Monthly Archives: April 2022

Game Review: Pokemon Legends Arceus

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Pokemon Legends Arceus is a Pokemon game unlike any other we have seen before. Published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch, this new take on the Pokemon genre completely changes the formula of all the games before it.  Pokemon Legends Arceus takes place in the Hisui region based upon the island of Hokkaido in Japan in ancient times. It serves as a prequel to Nintendo’s previous releases of Pokemon Diamond, Pearl and Platinum set in the Sinnoh Region based on modern day Hokkaido. Pokemon Legends Arceus is an open world, action role-playing game in which the objective is to explore the entire region by riding different Pokemon, and to catch all 242 Pokemon available throughout all of the five different biomes in the region in order to catch Arceus who is the Pokemon that sets you out on your journey.

With Pokemon Legends comes a completely new battle and catching system unlike anything else. Instead of having to engage in battles in order to catch Pokemon, you can instead catch them in the environment with a variety of different Pokeballs. The Pokemon can interact with the environment, other Pokemon, and the player. In addition to this, instead of battles being turn based, the player can alter the turn order by using agile style moves, which makes their next turn come sooner but decreases power, or strong style moves, that are stronger, but makes their next turn come later. Some other features include alpha Pokemon, which are stronger and bigger Pokemon, Mass Outbreaks, which are swarms of specific Pokemon that occasionally spawn. 

I really enjoyed this game and have nearly completed it. The gameplay is so different from other Pokemon games and has many new features. I really loved the hub world, Jubilife Village, and the many side quests that you could accept. I also liked the starter Pokemon that you could pick: Oshawott, a water sea otter; Cyndaquil, a fire mouse; and my personal favorite, Rowlet, a grass owl. I would recommend this game to anyone who loves Pokemon or is interested in checking out why everything Pokemon has become an international phenomenon.

-Brandon G.

A Night Divided By Jennifer Nielsen

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A Night Divided is a historical fiction book based on the event of the Berlin Wall, and is about a girl name Gerta. Who one day gets separated from her father and brother by the wall. Gerta has grown to dislike the East and instead think of it like a prison. One day as she was heading towards school, she see’s her dad preforming a dance and takes it as a sign to escape. So her and her other brother Fritz work on digging a secret tunnel. I just finished reading a night divided and I must say it was an amazing story to follow along to. It contains, a a heart warming lesson, along with an action plot story line.

This book showed a new perspective of how much the effect of war ending can still effect the people. Not only do we experience new insight we learn more about East Germany and its laws and restrictions. I especially loved how divers the characters personality’s were and that they weren’t just side characters but also had their own life’s and troubles. I enjoyed the organization and flow of the story. It wasn’t predictable, and had intertwining events that showed the characters thoughts.

Overall, this is a enjoyable yet deep and meaningful book, containing facts about the event of the Berlin wall and East Germany. The story is filled with an exciting and suspenseful journey. The characters are well written and memorable, with a fun story line that is easy to follow. I liked how all the characters and elements came together to form a likable book. This book has definitely become one of my favorites and I recommend this to anyone who is interested in this genre.

-Caitlyn Y.

A Night Divided By Jennifer Nielsen is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Libby.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottesa Moshfegh

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My Year of Rest and Relaxation is probably one of my favorite books I’ve ever read. The book highlights a young, privileged, wealthy, and well-educated woman. She lives on the Upper East Side, with all her needs paid for through her inheritance. The novel also centers on her strange relationship with her best friend Reva, and her on-again off-again boyfriend, Trevor. But despite all of this, the narrator, who is never named, goes through life empty and unfulfilled. As a result, she gradually increases her intake of medications to attempt to rest for one year.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation‘s perspective and dark humor creates an entertaining and thought-provoking read. Moshfegh’s satirical writing of the narrator creates a psychological perspective into a woman who’s goal is to fade away into obscurity.

I would highly recommend this novel to anyone, but especially those who enjoy psychological fiction. My Year of Rest and Relaxation is humorous and intriguing, a truly amazing read.

-Kelsie W.

My Year of Rest and Relaxation by Ottesa Moshfegh is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive.

Hello, Habits by Fumio Sasaki

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Hello, Habits: A Minimalist's Guide to a Better Life: Sasaki, Fumio: 9781324005582: Amazon.com: Books

I purchased this book on a whim while in Powell’s Books, Portland, with my family- I needed something to read on the plane ride back, and the cover had caught my eye. I don’t usually read self-help type books, but I was pleasantly surprised by this one. 50 steps seemed excessive and even scary at the time, but when I started reading, I found that each one was small, simple, and easy to implement. The addition of stories, anecdotes, and illustrations throughout the chapters kept me engaged and interested as well. After applying some concepts found in the book, I can definitively say that I’ve improved my life.

