Twisted

 Angeles Martinez 

804

Contains some spoilers.

I have currently finished reading a book called Twisted by Francine Pascal. It’s basically about a girl who…doesn’t fear anything. Not the people trying to kill her like every week, not the people who judge her, and certainly not the girl who will do anything to bring her down, Heather. 

Gaia [the girl who’s Fearless] has most things girls [and probably some boys] want-a killer body, she’s smart as hell, and she can break codes, and fight amazingly-she basically can bring anyone down. But everyone else has what Gaia wants to be the most-to be “normal.” Gaia is known to be a freak, and she doesn’t want to be a freak, she wants to be able to walk down the hallways of her own school and not have people ignore her.   

Personally, I think Gaia can’t really see what she has-like most people on Earth. Okay. before I go into Gaia, I feel like I have to go in deeper to what I mean. So. Let’s take a person for example. Heather. [I just took her name] Heather has everything, a loving boyfriend, awesome grades, “good looks,” amazing and  a lot of friends, her family usually gives her everything she wants. But Heather thinks she doesn’t have anything. It’s not that she’s spoiled [Okay, she might be just a bit, but just like, go with the flow]. See, humans tend to overlook everything they have. They want everything they don’t have. It’s human nature. [Yes, there may be some scientific way for this, but…meh?] everyone wants what they can’t have. It’s like with money, when you have a lot of money you don’t know what you want. but when you don’t have money, you want everything, the coffee that you usually have, the bagel or muffin that you have for breakfast. It really doesn’t make you spoiled though. what I think is that for humans, the reason we don’t appreciate or overlook what we have is well because we think that thing will always be in our lives. I don’t want to sound insensitive but it’s just how it is. Human nature sometimes makes us think that whatever we have will always be in our lives. Like Heather, she always thought her good friends, amazing family, and all those other people who love her, she thought they would always be in her life, so she overlooks them. Everything she doesn’t have, she wants, since it’s something she probably thinks wouldn’t be in her life a long time until she gets it. even if it’s just something as simple as an iPhone. Heather thinks that the iPhone should be in her life to give her happiness, internet, faster-stuff, things like that.

I think Gaia is sort of doing the same. Yes, she’s a “freak” that no one knows how to be friends with-except Ed and Sam [Sam’s complicated but STILL]. Ed Fargo has been Gaia’s friend-best friend really-for a long time. [Um. Like. 4 books is a long time, don’t ya think? :3] He’s been there Gaia for a long time, helping her with things like when people try to murder her like every week or so [People these days…]. And in this book, he helped Gaia when she found out things like oh, um, her date is a serial killer trying to kill a bunch of blondes that look a LOT like Gaia, and when Sam is like, making shit real complicated. Though, Gaia doesn’t seem to making it seem like  a lot. I can’t really blame her. Ed isn’t the type of guy who wants to leave Gaia, and he seems to think she treats him fairly. [Apparently, being noticed by Gaia for him is amazing and heavenly ._.] But it’s Ed…he had another girl of his dreams break his heart and he’s a bit…lonely, so, er, yeah. BUT either way, I feel Gaia is overlooking people like Ed. She doesn’t seem to think he will leave her, she overlooks him. So Gaia, you tough little girl with amazing powers, ya need to be more grateful on who is in your life as your friend, everyone seems to wanna kill ya so…yeah. You can’t overlook people who are actually nice when you’re in a situation like you are in right now. 

Lily of the Nile

Lily of the Nile

Contains some spoilers. 

Has another book mention, also spoilers to that. 

I have currently finished reading a book called Lily of the Nile by Stephanie Dray. It’s actually a really interesting book-and no it’s not about a girl named Lily living near the Nile River. Its close, sorta, it’s about a girl in Egypt (Where the Nile River is.) her name is Cleopatra Selene.  Cleopatra Selene is the daughter of Cleopatra the 7^th. She has a twin [Alexander Helios] and a little brother [Philadelphus]. All of them are children of the great Mark Antony.  

