Monthly Archives: April 2024

The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

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In my English class, my teacher made us read The Outsiders, which is one of the most famous novels of all time. The Outsiders is about a group of friends with different backgrounds and personalities. The book’s main character, Ponyboy is a member of the Outsiders. At the start of the book, we learn about the rivalry between the Greasers and the Socs. Ponyboy is a Greaser, which are lower-class people, and the Socs are upper-class people. The book at the start leads us in the direction of the Socs being people without any problems, but throughout the book, we learn that the Socs do have problems of their own. While reading The Outsiders, I was very entertained by the story’s conflicts and the bond between the characters.

At the beginning of the book, we get to meet the protagonist, Ponyboy. Soon after, he gets jumped by a group of Socs while on a walk, but luckily gets saved by his friends, Steve, Two-bit, Johnny, Dally, and his two brothers Darry and Sodapop. Later in the book, Ponyboy runs into two female Socs. Through one of the girls, Ponyboy learns that Socs also have problems just like Greasers. Throughout the book, Ponyboy and his friends go through several life-changing events and character development. At the end of the story, Ponyboy learns that the world isn’t as black and white as he thought.

While I read the book, I had an amusing time reading it because of its various conflicts. Learning about each character’s different problems such as their love life and a character’s family problems makes the book a compelling read. Another part of the book I enjoyed was how the author demonstrated the bond between the characters. S.E. Hinton does an extraordinary job of showing how much each character cares about each other by using many events that demonstrate their powerful bond.

Overall, The Outsiders is one of the most captivating books to read. The most outstanding aspect of the book is the relationship between the characters. The author manages to show the bond between the main characters and even the friendship of side characters. Another marvelous part of the book is the different conflicts that each character suffers through. I highly recommend this book to other people of all ages since it can entertain a wide range of people.

-Matthew R.

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Film of Character “Flipped” – Community of Character Program!

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On March 17, the Community of Character, an official committee of Mission Viejo, hosted a movie program in the Council of Chambers. The movie shown, “Flipped,” is about two teenagers, Bryce and Juli. In essence, Juli has had a crush on Bryce since he first moved to the neighborhood. However, he never liked her back. After years and years of trying to get over him, the movie shows how Juli and Bryce have “flipped” feelings: Bryce likes her but Juli does not. The main purpose of displaying this movie was to show its moments of integrity. Some examples of integrity in the movie are when Juli defends her beloved sycamore tree, Bryce stands up for her against his friend, and Bryce tries several times to apologize to her for a reason that will not be spoiled in this review!

After the movie was played, the board of the committee held a very valuable discussion about the movie. This discussion lasted about 20 minutes and everyone in the room was very involved. We talked about the moments of integrity and the major scenes that shifted the meaning of the movie. We also had a raffle for people under 18 that included gift cards and prizes!

Overall, going to these movie events is a great way to boost your community involvement and have fun with your friends!

The next movie is on Saturday, April 19 at 1:00 pm, be there!

Valentina N.

Flipped is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

Together4Teens on April 13

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Join the library, the City of Mission Viejo, and other local groups for this great event for teens and their parents!

Earn community service credit while attending valuable workshops. There will be a resource fair plus a complimentary lunch. Don’t miss the guest speaker, Larissa May!

For more details, see the program here.

Cold Girls Book Review

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The book Cold Girls by Maxine Rae is about a girl named Rory Quinn-Morelli and her life before and after her best friend Liv’s death. The before story begins when Rory joins choir and she is placed next to Live in the alto section. They slowly start to become friends as Liv starts making small talk to her. The two start hanging out at each other’s houses and sneaking out to parties together. Soon Rory realizes that she is falling for Liv, who has a boyfriend. A few months later Rory is accepted into her chosen college and Liv is not. 

After a few months of being best friends Rory realizes two things 1) Liv knows Rory likes her and 2) Liv might like Rory too. Just as Liv leans in to kiss her, Rory backs away (because she doesn’t want to be the person to hurt Liv like people have before) and suggests that they leave the party. The two have fun and dance the night away. They both get tired and suggest going home. A car that runs a red light hits their car and Liv dies. 

The after story follows Rory after she reconnects with Liv’s parents and old friends. She starts finding peace in life and opening up to her therapist. The story ends with Rory finding letters Liv was going to give to her for her birthday. She lies down and listens to music she and Liv liked. 

One thing I loved about this book is how the author set it up. Maxine Ray created the story so both the before and after story would switch off each chapter. This showed the reader how she was affected by Liv in so many ways. I rate this book a 10/10 because all the emotions were so raw and real (I cried a few times while reading it). 

Cold Girls by Maxine Rae is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

Nineteen minutes By Jodi Picoult

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My English teacher  suggested this book to me on Wednesday (Feb 28) and, in just four days I finished it. This book is over 400 pages but was such an easy read. 

