i would highly recommend this to all who fall under the above criteria.
Lost in Shangri-La
By: Mitchell Zunkoff
There is nothing better then that of a strong independent woman breaking the gender barrier in our heavily masculine society that we live in today. "Girls cant do this", "Girls cant do that", with no true consideration for the great accomplishments woman have had in America and around the world. there is nothing better then a woman proving men wrong in the military, and if that excavates great curiosity in you then the book Lost in Shangri-la is the perfect book for you.
The book is all about survival, taking place in lucrative New Guinea during WW11 where the Americans brutally fought against hostile native tribes and the Japanese freshly kicked of the island with many guerrilla style warriors stay hidden among-st the vast jungles. To most this would be no place one would want to travel but for Margaret Hastings, this is exactly where she wants to be. As a woman looking to fight for her Country and break social norms, she finds her self a survivor along with Two other G.I.s in a plane crash in the middle of the vast jungle of the great island devoid of any chance of rescue.
This book is not for the light hearted. I would recommend it to most but it does have its flaws as well as the language is not as sophisticated as i had hoped for but overall it is a great novel. The book for me comes down to three major points as to why i enjoy it being: opposition to social norms, Survival, and Patriotism which really make this book stand out from other war time story like novels.
The first major reason i would like to address that makes this novel stand out above the rest is that of its great opposition to gender inequality and social norms. For Margaret Hastings, she stood out among her siblings as she always wanted to go and make a true impact on the war hands on. She joined the WAC in hopes to provide front line support that men saw not possible by a woman which she greatly blows out of the water. When offered special treatment she refuses to prove the point of independence as she is not without hard work proven where it says "Margaret spent nearly a year in basic training"(9). challenging all the stigmas for women in the 40's which gives this book its edge. Her survival skills in the jungle also support this greatly which i love and the author intended to make her into a heroine.
Another stand out reason for my passion of the book is the survival aspect of it. Being at first one of three to survive a plane crash, being the only women her grit and determination to survive is impeccable. Margaret is also very selfless as she exclaims "Wished that she before they left the crash site they'd said a prayer, built a cross, or laid some kind of marker for the twenty-one friends" showing just how much she cares for others. she takes risks for the better survival of her friends, and never sees a day where she gives up. This great determination in the face of eminent danger or death is what I believe truly sets Margaret apart from any other character and makes me love this book.
lastly the major thing setting this book apart from any other is Margaret's Patriotism which is something that can be loved by all. "WAC's were 'my best soldiers" because the worked harder and groused less then male troops" (11-12) As stated by General MacArthur showing just how important her role was overseas. Margaret never lost sight of her family and her country for which she served which makes me fall in love with this book. She fought valiantly for her life all for the American people as this was a highly published story giving hope back home.
This book is not for someone looking for complex text but rather the every day American looking for another reason to have hope. This book would also suit activists alike looking for innovative was to define gender equality. The book is best suited for the "war time story" category excelling in all critiques possible under this criteria. Lost in Shangri-La is by far the best war time story book i have ever read and i would highly recommend this to all who fall under the above criteria.
Lost Hope
Lost Hope
3/24/17
Cameron Egan
Night by Elie Wiesel
After spending a long time in the camps, Elie has found that his comrades and himself are slowly losing hope as the days progress. The conditions of the camps have gotten more grim as the years have passed, and the camp leaders have progressively gotten more harsh as well. Elie has witnessed a number senseless beatings on his comrades and has also experienced these beatings himself. Overtimes these beatings take both a physical and mental tole on Elie and his Jewish comrades. Their moral has dropped severely and they only fight to live on to the next meal every day. The next meal is all these imprisoned men seem to have their minds on. Even during the most grim times, their minds are usually on when the next meal will come. Although Elie came down with an infection in his foot and was able to receive adequate medical attention in the camp, the people he saw in the medical tent were not as lucky as him and were slowly dying because their sicknesses or injuries were too severe and were not going to be adequately treated. The doctors also wanted to treat the people who they knew had a much higher chance of surviving.
Elie is faced with a tremendous amount of adversity both physically and mentally throughout the novel. Through all the beatings, starvation, and illness, Elie is forced to try to continue his hope that once day he and his comrades will be liberated, even though his comrades have no hope at all. Most of his comrades have assumed that they are already dead, and they are just waiting for their day to come, and this challenges Elie's strong belief in hope.
After finding two Jewish prisoners trying to steal food, the camp officers sentenced them to death by hanging in front of the entire camp to send a message to everyone. This message did not really hit home with any of the prisoners because they were more concerned with when they would get their next meal, as Elie's friend said to him during the hangings "Do you think this ceremony'll be over soon? I'm hungry...."(59). This exemplifies how numb these prisoners are to all the death that surrounds them. Although a majority of Elie's comrades did not really care for the hangings, it was much to Elie's concern because he has continued his hope that things will get better, but the hangings and all of the death that continuously surrounds Elie significantly effects him. As Elie went to eat that night, he could not help but think of the hangings and he thought "That night the soup tasted of corpses."(62). Metaphorically speaking, Elie is thinking this to show his grief for his comrades who had died because he could relate to their hunger that drove them to steal the food. Also, another factor that helped drive hope out of the hearts of the Jewish prisoners were the false hopes that some of the guards gave the prisoners. One of the guards of Elie's cell block said "Everything went off all right. Don't worry. Nothing is going to happen to anyone..."(69). The guard was talking about how he had talked to one of the Officers of the camps and was reassuring the prisoners under his watch that everyone was safe from the selection that lead people to their deaths. Unfortunately, what the guard said was too good to be true and ten of Elie's comrades were called upon for selection and a few were taken away to their deaths. There seemed to be no truth behind any hopeful word said to Elie and his comrades.
Elie has grown up quickly if his few years in the concentration camps, which he had to if he wanted to survive. The hope that he instilled in himself has seemed to him to be lost at times, but ultimately it is his hope that keeps him going everyday. Without hope, Elie would have given up on the first day that he arrived at the camps, but he has faced some sever adversity that has challlenged his hope. With no one else believing and hoping that liberation will come, Elie along will have to continue to push himself to reach that ultimate goal of liberation. Overall, Night contains themes of resilience and hope and although this is not a war novel involving the front line battle aspects of World War II, it does bring a whole different point of view of the war. I would recommend this book to fans of the movie Defiance and other fans interested in reading about WWII or the Holocaust in the perspective of a victim. This book is more of a quick read, so if you are looking for a more developed and detailed story, then this book may not be for you.
3/24/17
Cameron Egan
Night by Elie Wiesel
After spending a long time in the camps, Elie has found that his comrades and himself are slowly losing hope as the days progress. The conditions of the camps have gotten more grim as the years have passed, and the camp leaders have progressively gotten more harsh as well. Elie has witnessed a number senseless beatings on his comrades and has also experienced these beatings himself. Overtimes these beatings take both a physical and mental tole on Elie and his Jewish comrades. Their moral has dropped severely and they only fight to live on to the next meal every day. The next meal is all these imprisoned men seem to have their minds on. Even during the most grim times, their minds are usually on when the next meal will come. Although Elie came down with an infection in his foot and was able to receive adequate medical attention in the camp, the people he saw in the medical tent were not as lucky as him and were slowly dying because their sicknesses or injuries were too severe and were not going to be adequately treated. The doctors also wanted to treat the people who they knew had a much higher chance of surviving.
