Monthly Archives: June 2018

Avengers: Infinity War

Posted on by
2

I went into the theatre to watch Infinity War super excited because I honestly just wanted to see how Marvel would finally kill some of its superheroes. And well, overall ways the movie kind of disappointed me. I still enjoyed the movie but after all of the hype, I was just expecting something different.

The entire movie was basically just action. It started with minimal setup and the rest of the movie seemed like action and violence with a small amount of storyline woven in. I just thought that with everything that Marvel had to work with, they could have written a better storyline. It wasn’t a bad storyline it just seemed to be very similar to all the other superhero movies that had been made, just blown up to a larger scale and the special effects were great. But, the amount of action was so overkill that after a while it almost got boring.

To really understand this movie, you really had to watch all the other Marvel movies that had recently came out because there was small pieces of the storyline that were explained in the other movies that the movie makers had expected the audience to know. Which, I think was kind of a good and bad thing. I found it cool that they could tie everything together but, the parts explained in the other movie where so minimal that I feel like it was more of a money grab. It was also kind of hard to remember all these parts because I hadn’t watched some of the other movies in a while which, made some of the storyline kind of confusing. So, I would definitely suggest going back and watching the other Marvel movies before seeing Infinity War.

Now I really liked just seeing all the characters together. I liked seeing how Marvel portrayed having all these different characters together and how they interacted with each other. It was nice seeing some of the more minor characters back in a movie again.

The best part of the movie, for me, was the fact that some of the superheroes finally died. I know that they aren’t probably going to stay dead, but it was about time that Marvel killed some of their superheroes. Though, the way they killed them was kind of disappointing.

Marvel did make us wait a long time for the end credit scene though.

I would still totally recommend this movie especially if you’re into superhero movies.  It was still a good movie and I had a lot of fun watching it.

– Ava G.

October Sky

Posted on by
Reply

This movie follows Homer Hickam and friends in the town of Coalwood, West Virginia around 1957. His father, John Hickam, wants Homer to join him in the mines. However, after seeing Sputnik 1 shoot across the sky, Homer becomes determined to build a rocket of his own. Homer and his friends Quentin, Roy, and O’Dell set off on building this rocket. Though their first couple of rockets are utter failures, they continue trying to build and test out these rockets with the support of their teacher Miss Riley. However, their rocket building endeavors hit a snag when local authorities blame them for causing a forest fire, leading to the group of boys tearing down their launch site and ending further rocket testing. Undeterred, Homer is able to prove through calculations that he and his friends were not the cause of the forest fire and resume building rockets, eventually getting to the state science fair.

This movie was amazing in that it shows the power of passion for whatever may interest you. By putting in their all and never giving up in the face of failure, Homer and his friends were able to completely change the path of their future that washeld for them. The audience may ask themselves, “How is this even reasonable? There’s no way simple interest in rockets and entering a science fair can alter someone’s future this greatly!” However, this was in fact based off of a real story! This movie teaches a great story of following one’s dreams and the importance of family in one’s success. It is a great movie to watch, with an even greater lesson behind it.

-Kobe L.

Demigods and Magicians by Rick Riordan

Posted on by
Reply

This is another amazing book by Rick Riordan!  Rick Riordan writes about many different mythologies such as Greek, Roman, Norse, and Egyptian. This books features Percy and Annabeth, a couple who are involved with Greek mythology and Sadie and Carter Kane, siblings who are involved in Egyptian mythology.  This isn’t a conventional book in that it is composed of three short stories and a sneak peek of one of his books about Norse mythology, The Hidden Oracle. 

The first story is about Percy and Carter meeting and their unusual fight against an enormous petsuchos, the gigantic crocodile son of the Egyptian crocodile god Sobek. The boys fought and were confused when they first meet as they figured out that more than just one mythology was real. They defeated the monster but felt as though they’d opened a door that wouldn’t be closed.

In the second story, Annabeth meets Sadie and they join forces to stop the past, present, and future from joining together so the Egyptian god of the Underworld, Serapis, can rise.  Annabeth eliminates the god’s future so he can’t exist anymore.  The girls exchange cell phone numbers and agree to contact each other only in emergencies.

In the third story, Percy, Annabeth, Carter, and Sadie all fight a long battle against Setne, an Egyptian magician who came back from the dead to try to mix Greek and Egyptian powers to try to turn himself into a god. After the four defeat him, they decide to keep everything to themselves and stay in contact.

I loved reading the sneak peek because it interested me enough to go check out the full book, which I loved.  There are more books in the series and it’s a great read.

All in all I enjoyed this book a lot.  It answers those questions you sometimes think about, like ‘what would happen if the characters in my two favorite book series met?’  I definitely recommend this book; although it helps to read the series about Percy and Annabeth and the series about Sadie and Carter beforehand because they help you understand the characters and their story.

– Kaitlyn S.

