The Lost Hero, Blog Post #4 - Semester 2

I wondered which book I should read for this blog post. I searched through my library of books and picked out a book called The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan. The cover of the book and the synopsis seemed very interesting so I began to read it. As of now, I am 30 pages from completing the book, and I have to admit, this book is one of my all-time favorites.

The Lost Hero is about a group a teenagers who are studying a juvenile school called a Wilderness School. They soon realize that they're not similar to the other students. They have special powers. They are then transported to Camp Half-Blood, a safe place for demigods to live. They are sent assigned a quest to save the world from a prospering titan called Gaea, the goddess of the Earth. Jason Grace is the leader of this quest but somehow he doesn't have his memory of where he came from. The camp realizes that Jason doesn't belong in Camp Half-Blood, he belongs somewhere else...

The prompt I chose to write about today was to create a symbol for each main character in my book that I have read about so far. I'll give you a detailed explanation for each main character, however, my objects might be inanimate so pay close attention to my explanation.

Character #1: Jason Grace. This is one of the main characters in this book. He is a blonde teenager who has the potential to be very powerful with the help of his steed, Tempest, and his sharp and portable sword. He is also the son of Zeus. The symbol that can most closely associate with Jason is a knife because Jason is keen and can think fast in tough situations. Also, Jason can summon lightning, making him a very dangerous teenage boy.

Character #2: Piper McLean. Piper is Jason's girlfriend and also a main character in the book. She is a brunette girl who is the daughter of Aphrodite. She has a dark history of stealing by utilizing her mother's blessing. Her father is held hostage by a giant, this motivates her to find her father and bring him to safety. She associates with a guard because she is stubborn like how a guard is stubborn to let people into the place they're guarding. She is also loyal to her friends and family like how a guard is loyal to their employer.

Character #3: Leo Valdez. Leo is Jason's best friend and also a main character in the book. He grew up in a poor society with his mother. His father is Hephaestus who deserted him and his mother when he was only 3 years old. He watched his mother catch fire and pass away because of his special ability that his father blessed him with. He is the 3rd wheel of the group. The symbol that represents Leo is a hammer because it's his trusty weapon and Leo is stubborn and doesn't give up until his mission is accomplished just like how the hammer is stubborn in the fact that it will not change shape unless it's put in high pressure and heat.

These 3 characters make up the storyline of The Lost Hero. I recommend this story to anyone who likes a good book about Mythology and Adventure. I also give this book a 5/5 rating. The reason I gave this book a high rating is because it satisfies all of the elements that I love to see in a book.

Einstein: His Life and Universe

From the title of this post, I know what you're thinking. You have been fooled. Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson is not a scientific novel. In fact the scientific theories in the novel are only briefly mentioned and not gone into great detail. Einstein: His Life and Universe by Walter Isaacson is more about the story of Einstein the man, more than Einstein the genius. The novel is presented in a chronological order and as I am now finishing it, I can say it has been a true page-turner and masterclass of a novel.

I evaluate novels(both fiction and non-fiction) by a few factors: readability, entertainment value, authentic dialogue,  and character development. In each of these categories, Einstein exceeded my expectations. The readability of the novel was excellent, as there were few moments when I was clearly overwhelmed by the diction of the text. I was thoroughly entertained while reading this novel, as Isaacson expertly employed the use of different clever testimonies by Einstein and his colleagues. I did have to think while reading their testaments to Einstein and while he expressed his theories and his writing through letters. It doesn't matter. Thinking is good. The character development in the novel was very evident, as Isaacson used primary sources to explain Einstein's relationships with loved ones. What I find to be quite astounding about Einstein is his relatability to us "normal" people. Seriously. The way Einstein is portrayed in this novel reminds me of myself and many others.

As a child, Einstein daydreams and is very much "in the zone" most of the time. His teachers perceived this as a sign that Einstein wasn't mentally focused. However, this daydreaming gave Einstein time to think about everything from people riding light beams to the persecution of Jews in Nazi Germany. Einstein performed thought experiments where he would think about the outcome of an event. You may be surprised to hear, but we do our own thought experiments as well. We call them,"daydreams".  Einstein was clever and funny and he honestly had the best intentions most of the time. But just as any other human being, Einstein did have a few struggles during relationships, some he was able to overcome, some not. He also had enemies just as we do. Walter Isaacson sums this all up when he states, “He[Einstein] was a loner with an intimate bond to humanity, a rebel who was suffused with reverence. And thus it was that an imaginative, impertinent patent clerk became the mind reader of the creator of the cosmos, the locksmith of the mysteries of the atom and the universe.”(Isaacson 591)

The following video goes further into detail describing Einstein the man.

