Book Recommendations

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Picking out your next read can be a difficult and time consuming task. Many of us barely have the time to read at all, and when we do, we want a book that absolutely consumes us. Below I have compiled a list of book that I have read and enjoyed. I have categorized these books by genre and included short summaries, as well as my thoughts, for maximum efficiency. Happy reading!

Dystopian

The Hunger Games Series- Annual games are held in Panem, a dystopian and futuristic America, and when 16 year old Katniss Everdeen is selected to participate in these games, she stirs a spirit of rebellion that changes Panem forever. The Hunger Games series had me hooked with great twists and turns. The movie adaptations are also some of the best I have seen!

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The Selection Series- 35 eligible young girls are selected to compete for the prince’s hand, for most girls this is all they have ever wanted. For America Singer however, a five on the rigid caste system, this is her worst nightmare. The Selection series was one of those series I simply could not put down. I was extremely immersed in the world of America and Maxon and I have actually read the whole series two times through!

The Selection by Kiera Cass is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Romantic Comedies

Better Than the Movies- With the inspiration of 2000s romantic comedies, Liz Buxbaum searches for love. While trying to get the guy of her dreams, Liz ends up in a fake dating scheme, and realizes she has been after the wrong guy all along. I really enjoyed all the quotes and references to romantic comedies. This book was such a fun read and if you are a Swiftie you will definitely enjoy all the references as well!

Better than the Movies by Lynn Painter is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Today Tonight Tomorrow- During their last 24 hours of senior year, academic rivals realize that they have a lot more in common than they previously believed. Today they were enemies, tonight they were friends, and tomorrow they might be falling for each other. I really enjoyed the time frame of this novel and the scavenger hunt aspect made it fun and fast-paced!

Today Tonight Tomorrow by Rachel Lynn Solomon is available to download for free from Libby.

The Lorax

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The Lorax is an absolute delight from start to finish! I love this movie; it is a delightful, and colorful burst of imagination that motivated me to do more for environmental love and a severe case of Truffula tree envy.

The animation is beautiful and vibrant, and The Land of Thneedville is a kaleidoscope of colors. The characters are so animated and full of personality that you’ll want to hug a hummingfish for good measure.

The protagonist is Ted Wiggins, who is voiced by Zac Efron. Ted is a boy who lives in the artificial and polluted town of Thneedville. His crush on Audrey drives him to embark on a quest to find a real tree to impress her. He stumbles upon the Once-ler, the critical character who holds the secrets of the Truffula trees and the Lorax.

The Lorax, voiced by Danny DeVito, brings this bushy-mustached guardian of the forest to life in a heartwarming and hilarious way. You’ll always remember his one-liners, and trust me, you’ll never look at a tree the same way again.

The story is more than just a quest for the last Truffula seed; it’s a powerful message; the movie gently nudges you to think about environmental issues without preaching, and by the end, you’ll be singing “Let It Grow” at the top of your lungs like an eco-warrior.

The supporting cast is equally funny and fantastic– Taylor Swift as Audrey, the protagonist’s crush, Swift adds a dash of girl power. The Once-ler (voiced by Ed Helms) is also charmingly clueless about the consequences of his actions, and you almost forgive him for the deforestation.

And let’s remember the musical numbers! From “How Bad Can I Be?” to the infectious “Let It Grow,” the soundtrack is toe-tappingly catchy, and you can’t help but dance like a Swomee-Swan in no time. The whole track is so dance-worthy.

So, if you think this movie is only for kids, think again, “The Lorax” is a must-see for tree-huggers and Thneed enthusiasts, including older kids and adults alike. It’s an infectious celebration of nature, a cautionary tale about corporate greed, and all the fun rolled into one Truffula-tastic ball. Make it a movie night and grab your family, friends, and maybe even a Lorax-fun-approved snack and judge for yourself. For me, this movie was a cinematic experience as fun and sweet as a Bar-ba-loot’s marshmallow fluff!

Have a sweet Barbaloot experience!
Bella H.

“Yes No Maybe So” by Becky Albertalli & Aisha Saeed (Book Review)

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*Contains some spoilers*

Yes No Maybe So: 9780062937032: Albertalli, Becky, Saeed, Aisha: Books - Amazon.com

Yes No Maybe So is a story of 2 different people, from different worlds, that are forced to come together and decide to stay together.

To elaborate Jamie Goldberg, a shy, unpopular guy in high school gets the worst luck when he has to do one of the things he hates most, public speaking. His cousin, Gabe, who is Rossum’s (a man running for state senate) campaign manager, and his family are automatically required to help spread the word and convince others to vote for Rossum. Jamie likes to help but he has to go canvassing and since he refuses to say a speech at his little sister’s bar mitzvah in front of friends and family, he can’t comprehend the fact of doing that in front of strangers.