Elie is faced with a tremendous amount of adversity both physically and mentally throughout the novel. Through all the beatings, starvation, and illness, Elie is forced to try to continue his hope that once day he and his comrades will be liberated, even though his comrades have no hope at all. Most of his comrades have assumed that they are already dead, and they are just waiting for their day to come, and this challenges Elie's strong belief in hope.
After finding two Jewish prisoners trying to steal food, the camp officers sentenced them to death by hanging in front of the entire camp to send a message to everyone. This message did not really hit home with any of the prisoners because they were more concerned with when they would get their next meal, as Elie's friend said to him during the hangings "Do you think this ceremony'll be over soon? I'm hungry...."(59). This exemplifies how numb these prisoners are to all the death that surrounds them. Although a majority of Elie's comrades did not really care for the hangings, it was much to Elie's concern because he has continued his hope that things will get better, but the hangings and all of the death that continuously surrounds Elie significantly effects him. As Elie went to eat that night, he could not help but think of the hangings and he thought "That night the soup tasted of corpses."(62). Metaphorically speaking, Elie is thinking this to show his grief for his comrades who had died because he could relate to their hunger that drove them to steal the food. Also, another factor that helped drive hope out of the hearts of the Jewish prisoners were the false hopes that some of the guards gave the prisoners. One of the guards of Elie's cell block said "Everything went off all right. Don't worry. Nothing is going to happen to anyone..."(69). The guard was talking about how he had talked to one of the Officers of the camps and was reassuring the prisoners under his watch that everyone was safe from the selection that lead people to their deaths. Unfortunately, what the guard said was too good to be true and ten of Elie's comrades were called upon for selection and a few were taken away to their deaths. There seemed to be no truth behind any hopeful word said to Elie and his comrades.
Elie has grown up quickly if his few years in the concentration camps, which he had to if he wanted to survive. The hope that he instilled in himself has seemed to him to be lost at times, but ultimately it is his hope that keeps him going everyday. Without hope, Elie would have given up on the first day that he arrived at the camps, but he has faced some sever adversity that has challlenged his hope. With no one else believing and hoping that liberation will come, Elie along will have to continue to push himself to reach that ultimate goal of liberation. Overall, Night contains themes of resilience and hope and although this is not a war novel involving the front line battle aspects of World War II, it does bring a whole different point of view of the war. I would recommend this book to fans of the movie Defiance and other fans interested in reading about WWII or the Holocaust in the perspective of a victim. This book is more of a quick read, so if you are looking for a more developed and detailed story, then this book may not be for you.
Run_program>Insignia_review.exe
Run_program>Insignia_review.exe
Sean McLaughlin
Insignia
By S.J. Kincaid
What if part of your brain was replaced with a computer? Part of your mind being replaced with a cold, unfeeling machine, thoughts being replaced by ones and zeroes. You would have any information you wanted at any time but at what cost? These are the some of the questions that Thomas Raines asks himself in Insignia by S.J. Kincaid.
Tom is a teenage boy that lives in a dystopian future of Earth where corporations have copyrighted everything, even the all of the world’s water and food supply are trademarked by two separate companies. World War three has erupted but is fought on Saturn’s moons with drones that are remotely piloted by people. Tom lives with his gambler of a father, Neil, and bounces around from different casinos gambling away all of his money. Tom often has to make bets playing games with people at the casino to get him and his dad a place to stay for the night. Tom hasn’t logged onto his virtual school in two months and is in danger of being taken away from his father. That is until he passes a virtual test in the form of a video game made by an army recruiter and is given the choice of joining the military at the Pentagonal Spire. To be able to pilot the drones in space someday, he must have a neural processor installed in his head which gives him a large dilemma. Does he give up some of his humanity for the chance to be somebody someday or does he go back to his dad and to being a nobody?
This book is definitely a fun time if you enjoy science fiction as it deals with lots of interesting things like virtual reality simulations and futuristic weaponry. You will probably like this book if you are in the mood for some intense moral questions such as asking if it is okay to forcefully scan through people’s memories or to hack their brains directly and give them viruses. Insignia also has some of the most believable teenage characters that I have seen in a long time. They talk much like how I would to my friends and react genuinely to the strange situations that they get put in (like gym class being a simulation but the main group of kids quickly figure out that if they die in the simulation they get to not do gym). What most surprised me about this book were the rather adult themes that are present such as ethical and moral questions and even bringing up the genocide of an entire city from a corporation. The book has some rather large anti establishment themes, Tom’s dad embodies these very well like the reason why he doesn’t have a job is that “You mean why haven’t I jammed my neck in the yoke of corporate servitude?” The anti establishment themes bring up questions about real life as what if in the future a company really does manage to copyright all of the water on the planet? How the war is fought is also an interesting topic, one of the characters describes the benefits as being “we avoid most of the consequences such as debilitating injuries, human deaths, disruption of infrastructure, and environmental contamination.” The book is set far enough in the future that it is interesting to see how things work, but is close enough to today that the themes still apply.
I would recommend this book to people that enjoyed any of the Percy Jackson books as the premise of Insignia is pretty similar. It revolves around a group of teenagers that are put in a strange situation but Insignia is more science fiction with a bit of history thrown in there. I would also recommend this book to people that like science fiction in general and are fans of dystopian futures. This book is also filled with very human characters with distinct and memorable personalities and flaws and if you are looking for that with a bit of a sci-fi flare to it, Insignia is a good book for you. Also if you enjoy video games to a good degree I would give this one a look, as its most comparable to Ready Player One but without all the gushing about how great the 80’s were. If none of these things sounded interesting I would advise you to avoid this book.
All the Weights of the World
The idea of being able to lift heavy things is something that has been present way before our time on the planet, the ancient Greeks who contributed so much to our modern day ideas and ideals. They also introduced the modern day idea that is lifting. The Greeks would hoist boulders and rocks and mules and just about anything that they could lift and try to prove themselves as the strongest men on the planet. They went as so far to wrestle each other they would go to wrestling gyms and cover themselves in olive oil and tie up there foreskin then they would wrestle in pits of dirt. They strived to jump the farthest and be the strongest, the argument can be made that it was much more competitive back then there was no second or third place. You were either the victor or the ignimonus loser. Today the paradigm has shifted from being the fatsest and strongest to looking the best and being the fastest and the strongest. The Greeks have set forth a precedent that has been totally devalued and discredited; the athletes no longer train the same anymore, they eat different and most would say that technology has advanced the way athletes think but if you ask me I think it it just general wits that have progressed is so far, the Greeks may have made bold proclamations about what they could hoist and heave but there is no way to actually prove they did so without a doubt. Today we have cameras, videos and replays which allow us to confirm amazing and one of a kind human feats. I believe that what this book attempts to do is give us perspective on what the ancient Greeks attempted to do and how the precedent was laid for athletes to follow. As idiotic as their method seems and how distasteful their training regiments may seem there is no denying that the example they set was one that all athletes build off of today. Furthermore the Greeks left a lot to be desired in terms of performance and means that they went through to achieve that performance. Modern day science has refined and retaught so many backwardsand generational malpractices in sports that it has left an entire generation with a host of health issues and bodily malfunctions.
