City of Bones

City of Bones

          Recently I have read only one good book. It is called City of Bones, by Cassandra Clare. I had just recently finished the first book in the series, and haven't gotten the chance to read the second book yet, which is called City of Ashes. This was a really good book about a teenage girl named Clary Fray who is normal until she witnesses a murder. Normally, people wouldn't write a fictional book about this. What makes it special though, is that the murdered guy was actually a demon, who can disguise themselves to look however they want. Nobody can see the demon and the killers, who are called Shadow Hunters because they hunt in the shadows and kill demons. Clary's world is twisted that night, and she is thrust into the world of demons, vampires, faries, werewolves, and other magical creatures. For a full summary of this book, click here.

          This is a really well written book with many plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat for most of the book. There are many different characters that are both funny and also important to the story. My favorite character would definitely be Jace. Jace is one of the shadow hunters that Clary sees that night. He is a humorous person and also important to the plot. One funny moment with Jace would be when Clary and Jace are out, and Clary mentions that there are girls looking at Jace, he responds by saying, "Of course they are, I'm stunningly attractive." Jace is also an important character in the book, and is one of the main characters. He is normally quiet about his past, but as the book goes on, we learn more and more about him. 

          I would rate this book a solid 9/10. This was a book that I really enjoyed. The only thing that wouldn't make this book a 10/10 would be the fact that there are some scenes in the book that I think are completely unnecessary. For example, there is a scene towards the end of the book in which Jace and Clary go to the greenhouse and just talk, for an entire chapter of the book. It doesn't have any value to the book, in my opinion. Other than that, I think this was one of the best books I have ever read. 
          The kind of people that would like this book would be the kind of people that enjoy mystery, violence, and fantasy. I will have to say though, that I would not recommend this book for younger kids, because there is mild suggestive behavior, and there is also a lot of swearing. Other than that, any age group can enjoy this book. There is also a movie that has been released based on this book. 

Semester 1 Reflection

        In this post, I am going to talk about all the books that I read over all these months. I am proud of the amount of reading that I have done, and that amount surpasses my goal that I set for myself. I have read about 25-35 books. I have not posted blogs on all of them, especially the series that I have read. The series that I have read, ordered by favorites, were The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini, Demonata by Darran Shan, and Circue de Freak by Darran Shan. The series by Darran Shan were longer in amount in books, but each book was shorter. The Inheritance Cycle had four books, but each book was really long. I have also read other books here and there, but they were more of like a small in-between book between series. These series were quite different, but if you look closely enough, you will find that these books all have some things in common. One example would be that they all have magic involved. These series also have non-human species involved as main characters. Inheritance had dragons, Demonata had demons, and Circue de Freak had vampires. These similarities show what types of books I like to read.
           My blog posts have clearly evolved over the semester. In the beginning of the year, my posts were more like they summaries of the book instead of my opinion on those books, which was a better thing to do. Another thing that I have improved on was using specific textual details. One thing that I think I did well was that I always had some type of picture, video or link in my post to give my readers. This allows them to get a different opinion or more information on the topic.
          A goal that I have for the second semester would be to read some books outside of my comfort zone. I would like to read some non-fiction or historical fiction because they would expand my knowledge and I think it would teach me to read and understand what I am reading even when what I am reading isn't the most fun thing. Another goal would be for me to do some of the posts early, and do them voluntarily, and maybe do one every time I finish a book instead of posting according to the due dates. Lastly, I think that changing the way my post is should also be a goal for me. I do the same type of post every time, summary of the book and how I felt about it. I feel I should post sometimes while I am in the middle of the book so I can express my emotions ant things like that. Overall, I think my posts are OK, but could use some improvement.

          I'm making this post because I am supposed to have 10 blog posts right now, but I checked tonight because I have a blogging assessment tomorrow, and I wanted to check. Over the last couple of weeks, I had finished the entire Eragon series, and I really enjoyed it. I would rate it a 10/10. There are multiple groundbreaking discoveries that we make that repeatedly had me so far on the edge of my seat that I'd fall off. Paolini also placed these discoveries in such a way that it is impossible to stop reading.  
          My favorite character in the book would probably be Murtgah, the son of Morzan. I like him because he has always had a rough time growing up, but always stuck to his beliefs. Even as the story continues, as we get a um... different(trying not to spoil) perspective of him, he is always trying to find loopholes around what he has been forced to do.
          This series was really good overall, and we followed all the character's journeys on their quest to vanquish their evil king. I would recommend this series to anyone that wants adventure, mystery, and does not mind minor violence.
          If you want a nice summary, click here.

