As you probably expect from this modern classic, I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This very creative premise follows the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter, as he discovers his true destiny as a wizard, not just an average Muggle. Born from two very magical parents, Harry Potter severely weakened the Dark Lord, Voldemort, at age one while his parents were killed. Poor Harry was unhappily taken in by the Dursleys, Mrs. Dursley being Harry's mother's sister. These Muggles, living on number fout Privet Drive are about as average a family as you can get. They refuse to believe in anything that is out of the ordinary. As you might expect, Harry definitely pushes their buttons with his accidental magic, including growing his hair at rapid speeds and freeing a snake from the zoo. On the young boy's eleventh birthday, he receives a letter from the school of Witchcraft and Wizardry itself, Hogwarts. Vernon and Petunia Dursley try everything in their power to stop these invitations, but eventually give up as the half-giant Hagrid, Hogwart's gamekeeper, shows up and takes Harry away to where he belongs. From here, every thing extraordinary occurs in a world where paintings move, dragons hatch and broom sticks fly. With his new friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, Harry defeats a three-headed dog, turns invisible and fights Voldemort once again.
This book is incredibly imaginative. Every detail is fleshed out from candies to cauldrons. A whole new universe is built with just enough of the human world incorporated to eliminate confusion. The mysteries these characters face are fascinating are solved in very clever ways. The students and teachers all face real problems with important desicions to make and they do suffer the consequences of them. Even though most of you have probably read this novel before, I suggest picking it up and giving it a good read.
Monday, June 24, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Lola and the Boy Next Door
Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins is…interesting. It is a sequel to Anna and the French Kiss, but its plot and characters don't overlap much. This is not about Anna anymore. As you might have guessed from the title this book is about Lola, a rebellious teenage girl who is obsessed with fashion and I mean it! She wears a different outfit and wig everyday, most of which she designs herself. Her family life is an interesting part about her as well. See, her parents were both careless alcoholics, clearly not ready to raise a child on their own. Nathan, Lola's mother Nora's older brother, adopts Lola, along with his partner Andy. These men care deeply about their daughter, but she is not pleased with their overprotective nature, especially towards her boyfriend Max, a 22 year-old musician. Lola thinks she is in love with him until Cricket Bell moves in next door, Lola's ex-boyfriend. She thinks she's over him, but her emotions get in the way.
This book is nothing compared to Anna and the French Kiss, but it stills is a worth a read. A bit boring, confusing, and melodramatic for my tastes, but there were some good points in it. Nathan and Lola's relationship is fascinating and Cricket is right up there with Ètienne as for adorable boys. It's worth a read if you enjoyed if you enjoyed Anna and the French Kiss and/or Stephanie Perkin's writing style.
This book is nothing compared to Anna and the French Kiss, but it stills is a worth a read. A bit boring, confusing, and melodramatic for my tastes, but there were some good points in it. Nathan and Lola's relationship is fascinating and Cricket is right up there with Ètienne as for adorable boys. It's worth a read if you enjoyed if you enjoyed Anna and the French Kiss and/or Stephanie Perkin's writing style.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
Anna and the French Kiss Review
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Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is a beautiful novel. France is beautiful. Ètienne St. Clair is very beautiful. If you are at all confused, the plot of this novel is as follows. Anna Oliphant is a high schooler in Atlanta, Georgia. Without her consent, her father, a famed novelist, sends her off to a French boarding school for American teenagers so she can be more "cultured". She is dreading the experience, having to leave behind her best friend Bridgette and her crush Toph. Once she makes her arrival at SOAP(School Of America in Paris), she quickly befriend a kind girl named Meredith. Almost immediately afterward, she falls head over heels for Ètienne St. Clair, an American-born boy who grew up in London(with a British accent included) and has a French father. Anna loves everything about him: his hair, his eyes, his smile. The only thing she doesn't love about him is his girlfriend, Ellie. Over a series of events, Anna tries to deny her inner wanting for the boy but she can't deny it after much longer.
This was an enjoyable read. While on the border of cutesy teen romance, Anna and the French Kiss succeeds to be more than that, a novel that makes you laugh and love. Through its wonderful imagery and deep characters, this book has become a favorite of mine. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys young adult fiction and/or romances.
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins is a beautiful novel. France is beautiful. Ètienne St. Clair is very beautiful. If you are at all confused, the plot of this novel is as follows. Anna Oliphant is a high schooler in Atlanta, Georgia. Without her consent, her father, a famed novelist, sends her off to a French boarding school for American teenagers so she can be more "cultured". She is dreading the experience, having to leave behind her best friend Bridgette and her crush Toph. Once she makes her arrival at SOAP(School Of America in Paris), she quickly befriend a kind girl named Meredith. Almost immediately afterward, she falls head over heels for Ètienne St. Clair, an American-born boy who grew up in London(with a British accent included) and has a French father. Anna loves everything about him: his hair, his eyes, his smile. The only thing she doesn't love about him is his girlfriend, Ellie. Over a series of events, Anna tries to deny her inner wanting for the boy but she can't deny it after much longer.
This was an enjoyable read. While on the border of cutesy teen romance, Anna and the French Kiss succeeds to be more than that, a novel that makes you laugh and love. Through its wonderful imagery and deep characters, this book has become a favorite of mine. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys young adult fiction and/or romances.
Thursday, January 17, 2013
West Side Story
On January 1, I watched the Oscar-winning classic film West Side Story. This cinematic masterpiece based on Romeo and Juliet lives up to its name.
