The Last Star by Rick Yancey

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Evan G.

Image result for the last star

The Last Star is the third installment of The 5^th Wave, the #1 New York Times bestselling series by Rick Yancey. It takes main characters Cassie Sullivan: a girl who has only survived this long by shelving her own emotions for the greater good, Ben “Zombie” Parish: a high school quarterback turned strike team commander with nothing left to lose, Marika “Ringer”: a former human transformed into a super powered alien weapon who is nearly unkillable, and Evan Walker: an Other who has developed a conscience, through war upon death upon betrayal upon apocalypse as they desperately try to fight back against the god-like “Others” who have all but destroyed the human race. Together, the survivors must face impossible odds, risking the lives of not only themselves, but those whom they love to defeat, an unseen enemy they aren’t even sure exists. And, if that wasn’t bad enough, certain Others may have taken human form, and what remains of the human race can’t even trust themselves. To survive, each person must endure challenges and do deeds they would have never thought possible, including murdering an old lady in cold blood and going into mechanical warfare against a genetically altered priest. And the one question they must ask themselves remains the same: what is humanity if you take away that which makes us human?

I loved this book and the entire trilogy. It’s just such a uniquely written masterpiece that truly tampers with human emotion like no other piece of literature I’ve read before. It brilliantly examines each piece of the story from different points of view with its four unique narrators, and twists the story upon itself so many times that it’s impossible to predict the ending, which was not at all disappointing by the way. My favorite part of this series is the way that it describes an alien takeover. In real life, if aliens ever decided to come take over Earth, they wouldn’t land in dinky little ships and come out with little laser guns. In real life, the aliens would do exactly what they do in this series, which you’ll have to read to find out. I wouldn’t change anything about this book, even if I could, it was just that well written.

I would and have recommended this book though I felt the first movie was a weak showing of the book. People who are fans of Sci-Fi, apocalyptic stuff, survival shows, or anything made by Michael Bay would enjoy this series.

-Evan G.

The Last Star is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It is also available for download from Overdrive.

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

Posted on June 22, 2016 by rosenthalmatthew

The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey was a great book. It incorporated suspense, entertainment and was overall very compelling for young teen readers.

The book begins with sixteen year old Cassie, one of the few surviving humans of the four other waves that aliens, known as the Others, have created in order to kill all humans on Earth. The first wave is darkness, all electronics go out and as a result, darkness takes over the world. The second wave is a major tsunami which wipes out all coastal nations. The forth wave is disease, which is airborne, extremely contagious, and results in death. The forth wave are Others, taking the place of humans and are known as Silencers because their job is to kill humans left on Earth. Together, the four waves have killed around seven billion people. Cassie is currently living alone on the run and has a feeling that she is the last human on Earth.

The book then flashes back to a couple months prior to when Cassie was traveling with her dad and her five year old brother, Sammy, after her mom was killed by the third wave. They make it to a camp with the last of the humans, which is run by military officers. One day, a bus comes and is collecting only the kids in order to take them to Camp Heaven to save them. Cassie does not want their family to be separated, but Cassie’s dad insists that Sammy has to go to Camp Heaven to remain safe. Cassie argues, but eventually loses and Sammy is taken to Camp Heaven. Cassie then leaves the camp to collect Crisco, a boy at the camp who is also young enough to qualify for Camp Heaven with a military guard accompanying her to make sure she remains safe. She finds Crisco and is about to take him back to camp when the military guard accompanying her and who is also one of the heads of the camp shoots him. Cassie then realizes that they have been tricked and the military guards running the camp are in fact Others. She runs back to camp and sees her dad crawling out, but it is too late and another Other comes out and shoots her dad. She runs away and barley escapes them which brings the book back to the present.

What Cassie does not know is that a Silencer, whose job is to kill her is and has been watching her every move and is ready to finally kill her. He shoots her in the leg and she hides under a car. The Silencer decides to wait her out. He knows that if she tries to stay, she will bleed to death and if she tries to escape, he can just shoot her.

The book then travels over to Sammy’s perspective where he is being taken to Camp Heaven. He is scared to go but guards comfort him and tell him that he will be safe. He arrives to camp and is checked by various doctors to make sure that he is healthy and not an Other.

