Book Review of Dangerous by Shannon Hale by Ravjit Kaur

Book Review of Dangerous by Shannon Hale

by Ravjit Kaur

This is a fantastic dystopian book that has a sci-fi twist to it! It is interesting, and different from other dystopian books that have a typical plot. This book is filled with action packed adventure, and crazy science fiction, with alien tech that’s out of this world! (Literally and figuratively).

Enter Maisie Danger Brown, the one armed girl that will save the world. Maisie has always wanted to be an astronaut, but with one arm, that isn’t likely to happen. When she gets the chance to go to NASA-like astronaut boot camp, she jumps right in! Little does she know, she will be getting into a whole lot more than that. Her team wins challenges at the camp, and she, her team, and the alarmingly charming Jonathan Wilder head to a little island off the coast of Ecuador to see a space pod. Before she knows what’s going on, they are up in space, and Dr. Howell, the rich scientist who made the camp, lets them touch alien technology. The alien technology plants itself inside their bodies, and they gain crazy superpowers. Aliens whose planets had been taken over sent these so called “tokens” to other plants to help them. Faced with saving the world, the “fireteam” appoints Wilder as their leader. Complications arise, and Maisie acquires all five tokens. Now it’s up to her to save everyone. However, Wilder’s dad wants the tokens to himself. With Wilder’s dad, Maisie, and the scientists all fighting for the tokens, time is running out for the Earth to be saved from the ghost-like aliens that inhibit humans’ bodies and trash them after they’re done. The only way to save everyone is to destroy their ship, so that the aliens won’t have anything to use as a host, but will Maisie be able to do it? Or will she crack under the pressure?

I love this book so much. It shows great loyalty, courage, and teamwork between the characters. This book is amazing, and is one of the best books I have ever read! If you want in on the full story, then read this book!

Parent to Child, a poem by Ananya Swaminathan

Parent to Child

“Teach me how to love,” begged a child of ice,

“Teach me how to hold things dear.

All my life, I have only known the coldness

Of empty rooms and broken promises.”

“Teach me how to smile like other children,

Teach me how to laugh and sing.

I’m still cold after sitting by the fireplace

Because for me, no fire burns within.”

“Teach me how to make a friend (because I have none),

Teach me how to scream and cry.

If only I could get rid of this numbness

That renders me unable to empathize.”

“Teach me how to show gratitude and compassion,

Teach me how to love someone deeply,

Nothing is capable of hurting me now,

But nothing can make me feel happy.”

“I will make your icy heart melt,” I tell her.

“I will light a fire in your soul.

I will show you kindness and consideration,

To fix you and to make you whole.”

“I will be your friend when no one else is,

I will make you laugh and cry and sing.

You can trust that every promise, I’ll keep,

And in an empty room, you I will never leave.”

“Take my hand and don’t let go.

I promise that I’ll hold on, too.

You’ll feel many things but never cold

So long as I am right next to you.”

Ananya S.

Major League Baseball 2015 Overview by Joshua Liao

Major League Baseball 2015 Overview

                The 2015 baseball season is underway, and every day until September, there will a baseball game on television. There is much to be excited for this year. The Nationals are vying to become baseball’s next super team after acquiring superstar pitcher Max Scherzer. This will also be the first time in almost 2 decades where Derek Jeter will not trot out as the Yankee’s starting shortstop. Speaking of the Yankees, Alex Rodriguez is back after a year away from baseball, and as one of the game’s most famous and highest paid athletes, you can bet that people will be tuning in for his return and scrutinizing his every move. Mike Trout, widely considered to be the best player in the game right now, continues to wow fans, viewers, and haters alike. Clayton Kershaw and his devastating curveball is trying to win yet another Cy Young Award. People will stop in mid-bite to watch Giancarlo Stanton bat. No one wants to miss a 600 foot home run, nor will they want to miss Yasiel Puig’s trademark laser from deep right field to third base. This is why we love baseball. The game’s players come up with spectacular feats that some of us marvel at while others try to duplicate. As summer comes around, you can always count on a few things: Every major league baseball team will be fighting their tails off at a chance for to play in the World Series and parks around America will be filled with youngsters with a dream of playing major league baseball one day.  

Favorite Color by Chandu Singathi

What is your favorite color?

Purple like the rich fabric worn by royalty

Yellow like the bright sun rising in the east

Pink like the girly nail polish glittering on my nails

Blue like the late evening sky after a long day of school

Orange like the freshly peeled citrus fruit sitting on the countertop

Black like creepy shadows wandering in the night

Brown like warm chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven

White like the plush clouds creating shapes over our heads

And green like nature

which created this all

The Note by Ananya Swaminathan

The Note

The day I left,

You pressed a folded piece of paper into my hand.

Smiling and crying, you whispered,

“Don’t forget to read it.”

But there was a lot of commotion that day

What with me moving away.

As I was packing my suitcase, I failed to notice

The piece of paper drift off my bed and onto the floor.

I meant to read your note when I finally reached,

As a reminder of the place I had left.

You can only imagine the horror I felt

When I realized that I did not have it.

Now I can only speculate what it was you tried to say

But your words are lost to space and time

And I find myself incapable of rediscovering them.

If only I could read your mind.

There is nothing to do but move forward.

I must face the fact that

The most important question will remain unanswered

Until I return to you.

And I surely will, someday.

~Ananya Swaminathan

Best Friends by Thara Venu

Best Friends

By: Thara Venu

Let’s have a heart to heart talk.

