Book Review: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
Goodreads: Of all the contenders for the title of The Great American Novel, none has a better claim than The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Intended at first as a simple story of a boy's adventures in the Mississippi Valley - a sequel to The Adventures of Tom Sawyer - the book grew and matured under Twain's hand into a work of immeasurable richness and complexity. More than a century after its publication, the critical debate over the symbolic significance of Huck's and Jim's voyage is still fresh, and it remains a major work that can be enjoyed at many levels: as an incomparable adventure story and as a classic of American humor.

Rate(1-10): 8

Book Review: The Awakening by Kate Chopin

The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Book Summary: This story of a woman's struggle with oppressive social structures received much public contempt at its first release; put aside because of initial controversy, the novel gained popularity in the 1960s, some six decades after its first publication, and has since remained a favorite of many readers. Chopin's depiction of a married woman, bound to her family and with no way to assert a fulfilling life of her own, has become a foundation for feminism and a classic account of gender crises in the late Victorian era.

Rating(1-10): 7

Book Review: Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury
Goodreads Synopsis: The terrifyingly prophetic novel of a post-literate future. Guy Montag is a fireman. His job is to burn books, which are forbidden, being the source of all discord and unhappiness. Even so, Montag is unhappy; there is discord in his marriage. Are books hidden in his house? The Mechanical Hound of the Fire Department, armed with a lethal hypodermic, escorted by helicopters, is ready to track down those dissidents who defy society to preserve and read books. The classic dystopian novel of a post-literate future, Fahrenheit 451 stands alongside Orwell’s 1984 and Huxley’s Brave New World as a prophetic account of Western civilization’s enslavement by the media, drugs and conformity. Bradbury’s powerful and poetic prose combines with uncanny insight into the potential of technology to create a novel which, decades on from first publication, still has the power to dazzle and shock.

Rate(1-10): 7.5

Book Review: The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Book Summary: Set in the harsh Puritan community of seventeenth-century Boston, this tale of an adulterous entanglement that results in an illegitimate birth reveals Nathaniel Hawthorne's concerns with the tension between the public and the private selves. Publicly disgraced and ostracized, Hester Prynne draws on her inner strength and certainty of spirit to emerge as the first true heroine of American fiction. Arthur Dimmesdale, trapped by the rules of society, stands as a classic study of a self divided.

Rate(1-10): 7

Book Review: The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger

The Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
Book Summary: Since his debut in 1951 as The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield has been synonymous with "cynical adolescent." Holden narrates the story of a couple of days in his sixteen-year-old life, just after he's been expelled from prep school, in a slang that sounds edgy even today and keeps this novel on banned book lists. It begins,
"If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you'll probably want to know is where I was born and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don't feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth. In the first place, that stuff bores me, and in the second place, my parents would have about two hemorrhages apiece if I told anything pretty personal about them."

His constant wry observations about what he encounters, from teachers to phonies (the two of course are not mutually exclusive) capture the essence of the eternal teenage experience of alienation.
Liana's Summary: Holden Caulfield is kicked out of Pencey Prep School because he was failing four courses, basically all but English. English, he passed. This story revolves around the journey he takes between getting kicked out and going back home to his parents. Caulfield narrates with a very interesting voice and is a very interesting character.

Rate(1-10): 8.7

Book Review: The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan

The Joy Luck Club by Amy Tan
Book Summary: For readers of Amy Tan's bestselling novel, The Valley of Amazement, revisit her classic tale of mothers and daughters

Four mothers, four daughters, four families whose histories shift with the four winds depending on who's "saying" the stories. In 1949 four Chinese women, recent immigrants to San Francisco, begin meeting to eat dim sum, play mahjong, and talk. United in shared unspeakable loss and hope, they call themselves the Joy Luck Club. Rather than sink into tragedy, they choose to gather to raise their spirits and money. "To despair was to wish back for something already lost. Or to prolong what was already unbearable." Forty years later the stories and history continue.

With wit and sensitivity, Amy Tan examines the sometimes painful, often tender, and always deep connection between mothers and daughters. As each woman reveals her secrets, trying to unravel the truth about her life, the strings become more tangled, more entwined. Mothers boast or despair over daughters, and daughters roll their eyes even as they feel the inextricable tightening of their matriarchal ties. Tan is an astute storyteller, enticing readers to immerse themselves into these lives of complexity and mystery.

Liana's Summary: The Joy Luck Club is a story following the past and present of four mothers and daughters in a struggle to bridge the culture gap between Chinese people and American people.

Rate(1-10): 8.5

Book Review: Macbeth by William Shakespeare

Macbeth by William Shakespeare
Let's just skip right to my summary because all the Goodreads "synopses" are not legit at all..
Liana's Summary: Macbeth, originally thane of Glamis, has been promoted to thane of Cawdor. Three witches told him a prophecy that said he would eventually become king-- this troubles him. He actually becomes king, and that is the start to his ultimate downfall.

Rate(1-10): 6.5

Book Review: Lord of the Flies by William Golding.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
Book Summary: William Golding's compelling story about a group of very ordinary small boys marooned on a coral island has become a modern classic. At first it seems as though it is all going to be great fun; but the fun before long becomes furious and life on the island turns into a nightmare of panic and death. As ordinary standards of behaviour collapse, the whole world the boys know collapses with them—the world of cricket and homework and adventure stories—and another world is revealed beneath, primitive and terrible. Lord of the Flies remains as provocative today as when it was first published in 1954, igniting passionate debate with its startling, brutal portrait of human nature. Though critically acclaimed, it was largely ignored upon its initial publication. Yet soon it became a cult favorite among both students and literary critics who compared it to J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye in its influence on modern thought and literature.