The Rebels of Oceania
Danny Miller
1984
By George Orwell
I am amazed at the lack of awareness among the Party. Buildings are dilapidated, cities are in ruins, rations are decreasing and people are living with no shoes, but all anyone can think about is how great it is that the war is coming to an end.
Of course, there is no way to know if the war is actually coming to an end. There is no way to know anything, for that matter. Winston goes to work every day at the Records Department in the ironically named “Ministry of Truth,” where he alters documents, articles, statements, and anything that may be politically relevant, in order to align with what the government, and Big Brother, says, rather than what is factual.
The Ministry of Truth is just one of several ministries, all having names which imply the opposite of what they are. The Ministry of Peace, for example, deals with war. The Ministry of Plenty controls the rations people get, which are tend to be small amounts, such as the twenty grams chocolate ration. The Ministry of Love is in charge of Law and Order, or, in other words, torturing and killing people who defy the Party. They are all self contradictory, just like the Party Slogans:
“WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” (4)
The contradictions are part of what makes this book a page-turner. When the author not only juxtaposes, but actually equates, things that are polar opposites, it gets the reader thinking, “Why don’t the people notice that the government is lying to them? Will they ever realize it? What will Winston do about it?”
Winston begins to gain a drive for rebellion, so he writes things in his journal that, if discovered, would surely get him executed, or, as Orwell calls it, “vaporized” (53). He also has a desire to defy the government’s views on procreational relationships, believing that sex is not just a “duty to the Party” (67) and that there must be a real connection involved.
It is precisely this type of defiance that makes the story intriguing. It foreshadows extreme conflict between Winston and the Party, and it begins to develop apprehension regarding Winston’s life. Everything he thinks and writes makes it evident to the reader that he is going to try to go against the Party, and perhaps to start a revolution.
I personally enjoy this book because it has encouraged me to begin to stand up for myself, which I am able to do under our government. The people in the society of 1984 must simply accept everything that comes to them, no matter how unfair or unreasonable, and this makes me realize the privileges that I have to be in a country where the people have many personal rights, a country where the media allows people to speak against the establishment.
It has also inspired me to stay more in touch with politics, since our government, at the moment, is in danger of moving toward semi-totalitarianism, with a leader who lies to his people constantly, silences people and groups of people he doesn’t like or agree with, and basically views himself as a king.
For this review, being my second one, I recommend George Orwell’s 1984 more now than I did in my first, as I am finding more reasons to enjoy it, and more possible lessons I can get out of it. I don’t just recommend it to people who are interested in politics; I would also recommend it to anyone who feels trapped, like they are unable to speak their minds for any reason, because I have a feeling that Winston is going to follow through with his thirst for rebellion.
1984
By George Orwell
I am amazed at the lack of awareness among the Party. Buildings are dilapidated, cities are in ruins, rations are decreasing and people are living with no shoes, but all anyone can think about is how great it is that the war is coming to an end.
Of course, there is no way to know if the war is actually coming to an end. There is no way to know anything, for that matter. Winston goes to work every day at the Records Department in the ironically named “Ministry of Truth,” where he alters documents, articles, statements, and anything that may be politically relevant, in order to align with what the government, and Big Brother, says, rather than what is factual.
The Ministry of Truth is just one of several ministries, all having names which imply the opposite of what they are. The Ministry of Peace, for example, deals with war. The Ministry of Plenty controls the rations people get, which are tend to be small amounts, such as the twenty grams chocolate ration. The Ministry of Love is in charge of Law and Order, or, in other words, torturing and killing people who defy the Party. They are all self contradictory, just like the Party Slogans:
“WAR IS PEACE
FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH” (4)
The contradictions are part of what makes this book a page-turner. When the author not only juxtaposes, but actually equates, things that are polar opposites, it gets the reader thinking, “Why don’t the people notice that the government is lying to them? Will they ever realize it? What will Winston do about it?”
Winston begins to gain a drive for rebellion, so he writes things in his journal that, if discovered, would surely get him executed, or, as Orwell calls it, “vaporized” (53). He also has a desire to defy the government’s views on procreational relationships, believing that sex is not just a “duty to the Party” (67) and that there must be a real connection involved.
It is precisely this type of defiance that makes the story intriguing. It foreshadows extreme conflict between Winston and the Party, and it begins to develop apprehension regarding Winston’s life. Everything he thinks and writes makes it evident to the reader that he is going to try to go against the Party, and perhaps to start a revolution.
I personally enjoy this book because it has encouraged me to begin to stand up for myself, which I am able to do under our government. The people in the society of 1984 must simply accept everything that comes to them, no matter how unfair or unreasonable, and this makes me realize the privileges that I have to be in a country where the people have many personal rights, a country where the media allows people to speak against the establishment.
It has also inspired me to stay more in touch with politics, since our government, at the moment, is in danger of moving toward semi-totalitarianism, with a leader who lies to his people constantly, silences people and groups of people he doesn’t like or agree with, and basically views himself as a king.
For this review, being my second one, I recommend George Orwell’s 1984 more now than I did in my first, as I am finding more reasons to enjoy it, and more possible lessons I can get out of it. I don’t just recommend it to people who are interested in politics; I would also recommend it to anyone who feels trapped, like they are unable to speak their minds for any reason, because I have a feeling that Winston is going to follow through with his thirst for rebellion.
Sunday, March 26, 2017
Auden's New Ride..
along for the ride
By Sarah Dessen
Was Auden "along for the ride" that her divorced parents created for her or was she about to create her personal travels with her own agenda of passengers?
Teenage daughter Auden, of parents whose careers focused in on publishing and analyzing literature, suffered and was deprived of a typical childhood when one parents success overshadowed the other and in sequence followed a divorce. Auden typically resided with her mother after the divorce as once her father moved out he was too focused on his " funk" of getting his writing career together, leaving little time for Auden. While this left her with her mother she became accustomed to sitting at lectures, lingering around for wine and dinner talks with her mothers students, and was built to focus on critical grammar and punctuation. She was the child version of her mother.She missed out on playdates, going to the park and milestones such as learning to ride a bike. Now it is summer and Auden has been welcomed by her stepmother and father and she doesn't seem to thrilled.
It begins with the title, " along for the ride". Sarah Dessen creates a novel easy to connect to for children that come from not only divorced homes but witnesses to them as well. A lot of times friends, even family " feel bad" for children from divorced homes but they really do suffer greatly and understandably can go unnoticed. Her choice in the title emphasizes that the kids don't sign up for what comes with the divorce, they are just strapped in and expected to " go with the flow" as best as they are instructed to. There is very little control. Sarah has granted readers a connection in this sense. She also caters to average vocabulary, a very relaxing fiction book. There is detail displayed in description that can easily place pictures to mind such as " I could see my mom sitting at the head of our table, a glass of red wine I one hand"(3). Created is a strong, sophisticated women who is in charge and very intelligent... just based off of that short sentence. Throughout the novel Dessen uses words such as exuberant and frivolous that I don't see everyday so they challenge my knowledge but they are not words that stop me from reading because I no longer understand. I believe Sarah Dessen reaches out to a very approachable audience and I have a high interest in her book so far.
