After reading the Leviathan I instantly decided to pick up and read its sequel, Behemoth. I started almost exactly where the Leviathan left off, Alek and his crew aboard the leviathan, after helping the British escape the Germans while they let them stay on the ship for a few days to work on the engines. At first, I was wondering what the conflict could possibly be now, everything seemed to be going on just fine, until things drastically changed. Britain was officially at war with the Austrians, and now that there were Austrians (A.K.A. Alek and his crew) on the ship, they now had to be considered prisoners of war.
I thought this was really unfair because Alek had done so much to help the ship repair and escape from the Germans. He risked so many things by doing this. His loyalty to the country, his name and position in the royal family, and even his own life. Alek only had one choice. To escape the ship. And Deryn knew that, and she secretly had a crush on him without wanting to admit it since she's secretly a girl, but she helped him escape. She never said anything to anyone when Alek was snooping around on the ship to find an escape hatch. Deryn thought she was stupid for doing this but I think it was very brave of her, risking being hanged for not being loyal and telling the captain just so Alek can be safe. Deryn is one of the strongest female characters I have read in a book and she is very unique, different from other girls.
After Alek escapes, everything goes to even more chaos, something I will continue on into a next post.
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Still reading Leviathan!
i am still reading Leviathan, and I'm only about halfway done with the book, and it's the first time I'm kind of happy about this, I really like the book. But when I first started reading the book, there were two main characters, one was named Alek, an Austrian prince, and a girl named Deryn, who ats like a Tomboy and now serves on the Darwinist ship called the Leviathan (there are two sides in the war in Europe, the Darwinists, who have mutant animals as war machines, and Clankers, who use actual machines like tanks to fight the war, a few countries on each side, they each have different views on things) where she serves as a temporary midshipman since she was saved after getting lost while doing her flight test. She's actually pretending to be a man, since women aren't allowed in the military for some reason, and she really wants to be in it.
Anyway, the book kept on switching between their perspectives, and it was like two shorter books in one, and I wondered why that is. And now I know, it's because Alek and Deryn (or Dylan, her fake boy name) meet up in a weird, coincidental way. Deryn's ship the Leviathan, a big flying whale thing was attacked by German fighter planes, which were mechanical. The Germans attacked them because the Leviathan was a British ship and Britain was an enemy to them , so they attacked. After the long aerial battle, the Leviathan crashed on a mountain in Switzerland, right where Alek and his tutors after escaping Austria to go into hiding after Alek's parent's were Assassinated, so this is how they met. I think it'll get interesting from here because Deryn's British and Alek's Austrian, so they're technically enemies. I know, the book is kind of complicated, but very fast-paced and suspenseful.
Anyway, the book kept on switching between their perspectives, and it was like two shorter books in one, and I wondered why that is. And now I know, it's because Alek and Deryn (or Dylan, her fake boy name) meet up in a weird, coincidental way. Deryn's ship the Leviathan, a big flying whale thing was attacked by German fighter planes, which were mechanical. The Germans attacked them because the Leviathan was a British ship and Britain was an enemy to them , so they attacked. After the long aerial battle, the Leviathan crashed on a mountain in Switzerland, right where Alek and his tutors after escaping Austria to go into hiding after Alek's parent's were Assassinated, so this is how they met. I think it'll get interesting from here because Deryn's British and Alek's Austrian, so they're technically enemies. I know, the book is kind of complicated, but very fast-paced and suspenseful.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Leviathan
I just started reading the book "Leviathan" by Scott Westerfield, and at first I thought this book would take me forever to read and finish the book, since it has almost 500 pages. Burt now I don't think it'll take that long at all.
I've read only about the first sixty pages so far and I already think it's awesome. It's just what I like in books: action, violence, and lots of suspense. That's because this is a science fiction/fantasy book about most of Eastern Europe at war. It takes place all countries like England, France, Austria, and Russia, but i think there'll be even more when I get further into the book.
There are two main characters: Alek and Deryn. Alek is a royal prince in England who is obsessed with the idea of war, like all kids are, since they think it's so cool and stuff. But then the action instantly starts as his servants take him outside in the middle of the night, put him in a war machine, and try to lead him to safety out of the city because he might get assassinated, since his parents were assassinated just recently. Yeah, the beginning is kind of confusing.
