Monthly Archives: March 2024

Album Review – Evermore by Taylor Swift

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On December 11, 2020, Evermore was released by Taylor Swift as a surprise album. A sister album to Folklore, released five months earlier by Swift, Evermore is definitely one of Taylor Swift’s slower albums, but nevertheless a great listen.

Evermore is one of my favorite albums as it covers many topics like love, escapism, and nostalgia. 

Willow: The first track on Evermore, Swift does not hesitate to bring on one of the best songs on the album. Willow is a song about yearning for someone, and doing anything to get them, despite the obstacles that life throws at you.

Champagne Problems: Champagne Problems is one of the most powerful tracks on Evermore. This song is about someone who broke a relationship because of not feeling ready, and blaming themselves for it within their mourn. I especially like this song because of its beautiful melody that blends perfectly with Swift’s voice.

Gold Rush: One of the more upbeat tracks on Evermore, Gold Rush is one of my favorite songs on the record because of its beautiful tone and melodies that perfectly complement Taylor Swift’s voice. The song itself has a very daydreamy feel that I think makes the song relatable, applying to any situation where you are wishing something impossible would happen, not just the topic of the song.

Tolerate It: The notorious “fifth track” of the album, which is always slotted for the most powerful song on a Taylor Swift album, Tolerate tells the story of a woman who’s love is not recognized. I personally love this song and it is one of my favorites on the album for its powerful vocals, contrasting the pretty piano background music.

Coney Island: This song is personally my favorite on the album. Coney Island is a duet featuring The National about a lost love and missing the one you lost. I especially love how both of the vocals complement each other and make the song somehow feel sad but comforting at the same time.

I would rate Evermore 9.5/10 and I would definitely recommend this album to everyone who likes indie music.

It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover (Book Review)

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*This does contain some spoilers*

It Starts with Us: A Novel (2) (It Ends with Us): Hoover, Colleen: 9781668001226: Amazon.com: Books

It Starts With Us is a sequel to the book It Ends With Us that surrounds the main character, Lily Bloom, and the direction of her life after her breakup with Ryle, her abusive ex. Colleen Hoover, the author, expands on the new found relationship between Lily and her young love, Atlas, while in the process of letting go of Ryle. Balancing work, family, and relationships, this book is told through Lily and Atlas’s perspectives as they grow closer and face challenges together.

As read in the previous book, Ryle has a hard time being aware of others and his surroundings. Being selfish and making situations a lot more exaggerated than they should be, was a bad habit he formed. He still very much wants to be a part of Lily’s life, and Lily does not want to take that away from him, mainly because of their daughter, Emerson (Emmy for short), but she fears that his temper towards her will lead to her daughter receiving the same anger and impatience from him overtime. Lily is scared for Emmy’s future and even having a civil conversation with Ryle about certain rules in place for their dynamic, gives her anxiety.

Lily tries to distance herself as much as she can from him and after an encounter with Atlas, they soon get back in touch. Atlas has always been in love with Lily waiting for her, growing his business, and ignoring his past. But having her back in his world enlightens his life, reliving and relearning everything about each other. Lily feels the same but convinced herself to be precautious and take things slow to be aware of Ryle and his reaction to them being together. Hoover shows a side of Atlas not seen before and takes the audience down a sad road as to why he didn’t have home when he was younger and his emotions and thoughts when he met Lily. Lily falls in love with Atlas all over again, thinking of him as “considerate Atlas”.

The conflict and plot overall of the story drags out a little but still makes the story good enough to read. Personally, I did not like this book as much as the first one, it was more of a slower pace. The first book got so much attention that Hoover felt she needed to come out with a sequel. It was dry but I wanted to finish the book, even though you can pretty much predict the ending of it from the start. There was so much detail leading up to the relationship with Lily and Atlas that by the end it felt rushed. Yet I would still recommend this series as there are still unexpected twists and some chapters were definitely more intriguing than others.

It Starts With Us by Colleen Hoover is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Ramadan

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Ramadan is a known Islamic holiday amongst the world, but how is it celebrated and how can you support/help out a friend who is celebrating it?

