Ender's Game Continues To Disappoint

 We return to the futuristic world, plagued by fear and big government.
This is a world constantly on the edge of war, and thinking of war with the “Buggers”, who have come close to destroying Earth a few times before. In the search for a new savior, the army stumbles across Ender, an 11 year old from a small town in America that is never revealed. As he grows into what they hope will become the savior of Earth against the enemy, we follow his journey. If you read the first review, you know I feel this book cannot live up to it’s potential set up by the plot and characters. After reading some more of this book, I'm sad to say that the book has not improved. The novel still suffers from the same shortcomings and pitfalls that plagued it before, and does not seem to be heading into a better direction.

After the first review, the book seemed to pick up for a while. I was
excited as Ender seemed to be growing as a character and the characters around him seemed to be more fleshed out and be very human. However, this section of the book is short lived, and we are met with more paper thin characters that are cold and not relatable. One example of these cold characters come where Ender is striving with his suit, and the leader of the group berates the rest of the boys, saying “" 'Why weren't you ready?' asked Dap. 'you had your suits just as long as they did.'" (61) Ender once again becomes cold and shut off, and the book slows down again. The best example of Ender’s cold lifeless attitude come when the book says "Knocking him down won the first fight. I wanted to win all the next ones, too. So they'd leave me alone." (16) The development of previous characters is almost non existent, and makes it very difficult to get invested in the book, or any of it’s characters. Every time there seems to be a promising plot point, or a character that could become one of some substance, they are immediately swept to the side, and replaced with more cold, lifeless versions of the same generic character types found in many science fiction novels. Also, as opposed to making their disappearance have an impact on Ender, changing his character and making him feel more human, they are instead left behind, never to be mentioned again. This cycle is very annoying and leaves much to be desired from the novel and its writer.

The positives, that are few and far between, remain mainly the same from
my first take on the novel. The book still does not stray far off the path it has set for itself, for better or for worse. The action and battle scenes remain the most interesting and best written part of the book, with their vivid descriptions painting mental pictures of chaos, but still being clear and precise enough so you can keep track of all important moments and characters through the chaos. Dialogue between the characters has become more and more forced, but still remains somewhat believable, giving the characters their only real humanity. The premise of the novel remains the same, thus remaining as interesting as in the beginning. There are a few human moments, one of which comes early in Ender’s stay at Battle School, where "...His desk would go dark, 'Free Play Over' would march around the desk, and Ender would lie back and tremble until he could finally go to sleep." (64) However, for all these positives, the negatives still manage to drag the book down.

As you maybe can tell from these past two reviews, I'm not this book’s
biggest fan. However, I could see this book appealing to someone who wants a good science fiction book to read with lots of action and not much else. Though I may not finish the book, if it sounds like something that you would like, I definitely recommend it to you.

A poor beginning ends in triumph

The Boys In The Boat
By: James Brown
4/28/17
Michael Vital


   A long, dark scary road to excellence. Overcoming many hardships and obstacles to obtain one of the highest athletic achievements that many will dream of, but only some will receive. Imagine yourself in the time of  World War 2. Hitler was at reign and many people were living in fear. In 1936 the Summer Olympics were held in Berlin, the capital of Germany. At this time Hitler only wanted his "perfect Nazi specimens" to win the medals. Yet, it was one Jewish boy from Ireland who stole the most valuable medal in the rowing event, away from the Germans. Joe Rantz, abandoned by his family, is the definition of a work-horse. After seeking a way to a better life he ends up at the University of Washington, where he meets a rowing coach by the name of  Mr. Ulbrickson. At Washington, Ulbrickson plans to draft his very strong rowing team into the Olympics. Joe was very intrigued by the art of rowing and decided to give it a whirl. Soon enough he became noticed , and caught the eye of  Mr. Ulbrickson. Among-st the strong competition, Joe somehow made the team. The very inexperienced  Jewish rower went on to lead his team to a very prominent victory over the Germans. Written by James Brown, this book is a very true, and sad nonfiction story. Expressing many ideas of  perseverance and overcoming  hardship.

  There has not been many books that I have found this year that really dragged me in and allowed me to read onward. This book, allowed me to do so. If it wasn't for the lack of time I had to read each day, I probably would have sat in my room finishing the book in one day. This book is a very exciting read, and I definitely recommend you check it out. The character Joe and his constant 100% effort through all obstacles really spoke to me. As a student-athlete I am always pushing through obstacles and consonantly working my hardest on and off the field and in the classroom. One of the most important themes of the book, which is strength really makes the book speak to me. The language that conveys all this really made me interested in reading this book. Some of the quotes like, "But it's not just about me. It has to be about the boat."(3) and "It doesn't matter how many times you get knocked down, it matters how many times you get back up." Those quotes really show how important your internal strength is in order to overcome great obstacles and overcome hardship.

