Monthly Archives: July 2023

Movie Review: Creed III (2023)

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As this movie came out in March, I became interested in the movie after an amazing trailer and rewatches of the previous two movies of the Creed series. I watched the movie twice — once with my family the week after it released, and another with my friend — and I was not disappointed with the film. Despite the unfortunate and controversial absence of Rocky (Sylvester Stallone), the film really did well as it cemented the legacy of Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) and gave Jordan a great showing in his directorial debut.

In the movie, Adonis Creed lived a great life, as he became the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world and retired happily after a significant win in a rematch with his opponent in the first film, Ricky Conlan (Tony Bellew). Creed lived happily with his wife Bianca (Tessa Thompson) and his daughter Amara (Mila Davis-Kent). He ran a gym alongside his trainer Little Duke (Wood Harris) as they trained various boxers, in particular the new heavyweight champion after Creed’s retirement, Felix Chavez (Jose Benavidez Jr). However, Creed’s world turns upside down after his former friend Damian Anderson (Jonathan Majors) showed up out of the blue after Creed negotiated a fight that pitted Chavez against his former rival, Viktor Drago (Florian Munteanu).

The past between Creed and Anderson came out to be tragic. The two were friends as kids, however they faced abuse at the hands of their adoptive father, Leon. As they grew older, Anderson actually came out as a boxer focused on going professional, while Adonis was the ring assistant to Anderson. After a Golden Gloves championship win by Anderson, the two encounter Leon, which eventually led to a physical altercation that led to Anderson getting arrested after pulling out a gun and Adonis escaping after he abandoned the scene.

After Anderson came back, he focused on revenge and restoration of his path towards professional boxing. He manipulated Creed’s guilt and help as he hatched a plan that consisted of injuring Drago’s hand and taking his spot against Chavez, where he fought in a dirty fashion and won the heavyweight championship from Chavez. After he won, he publicly insulted Creed, his family, and his legacy, claiming that Creed only got his status due to the fact that Anderson was left in prison, which led to Creed coming out of retirement and challenging Anderson.

As Creed got ready for his fight, he realized that he had to let go of the past and focus on his situation. Despite him feeling guilty and shutting himself out from Bianca and his loved ones, he corrected his mistake and opened up to Bianca as she and Amara supported him. He became forced to dig deep and became ready for the fight — physically and mentally — thanks to Little Duke and an unexpected ally in Viktor Drago, who returned to help Creed train with his hand recovered.

In the fight between Anderson and Creed, the two face off in a cinematic masterpiece that left me in awe in the theater. The personal battle that these two fought became apparent in various ways as they left it all out in the ring in a grueling yet captivating war. After a brutal fight that consisted of 12 rounds, Creed defeated Anderson to reclaim the title. However, the two truly put their differences behind them and restored their friendship as Creed apologized to Anderson and Anderson accepted while also showing respect to Creed and his abilities. Creed then went on to share a heartwarming moment with his family to end the movie.

Overall, this movie proved to be an amazing movie from start to finish. However, what really connected with me and stood out to me was the lesson of being there for the loved ones in your life. In particular, Adonis showed it in his character arc as he realized his mistake of leaving Anderson without any form of contact for years, as well as pushing away Bianca when she tried to know what was going on between the two. However, he learned from his mistakes as he opened up to Bianca and finally apologized to Damian as they moved forward and put their past to rest. I would heavily recommend seeing this movie, as it competes highly with its predecessors for the best movie of the current Creed trilogy.

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

Five Seconds Flat- Lizzy McAlpine (Album Review)

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Lizzy McAlpine is a young musician who was born in Pennsylvania and started writing music when she was in 6th grade. Her second alternative album that she released in 2022 is called, Five Seconds Flat, which consists of 14 tracks and features from FINNEAS, Ben Kessler, Jacob Collier, and Laura Elliot. This album describes the loss and deep thoughts that go through her mind and the love that she has always imagined for herself along with hypothetical thoughts.

