Charlotte's Web - E.B. White

Charlotte's Web - E.B. White

Blurb:
This is the story of a little girl called Fern who loves a little pig called Wilbur. And of how Wilbur is saved from a dreadful fate by Charlotte the spider's very clever plan. The most loved children's story ever.

Reflection:
Charlotte's Web is an all-time classic and a must read for any child.
E.B. White creates Charlotte's character as quite knowledgeable by giving her an extensive vocabulary. By doing this it is also extending the reader's vocabulary if they do not know what it means.
One of the major themes in this book is that no matter what happens, time will continue. This is shown by two examples. One of Charlotte's acceptance that it is her time to go but she has passed her life on to her five hundred and fourteen children. Also this is shown by as Fern grows older, her interest switch from Wilbur to boys showing that she is maturing within herself just as the doctor said.
I thought it was dreadful that Charlotte had to die alone but there was no way around it and she probably wouldn't have wanted anyone to be there anyway.
The friendship of Wilbur and Charlotte brought everyone in Zuckerman's barn together. Upon arriving in the barn, all of the animals thought Wilbur was a nuisance and naive because he didn't know what was coming for him. Nobody even knew Charlotte existed until Wilbur was yearning for a friend and she stepped out. The animals in the barn seemed to get along better as they realised that Wilbur was really sweet and humble.
Charlotte's Web is a tale of friendship and the joy it brings to people. I would recommend this book for everyone as it is a classic and is one of the most beautiful stories I have ever read...

Jatta - Jenny Hale

Jatta - Jenny Hale

Blurb:

Jatta is a princess in the kingdom of Alteeda, but her life is no fairy tale. Her mother was slain by wolves when Jatta was three years old, and the palace has been haunted by fear ever since.

Then Jatta wakes one morning, bruised and disorientated, soaked in sweat, to see her bedroom smeared with bloody paw prints...

Reflection:

At the beginning, there was a major plot twist but I thought that it was very easy to see what was coming. It wasn't a surprise and because of that it almost took two long to get to the point. But once the action really started happening, the book grew harder and harder to put down.
The brotherly sisterly bond shown between Jatta and Arthmael was almost otherworldly. Had they not been closely related, without a doubt they would have been star-crossed lovers. At times it was almost a little bit too fictional verging on the borderline of incest. Drake, Jatta's betrothed was jealous because of their bond almost creating a love triangle which was altogether confusing.
Through the book, Jatta's character changes. At the beginning she is very reliant on other people to help her make her own decisions. This along with her vivid imagination describes her mind as being naive and innocent, almost fragile. But as more deception and bad things happen she develops the ability to make her own decisions and her mind becomes more mature. By the end of the book, she could be described as a person whose body is two young for their soul. She becomes brave and courageous like her brother who is no doubt her role model.
The comparison between Dartith and Alteeda is almost like contrasting heaven and hell. In Alteeda people are willing to help and no evil things lurk in dark alleyways. In Dartith, Arthmael and Jatta are constantly bombarded with dangers such as Undead and wolves. I think that this was a shock to the system for them both and let it really sink in that their lives here are different to those in Alteeda.
I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it for teenagers who love a good fictional story. Although I would have liked to have seen more of what happened when Jatta and Arthmael returned and what Drake did as King of Dartith.

The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien

The Fellowship of the Ring - J.R.R. Tolkien

The first book in the series was quite like the Hobbit. Although easier to read, the language used was quite wordy although it created an awesome description of people and places.
The characters created by Tolkien were complex and I think that this is what gave the book its magic. For example, the Lady of Lorien who at first seemed cold towards the travelers, changed to become a kind woman whom, when offered the Ring by Frodo, refused to take it. This showed that she was true to herself and she knew that this was not what was supposed to become of this Ring.
The idea of a hobbit that Tolkien brings across is the species in this novel that humans in our age can relate to the most. They enjoy socializing and partying (merry-making as they call it), they love their food and have expansive pantries. But the one thing that differs between us two is that they don't like adventures. In fact, they will avoid them with at all costs. We, on the other hand, love adventures and our curiosity can sometime get the better of us. I think that Tolkien uses this comparison so that the reader can relate to the hobbits and allows the reader to understand in more depth the characters that the hobbits portray.
I really enjoyed this book but I would recommend it for people who have quite a large vocabulary otherwise you will find yourself reading two books at once, in other words, the dictionary also.

The Bridge - Jane Higgins

11/03/13
The Bridge - by Jane Higgins

Blurb:
The city is at war. Southside, the hostiles live in squalor and desperation. They're hungry to cross the river. Cityside, ISIS is in charge. Its job - keep the hostiles at bay.
ISIS recruits only the best for its elite command. Nik is smart. Very smart.
So why does ISIS reject him?
Before he can find out, his school is bombed. The hostiles have taken the bridges, and they've kidnapped Fyffe's brother Sol.
Now Nik is on the run.
And Fyffe is going with him.
Across the bridge.

Reflection:
I liked this book and I liked the plot very much because of the way that the plot twisted a way that you would never expect, and so, as a reader, it always kept you on your toes and interested. Probably the only thing that I didn't like about this book is the ending. Some people might say that an ending like this is good because it gives the reader things to ponder about. What will happen? What could happen? But to me I find it plain annoying. I found that I couldn't start another book for a couple of days after because I was still thinking about the storyline. One thing that I think the author meant by writing this text was that you only know what your told. In this case, Nik was told that the Southsiders were hostiles and had no means of dealing with without the use of guns. This is a futuristic text and it shows us alot of what our future could be like if we don't keep the peace. I think this is one of the authors main messages. (Apart from the ending) I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

Life of Pi - Yann Martel

Blurb:

After the sinking of a cargo ship, a slitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild blue Pacific. The only urvivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a wounded zebra, an orangutan - and a 450-pound Royal Bengal tiger. The scene is set for one of the most extraordinary and beloved works of fiction in recent years.

