Hero

Hero by Perry Moore is a very unique novel set in an alternate that had me reading for hours until I finished.

Moore's novel has many different themes throughout the story. Trust is explored along with learning to love differences. These are the main themes that pop out at the a reader.

The style of Moore's Hero is slightly different than the style of most authors. The main character seems to say a lot more to himself in his mind than to other characters. This is the only unique quality about Moore's style, but the quality does add more to the book. Moore does a pretty good job of describing the settings of the book. Some places are well described while others are not.

Moore does an awesome job with his characters. They are all real people with various mental, emotional, or physical problems. I do believe the characters could be real people, however all the superpowers would have to go away first. The characters made me like the book a lot more than if the characters were dull and boring. The main character is Thom who has super powers that allow him to heal people. He is sensitive about some issues but is overall a pretty tough guy. Thom's dad Hal is involved in the story a lot. Hal was one of the world's greatest heroes until an accident stopped all his glory. Thom has a variety of super hero friends that all have different superpowers and are almost always helpful.

Hero takes place in a world where superheros and villains are everywhere. This alternate version of Earth is very different from our own Earth. Not only are there super powered people everywhere, there are monuments to heroes and even monuments to various disasters that have never happened on our Earth. Besides these main differences everything else is pretty similar to our own Earth.

Perry Moore does an amazing job with the plot of Hero. Thom Creed is a seemingly normal teen. However, Thom has many secrets that he has been battling with for years. You see, Thom has superpowers but that's not the biggest secret. Thom's biggest secret is that he is gay. Throughout the story Thom has to fight with these secrets, his father, and even the most powerful superheroes on Earth to have any chance of surviving.

Hero does not really relate to me because I have not really gone through any of the problems Thom has. This book also has a storyline that is very different from most novels.

I recommend Hero to everyone. However, I would advise parents to read this book before allowing your children to read Hero, because some of the subject matter may conflict with your views and values.



This book is 428 pages.

Julius Caesar

Julius Caesar, written by greatest English playwright ever, William Shakespeare is a captivating drama showcasing the downfall of Julius Caesar.

The main theme of Julius Caesar is do not kill people because the deed will come back to haunt you. This theme is portrayed throughout most of the novel.

William Shakespeare's writing style is different from current writing styles but not so different from writing styles of his time. Because Shakespeare wrote plays, Julius Caesar has no description of any setting in the drama. This is because the settings were meant to be seen on the stage in the form of backgrounds.

The characters in Julius Caesar are not really described at all, again because Shakespeare wrote plays. The characters were played by a different actor each time so describing a character would make the position harder to fill. However, their personalities come across well in the words they speak.

Julius Caesar is set in Ancient Rome. Therefore the setting and our current world are very different. The citizens of Rome eat different food, live in different types of houses, do different activities for fun, and even speak in a different way than we as a society do today. Shakespeare does not make me feel like I am in the drama because the work was a play and the settings were meant to be seen.

The plot of Julius Caesar is very interesting and easy to follow. The patricians and senators of Rome are worried about Julius Caesar becoming a tyrant. They begin to plot an assassination attempt on Caesar himself. The conspirators recruit several well known and powerful citizens to aide them in their attempt. However, the conspirators make one crucial mistake. They decide to only kill Caesar and spare his right-hand man Mark Antony. This mistake causes many problems for the conspirators and might turn into their downfall.

I would recommend this book to lovers of classic literature and Shakespeare enthusiasts. I would advise children to stay away because the book uses an older version of english that is hard to understand at times.

This book was 209 pages.

Semester Tests

Semester tests are just around the corner. Having had to take one in every class since fifth grade, I am sick and tired of them. I think that kids should have the option to take a semester test if they have an A in that particular class. Any grade below an "A" can be helped by a semester test but not an "A". Having an "A" before a semester test and a "B" after one is a horrible feeling no one should have to go through. The tests cause a student to risk his or her "A" based on the time they study. They could use this time to study more for semester tests in classes they do not have an "A" in, but with the current system this is not possible. This is why I believe semester tests should only be required in classes in which a students does not have an "A".

What Makes a Leader a True Leader

Leaders are a very important part of society. They make many decisions that affect the lives of everyone. Because of this influence, a leader must be a good and true leader.