I’m not going to summarize the book, because there is no way too without spoiling it, but it’s basically a book about a school shooting and a deeper dive into the each person in that situation, including the shooter, and the legal issues behind it all.

The book has an insane twist at the end. You will be hooked at the start of the book and will want to read it all the way through, and possibly skip some parts to get to the “juicy” parts, but you should read every detail there possibly is.

In my opinion, this has got to be the best, most attention grabbing book I have read. It brings light to many things and aspects and uses specific moments and people to capture the reader. It also brings up the past to show a more in depth and explaining certain situations and who the characters are to one another. 

There aren’t enough words to describe this book and I don’t know how to make you want to read it, but just do. Trust me you will be shocked, amazed, confused, happy, angered all at once with the many plot twists Jodi Picoult has put into this book.

After reading this book, I will begin to read Small Great Things by her too and will let you know how it goes.

Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded for free from Libby. 

-Zina K

Boba Shop Review

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Boba, or “Bubble Tea” as some people know it is a type of drink that contains both components of tea and toppings, such as boba, a chewy tapioca ball. It is the perfect refreshing drink for any day. Sound us, in Mission Viejo and surrounding areas, there are many places to get boba. However, with so many places to buy boba, I decided to review and rank different boba shops, since I am a frequent boba drinker. Here are some reviews of common boba places near Mission Viejo.

Sharetea:

Sharetea is one of the most common boba shops. It is a Taiwanese boba shop that serves a very large variety of drinks, and often has seasonal and limited time unique drinks to try. Sharetea is one of my favorite boba shops because of its quick service and relatively low prices. However, the drinks are made with powder and not real tea. Sharetea is one of my favorite boba shops for its relatively low prices, tasty drinks, and wide topping selection.

7 Leaves:

7 Leaves is more common in surrounding areas, like Irvine, but it still provides good service and drinks. 7 Leaves is a Vietnamese boba shop, so it has some drinks different from other places, like Sharetea, such as Vietnamese coffee. Although it is more expensive than other places, and the service tends to be slower, the drinks are very good, made with fresh tea and milk. I also really enjoy the texture of the boba from here and some drinks that stand out are the Assam Milk Tea,  the Oolong Milk Tea, and the Thai Tea. Along with this they have a selection of snacks like macaroons and croissants. However, one thing I don’t enjoy as much is the pricing as you have to pay for size upgrades and toppings are more expensive than other places, and the locations are generally farther away. I would recommend 7 leaves for their handcrafted drinks and the general aesthetics of their shops.

Ding Tea:

Ding Tea is another boba shop that serves Taiwanese boba, and it has many locations near Mission Viejo and the surrounding areas. Ding Tea has a very large variety of drinks, and I would recommend it for its fruit teas and slushes. My favorite drinks are the Mango Slush and Lychee tea. The service is typically good and some locations also have some small games like claw machines. One thing that I don’t think is the best is the toppings and their texture of the boba is not my favorite. However I think that Ding Tea is a solid boba shop and a good choice if someone wants boba and is new or does not really like the milk teas.

In all, boba is an amazing, refreshing drink and I would recommend it to anyone who hasn’t tried it. I would recommend Sharetea for it’s value prices and drink selection, 7 Leaves for the quality of their drinks, and Ding Tea for their fruit drinks and close locations. 

Happy Drinking!

Book Review; Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon

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Ok, hear me out, even the cover of this book is beautiful. This book is beautifully written to the point that when there was a huge plot twist, I screamed in disbelief. This book was a heartwarming romance novel that I got for Christmas, I would never ever pick this book out for myself. I never expected to be interested in a book whose whole genre is people making out, but this one was much deeper than that (of course there was still making out). 

To start off, I love the main character, Madeline. She is amazingly written, so I will give you three reasons why she is one of the most realistic characters I have read about lately.

  1. She’s biracial. As someone who is biracial, whenever I read about someone like me, I immediately fall in love with the book because there is not a lot of biracial representation. She is ½ Japanese and ½ Black. I like how her ethnicity wasn’t everything, that happens often in books.
  2. She’s not perfect. I know, I know, I know, every main character isn’t perfect, but a lot are, or at least, their flaws are glamorized. Madeline’s flaws are presented in such a way that they appear suddenly, but you know they are always there. It’s like this; Say you know someone is super self-centered. You can see a little bit of their self-centeredness in everything they do, so when they do something really selfish, it doesn’t surprise you. It’s like that.
  3. She’s relatable in a way that teenagers get. She is written for the readers, but she is so well written that you believe she could be one of the readers. She’s completely lovestruck, but it’s not all she is. She has a life beyond that. She’s a nerd, but only in a way where you have nothing but school and books. Madeline is a teenager through and through 

Now let me actually give you a book review, sorry about that little tangent.

Madeline is not allowed to leave her house, if she does she will probably die. Madeline has SCID (Severe Combined Immunodeficiency), so she is basically allergic to the world. Almost everything could trigger a hospital visit. 