The book then takes place in a sixteen year old boy’s (Ben Parish’s) point of view. Ben was Cassie’s crush in high school before the Others arrived on Earth but he didn’t even know that Cassie existed in school. Currently, Ben is at camp Heaven, the same place that Sammy was sent to. It turns out that Camp Heaven is a camp where they train kids to go out and fight the Others when they are ready. Ben and his group have been training hard to become one of the four groups who are able to fight the Others. At Camp Heaven, the kids are vigorously worked in order to be able to have success on the battlefield. Sammy winds up in Ben’s group and Ben takes Sammy under his wing because of Sammy’s age.

The book the goes back to Cassie’s perspective. She was saved from under the car and wakes up newly dressed in a house. She meets the person who saved her, a boy in college named Evan Walker. With the help of Evan, Cassie becomes strong enough to walk again and she learns how to use her gun a lot better. She finds Evan to be likable and kind, the only thing that is off about him is that he always goes hunting at night but never returns with anything. Now, her priority is to save Sammy from Camp Heaven and evan insists on coming with her, but Evan is not who he seems to be.

Meanwhile, in Camp Heaven, Ben’s group has graduated and are ready to take on the Others, but Sammy cannot come with them because he is too young. They are given all the tools they need and are sent out to battle. However, during battle, they realize something startling that reveals the truth about Camp Heaven, the 5th Wave and the Others.

-Matthew R.

The 5th Wave is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library. It can also be downloaded from Overdrive.

Comic Review: Orphan Black: Helsinki

Posted on May 31, 2016 by Angela J.

I’ve got to say, I really liked this. I read the first round of the Orphan Black comics, and while I enjoyed them, I wasn’t all that impressed as they were basically just retelling of the show. Not so here. Helsinki introduces new plot material and serves as a prequel both for the comics and the show.

There are several new clones introduced in this, it has a similar vibe to the show where they are all meeting for the first time in that regard. There are also some familiar characters that make appearances here. The story-line is great at make the reader feel connected to the new characters, and also adds to the existing characters. Being that this is basically a prequel it takes place back in 2001, when the clones are 17. Seeing this past perceptive is really great with the know characters, as it reveals more about how they got to be who they are and elaborates more on what was shown of their past in the show and original comics.

I really liked the pacing of the story, it keep things moving with lot of action, but still made sure to keep an emotional tie to the characters. Not really any bomb dropping new information was revealed in this, but rather it gave more context to the already existing plot line. My one minor grip is that is jumps around a little showing the range of characters, and while it works, it took a little getting used to (but not too much).

Finally given that this is a comic, this review wouldn’t be complete without mentioning the art. I really enjoyed looking at it, it wasn’t the most breathtaking I have ever seen, but this wasn’t due to lack of skill, just personal preference. The art is closer to traditional comic book graphics than some of the modern day computer generated 3Dish stuff that appears in some comics. The artist did a good job of visually distinguishing the clones while still making them look the same. My only real complaint with the art was that in this bound edition each issue runs into the next one with a cover breaking them up, and I always love looking at the covers.

Overall a very fun read that should be appealing to fans of both the show and the other comics. I would recommend these for older teens as their are a view brief scenes involving partial nudity, including some sex scenes (though nothing graphic, more implied than shown), as well as some violence.

*This bound edition will be out in July 2016, but the single issues are already available for purchase.

*The review is based on a free ARC copy of this book from NetGalley, given in exchange for an honest review

Solstice by P. J. Hoover

Posted on May 11, 2016 by Anmol K.

Solstice by P.J. Hoover tells of 17-going-on-18 year old Piper living in Austin, Texas. Austin is known for its heat, but what is going on in Piper’s world is unimaginable. The whole world is in the middle of the Global Heating Crisis. Temperatures have skyrocketed to over a hundred degrees and every day brings new threats like heating bubbles. Piper has a very overprotective mother, making her life restrictive. On her 18^th birthday, her mother leaves the town on an errand, and Piper seizes the opportunity for exploring. This leads her to learn about a universe that she did not exist: A universe of Greek gods and goddesses. When a bombshell changes Piper life forever, she must be able to face the new reality head on.

I loved the premise of the book and the idea of global heating going so far. Also, I admired Piper and she seemed like a nice person. I was disappointed with the bombshell reveal of the Greek gods. It did not make sense and felt out of place. Also, the direction the story takes after the first 50 pages or so was not the best. On the other hand, I liked the building of Piper’s world and how it seemed very real.