What exactly makes a true leader? Well a true leader prevails and makes good decision in the face of adversity. This means they do not become stunned and helpless when adversity strikes. True leaders must also know the ideas and values of the people of country they represent. Without this quality the decisions would be based on personal interest, which is bad. Intelligence is also a good quality. I know all leaders seem intelligent, but not all have a extreme bundle of intelligence.

I decided to make a list of my all time favorite leaders. I believe they are all true leaders and this is what I came up with:

1. Jesus Christ - Well he was Jesus.
2. John F. Kennedy - He was one of the best presidents ever who led us through the Cuban Missle Crisis.
3. Bill Clinton
4. Dwight Eisenhower - He led us through World War II.
5. Octavius - He reunited Rome after Caesar's death.
6. Abraham Lincoln
7. Fred from Scooby-Doo - He always had a plan.
8. Angry Mobs
9. Franklin D. Roosevelt - He helped the country out of the great depression.
10. Don Quihote

Being Thankful

During the middle of a great Thanksgiving lunch, I began to think about all the various things I am thankful for in my life. This is the list of things I came up with.

1. Family-I have no idea what I would do without my family.

2. Friends-Having friends makes everyday more fun.

3. Home- I am really glad that I have a good house to live in.

4. Food- I have a great mom who cooks up really good food.

5. Nice clothes- This one seems superficial, but I like have nice clothes to put one.

6. Education- I am very thankful of my education.

7. Technology- Technology makes life so much easier.

8. My Music Ability- I love being able to play music.

9. Car- I am very glad that I have a car that is always available for my use.

10. Music- Music makes me very happy

I hope that this list of things I am thankful for has got you thinking about what you are thankful for in your life.

7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens

If you really do not know how to manage your every day life, read 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens by Sean Covey. This book has tips, advice, and habits to live by to manage your life effectively

Out of all the habits discussed in the Covey's book, I liked habit 4. habit 4 was think win-win. This section of the book discussed how to think of situations in your life as win-win situations as opposed to win-lose and lose-win situations. This habit was the easiest to connect with, for me, beauase habit 4 seemed to be the easiest to accomplish.

The habit I have mastered is habit 3. This section describes how to put first things first to make you more succesful. I believe I have mastered the habit because I always prioritize things and put the most important things first. I find that this strategy helps me finish homework and have as much free time as possible.

Habit 5 or seek first to understand, then to be understood is the habit I need the most work on. I have a real problem understanding other people's points of view. I always want everybody to understand my point of view, while I pay little attention to the other person's point of view. I hope after reading this book that I can drastically improve on this habit.

As I stated before, I would recommend this book to anyone who has a serious problem managing their life.

Wasting Time

Most people, at some point in their life, spend a lot of time on the Internet, wasting time. These are some of the websites, that I have found that are very good time wasters.

1. Facebook-www.facebook.com- This website has lots of different application that involve inviting friends to join a fake gang, group, or team to do lots of different stuff.

2. MLIA-mylifeisaverage.com- Visit this website if you like to read other people's stories that make their life "average."

3. The Best Article Every Day-bspcn.com- The Best Article Every Day is a collection of posts ranging from lists to funny pictures.

4. Yahoo-yahoo.com- Yahoo has news stories, games, clubs, chat rooms, groups, and many other things that can occupy lots of time.

These websites are all good time wasters but I will let you decide which ones are the best.

The Last Apprentice (Book 6)

The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney was an interesting read that brought out the sci-fi lover in me.


The main theme of this book is learning who to listen to most, your master or the ones that care most about you.


The style of Delaney is very interesting. The Last Apprentice is set in the past so some of the words used are old but are very easy to understand. This, to me, makes Delaney seem to be a great author. Delaney does not do a tremendous job of describing the characters and places in the book but the lack of excellent descriptions takes nothing away from the book.


The characters in The Last Apprentice are interesting. Most have odd things about them that make them very individual and special. For example, one character is part witch and another is a spook or defeater of the dark. The characters added to the book's excellence.


Delaney does an okay job of describing the characters in The Last Apprentice, but this book is the 6th in the series, therefore most of the characters have already been described in earlier books. However, the new characters are excellently described. The characters also add to the excellence of the book.