Let’s start off with an introduction to what exactly it is. Ramadan always begins during ‘Daylight Savings’. It is a 30 day long fasting period, because during the period would be the 9th Islamic month. People might ask, why does the time change every year? Well that is because the month is determined by the moon setting. The moon has be at a thin silver crescent fo the month to begin (symbolizing the prophets attribution to his fast) and at a full moon when the months ends. 

Why is it celebrated? Well, its a month for spiritual discipline and the deep contemplation to a person’s relationship to God. Some might like to add that it brings you closer to your family because the meals are usually/supposed to be consumed with close relatives, parents, and/or family members.

During this month you consume your first meal before the first prayer of day (before sunrise), that is called suhoor, meaning consumed early.  As your biggest meal,which is when you break that 12-14 hour long fast, at the second to last prayer of the day (after sunset), that’s called Iftar meaning break-fast.

If you know or acknowledge your friends fasting during this months, you should be mindful and not eat or drink around them or at least don’t offer them bites or sips, if you’re having a dinner party or are having a fancy dinner, invite them, and or wish them a “Happy Ramadan” and if its near the end, wish them a “Happy Eid,” as that follows right after for three days.

-Zina Khalifie

Books about Ramadan are available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

Starting Photography

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As a high schooler, one of my passions is photography. In my freshman year of high school, I took a photography class. At first, I thought it was interesting but I didn’t think I would get into it. However, I discovered that photography was an enjoyable way for me to express myself and my creativity.

The first and most obvious step to photography is to buy a camera. While using your phone’s camera is great and totally acceptable, investing in a DSLR is a great option as well. Personally, I use a Canon Camera. I’ve found that this brand is reputable and easy to use. My camera body is a Rebel T6. This is a great starter camera to use. If you aren’t into Canon, Nikon, and Sony are other camera brands that I’ve heard great things about.

Secondly, finding a lens is extremely important. Though you may want to jump into portraits or nature photography, I’d suggest using a kit lens at first. These lenses are affordable and have fewer features than a telephoto or macro lens, but allow first-time photographers to learn the bearings of a camera.

Other equipment that you’ll need are SD Cards (to store your photos) and Battery Charges/Ports. Now that you have the required equipment, start taking photos on your camera. If you’re using a DSLR, put the camera in Auto Mode first. When using the Auto-Mode, the camera makes all the decisions for your settings; all you have to do is press the Shutter Button to take a photo!

I hope this small article helps you in your photography journey; stay tuned for more articles about general rules and tips!

Books about photography are available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood

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***this review will contain spoilers***

I feel like I haven’t read an romance novel in a HOT MINUTE so going back to my roots was amazing! I’ve read past books of Ali Hazelwood’s such as The Love Hypothesis and Love, Theoretically. However, Check & Mate follows a completely different plot than the usually stem filled romance novels.

Check & Mate follows main characters Mallory Greenleaf and Nolan Sawyer who both happen to excel in the chess world. Mallory coming from a rough childhood with her father gone, her mother in and out of hospital care, and her two younger sisters who are hitting puberty; Mallory’s responsibilities are ever growing. Mallory’s in desperate need of making a sustainable income to help provide for her family and an opportunity comes her way when she asked to pay competitive chess for a company. Through these competitive games, Mallory meets Nolan Sawyer who is the current world champion. In her first game playing chess in years, Mallory ends up beating Nolan which causes shock amongst those involved in the chess world and the interest in this “random” girl who miraculously beat the world’s #1.

As time goes on, rivals become lovers. Mallory and Nolan start to become interested in one another and bond outside of just this world of chess. They both remain top players as they age and still carry that competitive spark that has been apparent.

This book was the CUTEST little romance book and it was refreshing to have the main characters be somewhat close in age compared to more recent books I have read. If you are looking a quick read I would highly recommend especially since I finished this book in less than 5 hours!!!!

-Madison C.

Check & Mate by Ali Hazelwood is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Fielding in Baseball

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In baseball there is the pitcher, catcher, and the fielders. The fielders are supposed to catch the ball what the batter hit, like a ground ball or a fly ball. There are different ways to field a ground ball, there is the normal fielding stance, backhand, and forehand.

Normal Fielding Stance

This is a type of fielding where the ground ball is directly hit to you. These are the steps to field a ground ball in a normal fielding stance.

  1. Be in a athletic stance.
  2. Legs spread apart.
  3. Glove down.
  4. Put your hand above the glove.

You will need to have your hand above the glove to secure the ball when you catch the ball in the glove.