I have just began reading this book after a series of books I found uninteresting or too easy. I will admit that I chose this book a little bit based on the " youth" look of the cover and the description that seemed to describe a teenage girl. This is because I find books that I can relate to in some way are more enjoyable to read and I am consistent with doing so.
So yes, so far I do find this book to be not too easy but it isn't quite of a challenge. It is a book thaqt is just right for relaxing or down time, with no expectations and enjoyable to read. I plan on finishing this book as I have not completed a book of choice this year and I WANT to meet that goal.
By Sarah Dessen
Was Auden "along for the ride" that her divorced parents created for her or was she about to create her personal travels with her own agenda of passengers?
Teenage daughter Auden, of parents whose careers focused in on publishing and analyzing literature, suffered and was deprived of a typical childhood when one parents success overshadowed the other and in sequence followed a divorce. Auden typically resided with her mother after the divorce as once her father moved out he was too focused on his " funk" of getting his writing career together, leaving little time for Auden. While this left her with her mother she became accustomed to sitting at lectures, lingering around for wine and dinner talks with her mothers students, and was built to focus on critical grammar and punctuation. She was the child version of her mother.She missed out on playdates, going to the park and milestones such as learning to ride a bike. Now it is summer and Auden has been welcomed by her stepmother and father and she doesn't seem to thrilled.
It begins with the title, " along for the ride". Sarah Dessen creates a novel easy to connect to for children that come from not only divorced homes but witnesses to them as well. A lot of times friends, even family " feel bad" for children from divorced homes but they really do suffer greatly and understandably can go unnoticed. Her choice in the title emphasizes that the kids don't sign up for what comes with the divorce, they are just strapped in and expected to " go with the flow" as best as they are instructed to. There is very little control. Sarah has granted readers a connection in this sense. She also caters to average vocabulary, a very relaxing fiction book. There is detail displayed in description that can easily place pictures to mind such as " I could see my mom sitting at the head of our table, a glass of red wine I one hand"(3). Created is a strong, sophisticated women who is in charge and very intelligent... just based off of that short sentence. Throughout the novel Dessen uses words such as exuberant and frivolous that I don't see everyday so they challenge my knowledge but they are not words that stop me from reading because I no longer understand. I believe Sarah Dessen reaches out to a very approachable audience and I have a high interest in her book so far.
I have just began reading this book after a series of books I found uninteresting or too easy. I will admit that I chose this book a little bit based on the " youth" look of the cover and the description that seemed to describe a teenage girl. This is because I find books that I can relate to in some way are more enjoyable to read and I am consistent with doing so.
So yes, so far I do find this book to be not too easy but it isn't quite of a challenge. It is a book thaqt is just right for relaxing or down time, with no expectations and enjoyable to read. I plan on finishing this book as I have not completed a book of choice this year and I WANT to meet that goal.
The Tapes That Told All
Luchka Pierre
Thirteen Reasons Why
By Jay Asher
Clay Jensen receives tapes with no return address that contains Hannah Baker's voice. Hannah passed away a few weeks ago. In the tapes Clay finds out the truth behind the rumors about Hannah and how she lost hope. Receiving the tapes meant that you were in some way one of the reasons Hannah killed herself and along with Clay there was 12 other people who took part. As Clay listens to the tapes and follows the map Hannah made he starts to realize that she went through all those events and had nobody to confide in.
This book is perfect for middle and high school students of both genders. This book is perfect for the type of audience that love to read books that are real and where they can actually relate to. Reading the book opens the reader’s eyes to the reality that rumors can lead others to treat a person in a way that results them in losing hope in themselves. The characters deal with the hardship of friendship,relationships,and learning who you can trust. The idea of all these themes connecting with one another makes it relatable for young adults. Even as Clay listens to the tapes he finds out that you can’t always listen to what others say(“Only now do I realize, that her reputation started in Justin Foley’s imagination”).
Hannah Baker's character connected to me on a personal level. I was moved by the way Hannah was still be able to give people a chance after being repeatedly let down. Even though I could see her slowly giving hope she still had a small amount of hope that someone will be honest and sincere with her. It also took a great amount of courage for Hannah to make these tapes and at the same she individually and collectively let them knew what role they took in dragging her down as well as letting them know how much it destroyed her. It got me to think how could anybody allow himself to take advantage of someone and to believe a rumor instead of talking to them and getting their side of the story.
The Color Blue
Melissa Nicolas
The Color Purple By Alice Walker
March 26, 2017
They really should've named this book The Color Blue with all of the sad emotions it evokes out of its readers in the first couple paragraphs. The book is an epistolary novel, made up of letters written by Celie to God and by Nettie to Celie. At the start of the novel, Celie is a fourteen-year-old, vulnerable, abused black girl who addresses her letters to “Dear God.” Though I have not gotten far I am quite impressed by the book's ability to capture my attention with short vignette-style journal entries that make up most of the books. These entries do not stray more than a page. The book takes place in Rural Georgia and Celie raises her family in the absence of their mother. She is physically and sexually abused by her father and her only wish is for her sister Nettie to continue her education and be anything she wants to be. Alice Walker does a phenomenal job of creating sympathy for Celie. She feels as though god has dealt her a bad card because she doesn't find herself very attractive, was pulled out of school at an early age to raise her brothers and sisters, and now she's been traded off to raise another man's family. Married life is also quite painful for Celie. She must raise Albert’s children, take full control of any house chores, endure unenjoyable intimate nights with her husband, and undergo regular, unnecessary beatings from him but she continuously thinks positive as she holds on to a picture of a beautiful woman, Shug Avery.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who has a passion for literature. The content can be quite graphic and uneasy to read but is absolutely alluring. I do not recommend the book to children because the material is quite heavy but Adults and young adults regardless of gender should go out and read this book. The book has the capability to teach the worst of people love and compassion. I commend Alice Walker on this book.
In the first page of the book, Celie writes " He never had a kine word to say to me. Just say you gonna do what your mammy wouldn't" ( Walker 1). From there we can imagine what happens next to Celie while speaking about an encounter with her father. My initial reaction to this line was that I was appalled and shocked. I found myself already invested into this character's life and I couldn't put the book down because I needed to follow Celie and Nettie's lives. "Shug Avery was a woman. The most beautiful woman I ever saw. She more pretty than my mama. She bout ten thousand times prettier than me...I ast her to give me the picture. An all night long I stare at it. An now when I dream, I dream of Shug Avery" (Walker 6). I became as fascinated with this character as much as Celie did because of the author's brilliant writing.
One of the best parts of this book is that it is from the perspective of Celie and her sister Nettie so the reader is able to grow up with the characters and see their ideas and lives develop right in front of them and that is the most powerful tactic that Alice Walker uses to engage her audience.
Also if you are a fan of Zora Neale Hurston then you will absolutely love the work of Alice Walker because she was highly influenced by the work of Zora Neale Hurston.
