Still on Little Brother **SPOILER ALERT**

I am still on little brother, and so far, Marcus is still working to take down the DHS, the people who got so paranoid with homeland security after the terrorist attack, where they added new laws that really get into the privacy of the citizens of San Francisco and actually break some laws in the constitution. The DHS doesn't think so, but many citizens do.
     Marcus has gotten a little more famous now on the internet. Many people seek his advice, he plans what to do in ways of protesting against this or hacking into their system, he's almost like one of the main leaders of this geek revolution. It makes you really root for him too, since he is a very interesting character who's very intelligent when it comes too computers, and he also has some very strong political views, too.
       But I also wanted to talk about how this book can be kind of like a warning about the future. When 9/11 happened, it was probably the worst and most devastating terrorist attack in United States history. People later got more paranoid, everyone got A LOT more aware and really tried to prevent this from happening. But imagine such a terrorist attack just as horrible and devastating happened on U.S. soil again, like in this book. Think how even more paranoid people will be, how more aware, and how much more scared. Laws like the ones in this book might actually be passed. Maybe we will have cops checking where we've been, or having the homeland security put us in the back of a truck if we seem too suspicious. You never know how the world will get, and this book makes you think about it.

The Paranoid Homeland Security in Little Brother

I just started reading a new book called Little brother, which is about this geeky high school kid named Marcus, A.K.A W1N5T0N, because that is his nickname, since he is this geeky hacker kid who spends his time on the computer a lot and hacks into websites and stuff. Anyway, one day he and his other geeky friends wanted to ditch the last few periods of school to play this real life game called Harajuku Fun Madness this kind of scavenger hunt game that a lot of people play. And when they ditched to go find the next clue, they were caught during the wrong time. During a terrorist attack in San Francisco. Next thing they know, they're all stopped by a bunch of people in a Hummer, got sacks tied over their head, and thrown in the back of a truck, being kidnapped by Homeland Security as possible suspects of the terrorist attack. Now they are being treated like prisoners, under watch, and are losing their freedom.
              I feel really bad for Marcus, because he gets treated so badly over the next five days, as if he could actually be a terrorist. He's a seventeen year old American high school student! But this could kind of be his fault, too. They did decide to ditch school to do this, and I realized why the Homeland Security sees him as a possible threat. Since he is kind of a notorious hacker, who's hacked into some sites on the internet and has some illegally downloaded files. This obviously does lead to suspicion, no matter how annoying and paranoid these Homeland Security guys are.

Still on Goliath

So I'm a little more than halfway done on this book, and so far, a lot of people know Deryn's identity by now. Alek, Volger, Pancho Villa, Eddie Malone, and Dr.Barlow. That's definitely a lot for a girl who's really wanted to keep this secret. I understand if someone like Alek knows, since he is her best friend/ally, but it's been starting to leak out in bad situations. And soon, almost the whole world will know, thanks to Eddie Malone.
    When Pancho Villa, a Mexican rebel leader, found out, while he was talking to her about it sneaky American reporter Eddie Malone was eavesdropping on them, and found out. It may not seem like a major issue, but this took place in World War One. Back then, women did not have a lot of rights in many countries. They couldn't vote, join the military, couldn't wear pants, and other things. And to know that a girl was smart enough to fool the great British Navy and join the service, dressed as a man, that's a story to write about. So chances are, Eddie will make a story about this in the New York World, and news will spread to the rest of the world, giving the Brits a bad name.
         It may seem like Deryn should be punished for this, giving the whole British Navy a bad name and stuff, but I feel bad for her. Why should women be denied such rights I mentioned earlier? Deryn is a great soldier, even better than many male ones, and is a hero to some. And after everyone will realize she's a girl they'll look at her differently. Even Alek does, her best friend. I think Deryn is going through some hard times, and doesn't
deserve it.