Backhand

This is a type of fielding where the ground ball is hit to your non-glove side and where you need to get the glove to your throwing side. These are the steps to field a ground ball in a backhand.

  1. Be in a athletic stance.
  2. Get your glove to your throwing side.
  3. Get the ball in your glove and close your glove.

Since you don’t have your throwing hand to be securing the ball, you will need to close your glove.

Forehand

This is a type of fielding where the ground ball is hit to your far glove side and where you need to reach. These are the steps to field a ground ball in a forehand.

  1. Be in a athletic stance.
  2. Reach for the ball with your glove.
  3. Secure the ball by closing your glove.

For forehand also you will need to close your glove to secure the ball.

Books about baseball are available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Taylor Swift The Eras Tour Movie Review

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Overview

Starting in March, the US leg of Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour began. With 52 dates of the US tour, and many more over South America and Europe, Taylor Swift created a 3 and a half hour show, composed of 44 songs creating an ultimate show that anyone would enjoy. The Eras tour broke record after record once started.

However, one problem for the fans was accessing tickets. The Eras Tour, in such demand, became very expensive and the tickets became hard to find. Lucky for me, I was able to snag a couple tickets during the presale, but many unfortunate fans did not have the ability to even buy tickets. Once the tickets were bought, scalpers were reselling them for over 5 times the value, making them unaffordable for many people and hard to get tickets that were decently priced. 

However, on October 13th, the Eras Tour movie came out, allowing fans to be able to access the movie and see it on the big screen. A recording of Taylor Swift’s performances in Los Angeles at Sofi Stadium, the movie was an immediate smash hit, allowing everyone to be able to watch the movie. Many people even treated the movie as the concert experience, standing up and singing and trading friendship bracelets. Later on December 13, Taylor Swift released The Eras Tour- Extended Version, which made the movie available to rent on demand and included 3 additional songs that were not included in the original movie in theaters.

Review:

My personal thoughts on the movie was that it was really good and I would give it a 9.5/10. The concert movie stood out for the following reasons:

  • The movie was a very good recreation of the show in person and I thought that the film did a good job in capturing the feel of the concert with the energy of the fans and Taylor Swift.
  • I liked how the movie was very good at showing the watcher what the tour was, by directing where the watcher should look, while also showing the other parts of the tour, like dancer features. I thought that this was very nice because when I saw the concert, I was far away from the stage, so I liked being able to see everything up close.
  • I liked how the movie showed different aspects of the show by using cameras on stage to show Taylor Swift while also using cameras above the stage and drones to help show aerial views of the stage and the audience. I especially liked when they panned to the audience and all the light bracelets lit up, like a sea of light.

The only thing that I did not enjoy as much in the movie was that it felt very shortened. Like the transitions between the different sets were cut, and they removed 4 songs from the set list. However, I get this as the film was trying to stay shorter- cutting the concert experience from 3 and a half hours to 2 hours and 45 minutes.

I think that The Eras Tour concert film was really good and I would not just recommend it to people who enjoy Taylor Swift’s music, but to anyone who is open to having a great time because it is enjoyable for everyone.

For the people who were not able to see the movie in theaters, the movie is now coming out on Disney+ on March 17th!

Macbeth by Shakespeare

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Many know of and have heard of the Shakespeare classic, Macbeth. While many know it as one of Shakespeare’s famous works, some may also know it from its peculiar history of bad things happening and how it’s bad luck; most specifically bad luck in theaters. I’ve read one Shakespeare play before (Romeo and Juliet) and I liked it. When I heard I was going to read Macbeth this year, I was happy to see a book that I somewhat knew of. 

Macbeth is a Shakespearean tragedy set in Scotland. It follows the Scottish nobleman Macbeth and his spiral into madness as he tries to control and change his own destiny. He, despite having more than he needs, in fame, respect, and money, still wants more. To get all that he wants, Macbeth goes to extreme lengths (what’s a Shakespeare tragedy without death?), going insane as he does due to his regret and guilt of his actions. 