I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who (like me) has issues with procrastination, laziness, and otherwise bad habits. You won’t regret it! In addition, it’s a great book to help you get started on all those New Year’s resolutions 🙂

-Vaidehi B.

Hello, Habits by Fumio Sasaki is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Overdrive.

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowry

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Gathering Blue is the sequel to the first book, The Giver, also by Lois Lowry. However, this story does not follow the main character of The Giver, Jonas. Instead, Gathering Blue follows a new protagonist named Kira. 

Kira lives in a village in which its society does not accept those who have disabilities, such as Kira. Kira has had a damaged leg since birth and the society does not accept her. Recently, her mother died, leaving her with no parents,  giving her no protection from society. She is put on trial to be sent to the Field where the dead, disabled, or seriously injured are brought. In the end, the council decides that she will work as The Weaver. Her friend, Matt, helps in gathering her belongings and brings them to where Kira will stay. As her job, Kira repairs the robe of the Singer (another person given a special task), and over time, meets and befriendsThomas the Carver. As the story progresses, Kira, Matt, and Thomas grow close and together, and they uncover the dark secrets of the village. 

Gathering Blue was a good book and it has some similar elements as The Giver. Both books have a type of society that does not accept those who are not up to standard and each has a place for those kinds of people. There are many similarities between The Giver and Gathering Blue, but each book is its own book. As I followed Kira, I got to understand her want to be useful or wanted and I was able to see her growth throughout the book. And along with her, I got to find out more about the village and the secrets that are kept. I found Gathering Blue to be a calmer book than The Giver. It wasn’t as exciting and was more complex in its plot. The plot itself was a little boring, but I did find the small clues to secrets to be interesting. Although the plot wasn’t amazing, I did like the characters and their relationships. 

Kira was a very shy girl in the beginning, but still wanted to be able to stick up for herself. By the end of the book, she had grown into an independent and strong character, who was confident despite not being accepted into society. Thomas was a good friend to Kira, supportive and kind, but still made his own decisions. He wasn’t involved in the plot of the story too much, but he had a nice personality. Matt was a young kid, by the way he talks and acts; it was easy to see that. He didn’t have many manners and it was like he was living on the streets. He was a funny character but wanted to make Kira happy. He disappears midway through the book to go on an adventure, but comes back after acquiring something for Kira at a new village he had discovered. His personality was loud and ambitious and stuck out. 

Overall, Gathering Blue was a good book. Although it wasn’t as good as The Giver and wasn’t as exciting, it made for a good short read. I finished it in a couple of weeks, but I found it too short, without any real buildup. The plot was too calm and it felt like there wasn’t a climax; like it didn’t contribute to anything in the series except to introduce new characters. It felt like a filler book. Some of it felt rushed and I didn’t like the transitions into new parts of the story. Once I finished the book, I found that it ends in a cliffhanger. I have the third book of The Giver Quartet, The Messenger, and I’ll get to reading that soon. 

-Nicole R.

Gathering Blue by Lois Lowery is available for checkout at the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Managing Stress

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As finals and AP season is fast approaching, it can become an increasingly stressful time for high schoolers. With the school year coming to a close, events are being crammed at the last minute and there isn’t much time for things outside of work. With so much to do, it can be hard to find time to relax and make sure that we as students aren’t getting too stressed out and overworked.

With finals happening at the end of May and AP testing at the beginning, it can be hard during April for students to find time off. Yes, we do get Spring Break, but even that is spent studying for tests that we have when we come back. Some things I do to try and make things easier is always setting a schedule for myself the day before. I try not to put too much on my plate at once, knowing that I will most likely not be able to get it done.

I also work on trying to make sure that I do the work as soon as it is assigned rather than letting it pile up. Typically, teachers give multiple days to do assignments. The issue with that is that they’re easier to put off until the last minute. Doing the assignments the day they are assigned, rather than the day they are due, means that I have more time later on in the day or week to do things that I want to do for myself.

I also try to always create a group of people in each class that I can reach out to if I need help studying for something. Though I sometimes think I understand it, my friend might have a different way at looking at something that makes more sense. This also allows me to be social because I can study and hang out at the same time. 

The next few months can be overwhelming, but if we as students just try to get the work done when we get it and focus on what we can control, it will be less stressful. Having a good school support system is always good, so that you can keep being social while also getting things done for school.

-Danielle B.

Happy Mall Story

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Happy Mall Story is one of the best simulation games I have played in a very long time. It has a very simple objective and that is to run a successful mall. There are a lot of ways to customize your mall, from adding different decorations to changing the colors of your stores. This game is a perfect game if you just need something to do in your spare time.

