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Happy Mother's Day and first I'd like to send appreciation to every mother out there, especially my mom, who provided my love for reading. Currently we are reading the same book together. It is called The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and it is a prequel for the beloved by all Hunger Games Series. It explains President Snow's (the antagonist of the Hunger Game's Series ) childhood and how warm he actually was as a child. What changed him from a star crossed lover to a district hating president? Let's take a stroll in what may have caused this kindhearted soul to kill thousands of people. Snow was orphaned at young age and his grandmother took in him and his cousin Tigris as her own kids. She had no faith in the districts and thought that the people carried diseases. Still in Coryo's early life a district-Capitol war broke out. The Capitol eventually won, but at the cost of wealth and many lives. The Snow family, a previously strong, wealthy, and well respected household, was strongly impacted by this war and lived on nothing but lima beans and became desperate for money for many years. ` To gain money Coryo mentored in the 10th annual hunger games hoping to help the girl from District 12, Lucy Gray Baird, survive the Games and ultimately win. He could win a scholar ship to the Academy or even better the Plinth Prize! Early on he even starts to have feelings for his contestant but once she is in the arena there is one major decision he must make. Does he care about Lucy Gray or his future more? How can he get an edge? And how can he stay safe while doing so? My mom and I have been talking about the book because we are reading at the same pace. Things we don't love about the book include the protagonist being male. This makes it a bit harder to relate to Snow but this is only minor. At the beginning of the book he is very ego and money driven but he kind of softens up. Other than those two things the speed of the book is incredibly slow but it does give a ton of details. These are all somewhat minor concerns and I would still recommend it even considering these circumstances. Another great part of this book is that even if you have no prior knowledge on the Hunger Games you can still pick it up and read it. Yes, there are many hidden Easter eggs and other inferences that you know something. But through context you can easily figure out what a new word means. My friend, Maddy, recommended this book to me and I am so thankful she did, because I am loving it. In conclusion, I would recommend the book. It has three different parts that it is divided into so if you like that feeling of accomplishment I think it would be great. I have not seen the movie yet and quite possibly you could just watch the movie instead but as I always say "The book is better." Happy Mother's Day! Thank you for reading this post! And READ THE BOOK! 🥰

After the 74 Hunger Games districts begin to realize how much more they can be. Katniss sparked a light in peoples eyes in the Hunger Games when she pulled out those berries and now she will have to pay. As the capitol is holding Peeta hostage Katniss must weigh the benefits and consequences of speaking out against the capitol. Considering that peer pressure is coming at her from all angles she must make many hard decisions that will ultimately lose many lives. A while back I posted about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes but looking back on my posts, I'm realizing that I never posted about the final book in the Hunger Games Series , Mockingjay. In the Mockingjay a rebellion begins and Katniss is at the face of it. With the Quarter Quell coming up and herself having to mentor in it she feels that she is being looked at by the public eye more than ever! She has already won the Hunger Games and escaped a different Hunger Games, but now it seems like her whole life will be its own little Hunger Games! At the heart of the rebellion is President Coin guiding Katniss through every decision she makes on camera. Slowly their rebellion acquires more and more districts until they finally have a minuscule chance of fighting the Capitol. The odds seem against them and Katniss starts to feel like a puppet in their show. Will life actually be better without the Capitol? Likely not. Katniss then must make one final decision Capitol or rebellion who wins? Katniss has the weapon, the power, all she needs is the mental strength. The Hunger Games is a thrilling series exploring Katniss' inner struggle while the world around her is practically caving in on itself. With Katniss as the face of the rebellion they are gaining more followers than ever and will eventually fight the Capitol. Is the cost of war worth freedom though? Obviously it is but what will the cost of war be? Is Katniss ready to sacrifice her own life or more importantly threaten the safety of her family and friends for freedom? Was President Snow right is the world only stable when you scare people enough? Will nobody care about who she is once the war is over? What would happen if they don't win? Are they torturing Peeta based off of every rebellious move she makes? There are no answers only risks. When she pulled out the berries she thought she had ended the Hunger Games but they had just begun.

