Angels and Demons with Revenge

        I have started reading the book Angels and Demons by Dan Brown. This book is about a professor who is connecting the clues to find who and why an ancient group are taking revenge against the Catholic church. A group called the Illuminati wants to avenge every member the Catholic church killed in the past. Because the blogs have to have a philosophical edge, I'm going to write about revenge.
        First of all, what is revenge? The definition in the Webster's Dictionary is "The action of inflictiong hurt or harm on someone for a wrong suffering at their hands." An example would be someone shoved you in the hallway. To avenge yourself, you shove him back. I also searched up what the Bible says about revenge. In a lot of bible verses, it says that you should not take revenge on anyone but offer them something. An example in the bible was: if someone slaps you on the left cheek, offer them the right cheek. In this case, the Illuminati are taking revenge on the church because the church persecuted them.
        The Illuminati (meaning the Enlightened ones) was a Satanist group who wanted to show that science and religion were connected. Of course the Catholic church didn't want them to so they persecuted them and drove them out of Italy. Many members survived and plotted revenge against the Catholics. Now, they have kidnapped four important Cardinals and have threatened that they would kill them by the four elements of the world: Earth, wind, fire, and water.
        Should we take revenge on someone because they did something wrong to us? In many movies where someone killed someone else's family member, they go after the killer and most likely kill them. I think that if someone shoves you or insults you, ignore them. Usually, I tease my brother when he does something to me and then my dad tells me to ignore him. I think we should ignore the people who do wrong to us.

Philosophy, War, and Decisions

        The book Behind Enemy Lines is about different situations in history where soldiers go behind enemy lines to complete dangerous missions. For example, a special ops team goes behind enemy lines to put mines on the Iraqi fleet in case the US declare war on them. Since this is a non-fiction, it is much easier write about it connecting to philosophy. War is a good topic connecting with philosophy.
     
        On September 11, 2001, two airplanes, piloted by Al-Qaedan terrorists collided with the World Trade Centers Towers. Because of this attack, President George W. Bush declared war on terrorism in the Middle East. There he sent American soldiers to fight and kill my Al-Qaedans. During those years, many Middle Eastern civilians have died including many soldiers from both sides of the conflict. When Bush was confronted, he said he is doing justice. His definition of justice according to his actions is taking revenge or avenging someone or something that has wronged you. He had a choice whether to send troops into the Middle East or take some other action. Many people considered this a bad choice while some considered it a good one.     But what is a good or bad choice? We make our own choices, either good or bad. Good choices help you and may also help other people while bad choices hurt you and other people. Bush's choice helped us show that we aren't afraid of terrorists. But that choice killed many Americans and Middle Eastern civilians. So would this be considered a bad choice. My opinion is yes, it was a bad decision.

         The leader of the special ops team, Troy had to make a similar decision. He had the choice of putting those mines on the Iraqi fleet. He chose that he would. If he didn't put those mines, the US would have lost many ships, soldiers and supplies. The Iraqis would have also lost men and ships. Because he put those mines, he saved American lives, ships and supplies but those mines killed some Iraqis and destroyed many Iraqi ships. Was that a good choice? It probably was. Another story was about a baseball player going undercover in  Nazi Germany to assassinate a German scientist rumored to be building a nuclear bomb. In the end, he decided not to kill him. And that was a good choice because that scientist was actually working for America. If the baseball player had assassinated him, the US would have lost a good ally.

        So the next time you need to make a decision, think about the outcomes of the choice. Are they going to be good or bad? Are they going to help you and people around you or hurt them? Is it necessary to make this decision?    

