Book Review: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

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I’m sure a lot of people out there have read Suzanne Collins’ bestselling dystopian trilogy, which includes the novels The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, and Mockingjay. But what many don’t realize is that the story told in this trilogy is preceded by its spinoff, a prequel to the series.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is set 64 years prior to The Hunger Games in a nation known as Panem and tells the story of the 10th hunger games and the events that surrounded it. Something that makes this novel especially intriguing is that it is not told by an ancestor of a protagonist in The Hunger Games, as one might expect. On the contrary, the story is narrated by young Coriolanus Snow, known as the cruel and calculating dictator President Snow in The Hunger Games.

Throughout the story, the history of Panem and the Hunger Games is unfolded, and connections can be drawn between this sequel and the narrative that follows it. I found The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes very interesting, because the reader is able to see into society in the Capitol, where life is perceived as perfect and easy. Light is shed on the history of the Hunger Games and earlier versions of the event, which explains a lot about how developed the event had become by the 74th Games (during which The Hunger Games took place).

Further, this novel shows how a dictator so brutal and merciless as President Snow came to be. Throughout the events of the novel, readers watch as young Snow, innocent and kind, grew into a power-hungry monster hated by all of Panem.

All in all, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is an amazing dystopian novel and a very well-written prequel/spin-off that gives much interesting background on the story of The Hunger Games, particularly a character perceived as a villain. If you are a fan of The Hunger Games, I would absolutely recommend this book!

-Lam T.

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

The Fear: Book Analysis on Setting

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A popular book by Natasha Preston, called The Fear, is about a teenage girl witnessing her peers getting murdered in their most feared ways by a serial killer. The setting is winter in a small fishing town, where everyone knows everyone. The setting plays a major role in the story and plot because if it was set in an urban or suburban area many factors of the story would change.

The killer murders the victim when not many people are around. This would change in a big city, because places like New York are densely populated. Even if not many people were around there would be at least one person driving a car or walking a dog nearby to see. The small fishing town during the winter is the perfect place for this because at night the roads are dark and filled with snow which would keep people from leaving their houses.

Another way the setting helps the story is the killer’s hideout. They use a farm and another build in the woods to hide many things. In a big city a barn would be very noticeable and would stand out against all the buildings. As described in the book, the killer’s place is not on a map because nobody owned it, in a suburban or urban area the barn would’ve been bought very easily. The small town allows the barn to stay hidden and off the map.

Natasha Preston was smart to choose the setting to be a small fishing town instead of a big city or the suburbs. The town helps hide many things that could be seen in a big city, such as the victims and the killer’s hideout.

The Fear by Natasha Preston is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman

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If I Stay by Gayle Forman was actually more meaningful and emotional than I initially thought it would be. I borrowed this book after reading the synopsis and found the idea of experiencing life through a comatose state intriguing.

Mia Hall has a promising path ahead of her filled with Julliard, standing ovation, and her skills as a cellist. After a terrifying car accident occurs and leaves her all alone in the world, she is able to see her own life unfold from afar—as a spectator.

She sees her body transported to a hospital and all the aftereffects of the traumatic event. Her friends and family are all there to support her as she remains in a hospital bed, broken and unconscious.

The times where she goes back into her memories and rediscovers the moments that she had forgotten made me realize just how fleeting life can be and how we must treasure what we have in the present with the people around us.

There were a few sections of the novel that made me tear up, because the encouragement and understanding that her friends and family showed her during their visits made me feel for them, too.

I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for Mia to lose touch with reality and to watch as the people she loves will her to keep living. She has to make a difficult decision: to stay in the world, where she doesn’t know if she can manage every day, or to let herself go and let down everyone she knows.

If I Stay was an eye-opening novel that made me see life differently. The unexpected can happen at any time, and I now know that one should not let life pass them by.

If I Stay by Gayle Forman is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

de Portola 50th Anniversary Poem

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de Portola Elementary, my school, had its 50th Anniversary celebration on March 31st.