Maya Rehman, on the other hand, is confident and friendly but is having the worst Ramadan. Her parents are separating, which came as a complete surprise to her. Her best friend, who is a year older than her, is going off to college and leaving Maya behind in a way. Then to find out that she might be leaving early for college and won’t really get to hang out with Maya all summer, crushes Maya. She is unaware of her summer plans now, not really wanting to be home but not having a car for transportation and on top of it not allowed to date or have a boyfriend. Her parents suggest her to go canvassing to help family friends and if she does it, it will live up her chances of getting a car. It just so happens that Jamie and Maya end up going canvassing together, which starts their story.

I personally loved this book, the detail, and the chemistry between the characters. How they took the differences of them, their personality, households, and background to create drama, sensitivity, hardship, and love within the book. The main conflict was Jamie’s confrontation and Maya’s parents and idea of boys. Throughout the book Jamie and Maya’s relationship grows but it moves very quickly towards the end which made it feel too rushed for me. Overall, I would recommend this book, knowing it is a mixture of politics and romance, but the writing of each page makes the book one of my favorite reads yet!

Yes No Maybe So by Becky Albertalli & Aisha Saeed is available to download for free from Libby.

Never Finished by David Goggins

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Never Finished is yet another memoir by David Goggins. While this autobiography can be enjoyed as a standalone book, it assumes that the reader is already familiar with David Goggin’s story and his first book Can’t Hurt Me.

In his first book, Goggins describes how he overcame a traumatic childhood, mental disability, and health issues to defy odds and more. He is now a retired Navy SEAL, accomplished endurance athlete, Advanced Emergency Technician, public speaker, and wildland firefighter.

It enhances the previous book by elaborating and providing insight into earlier overlooked events. There is a great balance between introducing new topics and improving old ones.

In his previous book, Goggins introduced tips after every chapter to improve yourself such as journaling, compartmentalizing your day, visualizing, and using an “accountability mirror”. Unlike these more straightforward “Challenges” that Goggins used, this book provides “Evolutions”. These are not simple quick-fix habits. Instead, they present ideas for you to question yourself, and change for the better. Some of these ideas are summarized below:

  • “The Winners Mentality” – Find strength and energy in everything, even in defeat
  • “One-Second Decision” – In the moment of suffering, we often forget our goals and feel the need to quit. No matter how long you have been working, moments of weakness and strength are counted in seconds. So, take a knee and evaluate the situation.
  • “Trained Humility” – Be humble enough to accept that you will never know everything, and let that fuel you to grow more.
  • “Foxhole Mentality” – Small minds and weak people kill dreams, so surround yourself with those who support and push you to be your best.

While small habits are the key to getting started, deeply improving yourself through your mindset and values is the next step.

One of the final ideas that I enjoyed was the idea that there are no “part-time savages”. Many might work hard hoping that when they achieve their goal they can finally rest. Goggins says, “When you are always on the grind, you think there will come a time when the rough road…will smooth out, but that is never the case.” When you finally reach the top of the mountain, there might be another taller one waiting for you.

Goggins makes it clear that while he has achieved great success, his journey is still not over. Shortly after the success of his first book, he had a heart scare which forced him to take another break from endurance events. Even though he had done so much, and his heart condition gave him a reason to stop, Goggins knew that he could do more.

Overall, Never Finished by David Goggins is another amazing read, fit for anyone who would like to improve themselves in any aspect of life.

Never Finished by David Goggins is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

SMART Goals!

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The first month of the new year, 2024, comes to an end but it is still not too late to make 2024 resolutions! Goals are hard to set and achieve especially if it’s hard for you to commit to long-term stuff, but using SMART can help you achieve the goals for 2024 whether it be to lose weight, get better grades, or even start meditating. So what does SMART stand for?

S – Specific

The S in SMART means “specific.” This means that your goal has to be specific and it can not be broad. You can be more specific with your goal by using the 5 W’s: who, where, what, and why. You can also use how in this when making your goal. An example of being specific is instead of saying,“My goal is to get better grades,” you can say “My goal is to turn my grades from C’s to A’s for the second semester of high school.”

M – Measurable

The M in SMART means “measurable.” This means that your goal has to be measurable. By being measurable, it means that you can track your progress. If your goal was to lose weight, you could track your weight on a scale at the end of each week. 

A –  Attainable

The A in SMART means “attainable.” This means that your goal should be attainable and not impossible. You can state how this goal is attainable. For example, if your goal is to start getting a better sleeping schedule, you can eliminate some distractions, such as going on your device before you sleep, so the goal is attainable. 

R – Realistic

The R in SMART means “realistic.”This means that you should be realistic in making your goal and that it can be achieved within the amount of time. Ask yourself questions such as “How will I complete this goal by the end of the year?” so that you can be realistic with making your goals. 