Clockwork Prince Ending *Spoiler*

      I have finished reading the Sequel of the Infernal Devices: Clockwork Prince. In my previous blog, I talked about a  specific Shadowhunter, Will. Shadowhunters are demon-hunters who keep peace between werewolves and vampires. The Shadowhunters prime target is to capture the evil master mind named Mortmain who has created a mechanical army. Mortmain wants Tessa, a Shapeshifter to use her against the Shadowhunters.
       The Shadowhunters were unsuccessful in this book, so the author Cassandra Clare will most likely write another one. In the next book it will be more challenging to capture him. They have accidentally killed the only contact Mortmain had, Nate. Nate and Tessa were really close once. As a matter of fact, they were brother and sister. But Mortmain has changed Nate a lot. From Tessa's descriptions, Nate was a very kind, sweet boy who was very innocent. He helped anyone who needed help, almost never did wrong and loved everyone. Now, he is a cold hearted, merciless servant of Mortmain. Anyone who is not with Mortmain, they are his enemy, including his sister. How can a loving, innocent boy turn into such a monster? I don't know. I think that words are very powerful weapons. My guess is that Mortmain soothed him with lies about a better world and him being one of the rulers of that new world.  
      Words are very powerful in real life. Words can persuade, anger someone, soothe someone, and do many other things. In the book, Mortmain lied to and persuaded Nate to join him. We do the same. We make up lies to make one believe us. In a show i was watching, someone said that lies can be dissected and revealed. It is better not to lie. But for persuasion, it is a different story. It is still bad to lie, but to lie to someone for them to do something good would be morally good. Mortmain though lied to Nate for a bad reason. Lies can hurt you, the person you lied to, and others who are affected by the lie. The truth is always the best.  

The Clockwork Prince

The book I want to talk about today, is Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare. It is a sequel of the Clockwork Angel, by the same author. The main character of this book, Tessa, is trying to learn of her past. She has some strange powers like shape shifting and she does not know where it came from, since both of her parents were humans. Simultaneously, Tessa and a group of Shadowhunters are looking for a man named Mortmain who created a mechanical army. Somehow, Mortmain knows the Shadowhunters every move, so the only possibility is that a traitorous spy is with the Shadowhunters.

This blog will not be about Tessa or the search, though. I am going to focus on a Shadowhunter named Will.   He is a broken, sad young man with a despairing past. He freed a demon from a box and that demon cursed him: all who love him will die. The next day his oldest sister died. Terrified, Will fled away from home believing this curse was truly upon him. He was cleverly deceived, though. There was no curse. His sister died of the demon’s poisonous sting that she received. All this time he thought he had a curse upon him and made people hate him instead of loving him.

Whoever Will considered as a person that possibly may care for him or fall in love with him, he had put them down. He was always depressed and negative towards people, having bad attitude and usually insulted them. In this way he used five years of his life trying to make people hate him for nothing. Now, after he learned about the demon's deception, he is very sorrowful.

We often hurt our loved ones because of many different reasons. An insult is like throwing a stone, once it leaves your mouth, you can’t stop it. You can try to fix the wounds but there will always be a scar.  

Moral Dilema Study

1. The topic I chose was drunk driving. To be honest, I picked this topic because I thought it wold be the easiest. But when I started researching about it, I found out a lot. I found out that three in every ten Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash at some point in their lives. On New Year’s Day, 468 people were killed in car accidents. Alcohol-impaired driving contributed to 40 percent of them.In 2009, 14 percent of children ages 14 and younger killed in crashes died because of alcohol. The government is trying to stop drunk driving by putting up stricter laws and more police as patrols.

2. I think the government should try and stop this issue. I think that the stricter laws and more patrol police is a good way to try. By stopping this issue, children will be safer, other civilians will be safer, the increase of deaths will, drop, and will save lives. I choose the Common Good Approach because I am thinking what would be the best for everyone, and that is stopping Drunk Driving.

3. Here are some things the government did to stop this issue. Pass a national law that prohibits any open alcoholic drinks in public places. Make sure repeat drunk driving offenders are wearing electronic devices such as ankle bracelets at all times. Furthermore, all repeat offenders should have to install ignition interlock instruments (IIDs) in their vehicles. Attach a special marking to the license plates of repeat offenders. However, if someone else has to drive the repeat offender's vehicle, they could be mistaken for being a drunk driver. Since the high percentage of drunk drivers are young, restrict driving for young drivers including not allowing them to drive after a certain time. Increase DUI awareness and education for students in elementary and high schools. Creating a sense of responsibility in young adults and children is also key in further reducing drunken driving incidences in the future.