Tom's mother left to return to her homeland, Greece, to help keep things under-control. Now, she has returned and needs Tom's help in her quest to defeat the Fiend, the antagonist of the series. However, if Tom chooses to help his mother his master will never allow Tom to return to him as his apprentice. Tom, is now faced with a decision that could affect the outcome of his constant struggle with the dark.


The Last Apprentice is like many science fiction novels because the book has many super natural and fictional beings. This book does not relate to me on a personal level because I have never really had to deal with some of the problems Tom faces.



I would recommend The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney to any hard core science fiction lover or any one open to a new experience.






This book contains 395 pages.

Catching Fire (Hunger Games Book 2)

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins was a real page turner that grabbed hold of me and never let go. With the book's story of action, love, betrayel, and rebellion putting Catching Fire down was nearly impossible.

Catching Fire appears to have no main theme. The book is mainly a story of the adventures of Katniss Everdeen. However, there are several minor themes, such as, all actions have a consequence.

Suzanne Collins has a great style when writing novels. Catching Fire is very well written. All the characters and places are descriped thouroughly and very well. Suzanne Collins does not a very unique style as the book is very similarly written to other books written for young adults. However, her style is done much better than most of the authors with a style similar to Collins.

After reading Catching Fire, I really believe that Katniss, Peeta, Haymitch, and all the other characters are real. All the characters have real problems that some people face today. There is nothing really super natural about the characters, making them very possible. The characters add to the excellence to the book as they add a lot to Catching Fire.

The world of Catching Fire is very different from the world we live in today. The United States is divided into to districts and the democracy has been replaced by a dictatorship. Many people are starving and each district must give up two children to fight to death every year. Suzanne Collins does an excellent job of describing the settings of Catching Fire. The entire United States is described but with little detail. I can close my eyes and really see the places that Katniss and Peeta live in.

Katniss Everdeen has just won the Hunger Games, an annual event where two teens from each district must fight to the death. Most people would be overjoyed, but Katniss and her fellow tribute, Peeta Mellark, defied the Capital and both won the Hunger Games. This causes unease throughout the districts. Katniss is about to leave on her victory tour when the President arrives at her house. He meets with her privately and reveals the true state of the Capital and threatens to kill her family if she does not comply. This event throws Katniss into a whirlwind that tosses her world upside down...again!

Catching Fire's plot is like no other book I have read. Collins does a great job of making the plot extremely unique. The style is similar to most authors that write young-adult novels but her unique plot makes up for this.

I would recommend Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins to any young-adult or adult reader.



This book contains 391 pages.

The Time Machine Review

Is time travel possible? If possible, will time travel be good for mankind? No one knows the answers to these questions, but H.G. Wells explores the possibilities in his book The Time Machine.

 The Time Machine shows to be careful what you wish for because you might not like the result.

 H.G. Wells wrote The Time Machine in 1894, therefore the style of the book is quite different. The words used are sometimes archaic and hard to comprehend. This makes the book harder to understand at first. However, after reading for a while the strange dialect is easier to decipher. Wells does an excellent job of describing the places in the book, not so much the characters as most had no formal names. The style of Wells is unique, but mostly because the book is so old.

 The characters in The Time Machine are interesting. Most of the characters have no formal names simply the Professor, the Psychologist, the Time Traveler, or etc. This makes the characters seem very unreal. Not one of the unnamed characters, except the Time Traveler, play a huge role in the story, making the inconvenience bearable. The book would have been just as good without the particular characters as they did nothing to enhance my experience of reading The Time Machine.

 The settings of The Time Machine are very descriptive. I really felt like I was in the places. The book takes place in 1894 London, London 802,701, and London 30 million years after 1894. These places are all well described except for London in 1894. I really felt like I was experiencing what the Time Traveler was experiencing. The vivid descriptions of the settings really made the book for me.

 The Time Traveler is an inventor in London, England. He is obsessed with the thought of time travel. He explains his ideas and shows a replica time machine to his weekly dinner guests. Theses guests leave more than skeptical of the Time Travelers “Time Machine”. The next week, the Time Traveler holds a dinner to show his invention off. However, upon arrival the guest find no sign of the Time Traveler. They continue dinner without him, until he appears and begins to recount a remarkable tale of his recent adventure through time.