-Anmol K.

Solstice is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

2001: A Space Odyssey Essay

Posted on April 19, 2016 by teenservices

Throughout the movie, many parts led me to believe that David Bowman, in 2001: A Space Odyssey, is most relatable to Odysseus, in The Odyssey. David Bowman and Odysseus relate in many ways. First, David Bowman is emotionless and “cold-blooded,” just as Odysseus is throughout The Odyssey. Second, David Bowman could be described as intelligent and witty, as could Odysseus could be described as well throughout the story. Lastly, David Bowman is strong-willed and strong-minded, which Odysseus is in many sections of The Odyssey.

David Bowman could be characterized as emotionless because in order for him to open the emergency latch door to get himself to safety, he lets go of the body of his fellow scientist, Frank Poole, who he recently just picked up. He does this to ensure that he could live because Hal, the “sixth member” and computer on board, malfunctions and doesn’t let David Bowman in with the body of Frank Poole. The body of Frank Poole was held onto by the claws of the pod that David Bowman was in. Since Hal didn’t let David to enter, he had to enter through the emergency landing pod, which had to be opened by the claws of the pod he was in, so without thinking twice, David Bowman let goes of Frank Poole’s body, into space. This shows how David Bowman is completely emotionless and that relates him to Odysseus because when Odysseus returns to find that his maids have betrayed him, he makes them clean up the blood, and then he decides to kill all of them, which I think is completely unfair because he never took a second thought to consider the circumstances that the maids were in. The maids didn’t really have any choice but to betray him. So, this is a reason why David Bowman and Odysseus relate.

Another reason why David Bowman is like Odysseus is because David is intelligent. Throughout the movie, David Bowman shows his smartness in many ways. First, when Hal restricts David from entering, he thinks of another way, and succeeds. David entered through the emergency landing pod. Since he didn’t have a helmet, he had to improvise. He brilliantly lined the door to the opening of the emergency pod landing, then he jumped out grabbing the latch handle to close it. That plan that he made, in a matter of barely any time, saved his life. This is why I would describe David Bowman as intelligent and smart, which would relate to Odysseus too because in order for Odysseus to defeat the cyclops, he used his skilled mind to blind the cyclops and save his crew, quite simply from dying. Another time in The Odyssey when Odysseus shows how he is smart is when he heeds to Circe’s advice to not eat the cattle on the island of Helios.

Lastly, I would relate David Bowman and Odysseus with the trait of strong-willed. David Bowman, shows how he is strong-minded when he continues to Jupiter even though he lost all of his fellow scientists and cutting out Hal.This, to me, shows that he is persistent and will do anything to succeed in the mission. Whether that’s always good, or not, that’s arguable on the situation at hand, and in the circumstances, I would say that it is a good thing that David Bowman in strong-minded and strong-willed to continue to Jupiter. This attribute relates to Odysseus in many ways. Throughout, The Odyssey there were many times where Odysseus showed his courage and his strong mind. For example, when they passed by the Sirens, he sacrificed himself for the crew, he stayed tied to the mast ended up being the first man to survive the Sirens’ song. Also, he shows he is strong-minded when he is forced to stay for seven years at Kalypso’s island. He does end up staying all seven years and then is set free, so his time in the island, shows the readers how strong-willed and strong-minded he can be.

Throughout 2001: A Space Odyssey, David Bowman shows how he relates to his Greek equivalent, Odysseus. First, how emotionless he is when he lets go of Frank Poole’s body into space and how Odysseus slaughters all of his maids. Second, when David Bowman shows his intelligence, quite like Odysseus blinding the cyclops, when he finds another way to enter through the emergency landing hatch. Lastly, David Bowman’s strong mind related to Odysseus when he continues to go to Jupiter, and when Odysseus stays captive for seven years, but “toughs it out.” Overall, out of all the characters in 2001: A Space Odyssey, I would say David Bowman relates to Odysseus the most.

-Satej B.

2001: A Space Odyssey is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Library.

Book Versus Movie: Starters/Selfless

Posted on March 4, 2016 by teenservices

The book Starters by Lissa Price, and the movie Selfless don’t seem to resemble each other at first. However, after looking deeply at both I started to see some similarities. The idea of putting the mind of an older mind into a young person’s body is interesting, but the way the characters use that ability is so different.

