Where I love to read

Article posted September 10, 2010 at 09:38 PM GMT0 • Reads 65

Have you ever been cooped up for a while in your house? When you’ve got enough exercise you don’t mind it much, in fact you don’t realize it at all until the sweet, outside air welcomes you home into mother natures arms. My favorite place to read is outside in a backyard nook. With my bare feet cooled in the grass, bottom gently settled in a Hills Bank lawn chair, I feel content. I love it when my lungs are vacuuming in fresh, outside air, and when my ears are filling with chirps of birds, cicadas, and the wind playfully nipping at all the leaves. I love to read outside because it helps me stretch out mi mind and organize my thoughts better. Out there, I really get sucked in to the Archipelago, Narnia, or the day the Boov invaded.

Inkheart

Article posted October 14, 2010 at 01:22 AM GMT0 • Reads 39

Inkheart is about a girl’s wonderful adventure and a mysterious book. The protagonist is named Meggie. Meggie lives with her dad, Mortimer-she calls him Mo-but her mother is gone. Meggie assumes her mother left or worse, but Mo doesn’t like to talk about it and drops the subject whenever it is brought up. The reason Mo doesn’t like this to be brought up is that he has a special power: he can make things become true just by reading them and he can read characters out of books. The only trade-off is that a character from our world gets sucked into the book to take their place. Resa, Mo’s wife, along with two cats, was sucked into the book Inkheart. Three characters named Dustfinger, Basta, and Capricorn appeared in the house. All of this happened nine years ago, and now Meggie is twelve. Capricorn, the antagonist, has become an evil leader hidden in a valley, with Basta as his servant. Meggie and Mo, also known as Silvertongue, teams up with Dustfinger, to expertly defeat Capricorn and his lackeys.

I love this book because it is written expertly and I can relate to the characters. In the book, Meggie is twelve and when I read this I was about to turn twelve. The author, Cornelia Funke, has a way with words. She will make you picture everything you read like it’s alive even if you’re not a Silvertongue. Every detail in the story perfectly accentuates my enjoyment of the novel. I would read Inkheart for the rest of my life because it always has a twist every time I read it that I never noticed before and it quenches my voracious hunger for fictitious books.

Three Vacations of a Lifetime

Article posted November 29, 2010 at 12:22 AM GMT0 • Reads 75

There are so many wonderful worlds out there and I would love to visit them all, but I am only limited to three. My first choice would have to be the setting in the mystical book in “Inkheart”. The story within a story takes place in a time similar to Earth’s 1500s, without the evolution. Also in this land, there are water nymphs with healing powers, fairies that flutter around whimsically, majestic unicorns and fires that babble a strange gobbledygook of a language. There are also terrible things that someone must be wary of on a vacation to the land of “Inkheart”. In the night, the worst of the monstrous beasts that appear are called Nightmares. Nightmares are lost, evil souls who are invincible if you don’t know the true name of the beast in its human form. To be the safest you can and avoid Nightmares, lock your doors and windows tightly.

There are many reasons why I would love to go to the land of “Inkheart”. First, I have always been fascinated with winged creatures and flying and I could study the brightly colored birds and fairies on my fantastic excursion. I wouldn’t take notes or anything extensive; just observe them for my own enjoyment. Second, I realized life in 2010 is very complicated with millions of jobs and social positions that get very confusing. Life in an earlier time would be simpler, even if the animals had changed to unicorns instead of horses and fairies instead of certain birds. Third, I would love to get to know “Inkheart’s” cultures. I would want to know popular traditions and compare them to the traditions today.



My second vacation choice would be “Alice in Wonderland’s” Wonderland. Wonderland is the dreamland of a girl named Alice with many amazing creatures she dreams up. The way you enter Wonderland is an anti-gravitational tunnel that you carelessly float down. Then there is a quite puzzling room full of tantalizing, growing cakes, shrinking potions and a key, an odd caucus race taking place with many different animals, a spooky forest, a mad hatter’s tea party, a talking rabbit’s house, the Red Queen’s castle and many more stunning places.