The song, Ceilings, became very popular overtime and depicted the idea of a nonexistent relationship feeling like a movie. Towards the beginning of the song she sings, “it feels like the start of a movie I’ve seen before” and at the end of the song she sings, “it feels like the end of a movie I’ve seen before” coming back to reality and realizing it was all a fantasy. A relatable lyric in the song is “I would say all of this but I don’t want to ruin the moment” which can mean trying to not to risk anything yet making memories.

My personal favorite on the album is track 11, Hate to Be Lame (feat. FINNEAS) which is a mellow and suspenseful song. In this song she admits her true emotions and feelings to others. She also describes how she makes excuses for herself in certain situations, “tell myself it’s not the right time or something dumb”. My favorite part is halfway through the song when the beat starts to pick up, and the volume of their voices increases, ending with FINNEAS’s deep voice and joining the two together in harmony to wrap up the entirety of the song.

All of her songs on the album are unique with different meanings and even though the songs Ceilings and Hate to Be Lame (feat. FINNEAS) are amazing and popular (in my opinion) her other songs have more to offer and can be relatable and nostalgic. I very much recommend this album and her music in general!

Book vs. Movie: Love & Gelato

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After her mother’s death, Lina is sent to Tuscany, Italy where she discovers her mother’s old journal. Although she is first apprehensive about the idea of living in Italy, she begins to become more accustomed to Italian life as she meets a young boy named Lorenzo who helps her find out the truth about her biological father and her mother’s time in Italy. Despite this, there are many differences between the book and movie.

  1. Lina’s Home in Italy
    • Book: After arriving in Italy, Lina stays with Howard in a cemetery.
    • Movie: Lina lives with Francesca in a fancy, Italian mansion.
  2. Lina’s First Meeting With Her Biological Father
    • Book: Lina originally had a very heated conversation with her biological father, Matteo Rossi. During this conversation, Matteo accused Lina’s mother of being obsessive and blackmailing him, resulting in him being forced to resign from his job as a professor at the Fine Arts Academy of Florence.
    • Movie: Lina doesn’t talk with Matteo and instead storms out of his office after seeing him.
  3. Thomas Heath
    • Book: Thomas Heath was a handsome, British boy who Lina temporarily dated.
    • Movie: Thomas is not featured in the movie but is replaced by a rich boy named Alessandro Albani who Lina was also in love with.
  4. Lorenzo’s Passion
    • Book: Lorenzo is passionate about soccer.
    • Movie: Lorenzo is passionate about cooking and aspires to become a professional chef.
  5. Lorenzo’s House
    • Book: Lorenzo lives in a gingerbread house with his mom and little sister.
    • Movie: Lorenzo lives in a typical house with his two moms and grandmother.
  6. Hadley’s Journal
    • Book: Lina’s mom, Hadley, originally sent the journal to Italy as a gift to Howard.
    • Movie: Hadley told Francesca to give the journal to Lina after she arrived in Italy.
  7. Howard’s Profession
    • Book: Howard worked in the cemetery where he took care of a World War II memorial.
    • Movie: Howard is an art professor at a fancy prep school.
  8. Sonia
    • Book: Sonia worked alongside Howard in the cemetery.
    • Movie: Sonia is not featured at all.
  9. Lina’s Trip to Italy
    • Book: Hadley planned for Lina to visit Italy only after her death.
    • Movie: Hadley originally planned to go to Italy with Lina.

Love & Gelato by Jenna Evans Welch is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Book Review: What If? by Randall Munroe

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Have you ever wondered from what height you would need to drop a steak for it to be cooked when you hit the ground? There’s a book that can answer questions just like that.

I recently got to reading the book What If? by Randall Munroe, the creator of the webcomic xkcd, a satirical take on science and life questions. I enjoyed how the book took real life outlandish scenarios and used scientific concepts to explain them in detail while still being funny and engaging at the same time. The hypothetical scenarios are submitted by readers. Overall, this book is sure to give you a good laugh while opening your eyes to the great, wide world of science.