Isaacson wrote the novel eloquently like a true professional. As a result, I found myself to have a completely different take on Einstein, as more of a good man than an intellectual legend. I highly recommend this novel to anyone whether you're a scholar or a casual reader, you will be entertained. Well done Mr. Isaacson. I look forward to reading many more novels by you. 

Blog Post #3- Semester 2

This week I revisited my past and started to read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. This book is the first book in the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling. I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a mix of fantasy and adventure. Even though this book was made back in the late 1990's, I believe that it is one of the best books in the series, if not the best.




This is a picture of the cover of the book. This cover shows when Harry is on the quidditch field and he catches the golden snitch which guarantees automatic victory. Also, there is an unicorn running in the background. which plays a huge role in the book, more than the quidditch match (I can't tell you or else I will spoil the book for you).

This book features a very dynamic character in the form of Harry Potter. He was a child who survived the wrath of the dark lord. Harry Potter started off as a scrawny kid who hated living with his aunt and uncle. He then went to Hogwarts, a wizarding school and became very popular and brave. He was the main player on the quidditch team and he took on the dark lord's servant to stop him from getting the Philosopher's stone. Harry changes a lot throughout the first book of the series.

The best qualities of Harry is that he's very brave and curious which leads him to do many brave feats which help the school fend off some of the most dangerous wizards. The worst qualities of Harry is that he isn't the brightest wizard though he is very powerful and also, he is very quick in his job. He tries to get the job finished early which ends up coming back to haunt him.

Theme Presentation Handout

Theme: Individual self-expression is important.

Group Members: Sophie Bause, Hailey Carroll, Rebecca Peters, Sai Reddy, Akul Rajan, Sean Stewart Jr.

Bell: 5

Time Line

1.                                                     2.                                                             3.

1. In part one of the book, Montag is completely blind to individualism. He goes to his job and does what he is supposed to do every day. He doesn’t question his role in society or the government.
2. In the second part of the book, Montag starts to realize that being a fireman at this time in history, is a bad thing. He begins to understand that hoe has been brainwashed into thinking he is benefiting the city by burning books. Montag starts to act like an individual with his own thoughts when he starts to read and collect books.
3. By part three, Montag fights his oppressors to try to regain who he really is. He stands up for individualism and does the best he can to stop the government from taking that away from him. In this case, it causes the whole city to burn down for him to do the right thing.

Quotes that show how the theme is developing:

1.  “He was not happy. He was not happy”(Bradbury 12, 60th Anniversary Edition).

We chose this quote because this is Montag’s emotion when Clarisse asks him if he’s happy with his life. Montag leaves Clarisse and thinks about the question. After some thinking, Montag realizes that he is not happy the way he is, his life is bland and he wants some change in his life. He shows his expression on his job and his life through his quote. This quote develops the theme because this is the first change of expression that Montag had in the book. This is when he starts to question the society he is living in. This is important to the understanding of the story because this is when the reader realizes that Montag isn’t happy with his life, this is the event that creates the story, Fahrenheit 451. This is because it sparks the future events in the society.

2. “Montag paced the floor and came back and squatted down and read a page as many as ten times.” (Bradbury 67, 60th Anniversary Edition) This quote shows that he is nervous about reading the book because it is illegal but at the same time he is trying hard to memorize the book. You can tell he is nervous because he is pacing but it is easy to tell he is trying to memorize this because he comes back to a page and reads it as many as ten times.

3. “He was an individual. I’ve never gotten over his death.” (Bradbury 149, 60th Anniversary Edition)

This quote was spoken by Granger. When Granger said, “he never got over his death”, it            implied that his Grandfather was so memorable because he was different. His individualism caused him to mean more to them than everyone else.

Explanation of why theme is important to the story:

The theme is important to our understanding of the story because the lack of self expression and individualism is the basis for the corruption of the society in Fahrenheit 451, like how author’s are banned from expressing themselves through their stories.