I got to read this poem I wrote during the assembly!

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“Thank you, de Portola”

Celebrating these 50 years

Is a beautiful achievement

To think of all of the blood, sweat and tears

Put into this school and made whole 

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Celebrating 50 years

At first sight so much more than it appears 

for so many students are taught here each day

Taught to learn how to foray into our world

And this school has helped fifty years of students,

Urged their creativity, made hard problems unfurl.

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They’ve played on this playground,

Ran in these fields

Learned in this building

And here ate their meals.

–

Those 50 years of students

Learned to do math and read and write

Those skills will forever help them

To guide their dreams in sight;

it helps them fight for their future

–

This school has given so much education

Like a train station, its

Helped so many reach their wanted destination

Because this school has made the difference

In so, so many lives

–

And do you know how?

It’s the staff make this school whole

They teach us and guide us and help us when we fall

They’ve cared for us and rewarded us as far as we can recall,

their patience should be recorded for all.

–

They are kind when we are not,

Patient when we are not,

And help us when we’ve forgot – 

because we all do.

–

So thank you, staff of this school.

But it’s not just them that have built this community; 

it’s you too.

–

So thank you, de Portola.

Thank you for making the difference for 50 years.

Thank you for helping us past our fears

Thank you de Portola.

And thank you…

For listening 

Movie Review: Creed II (2018)

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This movie became the sequel of the movie Creed (2015) and came out on November 21, 2018. As I watched the movie that month, I really enjoyed the movie and learned more lessons in my life that I connected to after rewatches this year.

The movie started off with two different viewpoints: The Dragos, represented by the iconic villain Ivan Drago (Dolph Lundgren) and his son Viktor (Florian Munteau), and the protagonists Adonis Creed (Michael B. Jordan) and his mentor Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone). Determined by revenge following a defeat at the hands of Rocky in the movie Rocky IV, Ivan focused his son on the heavyweight title and restoration of honor to his home country of Russia as he put Viktor through intense training and professional fights, which Viktor underwent in dominating fashion. Meanwhile, Adonis won the heavyweight title after a fight with the champion at the time, Danny Wheeler (Andre Ward), and found himself at a new position of power. However, this is all turned upside down when Ivan and Viktor confront Rocky and Adonis, and the history all unfolds in an intense sequence of events.

Both of their complicated histories became revealed throughout the movie. Viktor dealt with abandonment from his mother and tough love from Ivan as he dedicated his whole life to boxing under training from his father with a purpose of making his father proud. Meanwhile, Adonis found purpose in his family and Rocky as he began a family with his girlfriend-turned-wife Bianca Taylor (Tessa Thompson) and had a baby who later turned out to be deaf. Despite all this pressure, Viktor and Adonis both found motivation in their fight against each other through their love for the people that they care about as they train.

Although Adonis lacked balance due to Rocky’s absence in the first fight and only retained his title due to disqualification after an excessive beatdown at the hands of Rocky, he came out victorious against Viktor in their second fight as he underwent training with Rocky and Little Duke (Wood Harris), the son of Apollo’s trainer, Duke (Tony Burton). In a grueling 12-round fight, despite Viktor’s mother walking out and abandoning Viktor again, Ivan chooses to throw in the towel and save Viktor from potential death after an exhausted Viktor faces a flurry of blows in the final round.

Despite their differences, the Dragos put their problems with Adonis and Rocky to rest in a heartfelt deleted locker room scene. As the movie came to an end, Adonis introduced Bianca and his new daughter to his father as they came to his grave, Rocky finally reconciled with his son, Rocky Balboa Jr. (Milo Ventimiglia) after years of disconnection, and Viktor finally gained the love and respect that he always desired from his father as they bonded over a run.

