Friday, March 30, 2012

Book Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver


Pandemonium is the sequel to Delirium, which I reviewed in an earlier post, and the world of the series has greatly expanded letting us get a better feel of the realm. We no longer see only two stand points on the disease deliria, that of the adults and the children and teens of regulated society, but that of the so called Invalids who are banned and reviled from regular society because they do not wish to receive the cure. The Invalids, now a key part of the story, bring us the opposite view of the cure and how it destroys people and turns them into zombies, which is how they often refer to them, and how they seem to believe that the regulated society must be taken down and destroyed.

At the end of Delirium, Lena escapes from regulated Portland, Maine, but at the cost of losing her boyfriend Alex. In Pandemonium, it begins with Lena in the Wilds taken in by the Invalids as she was teetering on the edge of death not knowing if she wanted to live or die after all she has lost in her quest for love, this section is known as Then. In the second section titled Now, she and her "guardians", Tack and Raven, have infiltrated New York City and are posing as the cured while trying to gain information on the DFA, Deliria-Free America, for the resistance. Lena is assigned to trail Julian Fineman, the son of Thomas Fineman, the head of the DFA, and this results in her getting kidnapped along with him by Scavengers, like Invalids but only cause destruction and chaos, at a DFA rally. They must try and work together to escape.

Ok, I have probably stated this before, but I get easily irritated by books that are constantly switching back and forth between narratives. It can be alright if they switch every few chapter, but they don't it is every 0ther chapter and really some of the chapters are simply pointless and prove nothing to the reader. I get the majority of the "Then" chapters because they are showing how she transformed from a completely weak girl from regulated society where the Cure is everything to a insidious Invalid that will kill if she has to. The "Now" chapters are alright, though, many of them seem to just drag on which does not make for a pleasant read.

The characters in this are different from the ones in the last book in more ways than one, even our main character. Lena in the "Then" chapters is constantly moaning about how weak she is and how she can barely lift the water buckets instead of actually doing something to make herself stronger and really is just dispassionate about everything but her old life. In "Now" she is not moaning about her physical weakness, but is still cut off to what is going on around her, though, this lightens as the story progresses. Also, I find it odd that in "Then" she was crying over having to kill a rabbit but in "Now" kills a girl without so much as a sliver of sympathy, a total 180. I did not really like Julian Fineman's character that much. I get he has cancer and grew up with an overbearing and abusive father, but really his life story is a complete pity train, so, you cannot find much to respect about the character. Also, I do not get how he can be all about the cure one minute and cuddling up to Lena the next. So, the characters really did not win the story for me.

I hated the ending because it was the beginning of my most hated plot device, the love triangle. Seriously, I am tired of seeing young adult novels using this because it is in almost every other book that has a female protagonist. Yes, it has worked in some books, but not all especially because half the time we already no which on is going to be chosen from the beginning, so, it really adds no surprise just useless melodrama that does not add much to the story. Seriously, I was fine with the ending until the last few sentences.

Really, I would not recommend this book to anyone. I would recommend just reading the first book in the series and stop. But, I could be wrong some people might like it.

Friday, March 16, 2012

E-Book vs. Real Book

E-Books, such as Amazon's Kindle and Barnes and Noble's Nook, can be seen everywhere now a days, though, their are still people that are anti-E-Book and refuse to acknowledge the benefits, such as myself before I actually gave the Amazon Kindle a chance. One of my reasons for not
wanting to transfer over to the electric device was because I thought I would miss the feel of holding an actual book, but that was easily fixed with a book-like case. Though, there are upsides and downsides to both of the formats.

Pros of an E-Book
Easy to carry around- Imagine having to carry around a very thick and heavy book, that would be very irritating. Correct? Now imagine having the exact same book on a much thinner E-Book that you could easily slip into any page or if you have a Kindle app on your SmartPhone you would not even have to worry about the Kindle device itself.