Labeled a parable, an allegory, a myth, a morality tale, a parody, a political treatise, even a vision of the apocalypse, Lord of the Flies has established itself as a true classic.

Liana's Summary: When their plane crashes, a group of boys are stranded on an island, with no surviving adults. So the only thing to do is take care of themselves-- but first, who must be elected as leader? Ralph is beautiful, with an air of leadership, too. Plus, he gathered the very first meeting. Why not him? When the boys hear about a so-called 'beast,' everything goes downhill. Unnecessary worry is caused. Jack just wants to hunt, while Ralph is trying a bit too hard. The boys argue-- and that leads to further disaster..

Rate(1-10): 8

I've been wanting to read this book for quite a while. It's rare that I'd actually like to read a classic, but this one just appealed to me more than other classics. Plus, there were many positive reviews, and I think the thing I saw most often was 'I enjoyed reading this book in high school.' And that just leads me to the topic of assigned reading. Some people didn't, don't, and will/would not like this book if it was assigned to them in school. (It's ok. I hate it when the teacher stops on every single frickin' page just to analyze something and take note of something, too. It's darned annoying.) I'll just say that I'm glad this was a summer assignment, so I got to read at my own pace.

I'll admit that I used SparkNotes. It's not that I couldn't understand it (well maybe it is), but because the words were so small and I was so tired and there were so many things to take note of and so many questions to answer-- so yes, I used SparkNotes. But I actually did read the whole thing. I kind of gave up not using SparkNotes because someone spoiled for me one of the deaths-- and for your sake, if you haven't read it, I won't say who died. But someone died.. I'll just say that I wouldn't have understood much of the book if it weren't for the internet..

What I heard about this book before I read it was that it was about a bunch of boys on an island trying to survive. The first thought that came to my head was.. you guessed it (or maybe not) The Hunger Games. LOL. It's like the word survival is just linked to THG. That's what appealed to me. I just distinctly remember my SAT Essay teacher talking about using book references, and he used Lord of the Flies.. and I was just, Lord of the Flies? Da haaaaail. (Exactly what my dad said when he saw what I was reading..) I think that's part of what appealed to me, actually, despite my incredulity at the title. Classics usually have boring titles, like, well.. Pride and Prejudice. What I found even more interesting was that the title Lord of the Flies had a deeper meaning to it despite the actual, physical.. flies. And I'll leave that to you, reader who hasn't read this book yet, to decipher the meaning when you read it. For those who have read it, you know what I mean.

One day I'll probably look back at this and say, "I enjoyed reading that book in high school." Maybe. We shall see..

There was a study guide (since we'll have a test on this the first day of school, apparently), and it really helped. When I read To Kill a Mockingbird last summer, I was surprised that I actually knew what happened in the book, because, well, like I said, it's a classic. It was actually the study guide questions that helped me understand it.

Lord of the Flies isn't that hard to understand, really, and I think that I learned I really need to expand my vocabulary. All I remember from this book is ululation, which, just for the record, means screaming/tongue trilling/high-pitched weird noises/Tarzan scream.. sorta..

What I found most amazing in this book was how William Golding managed to show the deterioration of the boys' innocence. In the very beginning, the boys were still civilized and like, well, boys. But then they slowly turned into animals and Tarzans. I think Tarzan is even more civilized than they are. And he's a gorilla. Sort of.. There was a huge fight scene at the end, (I won't say between who) and I just thought back to the very beginning where everything was civilized and I was just like, whoa. This book really portrays Golding's views about the parliamentary system. He believed, apparently, that anarchism is terrible and there always needs to be democratic rule or a society will descend into chaos. He portrayed it really well..

Okay, I really don't like any of the characters. At all. They're all obnoxious little turds. Except for Simon... -chokes- um, at first, I thought that I only liked Simon because of his name and Simon Lewis from TMI but.. really, I actually liked Simon a lot. I felt like his role was all the boys' root to civilization, but then that all fell apart..

If I sound really educated and smart it's the SparkNotes and the study guide--which ended up being 6 pages front and back omg there were so many questions gah I really hate reading books with the class because we go too slow and the teacher stops too much like ok we get it

But yeah, I'd recommend this to whoever's interested.. Who hasn't read Lord of the Flies? (Says me, who'd just finished it yesterday.)

Book Review: The Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines.

A Gathering of Old Men by Ernest J. Gaines.
Book Summary: Set on a Louisiana sugarcane plantation in the 1970s, A Gathering of Old Men is a powerful depiction of racial tensions arising over the death of a Cajun farmer at the hands of a black man. 

Liana's Summary: It all started with the death of a Cajun farmer-- killed by a black man. Unheard of, and completely just wrong in the 1970s. But who exactly killed him? With everyone trying to take the blame, how can the sheriff be sure who exactly killed him? Gaines writes with a grace that powerfully displays the racism back then.

Rate(1-10): 8.5

I'll just say it now: If it wasn't an assignment, I wouldn't have picked up this book at all. But, oh, my gawd. Aren't I glad that I picked it up. It's actually a really good book-- probably the second best classic novel I've read, which really isn't much.. Usually, when I read classics, I find myself looking at SparkNotes for help. Like, every sentence. Or, like when I read Pride and Prejudice for the sake of reading it and skimmed everything and didn't really care or know what was happening.. maybe i'll have to reread that with SparkNotes

Before reading this book, I knew that there was a lot of racism back then. Before reading To Kill a Mockingbird, I was really clueless about the racial tensions. After reading A Gathering of Old Men, I think I've broadened my views.