I would love to visit Wonderland because I have always wanted to experience a dreamland away from bed. I would love to talk to Alice while she was having a dream to see what her personality was like. I know what her personality is vaguely from the book, but meeting any character from a book is a real treat, since it is such a rare opportunity. I would also love to have tea with the Mad Hatter and visit the cute, ridiculously vast dog. Maybe the Cheshire Cat would stop by to visit me as well!



Last, but not least, I choose the Archipelago of Dreams in the series “The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica” to be my vacation spot. In the Archipelago, there are amazing ships called Dragon Ships. The Dragon Ships have their own feelings to some extent, and they can propel themselves through water without aid of sails or oars. A majestic tower of infinite height called the Tower of Time is hidden somewhere on an uncharted island. Another surprising thing about the Archipelago is that all animals can speak English. There are dragons hidden in the deepest crags of the Archipelago waiting to be called upon when the world is at stake, but they never appear otherwise. There are many amazing wonders waiting to be found in this parallel universe.

The Archipelago is an astounding place full of life and beauty. Parallel universes have always amazed me and ships that can move by themselves blow my mind. When I read these books I wanted to go to the Archipelago immediately and could almost feel its power emanating out of the book. If I could go there, I would definitely talk to a fox, an owl, and a marten and befriend them. I would try to stop by Tummler’s shop and buy a copy of The Imaginarium Geographica to help me find my way around. Tummler is a friendly talking badger who happens to own a book store. The Archipelago of Dreams is truly a place of spectacular dreams and wonders. I want to visit many more remarkable places like these three, and it was very challenging to decide which ones out of thousands to choose.

Protagonists of Wonder

Article posted January 5, 2011 at 09:49 PM GMT0 • Reads 143

The first protagonist I choose is Maximum Ride because she is a strong leader and can help people in the worst of times. Maximum ride is an experiment. The only thing that sets her apart from one of us is that she has wings. She can fly faster than an eagle, and faster than the rest of her flock, who are other kids that were cruelly experimented on. Maximum Ride is from the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson. There are currently 6 books in the series, but a seventh is coming out in January.

Maximum Ride is a hero because she helps her flock and becomes the leader they need when they need help the most. All good heroes make sacrifices, and Max sacrifices school and a normal life to protect her flock. The scientists say the super powers she developed are from her bird genes acting up, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t awesome! One example of her powers (besides the amazing ability to fly) is that she can fly at speeds of over 200 mph. Even though Maximum Ride isn’t normal, she is definitely a true hero.



The next astounding hero I decided on is Percy Jackson because he is intelligent, and can handle crazy ridiculous situations easily. Percy Jackson is a half blood (half human, half god) sent to Camp Half-Blood to train. He meets two friends, Grover, a Satyr and Annabeth, a Half Blood to aid him in his quest. Percy Jackson is from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series. There are 6 books in the series.

Percy Jackson has many amazing qualities. He can figure out new ways of looking at things to solve the puzzles of his quests, he can persuade humans and monsters to do what he wants, and he can clear his mind during a battle. He can also hold his breath underwater for up to twenty minutes, read and speak Greek words fluently, and can fight monsters incredibly well. Percy is a compassionate young man who cares for his friends and family.



Sam Temple, my third choice for protagonist of favor, is a 14-year-old boy who lives in the FAYZ. The FAYZ means Fallout Alley Youth Zone and it is where a barrier inexplicably appeared in the middle of a town. What’s more is that all the humans above the age of 14 have disappeared and all the animals have mutated within the barrier. Some of the kids within the barrier are developing special powers, as well. Sam Temple comes from the Gone series of books by Michael Grant. There are 3 books in the series.

Sam Temple is a protagonist because he is very empathetic and tries his best to protect and lead the children of the FAYZ. He makes sacrifices by not having enough people or time to keep the kids of the FAYZ safe and away from harm. Sam has the power to make powerful, bright light emanate from his hands. Sam also needs to be responsible with his powers and make the right choices because the light could be used as a weapon. All of the protagonists here are faced with hard decisions, but they make the right choices in the end.