  Calling all history lovers for this one. If you are in love with history then this book is good for you. It hits a lot of interesting  topics during WW2 that will make you enjoy the reading very much. This is also a book  any sports fan or athlete should be reading as it consistently expresses how important having a positive attitude is. Overall, this is a must read, and you can quote me on that.

Do secrets effect relationships?

Do secrets effect relationships?
By: Neil Patel

"Tell The Wind And Fire"
By: Sarah Rees Brennan

          We all have been in that situation where you want to be curious and try to figure out the big secret is. In the book, "Tell The Wind And Fire" by Sarah Rees Brennan, tells us a story about a keeping big secrets away from each other leads a simple relationship changing into a revolution. There is a city in New York which has is divided in half. The Light side is the good side of the city, but the other side is the bad part of the city which they call the Dark Side. A girl in her teens named Lucie has realize a lot of odd thing going on while being in a relationship with Ethan Stryker. One night, coming back from a date to Martha Vineyard, "holiday at Martha's Vineyard...those two days were long and sunshiny and warm."(1), they were waiting for a the train to come. Two guards came and ask a simple question which was what there names were. They responded with there names. The gaurds said "If he's a Stryker...then he knows the law."(7)At that moment Ethan knows what's going on, but poor Lucie was lost. Ethan wanted to tell her but didn't know what the right time was. Once one of the guard said that they got token apart from each other.

          The genre that I love to read is fantasy and this is a fantasy book. I rate this book a 9.5 out of 10. For a person that doesn't like to read (like me) this is a pretty good book to be honest. For people who like fantasy book I would recommend this book for you and I also recommend this book to people who liked the Percy Jackson series. You will enjoy this book. The reason why I enjoyed it was because there was a lot of dialogue in this book. For me I feel like when there is a lot of dialogue the book feels more realistic. It seems like a real life situation. Another reason why this is a wonderful book is because it makes you think. I am not talking about rocket science type thinking but something easy that you will enjoy. I'm still not done with this book but I'm still looking forward to finishing this book by the end of the school. Hopefully I convinced you to read this book. If you do read this book I hope you have a fun time reading this.

The Path I've Found and Chosen

Justin Loc

Pathfinder
By Orson Scott Card

Rigg is not normal. His intellect and strength are impressive, but the ability he holds is what stands out. The teenager can see the trails of movement for both people and animals. They show him where a specific creature has been and the path they took. He can see all paths that have been made throughout history, and can tell the age of them through color. Blue means it is new, while red means it is ancient. For Rigg and the man he calls Father, this ability fits perfectly for the role of being a trapper, a type of hunter. On the day Father dies in an accident, Rigg learns from him that his mother lives and his sister exists, and that he must find them. Thus, a journey to find answers and uncover secrets begins. Rigg will be forced to question everything he has been taught and to know who he can trust on the way.

I chose to read this book because of the interesting idea of Rigg's ability and that it is known as science fiction, my personal favorite genre. But, after beginning this book, I found myself with more than I bargained for. For as far as I have read, I have found the action both interesting and intense from Rigg's point of view. Scenes are heavily detailed, shown by how each action and thought witnessed and made by Rigg are described: "He couldn't be solid, could he ? [ . . . ] Yet this man looked so real-the hairs and pores on his calves, a raw place where something had scraped against his ankle, the frayed and half-opened hem of his kilt,"(30). Descriptions of appearances and actions make the story and scenes easy for the reader to imagine happening. Another aspect, the element of mystery, is abundant, as even Rigg's power itself is a mystery. The need of finding out answers to all my questions is overwhelming, making it extremely satisfying to learn more and more about both Rigg's world and life. This is what gives me the most motive to keep on reading. One more thing I like about Orson Scott Card's style of writing is how character development is done wonderfully through both dialogue and actions. The characters' different personalities and moods are what make the story more relatable and less boring to read. An example is when Father explains to Rigg the situation he (Father) is in: "'I don't know where you are-' 'Shut up,' said Father [. . .] 'I'm pinned under the tree,' [. . .] 'You cannot move it because I have been pierced by two branches, completely through my belly,'"(11-12). Father shows that he is impatient and straight to the point in this scene, which makes sense since he knows his life is about to end.

