Monthly Archives: July 2024

Book Review: A Burning by Megha Majumdar

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I read this book for English class this year, and it was a very intriguing book. The book is an adventure that involves three perspectives, Lovely, PT Sir, and Jivan. Lovely is an aspiring actor who finally finds some success after years of trying. PT Sir is a PE coach who finds success within a political party. Jivan is a woman who witnesses a terrorist attack and is framed for it. The perspectives of Lovely and Jivan are told in first person while PT Sir’s perspective is told in the third person.

The book shows corruption and internal conflict between the characters. Although they all have separate lives, they are somehow related through Jivan’s court case. Sacrifice is a big theme in the book. For example, Lovely becomes popular through her acting career,. She is left with the choice of either helping Jivan’s case or being successful in acting. She chose to ditch Jivan and become successful with acting, although it was a hard choice.

Another big theme is corruption, and this is shown through PT Sir’s actions when he gets power. Bimala Pal, the political party’s official instructs PT Sir to testify against innocent people in order for him to gain more power through the political party. PT Sir accepts and puts multiple innocent people in jail.

Overall, this book shows the reality of the court system in some countries. A lot of innocent people are put in jail for false accusations, and in this case, Jivan ends up unfortunately being put to death because of it. I would recommend this book to everyone as it is pretty fascinating to see the characters’ development. It takes place very recently, so the book incorporates technology like phones and Facebook.

-Albert X., 10th Grade

A Burning by Megha Majumdar is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

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Composed of multiple vignettes, The House on Mango Street features a young Mexican American girl named Esperanza who struggles with poverty, maintaining her culture, and fighting against the traditional roles of women in this society. As she grows up, Esperanza begins to truly come to terms with her identity, creating a sense of belonging, as she realizes that Mango Street will always be a part of her and her life.

The House on Mango Street is a beautiful story that travels through different moments in Esperanza’s life, using poetic and inspirational phrases to illustrate Esperanza’s struggles, feelings, and dreams of a future where she is truly free. With vivid imagery, descriptions, and symbols, Sandra Cisneros truly encapsulates the struggles of women of color and those struck with poverty, giving a voice to the stories of people who are often overlooked.

As Esperanza struggles to maintain her freedom against a harsh, traditional society, Sandra Cisneros also highlights the consequences and cruel reality that many women face in this society, becoming trapped in a constant cycle of abuse from their fathers or husbands. While also showcasing how writing has helped Esperanza tell stories that have never been heard before as well as escape from the circumstances forced upon her, Sandra Cisneros presents the lives of various women in this society and the confinements they find themselves in.

Overall, I would definitely recommend reading The House on Mango Street if you’re interested in learning more about Esperanza’s life and struggles or analyzing Sandra Cisneros’s poetic and symbolic writing style within the book.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Album Review: The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess

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Chappell Roan’s debut album “The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess,” released in September 2023, has hit the music industry like a truck. She shows immense range on the album, from loud, upbeat songs such as “HOT TO GO!” and “Femininomenon” to slower, more emotional ones like “Kaleidoscope” and “California.” Coming into the industry with little to no experience as a big-time musical artist, Roan faced backlash through critics calling her music too explicit and sensual, while others claimed that she acted “too famous” even though she only had one album out. However, this was ignored by the singer, who gained immediate popularity on platforms like TikTok, which trended her songs “Good Luck, Babe!” and “Pink Pony Club” for months straight. With her background now established, let’s look at each individual song and how they come together on the album.

Femininomenon:

With a slow opening and catchy chorus, this track immediately captured my attention and became one of the ones I enjoy the most. It’s upbeat, different, and there are spoken parts of the song that serve to introduce the character of Chappell Roan to the listener. While it’s not the best song on the album due to it being more surface level and fun, it definitely hooked me and made me want to listen to more.

Red Wine Supernova:

This track is arguably one of the best on the album, with interesting chord changes, captivating lyrics, and a storyline throughout the entire song. It follows Roan’s story of her identity and feeling like she would be able to sacrifice parts of her character and personality in order to keep the unnamed second character close to her. With a catchy spoken bridge, the song comes together to be a fun, colorful track that is basically unskippable.

After Midnight:

To me, this song doesn’t stand out on the album. It has a nice melody, a musically pleasing composition, and the lyrics are fine, but there is no specific part that makes you want to loop it or listen to it a second or third time. I don’t skip this song, but I feel tempted to about halfway through.

Coffee:

“Coffee” is another one of the songs on the album that I don’t listen to as much, but I do enjoy the chorus and the lyrics, once again following a story of Roan as she tries to avoid someone from her past while still keeping a friendly relationship with them. The lyrics are interesting and the music is slower than what has already been shown on the album, which I really enjoyed my first few times listening to it, but it got a bit repetitive the more I did.

