Tips for Freshmen

Tips for freshmen

Entering High School can be a fright. I have been there, and the first day was an absolute terror, however I survived the first day and many more. The first day of school is over, and so the first week so a round of applause to all freshmen.

 Some tips, I would like to give the freshmen is to be organized. If you have your agenda and your locker is neat, you will never be late to class or forget your homework. A big one is, do not procrastinate!! It can be hard to come home and do your homework, when you can watch TV or go on your computer. However, once you finish your work, you may feel so accomplished and watching TV can be your reward. You definitely don’t want to stay up late to do your work, when you can finish much earlier and also get free time. Use your agenda to help you balance out your clubs, sports, homework, projects and also free time, by writing down your after school schedule. In the school provided agenda, there is a section on the bottom with times after school, which is very useful if you are busy after school. Some clubs include: Red Cross, JSA, FBLA, Viking volunteers and many more. Joining clubs is a great way to interact with old friends and also make new friends. Also, don’t be scared of the upperclassmen, in fact many are very nice and helpful, as you will find out through peer leadership in gym. Each freshman gym class will have a pair of peer leaders who will help you out with school, and just anything in general. To add on, high school can be a huge jump from middle school, but it is definitely a wonderful time. And the last tip is to remember to have fun! 

Arshi Shah

Fault in Our Stars review

The Fault in Our Stars Review

Sixteen-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster has been diagnosed with stage 4 thyroid cancer since she was thirteen, and has only been kept alive by an experimental drug. On her parents’ insistence to keep up a social life, she attends a support group at a local church where she meets Augustus Waters, a former basketball player who lost his leg to cancer. A friendship quickly blossoms, and soon the two find themselves falling in love. The book is a whirlwind of events, from hospital visits to a trip to Holland to meet the author of Hazel’s favorite novel. The book brims with real emotion, and I found myself crying and laughing throughout it.

What I love the most about this book is how it approaches the topic of teens with cancer. The main character is not the cliché perfect, peppy do-gooder who creates her own organization and changes the world. She’s sarcastic, selfless, blunt, intellectual, and accepts her own mortality. However, she isn’t angst-ridden, constantly bearing this aura of decay and disease. She’s complex and completely original.

The Fault in Our Stars is definitely my favorite novel by John Green. It’s refreshingly different from his other books, yet it also contains the same philosophical quotes and musings that the previous ones share. It’s witty and heartbreaking and thought-provoking, funny and poignant and romantic. It’s a tragic love story right from the start, yet it’s irresistible and unforgettable. Normally I don’t enjoy romance novels, but Green does this one flawlessly. He doesn’t over-do the romance for Hazel and Gus. It’s cute without it being mushy.

I recommend this book to teens and adults alike. I was able to read it in a day; it catches your interest and holds it throughout the whole thing, with the ending leaving you wanting more. There’s something to learn and love for everyone in here, and there’s a simple, quiet beauty in it that’s hard to find in other young adult novels. It is highly-acclaimed, named TIME Magazine’s #1 Fiction Book of 2012, Entertainment Weekly’s Best Fiction Book of 2012, and a #1 New York Times Bestseller, to name a few.

If you like The Fault in Our Stars, you might want to check out Green’s other novels: Looking for Alaska, Paper Towns, and An Abundance of Katherines, as well as Will Grayson, Will Grayson, which he co-authored with David Levithan. Before I Die by Jenny Downham is also another excellent teen cancer book.

A film adaptation for The Fault in Our Stars is also in production, with Shailene Woodley as Hazel, Ansel Elgort as Augustus, and William Dafoe as Peter van Houten. Both John Green and his son Henry will make cameo appearances.

Review by Kaitlyn San Miguel on September 14, 2013

Divergent Review

Divergent Review

 

Divergent takes place in the Chicago area during an untold time in the future. Everyone is divided into one of five factions: Abnegation (the selfless), Erudite (the intelligent), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Candor (the honest). Every year, all the sixteen-year-olds take an aptitude test to determine which faction they belong in, and shortly after taking the test, they pick their faction and undergo initiation. However, for Beatrice “Tris” Prior, her aptitude test results are inconclusive, thus making her “divergent”, an unusual and dangerous thing to be. She chooses the Dauntless faction, and from there, she must survive the risky initiation process while hiding the fact that she is divergent. Meanwhile, tensions between the Erudite and Abnegation factions increase, hinting at a possibility at a faction-wide war.

