Relationships (they are such a pain!)

   What if you lived in Minnesota near the woods where you are watched by a wolf when you go outside? What if you feel that yellow-eyed wolf is somehow "special"? Will you try to befriend it even though you know wolves are a vicious specie?

   Well, I started reading this book called Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater and its about this girl named Grace who lives in Minnesota and for the last six years she has been watching a yellow-eyed wolf which seemed to stand out from its pack and who watches her back. And once when she was taken by the wolf pack, deeper into the forest the wolf, her wolf, saved her from being wolf food. And, Grace knows that the wolves are actually werewolves so after knowing that, she gets much more closer with that special wolf.

   I think later Grace will meet the wolf in his human form and she would fall in love with him. Because now in wolf form the boy, Sam, feels very close to her and for the first time in six years, he had let her touch his fur and even when the she-wolf of Sam's pack tried to attack Grace, Sam actually protected her which is a very unusual behavior for a wolf. This shows that Sam has feelings for Grace. I think Grace likes Sam as a wolf because she always tries to get close to him and she doesn't want to go in a trip with her best friend's family just because she will miss her wolf and they will be very far from each other. This just shows that if they met each other in human form, they will start loving each other and their feeling for each other will deepen which is very sweet.    

   I really don't have a connection to this theory but I can relate to the fact that sometimes Grace feels like her bonds with her two beat friend's, Rachel and Olivia, are getting weak and she finds it hard to be friends with them. I feel the same way sometimes with my two best friends, Aishwarya and Tanzima because sometimes I feel like we are getting less close and other times I feel like I am not spending too much time with one of my BF's. I try to do my best to do fun things together like hanging out but sometimes one of my BF's has something else to do and go somewhere so we don't get to spent much time together after school. And we can't hang out in the weekends or when we have free time because our parents don't let us go outside and all three of us are mostly busy with homework, families, etc. I wish someday we don't have to care about our family problems and school work and we could just hang out and let our friendship bonds strengthen.

A Nobody to a Somebody!

I just started reading this book called Dork Diaries, Tales From A Not-So-Popular Party Girl by Rachel Renee Russell. It's a really good book which shows all the problems a girl can face in middle school. The main character named Nikki is stuck in a huge problem. She is in the clean up crew for the Halloween dance but when the chairperson, Mackenzie, who is a popular girl who's always trying to steal Nikki's crush, resigns and makes the rest of the crew (not including Nikki's best friends and two other people) just because Nikki's crush didn't ask Mackenzie out for the dance. So now Nikki is the chairperson which means she is in charge of the dance and if something goes wrong it's all Nikki's fault! And if that isn't enough she has her homework and tests and Mackenzie herself to deal with.

Sometimes people feel have nothing on their shoulders to worry about and all of a sudden they got lots to worry about and sometimes people go from nobody from someone very important just because they are in a different position or because that person did something that attracts everyone's attention. I hate that feeling because all of a sudden you go from having no work to having so much stuff to do that it makes your head spin. For example, before the spelling bee neither was I popular, nor I had any work on my shoulders. But after I won the School Spelling Bee I feel like a very important person and people ask me, "Aren't you the girl who won the Spelling Bee?" And whenever I hear this I actually get a bit happy because I want to be known by others beside my friend circle not because I want to be popular but because I love to meet new people and have lots of friends.

"A true friend is someone that knows the song of your soul, and sings it back to you when you have forgotten the words"

   What would you do if you and your best friend likes the same guy? Would you sacrifice your happiness for your friends? Or would you try to get your friend to like someone else so you get the guy you like? Well, that's the decision Lotus has to make in the book The Pillow Book Of Lotus Lowenstein by Libby Schmais. Lotus lives in Brooklyn but she is dying to go to Paris and become an existentialist. Lotus and her best friend Joni are similar and different in many ways. Although Joni is very rich, she wears cheap cloths and likes non-expensive stuff where Lotus is not that rich but loves to buy expensive stuff. But, both friends shares Lotus's love for all things french. So, they start a french club where their only club member, other than Lotus and Joni, is Sean, the new boy. But the problem is that they both end up liking Sean who likes both girl's affection.

   I think Lotus should just give up liking Sean because Joni starts liking Sean first but mostly because Lotus is Joni's best friend and there shouldn't be a problem in sacrificing a little of her happiness for her best friend. Although Lotus and Sean have a lot in common and Joni and Sean have a little in common, Lotus should be much more faithful and loyal to her friend and she should be helpful and happy that finally Joni likes someone who she has a chance going out with (Joni is mostly in love with famous stars). In the book I feel like Lotus acts more like a friend rather than a best friend because if a person's friend likes someone, that person should be happy for a friend and not try to find ideas to get her friend to like someone else.