In Starters, Enders (older people) rent the bodies of Starters (younger people) who give their bodies to the organization. Enders get to live in a younger body for a limited time and can do things like skydiving or horseback riding. Starters get paid a lot of money after they are made over and rented. This business is very common, because in this world, Enders are very rich and Starters live as homeless people. During the rented time, an Ender’s body is safely asleep, awaiting its mind’s return. This routine seems very normal and harmless, but in Selfless it’s almost the opposite.

In Selfless, the purpose of the experiment is to enable old but intelligent minds to continue living in order to develop and fulfill new ideas. However, they don’t rent bodies; they steal them. Before an elder’s mind can be transferred into a younger body, they must disappear or fake their death so no one notices they are missing. The younger person’s family gets paid a lot of money once their body is sold, so they no longer have a life of their own. Also, the young person’s personality is lost in the process. This process, known as shedding, is kept secret so as not to be shut down. Shedding is tailor made for the rich, as only they can afford the luxury to live forever in a younger body.

Both the book and the movie have similar storylines but the direction each take are different, with one using it to help both parties and the other ultimately killing someone. I loved the reading the dystopian book and couldn’t wait to check out the sequel, Enders. The movie was also very intriguing, making it nearly impossible to take my eyes off the screen.

-Sabrina C., 10th Grade

Starters and Selfless are available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Library.

Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card

Posted on February 16, 2016 by Phillip Xiang

Pathfinder is a fictional novel by Orson Scott Card. Twenty years after writing his most famous book, Ender’s Game, Card proves that he writes with passion and imagination. Pathfinder has a very original plot, and meshes both the fantasy and sci-fi genres.

This book tells the story of Rigg, the son of a trapper who has the unusual ability to see the paths of living beings— not your average superpower. Rigg is educated and clever, often using reason and tact to solve problems. When his father dies, Rigg receives parting instructions to travel to a faraway city to meet his long-lost family. And with that, his life changes from average to exciting as he makes his journey to uncover his real identity.
Scattered throughout the story are short passages following a completely different character, Ram Odin, who pilots a fleet of starships to colonize a planet. Though the side story is interesting enough, it is rather confusing to keep track of two storylines at once. Of course, the two stories are tied together quite nicely later in the novel.

The most important feature of Pathfinder is the creativity of its author. The plot definitely takes several twists and turns, ensuring that the ending of the story is wildly different than the opening setting. All of the characters are vivid and have distinct personalities, even the robots on Ram’s ship. Another difference separating Pathfinder from other sci-fi novels is the presence of politics. Political maneuvering and mind games take up almost as many pages as the action, and there is surprisingly little romance. Of course this can be seen as a positive or negative thing depending on what the reader enjoys, but it’s definitely worth noting.

Unfortunately, one aspect of the book keeps it from perfection. While the storyline is very original and creative, this comes at the cost of losing reader comprehension. Between multiple storylines and the poor explanation of events and people, I often had to reread sections to make sense of what was happening. Perhaps if Card had slowed down the pace to give more time to setting the scene, the book would be improved.

Overall, Pathfinder is a fun read that will give you many new ideas to think about. It’s already been out for a few years, so the entire series is completed. Perfect for a reading marathon!

-Phillip X.

Pathfinder is available for check out at the Mission Viejo Public Library.

Avalon by Mindee Arnett

Posted on January 27, 2016 by Anmol K.

Avalon by Mindee Arnett is a science fiction novel telling the tale of Jeth Seagrave and his group of teenage mercenaries. Set in the future where space travel is possible, the Interstellar Transportation Authority (ITA) is responsible for this technology called metatech. With metatech, one is able to travel to other places in the universe faster than the speed of light.

Unfortunately, Jeth’s parents are dead and he and his sister Lizzie are stuck working for the crime lord, Hammer. Hammer gives Jeth and his crew different types of jobs that they complete to earn money. Jeth wants to save up enough money to buy his ship, Avalon, back from Hammer. This ship is very close to Jeth’s heart because it used to belong to his parents, but his uncle lost it while gambling.