The Color Purple By Alice Walker
March 26, 2017
They really should've named this book The Color Blue with all of the sad emotions it evokes out of its readers in the first couple paragraphs. The book is an epistolary novel, made up of letters written by Celie to God and by Nettie to Celie. At the start of the novel, Celie is a fourteen-year-old, vulnerable, abused black girl who addresses her letters to “Dear God.” Though I have not gotten far I am quite impressed by the book's ability to capture my attention with short vignette-style journal entries that make up most of the books. These entries do not stray more than a page. The book takes place in Rural Georgia and Celie raises her family in the absence of their mother. She is physically and sexually abused by her father and her only wish is for her sister Nettie to continue her education and be anything she wants to be. Alice Walker does a phenomenal job of creating sympathy for Celie. She feels as though god has dealt her a bad card because she doesn't find herself very attractive, was pulled out of school at an early age to raise her brothers and sisters, and now she's been traded off to raise another man's family. Married life is also quite painful for Celie. She must raise Albert’s children, take full control of any house chores, endure unenjoyable intimate nights with her husband, and undergo regular, unnecessary beatings from him but she continuously thinks positive as she holds on to a picture of a beautiful woman, Shug Avery.
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone who has a passion for literature. The content can be quite graphic and uneasy to read but is absolutely alluring. I do not recommend the book to children because the material is quite heavy but Adults and young adults regardless of gender should go out and read this book. The book has the capability to teach the worst of people love and compassion. I commend Alice Walker on this book.
In the first page of the book, Celie writes " He never had a kine word to say to me. Just say you gonna do what your mammy wouldn't" ( Walker 1). From there we can imagine what happens next to Celie while speaking about an encounter with her father. My initial reaction to this line was that I was appalled and shocked. I found myself already invested into this character's life and I couldn't put the book down because I needed to follow Celie and Nettie's lives. "Shug Avery was a woman. The most beautiful woman I ever saw. She more pretty than my mama. She bout ten thousand times prettier than me...I ast her to give me the picture. An all night long I stare at it. An now when I dream, I dream of Shug Avery" (Walker 6). I became as fascinated with this character as much as Celie did because of the author's brilliant writing.
One of the best parts of this book is that it is from the perspective of Celie and her sister Nettie so the reader is able to grow up with the characters and see their ideas and lives develop right in front of them and that is the most powerful tactic that Alice Walker uses to engage her audience.
Also if you are a fan of Zora Neale Hurston then you will absolutely love the work of Alice Walker because she was highly influenced by the work of Zora Neale Hurston.
The 1944 World Olympics
Maxwell Waters
A Separate Peace
By John Knowles
Gone, with no one but himself, Gene faces new challenges without Phineas, the person whom helped him push his own limits and boundaries. Gene begins to get ridiculed by his other classmates because he is accused of attempting to kill his roommate. Gene knows for sure that, these accusations are utterly false. Later while shoveling snow for the military trains to pass by, he along with another classmate Brinker begin to think that their lives would be better in the war. So after a discussion with Brinker he decides to go into the military. In a shocking twist when after a long day of shoveling, Gene sees Phineas lying in his old bed in the dorm room. Mixed emotions, and doubtful about his enlistment, he decides to stay at Devon school for the rest of the semester. Unbelievable to Gene about the special arrival, he along with Phineas skip school and go for a little tour through the athletic campus.
Traumatic experiences lead individuals to dig deep into the past before when they were in a better place. Looking deeply into Phineas’s character he is a seventeen year old, in high school. What makes Phineas feel good about himself was his physique and his incredible wit. While back from being bed ridden for months he walks through the trophy hall with Gene, “Where his name was already inscribed on one cup, one banner, and one embalmed football. I was sure that this was his goal, to mull over these lost glories”(113). Although expected to sulk over his inability to physically further himself, Phineas recognizes his past and creates a new sense of drive. He discovers from that point on that he wants to train Gene for the 1944 Olympics. He understands this task cannot be done himself, so he will spend every waking moment trying to train Gene. Mr. Ludsbury the housemaster at Devon is shocked to hear Phineas’s idea and he tells the both of them that, won’t, “all exercise today is aimed of course at the approaching Waterloo”(121). Gene believes that fat rich men, are making up the war so they can obtain more money through physical labor, and resources from the country.
One would enjoy this book if they ever went through a terrible accident or know someone going through tough times because although the injury is only physically, mentally Phineas has not been the same. Not to say everyone who has gone through trauma ends up mentally damaged, however in some light difficult situations leads one to believe ideas he/she has never thought of before. Myself I can relate to the idea of living with someone who went through a traumatic event. Their accident not only physically changed them, but also mentally altered their perspective. For me at least I like to compare and contrast with these ideas to paint a better picture of the novel in my head.
The Handmaid's Tale: A Dystopian Novel
The Handmaid's Tale: A Dystopian Novel
Nicolas Leger
The Handmaid’s Tale
by Margaret Atwood
At any moment in time, our stable nation could be taken over by radicals -- people willing to take away the civil liberties of others for their own benefit. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood explores this concept through a dystopian universe that connects to our own. Throughout it, the main character, Offred, traces the recent history of the world she now lives in, wherein low-class women have been stripped from their lives for the well-being of infertile upper-class couples. Offred has left behind family and friends, and a life wherein she was once able to show her bare arms and legs in public. Now she must comply in producing a child for the Commander and his wife if she wishes to see her own daughter again. Otherwise, she will be just another body hanging from the wall that encloses her community.
The Handmaid’s Tale serves as an excellent transition from realistic fiction as it incorporates believable (and somewhat concerning) aspects of our modern world that have escalated to a point of dystopian. Atwood’s novel, while complexed and clearly well-developed, is a quick read. Despite Offred narrating events in a non-linear timeline, adding another layer to the novel’s excellence, it lacks the confusion that many dystopian novels have. It feels real.
As a central plot point and main theme, Atwood focuses on sexuality and how it relates to handmaids in this new world. Offred’s mother, a women’s rights activist prior to when everything changed, serves as a foil character to the handmaids. She embraced her sexuality, used artificial resources to have a child, and believed in equality. In a training wherein handmaids are taught how to behave, Offred sees a video of her mother among other activists, “smiling, laughing...raising their fists in the air” (138). There was empowerment and now there is nothing. Offred’s life is empty and dull with her one purpose: reproduction.
With the blatant change in Offred’s society, there is also resistance. While the goal is to breed a new generation in hopes of that generation of children not knowing of a different (perhaps, better) time, the older generations, including Offred, are hesitant. While living in the early twenty-first century, a progressive period in history, there is a similar resistance from a conservative group, mostly consisting of older individuals, who are noncompliant to hand the reigns over to the more liberal, younger generation. Similar to the handmaids, progressives currently “[yearn] for the future” (1), where things are believed, or at least hoped to be better.