Clockwork Angel

         I have started reading a new book called Clockwork Angel. It is the prequel of the Mortal Instrument Series (The City of Ashes, The City of Glass) This book unlike the books before it takes place in London, England. A young girl names Tessa, travels to London to find her missing brother Nate. She then finds shelter at the home of the Shadowhunters or demon hunters where she discovers a secret power she has. Tessa is a Downworlder, which is a human infected by lycanthropy, vampiracy, or magic (vampires, werewolves, warlocks). She is a special type of Downworlder: she has the ability to shape-shift into anything she wants to. Now, the Shadowhunters and the demons have seen that she could be useful to them both and have started fighting over her.
         The author, Cassandra Clare has done a very good job of putting different genres in this book such as action, fantasy, romance,   tragedy and betrayal. I couldn't stop reading it. It was full of suspense. I think the thing I enjoy most in this book are the betrayals. When you're not expecting it, a character who seems like a good guy suddenly turns against them and sides with the demons. 
         I am really starting to like this book and hope to read the next one: Clockwork Prince.

Goliath

Goliath. What does that make you think of? It makes me think of something big, bigger than a human, and something very powerful. Goliath is the title of the book I started reading.
First of all, this is the third book of the series. The first two are Leviathan and Behemoth. If I remember well, Yaroslav read this book and said it was very good. To be honest, when I’ve read the first two books, I stopped reading the series. I'm not sure why. When I read Yaroslav's blog on this book, I wanted to start reading it again.The book is about an Austrian Prince during World War I. He was kidnaped away from home aboard an airship: The Leviathan. There he meets a girl (disguised as a boy to serve in the British air force) named Deryn. They became very good friends. They went through many adventures. In this book, they have heard of a weapon that could end the war and are trying to find the inventor, Nikola Tesla.In the book, the author invents many sophisticated weapons and war machines. There are more developed weapons, ships, airplanes, technology and more. I just can’t imagine how horrible World War I would have been if people really had those new, powerful weapons. So many people died because of poisonous gas and artillery. Imagine the number of deaths in World War I if soldiers used those weapons.Today, many people are trying to build new, stronger weapons.                                                                         


All these weapons and machines were made to kill. One bullet in the head-you’re a goner. Instead of building more things to help the environment, people are making things that will hurt the environment. If we put the same time and effort to make things better in the world, people would not die of starvation. Unfortunately the history of the two World Wars didn’t teach us much.   

The City of Glass

I have started reading the book City of Glass by Cassandra Clare. It is part of a series called the Mortal Instruments. The series is about a girl named Clary that gets mixed up with a world full of monsters. A group called the Shadowhunters bring peace in the world of fairies, werewolves, vampires, and demons. Clary learns that she has Shadowhunter’s blood, when her mother is kidnapped. Now, she is going to the capital city of the Shadowhunters, which is called Alicante, to find her mother.

When I’ve read the title: The City of Glass, I’d thought about New York with all those skyscrapers and buildings made of glass and steel. The thing is that the city of Alicante does not have any glass buildings. It is a normal, wood and brick city. This is very interesting because the author gives this title, but in reality the city is not of glass at all. I hope that later in the book there will be something to clear this out.

I think that this mysterious title, City of Glass, means something else than just the glass as a material. Glass is very smooth and shiny. This can suggest that some of the characters might be nice on the outside (smooth and shiny), but really they are deadly, just like glass is. You can see through glass, but also it gives you some shadowy reflection. Glass and mirror’s reflection are always misleading: your right is left in the mirror. Many of the characters lie to each other, although they try to show themselves clear like a glass. There is also one more characteristic of glass: when is broken, it is sharp and can hurt.