My favorite aspect of this game was making sure I had multiples of most buildings on each of the floor to increase the customers’ happiness. You can also buy items from some of the stores themselves to use to increase the stats of the store, like appeal or price and things of that sort.

Another good thing is that this game does not have any ads unless you want to activate frenzy mode which happens every 5 minutes anyways without ads so you do not even need to watch them. It makes me so happy when I find a game as good as this one that does not have ads. That is pretty hard to find nowadays because most free games on the App Store are LOADED with ads.

That is why I think that this game is worth your time to download and play it.

-Jasper D.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe

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Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is one of the best racing games out right now on any platform. It has 48 different areas to race in which change after every lap to give more variety. It has online play and lots of different modes to challenge yourself with.

The main function of this game is to provide a fun experience made for playing with multiple people. Sure, you can play online with people from around the world, but in my experience, the best memories I have that are associated with this game are when I was playing it with my family.

They recently added a DLC for the game which is an extra 16 stages from the earlier games in the series. This is definitely a purchase that is very worth its price.

Another thing to do is the ghost runs. You choose the option and you do all of the races and you are racing yourself to get a new personal best on the specific track. Once you complete these you get the golden ghosts which are much harder to beat and require every ounce of skill you can get to beat them.

All in all, this is a fantastic game to play anytime and is well worth the cost.

-Jasper D.

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

Pet Sematary by Stephen King

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As an author known for his horror novels including It and The Outsider, Steven King lives up to his reputation once again through this novel. Despite being less gory than his other novels, Pet Sematary is arguably one of the most terrifying novels he has ever written surrounding grief, loss, and heartbreak—emotions that exceed the limits of even the most moral individuals.

The Creed family moves into a town called Ludlow, Maine, with their cat named Church. Louis Creed—the director of the health service in the University of Maine—meets his neighbor, an elderly man named Jud Crandall. The old man warns the Creed family about a dangerous highway that passes their house and shows them the “Pet Sematary” behind their home where children often bury dead pets who died from highway incidents. Following a series of traumatic events and nightmares for both Louis and his wife, the death of their beloved cat brings a major turn of events for the entire family.

Considering how much of the plot ties into the ending of the novel, there’s only so much that can be summarized without spoiling the book. Setting aside the terror and horror of the novel, the way King depicts grief and loss truly resonates with his readers including myself. King often puts flaws in his characters which creates a realistic perspective on the idea of death and loosing a loved one. As seen in Louis Creed’s parental decisions (or lack thereof), King does a fascinating job in showing readers what a true human does during times where rationalizing is no longer an option. Although it seems terrifying, emotions can bring out the best and worst in people, and that’s what makes them human.

As for the plot itself, its an extremely slow build. Similar to most Steven King novels, it’s best to read his books when you’re given enough time to do so. The longer you stop reading, the harder it becomes to understand the plot. Unfortunately, there’s not much to be said regarding King’s use of horror without spoiling the rest of the novel, but it’s definitely more scary psychologically than physically. Pet Sematary is a must-read for any horror fan and a novel I highly recommend for anyone willing to read this unsettling story.

– Natisha P.

Pet Sematary by Stephen King is available for checkout at the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Black

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TW: Mentions of Rape

Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake - Book Trigger Warnings

This story begins with a pair of twins who loved the stars and loved each other so much, they were as intertwined as the constellations themselves. They have been together through everything and Mara always found comfort in her brother’s, Owen’s, presence. However, all of this changes when news spread about her brother potentially raping her friend, Hannah Prior. Mara is forced into this conflict where she must choose between believing the story of her brother or her friend dealing with this situation while she acquires her own conflict between her ex-girlfriend and her brother’s friend who caught her eye recently. Not only that, she also needs to confront a secret she kept buried inside for too long to truly feel free of the burden life has placed on her shoulders.

I am surprised at the contents of this book from the cover of the book but I guess that is why they say to never judge a book by its cover. I thought it would be a happy book dealing with beautiful stars and amazing relationships but I couldn’t have been more wrong. However, I still enjoyed this book very much. Blake did a very good job at writing emotional scenes, kicking me right in the gut, and weaving the symbolism of stars into the story, creating more possibilities and connections to what a star could and should be. There were some scenes that made me cringe a little but if I had the choice to read this book again, I would have accepted it without any hesitation. I recommend everyone to read this book if they can handle the brutality about rape, victim blaming, sexual violence toward girls, anxiety attacks, PTSD, and physical abuse.

-Saanvi V.

The Girl Made of Stars by Ashley Herring Blake is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.