Although this movie admittedly has so much to unpack, it was definitely a captivating film to watch. While the first film focused on legacy, this film focused primarily on the purpose that fueled each character in their respective arcs. Tragedy faced each of the characters, however the journey and story that each of them underwent made this film stand out greatly. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone, as it is currently available on Amazon Prime for free with anyone who has a Prime subscription.

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

Genshin Impact

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I’ve been playing Genshin Impact for a year, and I learned this. Genshin Impact is a free-to-play open-world action role-playing game developed by miHoYo. The game has gained a massive following since released in September 2020.

The game’s story revolves around Teyvat; players take on the role of a traveler who sets out to explore the vast world. Along the way, they encounter new characters and solve mysteries surrounding the seven elemental gods.

The stunning visuals in Genshin Impact are striking, and it’s one reason it attracted so many players. The world is colorful and vibrant. The developer uses cel-shaded art style, aka anime, bringing it to life, making the player feel like they are in a living anime world. The impressive details in the game’s environment and the characters’ designs make this game fun to watch. The game’s visual effects during combat scenes are entertaining to watch.

Genshin Impact is both engaging and challenging. Players must be skillful in using elemental attacks, dodges, and skill usage to defeat enemies and progress through the game’s story. Each character has unique abilities and elemental affinities that can be combined for catastrophic effects.

The game’s world with multiple regions to explore, and each comes with many challenges, puzzles, and enemies. The game’s quests and side missions are exquisite, with interesting flawless characters to interact with and uncover stories.

Every game has its downsides, and this game is no different. One of the game’s downsides is its gacha system, which randomly turn-off for some players. Players progress through Genshin by acquiring new characters and weapons, which can be obtained through the game’s gacha system and grinding for in-game currency. A player can still play the game without spending any money.

Genshin Impact is an impressive game with a lot of content for its free-to-play model. The stunning visuals, engaging gameplay, and the big world make it worth checking out for any RPG fan. Be forewarned, this game can be addicting, and you might want to set a limit when playing, so you don’t waste your whole day doing nothing but gaming.

Happy Gaming!

Bella H

Emails I Can’t Send Fwd: Sabrina Carpenter (Album Review)

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Sabrina Carpenter is mostly known as an actress starring in the Disney show, Girl Meets World, and other movies such as Adventures in Babysitting, Work It, Clouds, and Tall Girl. Yet, most aren’t aware she is a musician at heart. She has released 5 albums and her newest one, in my opinion, is her best one yet.

The original album that was released in 2022, Emails I Can’t Send, consisted of 13 tracks in the pop genre. Leading up after the album, she went on tour and I was lucky enough to go to one of her concerts and sing along to all of her songs. But a couple months after she released the album, she came out with 4 more songs and added them to the album and included the word fwd: to the end of the album title. Emails I Can’t Send Fwd: consists of mellow yet upbeat songs with relatable lyrics. Her most popular song on the album is called, Nonsense, grew in potential and aspired to others through social media. It is now frequently played on the radio and has become well known by most. Sabrina talks about her love interest and how she tried to change for them, or lost herself in the process, along with other emotions. Some of the tracks and the meaning behind them are listed below:

Read Your Mind (track 3): This upbeat song compliments the idea of not being able to express one’s emotions or making up their mind. The frustration of giving mixed signals in a relationship and contradicting between their words and actions and their overall stance between their significant other.

How Many Things (track 7): This song recalls good memories in a relationship or friendship and putting the effort in. Giving more attention towards the person, compared to the other. One of her lyrics states, “I feel myself falling further down your priorities” expressing the loss of interest.

Feather (track 15): This newer song includes the sense of letting something go. Feeling the weight lifted off your shoulders and not having that person or thing on your mind anymore creating the idea of “feeling light as a feather”.

I would definitely recommend this album as each song is unique and different and dives deeper into Sabrina’s life.

Spoiler Free Review of Lockwood and Company Book 1: The Screaming Staircase

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I read the first book of Lockwood and Company after watching and liking the Netflix adaptation. The first book, written by Jonathan Stroud, is titled The Screaming Staircase. It is an urban fantasy novel with some horror elements.