Demigods & Magicians by Rick Riordan is available at the Mission Viejo Library

Familiar by Liam Payne and J Balvin

Posted on by
Reply

Now this song is a major Summer 18 banger. If you remember Despacito, this song has a similar vibe, Latin roots etc, yet this one is one hundred times better. Don’t believe me? Have a listen.

So in case you don’t know, Liam Payne is the most successful and most talented (according to vocal range and musical ability) ex-member of One Direction, in fact, he is the only male on the list of “The Only Good Vocalists Born After 1989.” Liam explained numerous times how he wanted all of his fans to have a song of his that they could relate to in a sense, he sang this one for all of his Latin fans. There is a bit of Spanish on this song sung by J Balvin.

This song is just such an upbeat, happy, danceable song. The opening notes just take you to summer and make you want to dance. Here’s a bit of the lyrics from the song.

Can we get famili-famili-famili-familiar? (familiar)
I’m feelin’, I’m feelin’, I’m feelin’, I’m feelin’ ya (familiar)
What’s on your mind for later tonight?
Let me be the one to fill it up
Can we get famili-famili-famili-familiar?
I’m feelin’, I’m feelin’, I’m feelin’, I’m feelin’ ya (feelin’ ya)
What’s on your mind for later tonight?
Let me be the one to fill it up
Can we get

You can just hear how smooth Liam’s voice really is in this song.  So go ahead and give it a listen, so in the Summer when everyone knows it and loves it, you can say you liked it before it was famous.

Plague by Michael Grant

Posted on by
2

Image result for plague michael grantImagine a world in which everyday people gain supernatural abilities. A world without any adults or rules. A world where animals are starting to mutate horribly. A world surrounded by an impassable barrier, stopping anyone from entering… or getting out. Welcome to Michael Grant’s FAYZ, or Fallout Alley Youth Zone.

Every human above the age of 15 have disappeared, leaving the kids in a world that’s theirs for the taking. In this fourth installment of the Gone series, Drake has returned, bringing with him a terrifying concept of the perfect killing machine: beetles. They start off as invisible threats, but the true horror begins when you see a small pair of mandibles poking through the inside of your skin. They slowly begin to grow and emerge from your body, secreting a numbing liquid as they do so. When incubation is complete, they burst from inside you and eat your remains.

As if this and Drake weren’t bad enough, kids are coughing up a lung… literally. A plague is wiping out the population of Perdido Beach, a sickness that nothing can heal. Tensions are high as the fight for survival sweeps up some new faces and old, exposing new problems, and new solutions.

-Luke D.

Plague by Michael Grant is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. 

Stress to Service

Posted on by
2

Stress:

Google says it’s “a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances”

According to psychology, it’s “uncomfortable emotional experience accompanied by predictable biochemical, physiological and behavioral changes”

And students agree stress is “AP exams, finals, CIF games and oh, those two projects I won’t be starting until the night before”

In the wee hours of the night, students strive to obtain the intense desire for success

And the wee hours of the night cook the perfect atmosphere for boiling stress.

A child, a baby: a mere fifteen, sixteen, seventeen year old

Persisting, working, sweating like a mule until their transcript shows all gold.

Who can expect a student to sleep eight hours a night but juggle five hours of work?

The expectations, I’d say, are more than enough to irk.

Every year the college acceptance rates drastically drop

And little boys and girls suddenly forget what it means to take a break

and just stop.

Tell me why students who sacrifice their health and sleep

Are still expected to be a lively teen and not weep.

Convince me that students are making the right decisions

In cheating on tests, just to get the “A” and fulfill their college envisions.

Persuade me that the education system is treating their students right

and brainwashing us to believe that a score of 5 is what makes us bright.

Let’s start to encourage using our passion and our voices

To stand up and help society make the right choices.

To be politicized and involved while we’re youthful, proud, and loud.

Time is running out, we can’t wait around.

Third world countries await our kindness, shelters demand our service, feminists deserve our support.

In all due respect, that is more important and influential than a chemistry lab report.

-Jessica T.

Let Me by Zayn Malik

Posted on by
Reply

This is a perfect song to set the summer mood. It is by ex-One Direction member Zayn Malik (who was the second most talented member and the second most successful member).  Whilee the song is such a carefree, fun song, it has a much deeper meaning.

In case you didn’t know, Zayn dated model Gigi Hadid for 2 years before splitting in March, this song was written before then, and for her, he states,

“I was in love—and I think that’s pretty evident. I was aspiring to be in love with someone for the rest of my life and the rest of theirs, as we all do.”

Here’s a bit of lyrics from the song:

Baby, let me be your man
So I can love you (I can love you)
And if you let me be your man
Then I’ll take care of you, you

For the rest of my life, for the rest of yours
For the rest of my life, for the rest of yours
For the rest of ours

You can really hear what a huge range of vocals Zayn Malik possesses. He is one of the few male singers that can actually hit a high note and it is very evident in this song.

A cool part of the song is the music video for it, it serves as a thriller. It is actually part two of a series of videos, part one being the music video for Dusk Till Dawn. In part one, Zayn is on the run with a suitcase, yet we aren’t sure what is in it, there is a huge explosion and a car chase. Zayn is much past his boyband One Direction days and anyone would enjoy seeing the video.