Gaines wrote with modern, clear language that wasn't hard to keep up with. (Didn't even use SparkNotes bwahaha) I would definitely recommend this to anyone, even those who despise classics-- let's see if this changes their mind.

Book Review: The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.

 The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas.
Book Summary: When hot-blooded young d'Artagnan comes to Paris to seek his fortune, he finds himself challenged to a duel with not one, but three of the King's Musketeers. But Athos, Porthos and Aramis are to become his greatest friends, and companions in dangerous adventure when he becomes embroiled in the intrigues of the Court and the beautiful, evil Lady de Winter. *This edition has been specially abridged for Puffin Classics.

Liana's Summary: D'Artagnan's dream is to become a musketeer. But when  he actually comes to Paris, he realizes that it's not so easy. He meets Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, immediately upsetting them and setting himself in a position to duel with three of the king's greatest musketeers. What d'Artagnan doesn't expect, though, is to be spared and to make friends with those three and to set out on a dangerous mission and task meanwhile escaping the wrath of the evil Lady de Winter.

Rate(1-10): 9

Ermagerd, yeah. This was such a good book. 

To be honest, the only reason I picked it up was because of my requirement to read classics in my high school years. And I thought I was going to be yawning in boredom, but might as well give it a try anyways. I think that teens, such as myself, aren't really interested in reading Classics but instead like to read YA fantasy, paranormal, sci-fi, etc. (If they like to read at all.) Because. Well. Classics aren't exactly the easiest thing in the world to understand, are they? There's a lot of interpretation involved, and don't forget the VOCABULARY. I always find the most vocab in the classical novels to research. 

And when I finally read this I realized that classics aren't half-bad as I thought they were, lol. As I said, I actually liked this book a lot.

The author does a pretty good job with description. I could picture all the people he described. Although it sort of annoyed me that all classics have more narrating than dialogue. And I love dialogue. In my own writing I get excited whenever I get to the dialogue parts. 

Also, the author, like most classical writers, are really good irony writers and so much things are freaking ironic you almost fall out of your chair every single time. 
He's also very good with humor. I found myself cracking up at ridiculous times in which I wasn't really supposed to laugh because of the scene but I laughed anyways because some things in the book aren't really what you see in your everyday YA novel.

So of course there's a barbie movie version of it. (Yeah I watched it, duh) And there are several similarities except the barbie one was altered a little for the sake of little girls. There isn't any killing (there's a lot of killing, and lots of action to go along with it) or really awkward love-scenes (quite a few of those, I'm just glad classical authors don't describe them in depth. Don't want this to be a 50 Shades of Grey here) in the barbie movie. In the movie, there isn't any romance at all. And the main character is a girl. But the similarities, even small, are still there because the main characters both have the same ambitions and they're both pretty insistent on doing what they want to do. (The qualities of a musketeer!)

So, the main character in this novel, d'Artagnan, an ambitious young man in his twenties, is actually pretty likable but his actions are ridiculous and forward and he has to pay dearly for it afterwards. And he's cocky too. LOL. He's often referred to in this book as 'our hero'. He is, pretty much, I guess.

Okay so a note on the romance. It is so freaking sad because, well, first of all, it was love at first sight, which isn't sad, but annoying still, and the lady was already married and then they fall for each other? Then what's the point of marrying her old fart of a husband besides for money. And at the end. I literally screamed out loud because of the flipping tragicness of it. 

This is actually a really good example of the good guys prevailing (not to mention giving a few sacrifices) and the bad guys getting their deserved punishment.

There are a lot of deaths and I'm sad to say that not all of them were bad guys.

Out of the musketeers I like Aramis the best because I just do. LOL.

Honestly, I don't think the ending was a sad/happy one at all but was just a 'as a matter of fact the end'. We went through an adventure with our heroes, the end. 

Yeah, as I have mentioned before, this is a really good book. Give it a try!

Quotes!

"Hi there!"



"He therefore noticed at once that the woman was young and beautiful."

That has to be the first thing he notices?

"Give it back or, by God, I'll run you all through like larks on a spit!"

I LOVE HOW WHENEVER A CHARACTER GETS SOMETHING TAKEN FROM THEM THEY SAY 'GIVE IT BACK' LIKE IT'S GONNA HELP AHAH THAT'S HILARIOUS

"They're afraid of smallpox, Sir," said Porthos. "It would be a shame if it were, because it would quite spoil his looks."

That's not awkward at all how a guy said that

"What a silly, hare-brained ass I am!"


Yah. Glad you noticed.

"..I like my head; I don't think it looks too bad on my shoulders. I mean to kill you all right."



"Don't try to find your wife!"




"I'm going to jump down from the window," cried d'Artagnan. "It's quicker that way."

This so reminds me of the scene in Cinderella III where the prince jumped down from the window when the father was like "I forbid you from going down any of these stairs!"

"He was thinking of Madame Bonacieux."

Love at first sight annoys me so much.

"..she may be pretty, too. How exciting!"




"You're altogether adorable."



"..Monsieur Athos has been arrested."



"Take it and remove your odious presence from my sight."

This is so hilarious #BrbDying

"Are you mad?"

U MAD BRO?

"..You've never been in love!"

That's so mean.

"You're right."



"And he kissed her, at which the poor girl blushed a cherry red."

This is in every way wrong because he's taking advantage of her little crush on him as his key to finding things out.

"..finished her toilet for the night."

Is this really what it sounds like or was the 'toilet' something else back then. LOL ERMAGERD

"The love-making of.."