Eragon

          Over the last couple of weeks, I have started the Inheritance series. This series is about a boy named Eragon who found a dragon egg, one of the last one in existence. He needs to change who he is to defeat their evil King Galbatorix. He is also a Dragon Rider, like Eragon, but vastly more powerful. The first book follows his journey from his days on the farm to him traveling their world to find the Ra'Zac, who killed his Uncle Garrow. In his journey, Eragon and Saphira meet many people, and many species. In the Varden, a group of people that oppose Galbatorix, he is forced to make many tough choices. In the end of the book, Eragon and Saphira must help the Varden help defeat an army of Urgals, a violent, war loving species, sent by the king.
         My favorite character would be Brom, the mysterious old man in Palancar   Valley. As the book goes on, we learn more and more about Brom, and eventually we learn that he is a lot more that he lets on. One of my favorite things that Eragon says about Brom would be,"You know what? I think you just enjoy speaking in riddles. I’ve half a mind to leave you so I don’t have to be bothered with them. If you’re going to say something, then say it instead of dancing around with vague phrases!"I would rate this book a 9.5/10 because I really enjoyed it. If I had to find one problem with the book, it would be that the book has multiple perspectives. What I mean by that is in one chapter, it may follow Eragon's journey, and in another chapter, it may follow Roran, his cousin. I understand that it would be hard to follow all the main characters in the book without this method, and it is the best way, but I still don't like it. I am going to be reading the rest of this series and I hope they are all as good as this series. The type of people that would enjoy this book would be the people who enjoy some violence, but not too much, and also need to like mystery. There is also some humor involved, for those who like that. 

          This book was one of the best I have ever read, and it has been turned into a movie, and I really want to watch it now. I just hope it the movie isn't a bad version, which would ruin it for me. 

A Long Way Gone: Central Idea

          Over the past week, Carter, Shane, and I have been reading a motivational true story that takes you into the world of Sierra Leone and how child soldiers were being used in the war. This book is called A Long Way Gone. This memoir took place in a war torn country where the only goal is survival, but that may not be enough for the main character, Ismael Beah, after being introduced in the war, and being taken bu the government to serve as a thirteen year old, had been given drugs and told to kill anybody not wearing their colors. He eventually learned how to heal and forgive himself, and went on to tell the world about how to end children being used in war.
          Throughout this book, there are many central ideas that have had an impact on Ishmael and eventually the world. This central idea was leaning how to forgive oneself is an important step for healing. What I mean by this is that in the memoir, Ishmael only started healing after he forgave himself of all of the horrible acts he was forced to do.

          This image shows a picture of children working in the army. During his lifetime, Ishmael had to do many horrible things. That is why it was so hard to forgive himself. At the age of 13ish, he had to do things most people wouldn't do in their lifetime. The reason he eventually was able to forgive himself was because of the people supporting him in UNICEF, like Esther.  His forgiveness of himself began when Esther says "None of this is your fault." (Beah 165) This is the day when the forgiveness of himself began. He eventually was able to forgive himself, and then later was able to help other child soldiers.
          Forgiving yourself can be one of the most important things to do if you want to heal.This link shows many strategies on how to forgive yourself. One of the best ones that I think Ishmael did was talk to the people who want to help. On the website, the most similar one is probably keeping a journal.
          After healing, Ishmael became a great person and was able to be successful in life.

The Maze Runner

After reading Mrs. Bross' blog, I decided to read The Maze Runner myself. Mrs. Bross was mainly taklinkg about this book and what she liked and what she disliked in this book. For this post, I am going to focus on what Mrs. Bross didn't like because I found it interesting. What she said she disliked was how there were no happy scenes in this book. I think she is completely right. After reading the book I realized that I thought kind of the same thing. 

This book is about a boy named Thomas that is sent to a place that is trapped, and there is no way out. Thomas has no idea who he is and what his past was like. He has to find a way to get himself and his friends out of there, before everyone dies. 

Back to the lack of happy scenes, I think it is true, and it happens in a lot of cases. I liked this book better and thought it was less noticeable because of the little amounts of humor that James Dashner involves in this book. For example, my favorite character, Chuck. He is a light hearted kid who will always look on the bright side of things. For example, when Thomas first gets to the place and asks Chuck how old he looks, Chuck says, “I’d say you’re sixteen. And in case you were wondering, five foot nine … brown hair. Oh, and ugly as fried liver on a stick.”

Overall, I would reccomend this book to people who like plot twists, suspense, and some action. 

         

Catching Fire

Over the last week, I have read the second book of the Hunger Game series, called Catching Fire. I really enjoyed this book, and in my opinion, was better than the first one. What happens in this book is that there is something called the Quarter Quell. The Quarter Quell occurs every 25 years and it is just like the Hunger Games, but with a twist. Haymitch, Katniss and Petta's mentor, won the last Quarter Quell. The twist then was that there would be twice as many tributes. This year, the twist was that the tributes would be chosen from only the existing pool of victors. For District 12, there was only one woman victor: Katniss. That means she is going back into the arena.
          The gang: Katniss, Peeta and  Haymitch start to train for the games this year. Since they have all the food and things they want, they can become like careers.
          When the games start, we know that this isn't Katniss' kind of place because the first thing that she says is, "This is no place for a girl on fire." I wont tell you what was in the arena but most of you will be able to guess what it is like in there.
          Over the games, the story is pretty much the same, but the ending is even more unexpected than the first book. I won't tell you what it is but there is no way  anyone can guess it.
          The type of people that would like this book are people that like mystery, violence, and drama. I like all of these things so I would rate it a 9.5. The only reason it isn't a 10 is because of the massive cliffhanger at the end. Hopefully, some of you will like this book also.