T – Timely

The T in SMART means “timely.” This means how you will time your progress. You can time your progress in various ways such as writing down in your planner every week or daily to achieve your goal. For timely, you have to write down how you’re going to time your progress. An example of this could be that you will read 2 books to 5 more books than last year by December 31st, 2024. 

This is really helpful and I apologize if my explanation was not clear enough but this has helped me a lot. I had to make a goal for my English class and although I was obligated to do the assignment, it actually is really helpful for I have stayed consistent with my goals for the new year. So if you really want to be productive and achieve goals for 2024, I recommend using the SMART method.

MOVIE REVIEW – La La Land

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Jazz, romance, and music. And Ryan Gosling. Add all of that together, and what do you get? 

La La Land. It is also known as the best movie ever created, by me. It’s one of those movies that I’m like, “Oh, my GOD I WISH I THOUGHT OF THAT FIRST!!” 

According to IMDb, La La Land was a 2016 American musical romance film about an actress and a pianist falling in love while balancing their future aspirations and navigating their careers in Los Angeles. The two protagonists, Mia and Sebastian, were played by Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling respectively. 

Now, it seems like your typical “meet-cute” type of movie. Although it contains elements, it did not come with the “I’m so in love with you, let’s get married and have seven kids in a big house with a white picket fence” ending. Anyways. I’m still sobbing. 

The music was written by Justin Hurwitz, and — oh, my GOD — it was mesmerizing, it was whimsical. A mix of styles, rhythms, and instruments created so many different atmospheres, exciting or not. I thank Hurwitz for creating such a devastatingly beautiful soundtrack. My favorite song, or instrumental, actually, was “Epilogue”. A quiet, delicate piano quickly moves into a full, loud, booming orchestra entangled with a solo trumpet and jazz. It was definitely one of my new favorite instrumentals after the “Pirates of the Caribbean” theme. 

Other than the music, however, I want to focus more on the theme. It taught me a lot about love. It’s complex, it’s manipulative, it’s alluring. It’s not your cliché fairytale, “the guy always gets the girl” movie. I don’t mean to spoil. Much, at least. BUT THAT ENDING BROKE ME. Overall, the movie conveyed love in a more realistic light. 

DON’T READ THIS FOR SPOILERS: You can’t have cake and eat it, too, you know? I’m really happy that Mia and Sebastian didn’t give up their dreams for each other. It sets it apart from a ton of other romance movies. You love and lose, and that’s one of the biggest lessons you could ever learn. 

Anyhow, this movie has been on my watchlist for years. I’ve been hearing about it ever since it came out, and then one of my classmates said, “La La Land is my favorite movie, for real.” And now, my heart is broken. And I spent about two hours watching one of my newest favorite movies instead of studying for my finals. 

La La Land available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

Water- The Key to Our Futures

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As the famous French proverb goes, “We never know the worth of water until the well runs dry.”

In the 21st century, there is not a single thing that we take more for granted than a sip of water. After all, it’s always there for us: we take our flasks with us to school or work, enjoy cups upon cups while at home, and if we ever get thirsty during the night, a soothing glass of water is only a kitchen’s walk away.

Scientists say that humans are 70% water, but water is 100% essential to human life. But if water is so essential, then why is it so hard to come by in some areas? The reality is that clean, drinkable water is still a luxury to many, especially in the continent of Africa. For you it is just a kitchen’s walk away, but for many it is an arduous, several mile long journey.

Many children have forgone their education due to a lack of access to clean water, which has resulted in them falling ill and being bedridden while they should be at school. This perpetuates a cycle of sickness and poverty that actively works against sustainable development across the globe, stagnating the progress of these third-world nations. And while we may like to think that this issue does not affect us, that we live too far-removed from the most underprivileged countries that we cannot be gripped by the issue of clean water insecurity, I would like to remind you that over 2 million Americans do not have access to clean drinking water. This number, when averaged out with the rest of the world, amounts to 1 in 4 people not having the basic right to quench their thirst and nurture their bodies as every human should.

Water is further essential in that it grants people dignity, allowing them to be clean and present their best themselves in a dignified manner. I refuse to live in a world where something as simple as water can stand in the way of people’s futures, which is why we must take action to provide clean, drinkable, accessible water to every person on this planet. Every mother and son, every father and daughter, every grandparent and grandchild, every professor and student, every aspiring engineer and passion-driven child who dreams of a future that is not crippled by a lack of water needs our help to give them the opportunity of life they deserve. It is time to make waves in the lives of countless people, and it is time to give them the water that they deserve.  -Forrest F.

Book Review: Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

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Recently, for my school’s English class, I read Purple Hibiscus, which is a book about a girl named Kambili growing up in a wealthy but abusive household in Nigeria. This was probably one of the best books of this genre that I’ve read, as it contains plenty of interesting themes, as well as having a deep overall meaning.