 

The recent trend in dystopian teen novels continues, and although I’ve found it to be getting old, I had no qualms against Divergent. It’s been likened to The Hunger Games with its futuristic setting and empowered female protagonist, but it is most definitely not an imitation. Although Veronica Roth is a new author (Divergent being her first novel), she writes with the ease of a seasoned writer.

 

My favorite aspect of the novel would have to be Tris’s character. She’s not a perfect person and has many flaws, but she knows this and understands this. She can be selfish, unruly, stubborn, and overly talkative, but she is also brave and intelligent and understanding. Her character development over the course of Divergent can be seen clearly with each passing page. She’s a complex protagonist, growing and maturing throughout the story.

 

There’s a little bit of everything in Divergent, not overly abundant in any one category. It’s part action, mystery, love story, adventure, science fiction; in short, even if dystopian novels aren’t your favorite genre, there’s something for everyone in it. There are different subplots within the plot, which all converge in the end. Despite it being over 500 pages, it’s a thrill ride of a book, with rarely any dull points. You’ll grow attached to the different characters, and sometimes it will feel like the events in the story are actually happening to you.

 

Divergent is the first book in the Divergent trilogy, followed by Insurgent. The conclusion, Allegiant, will be available October 22, 2013. There are also four short stories told from the perspective of Four, another character in the Divergent series. A movie is also in production, starring Shailene Woodley as Tris, Theo James as Four, and Kate Winslet as Jeanine Matthews. The movie will be released in late March of 2014.

 

Review by Kaitlyn San Miguel on September 6, 2013

Book Thief review

The Book Thief Review

Easily one of my favorite novels geared for young adults, The Book Thief is a poignant story of family, loyalty, death, the effects of war, and love. Taking place in Nazi Germany and narrated by a personified version of Death (who is more of a bleeding heart than a soulless Grim Reaper), the story revolves around Liesel Meminger, a young orphan girl who goes to live with her new foster parents, the Hubermanns. The relationships between Liesel and her foster parents, her neighbors, and a Jewish fist-fighter that her foster parents hide in their basement during World War II, are all examined. Throughout the story, Liesel is a notorious book thief, stealing books from unlikely places that include graveyards, a local book burning, and even from the mayor's wife's library.

The plot itself is absolutely intriguing, and Zusak's writing style is fluid. It's unique from books of similar topics in that it doesn't hold back; every scene bursts with raw emotion. Liesel's youthful innocence, which later is taken away from her by the effects of war, is a stark contrast to the bombings, beatings, and senseless killings that occur. Flashbacks, flash-forwards, and temporary cuts from Liesel's life to Death's job of gathering souls around the world during this devastating period of time occur quite frequently and are very normal in the novel. Everything is shown as being connected to each other,  with all the stories intertwining at the end.

What really makes The Book Thief one of my favorite books, however, is the characters. Each one is written with remarkable depth, and it's impossible to not feel attached to such memorable characters as Hans Hubermann, Rudy Steiner, and Max. However, this book should come with a warning label; it is incredibly sad, and you're going to need a box of tissues by the end of it. Though Death gives you an insight as to how the ending will play out, it is still a blow to the stomach when it finally arrives.

The Book Thief is also now a major motion picture, slated for release in November of 2013. Actors include Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson as Hans and Rosa Hubermann respectively, and Sophie Nelisse as Liesel.

Review by Kaitlyn San Miguel on August 30, 2013

Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Review

Jonathan Safran Foer is an author who has risen out of the blue and is growing into the most phenomenal author of his generation.  Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Everything Is Illuminated, released a novel I had never heard of until it recently became a motion picture. It goes by the name of Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, and is one of the absolute best books I have ever read.