   If I was in Lotus's place I would actually help my friend get the guy she wants. My best friends Aishwarya and Tanzima mean more to me than anything else and if one of them likes the same guy as me, I would do anything to forget the guy and get the boy to go out with my best friend. I feel like best friends prove that they are capable of being a best friend when they support their friends and make a sacrifice for them. It doesn't matter how big or small the sacrifice is, as long as the sacrifice is meant to support your friend and it came from the heart, it shows that you are a true friend. 

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan SPOILER ALERT!!!

   Although, Rick Riordan's style of writing is different then J. K. Rowling (author of the Harry Potter series), both of these authors created two very creative and exciting world and they both keep readers wanting for more! 

   Rick Riordan actually used myths, fantasy and realistic fiction to make such a nice story filled with adventure and excitement. I think Rick Riordan planned out the whole story very deeply because the author made everything connected including Jason Grace, the brave demigod's (half mortal, half god) appearance in camp Half- Blood who's memory is taken by Hera, the goddess of family, and Percy Jackson's, the hero from Rick Riordan's previous series about Olympus, disappearance.

   The story started with Jason, Piper and Leo (Jason's two best friends) going to this school trip but Jason doesn't remember anything on the way. Their trip was at the Grand Canyon where, when they went they were attacked by storm spirits, or venti who tries to kill them but Jason' s coach Gleeson Hedge (who is actually a satyr but Jason doesn't know) saves them by sacrificing himself for the three demigod.

   Later, Jason, Piper and Leo were taken to camp Half- Blood by Annabeth where they had to go in a quest to get Jason's memory back, stop the evil giants from rising and save Piper's dad. What really amazed me is that Riordan used the same prophecy from the end of the last Percy Jackson series book for the The Lost Hero and will use the prophecy for the whole Heros Of Olympus series.

   The last part was amazing when Jason completed his quest and stopped Gaea, Mother Earth who is the enemy, from rising entirely and figured out the truth of Percy Jackson's disappearance. Hera, the goddess, made an exchange. There is another camp for demigods who follow the Roman gods and the roman rules rather than the Greek rules which camp Half- Blood follows and there is where Percy is. Jason is actually from the Roman camp because he is more familiar with the roman aspects. Hera switched the two campers because the two camps has always fought and Hera wanted both camps to learn that both camps aren't very different from each other. Making everything connected was a really nice touch for the end of the story because it got me very jumpy for the next book.

Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows

   The seventh book of the Harry Potter series was the best from all of them (although all of the books were too good to be true!) because Harry destroyed all the Horcruxes which are one's pieces of soul put in an object

and Harry defeated Voldemort, the evil wizard who killed his parents. It's so cool that the Deathly Hallow's, three objects if owned by one person that person becomes master of death, master is actually Harry not because he fears death (which he doesn't) but because he doesn't run away from death but faces it much more bravely than anyone. 

   It's so cool that although Voldemort knows more about so many things that Harry doesn't know, his greatest weakness is his fear of death where Harry, although he is so much younger and less experienced than Voldemort, welcomes death very calmly. I think that sometimes the young is the wisest because like Harry, some young people sometimes can make very good decisions that will surprise adults and I think some adults should expect more from teens and younger kids because kids can do much more than they are capable of since their minds work very differently than the minds of adults.

   I really love how Harry has the freedom to decide so many things where I don't. My parents and siblings don't actually give me much of a decision when it comes to little things let alone huge decisions. And, that really annoys me because it's my life and shouldn't I be the one to decide things that are relevant to my life?

While Harry has to make more decisions than a normal teenager, I am stuck with no free will.

“A human being is a single being. Unique and unrepeatable”

   What happens if your family is cursed for generations by a single use of dark magic? What if being "normal" is difficult to be when you are trying to hide a secret? What happens if almost everyone in a small town hates you, just because you are related to someone who people think is crazy and that if things go wrong you are the one who is blamed? 

   Lena Duchannes isn't you average girl, in fact she isn't what you call normal. She is a Caster, a person who has an ability to do either dark magic or light magic. She is in fear of turning toward Darkness in her sixteenth birthday just because of a single dark magic a Duchannes did many years before her. A curse that had been given by a powerful book just because Lena's ancestor, Genevieve Duchannes tried to save her true love. Ethan Wate, a normal boy, loves Lena but since he is not a Caster he can't do anything to help her.  