Before I dive into these book I want to tell you a little backstory about my personal history with the Harry Potter series. I read chapters 1-3 about a year ago. After I read those I tried to move on to the fourth book. It got a little too intense so I had to put it down. Now I am reading the fourth book, The Goblet of Fire, but I have to admit I probably would not have decided to restart Harry Potter without my friends. They really encouraged me. On that note let us look more into Harry Potter by J.K Rowling. These are beautifully written books. I do not tend to like books with suspense but I will accept these books. While reading the fourth book, I realized that I had forgotten how good it is, and now I spend a lot of time reading it. I personally love the idea of magic (that includes Howarts and Quiditch). J. K. Rowling is an outstanding author. She is especially famous for Harry Potter. I love this book series and if you have any questions like "What is Hogwarts?," or " What is Quiditch?" I recommend you read the book.

By Lydia Key I am trying to post at least once every Wednesday now (maybe every other, maybe weekends... We'll see!) As I said in my previous posts, I love to put work into these posts but to some extent, it gets to be a lot. Therefore, there WILL be grammar and spelling mistakes in this, but you'll just have to bear with me! Right now, I want to focus in on one of my favorite books that I have read in a while. This is Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt. This was the first novel that she had created, and it is astonishing. This book seems to be slightly hit or miss. Goodreads user Cat said, "My goodness, this was a tedious, predictable chore to get through," but (unsurprisingly) 1,093,011 users disagree with her (myself included). This book is a heart-warming comfort read with an incredibly interesting plot! The premise of the book circles around a small-town aquarium that an older lady, Tova, works at. She develops a beautiful friendship with their octopus and makes unforgettable family connections. After her son, Eric, died from assumed suicide as a teen, she has not had the fulfillment in her life to try anything exciting. Cameron, a young man who recently went through a tough breakup, comes to the aquarium for a job, but finds a life in their city! The character development throughout the novel is incredible, but most of all the story arc of the octopus is amazing! Marcellus, the octopus, used to live out at sea, but was captured. Marcellus is incredibly smart and keeps track of how much longer he has to live. Knowing very well that the end of life is nearing him, he makes a desperate attempt to live life to its fullest. Ultimately, this is not going to be a very long post. This book was absolutely incredible. I would read this book over and over and over again if I could live forever, but alas, I cannot. Therefore, I try so, so hard to read as many books as I can. This book reminded me just how beautiful nature is! Thank you so much for reading!

Hello! This blog had become a thing that made me resentful to do. I hate imperfection and once I started missing weeks upon weeks of posting I got annoyed at myself, but (whether anyone is reading this or not) I care about this blog. While it may have been, years since I last posted, I really want to keep it up! I have read a ton of books since I last posted for fun, for school, and for mental health. Here is a list of books that you can be looking forward to reading about in the weeks coming up: Jacob Have I Loved, The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, Remarkably Bright Creatures, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, The Midnight Library, Twilight, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Little Women , and so many more! To be honest, I have really hit a book goldmine and am enjoying reading so much right now! I am in love with all of Taylor Jenkins Reid's work, and I'm currently reading Atmosphere . Right now, I just want to post a quick collection of short story summaries and reviews that I have read with my class this year. This is a rather long post, so please try to bear with me! All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury: Rating: 7/10 "All Summer in a Day" by Ray Bradbury is a story that outlines the idea of bullying's impact on students and mental well-being. Throughout the story, a class bullies a young girl named Margot for being unique and different. I would rate it a seven out of ten. Honestly, I wish that there had been a slightly better ending and more closure. It sort of felt as if the story just needed to end, but other than that I loved the idea of the story and the theme that Bradbury uses in his stories. I believe that this is an important message to share with others for anti-bullying purposes, which make the story well worth it The Most Dangerous Game by Richard Connell: Rating: 10/10 I absolutely loved this short story. Bradbury's imagery, symbolism, and connotations were out of this world! His writing skills were truly showcased in the story. In addition, I always love the dystopian genre in general. In contrast to "The Most Dangerous Game," I felt like this story had amazing character development as well as setting development. The symbolism surrounding the plot of insanely beautiful and eloquent. Out of the past three stories that we have read, this is most definitely my favorite yet! "The Pedestrian" has a unique, dystopian setting that is along a dark empty street, next to lonely houses. Many of the darker and more eerie elements of this short story come from the setting. Bradbury compares cottages to graveyards by saying, "... he would see the cottages and homes with their dark windows, and it was not unequal to walking through a graveyard," on the first page, paragraph two.  