Oskar Schell is a journey-bound, curious-minded individual. He is yet to be twelve years old, but his mind is far above that of children his age. He constantly takes scavengers and hunts for unknown treasures that have been set up for him by his father, until one day a tragic event puts an abrupt end to his glowing light. His father is killed in the terrorist attack on the twin-towers in New York City that we know as 9/11. Without his father, Oskar struggles to find happiness in his life.  But one day, he finally needs to know why. He takes to his father’s office, and finds not what he was expecting; in a vase, there is a small envelope with a single key inside. He sets off to find the matching lock, traveling through the city day in and out.

A story which seems to be an ordinary child on a journey is far, far more. It is a new kind of heart break; the struggle of loss from a brilliant child who has had his childhood suddenly ripped from him.  He meets the most unexpected of people, whose stories are dryly realistic in a way that completely halts a reader. Both in Oskar’s family, his grandfather and grandmother, and friends who he meets along the way, the reality is heavy and heart-wrenching.

Jonathan Safran Foer has crossed new boundaries with this book, and claimed territory that could make this book a long-lasting classic. There is an honesty to it that is absolutely impeccable.

If you read and like Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, I also recommend Everything Is Illuminated by Jonathan Safran Foer, and The Fault in Our Stars by John Green.

Written by Geena Elghossain on August 19, 2013. 

Ender's Game Review

It is essential to start by saying that this book easily makes my top ten favorite. Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card uses a celestial scenario to get across a message far beyond the boundaries of ordinary science-fiction. Without having to decipher long descriptions or difficult passages, Card indirectly tells a story of human wrong and revoked innocence.

The most important aspect of a story is how it ends—whether it because it is unexpected, or simply because it has a strong resolution. When the protagonist, Ender, finds out the truth of his training, it is a complete surprise to the reader. One can feel both the excitement and shock of the people around him and the betrayal and disappointment of Ender himself.

Ender’s reaction and thoughts in response to the truth are spot-on in character. Ender is still a child, who has been taken in to be this hero without ever being told. Through his innocent thinking, the reader is exposed to a statement that goes against human instincts:  the enemy lives too. Ender learns of the Buggers, the enemy, and he is haunted by the thought that by defending his own people, he is simultaneously destroying another race. He remains unable to comprehend how, then, defending earth is the right thing to do.  This concept sticks with the reader even after one has finished the story. 

There is nothing I did not like about this book. The story is simple but the meaning is deeper. It could be both enjoyed just for the premise as well as the message that Card discreetly gets across. The characterization is strong and exposes stereotypical falsities of all-good heroes and all-bad enemies. I look forward to reading the sequel to see how the story line progresses, though Ender’s Game standing alone was phenomenally executed.

If you read and like Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card, I also recommend you read Dune by Frank Herbert.

Written by Geena Elghossain on July 19, 2013

Monster Calls review

 

 

 

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness is not a widely known novel but it is absolutely beautiful. It was inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd, who was unable to write it herself because she was inflicted and taken by cancer. It follows a young boy, Conor, facing his own monster—the fear of losing his mother to cancer. Knowing that the novel was not just written as a story, but as a dedication, makes it all the more moving.

The illustrations by Jim Kay throughout the story are stunning and the absence of color successfully grasps that darkness which the story portrays. When one thinks ‘illustrations,’ think of animated sketches and undetailed characters—not of such an obscure tail. The images are those of a nightmare, of the monsters which all children fear, making it an almost deranged picture book.

It is fact that this book need be publicized more and shown to the world because it is genuine and flawless. In the words of John Green, “Patrick Ness is an insanely beautiful writer.” The story holds honesty to a matter which is hard to cross successfully, but Ness does effortlessly.

Ness does not lie. The end is not uplifting or joyful but depressing and bittersweet. As Conor faces his biggest fear, he tells the truth and by that is able to accept the truth. As a writer I must say it successfully leaves the reader with something to think about; resentful truth, breaking strength, and the cruel reality of devastation.

It is most likely that you have not read A Monster Calls, and thus I part with only the recommendation that you read it before anything else. It is a short read but a valuable one. It is one of the few books I believe is truly perfection.

Written by Geena Elghossain on June 29, 2013