   Lena just moved in a different town with her uncle Macon Ravenwood and life is already going downhill for her. Some of the students parents from Jackson high especially Ms. Asher and Ms. Lincoln wants her out of the town since they think she is threat to other students. I think this parents doesn't like her just because they think she is not like other students in the town of Gatlin. I think just because someone is different from what others are used to, that doesn't mean they should be hated. They should be accepted with great respect because they are different so they probably will have a different way of thinking and doing everything which is very cool. Because you can learn more about a different way of living.

Anyone can learn something from this book because it has a lot of meaningful morals that are very thought provoking and just wonderful. But the strongest main idea of this book is that being different is being unique.

Bravery

   Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets had a great ending and it was fantastic how J. K. Rowling created an engaging story. In the end, Harry finds the chamber of secrets and I was amazed at how brave he was while fighting Tom Riddle, Voldemort when he was a student at Hogwarts. If I was in Harry's place I would have freaked out. Harry showed so much bravery that he makes the perfect idol for the main character of this book. I think this book shows that sometimes you need to be in a life and death situation to find bravery inside you.

   In the end, Harry actually defeats the Basilisk, the serpent that was petrifying people in Hogwarts. It was amazing how he stabbed the basilisk fang into the heart of the diary that held Tom Riddle's memory, without even thinking if he was doing the right thing. I guess Harry's instincts were so strong that he didn't have to think too much before he acted.

   I remember when I was in fourth grade, I used to think what to say before I raised my hand because I was afraid I would say something stupid by accident. I used to get really embarrassed in little things but now I just spill out what's in my mind 'cause I feel free to say whatever I want.

   I get excited in little things because I feel like I should be happy about little things in life since little things makes up big things. So I get really excited when someone mentions Harry Potter or other little things. I can go on forever about how awesome the Harry Potter series is without ever getting tired.

   

Reality and Imagination

   Many people would think witches and wizards are cool imaginary people but if anyone reads Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets by J. K. Rowling, people will wish that wizards and other mythical creatures were real. The author creates an awesome world filled with things kids love and want in the real world. I read the whole series but I just can't get enough of Harry Potter's world.

   Basically this book is about a boy named Harry who thought he was a normal boy but later turned out to be a famous wizard who survived from an attack from an evil wizard named Voldemort (first book of the series). Now Harry is back in Hogwarts from summer vacation and trying once again to fit in and be a normal wizard. Nothing is actually happening in the book right now so this is making me very eager about what might happen later on. I think this is one of the things that Rowling does to make the reader on edge although nothing is really happening.

   Like Harry, sometimes I fell like no one understands me and I ask myself do I even have real friends to count on when I need them? No one understands how painful life is for me, not my friends or even my family members! Sometimes I feel all alone in this big world without anyone to guide me and tell me whats right or wrong. I face a lot of obstacles like Harry but Harry faces them bravely where I try to avoid them. I feel like my greatest fear in life is that I might get caught in an obstacle so hard that i might not be capable of continuing with my normal life. I feel a small hardship will ruin my entire life leaving me with nothing but a little hope. I live for hope because my entire life depends on it whether I like it or not. It's not like its a bad thing but since it is all I have when I am never sure of anything, it gets annoying to think that a little bit of hope is all I have to lead me in life.

    I love this book because everything about the world that the author creates gets me all excited and lets me fully get lost in the world in the book.

   I face a lot of family problems, some which are just too much to take in. Sometimes I feel like this world is too plain and dull and that's one of the times when I wish I had a real wand which by just a wave will take me away from this world and to a quiet place where I can sort out my thoughts. But lucky me, I have something else to take me away from reality and into my kind of world where imagination blossoms like a flower with a bit of water or in this case, magic: books.

Zoey's spiritless body, Burned

The book I'm reading right now is called Burned, House of Night series. In the book, the main character, Zoey, is in trouble right now because she is in the Otherworld where the spirits live, away from the real world. Right now, Zoey's friends are trying to help her return to her breathing body before its too late and her body dies. I think Zoey's warrior, Stark will go to the Otherworld to protect her from the evil fallen angel Kalona because Stark likes Zoey and would do anything to help her. I think Neferet, the Priestess behind all this mess, send Kalona to the Otherworld because she doesn't want Zoey to return to the real world and ruin Neferet's dream to rule all vampyres and humans. She would do anything to get Zoey out of her way.