Oh my goodness whyyyyyyy.

"I'm sure you're very nice, but you'd be even nicer if you went away."


"Oh, Sir, near or far, I shall love you always,"

I can't take this seriously because my sister made up a rhyme about farts and she had to use 'near or far' in it.

"And I'll always love you, Kitty."

LIES! HE SPEAKS LIES!

"Where are you? Why aren't you here to support me?"


"..and abjectedly kissed his rescuer's feet."

Is that what they did back then as a sign of gratitude omg

"Madame Bonacieux mechanically drank down the wine."



"D'Artagnan, d'Artagnan!" she called. "Is it you? I'm here!"
"Constance, Constance!" called the young man in reply. "In Heaven's name, where are you?"


HURRY D'ARTAGNAN UGH



"A single cry of horror rang through the room. All four men had cried out together but Athos' voice rose above the rest."


"You're not a woman! You're not a human at all! You're a fiend escaped from Hell and we're sending you back where you belong."


WELL SAID OKAY


---------------
OH DANG I JUST FOUND OUT THIS IS A SERIES FKDJFK MUST GET NEXT BOOK THEN.
And that's that. What did you think of this review? (:

Book Review: Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.

 Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck.
Book Summary: The tragic story of the complex bond between two migrant laborers in Central California. They are George Milton and Lennie Small, itinerant ranch hands who dream of one day owning a small farm. George acts as a father figure to Lennie, who is a very large, simple-minded man, calming him and helping to rein in his immense physical strength.

Liana's Summary: George and Lennie are an odd pair. One small and short with someone big and tall. However, one's size does not determine one's maturity, logical sense, and memory. But of course, it determines one's strength. And when one does not have logic sense, one cannot know or control their own strength, and that can lead to horrid things.

Rate(1-10): 8.5

As this book was school assigned, I honestly did not expect this much out of it. After all, it was 107 pages. However, when we started reading as a class, I somewhat got sucked into it.

But, I still hate reading with the class because there's always that kid who reads too quietly and that kid with the temporary dyslexia. Mean, but true. Also, the teacher's stopping and analyzing is seriously getting on my nerves. It's not just my English teacher-- I'm saying EVERY single English teacher does that when we read a book. Like, it's right there in plain text. "SO WHERE DID HE GO?" Unless it's critical thinking. My teacher actually stopped so we could critically think. (Very unlike all my previous teachers, which proves she's the BEST teacher ever) And it actually helped me understand most of the story. Like, when I read To Kill a Mockingbird, the questions we were assigned to answer let me think deeply in thought- therefore, I understood it.

So, as you've read in my summary, I said that Lennie, obviously cannot control his strength. That it will 'lead to horrid things.' Well then, it did. Just saying that. I don't want to spoil much.

Character Discussions: (They have the weirdest names.)

George: He's really short-tempered. He happens to yell "SON-OF-A-BITCH" a lot in this book. In the movie, he said it like, 5 times in a row. He tries to express control over Lennie, telling him what to do. He may seem horrible and mean, but in the end, you realize that he's actually a really kind and caring person.

Lennie: Has something called Intellectual Disability. He's sort of autistic, but not quite. He's like a small toddler, trying to please George whenever he can. So basically, he's a grown man, with a child's mind. Also, he can't remember NOTHIN'. Swear. Nothing. Except for the rabbits. He loves rabbits..

Curley: Him and his wife are the only people in this whole book I actually legitimately dislike. When I first got introduced to him, the first thought that came in mind was, "What kind of name is Curley." Like, curly whirly? Reminds me of Curly fries. Mkay, anyways. He's actually sort of the antagonist in this book. He hates on Lennie just because he's bigger than all the rest. And he has a glove full of Vaseline.. to keep his hand soft.. for his wife.. Just explore your mind. I know ya'll are very dirty minded. (: And I know that's totally gross.

Curley's Wife: *Clicks tongue* *Does it again* *Does it repeatedly fast* I cannot click my tongue enough for this stupid woman. After all, she's married, and she still goes around and hits on guys, showing her legs. Her fate was definitely deserved. But unlike Curley, I actually felt a little bad for her at the end. A LITTLE. She never got a name in the book. Only "Curley's wife." It's probably because, since this book was written long ago,(no women's rights) Steinbeck thought that she wasn't important enough.

Candy: Well, isn't he a talkative old man. At first, I thought he was really annoying and suspicious, but then after the people... *spoiler*(highlight the white space between the red text to view)> shot his dog <*end of spoiler*... I actually felt pity for him. Also, a liking. But he is irritable. I totally laughed inappropriately when he said "Poor bastard" on a sad part. omg.

Slim: He seemed quite kind and nice in the beginning. He's really respected. Honestly, I don't even know what to say for him. He's different from the rest?

Crooks: I thought it was really messed up how they called him the 'nigger' the entire story. And Curley's Wife is all like, "Listen nigger, blah blah blah," and I'm very uncomfortable with people's racism. Anyways, Crooks is actually pretty nice. He's a good listener!
------------

If my 'friends' didn't spoil the ending of this book to me, then I would have been more shocked at the huge twist at the end. BUT NO. But still, due to Steinbeck's great writing, I still got shocked and my heart still wrenched at the last two pages. There. Dramatic.

I'm very sorry to say, but, I don't have any quotes.(Which is why you got the Character Discussions. So I could talk about something and take up space. LOL.) I really wanted to do them as I read, but it was in-class, and, I did not have any sticky tabs. So yeah. This is a rare occasion though-- I will still be doing quotes for books that I myself choose to read!

