Legend: Midway

Legend has started out very well. It mixes the storylines of the two many characters very well, especcialy with how much interation there is going on in between them. In the first half, Day, the criminal, attempts to rob a hospitol for "plauge cures" to help his brother, who indeed has the plage. The Hospitol is out of plauge medication, and during his escape supposivly killed the other main character, June's, brother. June then starts a hunt for Day, and they happen to cross paths once again when Day rescues her from a "Skitz Fight," or an illeagal street fight, in which gamblers bet on the winner. She then discovers his true identity about 20 pages from the midway point.

I'm really excited to see what Marie Lu does with this book. She has it set up to go in so many different directions. Her writting style is really fun to read, as we can see what the two rival main characters think of each other and their actions against or for one another. Whichever way it goes, it'll be exciting. You get to know the characters well, and can begin to predict what they might do in certain situations. So much has happened so far, and there is still plent of book left, plus a sequal!

Anyways, I'd recomend it highly. Well-written, gripping action-adventure read. As somebody who enjoys the genre, I can't say how you might like it if you dislike the genere, but I think you might.

         

Adiós, for now!

        ~Trevor Bert

Legend, By Marie Lu

Based off the teaser on the back, the book takes place in the future, which is both an extreme dis-topia, or an extreme utopia, depending on where you are.It takes place from two perspectives, one, June, is a "Millitary Prodigy," while the other, Day, is the countries "Most- Wanted Criminal." The part that makes this interesting is that they're both 15. The back cover also says that June's brother is murdered, and so June starts a manhunt for Day. The cover also foreshadows them working together later in the book.

This seems like a very good book, it advertises action and adventure, which are two things I tend to enjoy. I'm once again exited to start reading! With that, I'll see you back here with my midway!

A Christmas Carol: Finale

I was correct. As I predicted before, the Third Ghost shows Scrooge his future, and how his action will lead up to his family being glad when he'd dead. Scrooge didn't realize that this was him, however, until he begged the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come to tell him. He is then shown a grave, with his own name on it. He then begs the Ghost to change his fate, promising that he'll live a better life. He wakes up in his bed, and then does exactly what he promised.

While the end felt a little too 'and everybody lived happily ever after' for me, I did enjoy it. I felt like Dickens could have implemented something else, however, to emphasize Scrooge's willingness to change. for example, I find that in most books of this type the main character sacrifices something for a better cause. Thinking it over, though. Scrooge did. He sacrificed his riches for the better good, buying lavish gifts for the poor who cannot themselves.

A Christmas Carol: Midway

Midway through A Christmas Carol, I'm half-way enjoying it. It's a little difficult to read, and I don't particularly enjoy classics overall. However, it is well-written, and has fiction themes, such as the Ghost of Christmas Past. I enjoy fiction reads, so this appeals to my interests.

Dickens has each ghost represent a decisions, and his actions. The ghost of Christmas Past represents the events that led up to this point in Scrooge's life, while the second one represents what is happening in his life currently because if his decisions. I speculate that the Third Ghost will show him how his actions will affect him in the future.

All-in-all, I'm enjoying this book. I don't think I'd read it again for fun, but It's been an enjoyable book to read..

A Christmas Carol

I think we've all read, seen, or heard the story of Scrooge. However. I gave never really done any of the three, except for in Veggie Tales. So, I've decided to pull it out of my bag, and give it a go. I know that it's out of season, but there's enough snow on the ground for it to be excused.

This will be my first book by Charles Dickens. I'm excited for it. If I enjoy him, there are many other books by him to read!

Unroken Final

As I wrapped up Unbroken it gave me a sense of closure. Altogether, it's a biography of the life of a WWII Veteran, starting from his beginnings and carrying through his experiences as a POW, then his struggles after the war, up until present day. This is what I like about this book, in other war stories, the book ends after the war, or gives a very brief summary of the rest of the veteran's life. However, in Unbroken, a large portion of it is Louie Zamperini's  struggle to overpower his nightmares and visions from his time as a POW, and "The Bird." He falls into alcoholism after marrying a girl he barely knew (After he recovered, they had a happy marriage until she died in 2001.), and struggles until he finds the Church and Christianity.

Overall, Laura Hillenbrand, author, did an excellent job of transforming the remarkable story of Louie's life into an amazing read. Emotions transfer incredibly well, the sorrow when part of the flight crew dies, or the excitement when the first bomber flies over the prison camps. The book reads well, and kept me turning the pages for hours into the night waiting in exited anticipation of the next event in the adventure of Louie Zamperini's life.