Personal reasons for why this book has won my favor are the writing style for Rigg's narration, and Rigg's personality itself. I both respect and enjoy Rigg's perspective, as the imagery is strongly built, and I really like having a story easy to understand without reading over it twice. *Glares at Great Expectations.* Rigg's personality is very interesting and relatable towards me. I can feel like I'm in Rigg's shoes sometimes: "'I understand,' said Rigg. 'Did I ask you whether you understand? Of course you understand. Don't waste my time.' Silently Rigg said, My two words didn't waste as much time as your three sentences,"(13). I do this often when someone tries to argue with me but says something hypocritical in the process. But I doubt I would do this when the person I'm arguing with is dying.

Pathfinder is a great book for those who enjoy a little mystery in their science fiction. With a page count of over 650, I recommend to start reading this whenever you have time to spare. There's no rush to finish it shortly after starting, but I believe you'll want to if it suits your taste!

Yuliana cardona Catu

The Black Book Of Secrets
By FE Higgins

Magic frog? Magic book? Magic man? How does that sound?

            The black book of secrets incorporates a significant amount of themes and topics that are important. Joe zabbidou the main character has the ability to get money without actually working, instead he pays the occupants in the Pagus Parvus village for their secrets. The Boss as he calls himself is Jeremiah Ratchet, he manipulates everyone with threatening them about divulging their secrets. Joe helps the villagers get rid of those secrets by writing down the ones that he gets told and keeps them in the book. "The book is confidential and I will never surrender"(204). The symbol for writing them in the book is so that the people are supposed to be liberated from them and not feel so much guilt about the bad things that some have done. The villagers of course were afraid of Jeremiah so then the opportunity of standing up to him were not in there intentions. But as they began to take more and more with Joe they finally realized that he couldn't manipulate them any more or go and take stuff from their homes or businesses.  When Jeremiah tries to steal the book from Joe the magic frog bites his arm and later on,"a creeping numbness spread un his arms and throughout his body. His chest tightened. This threat swelled."(209) After this something happens to Jeremiah…...find out!!!

         Indeed this was a very good book but not one of my favorites, I like how its mythical and includes fantasy. The plot of the story I feel was pretty drastic because at the beginning of the book the frog was never shown as anything more then just a frog. He was always mentioned in at least one of three chapters but just to the extent of him being in his cage and when he was fed or when someone tried to touch it, Joe would tell them not to because she didn't like it. But throughout the book the author begins to include the frog more and describe what it looks like, and what it likes and what it dislikes.  The mystery it includes is very intriguing and makes you want to continue reading.
     
                  I do recommend this book to all ages because it's fun to read and it makes you think abstractly. But it also teaches a lesson that I got from it which was that karma is always gonna get you back, even if that means waiting a long time for it to strike you. If you are doing something wrong then what you should be prepared for is also something bad coming for you. No one should feel as more then others because of what they have which was in the case of Jeremiah, he took advantage of the poor people and that's what he lived off of eventhough the poor people worked hard.

THE G.O.A.T RULES 2.0

The Jordan Rules
By Sam Smith

Book Review 
By Ethan Morales

4/28/17

The era of nothing but rings, awards, titles and overall success of the greatest dynasty the Chicago Bulls.


The Chicago Bulls were the team to be in the late 90's, as they went on to win numerous amounts of rings and titles to support their claim as being the best dynasty of all time. The Bulls had some star players, but no one stood out as much as Michael Jordan did. He was basically a one man team winning numerous scoring titles and MVP awards. Michael's journey was not easy at all, he had to fight through all the media and hate from the environment around him. His greatness and winning mentality is the real reason why he is acclaimed to be the G.O.A.T (Greatest Of All Time)  in the basketball world.

This book would suit the needs of many athletes around the world for any sport. The book describes a  mentally tough expedition to create the greatest basketball to every play the game. Also, this book shows the constant strive for greatness of this dream Chicago Bulls team. This book wouldn't make sense to people who don't watch/play the game of basketball.

The reason this book spoke to me so well is the strive for greatness the Chicago Bulls had it was so ridiculous how a team can break so many records as if it was nothing just another milestone the Bulls team destroyed. The theme that revolves around this book is simply greatness as it has developed inside the Chicago Bulls for the team to be beyond greatness and then some. The way I connected with the entire Bulls is the strive for greatness feature they had as myself have wanted to be able to reach milestones in my sports that I do as well and the Bulls make it seem "light" work compared to all the other NBA teams in the league. "They needed a more unselfish leader"(introduction). This quote shows that the Bulls team is looking for a player who doesn't want to be the only one shooting the ball but to be able to pass and make plays and overall be successful running the basketball team. The Bulls were able to break the record for most wins in a season but, “Seventy wins don’t mean a thing without the ring.’ So it became a topic of discussion.”(introduction). This quote shows that breaking the wins record means nothing without the ring, because if your the best team and can't win a ring are you really the best? This shows how the Bulls wanted greatness more than anything to be able to show that they are the best and is also the reason why my opinion and connection are what they are.