And Deryn is a tom-boyish girl who really wants to be a pilot so after months of studying and pretending to be a guy (girls supposedly aren't allowe to be pilots) so she can take the test and hopefully pass it. And so far, she's a lot more fearless than all the other boys around!
I've read only about the first sixty pages so far and I already think it's awesome. It's just what I like in books: action, violence, and lots of suspense. That's because this is a science fiction/fantasy book about most of Eastern Europe at war. It takes place all countries like England, France, Austria, and Russia, but i think there'll be even more when I get further into the book.
There are two main characters: Alek and Deryn. Alek is a royal prince in England who is obsessed with the idea of war, like all kids are, since they think it's so cool and stuff. But then the action instantly starts as his servants take him outside in the middle of the night, put him in a war machine, and try to lead him to safety out of the city because he might get assassinated, since his parents were assassinated just recently. Yeah, the beginning is kind of confusing.
And Deryn is a tom-boyish girl who really wants to be a pilot so after months of studying and pretending to be a guy (girls supposedly aren't allowe to be pilots) so she can take the test and hopefully pass it. And so far, she's a lot more fearless than all the other boys around!
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Nicky Flynn's Hard Life
There are a lot of hard things going on in Nicky's life right now in the book "How I Nicky Flynn Finally Get a Life (and a Dog). Kind of long title, isn't it? The story is about how this average kid named Nicky Flynn went from living in a nice, upper-class town in the suburbs of Littleton with a big house to a Ghetto-like neighborhood in Charleston because his parents split up and have less money now. So now he lives in a somewhat crappy apartment with only one bedroom and a bad-tempered landlord. The only problem I think he complains about too much is how now he doesn't have his own room, how he has to sleep on a foldout bed. I've been through not having my own room and instead having to take the living room. Sure, it can get annoying once in a while but it's really not that bad.
I also think that he's acting kind of weird about how his mom brought him a German Shepherd from the pound for him to keep as a pet. He didn't have the reaction most characters do, with all the happiness about finally getting a pet and all. Instead, he seemed annoyed by it. He acted like it wasn't his dog and that his mom shouldn't of got it for him. And he's always wanted one, too! I think it's because he's still depressed about is parents' divorce and having to move and everything. But as the book progresses on, I think the bond between Nicky and Reggie (the dog) is slowly starting to grow, even if he doesn't want to admit it.
I also think that he's acting kind of weird about how his mom brought him a German Shepherd from the pound for him to keep as a pet. He didn't have the reaction most characters do, with all the happiness about finally getting a pet and all. Instead, he seemed annoyed by it. He acted like it wasn't his dog and that his mom shouldn't of got it for him. And he's always wanted one, too! I think it's because he's still depressed about is parents' divorce and having to move and everything. But as the book progresses on, I think the bond between Nicky and Reggie (the dog) is slowly starting to grow, even if he doesn't want to admit it.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Gary Soto's short stories
So I recently read a book called Facts of Life by Gary Soto. Well, actually, it's not exactly one book, it's a book that contains a bunch of short stories in it. I actually didn't realize that until I brought the book home from the library when it said underneath the title; "stories", and when I actually started reading the book. Normally I don't like reading those types of books that contain short stories but this was different. Gary Soto is a really great author and every single one of the short stories was really good.
I've noticed that all the short stories feature Hispanic characters and there's always a Spanish phrase or
two in every page. So sometimes I have to keep looking back in the glossary to look up the phrase and understand it, or just guess what it means. But I think all these short stories have taught me a lot. The main thing they taught me is that there's always problems in everyone's life and there's always a way to solve that problem. I've also learned that some people have harder lives than others.
Like this girl who has to live in a trailer with her parents, because they are poor and not official citizens of the United States. Their dream is to become citizens and get a good job in New York City and get more money. So her father keeps on studying cars and all of their complicated parts so he can become a mechanic and open his own car repair shop in New York City.
Or this girl who wants to change the world and make it a better and cleaner place but gets made fun of about it, but when she does an extra credit project, she feels a lot better about herself and really feels that she can change the world.
I've noticed that all the short stories feature Hispanic characters and there's always a Spanish phrase or
two in every page. So sometimes I have to keep looking back in the glossary to look up the phrase and understand it, or just guess what it means. But I think all these short stories have taught me a lot. The main thing they taught me is that there's always problems in everyone's life and there's always a way to solve that problem. I've also learned that some people have harder lives than others.
