Prodigy: Theme Statement

The action packed, sci-fi thriller, Prodigy, succeeds Legend very well. Marie Lu has brought us back to the amazing story of Day and June. Over the past two weeks, I have read and finished Prodigy. I would love to give you all the details on this story, but this is my last blog post before the new year. Therefore, I will give you a short synopsis and analysis of the theme. Without further a due, we will begin.

Day and June are leading new lives. One with a new home, nationality and beliefs. Working with the Patriots, the duo scheme to release Eden and earn a safe haven in the Colonies. Only one task needs to be completed: assassinate the new Elector. Amid the recent death of Elector Primo, the Republic is weak and vulnerable.  The Colonies see this as a chance to finally the war. Day and June see that the Aden is  much different than Elector Primo. As fates intertwine, who will they trust?

The theme statement for Prodigy is knowing who your true friends are in life. In Legend, Day and June think Kaede is a dirty, good for nothing Patriot. As time progresses, they realize that she helps them in times of need and will always be there for them. In Prodigy, the plot revolves around this. Their Patriot general, Razor, begins with good impressions. As the book progresses, we realize he is a ruthless back stabber. Elector Aden, the original bad guy, has a better view for the Republic compared to his father. He wants to end the war among the two nations.

I suggest Prodigy to anyone who reads this. It's a great book worth your time. See ya in 2015!

Execution: Escape from Furnace Final Update

Alexander Gordon Smith crafted an amazing book containg great elements of  horror, science fiction and historical fiction. Using flashbacks, flashforwards and hallucinations, Smith creates a pure gut-wrenching terror. The theme statement for Execution is to never give up on hope. Hope is greater than all the terrible evils present on Earth. I compare this series to a slow unopening of Pandora's box.

Since my last blog post, Alex and his friends have just entered his house. They stay the night until Panettiere's army tracks them down again. The pain in Alex's head is growing, leading them closer and closer to Furnace. Soon, the quartet experience the true wrath of Furnace. Thousands of bodies litter the roadways. The landscape is ravaged and abandoned beyond disrepair. Miles and miles try keep traveling. An island appears off in the distance. Awaiting there is Furnace. 

If you want to find out about the epic final battle, read the book for yourself. I suggest this book to thrill seekers and adrenaline junkies. Some parts will make the hair on your neck stand straight up. Sorry this post this last week. I was extremely busy with athletics and academics. Bye!

Execution: Escape from Furnace: Update #2

Things have started to cool down in Execution. Alex found a new power after exiting Furnace's flashback dream. He has the ability to control creatures of nectar with his mind. Using this hidden talent, Alex calls in berserkers to free him of Panettierre's prison. On the way, Alex is reunited with his friends, Zee, Simon and Lucy. After finding a fire truck, the quartet drive to the edge of the city.

A strong pain pulls Alex down a road, three sharp turns and straight into the driveway of a house. The flow of evil within Alex seems to die down. A happiness radiates from another life. He found his home.         

Crashing through the house due to his monstrous size, joyful memories flood Alex's mind. He reminisces all the good times he had with his parents how he grew up. The rest of his friends crash there to get some food and sleep.

Alex is very sad once he finds no evidence of his parents. No one living there and not a word from them. He clumsily makes his way up the stairs and finds his room. Taking in all the detail, Alex realizes it was all found the way he left it once shipped off to prison. Over on the dresser, Alex finds a picture of him with his parents, the last summer he had before being accused of murder. Overturning the note reveals a message. Alex, we're sorry. We forgive you, we hope you'll forgive us too. We love you so much. -Mom and Dad

This note strengthens Alex. Memories are like the cure for the nectar. Alex feels as if he is free from the mid controlling powers of Furnace. Hope you enjoyed this week's post. have a great day!

                                               

Execution: Escape from Furnace Update

Over the past two weeks of a blog break, I have gotten knee deep into Execution: Escape from Furnace. I am starting to learn the basic story line of the book as well as the plan the protagonists are devising. It starts off really strange, so bare with me here.

Alex has been contained by the military. He wakes up in a room chained down by shipping wire. A woman, named Panettierre, walks in to the room. She begins to question Alex as to what is going on. Still dazed and confused, he explains that the monsters roaming the city and transforming people to insane killers are all doing of Furnace. Alfred Furnace. All the creatures are driven by nectar, a substance that protects and strengthens the body ten times better than blood. With that, Panettierre swiftly exits the room and Alex passes out into his flashback.

Alex awakes in a rotting apple orchard. He sees a boy being crucified to a tree. A man is reading a scroll of his punishment. The boy is being framed for murder of his brother. They slice his stomach open and leave him for the wolves. The boy is Alfred Furnace. As Alfred begins to teeter on the verge of life and death, a figure more evil than the depths of hell emerges from the shadows. The figure begins to coax Alfred in exchanging lives. He said that his brother died for Alfred's eternal life. Alfred, being only a boy and about to die, says yes. The figure's body opens up, releasing a tar like substance and entering the body of Furnace. The figure is gone within seconds and Alfred stares directly at Alex. I a chilling voice, Alfred mouths, "Now you know how it all began," (Smith 62).

