Month: December 2024

The Kill Order is written by James Dashner. This is a prequel to the popular Maze Runner books he writes, along with the next I will be reading, The Fever Code which is about how the maze itself was made. What I’m going over is the ending of this book which had a great turn. This is where Mark had infiltrated a government building/bunker or one similar to that where he finds an electronic tablet that shows important information on the virus “The Flare” that made the whole world fall.

We the Coalition hereby grant the PCC express permission to fully implement their PC initiative #1 as presented in full and attached below. We the Coalition take full responsibility for this action and will monitor developments and offer assistance to the fullest extent of our resources. The virus will be released in the locations recommended by the PCC and agreed upon by the Coalition. Armed forces will be stationed to ensure that the process ensues in as orderly a manner as possible. (p. 295)

This quotation talks about how government organizations, PCC and the Coalition, both gave permission and selected specific spots to release this deadly, world-dominating virus out to as stated before in the book, to “control the overall world population”. Which clearly wasn’t maintained at a safe level.

Ghost was an amazing book and I don’t know why I haven’t read it sooner. When I find a good book and cannot for the life of me put it away until I’ve finished reading the entire thing. Ghost is definitely one of those books. I like to think about reading as phases in my life because that’s exactly how I treat it. When I find good books I’m completely obsessed and I won’t stop reading until it’s done. This phase can randomly occur at any given moment; the next minute or the next year… maybe 3 years. I think I’m about to watch my reading phase Begin Again (I have been getting a lot of recommendations from some of my old friends).

Ghost is about this 13 year old 8th grader who has a very dark past about his father. His father started drinking and one day he tried shooting ghost and his mother. Not just once, like reloading and trying to shoot them again. Ghost and his mother ran and made it out alive (without getting shot). Life has been hard for both of them since then and they live (and lived) on Glass Manor (which is where everyone who is financially struggling ends up making it the poorest part of town). For context because I think it’s important, Ghost is not Ghost’s real name, it is a self given nickname that he goes by because he feels like no one notices him like a ghost (he gets bullied quite a bit and gets in trouble often) and also because he runs so fast that he is like a ghost disappearing into the darkness of the night. His full name is Castle Cranshaw.

I got two quotes from this book that I would like to share. The first one is irrelevant to the actual story itself and the other basically represents the entire thing.

I got a scream inside. And I could tell Red did too. He was a white boy with red hair who everyone was friends with mainly because people were scared that he was crazy and it’s better to be one crazy’s good side. Jessica Grant said her mother said the only reason people have red hair is because they’re red on the inside. Red like violent. But I got black hair, so does that mean I’m black on the inside?

Red is one of the only two school friends Ghost has. He gets bullied a lot especially by this kid named Brandon Simmons. This particular day Ghost has enough after Brandon threw chicken wings at him. Ghost picked up a tray and whacked him on the head. Brandon fell backwards, but Ghost kept it coming. I was cheering and rooting for Ghost the entire time. He definitely one. I too had to deal with many douche bags and I wish I had enough confidence to do what Ghost did.

One last quote (I know I wrote a lot, but I loved this book).

He faced me again, looking straight in my eyes. “Show you that you can’t run away from who you are, but what you can do is run toward who you want to be.”

This is what his track coach responded with when Ghost asked what he thinks running can do for him. He had to let that sink in for a while…. I LOVE THIS BOOK WITH MY WHOLE HEART!!!

The Magicians Nephew is one of the seven books in the Chronicles of Narnia. Including The Magicians Nephew, which I have just read, I have read five of the seven books. I really enjoy these fantasy adventure books and I like how the author writes. I can always picture in my head what’s happening whilst reading. In this book, The Magicians Nephew, Digory (the nephew) and Polly become friends in London when Digory’s uncle (the magician which he does not realise yet) gives them magic rings which sends them into the ‘Wood between the Worlds’. In this wood, they can use the rings to travel to different world by jumping into one of the many ponds. When they enter one, they find themselves in a new world. They come across an old room in an abandoned stone courtyard with broken walls and pillars, and thought there were lots of people in the room at first, but they were portraits hung on the walls. The furthest left portraits looked like nice and friendly people, but the further they moved down the wall, the nastier the people were. At the very end, there was an image of a woman. She looked beautiful, but fierce. Digory and Polly determined that she was the queen. And beyond her, there were empty chairs as if there were meant to be more people. In the middle of the room, there was a table which they went over to inspect. Some foreign language was engraved on the stone which they could not understand at first. This is when I came across this passage of the book.