This depressing comparison sets up the tone for the entirety of the short story. This tone is desolate, eerie, and somber. Part of this setting is explained when the author notes that everyone is disassociating from other people by watching television. The fact that computers have taken over their jobs, while television sets are taking over their minds can show the reader just how desperate the situation had gotten. The main character, Leonard Mead, thinks that these people are practically lost from life and describes them more a set piece than a character. The Pedestrian by Ray Bradbury: Rating: 10/10 I absolutely loved this short story. Bradbury's imagery, symbolism, and connotations were out of this world! His writing skills were truly showcased in the story. In addition, I always love the dystopian genre in general. In contrast to "The Most Dangerous Game," I felt like this story had amazing character development as well as setting development. The symbolism surrounding the plot of insanely beautiful and eloquent. Out of the past three stories that we have read, this is most definitely my favorite yet! Writing Prompt: How does the story's setting (the dark, empty streets and lonely houses) help show us the main ideas about technology?  "The Pedestrian" has a unique, dystopian setting that is along a dark empty street, next to lonely houses. Many of the darker and more eerie elements of this short story come from the setting. Bradbury compares cottages to graveyards by saying, "... he would see the cottages and homes with their dark windows, and it was not unequal to walking through a graveyard," on the first page, paragraph two.  This depressing comparison sets up the tone for the entirety of the short story. This tone is desolate, eerie, and somber. Part of this setting is explained when the author notes that everyone is disassociating from other people by watching television. The fact that computers have taken over their jobs, while television sets are taking over their minds can show the reader just how desperate the situation had gotten. The main character, Leonard Mead, thinks that these people are practically lost from life and describes them more a a set piece than a character. The Monkey's Paw by W.W. Jacobs: Rating: 7/10 I really liked this story, but definitely not as much as I loved "The Pedestrian." I felt like Jacobs did a really good job at building suspense and choosing precise wording. For example, he repeatedly uses the number three in his writing (three sections, three family members, third drink, three men, three wishes, three pauses at the gate, three knocks, etc.).  This is a perfect example of how W. W. Jacobs uses very subtle but important clues in his writing to make the reader on edge and hyper-aware that something bad is about to occur. When I was discussing this story with my shoulder partner, we decided that the main character could have quite possibly gone mad out of greed throughout the story. Ultimately, I really enjoyed this story but there were just a few things that made me not appreciate it as much. First of all, I wish there was a bit more of an ending where we could see the wife's reaction and the husband's thoughts. Secondly, I wish there was a bit more elaboration on Mr. White's reaction to the loss of his son. There were a few minor references to his reaction, all of which were positive. I just wish that this vital part of the story that showed him truly going insane, was showcased a tad bit more. Other than that, I do think this story was excellent! In the passage, "The Monkey's Paw," we learn to be careful what we wish for. The author, W. W. Jacobs, is able to connect this theme with the story by making a single wish lead to disastrous downfalls. Mr. White, the main character, wishes for 200 pounds. He does not specify the means by which he wants it. Initially, this is not a red flag to the reader because it sounds like a reasonable wish. As the story progresses he recieves this sum of money, but it is in the form of compensation for the death of his son. This tragic event seemed to not even affect his mental state. It shows that, not only, was the wish dangerous because he lost his son, but he also lost his sanity. He started to prioritize wealth and greed over simple pleasures of life. If he hadn't of gotten his dream wish, he wouldn't have lost his son and he wouldn't have become greedy. Many other cautionary tales have similar themes and plot lines, but W. W. Jacobs was able to present his story well enough that the reader was on the edge of their seat the entire time! Thank you so much for reading! In conclusion, I genuinely believe these are all incredible pieces of literature and agree with my teacher for exposing us to these authors. While I wasn't the biggest fan of some of them, I certainly loved reading them in class and reflecting on them. These summaries were also part of a classwork assignment where I had to create a Google Site to summarize them, so I'll leave the link right here . Remember to read! Thank you!