Where there is resistance, there is corruption. Having lived in a world where cigarettes were legal and smoking was a social activity, there is still a necessity for it. However, “like liquor and coffee, they are forbidden” (13). Among illegal possessions are risque items -- pornography and lingerie, both that have either been kept from before they were banned or purchased from the black market. There is the illegal insemination of a handmaid; sexual activity for pleasure between those who are to remain celibate. Criminality and wrongdoing litter Atwood’s novel -- whether it be out of what is morally unjust, or that of which breaks the law.
Overall, The Handmaid’s Tale explores a world that, for many currently living in the United States, is seen as a part of the past. It’s a novel recommended for any dystopian lover, or readers looking to explore a new genre without diving in head first.
Brain On Fire
Ty Campana
Brain On Fire
Susannah Cahalan
You have the perfect life, living in New York City, working as a journalist for a top notch newspaper, and in a happy relationship. Now imagine waking up one morning and a switch has gone off. Suddenly the flashing lights of the city pierce your eyes and give you a horrible migraine. The sound of people talking makes you want to rip your ears off, you cant even think about food without throwing up, and you can see bedbugs all over your bed even though you know they aren't there. This was Susannah Cahalan's life and it was only the beginning.
When Susannah woke up looking and sounding like a zombie, that's when her boyfriend Stephen knew that this was serious problem. It was described as a "nightmarish scene" when she woke up. "he though the sounds were just me having trouble sleeping but, when he turned over to face me, I was sitting upright, my eyes wide open, dilated but unseeing... my arm suddenly whipped out in front of me , like a mummy as my eyes rolled back and i started to foam at the mouth." (40). This ended up being a seizure and after this horrible scene she went right to the emergency room.
When she woke up in the emergency room she had no recollection of what had happened just hours before. They doctors quickly threw her out after naming the episode as a seizure because this was for "emergency's only". Stephen called Susannah's parents and she went to stay with them until they figured out what was wrong with her.
After reading only 65 pages of Brain on Fire you really get a sense of who Susannah is and how she is really strong and doesn't stop until she get what she wants. The book is written really well and is always keeping you interested. I am excited to read the rest of Susannah's story and see the final verdict of what mental illness that she has and if she gets better.
I would defiantly recommend this book because of how interesting it is to read about all of the different episodes that's Susannah has and how much of a medical mystery her case was. She goes from being diagnosed with everything from mono, to bipolar disorder and more because new things come along as time goes by to make these previous diagnoses make no sense. "She's tough, She is always under a lot of stress and deals with it better than anyone Ive ever met, bipolar just makes no sense to me. 'me neither' my mom said 'me neither..."(53). I would recommend this book to anyone from the ages of fifteen and up because there is a lot of mature language and just things that are hard to understand. My mom is actually the one that showed me this book and we both love it so that shows how wide of a range that this book can entertain.
Brain On Fire
Susannah Cahalan
You have the perfect life, living in New York City, working as a journalist for a top notch newspaper, and in a happy relationship. Now imagine waking up one morning and a switch has gone off. Suddenly the flashing lights of the city pierce your eyes and give you a horrible migraine. The sound of people talking makes you want to rip your ears off, you cant even think about food without throwing up, and you can see bedbugs all over your bed even though you know they aren't there. This was Susannah Cahalan's life and it was only the beginning.
When Susannah woke up looking and sounding like a zombie, that's when her boyfriend Stephen knew that this was serious problem. It was described as a "nightmarish scene" when she woke up. "he though the sounds were just me having trouble sleeping but, when he turned over to face me, I was sitting upright, my eyes wide open, dilated but unseeing... my arm suddenly whipped out in front of me , like a mummy as my eyes rolled back and i started to foam at the mouth." (40). This ended up being a seizure and after this horrible scene she went right to the emergency room.
When she woke up in the emergency room she had no recollection of what had happened just hours before. They doctors quickly threw her out after naming the episode as a seizure because this was for "emergency's only". Stephen called Susannah's parents and she went to stay with them until they figured out what was wrong with her.
After reading only 65 pages of Brain on Fire you really get a sense of who Susannah is and how she is really strong and doesn't stop until she get what she wants. The book is written really well and is always keeping you interested. I am excited to read the rest of Susannah's story and see the final verdict of what mental illness that she has and if she gets better.
I would defiantly recommend this book because of how interesting it is to read about all of the different episodes that's Susannah has and how much of a medical mystery her case was. She goes from being diagnosed with everything from mono, to bipolar disorder and more because new things come along as time goes by to make these previous diagnoses make no sense. "She's tough, She is always under a lot of stress and deals with it better than anyone Ive ever met, bipolar just makes no sense to me. 'me neither' my mom said 'me neither..."(53). I would recommend this book to anyone from the ages of fifteen and up because there is a lot of mature language and just things that are hard to understand. My mom is actually the one that showed me this book and we both love it so that shows how wide of a range that this book can entertain.
Would you go to Joyland?
Val Mamish
3/25/17
English 12H
Would you go to Joyland?
Your friends invite you to an amusement park in the summer and you agree to go. As you arrive at the amusement park you learn that a serial killer has killed a girl on the ride all of your friends want to go on. Would you get on? In Joyland, by Stephan King, Devin Jones is a college student who gets a job at an amusement park called Joyland. He is actually in his 60s, retelling the story now.
Devon is just an average young adult who is in love with a girl named Wendy. As you continue to read the story you get a feel that Wendy is not as interested in Devon as Devon is interested in Wendy, "The heartbreaker was Wendy Keegan, and she didn't deserve me"(13). Devon puts in a lot of effort in while Wendy doesn't really care about Devon.
Reading 53 pages of this novel I have gotten mainly a sense on Devon and the character he is. The book is however very jumpy, Devon is usually talking about Wendy and Joyland all at the same time so it gets a little confusing. I'm excited to see what is going to happen next in the book. And see if Devon encounters in the ghost of Linda Grey.
As of now, I would recommend this book to a reader because even though I have only read 53 pages, the book is still interesting, and confusing, in a good way because you want to continue to read to see what he means when he is explaining a story in a confusing way. The mysterious theme to the book also will keep you hooked onto reading, "... and then he took her into the Horror House. They went in together, but only he came out"(36). The story of Linda Grey, the women who were murdered at the amusement park is one the main reasons why readers will stay hooked on the book because I am guessing I will find out more about Linda Grey as the book goes on.
If I had to recommend this book to any age group it would probably be anyone over the age of 15 because it is really a mix of mystery and romance so I feel like the majority of ages groups would be interested in the story.
Beyond Shock and Awe
Modernization of war
Shervin Sadr
Beyond Shock and Awe
By Eric L. Haney
The United States has developed its warfare in all assets throughout the past 200 years. As time goes on, conflict arises, and compromises cannot always be made, leading to the inevitable outcome of war. America has encountered many wars, and in Eric Haney's analysis of the development of the U.S's war tactics, he breaks down how we have advanced in the realm of guerrilla warfare with each war we fight.
Haney, in assessing the need of technology to fight a war, says that the U.S in their early stages of war, such as in World War 1 "had the training and equipment to put up a fight" (19). He discusses how these changes in the necessity of being more advanced than your opponent, rather than just having the necessary resources to fight, to be able to win the war.