Everyone probably expects Selene’s life to be all amazing, since she’s the daughter of the great Cleopatra. She’s beautiful, well respected, and she’s part of a great family whose motto is “Win or Die.” But sadly, it’s not so great anymore. It was, for the 1^st 10 years of Selene’s life. But then it turned around. Octavian (Or Augustus, as he’s known later) has finally been able to take over Egypt, as he wanted; he finally brought down the Great Family. But, Cleopatra won’t go down, so in this book she has Selene bring her a snake, to kill her and her two closet servants. She had 2 options though, live and be tortured by Octavian or die peacefully to join her already dead husband. She clearly chose death, though she was sorry for her children for they had already lost her father, lost their kingdom, and now were going to lose her... so, before her mother sent the children away she gave each child a gift; the gift of her “magic” which had helped her rule and a necklace for each child that contained their own proclamation-a saying- inscribed in it. Selene’s necklace and gift changed her instantly and forever for her mother stated she was “The Resurrection.” When Selene left her mother’s presence with her twin brother Helios and younger brother Philadelphus they all knew it would be the last time they ever saw her again. And with that, that was the end of Cleopatra the 7^th.

Of course, I’m not going to just leave it like that. I’m not going to leave it a summary. What I want to bring to the topic is something that keeps bugging in my mind. See, before I read this book, I read “Cleopatra’s Daughter” by another author (this was an awesome book, you guys should read it. c:). Both books basically had the same plot, Cleopatra’s Daughter Selene watching her kingdom get turn all Roman-like, and how she grows up and makes a few changes later.

But there’s something different. In the 1^st book (Cleopatra’s Daughter) Selene was feisty.  She put up a fight in not wanting Egypt turning Roman. She wasn’t going to give in easily to also changing Roman, like the Romans who took her and her brother away-happened in both books. You could see the way she fought every step of the way.

While in “Lily of the Nile” Selene seems to just give in, her brother Alexander is what Selene is in Cleopatra’s daughter, but Selene in this book, she rather live more than the other Selene (Wow, this feels weird and confusing.) Selene in CD (Cleopatra’s Daughter) wanted to live yes, but she didn’t bow down to obey Octavian so she could live. No! She showed him that she could be loyal and wasn’t a threat, but she didn’t give in so easily; the Alexander in LOTN (Lily of the Nile) had been pissed off at her. He wasn’t in CD, he just wanted her to calm down more, but the one in LOTN, his personality is completely different.  It’s as if both twins changed personality. And many little things have also changed; I couldn’t help but point them out in the LOTN while I was reading. For one, Selene was the artistic one! Not Octavian! And Julia-she didn’t like Selene that much and was in love with someone else not one of Selene’s half-brothers. Those were little things, yes, but they bugged me a bit since one story told this and then the other story told that! Ugh! Books why don’t you have the same facts? You confuse me so!

If I had to choose which book would be better though, I would choose the 1^st one. I liked it better when she fought for her roots. I liked it better because it was more…I don’t know how to put it. Of course I love Lily of the Nile, it’s really good but Dray just confused me so much. Maybe if I had read this book before Cleopatra’s Daughter it might be that I liked this book more, I don’t know. I’m also not trying to convince you what book you should like. This is just my opinion. All I’m saying is you should read both books, I would be rather interested in what you think, especially if you thought that Lily of the Nile was better. I guess I like characters who put up more of a fight…another thing I find weird too…I’m not usually a fan of historical-fiction book, but this one, I really like, well both books I really like. Meh. Maybe it’s just me. Just read both books! Tell me what you think!

My Sister's keeper

My Sister's Keeper

[Contains some spoilers!!!]

I am currently reading-I’ve read this book before, I’m rereading- a book called My Sister's Keeper, which probably most of you have already heard about-ya know, the sad movie with the sister being sick, the sister sticking up for herself, remember that? No? Well, I'll see if I can make you remember. 

So, the main characters-well, the one who's point of views are being shared-are Anna (the sister who’s sticking up for herself) Campbell (The Lawyer) Sara and Brian (The parents of Anna and Kate-Anna’s older sister) Julia (Guardian of Anna when she must go to court, Campbell’s…ex friend? I don’t know how to describe it, cuz like, I don’t really know if they’re friends…).

So, what has happened? Well, since I just started this [I’m like on page 9, LOL] but you can already tell Anna is planning something big. She had already sold her locket-one of her most prized possessions-to get some money, you know by that, that Anna plans to do something. Why would you sell something you love dearly unless you get something bigger in return? 

Since I just started this, I can't really say what, but I think it has something to do with her family, because in the beginning of the story Anna was like: Unless there's a reason for you to live, your parents want you. And you better wish that reason is to stay a long time, cuz when that goes away, well, you go away as well. 