So, what did you think of this review? (:

Book Review: The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain.

The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain.
Rich with surprise and hilarious adventure, The Prince and the Pauper is a delightful satire of England’s romantic past and a joyful boyhood romp filled with the same tongue-in-cheek irony that sparks the best of Mark Twain’s tall tales. Two boys, one an urchin from London’s filthy lanes, the other a prince born in a lavish palace, unwittingly trade identities. Thus a bedraggled “Prince of Poverty” discovers that his private dreams have all come true—while a pampered Prince of Wales finds himself tossed into a rough-and-tumble world of squalid beggars and villainous thieves. Originally written as a story for children, The Prince and the Pauper is a classic novel for adults as well—through its stinging attack on the ageless human folly of attempting to measure true worth by outer appearances.

Liana's summary: When Tom Canty meets Prince Edward of Wales, they immediately switch places, for Tom is sick of being beaten by his cruel father, and Edward is sick of attending to his royal duties. When they actually live each other's lives, though, it's not as easy as they thought it would be.

Rate(1-10): 8.7

This book is going to be my last classic and or historical book for a long, long while. I can't stand 3 in a row! Fine. Two. I seriously can't. I think I'll go on to Cameron Dokey now. So, I'm not sure if this is the original story of where all the retellings came from, but, it's by Mark Twain, so yaknoe. If you watch the Barbie movie, (Yes I watched the Barbie movie.) of Princess and the Pauper, they switch places too, obviously, but the only difference really is a crazy old antagonist that wants the throne badly and there's Barbie guys out of nowhere. I don't know. I guess you can watch the movie for the Princesses, or you can read this book. I personally like the book. I like the movie too, but yeah. LOL, me and my recommendations of Barbie movies. Hey! It's a good reference and comparison.

I don't know, this book reminded me of the Princess Bride somehow. I love that book. <3

Since Mark Twain is an  'old dead white guy', I half-expected this book to be history-related and the opposite Genre of what I like.  Buttt, Twain's a surprisingly good author! Yay! (: I LOVE IT. Now he makes me want to read more of his books. But I said, break from classics. Okay. I'm sick of the vocab too. Recently, I just started a vocab journal, and I think it's a great idea, but I'd rather not waste my tabs. I used all my sticky tabs on vocab. D: I don't want to keep a journal with me when I read, either, so yeah. I don't know how I'm going to fit the book back in the drawer, because..

 

Look at all those tabs! I know you can't see it. My hair is in the top right corner. I mean left. It's late in the night. Ehe.

All the chapter titles in this book are actually quite spoiling, which reminds me of Rick Riordan and his awesome chapter titles. (x

I would like to bring it to everyone's attention that I am so thankful I was born in this century. Seriously, I wouldn't be able to stand pooping in a chamber pot. ._. What if I fall in?! OMG. Dismiss this matter.

Also, what I like is that the narrator is still engaged into telling the story and adding additional comments, like, "Let us leave him there for present." And I think it's pretty cool. In my currently-processing-book Incend, I just let the narrator be sort of like me and inherit my way of attitude and talking. And then the rest of the book is first person. In the preview on this blog, I didn't include the Prologue because it's a PREVIEW. So no prologue. And I wanted to give you a sensation for BOTH character introductions. <3 I know, I know, Harry Stephens is so much like Daniel Wing. But lamer. :c Okay. I'll keep trying. I'll never be able to surpass the hotness of Daniel Wing from Legend by Marie Lu, but I'm still writing! (: That's my motive to make Harry merely 'sort-of' like him. I'm giddy.

So, behold: QUOTE REACTIONS. <3
Note: All dialogue in this book is old English. (thy, thou, thee, shall.) Except for the narrator, and I was kinda thrown aback. I was like, how am I supposed to read this? I think I've gotten the hang of it now. Anyways, here you go! Right. One more thing:

Thy= your
thee=you
thou=you

In case you didn't know. (: And they tend to add -eth to present perfect verbs. (ex- This book teacheth thy lessons.)

"...and soundly beaten for it by her husband."

-horrified.- What kind of dad and husband is he? MONSTER!

"...Prince of Wales!" 

WHALES. AHAHA. Sorry. I tend to be immature during classic novels.

"Oh, my lord, on thy knees?-and to me!"

What's with servants doing that? ._.

"Kiss me, my prince."

Saaay whaaaaat?

"..scratching his nose himself."

This part was the part where Tom the pauper was afraid of scratching his nose because of his fear of breaking the rules of etiquette. And then he quit trying and just scratched his nose. I thought he was going to sneeze!

"Go: Time flieth!"
Flieth. (x That sounds funny.

"Let these swine do their will upon me alone."
Let me take a moment to laugh at his use of 'swine'. And how he used it. Ahem, anyway,WHAT A NOBLE PRINCE. <3 

"..hanged, drawn, and quartered,.."
D: You're mad.

"..worser fate?"
Worser's not a word! >:T No fair, how come he gets to use it, but I don't? D: I was always told that worser wasn't a word, but I liked to use it anyway, haha.

"Why should he whip thee for the faults of mine?"
That's not right. Whipping somebody because you did something wrong yourself. Ugh. Pompous royalty is disgusting.

"..To save thee thy whipping?"
Thee thy!

"My memory mendeth, thou seest."
Sounds so weird. I wondered how I would sound if I were born back then.

"By pulling off their stockings, sire."
Oh, hey, these people pulled off their stockings so they should die. WHAT IS WRONG WITH THEM?! SKFL:SDJ

"..by knocking Hobbs down with his fist.."

aha! HA! THAT'S WHAT YOU GET, YOU CRUEL MAN! A WHACK IN THE FACE!