It’s been twenty years…

And you haven’t changed.

Neither have I.

So once again, we’ll meet like we did before.

With a handshake and a crooked smile.

And we’ll talk again like we did before.

Little talk here and there.

And then, we’ll start our little game.

And you’ll play the role of the hunter.

And I’ll be the bait.

You’ll be the savior,

and I’ll be your sidekick.

But you have everyone on a thread,

you’ll pull and tug when you need them.

But I was on a rope.

My fingers have burns, tight red lines trailing across my palm.

And you were the masked puppeteer.

I didn’t gladly oblige to be anything of yours.

No, I did it for my own satisfaction.

For my own need of knowing that you needed me.

I did it so that I know I don’t need you.

But every note heard, needs an instrument played.

And an instrument played, needs a note heard.

In the end, we needed both of us

for our own satisfaction.

For our own sense of knowing, that if one of us gets wounded,

we’ll both die.

And as I lay, lonely, on my deathbed in many years,

my thoughts will come back to you.

Who did I live for?

A poem by Chandu Singathi

“What is a Middle Schooler?” (haikus)

middle school students

clumsy, awkward, and silly

opaque yet so clear

some are serious

some constantly joke around

some think they don’t care

insecurity

builds up continuously

deep inside of one

gossip and rumors

move faster than a sports car

someone might get hit

mixed feelings disturb

hormones interrupt their days

changing emotions

some days bring laughter

other days they want to cry

mood swings are frightening

working hard is hard

but one day it will pay off

try to be the best

academic stress

tries to eat up their big brains

but happiness rules

everything’s funny

jokes are added to the pile

joyful memories

middle school is strange

but there’s more I have to say

don’t be judgmental 

Chandu Singathi

Bracket Busters by Joshua Liao

Bracket Busters

                Every year, millions of individuals across the United States fill out a bracket for the NCAA basketball tournament, only to cry out in horror as favorites lose and underdog teams pull out improbably upsets. This year was no different. Third seeded Iowa State lost in the very first round of the tournament, shocked by the previously unheard of University of Alabama-Birmingham. Powerhouse Virginia lost to seven seeded Michigan State in the Sweet Sixteen. Mighty Kentucky didn’t even make it to the finals after many had predicted them to win the entire tournament. So why then do we fill out brackets, even though they will be reduced to a pile of tears and incorrectness in just a matter of weeks? There are 68 teams in the tournament and the odds of getting every single team right is about 9 quintillionth. That’s a 9 with 18 zeroes. The exact number is 9,223,372,036,854,808. Most calculators can’t even get that high! Therefore, the possibility of your bracket being correct is just about zero. Nevertheless, with a little luck and extensive knowledge about each team in the tournament, you might just be able get close. The winning bracket this year submitted in the ESPN tournament challenge guessed 61 out of 67 games correct. When we see others come this close, it inspires us to try again next year, believing once again that this just might be our year.

Spring Break by Joshua Liao

Spring Break- What Really Happens

The Beginning

                The possibilities are limitless. It’s as if I have the whole world in front of me. Spring Break! Even if there’s only 9 days to this all too short break, I feel excited. Given a whole week and an extra weekend, what would one do with their time? I know this is the perfect opportunity to play video games, hang out with friends, and watch a bunch of movies on Netflix. Homework, after taking a priority for the past 2 months, can TAB (take a break) out. March madness is on and I’ll continue to watch what’s left of my brackets get busted up. This is the time to recharge my batteries, get enough sleep, and enjoy the last major break before summer. I write both a mental and physical note for myself to get started on that essay, but who are you kidding? 

The End

                My brain is fried. Too many video games, too many movies. Break is over. It’s Sunday night and school begins tomorrow. I almost feel sick to my stomach from all the junk food I consumed on the couch watching other people play sports and move around. I sort of wish I did spend a bit of time on that essay. Oh well. I’ll have to cram it in Monday night. Now I have to worry about getting my spring break assignment, which I completely forgot, about done. I promise myself that I won’t procrastinate next time, but all the way in the back corner of my mind, I know that I would do it over again.  

                

Lying, a poem by Harrison Chiu

Lying

By: Harrison Chiu

“I’m fine.”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

Isn’t that what we all say?

“That’s great.”

“Everything is okay.”

The irony, the irony

Makes me want to laugh

Can’t you see?

We all say those hollow words,

Hidden by our hollow shells,

In our hollow lives

Can’t you understand?

Don’t you get it?

Lies, lies,

Always sound better

Than the truth

Because

Who wants to hear

Tales of broken hearts,

Broken souls,

Broken minds?

So here I am,

Lying to you.

Fifth Grade Graduation, a poem by Chandu Singathi

Fifth Grade Graduation

I walked out of my house

The golden sun shined down on me

I twisted the black loops in my hair

Knowing this was my last week at Greenbrook

My green dress blew in the gentle summer breeze

I will graduate today

Everyone was dressed like royals

Wearing formal shirts or sparkly dresses

We all knew what was coming

We all thought we would feel blue

But the gold was on our minds

Freedom will be here before we know it

As every class walked into the colorful gym

Family members settled in the back

I spotted my mom and dad

Then I saw my sister in the third grade section

Noise filled the huge assembly

I felt ecstatic neon yellow peeking out from within me

There was a slideshow of us all

Showing memories from our past like a black-and-white movie

Clear tears formed in my eyes as I watched

But once they handed me the golden President’s Award

I knew I was in on a fresh new journey

To a colorful place in the next chapter of my life