Reflection:
I enjoyed this book but I think the movie was better. The effect of images makes the story more enchanting and captures you imagination. Not that this book did not do this but at times I was a little bored. Understandably so when nothing is always happening when you are stranded on a lifeboat in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, even with a tiger.
Martel was trying to make the reader think that this event actually happened which confused me a little bit but once you got past that it was good and made it more realistic.
I thought the beginning was a little bit stretched. Although talking about his childhood and how he came to be of 3 different religions, I found it pointless because all of the time in the boat he barely made mention to religion.
I thought that religion would be a key topic within the book, especially when he had no one else to look to but Martel seemed to think that this wasn't important and I thought he could have done more with that beginning.
When Pi lost both his parents and brother, Martel did not comprehensively describe the pain that Pi would have gone through. This might have been because Pi was malnourished and lacking water, but even so, when Pi landed on the carnivorous island and had plenty to eat and drink, surely he would be reminiscing over their time as a family and he would have shown some pain. But this was not the case.
I also thought that the ending was quite abrupt as suddenly we went from Pi leaving the island in fear of his life to him washing up on the shores of Mexico. This would indicate that the carnivorous island was not far from the shore of Mexico but in that case surely it would have been found by fishermen?
I did like the ending though how, against all likelihoods and beliefs, the two reporters believed Pi's story, no matter how unrealistically it might have seemed.
This book was hard to read because some of the language I did not understand quite so well but I think it has benefited my reading abilities quite comprehensively.

Nina Questor - Ken Catran

Nina Questor - Ken Catran

Blurb:

The legendary Nina of the Dark has come into her power and won a mighty kingdom - but her battle has just begun. The witchers, those dark lords of evil, still plague the land... and seek Nina's death.

Forsaking both daughter and kingdom, and armed only with her fabled sword Brightsong, Nina is flown across mountains by Illyugi the dragon, at best an uncertain ally. She must quest the Broken Lands for the secrets of her destiny as Nina the Chosen. However, each step of the journey takes her further into the confusion and uncertainty that plague her world - and dreams.

Ahead lies a bloody and treacherous path. That her thumbs ache fills her with foreboding when she links up with Fell, the young, black-armoured mercenary. Can she trust him - anyone - as she seeks the witchers' hidden stronghold to destroy their power?

Or will the witchers destroy Nina, the last hope of her world?

Reflection:

I thought this book was really interesting and was a good sequel to Nina of the Dark. It was also common though, for me when reading the book, to not be able to understand the quest that Nina was taking. I don't think the blurb on the back of the book is very good, looking at it after I have read the book. It tells you Nina's quest when in the book she does not know it herself, and it also portrays Fell (the mercenary) as a strange untrustworthy character, which is not how he is portrayed in the book at all. One of the main ideas in this book was secrets and how they can hurt others if not told. This statement might be true but Catran does not jump enough on the chances for him to portray this to the readers. For example, when the truth about how Fell is a prince comes out, Nina barely cares when she really should have. Either Catran has not made the most of his opportunities or I have grasped the wrong idea. nother theme that Catran portrays is that greed is man-kind's downfall. Examples of this are how Other Nina and her peers created the witchers so that they could do all of the harder stuff for them, that one blew up in their faces because now they are dead and the witchers rule. To access the witcher's lair you must go through a crystal tunnel which is almost the downfall of Welland and would have been had it not been for Nina.This book wasn't very good and I would recommend stopping at the first book. No offense to Ken Catran.

Trash - Andy Mulligan

Trash - Andy Mulligan

Blurb:

Three friends. Raphael, Gardo and Rat. Living on a heap of trash, a lifetime of sifting rubbish. One day they find something extraordinary - a deadly secret. From that moment they are hunted without mercy.

With danger snatching at their hee;s, the boys are chased from the city's dirty gutters to its wealthy avenues. But they can't run for ever. They need a miracle.

Reflection:

I thought that this book was good because it was good to understand and see people's perspectives that are on the bottom of the heap. We, being at Kristin, are obviously on the top of the heap and we have this perception that everybody glowers at us because we have been dealt a good hand and they haven't but this book proves to us that it is not like that. This book is a book about the future and what the world could be like if we don't care for our environment.
The world that Raphael, Gardo and Rat find themselves in, is a world that they have to suffer for because of others not caring about the environment. Although they all are at the bottom of the heap, literally, they still have family and this is a  major theme within the book. It shows us how people stick together through thick and thin because they are doing what they believe is right.
This book also shows us how everything in our world today revolves around money. Our status, our friendships, our education and our lifestyle.
This book also shows us that education is not very important to people who count on making money for their next meals and how it comes to be at the bottom of their agendas. This is a massive contrast when you look at us today and see how important it is to us. Our main goals are to get a good job that pays well so that we can support our future family. Their's is to survive. I don't think in our positions that we appreciate the extent of poverty and I think in our day and age we should pay more attention and not just turn it the television off because it is a world crisis that we all should have to deal with and help with.
One character that I noticed the most change in was Rat. At the beginning our perception of him was that he was frail, he was sensitive and he was insignificant because he was living with the rats. This all changed when Raphael and Gardo decided to trust him with the secret of what they had found. In the end, it turns out that without Rat, the boys would not have been able to accomplish what they intended to do. This tells the reader that you can never underestimate someone and you should always respect their choice of lifestyle and other decisions they might make.
I would recommend this book to anyone who find futuristic situations interesting and also people who enjoy mysteries. Be warned that there is a little bit of violence during the book if you are uncomfortable with that sort of stuff.