While the plot may seem rather simple and short, the character development and themes make the story much more elaborate and the execution expands it and helps to create the main themes of the play. I really enjoyed how Shakespeare displayed how Macbeth and his wife went crazy throughout the play, showing how actions can affect everyone, including those who induce them. In the beginning, Macbeth is hesitant to do anything to cause harm, even to get what he wants. It takes a lot of convincing and help from his wife for him to finally act on something. When he commits his first crime, he feels incredibly guilty, but as the story progresses and he commits more crimes, he no longer needs the help or convincing of others and begins to do it himself, no longer regretting his actions. The character development was really good and really helped to drive the story forward and make it interesting to read at the same time. 

Overall, there really isn’t much to say about Macbeth other than it was a pretty good play. It has a simple plot and many themes with great character building and is overall a good read. The only thing that might make it difficult to read is the Shakespearean language it is written in. If you aren’t confident in your Shakespeare language, then this story isn’t the first I would suggest if you wanted something to read. But if you think you can at least somewhat understand, or would like to try, I would definitely recommend it. Macbeth was a fun read and it’s definitely worth a try.

-Nicole R. 

Macbeth by William Shakespeare is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Never Ever Getting Back Together Book Review

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The book Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales is a well written enemies-to-lovers romantic comedy novel.

Jordy Miller’s sister married a prince and the public instantly fell in love with him. He could have everything he could ever want. He has everything he could ever want, but he wants more. Jordy wants to find love and make some money along with it, so he participates in a reality tv show where his exes try to see if they can make their relationship work again.

When Maya first finds out about the contest she instantly says no, she had her heartbroken when Jordy cheated on her and then played it off as a misunderstanding. Maya knows Jordy is a cheating jerk, but all the public sees is a sensitive, young man that never wanted to hurt her. To get revenge she devises a plan to make it to the end of the contest only to reject Jordy and discredit him.

Skye and Maya are instant enemies when Maya recognizes her as the girl Jordy cheated with, but the truth is Skye didn’t know they were dating when Jordy and Skye met. To make things worse they are also made roommates. Then, when Maya shows Skye proof that she and Jordi were still part of a long distance relationship when Skye and Jordi were dating everything changes.

Soon Skye is part of the scheme to cancel Jordy and the two girls are closer than ever. Maybe even a bit too close, as the two girls find themselves falling for eachother Maya has to make a decision, Skye or Revenge.

I love how Sophie Gonzales shapes the characters and uses the plot to make the story more meaningful. I think she did a great job showing the misunderstanding of the situation, too. 

I would rate this book an 100,000,000 out of 10. I love how it is written and that you can switch between the perspectives of Maya and Skye. I deeply suggest this book to anyone who loves queer romance novels or funny comedies. Even if you don’t prefer those genres I would still suggest this book, because it is just AMAZING. I love this book and I hope you will read it and love it, too!

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians (revamp)

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Recently a new tv series popped up on Disney Plus, the newest version of Percy Jackson and the Olympians was released on December 19, 2023. Nearly 13 years after the first movie was released, this second one coming in as a tv series proved to be way better than the first one. The movie that was released in 2010 got many low ratings (6.2 thousand 1 star reviews on IMdb), so much so that it stopped production after the release of Sea of Monsters. A main problem was the plot, many viewers did not enjoy how much the plot in the movie deviated from the plot in the book. Some said that it was like a completely different world. Many were also not happy with character castings, the characters often did not act like their given roles.

Now with the new tv series already out and pumping 3 episodes out, the reviews and feedback has been great. Walker Scobell cast as Percy Jackson was a hit. Many were surprised at their new image of Percy Jackson but were relatively satisfied. Leah Jeffries was cast as Annabeth, Charlie Bushnell as Luke, and Aryan Simhadri as Grover. They have been boosted to a new stardom as social media blows up with media frenzy over this beloved world. The actors portray their roles so perfectly that it leaves us on the edge of our seats. Yes, that is a cliche but it’s true!

TV shows and series that include The Summer I Turned Pretty also figured out a loophole to gaining an audience’s love. WIth the use of the newest hits on parts of episodes, viewers tune in more and soon the edits come rushing in like a tsunami on tiktok. Actually, I didn’t know that Percy Jackson got a revamp over the years and I stumbled upon a instagram post raving about the series. I was really confused as I thought they were talking about the movies released before, but a quick google search proved me wrong. I rushed to my computer and binged the last three episodes. Totally worth it!