So. Yeah, I can't wait to be able to finish this reading. c:  

Eona~

Angeles Martinez :3
804 
Eona by Alison Goodman 

I am currently reading the book called Eona. (For all of you who saw me with another book-I'm reading that too, I'm reading two books at once, this is usual for me!) What so far is happening is that Lady Eona-the Mirror Dragon Eye-is running away from Lord Sethon, basically the dictator of the book. 
The reason I say dictator is because Lord Sethon-the brother of the original Emperor, his wife, and youngest son because he wanted the power and control of the whole place. He didn't manage to kill the Prince, Prince Kygo since Kygo ran away in time. But most people think he's dead because he hasn't shown up to claim the throne (not like you can blame him-a whole army and other people who support Sethon don't think he's alive, they all think he's dead). 
Before I can go on I have to explain the important stuff that's happened. Okay, so in the beginning there were 13 dragon eyes-including Eona. There was the Ox Dragon (the North Dragon) who's Dragon-eye was Lord Tyron, the Goat Dragon (Or the South dragon) who's Dragon-Eye was Load Tiro, then there was the Tiger Dragon (North-East Dragon) with Lord Elgo, The Monkey Dragon (South-west Dragon) and Lord Jessam, the Rabbit Dragon (East-Northeast [if that makes sense to you people, I'm just writing what they have in the book] Dragon) and Lord Silvo, the Rooster Dragon (West Southwest Dragon) and Lord Bano, the Dog Dragon (West Dragon) with Lord Garon, the Snake Dragon (East-South-East Dragon) With Lord Chion, the Pig Dragon (West-Northwest dragon) with Lord Meram, the Horse Dragon (South-Southeast Dragon) with Lord Dram, the Rat Dragon (North-Northwest dragon) with Lord Ido [Apprentice: Dillon, Eona's best friend], and last but not least, the "Queen" of all Dragons, the Dragon-Dragon (The East Dragon) with Eona. [Lots of Dragons, eh? o.o] 
In the world of dragons, there aren't really girls who have the power to see the Dragons-in order to be chosen you have to at least be able to see the Dragons, and then you have to train to impress them when it's their year and they choose new Dragon Eyes. The reason there aren't any girls allowed because people feel that "girls are too busy looking at themselves to notice the hua around them." Any girl, who is caught training for this, will be executed because it's forbidden for girls.
But there has been an acceptance. Eona has been able to see the Dragons, but cuz of the penalty; she had to go incognito and pretend to be a guy-Eon. When she didn't get chosen to be the Rat Dragon's Dragon eye [It's the Year of the Rat] the Mirror Dragon [who's been gone for like, forever] came and claimed Eona. [Probably cuz like, they're both females!!!! o.o] But, Eona couldn't still reveal her true identity, because she would still get in trouble, despite she was claimed by the most powerful dragon in the world.
So, Lord Ido who wants all the power to himself, plains something. In the end, he kills basically all dragon eyes and their apprentices [who most were not named] all except Eona and Dillon, who manage to escape. He also tries to double cross Sethon [who also wants power] but fails so ends up in the dungeon, so now, we're back into the story~! 
So, Eona, who's doing her best not to get caught by Sethon's men [he also wants her power!] is on the run. Something big has happened though. Because of Ido, Ryko, the guard of Eona and Dela [Woman in a man's body, friend/guard of Eona's, ya know], Ryko ends up getting hurt. 
Dela and Eona sorta blame Eona cuz; he was protecting Eona from Ido [who was so close to get her power!]. So, Dela demands Eona heals Ryko like she did with Ido when he was hurt [Long, complicated story o.o] so she does. 
But, there are more complications with this. When Eona tries and heals Ryko, she calls on to her Mirror Dragon; the other dragons come-from wherever they were grieving for the loss of their Dragon eyes-and basically, well attack Eona and her dragon. But if the song-the thing that is needed to heal people-is broken, well then Ryko will die. 
So Lord Ido-do not ask me how he managed to get into Eona's head when he's in a dungeon, miles away, cuz Eona doesn't even know, so you think I know?-, well, Lord Ido helps Eona fight off the Dragons with his own Rat Dragon. 
[The Following is a part of Chapter 1 in the book.] 
"We sang his healing, barley withstanding the savage energy that clawed at our connection. Around us, the ten bereft dragons shimmered into pale, howling outlines.
The Rat Dragon suddenly reared from his corner, his tense pain replaced by sinuous pain. He rammed the opaque Ox Dragon beside him, then launched above us, sweeping in a circle that drove back the other advancing dragons, deep inside we felt another voice, screaming with effort.
Lord Ido.
We recoiled from the acrid orange taste of his power, but this time we not seeking control. He was defending us.
The Rat Dragon reared again and met the wild energy of the ten bereft dragons. The roof of the fisher house exploded, raining to the floor, crushing the Beseecher. The silvery flow of his hua flicked and was gone.