If only Digory had remembered what he himself had said a few minutes ago, that this was an enchanted room, he might have guessed that the enchantment was beginning to work. But he was too wild with curiosity to think about that. He was longer more and more to know what was written on the pillar. And very soon they both knew. What it said was something like this – at least this is the sense of it through the poetry, when you read it there, was better:

Make your choice adventurous Stranger;

Strike the bell and bide the danger,

Or wonder, till it drives you mad,

What would have followed if you had (p. 35)

After reading this, they got into a quarrel because Polly did not with to continue but Digory did. At last, Digory hit the bell with the hammer, which was the choice they had to make to find out what would happen, and it were like a mini earthquake had happened. The room was filled with such loud noise and rumbling. Once it had stopped, at the end of the room where the image of the cruel woman had been, had come alive.

I chose this passage because I find it an important part of the story to learn how the queen came to be which will start Narnia and give readers a better understanding of how the story starts. Because of what happened here, they entered (unknowingly) into the land of Narnia by entering the wrong pond and then they got to watch it be created by Aslan which will be the start of the real adventures for anyone who comes across Narnia by mistake, which will be in the other books.

Reading To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Hen, I was able to reconnect to the somber feeling of when I first watched the cringe love story of Lara Jean and Peter Kavinsky that faithful night in seventh grade. Thinking of all the books I could possibly read throughout the winter break, I stumbled across the one imaginative love story I’ve re-watched over and over again but have never been able to read.

“So, love and dating? I love to read about it, and it’s fun to write about and to think about in my head, but when it’s real…”

”Peter: “What, it’s scary?”

Lara Jean: “Yeah.”

Peter: “Why? Why is that scary?”

Lara Jean: “’Cause the more people you let into your life, the more that can just walk right out.” (p.176)

Needless to say, I completely expect every surprise waiting for me as I flip to the next chapter. I understand that’s completely also how countless writers have dreaded to read as they have gotten their books adapted into films for Netflix to profit off of. I don’t recommend this process of watching whatever book adaption before reading the hard-cover original. Nonetheless, if you have truly loved a storyline as I have with this basic love story after years upon years then read at your own risk of boredom.

The Wicked King, by Holly Black is the second book of The Cruel Prince trilogy. In this book. Jude has bound the Wicked King, cardan, to her, and made herself the power behind the throne. Navigating the constantly shifting political alliances of Faerie is difficult enough if cardan were biddable. But he does everything in his power to humiliate and undermine her. When it comes all too clear that someone close to Jude means to betray her, Jude must uncover the traitor, to maintain control as a mortal in Faerie world.

“I have learned that I cannot trust anyone in Faerie. I have learned that the price of power is not just a crown, but a heart that beats in the cold. I have learned that even the most well-laid plans can fall apart, and that the best way to keep control is to never show fear, even if you are terrified.”

This quote shows Jude’s realization that power in Faerie comes with mistrust, emotional sacrifices, and fear of losing the ones you love or yourself. She understands that to maintain control, she needs to hide her vulnerabilities and adapt to the ruthless world around her. This is where Jude starts growing into the person that will rule Faerie and will one day become the queen of Elfhame even as a mortal girl.

”Night” by Elie Wiesel, is a wonderful book detailing his experiences as a Jewish teenage boy during the Holocaust. He describes his experiences through his time in concentration camps, particularly in Auschwitz and Buchenwald most famous for its horrible sights.

