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.