The only people that Madeline has contact with are her mother, her nurse (Carla, who is amazing by the way) and her architecture tutor, but even that is a rare thing. Madeline’s father and brother both died in a car accident when she was a baby, so she only has her mom.

Around her 18th birthday, Madeline gets new neighbors across the street. She is immediately star struck by the teenage boy, Olly. I don’t want to describe him in detail but let me just tell you that Madeline uses almost half a page describing him. The two of them hit it off and start emailing each other.

The book is really sweet and surprisingly chaotic at the end. I have never been in love, or even in like, but I think that Madeline and Olly’s relationship is an accurate representation of teenage romances. It’s a pretty good romance book that I would recommend. 

Everything, Everything by Nicola Yoon is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Stir-Fried Ramen

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I believe that I made this recipe last year when I became bored of eating ramen with broth. So, I did some experimenting (and research) to develop this recipe. Stir-fried ramen is a wonderful twist on traditional ramen. I find that this recipe is flavorful, easy, and delicious to make!! Please note that this recipe is inspired by Doobydobap, one of my favorite food bloggers. 

Ingredients

1 Ramen Pack (Ichiban is a great brand)

3 Tablespoons Oil

1 ½ Tablespoons Soy Sauce

1 Teaspoon Black Vinegar

Splash of Sesame Oil

  • Optional – ½ Teaspoon Chili Oil, Green Onion for garnish, Fried (or poached) Egg for extra protein

Instructions

  1. Boil water in one pot, and heat a smaller pan on the side
  1. Put the noodles in the boiling water, and the oil in the warm pot. Cook the noodles for the suggested time on the package.
  1. In a separate bowl (where you will eat your food), mix half of the seasoning packet, soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and chili oil.
  1. Pour oil into the sauce mixture you made in step 3.
  1. Take the noodles out of the water, drain them, and mix with the sauce.
  1. If you desire to have crispy noodles, heat the ramen in the pan you used to heat up the oil. If not, enjoy your stir-fried noodles!

Ramen Recommendations:

  • Sapporo Ichiban Tonkotsu Ramen (Pork)
  • Shin Ramen

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer

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**This review will contain spoilers**

I’ve heard many great things about this took so decided to take a look at it for myself. It follows female main character. Lucy Hart and her adventure with wanting to adopt seven year old, Christopher Lamb. However, there are other plots beyond Lucy trying to build a family such as a subplot of romance, adventure, etc.

Lucy came from a traumatic childhood and wants to adopt Christopher so that he won’t grow up to be in the same position as herself–single and needing money. Lucy would comfort herself with books from her favorite author Jack Masterson who wrote the Clock Island series. The Clock Island series consists of a multitude of books that revolve around an array of characters and their journey on this island where the Mastermind lived there they would complete puzzles and riddles.

Knowing this comfort Lucy had a kid, she introduced Christopher to the books as well to provide a solace for him like she had when she was little. However, Jack Masterson hasn’t written in years but randomly decided to host a competition for someone to win the lone copy of his newest release. Whoever wins can do whatever they want with the book–sell it for money, send it to a publishing company, keep it to themselves, etc. Lucy is picked along with three other contestants at the opportunity to get this book.

While on the island, Lucy solves puzzles and riddles that help advance her position in getting the book. However, in the end no participant ends up winning but they all get rewarded with what they always wanted. In this case, Lucy always wanted to adopt Christopher and be able to afford her own living area which Jack Masterson has given to her.

The Wishing Game was truly a wholesome read and I encourage it for anyone who just wants a quick read for their 2024 reading journey!

-Madison C.

The Wishing Game by Meg Shaffer is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The Hating Game Book Review

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The Hating Game is an amusing and riveting read. The witty and charming characters, Lucy and Joshua make you yearn for more of their tangled love story. The evocative plot brings the book to life. In parts of the novel, the plot may get repetitive and languid. Lucy Hutton and Joshua Templeman are a match made in heaven, however much of a cliche that is. Lucy is the bubbly girl next door who is kind to everyone, and Joshua is the cold-hearted guy whose heart is closed off to everyone.

They have a steamy office romance that involves obsessive behaviour that one may experience from their first feelings of love. The intimacy of their relationship really draws you into the pages with their open and sweet conversations as the book moves on. Joshua does hold a soft spot for Lucy who has her guard up towards her coworker and supposed nemesis because of their conflict, gunning for the same top position.

This is your typical enemies to lovers but with a splash of office romance in it. A love triangle appears for a short while causing jealousy and sparking outrage in the two. They both have jealous natures which causes most of the conflict in the story. However, as you read on, your heart aches for the two as they may just close off their hearts to each other. The slow burn that the author involves makes you want to get to the end faster and you just cannot put the book down. This book captures the essence of your typical forbidden office romance.

If you enjoy a steamy office romance, enemies to lovers, or forced proximity, The Hating Game by Sally Thorne checks off all of the boxes.

The Hating Game by Sally Thorne is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.