But now onto Let Me. In part two Zayn has finally reached a destination, but he is still on the run. I won’t spoil it for you, but there is a lot of action but the meaning of the song still hones true in the video (you have to watch it to see)

It is such a bop! It is sure to be a huge chart topper. Don’t believe me? Go and listen to it yourself, you’ll be glad you did.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling

Posted on by
1

Harry Potter is a miserable boy living with his aunt and uncle. He is often mistreated. He sleeps in a cupboard beneath the stairs and has to wear his cousin Dudley’s hand me downs. His life gets a massive change on his 11th birthday. A giant tells Harry that he is a wizard and that so were his parents. Hagrid also tells Harry about how his parents died which made him a hero in the wizarding world. Hagrid lastly informs Harry that he’ll be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Harry doesn’t know what to do or think with everything he has just been told, but it turns out to be true and Harry starts school in September. Almost instantly he becomes friends with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Harry loves Hogwarts more than anything ever before. Soon he starts participating in Quidditch practices and becomes the youngest Quidditch player in the last century. As the year goes on, the three discover the mystery of the three headed dog and what it could be guarding. They soon notice a professor that seems like he’s trying to steal the object, so they take action to prevent the robbery. Once they sneak past the three headed dog, they pass several challenges to get to the professor.

When they get to where the professor should be, Harry finds his parents’ killer Voldemort. Voldemort killed Harry’s parents to get to Harry, but somehow Harry survived Voldemort’s spell. He battles Voldemort and barely saves the mystical Sorcerer’s Stone. The end of the school year arrives and Harry, Ron, and Hermione are rewarded for their acts of bravery.

-Emilio V.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J. K. Rowling is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive.  

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

Posted on by
1

The Lost Hero, like the other Percy Jackson books, is a fantastic read about Greek and Roman mythology that’s impossible to put down.  It’s the first book in a trilogy called the Heroes of Olympus.

The story is about Jason, a demigod of Zeus who can’t remember his past, Leo, a child of Hephaestus who has a secret power of fire, and Piper, a demigod of Aphrodite with a way with words.

After an incident at the Grand Canyon with a satyr and a few storm spirits, the trio is brought to a demigod camp called Camp Half-Blood by Annabeth, a distraught demigod whose boyfriend Percy went missing a few months earlier.

At Camp Half-Blood, Jason, Piper, and Leo are chosen to go on a quest to find Hera, the queen of the gods, and free her with what little information they received from their camp Oracle, Rachel Dare, in form of prophecy.   Along the way, they face many monsters back from the dead and different Greek gods, including King Midas and Aeolus, the weather god.  Is Hera freed and the prophecy fulfilled? That remains to be seen by you!

The story doesn’t end with this book, so I definitely recommend reading the other two and the Percy Jackson series that is set before these books.  This series is hilarious, masterfully written, and a great way to learn about Greek mythology!

-Kaitlyn S.

Rick Riordan’s The Lost Hero is available for checkout at the Mission Viejo Library.

Sword Art Online Progressive 001 by Reki Kawahara

Posted on by
Reply

Okay, confession time: I’m not really into Japanese anime and manga, or things like that. That is, until I read SAO, or Sword Art Online by Reki Kawahara.

To be clear, there are basically three adaptations of this book. One of them is a graphic novel, but this book, SAO Progressive 001, is a fictional chapter book that’s about 300 or so pages long.

To be honest, I probably wouldn’t have picked up this book if it hadn’t been for my friends, who are obsessed with Japanese manga and stories. The cover art is really cool, but personally, I just wasn’t that interested. One of my friends, who had read the book cover to cover about thousands of times, allowed me to borrow it. At first I was doubting it, but since the cover looked awesome (I know, don’t judge by a book by its cover! Sorry!), I decided to open it.

And then I pretty much didn’t put it down. The story is centered around the main character, a dark-haired swordsman named Kirito, shown on the cover. Next to him is a fencer, named Asuna. Sword Art Online is a a “virtual-reality” world game, where the player is transported into the gaming world, filled with monsters on each level of the hundred floors of a floating, chambered castle: Aincrad. However, there is no escape. Once you enter the game, there’s no way you can leave it. And the death toll begins to rise. 2,000 players are dead, killed by the monsters in the game.

As Asuna the fencer says, “There’s no way to beat this game. The only difference is when and where you die…”

Kirito meets Asuna in the beginning of the story, and over the events happening throughout the book, they form a sort of friendship. They’re not exactly a team, for they are both solo players, only working to strengthen themselves. But when fighting alone means certain death, will Kirito and Asuna overcome their differences and fight together to survive?

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for high-action, intense combat scenes against bosses, and a story that keeps you hooked in every page. Would you wish SAO was a real-life game that we could play? Anyways, I can’t wait to read Sword Art Online Progressive 002! I’m sure Reki Kawahara won’t let me down!

-Katharine L.