There is a little bit of dramatic irony here: as we read, we learn some things about the characters, but they don’t know that yet or may not ever find out. Life around us is exactly the same: we hide our bad habits, showing only our “good side", but other people talk behind our back and draw a picture of us much different from our own.  

So, I am really into this intriguing story and hope that Clary will uncover the truth by “seeing through” other characters and find her mom. But hope is again like glass, can be easily shattered.      

The Power of Six II

I finished this book and liked it a lot, maybe even better than the first one. In the first post about this book, I said what the book was about. So if you’re reading this and have no idea what I’m talking about, just read my first post about The Power of Six.

This book is told from two perspectives: John Smith, aka Number Four and also a girl named Marina, who happens to be Number Seven. John is still running away from the Mogadorians and the police, while Marina is incognito in a monastery. They have different ideas and different priorities. The author presents them to a reader and leaves it to his/her emotions. At the end of the book, Number Six meets up with Marina and John finds Number Nine. Now, they want to meet up and fight back against the Mogadorians because they are ready. Their powers have been completed and they have many allies.

I’ve studied these four aliens and I had learned a lot about their race. Each of them has different powers called Legacies. For example, John has telekinesis (the ability to move objects with his mind.) Six has the ability to become invisible and Marina has the ability to heal rapidly. Most Loriens (the name of their race) love only one person for life, but John it’s different. Before he loved Sarah but now he starts having feelings about number Six. This makes them more human. They also have different characteristics, which are more like human characteristics. John, for example, is determined, funny, hopeful, and loyal. Marina is patient, loving, optimistic, loyal and hopeful. Maybe you are like this or have a friend with these characteristics? The more these aliens stay on Earth, the more they become human like, with special powers of course.  

So, once again we humans think that aliens are so similar to us. Is this because we are so proud and sure we are the best, although still short of special power? Was the Superman an alien or human? Anyway, the book is fun to read and good to study human traits. 

The Power of Six

Three are dead. I Am Number Four. I have to say, I really enjoyed I Am Number Four by Pitticus Lore. It is full of action and suspense. I finished that book a couple of days ago and now am reading the sequel: The Power of Six. Usually, I think in a series, the first books are the best but I might have to think about that. This book, at least so far, is better than the first. It has a better plot and it is even more action packed. I’m already up to half of the book! I’m not saying the first book is boring. Well, maybe some parts are a little slow. However, both are good.

First I should tell you what I Am Number Four is about. Nine, very special aliens are sent to the Earth to escape from another species of aliens: the Mogadorians. The Mogadorians are hunting them down because they know those nine aliens are the only ones to stop them from destroying humanity. Three of the aliens are dead. The main character, John, is number four. He meets up with the sixth alien, a female. Now John, the Number Six, and Sam, John’s best friend, are running away from the Mogadorians but also looking for the other aliens.

       During their runaway, feelings start to grow. John is starting to think about Number Six more than about his girlfriend, Sarah. It seems like he is starting to have feelings for her. This might cause problems.

First Sam has a crush on Six as well, so he might be jealous. Second, they are heading back to where Sarah lives to find something Sam’s dad hid. When she learns that John likes Number Six, it could lead to problems. Sarah is not telling the police the truth because she thinks John still loves her. If she realizes that he doesn’t anymore, she might tell the police and betray them because of her anger. If she does this, the police will most likely capture them and that will bring the Mogadorians to them.  I don’t think it’s such a good idea to go back. All these things could happen. On the other hand, if they do find what Sam’s dad hid, it might bring all of John’s kind together which will be a great advantage against the Mogadorians.   

It is so interesting that the author puts the very “human feelings” into the alien character. It means that love, hate, jealousy or anger are “universal feelings” in the Universe.  Is this a call against evolutionists? Would it be possible that different species from different worlds have the same feelings and values, or we are all created into an image of the Universal God?  