“Never shall I forget that night, the first night in the camp, which has turned my life into one long night, seven times cursed and seven times sealed. Never shall I forget that smoke.”

Through his suffering and loss, Elie Wiesel overcame his past experiences creating a book that had won the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. This book has changed countless people’s lives across the world providing a new never-seen perspective that will never be forgotten.

The Borrowed Life of Frederick Fife is about Frederick, who is an old man very a very kind heart and is always willing to help others out. He was still grieving about the loss of his beloved wife named Dawn. Frederick was getting evicted from his apartment. Nothing ever seems to be going well for him. He ends up getting mistaken as another old man named Bernard Fred (who his dead because of an accident), and decides to borrow his life.

‘Would you mind terribly, old boy, if I borrowed the rest of your life? I promise I’ll take excellent care of it.’

As he continues his life he learns to move on and meets a new girl named Hannah.

As Fred gazed upon young love and old love side by side, his heart felt fuller than it had in a very long time. If only he had a loved one to share it with. Yet to his surprise, this time, instead of Dawn, it was Hannah who came to mind (Page 159).

This quote indicates how far Frederick (or should I say Bernard) has come with this new chapter of his life. He didn’t expect his life to have such a sudden turn like this one, especially at his age; he thought that he was nearly done his last chapter before these series of unpredictable events. I honestly didn’t enjoy this book as much as I had thought I would in the start. Hearing about this book I was really excited to start reading it, but quickly changed my mind after reading a bit of it. This book may be interesting for those who like ‘dark’ humour (you’ll instantly understand what I’m talking about once you start reading it) and those who do not mind a disgusting amount of detail.

In The Reptile Room, Lemony Snicket continues the Baudelaire orphans briefly find hope living with their kind, eccentric, relative, Dr. Montgomery, in his fascinating home filled with exotic reptiles. However, this sense of safety is  shattered when Count Olaf, disguised as Stephano, reappears with another sinister plan. A central theme of the book is the obvious dangers, forcing the siblings to rely on their own intelligence and courage. My favourite quote from the book being;

Dear Reader,

If you have picked up this book with the hope of finding a simple and cheery tale. I’m afraid you have picker up the wrong book altogether…

..I am bound to record these tragic events, but you are free to put this book back on the shelf and seek something lighter.” (Blurb)

This is because it sets the tone for the entire series. Dark, honest, and unapologetically tragic. This quote resonates because it prepares readers for the challenges the Baudelaire face and highlights their resilience despite endless misfortune.

 

The Kill Order is a novel written by James Dashner, the same man that wrote The Maze Runner books. If you have read the first 3 Maze Runner books then you would know that the entire world is slowly being killed off and turned into a dystopian wasteland by a virus called “The Flare”. The virus feeds off of the victims brain and drives them to the brink of insanity, soon enough turning into bloodthirsty monsters which are soon referred to as “Cranks”. In the quotation I’m about to show, it has an old friend, the Toad, returning but seems to have gone crazy and in need of help.

The Toad dropped to his knees and held the lit match closer to his face. He looked gaunt, and his eyes were moist and haunted.

“Are… You okay?” Mark asked, hoping his friend was just tired.

“I’m not,” the Toad answered, his face quivering as if he were about to cry. “I’m not, Mark. I’m not okay at all, There are things living inside my skull.” (p.81)

And

“I have things in my skull. I need help getting them out of there. Before they eat my brain and start heading for my heart” (p.82)

Both of these quotations show the character the Toad, experiencing symptoms of The Flare, having it thrive on his brain. Later in the story he proceeds to do inhuman screeches and wails, and he gets violent and angry. The whole reason I showed this is because it gives us good insight on the mutating process the virus has on the brain, driving someone mentally ill. And a little theory of mine is that the violent intentions to soon come might have been from the voices in his head, maybe telling him to.

 

My Side of The Mountain, by Jean Craighead George. This book, published in 1959, is a tale focusing on 15-year-old Sam Gribley, who decided to run away from his home in New York to go off and attempt to survive in the wilderness on his great-grandfather Gribley’s farm.