"..to furnish a breakfast for them."
Barging into someone's house and putting their dirty feet on the table, demanding they cook breakfast. I really hate these people.

"I? Thou idiot!"
It would've sounded better if he used 'dolt' instead of 'idiot." This made me laugh so hard. THOU IDIOT! (x When I wrote... fine, gave a.. bad attempt to write a Medieval story with dragons and princesses, I didn't know that I was supposed to make them talk like that. D; Whale. I'm sticking to Dystopian for now. I liketh it. I know, I think I didn't use that right either. Aha.

"Thou shalt have three, though hapless creature,..."

Ugh. Liars are disgusting! Look at this poor dolt pitying the wrong person!

"The king was cordially ashamed of himself..."
Do not be ashamed. I would've been scared too. D;

"..made a cozy bed for itself in his bosom.."
EW! I would scream.

"..gave him a basket of kittens to drown,"

Who would drown kittens?! D; Is this like, a tradition, or something? KITTEN ABUSE! I don't like cats, or dogs, or flies, or anything that can fly, or ladybugs, you get the point. But kittens are cute enough. (Which reminds me of the time I was in the car, and there was this ladybug on the car ceiling, and it fluttered down and I screamed so much my dad thought I was getting kidnapped. And then it went to the window and I tried to blow it out and then I couldn't budge it and my dad tried to squish it but then I told him not to because that's disgusting and I didn't want to look at ladybug flesh afterwards. So then I told my dad to open the window, and then he opened all three windows BESIDES the one the ladybug was on, and I just got so exasperated that I just leaned over really fast and rolled the window down. And then I started blowing. I had to do it like a billion times and then the ladybug flew away. I screamed so much! LADYBUGS ARE GRUESOME. And that, is the story, from last last week. Hope you enjoyed yourself. LOL. What has this come to? From drowning kittens to stupid ladybugs. I hate ladybugs. Even ladybug earrings give me the creeps. So do butterflies. :c Anyway, back to the quotes.)

"....a fagot fire..."
Faggot? Faggot? What? Fagot? I pronounced it 'faggot' this whole time! I think it's kind of like, a type of coal? Yay me, I taught myself vocab from context clues. ._.

"..be not afraid-touch it."
NO DON'T TOUCH IT EDWARD I'M SCARED. D:

"Pray the prayer for the dying!"
CRAZY OLD MAN SAYING THIS CRAZILY. Imagine that.

"..it was Miles Hendon's voice!"
MILES HENDON TO THE RESCUE. <3 So brave. And, that, is why, he is my favorite character. He so reminds me of Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride. Maybe that's the only resemblance.

"Lie me no lies, sir priest, play me no deceptions!"
HENDON'S WISE QUOTE. I think this is my favorite line. Besides, "Thou idiot!" of course. I must use this line. Sometime.

"But I am not a man."
Nooo, you're a deceiving, nasty, dirty fat old ajd;flajklfdj man!

"...and lead thine ass..."
Sorry. I forgot that 'ass' meant donkey. AHAHA. I laughed at this part with all the immaturity I could muster. I mean, all my immaturity came out at that word. (x

"Unhand me, thou foolish creature; it was not I that reaved thee of thy paltry goods."
This sentence doesn't seem to fit together with itself. LOL. I still laughed at 'thy paltry goods.'

"But Hugh only drew back.."
D; YOU'RE NOT ACCEPTING YOUR LOVING BROTHER?! CURSE YOUUU. -seethe-

"And whom does thou imagine thyself to be?"
Dumbest. Question. Ever.

"I know him not!" 
Stupid lady. You know him too. I know you know you know you know him. And I think you know I know what you know.

"I swear."
Stupid lady.

"...and sentenced him to death."
Once again, I am glad I wasn't born in that century where people just get sentenced to death without a proper trial!

"I do not know you, woman!" 
HOW DARE YOU. YOU SHOULD GO TO HAAAAIL FOR SAYING THAT.

"-the stone of Scone."
It sounded funny. :3 STONE OF SCONE. ehhe.

"I am the king!"
Yes you are, and Tom is foolish.

So, that is the end of my quote reactions. The end of this book, is pretty much happy, where the bad guys die and get punish for their sins, and the main characters just go back to their lives, with their minds full of adventure. I do dare say that this book is worth reading!

Book Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.
Book Summary: Elizabeth Bennet is the perfect Austen heroine: intelligent, generous, sensible, incapable of jealousy or any other major sin. That makes her sound like an insufferable goody-goody, but the truth is she's a completely hip character, who if provoked is not above skewering her antagonist with a piece of her exceptionally sharp -- but always polite -- 18th century wit. The point is, you spend the whole book absolutely fixated on the critical question: will Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy hook up?
Liana's summary: Elizabeth Bennet is the most graceful Bennet daughter. Although she is awfully prejudiced. When charming Fitzwilliam Darcy comes along, Elizabeth starts out hating him- but will that start change?

Rate(1-10): 7

What makes this book quite different from other books is that there isn't really a problem and a climax, but I'd say it's pretty good. I wonder if there's a movie. If I watch the movie, I would get the story a bit more, since there was a lot of advanced vocabulary in this book that I've just barely learned.  The language used in this book was so old that I had some immature moments. Well, you'll see. Quote reactions!

"Let me mend it for you. I mend pens remarkably well."
This was the first line in the whole book that made me do a double take.

"....when hearing her brother mentioning a ball.."