Casual:

I would argue that this is, again, one of the best tracks on the album. It rose to extreme popularity on TikTok, with bits of the chorus being used for trends. It follows the story of a casual relationship that Roan has had in the past where she feels like a secret and as though the partner in question is ashamed of her, making a statement through explicitly detailing their actions and asking the question “Is it casual now?” I would put this song higher on my ranking than some others, although it is not the best song on the album.

Super Graphic Ultra Modern Girl:

This song is an upbeat, fun, “night out on the town” type of track, with a spoken introduction and lyrics that emphasize her want to be with someone similar to herself. It’s incredibly similar to some of the pop/club music of the early 2000s, and it made me nostalgic for the sound of my childhood. Again, this song isn’t very loop-able unless you were getting ready to go out or preparing for a high energy event, but it’s a good song and breaks the notion that the album is mostly serious or storytelling songs.

HOT TO GO!:

One of her most popular songs, with it even having its own dance performed at live concerts, “HOT TO GO!” is a catchy, upbeat song about not having a direction to go in your 20s and choosing to go everywhere. Roan sings about dancing, relationships, and her life choices while speaking to an unnamed person, comparing herself to a coffee order as she says she can be taken “hot to go”. I thought it was a very fun song, although I don’t particularly want to listen to it again and again.

My Kink is Karma:

Roan immediately switches the tone of her music in this transition, telling a story about her most hated ex, who she wishes nothing but karma and suffering on. While dramatic, it’s a relatable song that encompasses what it feels like to hate an ex partner and want nothing but the worst for them. I thought the song was fun, starting off slow and adding in a techno beat halfway through the chorus. I wouldn’t put it in my top five, but I do enjoy listening to it on repeat.

Picture You:

This song is slower, more about yearning and the want to be in a relationship with someone who is her friend than a storytelling track. I would put this as my favorite on the album just because of how different it is, at least at this point in the album, from everything else we’ve heard. It’s a slow, quiet song with Roan using her lower register for majority of it, something she doesn’t do very often. I love this song and would recommend this one for anyone trying to get into Chappell Roan’s music for the first time, as it offers a gateway into her patented sound without getting too wild.

Kaleidoscope:

Staying on theme with the slower songs, “Kaleidoscope” is about an ex that she parted amicably from. It’s written in second person, with “you” not being named. This one is higher, slower, and much more sad than anything on the album up until this point, showing the range in her music. I love this song, but it does tend to make me feel sad and nostalgic, which is why I don’t often loop it or listen to it more than a few times in one sitting.

Pink Pony Club:

I love this song. It starts out slow, keeping the same deep, hearty sound the entire time even as she shifts her voice to go higher and higher. I think this is my second favorite on the album, and I listen to it for hours at a time when I’m working or going about my day. I would recommend this song to anyone wanting to get into her music as well, as it shows more of her upbeat, catchy music than “Picture You” does while still having that Chappell Roan sound that a lot of people listen to her music for.

Naked In Manhattan:

I don’t listen to this song very often. It didn’t hit me very hard the first few times and I ended up not going back to it, but in listening to it for this review, I realized I was just focused on the track before it more and couldn’t appreciate this one. It’s a layered, catchy beat that again mimics the sound of early 2000s pop, which I like a lot. It’s fun, catchy, and I think I would definitely loop it while cleaning or doing a different menial task in order to make myself want to do it.

California:

This song is my third favorite and one that I loop on the regular. Being from California, it’s interesting to hear Roan’s perspective on the state as someone who is from the Midwest. She talks about the Hollywood expectation of making it big after moving here, the lack of seasons, and the thought that she would have made her family proud in California. It’s a beautiful song that shows her disappointment at not being able to make it in the music industry even after putting her all into it. I would not recommend this song, however, because it does not have the sound that a lot of listeners look for when listening to Chappell Roan.

Guilty Pleasure:

This song comes out of left field when you take the last few slow songs into account. This one, while slow, is more catchy and what some would call “campy”. It’s fun, loud, and loop-able. I like it a lot, my favorite part being the several key changes that she goes through during the course of the song. The underlying techno beat comes back from earlier songs and I’m able to relate it to songs like “Touch-a Touch-a Touch Me” from the Rocky Horror Picture Show. It’s an amazing closing song to the album.

Overall, I don’t think there’s any song on this album I would skip. They all play their own parts and I would definitely recommend this album to anyone who wants to get into a new type of pop! It’s such a fun album and it makes you want to dance around while also thinking about every detail of your life as a teenager.

– Tanvi G.