I recently finished the book Divergent written by Veronica Roth. Similarly to Scythe, this book was gifted to me, but it had been on my radar for a while. My good friend and my cousin had both recommended this book to me. Divergent is part of a trilogy, the two other books being Insurgent and Allegiant . The story is set in a dystopian world, where there are separate "factions." In this society, every sixteen year old takes an aptitude test, a simulation where natural abilities are assessed, The sixteen year old then attends a Choosing Ceremony, where they decide for themselves which faction they belong in. It is very common to stay in the faction they were born in. Otherwise, you are considered a betrayal to your homeland. There are five factions: Abnegation, Amity, Candor, Dauntless, and Erudite. Sixteen year old, Beatrice Prior, and her brother must face this decision on their own. Beatrice never felt like she fit into Abnegation, but she doesn't know what else she would be. While I am not going to spoil which faction she chooses, the story follows her strenuous initiation process. If you fail your initiation process you become "factionless" (which is the equivalent to modern-day homelessness). Through initiation Beatrice reinvents herself and begins going by the name of Tris. On top of that, she enters a romantic relationship and kills someone. How do these things connect? Which faction does Tris choose? Who is her romance? Why did she change her name? There are so many more questions, but only one place to read the answer: Veronica Roth's Divergent ! This book was utterly amazing. I would totally recommend someone to read it. My only regret would be that I didn't read it sooner. Thank you to my cousin and friend who recommended this for me, and thank you a separate friend who gifted it to me. If you are looking for gift ideas for intensive readers this little book is the best! I highly encourage anyone who is reading this, no matter the age, to go READ THIS BOOK! The 5 factions of Divergent explained! Each faction is based upon a set of virtues as shown above.

Recently, I read a book called Scythe . I initially saw people in my class reading this book. Uniquely, all of these readers overlapped in a Venn diagram when it came to the Hunger Games Series . All of them loved it. Knowing I absolutely loved the Hunger Games as well, I figured I would enjoy it too. Later on that year, Scythe  was given to me as a gift. Now that I have read it I can say with certainty that this book was amazing, though not as good as the Hunger Games. Scythe is a futuristic utopian book, based on the idea of no natural deaths. In theory, if they have defeated all death a larger issue will arise. Their issue of overpopulation must be handled very carefully. The Thunderhead, the artificial intelligence that knows everything and contains the highest position of power, decided that the best way to solve this situation would be to create scythes, the wisest and most capable humans from all over. Scythes are designated people who must kill others to keep down the population. The scythes are looked up to in society, but very few of them actually like their job. They are treated with riches and respect, but to them that will never amount to the cognitive difficulty of taking another human’s life. To make killing easier for them, they have renamed it a “gleaning.” Gleaning has the connotation of being more humanitarian and honored. These scythes must follow the “Scythe Commandments,” and the seventh commandment is spoken of most often. On page 67 of Scythe, the author states the seventh commandment as follows, “Thou shalt kill no scythe beyond thyself.” This allows scythes to kill themselves after they feel content with their lives, or can bear it no longer. Throughout the story we see many scythes invoke the seventh commandment, and even rumors of one scythe killing another!  Citra Terranova and Rowan Damisch were both selected by Honorable Scythe Faraday to apprentice him and learn the art of killcraft. Throughout the story, Citra and Rowan grow romantic feelings for each other, compete against each other for their lives, and are separated from each other. During the period of their being separated, the people around them alter their view of the world, how to kill, and each other. Citra focuses more on potions, morals, and books throughout her time studying to become a scythe. On the other hand, Rowan becomes more interested in the art of killing and possibly gets too good at it. In summary, Citra and  Rowan, ultimately end up competing to become the next generation of scythes. The one who doesn’t win will be gleaned by the other. Overall, the plot and character development of this book was phenomenal. From my standpoint, I would have liked a slightly more challenging book, but the length of the book made up for the lack of vocabulary. Either way, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Scythe is part of a larger trilogy including Scythe, Thunderhead, and The Toll. Neal Shusterman does a fantastic job of extracting emotions out of the reader such as fear, joy, suspense, anger, and hope. These were all feelings invoked in me throughout the novel. This dramatic book left me wondering what comes next, and excited to read the next one in the series. In my opinion, this book would get four stars, for the thrilling storyline. I highly recommend this book to someone who is looking for an exciting and unpredictable novel.