The Prices of books are cheaper- Most E-Books books are, at least, a few dollars cheaper than their paperback counterparts. The work of classic authors such as Bronte, Austen, Hawthorne and others are usually free, though, I have found a few I have had to pay for.

Don't have to bother going to the book store or waiting for a book to come in- I really enjoy that all I have to do after finishing a book is either choice another one from my home screen that I haven't read or turn on the Wifi and go into the Kindle Store and buy a book from my wish list. It's quicker and saves gas.

Cons of an E-Book
Breakable- I am not a stranger to the dangers of breaking an E-Book. They will take a fair amount of damage, but hit it against a hard object one two many times and your device is gone and your out at least $80 dollars to replace it. So, I would not suggest having it around children ages 2 - 10 that like to play rough since that is how I lost one of mine. I'm not sure about water damage since I take extra precaution to avoid getting it on my Kindle.


Have to worry about battery life- The battery life of a Kindle depends on whether you have the Wifi on or not, if you rarely have it on the battery can last up to three months but if you have it on constantly it will last two to two and a half weeks at most. It is really disappointing when you are in the middle of a really good part of the book or just about to finish a book and your device just dies on you.

Don't always have full web access- I have been asked many times if I am able to get on the internet and the answer for the model I have, the Kindle Keyboard 3G, at least is no. I have tried many times to tried many times and it is incredibly slow and the page never fully loads. So, if you want web access get the Kindle Fire or iPad 2.

Pros of a Real Book
Able to lend it out- I get freaked out when someone so much as pokes my Kindle without my permission, so, I would not be caught dead lending it to someone besides my mother, but she paid for it, so, I don't have a choice there. Where's with a standard paperback I see no problem with lending it out once I'm done with it.

Don't have to worry about a battery- This one is pretty self explainable.

Cons
Takes up space: If the book is fairly thick it is going to take up a bit of room in your bag and shelf once you are through with it.

Have to make a trip to the store to buy it or wait for it to come in the mail

MU Student Teaching



Marshall University, named after John Marshall who was the great Chief Justiceof the United States, was established in 1837. For years Spring Valley students have continued their education through Marshall! But, not only does Marshall have superior Journalism program and house the Joan C. Edwards school of Medicine, but it is also very well known for its impressive Education program!

Generally after four years of attending Marshall and being involved in the Education program, MU students will complete a certain number of hours of student teaching. The number of hours can differ due to a number of factors such as one's major or classes taken prior to their student teaching. Marshall has been offering their pre-graduates the chance to get some hands on class room experience for years. Needless to say they have their program and way of doing things down to a science! SVHS, along with multiple other high schools, middle schools, and elementary schools become the work place of these students for sometimes as long as a semester!
I think that if you're serious about becoming a teacher, Marshall University should definitely be taken into consideration when determining where you will go for your schooling! Marshall is a great school full of potential and oppertunities that will without a doubt lead you on your way to whatever it is you want to do with your life!

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Tornado destroys Kentucky and parts of Wayne County, WV.

The tornado that occurred last Friday, March 2nd, hit most of eastern Kentucky and southwest West Virginia. West Liberty was hit by a EF3 tornado, which means that the tornado was strong but not violent. The EF3 scale can go from EF0-EF5, EF0 being the weakest and EF5 being the most violent. Damage surveys revealed that winds likely peaked around 140 MPH, and the reported width of the damage path was 200 yards. A disaster recovery center will open in West Liberty, KY on Saturday, March 10, to help survivors with troubles and damage they received from the past tornadoes. At the end of this blog entry, I've provided a link to look at the before and after look of West Liberty.

In other news, Dunlow, West Virginia was also hit with a tornado. There were many reports about clothing, home goods, and debris throughout the city. Many homes were destroyed, and lives were in danger. Luckily, there were no major injuries or fatalities reported from Wayne County. It will take many weeks to clean up the area, but with the help from volunteers, friends, and families, the job will get done quickly. We need to do everything possible to help our community and our nearby cities.

http://www.weather.com/outlook/weather-news/news/articles/west-liberty-before-after_2012-03-04