Monthly Archives: June 2023

Las Vegas

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I have got to confess here: Every time I go to Las Vegas, I go for two things, food, and shows. Last month, I went to a show in Las Vegas known as “Circus du Solei”. It was very fun!

The plotline (pardon me if I’m wrong, some parts I didn’t get) was about a brother and a sister on a boat. The brother is a prince, and the other a princess. They lived happily together, until bandits raided their ship and captured both prince and the princess. Along the way, the prince falls in love with the head bandit’s daughter, and both escape. At the same time, the sister is stuck on an island with unknown creatures. She, and with the help of the friends she has left, must venture out to find her brother.

The scenes were so cool! The graphics were top-notch, and they had fireworks and everything. My favorite scene was when the prince and princess finally see each other again, but the bandits start shooting at them with wooden arrows. ACTUAL bow and wooden arrows, while the prince and princess were climbing a mountain. The whole time I was wondering how the heck they actually manage to do that without actually shooting the characters on stage??!! But, I guess that’s why we paid over $600 for this show.

Overall, I really enjoyed this experience! If you are thinking about going to Las Vegas anytime soon, this would be a great place to relax and watch a show! (If you can handle the pricing).

Another exciting moment we had in Las Vegas was when my family and I went to the Wynn Buffet. The food was amazing! The only problem was that we had to wait in line for 2 hours! I was starving by the time we finally made it to the front of the line. The food there was unimaginable! There were even people making crepes for you! To be completely honest, none of the food tasted bad there. They had heaps of food, crab legs, sushi, all types of meat, pork chops, turkey, all sorts! In conclusion, I really enjoyed my time here in Las Vegas!

Now recruiting for the Teen Advisory Board!

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Apply now to join the Teen Advisory Board!

The Teen Advisory Board is a group that meets once a month during the school year and works with the Teen Services Librarian to develop programs and services for the community.

Open to teens in grades 9 through 12, the recruitment process involves submitting an application and being interviewed by current TAB members. Teens will have the opportunity to create their own programs and take on leadership roles.

Meetings are the second Wednesday of each month from 6-7 pm. TAB members will be requited to complete 5 hours of volunteering per year with TAB.

Applications are available here.

Contact me with any questions and return completed applications to ohoward@cityofmissionviejo.org

Some Volunteer Events You Can Do This Summer

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  1. Summer Reading Program Volunteer – this volunteer program is offered by the Mission Viejo Library for teens aged 13-17. The Summer Reading Program is an annual library tradition that allows children to be part of a program that upholds the importance of reading. This year’s program will occur from June 15 through July 31 and volunteers will accommodate families by explaining the rules and process, enroll participants with the use of provided laptops, and award certain prizes according to the participant’s age.

2. Team NEGU – this is organized by Jessie Rees Foundation whose mission is to “Help every kid fighting cancer to Never Ever Give Up!” Team NEGU allows individuals from any age to volunteer through different ways. One of them is the JoyFactory, which allows volunteers to make cozy blankets, write care cards, stuff JoyJars that are given to the children fighting cancer, and more. Another one is the JoyDrive wherein volunteers will choose from Team NEGU’s hospital-approved list of new toys and collect as many as they can together with friends, classmates, or co-workers. Another one of out many is doing Care Cards wherein volunteers will be provided a document that they can print and color with the use of their creativity. After coloring and designing the cards, volunteers can mail them to the foundation, and they will be sent out to the strong kids fighting cancer.

The Outsider by Stephen King Review

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Genre: Horror, Thriller, Mystery

  In the town of Flint City, Oklahoma tragedy strikes when Frankie Peterson, a young child, is found dead. The culprit- Terry Maitland: little league coach and a friendly neighbor. But the question is, did Terry Maitland really commit this brutal act, and if not, then why did several witnesses describe seeing Maitland committing the crime and why was his DNA found on the Peterson boy’s body. 

Terry Maitland constantly shows his innocence and that he did not commit this crime, with his attitude and a strong alibi, however, then how did his DNA get traced onto the victim. Despite everything, the detective Ralph Anderson, refuses to let the case die after this and tries to continue the investigation, moving the question from who to how this case happened.

The Outsider by Stephen King is a suspenseful thrilling novel full of twists and turns: ensuring the reader will want to stay in their seat and not put the book down until they finish.

Review:

I would easily give this book an 8/10, and there are many things to note: 

  1. This book was very dark at points, so to read and understand the book you probably should be a little older.
  1. This novel was very captivating, with many twists and turns, sure to keep anyone who reads it from putting the book down.
  1. This book was very good, while starting out as an investigative whodunnit, but as the story moves on, it becomes more of a supernatural thriller.
  1. One notable thing I liked was how Stephen King creatively lightens the mood of this book with creatively and concise moments of happiness and humor to prevent this book from getting too dark

I liked this book very much and I would easily recommend it to anyone who likes books that are suspenseful and scary. I would consider this an example of Stephen King’s finest work.