“Get out,” Tozay bellowed, dragging Vida toward the door. The herbalist scrambled up from the dead holy man and ran after them.
Dela threw herself over Ryko, shielding him from the falling wreckage. Chucks of wood showered my earthly body but there was no pain. Tozay pushed Vida intro Solly’s arms.
“Get away from the buildings,” he yelled, then turned back to Dela.
With the rood gone, we were suddenly beyond the room in a dizzying embrace of dark sky. Through the dragons eyes we saw the bright figures of Vida, Solly, and the herbalist clear the house and run for the village road. We rolled through the black thundering clouds, feeling brutal power slamming into us. Our claws connected, ripping and throwing dragon bodies. Besides us, the Rat Dragon blocked the Snake Dragon, the clash of hua shearing off the edge of a cliff far below.
Focus. It was Lord Ido’s mind-voice, piercing the frenzy. Block!
How? I didn’t know how!
My mind-sight plunged into the earthbound room-Tozay hauling Ryko upright-then lurched back into dragon-sight and the rolling battle across the sky. Below us, the sea was a boiling mass of energy, ramming tiny boats against the rocks and sweeping away a line of waterfront cottages. A dozen or so bright dots of hua ran from the village buildings, the all of water crashing over them, extinguishing their light.
“Eona.” It was Dela, pulling at my earthly body.
For a moment, I came to myself and met her wild eyes. The walls were collapsing, creaking under the pounding power of a searing wind.
“Move,” She yelled, pulling me toward the doorway as Tozay carried Ryko out into the courtyard.
Eona! Ido’s mind-scream wrenched me back in the Mirror Dragon. We swirled, claws failing against the agile pink Rabbit Dragon. Above, the Rat Dragon collided with the Tiger Dragon, the impact resonating through Ido’s mind into our union.
For a bewildering second, we were in another room-a stone room-wrists and ankles shacked, pain pulsing through our flogged and broken body. another shock wave as Ido’s dragon slammed into the other beast against, and suddenly we were small, crouched under a bush, black book open, dark words burning onto out mind-Dillon, screaming, Find Eona, Find Eona, Find Eona. Then he was gone, and we were back in the sky above the crumbling fisher house, claws slashing, shrieking our defiance. Around us the ten bereft dragons were closing the circle
They must not close the circle, Ido’s mind-voice rasped with pain and alarm. Give me your power.
No!
Below, Dela staggered out into the courtyard, half carrying my earthly body.
They will tear you apart. You will die. Give me your power!
No!
The combined power of the ten dragons battered us. We could not hold out much longer, but we could not give our power to Ido. Not after his brutal grab for it at the palace.
Help me stop them! Fear sharpened Ido’s mind-voice.
Ten stark songs of mourning pounded against us, searching for the relief of union.
There was nowhere else to go. We did not have enough power, enough knowledge. With a howl of despair, we opened our pathways to Ido.
His desperate power burst through us, drawing up all our golden energy. We emptied, defenseless. As one, the ten bereft dragons rushed at us, their need circling us like a vise. With iron control, Ido and the Rat Dragon gathered our energies, binding them with the shrieking wind and crashing water.
Prepare! Ido’s mind voice yelled.
He threw the massive weight of power outward, the strain searing through his mind into us. The booming explosion ripped through the circle of dragons, knocking them backward. Below us, the remains of the fisher house spin into the dark sky, the rest of the cliff collapsing into the sea.
Block now! Ido roared.
But we did not know how. The shockwave of power hit us like a hammer, slamming me back into my own body. For a moment, I saw Dela’s face above mine, her strong arms cradling my head. I screamed, pain pulsing through every part of my being. But the agony was not all mine.
Help me, Ido’s mind gasped. I can’t-
Then swirling blackness dragged me away from his tortured scream.”
[Ugh, that was a lot to type!!! o.o]
So, what this scene says to me? Well, when I read this, I was trying to figure what Ido wanted. He couldn’t have changed to want to save the world, he wanted to control it, and he wanted Eona’s power to control the world. But then again, he could always be like: Okay, I have to save the world in order to control it.
But, it’s Ido. His character is not like that. He may think that, but I don’t think he would think it. He’s too power-hungry, too dark for that.
As I read this over and over again, I begin to wonder-has Ido really changed? Has he switched to the good side because when he wanted to double cross Sethon and he failed, did he realize, that Sethon was the true bad guy and he was just a pawn, thinking he was King?-did he realize that in order to become the king again, or in order to live he would need to switch sides?
I honestly, don’t know what to think. Alison Goodman has left me wondering, why is Ido doing this? Is it because he has evil darker plans, or is it because he truly wants to help Eona for…well, goodness?
 