I have still been reading a lot but I wasn't able to post at all over the summer. I'm really bad about trying to carve out time to blog. I finally realized blogging makes me feel better. The sense of accomplishment is what fulfills me. I've read Little Women, Jacob Have I Loved , and I'm currently reading the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy. I wrote a fictional narrative for my English Language Arts class and next on my list of books to read is Scythe! I'm currently reading a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. This book is set in the future if Earth were to be demolished by aliens. Arthur Dent, the protagonist of the story, is saved by his alien friend that lives on Earth. They literally hitchhike their way through the dangerous galaxy! These two men toy with death many times through out the book. Right before they are about to die Arthur says one of my favorite quotes. *** “You know," said Arthur, "it's at times like this, when I'm trapped in a Vogon airlock with a man from Betelgeuse, and about to die of asphyxiation in deep space that I really wish I'd listened to what my mother told me when I was young." "Why, what did she tell you?" "I don't know, I didn't listen.” *** This shows how utterly ridiculous the book is! Do you recognize the words Vogon and Betelgeuse? I doubt it but the book expects that you are able to pick up on context clues. For example: " a man from Betelgeuse" from this you can infer that Betelgeuse is a planet or a Solar System. Meanwhile, the author also includes some good humor throughout the book to keep you entertained. Anyways this will be a fairly short blog but I'm happy I was able to do it and I appreciate everyone who reads these posts and don't panic! (That's the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy's catchphrase.) Until next time, READ THIS BOOK! (:

I just finished the Hobbit and it was amazing! I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in fantasy fiction. Since I used this book as my book report book, I figured my post will be based upon my book report. The Hobbit is a well-told tale of a journey to retrieve gold and slay a dragon named Smaug who protects the treasure. Bilbo Baggins, a petite hobbit, embarked on this wildly exciting adventure with thirteen other dwarves by the names of Thorin, Fili, Kili, Dwalin, Balin, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur. In addition, Gandalf, a wise wizard, accompanied and guided them for much of their journey. Each of these fascinating explorers contributed skills and helped along the road. Throughout the story, Mr. Baggins must fight tirelessly against goblins, spiders, elves, Gollum, and against himself. This fighting includes a well-balanced mix of internal struggles and plenty of external battles. Though not without deaths, the fifteen explorers win many of these conflicts and grow from acquaintances to family. Unfortunately, Gandalph had to depart with the dwarves and the hobbit at the edge of Mirkwood. For your information, Mirkwood is a dark and mysterious forest between Beorn’s Palace and the Lonely Mountain. This fantasy world is chalked full of fanciful places, battles, mysteries, and treks. In Bilbo’s first battle, he uses an elvish dagger to kill a murderous spider. He, thereafter, names this weapon “Sting,” after its first opponent. Later on in the story, Bilbo steals Gollum’s treasured and beloved invisibility ring, which has the capability of turning its wearer invisible. This ring and “Sting” both assist Mr. Baggins in later battles. The author, J.R.R Tolkein, is also very proficient when it comes to incorporating his own poetry into his work. For example the dwarves sing many songs around the campfire, one of which being: “ The wind went from West to East; All movement in the forest ceased But a shrill and harsh across the marsh Its whistling voices were released…” This quote provides an eerie mood towards the reader. Although the author’s tone is light and jovial with the lyrical dwarves, the reader is prone to wonder questions such as, “ Who is whistling, and