While all of this is going on, Alex and other nectar monsters have been tested upon. The military is trying to understand how the nectar effects people in different ways. They have done this by murdering and bisecting the monsters for days on end. When Panettierre cannot get enough knowledge out of Alex, she proceeds to do the same to him. Alex realizes his life is on the line and what the military is really up to. Once witnessing the power of the nectar, they want to use it for their own armies and create an unstoppable race. They made up lies about finding a cure. Minutes before his death, Alex needs to end Furnace and Panettierre in order to stop all the chaos.

I hope you enjoyed my blog post this week! Have a great day and see you next time!

Escape from Furnace: Execution; First Impressions

After reading just two chapters of the whole book, I am already very perplexed. The fist couple of sentences talk about Alex Sawyer in his berserker form. He is climbing on top of the tallest building in some city of England. He realizes in his earlier flash-forward from the previous book that it was him; the monster on the building. The government takes Alex down with two attack helicopters. As he drifts off in the distance, he awakes into a flashback. Alex is alone, in the middle of the woods. He can's move. Eventually, he sees Alfred Furnace crucified on a pine tree as a little boy. After being charged for murder and sentenced to die, he looks straight at Alex and mouths "I didn't do it."

The chapter ends there, and I have no idea from where the book will go. I am very intrigued and confused at the same time. I look forward to reading more. As of right now, we have a blog post break for 2 weeks. I will not post until then. Bye now!

Escape from Furnace: Execution

I have finally decided to revive one of my favorite book series. The Escape from Furnace series is written by Alexander Gordan Smith. It has 5 books total, which I thought there were only 4! I will now be reading the last installment, Execution. This series is about the framing of Alex Sawyer. After the Summer Massacre, all teen offenders were to be put in a hellish prison a mile below the ground. Alex and his new found prison friends must find a way out, after realizing there are no rules when you are below hell.

I have loved every single one of these books thus far. They are a mix of action, horror and mystery. You will love the chase scenes as well as the "hair stands on the back of your neck" ones. Side note, can be pretty gruesome at times. I will read this over the next week and give you updates. Have a great day.

Book Suggestions?

After finishing Legend, I have had a very hectic week. With no time whatsoever, I could not decide on a book to start reading. Therefore, I ask you all to give me your suggestions on great novels. I will try my best to buy the book that interests me the most to read next. I would prefer action and adventure, but I do not mind mystery or historical fiction. Leave your suggestions below in the comments, please. Until next week. Have a great day!

Legend: Final Conclusion

Over the past month, I have thoroughly enjoyed reading every part of this intense novel. Marie Lu created a beautiful story using her writer's craft. This involved so many plot twists in the last few chapters, that I don't want to give away any. Read the ending for yourself. You will truly be satisfied. 

Legend is a series of books. I am looking forward to reading every one. I hope the next books are not like the Hunger Games series. I do not want a terrible ending to the series like Mockingjay. Please leave a comment below if you have read the book's ending. Let me know what you thought of it. Not sure what book I will read next. Be sure to look for my next post. Have a nice day!

Legend: Four Week Update

So many plot twists were revealed in Legend during this week of reading. Traitors surface and some characters meet a bitter end.  Now it is my job to explain all of what happened in this great novel, to you.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
TAKE COVER! SPOILERS INBOUND!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day and The Girl, who is June, are a great team together. Working on the streets, the two raise almost enough money to buy Eden's plague medicine. Day and June start to become really close and eventually fall in love after a very sensual kissing. The Day falls asleep very soon, but before June does, she notices Day is grabbing at something around his neck that isn't there. She quickly realizes it must be a pendant, therefore she believes she has finally found Day.

Day wakes up in the middle of the night and goes to see his family. June also wakes up and follows him without Day knowing.  She hides away on a three story building. June gets the exact location of Day's family's house. Street and specifics. She clicks on her mike, tells Commander Jameson everything, and will get a small army sent to his house next morning.

Hearing special military vehicles in the morning, Day sprints to his house. He breaks in through the front door, his family stunned. His mother doesn't believe he is still alive. He thought he was dead after he failed his Trial. Doing his best to hide his family, Day thinks of other solutions to get them to safety. The military arrives seconds later; his family is found within a matter of minutes. He sees The Girl, standing among the militants and giving orders. Being ordered by The Girl to come out of hiding, Day rebels and starts firing bullets from his slingshot. When he still doesn't emerge, Commander Jameson shoots Day's mother. Day lashes out in fury, killing or injuring guards left and right. He is finally shot, handcuffed, gagged, bound, and escorted to a truck. The most wanted criminal is finally arrested.

 This book uses a "W" plot line. Things looked grim for Day when he almost got arrested. Then he was on the climb with June in the city. Now being arrested, the plot falls. I will finish this book by next week. Until then, look forward to the epic conclusion of Legend.