The Tristan Betrayal

I am reading The Tristan Betrayal, a book of acclaimed bestselling author, Robert Ludlum. It is about an American spy on his mission to deceive army commands of Adolf Hitler during World War II. To do this, he must give specially prepared documents about Red Army to his old time flame girlfriend, so she could pass it on to her German “boyfriend.” This is a hard thing to do. He must lie to her in order to convince her and agree to do it. He is putting her and her father in danger. He has to make a difficult choice between the love of his nation, and the love of his life.

The main character, Stephen Metcalfe is in love with his past time girlfriend, Lana. He is on a spy mission to Moscow during the winter of 1941. A short, “friendly” non-aggression pact between Stalin’s Russia and Hitler’s Third Reich is about to change. He receives an order to pass fake, secret documents to the Germans. The only way to do it is through his youth love, Svetlana. A beautiful Prima Ballerina is in a forced relationship with a German officer, who threatens to denounce her father. Metcalfe loves Lana, but in order to complete his mission, his love is questioned. He must either lie to her and use her or deny the mission.   The turn of the World War II depends on this mission. Despite that he tells her she is going to save Russia; he knows this would make Germany attack her country. Someone has to pay the price for saving Great Britain and the rest of the free World.

Once again a life and happiness of a person is thrown down for wellbeing of others. Metcalfe uses Lana for this reason, but he is used as well. They have to kill and sacrifice this love for “higher reasons.”

You may feel sorry for Lana. She is used in a very crooked way. She is risking everything and Metcalfe knows that. How dare he?!

Looking from the other side, he suffers even more. He knows exactly what he is putting her into and the possible consequences. He truly loves her and this makes things even worse.

Revenge of the Sith: The life of Anakin Skywalker

Releasing the Star Wars Saga in 3-D brought me back to the Revenge of the Sith. No, I’m not a nerd reading Star Wars. I wanted to see how it was as a book.

If any of you did see the star wars movies, you would know who Anakin is. Anakin is the main character in the first three movies of star wars. He was a jedi before he turned to the dark side. I was wondering why he did that and I think I found out why.

As a small boy, Anakin was a slave. He lived with his mother on a sandy planet called Tatooine. He was an unhappy boy and wanted freedom for himself and his mother. A Jedi Knight freed him but couldn’t free his mother. Anakin was very happy to be free but sad to leave his mother behind as a slave. When he grew up, love blinded him. A beautiful senator, Padme Amidala got in Anakin’s interest. Meanwhile, savage sand people killed his mom. He took revenge and killed them all. He never forgave himself that he couldn’t save his mother. Anger was growing inside of him.

More years past and he became a Jedi Knight. He was proud, risky and hot tempered. He was able to defeat Count Dooku, a Sith but the Jedi Council did not make him a Master. He felt under scored and left behind. Anakin was also frightened. He had dreams about Padme Amidala dying. He wanted to save her life. No one could help him except the chancellor. Even when he learned the chancellor was evil, he wanted to serve him for Padme’s life. He turned to the dark side and killed many jedi. Hatred flowed through him. Then he heard that Padme died giving childbirth. He was full of sorrow. Now he lost the two people he loved the most.

Anakin was not a bad person. His life was full of sorrow and unhappiness. He turned to the dark side hoping to change his destiny. He lost everything he had. He hated himself and deep inside was afraid of himself. He could not believe what he had become. Just before his death though, he saved his son, Luke Skywalker. That was one of the best choices he ever made.    

Ranger's Apprentice: Book 3 Reflection

I want to share my reflection about the Ranger’s Apprentice: The Icebound Land and found it very interesting. This is the third book in the series. This book takes place during the reign of kings and queens in a kingdom called Araluen. Rangers are a group of well trained people that are the king’s loyal guards. They carry out special quests and spread peace in the Kingdom. The story focuses on a Ranger’s apprentice, named Will. In the previous book, a battle takes place and Will gets captured along with the king’s daughter, Evanlyn. Now they are fighting for survival. Halt, Will’s master is trying to find Will, even if it means disobeying the king.

