The Sunflower is a 98 page novel chronicling Simon Wiesenthal, a Jew, during the holocaust. He is sent to Auschwitz where a dying Nazi soldier confesses his sins and tries to repent to Simon. He tells of when they set a house on fire with Jews corralled inside and he was to shoot anyone who tried to escape the fire. when he gets to the part where he shot a family he asks for absolution from Simon. Simon does not say anything and this is absolutely wrong.
Simon is wrong for not giving forgiveness. Simon should have given Karl, the dying Nazi, absolution from his crime because he was dying. He should have humored the SS man who had converted back to his Cristianity despite the teachings he had absorbed.It reminded me of Terrible Things an allegory where the woodland creatures are like the Jews and the Terrible Things are Nazis. The main character is a rabbit that wonders throughout the story if he did the right thing like Simon did after the disturbing deathbed experience. I reccomend it because it has a great twisted plot.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Sea of Monsters
Sea of Monsters, a 304 page masterpiece is wonderfully written by Rick Riordan. In the second installment in the series, Percy has bad dreams about his satyr friend, Grover (for demi-gods dreams are always warnings). It turns out Grover is stuck in a cyclops's cave. Things get even worse when a dozen cannabalistic giants start playing dodge ball with Percy for P.E. Fortunately, Percy's friend Tyson saves the day with his magic ability to touch fire and not get hurt for he is a cyclops. When they go back to camp, everybody thinks that Tyson is a monster/bad guy. But when Tyson is claimed by Poseidon, people start teasing Percy about his half-brother. Tyson looks up to Percy, but Percy doesn't like the thought of having Tyson as a brother because Tyson is a monster. Tyson gives Percy many gifts from the forge and they use these gifts during the chariot races and then they win. Percy, Annabeth and Tyson decide to go to the Sea of Monsters to try to rescue Grover. On the way, they meet Clarisse, a child from the Ares cabin, with her submarine full of dead confederates who are helping her. They rescue Grover and get the golden fleece that they found on the island. Then, they send Clarisse home and Luke, the person that tried to kill Percy last summer, shows up and tries to kill Percy again in a sword-to-sword combat duel. Percy wins with the help of centaurs and all ride home victorious. I recommend this book because again it is interesting in the way that he creates an empathy link between Grover and Percy, tying their fates together.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
The Lightning Thief
Written by Rick Riordan,The Lightning Thief is a 375 page novel.Percy the main character in the story is a demigod, a half- human half-god, that goes to a camp for others of his kind when he is twelve. Before this , he is unaware that he is a demi-god. One day a fury who he has always known as his math teacher, Mrs. Dodds, attacks him on a school field trip and is turned into dust when Mr. Brunner/Chiron throws Percy a pen and tells him to uncap it. The pen elongates into a sword made of celestial bronze and Percy uses it to slash the fury, turning her into dust. When the school year ends, Percy and his mom go to Montauk. Grover, a satyr (a goat from the waist down and a human from the waist up) comes to their door bewildered. He tells Mrs. Jackson that she and Percy needed to leave the house, so they leave in her car. When they leave, they find a minotaur following them. Percy fights the minotaur but before he can save her, his mom "dies". He kills the minotaur who likes to eat half-bloods and enters the camp as directed by his mom but as soon as he does, he blacks out. When he wakes he sees a girl who is feeding him something. This girl is Annabeth Chase, the daughter of Athena, who becomes one of his best friends. At the camp, there are many things to do, like a rock-climbing wall that shakes and pours lava , an archery range, a sword-fighting arena, a chariot track and a volley ball pit along with strawberry fields. Percy learns at the camp of the Big Three, which consists of Poseidon, Zeus, and Hades, who swore not to have any more half-blood children after World War ll. When Percy is claimed as Poseidon's son nobody likes him because he is the result of a broken oath and he has to move to the Poseidon cabin which is vacant. This book has tons of Greek mythology.