The story centers around two gangs in mid-century NYC: the Jets,an all-white group favorable by the police and lead by Riff, and the Sharks, a Puerto Rican group who are thought less of and lead by Bernardo. Fights break out often between these gangs, since they both want to be the leaders of the streets. They are planning to have a big fight and are constantly preparing (in song if course!). The Jets are trying to get former member Tony(yes, that Tony) to come back since he and his best friend Riff founded the group initially. Maria (yes, that Maria) meanwhile doesn't want her brother Bernardo to get hurt. Tony and Maria main priority though is wanting to find love. Ata a big dance they meet each other and fall in love instantly. The gang leaders are not so pleased. The couple decide to only meet in secret, which they do and which makes their love stronger. They even hold a pretend wedding. But tragedy strikes when the rumble begins and love is lost.
This movie is an obvious must-see for many reasons. The two leads played by Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer are great. The songs strike a variety of emotions from joy to passion to melancholy and much more. If you haven't seen do so and I promise it will leave you very satisfied.
The story centers around two gangs in mid-century NYC: the Jets,an all-white group favorable by the police and lead by Riff, and the Sharks, a Puerto Rican group who are thought less of and lead by Bernardo. Fights break out often between these gangs, since they both want to be the leaders of the streets. They are planning to have a big fight and are constantly preparing (in song if course!). The Jets are trying to get former member Tony(yes, that Tony) to come back since he and his best friend Riff founded the group initially. Maria (yes, that Maria) meanwhile doesn't want her brother Bernardo to get hurt. Tony and Maria main priority though is wanting to find love. Ata a big dance they meet each other and fall in love instantly. The gang leaders are not so pleased. The couple decide to only meet in secret, which they do and which makes their love stronger. They even hold a pretend wedding. But tragedy strikes when the rumble begins and love is lost.
This movie is an obvious must-see for many reasons. The two leads played by Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer are great. The songs strike a variety of emotions from joy to passion to melancholy and much more. If you haven't seen do so and I promise it will leave you very satisfied.
Sunday, January 6, 2013
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Hey guys! Sorry I have been posting in a while but I've been pretty busy. Anyway, my blog can no longer be accessed by www.claudiaolson.com just to let you know. On the with the review!
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is an excellent novel. It explores the life of a modern teenager accurately. Its characters are memorable with fascinating back stories to follow them.
The protagonist is Charlie. His best friend Michael commited suicide recently (by that I mean 1991). Charlie is very depressed about this so he decides to write letters about his life to you. Yes you, the person reading this very novel. That's another reason this book is so interesting, but I will get into that later. Anyway, it is his first day of high school and he doesn't have any friends,a so-called "wallflower". This is until he meets Sam and Patrick, seniors who are step siblings. Sam is a beautiful girl and Patrick is a gay boy. Charlie immediately falls in love with Sam, but he knows he can't have her. These two people lead Charlie into many experiences including performing at showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, exchanging great gifts at a Secret Santa, and feeling infinite. If you are confused (which I'm sure you are) this is a feeling Charlie got when they were driving through a tunnel at high speeds with the wind rushing through them.
Charlie's family is also very interesting. His father takes many sacrifices for his family and his mother just wants everyone to be well cared for. His older brother is a college football player on the rise to fame and his older sister has her share of ex boyfriends and failed relationships. But the most fascinating family member by far is Aunt Helen who is Charlie's mother's sister. She died many years before and had a tragic past that no one could forget. Once she died, Charlie had gotten extremely depressed, to the brink of insanity for he loved his aunt dearly. As we arrive to the end of the book, however, we learn Aunt Helen influenced Charlie's life in more ways than one. This twist will leave you speechless.
A recurring theme in the novel deals with Charlie's English teacher Bill. This man realizes that Charlie is wise beyond his years so to challenge the boy, he gives him a series of classic novels throughout the year and assigns him to write a report on each. These books greatly shape Charlie's character.
As you can see, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an awe-inspiring series of events filled with interesting plot points, a fascinating method of narration, and, as I mentioned before, a great twist you don't want to miss. I highly recommend you to pick up this book and start reading. You won't be disappointed.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky is an excellent novel. It explores the life of a modern teenager accurately. Its characters are memorable with fascinating back stories to follow them.
The protagonist is Charlie. His best friend Michael commited suicide recently (by that I mean 1991). Charlie is very depressed about this so he decides to write letters about his life to you. Yes you, the person reading this very novel. That's another reason this book is so interesting, but I will get into that later. Anyway, it is his first day of high school and he doesn't have any friends,a so-called "wallflower". This is until he meets Sam and Patrick, seniors who are step siblings. Sam is a beautiful girl and Patrick is a gay boy. Charlie immediately falls in love with Sam, but he knows he can't have her. These two people lead Charlie into many experiences including performing at showings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, exchanging great gifts at a Secret Santa, and feeling infinite. If you are confused (which I'm sure you are) this is a feeling Charlie got when they were driving through a tunnel at high speeds with the wind rushing through them.
Charlie's family is also very interesting. His father takes many sacrifices for his family and his mother just wants everyone to be well cared for. His older brother is a college football player on the rise to fame and his older sister has her share of ex boyfriends and failed relationships. But the most fascinating family member by far is Aunt Helen who is Charlie's mother's sister. She died many years before and had a tragic past that no one could forget. Once she died, Charlie had gotten extremely depressed, to the brink of insanity for he loved his aunt dearly. As we arrive to the end of the book, however, we learn Aunt Helen influenced Charlie's life in more ways than one. This twist will leave you speechless.
A recurring theme in the novel deals with Charlie's English teacher Bill. This man realizes that Charlie is wise beyond his years so to challenge the boy, he gives him a series of classic novels throughout the year and assigns him to write a report on each. These books greatly shape Charlie's character.
As you can see, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an awe-inspiring series of events filled with interesting plot points, a fascinating method of narration, and, as I mentioned before, a great twist you don't want to miss. I highly recommend you to pick up this book and start reading. You won't be disappointed.
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