She's so nosy. :c

"I should like balls infinitely better."
Balls. Immature moment, sorry. x)

"Mr. Darcy is not to be laughed at!"
YES. DEFEND YOUR MAN.

"...fame had fallen short of the truth.."

Scoff. How rude.

"..but he continued to apologize for about a quarter of an hour."
Ugh. Disgusting man.

"I have spent four days in the same house with him.."

Uhm. Ahem.

"Everybody is disgusted with his pride."

Ah. So I see. But you should not be so prejudiced! (;

"...she accepted him.."

This is not reasonable!

"..when I solicit for the honour of a private audience with her in the course of this morning?"
No! I don't like this guy. :O

"I am therefore by no means discouraged...."
WHAT KIND OF MAN ARE YOU.

"I shall hope to receive a more favourable answer than you have now given me;...."
She said no already, what's your problem? :T

"Yes, or I will never see her again."
The brutality of arranged marriage!

"Mr. Collins is a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly man;.."
Ouuu, keep going, girl!

"Because he is trying to get a girl with only ten thousand pounds, you want to find out that he is mercenary."
What? 10 thousand pounds? Oh yeah. Money. Not their body weight!

"....toilette...."

Immature moment. Again. Sorry. *snicker.*

"I am not afraid of you."
I'm afraid of you.

"..I admire and love you."
This. Is so... romantic.. NOT. It's just out of nowhere!

"...meanest degree of flirtation.."
Have you no honor for yourselves?

"You are not well enough;- you cannot go yourself."
Aww, what a gentleman. (:

"..by my marriage of Mr. Darcy."
What?! YAY!

"...dearest, loveliest Elizabeth!"
Are all men in the 18th century like this?

"He still loves me, and we are engaged."
Congrats. ;D

"My real purpose was to see you."
SO ROMANTIC. TRAVEL SO FAR AND WIDE. To see her.

"..balls and young men..."
Immature moment, again. When 'balls' and 'young men' are in the same sentence. Oh gosh!

-End of quote reactions-

I was actually surprised that this book was a romance, since it was a classic, and all. I guess that's what let the book have a 7 instead of a 3. And if there was no romance in here at all, I wouldn't have any quote reactions! In truth, I fell asleep on this book. Here's a little piece of advice: When you're tired, don't read on the bed.

This book teaches you not to have too much pride, and not to be too prejudiced. It's worth reading.

Book Review: The Call of the Wild by Jack London.

The Call of the Wild by Jack London.
Book Summary: Buck is a dog born to luxury, but his life changes dramatically when he is sold to be a sled dog in the Yukon Terrority. First published in 1903, this masterpiece of adventure and survival continues to enthrall readers almost a century later.

Liana's summary: Buck's life is perfect. With enough food to eat, a good master, and the warmth of the fireplace, what else could he ask for? But, what he doesn't know is that he is about to be sold, not once, but many times. He's going to run a thousand miles because the men he is sold to desire gold in the west. When he is sold again, though, he's finally content with his master. He's smart enough to notice that he cannot keep a master for a long time. So he guards this master, follows him around, and kills the people who dare hurt him. When things drastically change, Buck has no other option but to run. Run, and follow the call of the wild.

Rate(1-10): 7.5

On Goodreads, I rated it 3/5. So basically it's a 7.5? I suppose. I would've given it a 3.5 if there was that option on Goodreads. Anyway, this book was a recommendation from my dad himself, and he was like, in his Asian accent, " It very sad." And I was all determined to read it. If it had been longer, I think it would've risen to an 8. Or even 8.5. It was too short to be that good, but it was still good. It is after all, my first Jack London book. It is about a century old already, so, thank goodness, it was free in the Kindle store. YAY! I already do have the copy, but it was just that my mom turned off the lights, so I went on the Kindle instead. And I fell asleep on accident. This whole book took me about 2.5 hours, I think. But I dragged it on for three days, since I've been super busy.

The cover above wasn't the cover I read the story from, but I couldn't find that one other cover on Goodreads. I figured it would become a movie, since a lot of old books do. Maybe I'll watch it, one day, if I feel like I want to.

I thought that there was a lot of new vocab words in here, and the dialogue was kind of hard to understand. Fortunately, during my time as a teacher-helper-volunteer, I graded a lot of chicken scratch and often faced misspellings. So thankfully I knew how to read the dialogue in here. Jack London really did know how to write.

Okay, time to talk about the main character. It was third person point of view. And the main character was a dog. Buck's a legend. I'm serious. He's one mighty fantastic dog. It shows the point of view of a dog's life, and it was different than I thought. I don't think they should whip them. Isn't that just going to make them weaker, and the main point is to get them going? Buck is what I would call the most loyal dog I've ever read about.

It was sad, though. Because of the somewhat difficult vocabulary, I didn't know ---- died until I read the sentence. Maybe it was my insistence that he couldn't be dead, or that I was really sleepy. LOL.

There shall be no quote-reactions today. (: I didn't sticky tab them, even though there were parts worth typing here, but they would be spoilers. 

For a short book, I have a lot to say.

For his first master: I think that he was kind of stupid to sell Buck when he was so happy already. And he didn't need the money-they were rich.

For his second- STUPID. Didn't know how to treat animals.

Third, Fourth, and Fifth.- Still stupid.

6th and last.- My favorite master. Buck loves him the most!

And there was this part I thought was plain hilarious. Buck just did something remarkable. And then there's this guy who goes up to Buck's 6th master and goes like, "I'll buy him! For 1000! 1200!" And then Buck's master goes like, "No sir, go to hell, sir." There's a lot of use with 'hell' in this book, which totally reminds me of Ron Weasley's overuse of the term, "Bloody Hell." Okay, anyway, that just made me crack up.