One of my favorite hypothetical questions from the book was what would happen if a baseball was pitched at 90 percent of the speed of light. I enjoyed how it gave a step-by-step, detailed explanation of what would happen. I also enjoyed the sarcastic humor, as with the rest of the book. The descriptions also paint a good mental picture of what would happen in the questions, helping to keep the book interesting.

Comics are interspersed between the questions as well, keeping the book engaging by helping to convey the outlandish nature of the questions. They will also keep you laughing as you read, as they will occasionally accompany the text with a sarcastic or witty joke.

The book greatly appealed to my sense of humor, with its sarcasm and dry wit. The book even has the bonus of connected online resources and interactive games. These activities connect to the questions in the book, such as a calculator to see how far you could throw various objects, but come with a humorous twist.

Overall, What If? was a great and entertaining read, and I would recommend that more teens look into reading this book, as well as the other books in the series. These include What If? 2 and How To. Both deal with more hypothetical scenarios, approached with the same sense of humor. Not only is this book a great resource, it also helps you to gain a greater enjoyment of science, but above all, What If? is a hilarious book that you can read anytime.

What If? by Randall Munroe is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

‘Stress-free School Year’ workshop – earn community service hours!

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Our Teen Library Interns are putting on a special program this Saturday- come check it out!

When: Fri., July 28, 4:00 pm – 6:00 pm

Where: The Kershaw Garden at Civic Center, 100 Civic Center, Mission Viejo

Stressed about going back to school? Students age 13 and older are invited to join subject-matter experts and library staff for a de-stressing workshop at the library. 

The free workshop includes a presentation on mindfulness, and in-person yoga lesson, and hands-on crafts. Please bring your own yoga mat or towel. Light snacks and stress-relieving kits are also provided.

Finished crafts are eligible for service hours!

Register at https://cityofmissionviejo.org/stress-free-school-year-workshop-registration

Manga Review: Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa

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Contains minor spoilers for the manga!

Fifteen year old Edward Elric is a state alchemist, who uses alchemy for the good of his country. Although young, he has experienced much more than your average teen. At the age of 12, Edward and his brother, Alphonse, tried to bring back their deceased mother with a complex alchemy process called human transmutation. This is one of the biggest crimes against Alchemy. But the ritual fails, and the cost of trying to bring back a human is grave. Edward loses an arm and a leg, and Alphonse’s whole body is disabled. After finding the right mechanic and doctor, Alphonse inserts his soul into a hallow suit of armor (making him nearly invincible) and Edward replaces his limbs with prosthetics. In their time serving for the state, they discover that there is someone sacrificing thousands of lives to make a powerful object called a Philosopher’s Stone. It lets you create and destroy without needing any other source of energy. But beyond that, it also bring people back from the dead. Even with this discovery, Edward refuses to use a Philosopher’s Stone to help him. He and his brother make shocking discoveries on their quest to return to their original bodies, and they start to realize just how flawed the human race really is.

Fullmetal Alchemist is a dark story that dives deep into the nature of humans, revealing true intentions and then surfacing with brutal truths. A recurring statement in the series is the law of equivalent exchange, that explains that to receive, you must give something of equal or greater value. It’s shown when the Elrics break the law of attempting human transmutation, and for it they paid dearly. Edward had lost a lot, but in the end all of it gave him purpose to defeat the antagonist. I believe this is one of the morals of the series: To gain anything, you have to lose something first. Mistakes are just steps towards success.

The antagonist’s goal was to create the perfect being, seeing humanity as a lower, weaker form. Perfect beings may be able to make the best choice in situations, but what the antagonist underestimated was the sacrificial and relentless instinct of humans. The antagonist could not understand the way that people were driven by emotions like grief or anger, instead of deterred by them. Ultimately, that was his downfall. This is the second lesson I learned from the series. It presents that humanity is flawed, but those flaws are what pushes us to be better. Imperfection is perfect in it’s own way.

This manga is definitely one worth reading. Although it has some serious themes, it still has humorous moments and it’s easy to follow. Consider giving it a go!