Goliath

So after finishing two books I really enjoyed reading, The Leviathan and Behemoth, I started reading the third one, Goliath. In this book, I guess the main plot is about Alek and Deryn trying to stop the war, with help of an inventor, Mr. Tesla, who built a weapon that can stop the whole world, as long as he doesn't use it, since it can wipe out a whole city, maybe even more.
       But the book also focuses on Alek and Deryn's relationship. Or is it Dylan? That's what Alek finally finds out, that Dylan is a girl, named Deryn. Confusing, right? He realizes that Deryn has been lying to him the whole time, so he's been pretty angry at her for a while. He also finds  out that she has feelings for him. But although Deryn did lie and probably should have told him earlier, I feel bad for her. She's been trying to tell him since the first book, but she's afraid he'll "run a mile" if he finds out that she's a girl, and the whole reason she was pretending to be a boy in the first place was because girls aren't allowed to be soldiers. So there's kind of a small sexism issue here. And if the captain does find out, she could be hung for treason.
          I think it's wrong to only let men into the military in this book because although Deryn is a girl, she's done many brave and daring things while serving, more than a normal middy (as in mishipman, or soldier). I think Deryn is actually a very inspiring character and could play a very good role model for some women.

Finished The Roar

I just finished the book The Roar, and it is a very good book. It was probably one of the best books I have ever read. The book is about 500 pages, but it doesn't feel like that at all when you're reading it. It felt too short to me actually, and I wish there was just a little more to it, or if there will be a sequel. But I think this book teaches you a lesson, it teaches you about how the world might be like if we don't stop global warming, and it does seem possible.
            It turns out that Mika finds out that the animal plague was a lie, that the government did it to scare people by showing it on TV. They just wanted the remaining land to themselves, since only a little bit is left because of the floods and stuff caused from the global warming. So they just scare everyone with the fake Animal Plague by showing it on TV, so they build the Wall and crowd in there, where it's so overcrowded and horrible people die form being camped in there. Only the very rich live outside the wall, like very important people. I think this is kind of selfish, them in their giant mansions in the beautiful forests while people live in tiny apartments with floodwater and mold on the walls.
               But the book teaches you another thing, which is that people can believe anything from the media, which I think is true.

The Roar

I started reading a new book called The Roar. I picked just because the title and blurb looked convincing, but I realized I made a very good choice. The book is a sci-fi, which is my favorite genre. The book is about a boy named Mika who lives behind the wall, like everyone else living on Earth does. The wall surrounds some of Europe and Asia, because of the animal plague, which caused all animals to try to kill humans, but then they built a wall to keep any animal away.
   I feel bad for Mika because most people don't understand him. His sister, Ellie, died a year ago. Or at least, that's what everyone thinks. Mika is the only one who thinks she's alive, and he's actually right. But a lot of people think he's just crazy, and just can't get over the fact that she's dead. But she actually was kidnapped by this very powerful organization that keeps her and some other kids in space. The reason they're abducting them was still not revealed, but it is for the company's benefit, they're training the kids. And when the organization uses new tactics to get the kids really fit and skillful with the fit mix and the flight simulator before they abduct them is actually bringing Mika closer to Ellie, but further from his parents, which is why it's kind of a sad book.

Opinion about other people's post about "Freak the Mighty"

So instead of doing a normal post about a book I am reading, I have decided to do responses on my classmates'
blog posts that are about the same book I have read. I found a few good posts about Freak the Mighty, so I have decided to do my opinion on them. Sophia's  blog post on Freak the mighty was really good. I agreed on a lot of the things.
     One thing I like that she said is that **Spoiler Alert** when Freak died at the end, their friendship stayed in Max's heart, which I can totally agree with, and it's a really good observation. I did feel bad for Max when that happened, but I never thought about how friendship could still stay in someone's heart, even when you think it's over. I also agree with what she said about how Freak is a character that's hard to forget. I have to admit, Freak is a very interesting character. A character so small physically but so big in geniocity (I know, it's not a real word, but I couldn't think of a real word that would be good enough to describe him as). Freak practically knows almost every word in the English dictionary, can invent so many cool things from scratch, can name alol of the chemical compositions of a firework during the fourth of July. Come on, tell me he's not unique. Who could ever forget him?
       I also like Dia's second blog post on Freak the mighty, how it teaches you a lesson. I never was able to really figure out the author's purpose or lesson in the book, just that it had something to do with friendship. But Dia said that the lesson is that there are two roads in life, and you have to take one, the one you feel safe and secure in, the one you can comfortably walk down. I think this is a really deep thought and I never would of thought of that.
    I'm glad I read other peoples' blogs about a book I have read, it helps me think deeper about the book.