why are they so harsh?” This mysterious feeling enhances the book even further. The dwarves, hobbit, and wizard formed an amazing community and spirit throughout their personal adventures. The journey of a lifetime, running through Elrond, the Misty Mountains, Old Ford, Great River of Wilderland, Mirkwood, River Running, Lonely Mountain, and the Dragon’s Keep, is a nail- biting fantasy that is a fascinating and electrifying epic. John Ronald Reuel Tolkein, or more commonly known as J.R.R. Tolkein, uses a variety of literary devices to keep his readers on the edge of their seats. Among these include elaborate descriptions of the fire-breathing dragon. The author says, “ I was a red light steadily getting redder and redder. Also it was now undoubtedly hot in the tunnel.” The symbolism Tolkein uses by describing the strong glow of red coming from the vaguely made out dragon can symbolize death and fear. If you continue reading, the author uses imagery to emphasize the greatness of the hobbit’s anxiety. The hot tunnel can represent the fire coming from the dragon and heat induced by fear in the hobbit’s heart. As you have seen, he also likes to utilize poetry in his works. Tolkein is a prolific author using abundant literary techniques. On top of this, he sustains a well-thought-out plot and theme throughout the storyline. The theme of this book could be, “ Greed comes at a large cost, but if you have a large enough combination of wits, skill,and luck you may reap a benefit more important than gold: friendship.” In J.R.R. Tolkein’s telling of The Hobbit, he exhibits incredible literary expertise while maintaining a strong and central plot. When reading, you can observe how Tolkein deftly makes every event circle back to one another. This particular book is breathtaking, and if I were to rate the book, it would receive five stars out of five! I deeply encourage anyone who enjoys plot-twists or fantasy to read The Hobbit. Thank you for reading today's post, and have a fantastic day. I encourage anyone reading this: READ THIS BOOK! 📖

A while back, I interviewed Mara Baker. Who is a loyal reader of my blog, an intense reader, and works to make video games. I am just now realizing I never fully posted this intriguing moment. This post is pretty exciting for me since the last time I interviewed someone was in 2022, an interview with Erin Schultz . Now, we will dive into the emotions people explore while reading, tell us about some of her favorite books as a child, and Mara will give some adult recommendations. Throughout our interview Mara mentioned her favorite places to read including coffee shops and just at home. Personally, Mara leans towards enjoying reading about books that oppose to her current life, and then is able to connect basic human emotions, reactions, or experiences to her everyday life. In addition, Mara is an amazingly balanced reader. What I mean by this, is that if she reads one book that is fiction her next piece of literature will be non-fiction. When she does read non-fiction she tends to lean toward historical non-fiction. Mara explained a few plots, but unfortunately I neglected to ask about the titles of these books. After an internet deep dive of any books she could have been referring to I am almost 100% confident that the book she was referring to was the Chrysalids . Which is merely, about a society attempting to leave behind any deformities or abnormalities. The main character does have a difference between the rest, but no one else can see it: telepathy. Mara has utterly enjoyed this author, and would highly recommend him. She also read Day of the Triffids by him which she loved. This book is simply about murderous plants arriving on Earth one Day and killing people. The reason that she feels so strongly about each one of her books is that she loves to read. Throughout the journey of my blog, I have learned that my mere goal is to help people love to read. Thank you Mara, and a appreciate everyone who reads this. Always feel free to drop a comment and recommend other books, as well! Coming from Mara: read this book!