-Ellie K, 7th Grade

Fullmetal Alchemist by Hiromu Arakawa is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

BOOK REVIEW – Loveless by Alice Oseman

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(NO {major} SPOILERS! Spoilers will be indicated!) 

Alice Oseman. She’s coming back to steal my heart after Heartstopper. 

This book was aromantic and asexual representation done perfectly. 

If you were to ask me what book I’d recommend to become a new, coming of age, teen-audience type of movie, I’d choose Loveless by Alice Oseman. Without a doubt. 

You may know Alice Oseman as the creator of Heartstopper, a cute LGBT comic that later adapted into the Netflix series of the same name. In addition, she created this  pull-on-your-heartstrings masterpiece. 

Loveless is a coming of age, coming out story of theater girly, Georgia and her small group of friends who desperately try to save their club, the Shakespearean Society, by putting on a strange play. Accompanied by love triangles and corners and plans to find love (ooh, that’s rough), and incredibly strong opinions on Scooby-Doo, this is definitely one of my Top 10 books!

Best of all, it contains my favorite trope: the main character realizes that platonic friendships can be better than romance! 

This book made me cry in my pillow because I felt so understood. 

This book made me see the world through the eyes of a few of my friends. 

This book made me realize that LOVE DOESN’T HAVE TO BE ROMANTIC. 

WHY ISN’T THERE MORE REPRESENTATION IN BOOKS?!?!?

Although there were moments where I wanted to throw the book across the room out of disgust and/or “why why why,” overall, I feel like my entire perspective on life changed. Skimming the book again, maybe it’s because Oseman didn’t shy away from topics that are normally not explored in your typical young adult novel. 

Maybe it’s because there were so many lines that resonated with me (spoilers in the next paragraph). Maybe it’s because I realized that friendship is something I could romanticize. 

(SPOILER) I think what hit me the hardest was the fact that near the end, Rooney, our main character’s best friend, says something like: although we’re not romantic partners, I love you. We’re friends, and this is something that I will commit to until the end of time because I LOVE YOU. I LOVE THEM SO MUCH I LOVE THIS BOOK SO MUCH I NEVER CRIED HARDER AT TWO IN THE MORNING. Rooney also says something like: I’m scared to lose any of my friendships because THEY ARE MY ROMANTIC PARTNERSHIPS EVEN THOUGH WE NEVER HAVE ROMANCE BECAUSE THEY ARE THE MOST IMPORTANT PARTNERSHIPS I’LL EVER HAVE. 

Loveless was quite possibly the only book to make me sob, make me laugh, make me question my life, and change my perspective… on everything. Everything possible. I love my friends. 

Loveless by Alice Oseman is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Sydney, Australia

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Recently, I went on a two-week-long trip to Australia and New Zealand. I visited many different cities, each having its own unique activities, which made me greatly enjoy the vacation. The first city we went to, which was my personal favorite, was Sydney, Australia.

Sydney is a beautiful place that features a mixture of buildings in the downtown area to an abundance of nature on the outskirts of the city. An example of this is Vivid Sydney. Vivid Sydney is a major event where the city is essentially covered with projections of light. It creates an aesthetic scenery for people to watch and take photographs. There are other ways to view this, such as by cruise. The cruise can take you across the Sydney Harbour to explore the city and view different structures. One important structure includes the Sydney Opera House, which is a performing arts center that is famous around the world. The building has a beautiful and unique design, which is what makes it so special and is the reason it took about 14 years to build. The total cost was also around $102 million in 1973, which is around $670 million today. Both Vivid Sydney and the Sydney Opera House are relatively close to the downtown area. The Blue Mountains, however, are 37 miles west of the city but are still an exceptional place to visit. The location features an outstanding view as it is almost 4000 feet above sea level. There are cable cars, trains, and skyways, which all allow people to look at the mountains from an even greater distance, adding an element of entertainment while also including the view.


All in all, this vacation was very enjoyable. There are many great parts of the city of Sydney that I would recommend. If you are to visit Sydney at any point in your life, make sure to make the most of it.