Haney discusses how with each additional war that the U.S has encountered, they have been more technologically advanced, with new weapon development, such as the atomic bomb in World War II, and this has been and will continue to be the case as the U.S gets involved in more wars. Haney also argues that the U.S has dedicated much of its spending on the military since WWII, to ensure they "achieve high levels of battle field competence"(54).
The modernization of warfare over the years is an interesting thought, as Haney considers the idea that the U.S has invested so much time, money and research on weapons to destroy others, in the pursuit of preserving peace. With each day that passes, and with each war the U.S encounters, technology will advance, and each war will be more advanced than the last.
This book is a very interesting view on the specifics of America's development on the battle field, and especially in testing labs. This is a great read for people intrigued by science, and technology as the technology touched on throughout the book seems too real to be true.
I personally feel as though the author does a great job emphasizing how much America invests in their military, and does and especially great job in peaking the reader's interest in the process and development of the weaponry the U.S has used over the years, showing that technology has reigned as the biggest decider of wars for the past 200 years.
The United States has developed its warfare in all assets throughout the past 200 years. As time goes on, conflict arises, and compromises cannot always be made, leading to the inevitable outcome of war. America has encountered many wars, and in Eric Haney's analysis of the development of the U.S's war tactics, he breaks down how we have advanced in the realm of guerrilla warfare with each war we fight.
Haney, in assessing the need of technology to fight a war, says that the U.S in their early stages of war, such as in World War 1 "had the training and equipment to put up a fight" (19). He discusses how these changes in the necessity of being more advanced than your opponent, rather than just having the necessary resources to fight, to be able to win the war.
Haney discusses how with each additional war that the U.S has encountered, they have been more technologically advanced, with new weapon development, such as the atomic bomb in World War II, and this has been and will continue to be the case as the U.S gets involved in more wars. Haney also argues that the U.S has dedicated much of its spending on the military since WWII, to ensure they "achieve high levels of battle field competence"(54).
The modernization of warfare over the years is an interesting thought, as Haney considers the idea that the U.S has invested so much time, money and research on weapons to destroy others, in the pursuit of preserving peace. With each day that passes, and with each war the U.S encounters, technology will advance, and each war will be more advanced than the last.
This book is a very interesting view on the specifics of America's development on the battle field, and especially in testing labs. This is a great read for people intrigued by science, and technology as the technology touched on throughout the book seems too real to be true.
I personally feel as though the author does a great job emphasizing how much America invests in their military, and does and especially great job in peaking the reader's interest in the process and development of the weaponry the U.S has used over the years, showing that technology has reigned as the biggest decider of wars for the past 200 years.
Monday, March 20, 2017
Bright Lights, Dark Nights by Stephen Emond
Boston's Honorable Book Review
Tamara Raad
Bright Lights, Dark Nights
By Stephen Emond
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be a teenager in New York City, in a time when racism, and family was more important than your own happiness? Do you ever feel divided by lines based on where you come from and how much money your family makes? In this novel we, see things from Walter Wilcox's eyes, and go on the journey with him through the city and the 2.5 friends he has, to learn more about the undiscoverable parts of New York where they all settle their issues. Like any other typical teenage boys they settle there arguments with fights and for them it so happened to be during lunch away from the school in some old abandoned basketball court that people forgot even existed. There you had your typical stereotype cliques clashing with one another, like always, but yet everyone always wanted a show to watch. Someone to fight the big bad bully. We learn that his father's a police officer and always sticks by the rules, but because of one good criminal catch, he ends up getting dragged into a scandal, where his and Naomi's relationship gets racially profiled. But before any of that we need to know who Walter is.
The protagonist's is Walter Wilcox. He is not your average kid. He's the geek, the one that watches movies with his old man, but not your typical action movies. No, more like the old school movies. He lives with his father, hasn't seen or heard from his mother since he and his father left at dusk so that her new boyfriend could move in. He so happened to be their neighbor but got too comfortable with his mother. He was the one who helped her get on medication and help her through her disease, depression. But he still keeps in touch with his older sister. Although she left him long before they split or any of the fighting went on. We see Walter isn't one of those kids who like to relive their childhoods and tell stories of how he grew up. He chooses to forget it even happened. But he meets this girl unexpectedly, and never did he think someone could make such an impact on him, let alone make him feel so alive after so many years.
Her name is Naomi. She has a big family and is falling deeply in love with Walter. They have so many things in common but at the same time are also so very different. She's African American and he's an American boy growing up in an area that he's not use to living at all. In a place where he doesn't belong. They kiss, and play this innocent middle school crush, and try to do couple costumes for Halloween but little do they realize how different they each view the world. Although his mother is in favor of their odd relationship his father is the one he wants to hide it from. But also from his best friends.
There growing up in an area where you stick to the people your suppose to and you don' t mess it up. But here they are, an interracial relationship breaking the stereotype wall and showing people that its okay to be different and to believe in different beliefs. But how will society fight them back? Do they live their happily ever after ? Or will their families and friends even the media break them down and allow stereotypes to decide what their happiness is suppose to be and what love is?
Tamara Raad
Bright Lights, Dark Nights
By Stephen Emond
Have you ever wondered what it feels like to be a teenager in New York City, in a time when racism, and family was more important than your own happiness? Do you ever feel divided by lines based on where you come from and how much money your family makes? In this novel we, see things from Walter Wilcox's eyes, and go on the journey with him through the city and the 2.5 friends he has, to learn more about the undiscoverable parts of New York where they all settle their issues. Like any other typical teenage boys they settle there arguments with fights and for them it so happened to be during lunch away from the school in some old abandoned basketball court that people forgot even existed. There you had your typical stereotype cliques clashing with one another, like always, but yet everyone always wanted a show to watch. Someone to fight the big bad bully. We learn that his father's a police officer and always sticks by the rules, but because of one good criminal catch, he ends up getting dragged into a scandal, where his and Naomi's relationship gets racially profiled. But before any of that we need to know who Walter is.
The protagonist's is Walter Wilcox. He is not your average kid. He's the geek, the one that watches movies with his old man, but not your typical action movies. No, more like the old school movies. He lives with his father, hasn't seen or heard from his mother since he and his father left at dusk so that her new boyfriend could move in. He so happened to be their neighbor but got too comfortable with his mother. He was the one who helped her get on medication and help her through her disease, depression. But he still keeps in touch with his older sister. Although she left him long before they split or any of the fighting went on. We see Walter isn't one of those kids who like to relive their childhoods and tell stories of how he grew up. He chooses to forget it even happened. But he meets this girl unexpectedly, and never did he think someone could make such an impact on him, let alone make him feel so alive after so many years.
Her name is Naomi. She has a big family and is falling deeply in love with Walter. They have so many things in common but at the same time are also so very different. She's African American and he's an American boy growing up in an area that he's not use to living at all. In a place where he doesn't belong. They kiss, and play this innocent middle school crush, and try to do couple costumes for Halloween but little do they realize how different they each view the world. Although his mother is in favor of their odd relationship his father is the one he wants to hide it from. But also from his best friends.
There growing up in an area where you stick to the people your suppose to and you don' t mess it up. But here they are, an interracial relationship breaking the stereotype wall and showing people that its okay to be different and to believe in different beliefs. But how will society fight them back? Do they live their happily ever after ? Or will their families and friends even the media break them down and allow stereotypes to decide what their happiness is suppose to be and what love is?