Explanation of why this theme is important in society:

Today, self-expression is a very important factor in our society, because it allows anybody and everybody to freely express themselves, allowing for a sense of freedom which also supports individual self-expression  that keeps us all from suffering from being clones of each other and thinking the same, which is a bad trait for a good society.

The Blood Of Olympus

This week during Reading Workshop, I have started to read a new book. This book that I have started to read is called The Blood Of Olympus. This book is written by Rick Riordan and he is famous for writing the prequel series, the Heroes of Olympus. I like the previous book in the series, and so I longed to try to read this book because the last book was left on a cliffhanger.







This is a picture of the cover of the book, it shows a very important scene because this is when Jason strikes down the leader of the giants. At first, they were overpowering Jason and the crew but after Jason took down the leader of the giants, everything turned around and they were able to get rid of all of the giants.


I chose to read this book because I have read the previous books in the series and I have enjoyed them greatly. Also, the book seemed very inticing because the previous book ended with a cliffhanger. This book is the genre I was looking for, a combination of history in the form of mythology and adventure. So far I am 150 pages in, and I love the book, it's very detailed and it seems as if I am on the Argo 2 with the travelers.



I felt like the best part of the book so far is when Leo says, "Good bye guys". This is the best part of the story because the demigods were having trouble with the giants and were almost on the brink of dying. The death of Leo caused the demigods to turn their misery into hope and anger and as a result, they wiped out all of the giants. This is the turning point of the book because after this, the 6 demigods who are left, work together to wipe Gaea off the face of the Earth.

Warriors The Fourth Apprentice

After my previous book, "Divergent", I have now started a new series called "Warriors: Omen of the Stars" by Erin Hunter. The 1st book in this series is called "The Fourth Apprentice". It is about a group of cats that have seperated into multiple clans called the WindClan, ShadowClan, ThunderClan and RiverClan. These clans have been at peace for many years, but the main characters, Lionblaze, Jayfeather and Dovewing feel trouble brewing in the shadows. Currently, I am on page 152 and this book is very nailbiting and very interesting.

I chose this book because I wanted a feel of different genres of books. This book is very unique in how it utilizes talking cats in a fantasy setting. This book features many different characters which have very crazy names. Some examples of these names are Skeletonfur and Dovewing. A very enticing and interesting moment is when Lionblaze says, "Hurry! Call a medicine cat, Firestar is losing another life!"(Page 31). This was a very huge moment because I wasn't aware that clan leaders had multiple lives. This book also supports the rumor that cats have 9 lives. 

This is a map of the location in which the clans live. The cats refer to the humans as Twolegs because we walk on 2 legs. This map id very important because we need to know the location of the cats to really understand this book. The Gathering Island is a very important location in the map because it is where the clan meeting is held to discuss issues or changes that need to occur to make life peaceful and happy for all of the clans. Sadly, these clans always have problems with food and territorial markings, this leads to fights breaking out between the clans.

The most important line in my book so far takes place in chapter 12 where Jayfeather says, " Firestar's dead!" This is very important because after this scene, war takes place between all 4 of the clans because the Thunderclan declared war on all of the clans if they didn't speak up and tell the clan who murdered Firestar. I'm very surprised that Firestar died because he was a very privileged leader and had a great reputation. He was also a symbol of anti-clan war. Sadly, after this event occured, that's exactly what happened.

Divergent

                               Divergent
          
            The book that I am currently reading is "Divergent", I just recently started to read this book because one of my friends recommended this book to me because it was action-packed while being intriguing at the same time. Those two components combine my two favorite genres of suspenseful books and mystery/adventure books. So I thought to myself, "Why not start a new book?"

            So far in this book, I have read about how the world has become infected in the future. The people have been forced to go in isolation in the city of Chicago. Right away, they have decided to uphold a new form of government which are factions. Factions are in charge of different parts of the government, for example, Abnegation (Tris' parent's faction) is in charge of making the laws, while Dauntless is in charge of enforcing these laws and protecting the city of Chicago.

          The best thing about this book is that Divergent combines my absolute favorite genres, as I've mentioned before, they are Mystery and Suspense. Mystery is present in this book because in the book, something is happening behind the factions which is mysterious because the book gives glimpses throughout the story of people plotting to take over the city of Chicago and make the factions obey them. The book has suspense in it because the book has a lot of action and suspense and action are directly related. Suspense is most likely present when there is action and vice-versa. I really enjoyed reading this book.