The Icebound Land has two perspectives: Will’s and Halt’s.  The style of the author, John Flanagan is very cool. On one chapter, it is Will’s perspective. Then at the end of the chapter, he stops at a suspenseful moment, making you to read more and find out what will happen next. However, when you go into the next chapter, narration shifts the view to Halt’s perspective. I think, I’ve finished this book in only two days because I had always read on, after the chapter ended with a suspenseful moment.  

Unexpectedly I found this book a little bit less interesting than the first two. Somehow I was often able to predict what may happen later, and usually, I was right. Although the third book in the series is more packed with action, overall it is not as good as the first one.

The “thing” that caught my attention is the absolute loyal, ready to sacrifice friendship of Halt. He is disobeying king’s orders to find Will and Evanlyn. The king is tied up with the enemies of his kingdom. To the king, the State is more important than family, but not for Halt. He is risking everything to save Will. Friendship doesn’t have a price. Are we ready to do something like this in the name of friendship? Are we brave enough to do it against all odds? 

The Da Vinci Code II

I have finished The Da Vinci Code and liked it a lot. I especially liked the twist at the end, when it turned out who was Langdon’s adversary to find the Grail. While reading, I always had a question in my mind: why is Langdon trying to find the Grail, even if it means the end of his life. It is a very hard question to answer but I think I figured it out.

In the book, a murdered victim leaves a message to Langdon, right before his death. This message has some clues to possibly find the Holy Grail, which is Langdon’s dream. His friend asks him in the book why he is pursuing these clues to find the Grail. Langdon replies saying he’s a historian and he wants to discover all the unsolved mysteries in life. That might be true. As a little boy, I always wondered about the Holy Grail. I saw the movie Indiana Jones: The Last Crusade where he and his father try and find the Grail. Also, I read the book about King Arthur and the Grail and wanted to learn more about it.

Now the question is: what are Langdon’s intentions? Many historians pursue what they want to learn. Langdon is more determined than most historians I’ve read about. In the book we learn that the Grail is supposedly a woman: Mary Magdalene, a companion of Jesus. It says that she was married to Jesus and had his baby, who then becomes the protoplast of a long dynasty in Europe. Finding the Grail could prove or deny this legend. Langdon follows his dream up to risking his life for scientific reasons but he is also driven by his responsibility and care for the people and world. He knows that other people look for the Grail for their selfish, criminal and murderous reasons. He can predict what could happen when Grail gets into such people and how much problems it can bring. He sees himself as the only one that can “save the world.” It is just another James Bond, Jason Bourne or Ethan Hunt.

And this is what makes this book good. An old war between good and evil takes all you have to offer and in return puts your life in stake, but the prize is worth doing it. This is what makes this genre so great, popular and successful. The controversial material just adds more spices to the book and does good publicity. I am ready to follow Professor Langdon in his search of mysteries. 

Da Vinci Code I

I’ve recently read an article about all false facts and information Dan Brown put into his The Da Vinci Code book. It was quite interesting to see how the author of the article was criticizing Brown for all the myths and legends he mixed up with some true stories. Having some Bible knowledge I’ve decided to check it for myself. So I have just started reading the book The Da Vinci Code and like it a lot. I bet many of you have read this book and even may have seen the movie but I have done neither. It will be a good research for me to see how fiction and truth are mixed to make this controversial book more interesting.

Dan Brown is known of writing books that bring controversies and a lot of opposition, especially from the Catholic Church. His Angels and Demons was one of them, where he had in a very cool way mixed real, historic facts with his own fiction ideas. In the The Da Vinci Code he takes us to the Masonic world of mysterious rites and symbols. In a twisting way he turns upside down the most important beliefs of the Christian world. He says that Jesus has married Mary Magdalene and their son was a protoplast of a European’s royal dynasty. Quite twisting idea isn’t it. Brown says it in his book like it was an absolute truth, and I guess people with little knowledge of this matter may take it. What is interesting about this genre is that this type of mixing facts and myths make the book “more” real. Some people get offended saying that their religious feelings were hurt, but this is just an action book where all people and organizations are portrayed, but fictional.