 The Time Machine is very much a science fiction novel. The book is similar to several science fiction books I have read, but none as old. This book does not connect to me at all, mostly because it is very old and covers an idea that is not yet possible.

 I would recommend The Time Machine by H.G. Wells to a classical book lover or a person who reads science fiction. However, I would advise children and non-intellectual adults to stay away from this book as they may find the book hard to understand is some places because of the dialect of English used.

 

 

 This book contains 83 pages.

London Calling Book Review

Edward Bloor's London Calling is a compelling science fiction history novel that pulled me in and never let go.

The theme of this book is a teenage boy finding himself. He learns to trust himself and realizes that his life is worth something after all.

The style of Bloor left nothing to be desired. He gave a very real sense of what was happening in the story. I could almost hear the main character describing his adventures. Bloor is not unique is his way of presenting his story but the story is well done.

Bloor does an excellent job of making the characters seem real. The characters all have realistic

views, opinions, emotions, and physical traits. The characters made the book for me. Without them the London Calling would not be the same. Th.e book has five main characters with several supporting characters. The family of four of the five main characters is very real and faces many of the problems that normal families face today.

London Calling has two main settings: Bethel, New Jersey in present day and London in 1940. Bloor does an okay job describing the setting of the book. I feel like I am there, but in a dream world. I can't imagine fine details, just broad details such as dimensions, colors, and rooms. The book is set in real places, past and present, but they seem bland and boring in the book.

Martin Conway believes that his life is worthless. He is wasting his life away at school, home, and church. Then, on the last day of school his life is turned completely around. Martin's best friend, Pinak, is attacked by a bully. Martin's other friend, Manetti, tries to defend Pinak but just gets them all in trouble. Martin, scared to see the bully again, refuses to leave his room all summer until he is forced to leave upon his grandmother's passing. From her Martin inherits a single possesion: an old radio. This radio thrusts him into an adventure that could rewrite history.

This book relates to many books I have read, but in different ways. The sci-fi side relates to many science fiction books and the historical fiction side relates to many historical books I have read. However, there are not many books in the world that combine the two. This combination makes London Calling by Edward Bloor a must read for any book lover.

This book has 291 pages.

Sylamo Bike Trail: First Time

This summer I went to the sylamo bike trails in Mountain View, AR. This wasn't my first trail ride but the first major one. We, my dad, brother, and I, went with some friends who loved the trail. We arrived and realized there had been a big storm that had blown lots of trees down across the trail. The red trail seemed the best fit for our first time. I later realized that the red trail was the easiest there but not an easy trail. We set out and the first twenty minutes were good. We rode about a mile and then my brother feel off his bike and rolled down a hill. He was fine but the tumble scared him. He decided to go back with my dad and wait until we got done. I was left with these friends who were more experienced riders than me. This didn't affect me much until I went over an uprooted tree and fell down cutting my leg. The fall did enough to slow me down and get behind the friends. I caught up when they decided to stop until I caught up. They had realized that the trail ahead was covered in leaves and debris. They decided that it was best to take one of the exit trails and leave early because of the poor trail conditions. The one mile ride to the exit trail was not so smooth. It was very slow going and I was tired from a day of running before. We finally made it out and I was ready to shower and sleep, the two ss's of riding.

All in all the trail was awesome, but my first time was not as good as it could have been due to the poor trail conditions.

Oblivious People in Parking Lots

When driving in a parking lot everyone, at some point, finds and is annoyed by a person completely oblivious to his/her surroundings. I find these people incredibly annoying. They either have no idea what is going on or they just don't care about anything around them.

For example, this past weekend I was driving around Wal-Mart searching for a parking space. I found a space and was moving down the row to get it. Halfway there I came upon a man walking with his 5-6 year old child. He was not paying any attention to me and was walking up the middle of the road. He was so oblivious he only realized he was in front of me when he bumped into the front of my car. He jumped out of his oblivious state and waved at me as if he was apologizing. I thought how could you be so out of it in a parking lot that you run into a car.

I find these people extremely annoying and wish they would go away forever.