The Outsider by Stephen King is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Book Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

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I’m sure a lot of people out there have read Suzanne Collins’ bestselling dystopian trilogy, which includes the novels The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. But what many don’t realize is that the story told in this trilogy is preceded by its spinoff, a prequel to the series.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set 64 years prior to The Hunger Games in a nation known as Panem and tells the story of the 10th hunger games and the events that surrounded it. Something that makes this novel especially intriguing is that it is not told by an ancestor of a protagonist in The Hunger Games, as one might expect. On the contrary, the story is narrated by young Coriolanus Snow, known as the cruel and calculating dictator President Snow in The Hunger Games.

Throughout the story, the history of Panem and the Hunger Games is unfolded, and connections can be drawn between this sequel and the narrative that follows it. I found The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes very interesting, because the reader is able to see into society in the Capitol, where life is perceived as perfect and easy. Light is shed on the history of the Hunger Games and earlier versions of the event, which explains a lot about how developed the event had become by the 74th Games (during which The Hunger Games took place).

Further, this novel shows how a dictator so brutal and merciless as President Snow came to be. Throughout the events of the novel, readers watch as young Snow, innocent and kind, grew into a power-hungry monster hated by all of Panem.

All in all, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is an amazing dystopian novel and a very well-written prequel/spin-off that gives much interesting background on the story of The Hunger Games, particularly a character perceived as a villain. If you are a fan of The Hunger Games, I would absolutely recommend this book!

-Lam T.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The Fear: Book Analysis on Setting

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A popular book by Natasha Preston, called The Fear, is about a teenage girl witnessing her peers getting murdered in their most feared ways by a serial killer. The setting is winter in a small fishing town, where everyone knows everyone. The setting plays a major role in the story and plot because if it was set in an urban or suburban area many factors of the story would change.

The killer murders the victim when not many people are around. This would change in a big city, because places like New York are densely populated. Even if not many people were around there would be at least one person driving a car or walking a dog nearby to see. The small fishing town during the winter is the perfect place for this because at night the roads are dark and filled with snow which would keep people from leaving their houses.

Another way the setting helps the story is the killer’s hideout. They use a farm and another build in the woods to hide many things. In a big city a barn would be very noticeable and would stand out against all the buildings. As described in the book, the killer’s place is not on a map because nobody owned it, in a suburban or urban area the barn would’ve been bought very easily. The small town allows the barn to stay hidden and off the map.

Natasha Preston was smart to choose the setting to be a small fishing town instead of a big city or the suburbs. The town helps hide many things that could be seen in a big city, such as the victims and the killer’s hideout.

The Fear by Natasha Preston is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

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If I Stay by Gayle Forman was actually more meaningful and emotional than I initially thought it would be. I borrowed this book after reading the synopsis and found the idea of experiencing life through a comatose state intriguing.

Mia Hall has a promising path ahead of her filled with Julliard, standing ovation, and her skills as a cellist. After a terrifying car accident occurs and leaves her all alone in the world, she is able to see her own life unfold from afar—as a spectator.

She sees her body transported to a hospital and all the aftereffects of the traumatic event. Her friends and family are all there to support her as she remains in a hospital bed, broken and unconscious.

The times where she goes back into her memories and rediscovers the moments that she had forgotten made me realize just how fleeting life can be and how we must treasure what we have in the present with the people around us.

There were a few sections of the novel that made me tear up, because the encouragement and understanding that her friends and family showed her during their visits made me feel for them, too.

I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for Mia to lose touch with reality and to watch as the people she loves will her to keep living. She has to make a difficult decision: to stay in the world, where she doesn’t know if she can manage every day, or to let herself go and let down everyone she knows.

If I Stay was an eye-opening novel that made me see life differently. The unexpected can happen at any time, and I now know that one should not let life pass them by.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

de Portola 50th Anniversary Poem

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de Portola Elementary, my school, had its 50th Anniversary celebration on March 31st.

I got to read this poem I wrote during the assembly!

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“Thank you, de Portola”

Celebrating these 50 years

Is a beautiful achievement

To think of all of the blood, sweat and tears

Put into this school and made whole 

–

Celebrating 50 years

At first sight so much more than it appears 

for so many students are taught here each day

Taught to learn how to foray into our world

And this school has helped fifty years of students,

Urged their creativity, made hard problems unfurl.

–

They’ve played on this playground,

Ran in these fields

Learned in this building

And here ate their meals.

–

Those 50 years of students

Learned to do math and read and write

Those skills will forever help them

To guide their dreams in sight;

it helps them fight for their future

–

This school has given so much education

Like a train station, its

Helped so many reach their wanted destination

Because this school has made the difference

In so, so many lives

–

And do you know how?