Like this girl who has to live in a trailer with her parents, because they are poor and not official citizens of the United States. Their dream is to become citizens and get a good job in New York City and get more money. So her father keeps on studying cars and all of their complicated parts so he can become a mechanic and open his own car repair shop in New York City.
Or this girl who wants to change the world and make it a better and cleaner place but gets made fun of about it, but when she does an extra credit project, she feels a lot better about herself and really feels that she can change the world.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Freak the Mighty? Nope. Max the Mighty
So I have liked the book Freak the Mighty to go and read its sequel, Max the Mighty. And I have to admit, it was a pretty good book! It was better than I expected it to be, because on my opinion sequels to really good books or movies don't end up to be as good as the original. I still think it wasn't good as the original, but it definitely was really good. I mean, I finished it in like two days, and I never finish books that fast. Sure, it was only about 160 pages, but still.
The book was slightly similar to its original. It was about how Max meets a new friend, a girl, who is slightly similar to Freak. She is kind of small like Freak was, and she is kind of smart, too. She isn't as smart as Freak was, but she's different from other people too, because she is a book worm. In most of the story she would just be burying her head in a book. But in the story, Max saves her from a bully, and the friendship kind of starts from there, and they kind of go on an adventure, except it's real serious, not imaginary like in Freak the Mighty, but the kind where Max ends up getting a 10,000 dollar bounty on his head while he tries to find a way to get to Chivalry Montana (thousands of miles away) so worm (Max's friend) can see her dad. Yeah, I'm still wondering how it fit into 160 pages.
The book was slightly similar to its original. It was about how Max meets a new friend, a girl, who is slightly similar to Freak. She is kind of small like Freak was, and she is kind of smart, too. She isn't as smart as Freak was, but she's different from other people too, because she is a book worm. In most of the story she would just be burying her head in a book. But in the story, Max saves her from a bully, and the friendship kind of starts from there, and they kind of go on an adventure, except it's real serious, not imaginary like in Freak the Mighty, but the kind where Max ends up getting a 10,000 dollar bounty on his head while he tries to find a way to get to Chivalry Montana (thousands of miles away) so worm (Max's friend) can see her dad. Yeah, I'm still wondering how it fit into 160 pages.
Thursday, October 6, 2011
Just finished Bridge to Teribithia!
Ok, so I recently finished the book Bridge To Teribithia, and not for my rereading project, since that was on Freak The Mighty, I just read this book for fun because I thought it would be a good from what I've heard, and it definitely is good! It was pretty short though, since I finished it in around 2-3 days. I think this book definitely defines the meaning of friendship. Leslie and Jess are definitely best friends, although pretty much all the characters in the book judge them and assume they are in a romantic relationship, which they are not in. But I have always wondered why Leslie just decided to be friends with Jess at first, when she didn't even know him. One day she and her family just moves into town and Leslie just instantly decides to befriend Jess. Did she just have a crush on him? Is it because he just happened to be her neighbor and if any other kid was her neighbor she'd try to befriend them instead? Yep, after finishing that book, an answer hasn't really come up to me on that question. But what really amazed me is how imaginative Leslie is, coming up with the whole teribithia thing, with the castle stronghold and the king and queen and having to swing across the river to get in and stuff.
***SPOILER ALERT***
But it really broke my heart to have Leslie die in the end by drowning in the river. Her death was the last thing I expected, I really expected it to end with happiness and have their minor kid problems solved. The way Jess handled it was pretty weird, too. I mean, I never experienced death of a loved one or a best friend, but the way he handled it was definitely different from most books/TV shows/movies. He handled it like nothing serious really happened, and one of the things he said near the end of the book is how he's the fastest runner in the school now (since before Leslie was the fastest). But overall, it was a great book.
***SPOILER ALERT***
But it really broke my heart to have Leslie die in the end by drowning in the river. Her death was the last thing I expected, I really expected it to end with happiness and have their minor kid problems solved. The way Jess handled it was pretty weird, too. I mean, I never experienced death of a loved one or a best friend, but the way he handled it was definitely different from most books/TV shows/movies. He handled it like nothing serious really happened, and one of the things he said near the end of the book is how he's the fastest runner in the school now (since before Leslie was the fastest). But overall, it was a great book.
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