Dan Brown is not a documentary writer. He is a good fiction writer that skillfully uses subjects and myths for his bestselling success. You can pinpoint all the flaws and culprits, but that’s not the point. I guess Dan Brown is just getting happier about all of those “detective jobs.” More controversy, more publicity for the book and movie – and that’s what is all about.

Title and Setting of The City Of Ashes

I have started reading the book The City of Ashes and really enjoy it. This is the second book in the series, where The City of Bones is the first book. It’s about a girl named Clary who finds herself in the middle of a secret war going on right under the human’s noses. A group called the Clave, led by Shadowhunters is fighting against demons that Valentine, a former Shadowhunter released onto the earth.

         The title of the book has a dark meaning. Ashes are the leftover powder of something that burned. In the book, character emotions burned but later soothed. In the history of the Clave, some pretty bad things happened, and to hide the evidence, the people burned it. Every time you burn something, there is always something left, ash. There is always some evidence left and that can affect lots of people. Ash could be easily blown away, in that case secrets. In the first book Clary learns that terrible secret but now, secrets are forgotten, blown away, taken over by new ones.  

         The setting takes place in New York City. It is dull but mysterious. No Daniel! New York City isn’t dull! I’m not talking about the human world; I mean the secret world of the Shadowhunters. Their life is only about protecting the world from demons. That might be fun for the first few years, but then the dark times come; when secrets are revealed, betrayals happen, and the people you love are taken away.  The setting is dull because of the background, regular brick houses or old churches. It is also mysterious by the places hidden in those dull houses or churches. For example, a church could be a safe house or a refuge for a Shadowhunter while a brick house could be a quick-stop by armory. You don’t know what it is. Is it just a regular house, or a special Shadowhunter place? The setting is perfect for this book. It is like the ash. Ash is dull, a gray/black powder, yet mysterious. How did this piece of wood become ash?

         Right after you read the book, you feel a different way.   You may feel darkness coming over you. You may feel depressed about the horrible things that happened in this book. You could see people watching you as if you are not human. You might think: is that a church or an armory? Was that a Shadowhunter I just walked by? At the end, you somehow just realize that all of this is just a story.       

Samiha Sayef's blog review: Dreamland

                   I have just read Samiha's  post  about Dreamland (http://samihasdarkrose.blogspot.com/2011/12/dreamland-by-sarah-dessen.html) and I like it. I have also noticed that a few people posted on her wall saying that they want to read the book she is talking about. Right in the beginning, she recommends the book to teenagers who are maturing (ages between 15-18.) I think, I have never recommended a book on my posts before and now, I believe, I should do it. Samiha has a specific style in her postings that I haven’t seen in many people’s blogs. She writes a paragraph about what happens in the book and then another paragraph about her thoughts and opinions. I like how she expresses her feelings: shortly but strongly. When she learns that Rogerson caused Caitlin addiction to smoking and drugs, she immediately felt sad and started to worry for Caitlin. When she talks about abusing her, you can feel that Samiha gets even angry. Then Samiha returns to  the last brutal beating Caitlin received and how Rogerson was arrested. She is surprised that Caitlin tried to help Rogerson and was begging the police to not take him away. At the end, Samiha gives her opinion about Caitlyn and the book overall. She feels shocked and mad, just like me when I read that part. Her strong feelings about that raise my interest about the book. Although from the story I am guessing that this book is more for girls than for boys, I think I would like to read this book. I really enjoyed reading this post and I think I have learned something new as well. Definitely in my posts I should evaluate the entire book I am talking about, recommend for other readers and share my opinion for discussion.