I think this is a good enough book for a bedtime story. Book report? Well, it kind of depends on your quality as a writer.

Bye, guys!

Book Review: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee.
Book Summary: The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill A Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. It went on to win the Pulitzer Prize in 1961 and was later made into an Academy Award-winning film, also a classic.
Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill A Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Now with over 18 million copies in print and translated into forty languages, this regional story by a young Alabama woman claims universal appeal. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.

Liana's Summary: Maycomb, Alabama. Scout Finch and her brother Jem grow up there. The word 'nigger' is loosely used, and a black man always loses against a white in a court case.When Atticus, their father, defends a colored man in a court case, Jem's afraid they might hurt him. The kids at school already call Atticus a 'nigger lover.' In this book, the acts of racism back then compared to the racism today, are severe and unacceptable.  Harper Lee wrote a masterpiece.

Rate(1-10): 9.8

I don't really know how to describe the book, so sorry for the lame summary. Just look at the book summary. Okay, so. At first, I was sure that the kids were white. And then I have a nagging feeling they're black. And then I know for sure they're white. Yep. They're white.

This book was supposed to be read for a school summer assignment. There were questions with it, and I just finished. I think that having questions in it made me pay attention to the story more. That's a good thing. Not like I want to have questions for every book I read.

You know how I'm insistent on putting the cover I read from, instead of the most common cover, even if it's the same book. That didn't make much sense. If you go on the Goodreads link, they'll take you to the one with the black/green/red cover one. I looked for this one because I'm more comfortable with it. And it's prettier. (:

I heard of this book about 4 years ago when my friend said she wanted to read it. I didn't really see why I should read it. But as my love for books increased, and I heard that we would be reading this for the summer assignment, I was actually excited. So I asked my other friend to get it for me at Barnes and Noble. She goes every week. -____-'

This is how it ended up looking, I used those sticky tab things. It's to mark the pages with the answers for the questions are. I think it was pretty fun, yet again I repeat, I do not want to do it for every book I read. Yeah, I first got influenced to do the tab things by Kristin Cashore, since she did it too. If you go on her blog and scroll down, you'll see she marked her book much more than me. Now you know where I get the quote responses from! I'm not flippin' through the whole book to find a part I want to quote. -___-'

So, I think that the most suspenseful chapter was 28. I'm not gonna say anything about it, other than it kept me reading wide-eyed. I was really worried at the end-ish. 29, I think?

So, here are some quotes. I think that this book review wasn't that good. D: My touch is wearing off. NO. Oh yeah. I wonder if this is a movie? I'll search it later. But anyway, here are some quotes.

"Your father does not know how to teach. You can have a seat now."

Omfg. You do not know how to teach. Atticus is the best teacher ever.

"He had asked me earlier in the summer to marry him,.." 

WHAT. But they make a cute couple though. c: But they're like, 7.

" I ain't never heard of a nigger snowman."

:O LANGUAGE, SCOUT. LANGUAGE. But this made me laugh. Not because of the word, because of the situation.

"..,but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."

Ahh. It sho' is. Now I see where the title came from. And here I was thinking, what does this title have to do with anything? 

"Old hell-devil, old hell-devil!" he screamed, flinging it down. "Why can't she leave me alone?"

This. Just made me laugh so hard. Oh, Jem.

"It ain't a snake." Jem said. " It's somebody."

:OO WHO WHO WHO?!

"-Scout, let's get us a baby."

.___. omg. I just thought.. and they're 7, and.. especially when you read it with a Southern accent. Oh god. But you get it all in the next few lines. They say that there's this place you can order them. And then they say that God drops them out of the sky. And I'm like, sigh.

"Jem shrieked and tried to catch me,.."

GASP. :O WHAT'S HAPPENIN'?

"He yanked Jem nearly off his feet."

Let him go! *Little girl nagging voice.*

"Don't you touch him!" 

And then she kicks him in the penis. Oh, what a little girl can do. (:

"They've all got blue eyes," Jem explained."and the men can't shave after they marry. Their wives like for 'em to tickle 'em with their beards."

And what did I just read. ._.

"Jem was the one who was getting more like a girl every day, not I."

Oh, Scout, you are a girl.

"The patch itself was turning yellow."

CEMENT CAN TURN YELLOW?

"..There was an ugly mark on the side of his face."

Oh god. D: 

"Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them."

Yep. Favorite line, I think. Atticus is always right, because he's awesome. c:

So, yeah. These are all. I know it seems that the things I bookmarked isn't just this. It isn't actually. I bookmarked some pages for the answers to the questions in the assignment packet. Overall, I really enjoyed this book.

I have a few more things to say. First of all, Jem. He's actually a really caring brother. I know his name sounds girly, but it's short for Jeremy. Yeah. Idk how, but it's still Jem. Jem suits him more. 

Second of all, she seemed really smart, but that was all because of Atticus being a good teacher. c: I sort of changed my mind when she asked what a nigger lover was. And then she asked what rape was. And I was like, you know that much words and you don't know rape. -_-' I guess it shows one more thing: Her family is really pure and doesn't teach her those words. Yep. c:  She's such a tough tomboy! Harper Lee introduces a new kind of character. (: It's fabulous!

That's it! A really good tip is to do as I do. The tab thingies. On a book that has a good plot. That has a lot of things that happen. c: There.

-Liana.

PS: There are guys in white uniforms spraying the house with water. They're here to paint, but what's the point of spraying the house when they're just gonna paint it? Jeez. So much noise.