“By April I was no longer living off of my storehouse. There were bulbs, tubers, and greens to be had. Meals were varied once more. There were frogs’ legs, eggs, and turtle soup on my table. I took my baths in the spring again rather than in the turtle shell with warmed over snow.” (pg. 161)

In this quote, we see Sam discussing the end of winter up in the mountain. He was finally able to have more varied meals since animals were coming out of hibernation, berries and plants were starting to grow, and the weather was finally becoming warmer. Sam is no longer restricted to the small surface area of his hollowed out tree because of the cold weather, and he is now able to explore more of his local area.

In the book called “Kitchen”, we are Introduced to a young lady named Mikage Sakurai, who, after the loss of all her relatives, may not afford to live at the family house, and so her days there are numbered. Fortunately for her, she meets a young man, Yuichi Tanabe, with whom she bonds pretty quickly over her families tragedy. Her Grandmother has an unfortunate passing, and since it was her last relative, she was really sad, however, when she looked at Yuichi, she started to to think herself that her love for her grandmother was nothing compared to his;

…his eyes were swollen, from crying. When he saw my grandmother’s picture on the altar, again his tears fell like rain. My first thought when I saw that was that my love for my own grandmother was nothing compared to this boy’s, whoever he was, he looked sad. (p.7)

Overall, this mutual trauma helped bond these two characters together. Yuichi later invited her to stay at his house for as long as she likes, even proposing for her to move in with him and his mom. This excerpt perfectly outlines the kind and passionate character of Yuichi Tanabe.

The Thief is a Japanese book written by Fuminori Nakamura, published in 2012. The story follows Nishimura, an experienced pickpocket as he steals from the people of Tokyo. Nishimura receives an incredible job offer from an ex-crime partner of his, and pulls off his greatest heist.  Nishimura manages to pickpocket sensitive documents from a pocket that is completely sown on every side and resides on the inside of the jacket of the target. Along the way he meets a child with a good-for-nothing mother. He teaches the child the ways of pickpocketing in order to save him from getting caught. 

“A wallet shows a person’s personality and lifestyle. Just like a cell phone, it is at the center, forming the nucleus of the owner’s secrets, everything he carries on him.”(p. 7)

I chose this quote because I think it’s interesting to see such a personal take on wallets, I don’t think that’s something that most people even think about. Seeing it from the eyes of an experienced pickpocket makes wallets which are ordinarily dull seem like interesting objects full of personality.

In Coco Mellors’ Blue Sisters, the story follows four sisters whose lives are deeply intertwined, even as they navigate their own challenges and struggles. The book begins with a powerful quotation on the nature of sisterhood:

A sister is not a friend. Who can explain the urge to take a relationship as primal and complex as a sibling and reduce it to something as replaceable, as banal as a friend? Yet this status is used again and again to connote the highest intimacy. My mother is my best friend. My husband is my best friend. No. True sisterhood, the kind where you grew fingernails in the same womb, were pushed screaming through identical birth canals, is not the same as friendship. You don’t choose each other, and there’s no furtive period of getting to know the other. You’re part of each other, right from the start. Look at an umbilical cord—tough, sinuous, unlovely, yet essential—and compare it to a friendship bracelet of brightly woven thread. That is the difference between a sister and a friend. (p. 3)

This opening resonated with me profoundly, especially in moments like these, when I truly miss my oldest brother. It made me realize how essential he is in my life. How he’s not just a sibling but a part of who I am. Unlike friendships or romantic relationships, which are formed by choice, the bond between siblings is something you’re born into. You don’t get to pick your sibling, but despite, or maybe because of this, the connection feels deeper and more enduring. Even though the book focuses on the relationship between sisters, its reflection on the unique, unchosen connection of siblings perfectly aligns with me. My brother is irreplaceable and will grow with me, and has seen me grow my whole life. Reading this book has allowed me to reflect on the importance of siblings and how much they shape us, no matter where life takes us.