Receiving a new job from Hammer, Jeth realizes that they pay-off would be enough to get Avalon back. With more enthusiasm than usual, Jeth commits to the job: go to the Belgrave quadrant, an area known to be haunted and those who go there rarely come back. Despite the danger, Jeth continues with the mission of getting an abandoned ship for Hammer. Jeth was ordered to stay off the ship Hammer wants, but he disobeys those orders and finds a group of humans. As he learns more about the stories of the survivors, Jeth realizes there is something very important on the ship. Acquiring very important information on the ship, Jeth realizes that the government and crime lords would be willing to kill to acquire this pivotal information.

I have been waiting for some time to read this book, and the wait was worth it. I enjoy the genre of sci-fi, and unfortunately there aren’t many good books in that genre. This book was great with its non-stop actions and the twists and turns. Headstrong and brave, Jeth was a great main character, but he fell flat in a couple of places. I also enjoyed how the story had many plot-twists. Some of them were predictable, but the rest were surprises. If you like Avalon, then make sure to check out the sequel, Polaris.

-Anmol K.

Avalon is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library.

The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

Posted on January 19, 2016 by Leila S.

Have you ever read a book that you had never seen before but upon finishing it, you wondered how it stayed out of your life? If not, you haven’t read The Darkest Minds.

In an imaginary, futuristic world, the adolescents of America and many other countries have been afflicted with IAAN, Idiopathic Adolescent Acute Neurodegeneration. Sounds scary, right? To many, yes. This disease gives the kids of the Psi generation “abilities” to see in another’s mind, to move things with a flick of their hands, to short circuit a car, the list goes on and on. The government issued a list of warning signs for parents to look for to “protect” their children, so that they can be “reformed.” So when Ruby was sent away to Thurmond, one of the government’s “rehabilitation camps” to be sorted, she was scared like any 10-year-old would be. But she had a secret to keep. One that made her more dangerous than she could imagine.

Truthfully, I was rather confused at the beginning of the novel, as I wasn’t sure where the story was going. But the mismatched events worked themselves out quickly, and now this book has made it near the top of my list of favorite books.

My favorite part was that I couldn’t put the book down. Though I had other things to be doing with my time, the book demanded my attention. I love when a book is able to make me laugh out loud one moment and make me cry the next, and this novel definitely fulfilled that requirement. I also loved that in the book, one of the characters, for more complex reasons, wrote a mini blog post, as a means of communicating with his mom. It contained a secret message only his mom could find.

But with any book, I do have a least favorite part. Little did I know, The Darkest Minds has a major spoiler for William Golding’s Lord of the Flies, which I have not finished reading for my English class! But oh well… If that’s the only complaint I have about the book, then it must be a great read! I highly recommend checking it out!

– Leila S., 10th grade

The Darkest Minds is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library.

The Martian Movie Review

Posted on November 28, 2015 by Ahmed H.

martian_film The Martian is a sci-fi drama film directed and produced by Ridley Scott. It stars Matt Damon as Mark Watney and features other familiar faces like Jeff Daniels and Sean Bean. The movie takes place some time in the near future, when human technology has improved so that outer space travel to Mars has been achieved. Mark Watney and the other members of his crew are on an expedition on Mars when a storm hits and the team is forced to evacuate, accidentally leaving Watney behind.

What transpires for the whole movie is Watney trying to survive and NASA trying to contact him. The movie jumps back and forth between the two settings at various times. Obviously with a situation like this, tension runs high throughout the film, and indeed there are several thrilling moments. However, the high points of the film for me are the intimate, thoughtful moments that show the psychological and emotional stress Watney and NASA go through during this crisis.

It’s these quiet and well presented moments that make this movie so memorable and special. You truly grow to care about Watney and feel invested in his struggle. Matt Damon does a phenomenal job at bringing Mark Watney to life from the novel, with some of the best acting of his career. The Martian also has a very unexpected aspect: comedy. Mark Watney himself has a very good sense of humor, further increasing his likability. He is very optimistic and upbeat about each situation. It also helps that there are other great comedy actors such as Michael Peña and Donald Glover.

Overall, I found The Martian to be a really great movie. It wasn’t a huge spectacle or had the action of Interstellar or Gravity, but rather focuses on smaller moments, whether emotional or comedic, to drive its appeal. It does these very well, and I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys drama/thrillers, or science fiction films.

-Ahmed H.

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