At the start of the story in chapter 1, Kambili witnesses her father hurl a leather missal across the room after her brother, Jaja, defies him by refusing to attend church. Here, the first signs of the fact that her father is abusive is revealed. however, at this part, Kambili tells the reader that this event was later in the book, after everything else happened.

The start of the actual story begins on chapter 2, with the story taking place at Kambili’s house. this second chapter gives important background information on the family, their economic condition, as well as other details that will be important for later. It is also revealed that Kambili lives in a very religious household, with her father pushing the faith on her and her other family members. As the story progresses, the author makes it more and more apparent that the father clearly uses his religion to control his family, as well as further showing the extent of the influence of abuse on Kambili, her brother, and her mother.

What made this book very interesting was how the author took inspiration from her youth but obviously included elements of fiction added to it. In fact, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie gave a TED talk about the book as well as the “danger of the single story“, which I highly recommend watching before reading this book, as it provides the reader with some background on the book.

Overall, This was a great book, and I would recommend it for anybody who is interested in an emotional, moving story.

Purple Hibiscus by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

The Great Gatsby

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About a month ago, I finished reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It was an intriguing read as it illustrated 1920s society in America. The desire for wealth and prosperity outweighed people’s morals. The “Roaring Twenties” revolved around entertainment and consumerism because of the end of World War I.

In the novel, the main character, Jay Gatsby, was impoverished growing up but was able to gain wealth by illegally selling alcohol after the 18th Amendment was passed. Although he was proud of his money, it could never fully equate to happiness. The love of his life, Daisy Buchanan, whom Gatsby considered his soulmate, got married to another man when he went to fight in the war. However, he never gave up hope and always believed she would come back to him. Eventually, Gatsby met Daisy and attempted to rekindle their relationship. At one point, it seemed as though their spark was back and they could begin a new life together, but Gatsby pretended to offer Daisy more security than he actually could. His dishonesty was a major factor in their eventual separation. 

Toward the end of the novel, Gatsby is assassinated. As he is dying, he feels that his life is unfulfilling. Although he amassed large amounts of wealth, it could never fully equate to happiness. This story revolves around the American Dream and how it is an illusion. Gatsby worked to earn more money than he could ever need, but always felt like something (Daisy) was holding him back. He never actually achieved success because in his mind, Daisy was all he ever wanted, and she was the one thing he could never obtain.

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald is available to checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Wonka Review

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The minute school let out and finals were over, I was immediately ready to start break. The first thing to finally start the break was watching a movie with my friends. One of my friends was the one who actually suggested seeing the movie. My memory of the Johnny Depp Willy Wonka movie was blurry at best so I hoped that I wouldn’t need too much of it other than bits and pieces like the chocolate and Oompa Loompas. Despite not remembering too much of the Willy Wonka movie, I still enjoyed Timothee Chalamet’s Wonka.  

The movie is a prequel to the original Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, featuring a young Willy Wonka who has a dream to share his chocolate with the world. However, due to his naivety, he gets himself into a lot of trouble; the world not being as nice as he hoped it would be. Throughout the movie, he gains friends and helps them get out of their own predicaments, while also helping him achieve his dreams. 

One thing I didn’t expect from the movie was for it to be a musical. I was pretty shocked when Timothee Chalamet started to sing and dance but I was pleasantly surprised. The music stuck with me even outside of the theater and into my home. Many of the songs had me tapping my foot and swaying in my seat. Some of the songs were pretty heartwarming and most of them are pretty catchy. The songs are easy to listen to and easy to follow; easy enough to follow that when I heard the ending credits, I was able to sing along despite only hearing it once previously throughout the movie. 

Another thing I really enjoyed was the found family dynamics that were introduced. I’m a huge fan of found family tropes and just good platonic relationships in general (which was a big reason why I enjoyed The Outsiders by S.E Hinton haha). In the movie, Willy Wonka gets into a bit of trouble and finds others who have the same problem as him. They all join together to help Willy and his dream of sharing his chocolate with the world, becoming a close group as they do. While the movie is mainly focused on two characters (Willy and one other character called Noodle), it’s nice to see the relationships between all the protagonist characters grow close and even cool to see the relationships they all have with the antagonists. Willy and the new character, Noodle, have the closest dynamic that really reminded me of siblings. While the typical siblings that you hear of are usually annoying each other and fighting while still being close, these two don’t fight nor annoy each other. But, they do support and help each other, and are always there for each other, only wanting the best for one another.  They had a really cute dynamic that really helped me enjoy the movie more.

Overall, the Wonka movie was really nice and I enjoyed it a lot. The music was so good that even as I write this, I can’t help but hear some of the songs in my head still. I would definitely recommend this to others to see. The plot of the movie is actually really fun and interesting and the characters are well crafted too. Wonka was a very good movie and is one to take a look at!

-Nicole R.