Nineteen Minutes

Angeles Martinez 
804
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult 
Contains some spoilers. :3 

I am currently reading the book Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult. (Okay, I'll admit now, I read this before, but I'm rereading it.) The book...I must say is a very interesting one. It's told from many perspectives-from Alex and Josie Cormier, Peter, Lacy, and Lewis Houghton, Jordan McAfee, and Patrick Ducharme. The whole story wraps around a shooting that happened at Sterling High. A shooting which had been done by Peter Houghton. [*LE GASP*]
No one really has expected Peter of all people to be able to pull this off. Why? Because Peter was that loser kid that everyone picked up. He once had a friend-Josie-but, they even took her away from him. Peter has always been that kinda kid who could never stand up for himself-which made it more fun to pick on him. Peter may have had problems, anti-social like really anti-social since not even the other losers wanted to hang out with him. He's not welcomed. Never will be. 
But, that would give him more reason to start the shooting huh? In the book, Peter's lawyer-Jordan-and his wife, Selena, were like: 
Jordan: Battered women syndrome. It's a valid legal defense. Battered women get stuck   in a world that slams them down; eventually the feel so constantly threatened that they take action and truly believe they're protecting themselves-even if their husbands are fast asleep. That fits Peter Houghton, to a T." 
Selena: "Far be it from me to point out this to you, Jordan. But Peter's not female, and he's not married."
Jordan: "That's not the point. It's Post-Traumatic stress disorder.  When these women go ballistic and shoot their husbands or slice of their [not-gonna-say-this] they aren't thinking about the consequences...just about stopping aggression. That's what Peter's been saying all along-he wanted it to stop. And this is even better because I don't have to fight the Prosecutor's usual rebuttal about a grown woman being old enough to know what she's doing when she picks up the knife or gun. Peter's a kid. By definition, he doesn't know what he's doing." 
It also says: "Monsters don't grow out of nowhere; a housewife didn't turn into a murder unless someone turned her into one. The Dr. Frankenstein, in her case, was a controlling husband. And in Peter's case, it was the whole of Sterling High School. Bullies kicked and teased and punched and pinched, all behaviors meant to force someone back where he belonged. it was at the hands of his tormentors that Peter learned to fight back."
Peter was a nice, gentle kid, like the book says, Peter didn't turn into a monster, he didn't want to start the shooting. But he had to, if he wanted it to end, if he wanted all the pain they caused him, all the hurt, mentally, emotionally, and physically, he wanted that to go away. 
All the children who died's parents may not like it. But, they can't say their children were the victims. They can't be like: Peter is a monster! He murdered 10 kids! He deserves to feel the pain we feel! But, do they really know how their children acted. Do they know what evil things they did to Peter? How they broke his glasses. How they called him gay and made fun of him. How the hurt him. Punched him down. Kicked him. Made him bleed. Are they really so gullible they don't see? 
I'm not saying that what Peter did was good, no, shooting a bunch of kids, killing 10 and leaving some injured and scarred mentally? No, that's not good. I'm not saying that. I'm just deciding to see the way Jordan has to fight for Peter in court.  Everyone just looks out on the surface of things, judging them from there, making them seem like a bad person, when they haven't seen the inside of it. Do they not see the pathetic little Peter who was just defending himself? Do they not see a little kid who didn't know what to do other than to stop it? Clearly, Sterling doesn't see it, only very few people do, and they're not really doing anything-all, well except Jordan. 
Peter may have done all that damage, but he was just doing his best. He couldn't go to the teachers. They just told the students who bullied him that they should stop or would get in trouble. They never made it clear they were going to stop-stop it, they just said. He couldn't go to his mother or father, because clealry they did not see. Plus, he felt like they didn't understand him. No one understood him until they looked closely into Peter. 
My question now is: Which side do you take? Do you see Peter as guilty and should be killed, should pay for his crimes? Or do you see a helpless little boy who was just defending himself-or at least was trying to defend himself.