New Theme

Do you like the new theme? I made it myself.

Unbroken

I started this book book before the reading unit, and was about halfway through when we started, so I'll be doing my half-way review now.

The book is split into multiple parts, most noticeably Louis Zamperini's early life and life in the war. The first part is Louis' early life, his childhood, and his running career, which took him to the Olympics, and his experience inside Nazi Germany, and being congratulated by Hitler himself. The second part takes place after his drafting into the AAF, as a B-24 Consolidated Liberator bombardier.

It's a true story, but is written in a way that makes it feels almost like fiction. However. it incorporates real events and statistics that I can relate to. These two combined elements make this book an incredibly enjoyable read for myself specifically. However, if you don't have too much background information on WWII, the book does a fantastic job in informing the reader on everything they need to know, the basic knowledge on the B-24, and the pilots opinions on it.

All together, this book is an incredibly enjoyable, regardless of prior knowledge. However, if you don't tend to enjoy war stories, this book is not for you. There isn't any gory material, but there is parts where it would get boring if you aren't comprehensive of the book. It also creates moments of suspense, which could be a reason to read it. Either way, it;s a fantastic read that I would recomend to nearly any reader.

Tha Hand that Bears the Sword: Finale

Oh man, the cliffhanger. Packer Thome, the main character, is named King as the Nearing Vast army prepares to take back the city that was taken from the by the Drammune. Also, in Drummune there was a transfer of power, and the new woman in power was the Hezzan's- that is, the dictator's, wife. Zealots, who are the equivalent of priests in the Drummune religion, Drammun, are infuriated, but are trapped by their own laws. Meanwhile, in Vast, the religious themes are strong. There are plentiful references to the Bible, faith, and forgiveness. Religion takes a very large place in this novel, which I find very cool. It's a large risk to incorporate religion into books, but Polivka does it very well in this book. However, I think that if you were not a Christian, you would be overwhelmed by the magnitude in which religion is incorporated into the book. Anyways, I absolutely loved the book. Polivka uses old sentence structure in quotes, and combines it with modern while not. It makes the book easy to read, but you still get incredibly immersed into the book. If you ever need a book to read, I'd recommend this one. It's a bit long, but that's not a complaint. I can't wait to read the next book of the series, The Battle for Vast Dominion!

The Hand that Bears the Sword: Midway

I'm about halfway through the book, and I'm finding it incredibly enjoyable. I find that it builds up to a climax, weather it be a battle, an assassination, etc., and then falls until it starts climbing again. You don't get bored reading it, either, because of this. The "Age of Sail" time period also works well for the religious and royal themes for the book, allowing the author to create a divide between the protagonists, the Kingdom of Nearing Vast, and the antagonist, the Drammune. He also uses perspectives from both kingdoms, each with their own Pro- and Antagonists. This gives the reader a sense of dramatic irony. I predict, based on the next book's in the series title, "The Battle of Vast Dominion," that the book will end ready for the largest climax, but then will move to the next book.

Abandoning "For The Win," Picking up "The Hand That Bears The Sword."

I've lost interest in For the Win, it didn't really interest me after reading the first 40 pages or so.
However, I've had a book in my bag for two or three years now.The Hand That Bears The Sword, by Bryan Polivka It takes place in a different universe than ours, but comparatively, in the age of sail. It's the second book in the Trophy Chase Trilogy, I haven't read the first, but it isn't necessary to understand the plot line. It' classified as Historical Fiction, as it takes place in what we call the age of piracy. Its audience is young adults, judging by use of the word "lecherous," which tells me there will possibly be some romance scenes. I hope I enjoy this one better than I did For the Win!

Hello! And Welcome to my Blog!

I'm only starting this for a school project, but I feel like I could have fun with this. The first thing I shall pull out of my Big Bag of Books, AKA the Library, is For The Win by Cory Doctorow. It's in the Sci-Fi genre, taking place in the near future. I have to prior knowledge about Doctorow, but I have read, and watched, a lot of Sci-Fi; it's one of my favorite genres. The book's "blurb" is a bit confusing, but it gets the main idea across. Taking place in the near future, most industry seems to take place online, creating "Gold" which is then sold to gamers in exchange for real money, which then goes back to the hard, gold-creating process. I don't really know what to expect from this book, on the cover there is a few words next to the title: "Online for offline, You've got to organize, To Survive." It tells me that there is both cyber and real-world combat or arguments. It seems like an interesting read, and I'm excited for it!