Wednesday, March 8, 2017
The hunt is over
Joey Dalicandro
Killing Pablo
By: Mark Bowden
It's finally over.. they got him. Pablo is dead. Gone forever.
Many years and millions of tax dollars later they finally got their man. It took nearly sixteen hard, frustrating, bloody months to find him. The hunt involved both a military and diplomatic effort along with various law enforcement agencies both foreign and domestic. It even lasted through two presidential administrations! The hunt was indeed an ugly one, hundreds of people have been killed, police, cartel members, and innocent bystanders. But the only thing that mattered now that he was dead.
The feeling going around Colombia was an indifferent one. Some celebrated his death while many were outraged. To most of the people in Colombia Escobar was indeed a hero. A man of the people. A philanthropist. But to the governments of the United States and even that of Colombia he was a criminal and a fugitive. Colombian newspapers headlines that read Finalmente Si Gayo ( Finally, he's down). A member of the then President of Colombia's team was credited to telling a reporter that the president was "all smiles" with news of the death of Escobar. "Pablo Escobar was a runner, not a fighter" one of the members of search bloc ( the team searching for Pablo ) said as he was giving his statement to the press, "For Pablo going out with guns blazing like a bad guy in the western movies, would have been strongly out of character".
Autopsy reports showed that Escobar had been shot three times. One entered and exited through the back of his leg another one struck him in the back, just below his shoulder while the third entered his ear and exited through the other. Special Agent Steve murphy even admitted that some members of search bloc offered selling him his shirt for as much as 200 dollars because some of Pablo's blood had sprayed on them. Killing Pablo not capturing him was always the main incentive of the mission. Everyone knew that if he was caught he would just escape again, so his death was the only way it could end. Colonel Oscar Naranjo who was chief of intelligence for Colombia at the time said that Escobar was executed at close range. "Escobar was like a trophy at the end of a long hunt" he said. No one wanted him alive. Be that as it may the DEA stations chiefs pride was mixed with regret " he felt that in order to get Pablo they had sold their souls".
The Story of the hunt for the "worlds greatest outlaw" was both very interesting and entertaining in many different ways. It was filled with important history as well as eye opening facts about our own government. If you're a personal who craves knowledge then this is a book for you. My curiosity to learn is what drew me to this story, also a love for history had a role in it also. This story is a great example of how fact can indeed be stranger than fiction, the events that occurred through out Pablo's life were almost like that of a movie. His life was full of lies, deceit, drugs, sex and violence. Which are reasons we as Americans are so drawn to the lives of people like Escobar. There's something about men who live as if they're above the law that intrigues us, deep down inside we all want to live lives as action packed and intense as his was. Also the story of Pablo Escobar is somewhat of an underdog story. He grew up in the slums of the poor Colombian city of Medellin, then worked his way up to eventually become a billionaire on the Forbes list. Well enough of me telling you how much of a great read it is, how about you find out for yourself?
Thursday, March 2, 2017
What happens when everyone is gone?
Limetown, a creepy fictional podcast hosted by Lia Haddock. It is a series of short episodes going into depth of an extremely peculiar case where everyone from a small town disappeared all at once. This is suspense filled and thrilling to listen to. It kept me interested the whole time and made me eager to continue to listen to every little detail the story teller told. The genre is a mix of mystery and sci-fi. The story unfolded sort of slowly, but explained all the key elements well. They add creepy music in the back round to add the scary base line. The author does ramble on about the story, but I never got tired of listening to her, which can usually happen to me when listening to audio books and podcasts. The author doesn't have so much technique, but she keeps the reader on their toes by throwing hints to what happens at the end... In my opinion, this podcast is an easy listen, and relaxing yet still thrilling; not to the point where I cannot sleep at night, but still scary.
I am able to understand the characters and understand personalities more into depth. I like how Lia interviewed family and other people connecting to this mess. I have only listened to the first season, which is clear and broken up into 6 different sections. This is not too time consuming or confusing. This is a disappearance of three hundred people from one town. On the night that this terrible and puzzling thing that had happened there are recorded Police reports and calls that were made while this was going down. But, the Police in Limetown did not make it in time, and when they arrived everyone was gone, houses were empty and questions were never answered.
For me, I sort of related this podcast to Serial, it had similar aspects as to how the story was told.
The author was mostly energetic through the entire season. My favorite part was listening to the snippets of the police calls. I had the chills listening to the helpless people of Limetown. I give this a 9/10 and would most definitely recommend this for podcast listeners, and others who usually enjoy watching scary movies or reading horror stories. Even without pictures, I had vivid images throughout this podcast.
I am able to understand the characters and understand personalities more into depth. I like how Lia interviewed family and other people connecting to this mess. I have only listened to the first season, which is clear and broken up into 6 different sections. This is not too time consuming or confusing. This is a disappearance of three hundred people from one town. On the night that this terrible and puzzling thing that had happened there are recorded Police reports and calls that were made while this was going down. But, the Police in Limetown did not make it in time, and when they arrived everyone was gone, houses were empty and questions were never answered.
For me, I sort of related this podcast to Serial, it had similar aspects as to how the story was told.
The author was mostly energetic through the entire season. My favorite part was listening to the snippets of the police calls. I had the chills listening to the helpless people of Limetown. I give this a 9/10 and would most definitely recommend this for podcast listeners, and others who usually enjoy watching scary movies or reading horror stories. Even without pictures, I had vivid images throughout this podcast.
Homeland
Protecting Lady Liberty and all those who take residence in her country are aware of radical nationalism that takes aim at creating damnation towards "our" homeland. How do we protect Lady Liberty and all those who stand behind the American flag when potential threats are roaming in our backyard. Joby Warrick author of Black Flags writes the modern day genesis of American terrorism and the upbringing of one of America's most feared groups; Isis. Following the story of Abu Musab Zarqawi, a man who laid the pillars of foundation for the extremist army known as the Islamic State.
This book revolves around the perspective of a bloodlust ridded individual who ordered beheadings of captives and has virtually destroyed years of history that was lost in the destruction of antiquities. Warrick embarks on an informative story telling mission where he dissects the early years of Zarqawi's rise to international notoriety. Before his name reached the briefing room in some CIA meeting room, he was pledging his oath to a warlord's militia in Afghanistan where he earned status of being the "holy warrior". Zarqawi realigned himself with a man named Osama Bin Laden, their coalition transcended into organized bombings and assassinations in Jordan. Amnesty was granted to Abu Musab Zarqawi in 1999.
Go figure, a soon to be international terrorist found himself to be on a list where he was pardoned for his earlier convictions. A form of political misinformation led King Abdullah of Jordan to pardon this man on the behalf of reinitiating a relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood with intentions of easing conflict between them and the Jordan Parliament. Warrick doesn't let the details fall at the way side, his book will enlighten you on a side of the story where CNN,ABC, and Fox news don't. I would recommend this book to anyone who has a natural desire to know how a poorly educated brawler from Jordan amassed to be standing behind the most feared group in America.
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