The world is one where 50 years prior to the events of the novel (which takes place in an unclear time but may take place in a technologically-stagnant early 2010’s) a catastrophe referred to as the Problem caused ghosts to start appearing and killing many people, only requiring a touch to cause a kind of quickly-fatal spreading necrotic toxin. However, the only people that can catch more than a glimpse of a ghost are children, who lose their psychic powers by their 20’s. This, of course, means children have to work.

One such child is Lucy Carlyle, the narrator, who is an expert in hearing ghosts and telepathically communicating with them. She is the newest member of the group and is generally competent, but messes up due to a lack of knowledge on occasion.

The titular company is owned by Anthony Lockwood, who is arrogant but also the only person on the team who can talk to people. He is best at seeing ghosts and places where people died.

The last protagonist is George Cubbins, who is not particularly good at any paranormal power and gets in to fights with the other members over nothing, but he’s also the only one who bothers preparing for anything and do any research.

While Lockwood and Company may seem incompetent, the ghost hunting groups run by adults are even more incompetent, with added bureaucracy and a lack of care for human life. The children end up having to deal with adults who are incompetent but also extremely overconfident and condescending, which drives the half of the conflict in the story that is not caused by Lockwood and Co. themselves. The story is full of mystery and twists which is why I will not spoil it here. Lockwood and Co. is a great read for anyone who likes urban fantasy and can handle injury, death, peril, and horror.

– Alexander U.

Lockwood and Co: The Screaming Staircase by Jonathan Stroud is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.

Album Review: Your City Gave Me Asthma by Wilbur Soot

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You may know Wilbur from his presence on various social media platforms, such as Twitch and YouTube. But did you know that besides gaming, he also makes music?

I found this album when it was released back in 2020. From the first listen, I was hooked. The opening track, Jubilee Line, is such a creative song. I think it is such a great opening track to this amazing album.

The second track, Saline Solution, is so catchy in my opinion. I feel like the vocals are very raw and intimate. I love the guitar solo in the beginning, I feel as though it really grasped my interest.

My favorite song on the album, Your Sister Was Right, is so emotional; not only to me, but to the artist as well. The lyrics are so truthful and I really like that in a song. I definitely listen to the song at least twice a day because I love it so much.

As someone who constantly has their AirPods in, this album is always in my daily rotation of music. No matter the day, the mood, or the weather, I will always enjoy this album. I would rate it a 10/10. If you are into the indie or shoegaze genres, I would definitely recommend!

Animal Farm by George Orwell

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In recent times, people have often underestimated the value in reading classic novels and the lessons that can be learned from them. Animal Farm, by prolific writer George Orwell, is an essential classic that everyone must consider reading in their lifetime. 

Published in 1945, Animal farm tells the story of the farm animals who live on Manor Farm under the brutal restraint of their owner: Mr. Jones. In an attempt to seek asylum from Mr. Jones’ cruel ways, the animals congregate under the influence of an old pig on the farm, staging what’s reminiscent of a coup d’etat against Mr. Jones.

The simplistic diction displayed by Orwell throughout Animal Farm reveals the underlying complexity within his story. Animal Farm is an easy read, yet truly gets one thinking about how they perceive the world around them. 

While reading Animal Farm, I couldn’t ignore the similarity in the interactions of a few of the characters to the relationship between historical figures Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Orwell’s representation of these figures in Animal Farm is symbolic of his efforts to encourage the general public to educate themselves and to be cautious about believing everything told by those around them.

While being an older novel, Animal Farm is relevant in its content through an enticing story that has lessons applicable to the world today. I firmly believe that anyone, no matter their age, would appreciate the plot of this story and enjoy the book. Next time you find yourself looking for an interesting and easily digestible book to read, consider Animal Farm. You won’t be disappointed.

– Taylor O.

Animal Farm by George Orwell is available to check out from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available to download for free from Libby.