Lots of Greek mythology is evident in this story in many ways. Chiron, satyrs, demi-gods, the Greek gods, minotaurs and furies were all part of Greek mythology.Riordan uses the Greek mythology and blends with a modern twist in setting the novel in New York and the surrounding country. This is effective for those who like to hear of folk tales and stories of monsters and heroes. The blending of modern and ancient is interesting because there are planes, submarines and all sorts of things that industrialize the gods territories. For example, Percy who is the son of Poseidon cannot fly in planes because that is considered Zeus's territory. However, Pegasi are neutral because they are horses and Poseidon supposedly created horses. This modern twist to Greek mythology is in all of the Percy Jackson and the Olympian books to come. I highly recommend them all because of the prestigious author's ability to catch a reader's interest and make them read more.
Lots of Greek mythology is evident in this story in many ways. Chiron, satyrs, demi-gods, the Greek gods, minotaurs and furies were all part of Greek mythology.Riordan uses the Greek mythology and blends with a modern twist in setting the novel in New York and the surrounding country. This is effective for those who like to hear of folk tales and stories of monsters and heroes. The blending of modern and ancient is interesting because there are planes, submarines and all sorts of things that industrialize the gods territories. For example, Percy who is the son of Poseidon cannot fly in planes because that is considered Zeus's territory. However, Pegasi are neutral because they are horses and Poseidon supposedly created horses. This modern twist to Greek mythology is in all of the Percy Jackson and the Olympian books to come. I highly recommend them all because of the prestigious author's ability to catch a reader's interest and make them read more.
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Artemis Fowl: Opal Deception
Artemis Fowl the novel I read is written by Eoin Colfer and is 342 pages long. I like it because it is witty and interesting .
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Big Field
The Big Field
Mike Lupica’s, The Big Field, is a 243 page book about a young shortstop nicknamed Hutch. Hutch plays shortstop on the baseball diamond until a better shortstop, Daryll, comes along and Hutch is forced to move to second base. He envies the new shortstop who is always boastful, and they eventually get into a fight because Hutch sees his dad practicing with the new shortstop, and he feels that his dad hates baseball because he wasn’t good enough unless he is practicing with Daryll. All this, however, is resolved in part because the two teammates put aside their trivial differences so they can win the championship at the big field. The strength of this book is achieved by the realistic emotions felt by both the protagonists and antagonists that remind us of natural behavior or feelings.
The strength of this book is the power of its realism which is represented through many examples. One example is that Daryll does not have a father so he feels jealous of Hutch when he takes him for granted. Another example is Hutch’s feelings of anger towards his father because he chose not to help him but Daryll and he isn’t even his own son. And a third example exists when Hutch feels ashamed of his dad because he has to drive people around or carry their golf bags or even work at Hutch’s school’s snack bar for a living,but there is some twist when his dad shows Hutch where he works Hutch finnaly respects him more and Daryll bonding with Hutch slowly over time, and Hutch and his dad celebrating after they win the championship game Hutch and his family aren't stressed and feel like a real family. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves baseball or a good triumph story.
Mike Lupica’s, The Big Field, is a 243 page book about a young shortstop nicknamed Hutch. Hutch plays shortstop on the baseball diamond until a better shortstop, Daryll, comes along and Hutch is forced to move to second base. He envies the new shortstop who is always boastful, and they eventually get into a fight because Hutch sees his dad practicing with the new shortstop, and he feels that his dad hates baseball because he wasn’t good enough unless he is practicing with Daryll. All this, however, is resolved in part because the two teammates put aside their trivial differences so they can win the championship at the big field. The strength of this book is achieved by the realistic emotions felt by both the protagonists and antagonists that remind us of natural behavior or feelings.
The strength of this book is the power of its realism which is represented through many examples. One example is that Daryll does not have a father so he feels jealous of Hutch when he takes him for granted. Another example is Hutch’s feelings of anger towards his father because he chose not to help him but Daryll and he isn’t even his own son. And a third example exists when Hutch feels ashamed of his dad because he has to drive people around or carry their golf bags or even work at Hutch’s school’s snack bar for a living,but there is some twist when his dad shows Hutch where he works Hutch finnaly respects him more and Daryll bonding with Hutch slowly over time, and Hutch and his dad celebrating after they win the championship game Hutch and his family aren't stressed and feel like a real family. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who loves baseball or a good triumph story.
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