Legend: Three Week Update

New information, plot twists and suspense have been revealed in the latest chapters in Legend. Day meets a new "friend" and finally understands what the odd markings on his family's door means. In the meantime, June is doing more recon in the city to track down Day. Everything is looking hopeless until one fateful day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SPOILER ALERT!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Day is trying to find ways to make money and buy plague cures, without having to rob anything. He is betting on a fight with Tess, his partner for the last few years. Tess is shoved into the ring; now she must fight for her life. June appears and fills in for Tess in the fight. She wins, but recieves a knife wound in the process. Day and Tess grab June and take her back to their place. The two enemies have met and they don't even know it! Tess bandages June, while Day heads off to his family.

Day finds his family's house, still marked by the strange X with a stripe down the middle. He had know idea what it meant until today. He heard that a new, stronger strain had been identified in another sector. He believed that his brother, Eden, had picked it up. On his way back to his place, he found a large, metal box in the ground. It had a Republic flag and a number on it. Not sure what it was, he took a mental note of the location.

The information we have just learned leads us to some foreshadowing. Eden could have a super strain of the plague. June may finally capture Day. The metal box may be more important later on in the book. I'll let you know what happens later on. Thanks for reading!

Legend: Two Week Update

 I have thoroughly enjoyed reading Legend  thus far.  The characters and the plot are starting to develop, and the action is picking up steam. Marie Lu's craft really gives more detail and liveliness to each individual scene, as if she was the director and special effects artist. I will now give my recall of the last few chapters.

------------------------------------------

SPOILER ALERT
------------------------------------------

Day and June's two worlds have collided. Day was stealing plague medicine from a hospital to cure his family. When attempting to escape, he confronts June's brother, Metias, and ends up killing him. Now Day is being hunted down by June, who is thirsty for revenge.

June has been promoted to a team dedicated to finding Day, the Republic's most wanted criminal. Using all of her knowledge and skill acquired from military training, she sets up a trap to get some information out of  Day. Disguised as a black market dealer, she tells Day that she has plague medicine. He doesn't fall for the bait and instead contacts her over radio. But June still can figure out what sector of the Republic he is from, the state he was born in and his location just based off how Day is talking. The line is cut and the hunt begins for the most wanted criminal of the Republic.

These couple of chapters really got me excited for the book. The suspense and cleverness inspires me too. Ill post next Friday and give you another update on this amazing book.

Legend: First Impressions

A few days ago, I started reading Legend by Marie Lu. Only 60 pages in, and I am already captivated by what this story has to offer. Various aspects of this novel set it apart from the rest. From the setting to the structure, I'll listing off my first impressions. 

Setting: Legend is similar to The Hunger Games and Divergent in the person vs. society part, but otherwise this a completely reimagined book. Legend begins in the United States of America. Apparently the Republic has formed from it , and they are fighting the Colonies, which is the rest of the USA. And while all of this is going on, a plague is running rampant throughout the grim, futuristic America.

Structure: Legend is a dual perspective book. We get to read from the the first person point of view of two characters. They are Day and June, one the most wanted criminal, the other The Republic's prodigy. Since there are two perspectives, there are two sides to each argument and that gives us all the information.

I can't wait to see what happens next in this book. Ill keep you guys updated too!

Summer Reading Blog

Over the summer of 2014, I read Don't Turn Around by Michele Gagnon. Don't Turn Around is a science-fiction action thriller set in modern day Boston. Our heroine, Noa, has had a rough life. Noa has gone through every foster home in Boston, until she decides to stay off the grid and live a solitary life. Using her computer-hacking skills, Noa is nonexistent to the government, until she wakes up with an IV in her arm and no memory of what had happened.

Enter our hero, Peter Gregory. Peter lives a life of a king: he has a nice car, lives in a beautiful mansion and is the leader of a hacker network. Peter realizes that he needs people like Noa to be on his team of hackers. Even more so after a peculiar company invades his life. But neither of them know Noa holds the secret to it all, and people will go to any measure to stop them.

In Don't Turn Around, Gagnon's characters develop over the course of the story. They interact with one another and advance the plot of the story. The book's two main characters, Noa and Peter, play a key role in this. Noa propels the plot while Peter brings all the information together to fully understand the story.

Noa has been tested on by AMRF, the organization Peter is trying to take down, and has escaped their clutches. Noa now needs to figure out what they did to her, why she was taken and for what reason? This problem creates the whole plot line for Don't Turn Around. A text example to support this is, "Otherwise she would have woken up in a regular hospital, and there wouldn't be guards after her. No, this was something else (Gagnon 19)."

Peter snoops in his father's office and stumbles upon files related to AMRF. When he does research on them, the company's people break into Peter's house and steal anything he was doing related to their company name. Now Peter and Noa share a common goal of taking down this scheme that has violated their lives. A text example that supports this is,"Twenty minutes after he started snooping around that firewall, a bunch of private security lackeys busted into his house (Gagnon 32)."

I found this book to be very intriguing and hard to put down. I sped through in a matter of days and got really annoyed by the ending. Everything started to look up for the characters and then Gagnon added a major plot twist. Now I know it is a series of books that I can't wait to read. I suggest this book to anyone looking for a excellent, quick read. 

The link below directs you to a review on, Don't Turn Around. I think this review really goes into depth on the characterization. This also focuses on how elements of the plot affect the characters, mood and tone.

Book Review

 Below is a link to a video on my author's interview.

Author Interview