NOW, after reading this blog I hope you feel the need to be great and to do something great and to be a leader. If you are going to run to your nearest book store and buy this book as quick as you can, remember this book will only make sense to people who understand the culture/mechanics behind the game of basketball. This book shows how greatness can be found in every single person under one name the Chicago Bulls the Dream Team lead by his Airness Michael Jordan. 

          

The True Dystopia

Brave New World
by Aldous Huxley

The dystopia train did not start with The Hunger Games series, and it certainly didn't end with it either. Like, yeah, I enjoyed Catching Fire just as much as the next person because it was engaging and well-written, but there's a sort of a feeling of safety one gets when reading a scenario that extreme and improbable, that this could never happen, which so many dystopian stories now seem to be adopting, turning them more into a science fantasy novel than anything else.

To me, dystopian novels should be incredibly real despite being fiction; they should make you think, "Will that happen to us?"

I touched on that in my review of Ernest Cline's Ready Player One, which explores the ideas of digital dependency in a fun little 1980s trivia factbook. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley is, admittedly, a little less fun to read, but I believe that its ideas are just as important as those expressed in other books that I prefer, such as the aforementioned.

To keep it simple without revealing too much (since if I say one thing I have to explain ten others), the main idea is that humans in this society, all over the world, are no longer born and instead are genetically engineered in mass quantities to fit into different castes that all have different duties to fill: alphas, betas, gammas, deltas, and epsilons. Alphas are the smartest and most individualistic while epsilons are extremely developmentally delayed and expected to complete only menial labor. Bernard Marx, who is introduced as one of the main characters, is an Alpha-Plus: the top of the top... yet, everyone finds him incredibly odd because of his strange stature and tendency to think too hard!  "Odd, odd, odd," people think, "so odd, indeed." (87)

The first of its many slight downfalls that I would like to immediately address is its inherent sexuality. While this book definitely isn't rated R for explicitness, it does regularly touch upon the topic of sex in the context of having multiple casual partners; one mantra that is often repeated throughout the book is "every one belongs to every one else" (43). Not every reader is going to be comfortable with this, mature enough to handle it, or even have in an interest in reading about it. However, I will say that it's sort of refreshing to hear these things discussed in such a nonchalant manner; people now, especially Americans, have such a stigma around intimacy that just sort of worms its way into one's brain, even if one is not particularly disconcerted by discussing such topics.

The plot is a little unclear at first, since quite a bit of the early pages are spent describing the dystopian world (disguised as a utopia by the corrupted in charge) in which Bernard lives, who also do not become the obvious "protagonist" (quotation marks emphasized there) until much later, as several characters are introduced before him and the entire book is not centered around his point-of-view.

To be completely honest, I can't say that I have very strong feelings about this book like I have the past two I've written about. I don't hate it, but I don't love it, either. Despite that, though, I do strongly suggest that any older teenager or adult who does have the opportunity to read this book at least consider doing so. I haven't finished it yet, but I have gotten far enough to form an educated opinion of it; I'm a little over halfway through, because for me, it is slow reading.

This book is a learning experience, not really a 'fun' read. It's about the dangers of a society focused on entertainment, leisure, and luxury (much like Fahrenheit 451!), written in the early 1930s that still applies to life today. However, because it was written in the 1930s, it can be hard for the average teenager to relate to for several reasons: the dialogue can be unnatural in places due to the time and setting in which it was written, all of the characters are adults, and said adult characters are ignorant jerks and a little bit idiotic at times. Not to say that this wasn't done purposefully and is a product of bad writing-- they absolutely should act like they do, given their society-- but it has been incredibly difficult for me to get through certain portions of the book without getting frustrated. One chapter, I relate wholeheartedly to Bernard and his thought process; the next, I wish I had never compared myself to him. However, for the sake of avoiding spoilers, I won't go into the details of what makes him fluctuate between different ends of the likability spectrum so often.

Long story short: a fantastic lesson delivered in a a-little-better-than-mediocre package. Don't get me wrong; I wouldn't argue somebody's ear off about why I think I'm correct in saying that this isn't a great book, because I don't believe it's not. I just think that the moral of Brave New World could have been conveyed in a more engaging way that would make it a bit more "timeless" than it already is.