Book Review: The Q

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THE Q

The Q, by Amy Tintera, is an action-packed dystopian novel that immediately piqued my excitement through its captivating yet scarily realistic worldbuilding. Equally captivating are the introductory characters, whose personalities make you forget you’re reading a book as opposed to watching a live-action movie.

The Q, both the title of the book and the area in which majority of the story takes place, is a post-pandemic quarantine zone in what used to be Austin, Texas, separated from the rest of the country in efforts to contain a deadly virus.

The Q’s residents have since adapted to the conditions of the virus in unique ways, which brings me to my first major points of liking:

  • Tintera’s masterful worldbuilding, covered especially throughout the first half of the novel, truly sets up the essence of a dystopian society corroded by a virus and abandoned by the rest of the world.
  • Ongoing turf wars between the Q’s two ruling clans, the Spencers of the north and the Lopezes of the south, convey that, despite adaptations towards the virus, the residents continue to face societal conflicts.
  • The stakes for the upcoming plot, which involves a life-threatening expedition to leave the Q, are also set up thanks to the efforts put into the world’s details.


Of course, no less effort was given to the story’s main characters, teenagers Maisie Rojas and Lennon Pierce, whose points of views alternate throughout the story. Maisie, who grew up in the Q, accompanies Lennon, the son of a US presidential candidate, in his attempts to escape the quarantine zone after a kidnapping which landed him there. In discussing Maisie and Lennon, I have both positive points and critiques:

  • The readers receive snippets of internal dialogue from both Maisie and Lennon due to the alternating perspectives, making the two feel all the more alive. The two face internal challenges which the book’s target audience can resonate with, easily making it a far more meaningful read.
  • Maisie is the embodiment of a teenager faced with the tragedy of both a dystopian world and personal loss, yet one who has adapted and overcome the challenges thrown at her. She is resilient and realistic, and her occasional bluntness and humorous remarks bring the story to life. 


A personal critique of mine is the romance between the two main characters, or rather, the focus placed on it at around the midway point in which Maisie and Lennon embark on their escape plan. Though many may find this addition to the plot enjoyable, I found it to be both all-too-predictable and a distraction from the already engaging stakes set up. Predictability isn’t always a marker of bad storytelling, however, and the subtly romantic interactions are undoubtedly charming, yet I still found the romance to be an oddity among the fast-paced adventurous plot. The only purpose the addition seemed to serve was acting as a filler as the characters moved from one point of danger to another, yet this could have been done through other, more urgent instances of internal dialogue related to the stakes of escaping the Q. 

The only other, and far more minor, point of dislike of mine was the minimal attention given to likable side characters such as Hadley once the story moves into the point of escaping the Q, though this choice is understandable as highlighting Maisie and Lennon’s journey appears to be the novel’s priority.

All in all, The Q is an exhilarating read that’s impossible to put down thanks to Amy Tintera’s masterful storytelling. Despite criticisms that can easily vary from reader to reader, The Q is definitely a new recommendation of mine for anyone looking to read either a polished dystopian fiction or simply a thrilling new book.

The Q by Amy Tintera is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. 

Dual Enrollment at Saddleback College

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If you find yourself with some free time over the summer or during the school year, dual enrollment is an excellent way of getting ahead in your high school classes and taking college-level courses. 

Before senior year, you may want to get classes like health and ethics out of the way. By taking these courses at Saddleback College, you can get them done early. 

In addition, classes are free, besides possible textbook costs. All the credits from dual enrollment will transfer over so, you can save money on college tuition by taking classes beforehand. 

Personally, I have taken History of Architecture, Health, and am currently taking Introduction to Psychology. So, I am getting some of my college elective credits while still in high school.

If you would like to work ahead and move along quicker in your core classes, those can be taken as well.

Community colleges like Saddleback Community College often offer many options in order to accommodate your needs. While you can take the classes in person, you may also choose to take them online. Online courses can be taken either over Zoom or asynchronous, which allows you to take the class mostly at your own pace.

There are many benefits of dual enrollment with little cost. It has a large amount of flexibility and could help you in many ways.