It’s the staff make this school whole

They teach us and guide us and help us when we fall

They’ve cared for us and rewarded us as far as we can recall,

their patience should be recorded for all.

–

They are kind when we are not,

Patient when we are not,

And help us when we’ve forgot – 

because we all do.

–

So thank you, staff of this school.

But it’s not just them that have built this community; 

it’s you too.

–

So thank you, de Portola.

Thank you for making the difference for 50 years.

Thank you for helping us past our fears

Thank you de Portola.

And thank you…

For listening 

Movie Review: Creed II (2018)

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This movie became the sequel of the movie Creed (2015) and came out on November 21, 2018. As I watched the movie that month, I really enjoyed the movie and learned more lessons in my life that I connected to after rewatches this year.

The movie started off with two different viewpoints: The Dragos, represented by the iconic villain Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) and his son Viktor (Florian Munteau), and the protagonists Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) and his mentor Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). Determined by revenge following a defeat at the hands of Rocky in the movie Rocky IV, Ivan focused his son on the heavyweight title and restoration of honor to his home country of Russia as he put Viktor through intense training and professional fights, which Viktor underwent in dominating fashion. Meanwhile, Adonis won the heavyweight title after a fight with the champion at the time, Danny Wheeler (Andre Ward), and found himself at a new position of power. However, this is all turned upside down when Ivan and Viktor confront Rocky and Adonis, and the history all unfolds in an intense sequence of events.

Both of their complicated histories became revealed throughout the movie. Viktor dealt with abandonment from his mother and tough love from Ivan as he dedicated his whole life to boxing under training from his father with a purpose of making his father proud. Meanwhile, Adonis found purpose in his family and Rocky as he began a family with his girlfriend-turned-wife Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson) and had a baby who later turned out to be deaf. Despite all this pressure, Viktor and Adonis both found motivation in their fight against each other through their love for the people that they care about as they train.

Although Adonis lacked balance due to Rocky’s absence in the first fight and only retained his title due to disqualification after an excessive beatdown at the hands of Rocky, he came out victorious against Viktor in their second fight as he underwent training with Rocky and Little Duke (Wood Harris), the son of Apollo’s trainer, Duke (Tony Burton). In a grueling 12-round fight, despite Viktor’s mother walking out and abandoning Viktor again, Ivan chooses to throw in the towel and save Viktor from potential death after an exhausted Viktor faces a flurry of blows in the final round.

Despite their differences, the Dragos put their problems with Adonis and Rocky to rest in a heartfelt deleted locker room scene. As the movie came to an end, Adonis introduced Bianca and his new daughter to his father as they came to his grave, Rocky finally reconciled with his son, Rocky Balboa Jr. (Milo Ventimiglia) after years of disconnection, and Viktor finally gained the love and respect that he always desired from his father as they bonded over a run.

Although this movie admittedly has so much to unpack, it was definitely a captivating film to watch. While the first film focused on legacy, this film focused primarily on the purpose that fueled each character in their respective arcs. Tragedy faced each of the characters, however the journey and story that each of them underwent made this film stand out greatly. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone, as it is currently available on Amazon Prime for free with anyone who has a Prime subscription.

Creed II is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

Genshin Impact

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I’ve been playing Genshin Impact for a year, and I learned this. Genshin Impact is a free-to-play open-world action role-playing game developed by miHoYo. The game has gained a massive following since released in September 2020.

The game’s story revolves around Teyvat; players take on the role of a traveler who sets out to explore the vast world. Along the way, they encounter new characters and solve mysteries surrounding the seven elemental gods.

The stunning visuals in Genshin Impact are striking, and it’s one reason it attracted so many players. The world is colorful and vibrant. The developer uses cel-shaded art style, aka anime, bringing it to life, making the player feel like they are in a living anime world. The impressive details in the game’s environment and the characters’ designs make this game fun to watch. The game’s visual effects during combat scenes are entertaining to watch.

Genshin Impact is both engaging and challenging. Players must be skillful in using elemental attacks, dodges, and skill usage to defeat enemies and progress through the game’s story. Each character has unique abilities and elemental affinities that can be combined for catastrophic effects.

The game’s world with multiple regions to explore, and each comes with many challenges, puzzles, and enemies. The game’s quests and side missions are exquisite, with interesting flawless characters to interact with and uncover stories.

Every game has its downsides, and this game is no different. One of the game’s downsides is its gacha system, which randomly turn-off for some players. Players progress through Genshin by acquiring new characters and weapons, which can be obtained through the game’s gacha system and grinding for in-game currency. A player can still play the game without spending any money.

Genshin Impact is an impressive game with a lot of content for its free-to-play model. The stunning visuals, engaging gameplay, and the big world make it worth checking out for any RPG fan. Be forewarned, this game can be addicting, and you might want to set a limit when playing, so you don’t waste your whole day doing nothing but gaming.

Happy Gaming!

Bella H