Senior Year Update: Weeks 8-11

I've been a little lazy about writing these and that's a little disappointing. I'm going to try to fix it but I'm not quite sure how to. Maybe I'll have an answer by the end of the week. Anyhow, here's the past four weeks which I can say have been pretty fantastic.

I don't know why, but there's one thing about Week 8 (9/27-10/3) that I remember really well. That is: learning about sex determination in Drosophila in Genetics. We also had a quiz in Genetics but seriously, out of the entire week sex determination in Drosophila has stuck with me. ...I have issues. In Econ, GDP (Gross Domestic Product) was all I thought about. I didn't mind because it's pretty easy and it's somewhat interesting, so nothing to complain about. In Spanish we had to create a fake company and present them to the class like we were on the show Shark Tank (which you should watch if you haven't) and there were some pretty good ones. One of my favorites was having prefabricated homes being built for those who are in areas where natural disasters have occurred. The idea was brilliant because if they're prefabricated, production costs go down and that means more money to go to other houses. So cool! And math has once again turned into a disappointment. We were reviewing stuff that we should have watched the week before and it was obvious that so many people hadn't done their work. It was so frustrating.

Week 9 (10/4-10/10) was Midterm week. Monday was Lit and it was just analyzing this story we had read; I left the class feeling like I had done a good job. Also on Monday, my teacher gave a test in Calc which pissed me off because it's midterm week why not just have your test as part of the freaking midterm?!?!? Moreover, it wasn't like a normal test, it was a two day long thing and I was so done with the whole bloody thing. It wasn't like it was a hard assessment or anything, there were different ways of going about it and I felt she chose poorly. But that's here nor there. 


Tuesday was Spanish and it easy, low stress listening activity. Wednesday I was supposed to have a Genetics test but our teacher decided to push it until the week after. Calc midterm was on Thursday and I thought it was alright, I knew I hadn't failed but I also new there was not a good chance of me having gotten anything above an 85% (I was right by the way). And last but not least was Econ on Friday. I felt like I had done well on it.

Week 10 (10/11-10/17) was a really odd week for seniors and, for me, it didn't really feel like a cohesive week. On Monday we were out of school and I procrastinated on all of my work and scrambled to finish Monday night. But the weekend had been pretty relaxed so I didn't mind the frenzy to the finish. Tuesday was the Genetics midterm which, I felt, was easier than it should have been. Then we had senior breakfast on Wednesday because all the underclassman were taking the PSAT; all the food was really good and it was fun just to talk with friends that I hadn't talked to in a while. And we got to go home at noon which was awesome because I got to catch up on the show Quantico which is pure brilliance. I love it so much, the lies, the secrets, the drama, and all of the mystery brings me great joy.

Thursday and Friday were these weird lull days; nothing really happened in any of my classes. The most interesting part of these two days was starting a new Econ topic (Aggregate Supply and Demand) and prepping for a debate about social media in Spanish.

This past week, Week 11 (10/18-10/24), has been pretty eventful. Over the weekend I had an insane amount of homework to get done and the days were not even close to being long enough. I had Genetics notes to catch up on and a summary- reflection essay on the article The Portrait of a Fly which is about Drosophila and their influence in Genetics. It's actually really interesting and the information was presented nicely.

I also had to finish my research for my Senior Thesis which I didn't get to complete because I was busy writing about an essay about Prospero from The Tempest and how he's a round character. I don't know why, but it was a difficult essay to start and even after doing a couple of edits, I still didn't like what I had. But it just felt like a really busy weekend.

Aside from that, the rest of the week was pretty calm. Classes themselves have been boring excluding Calc. She taught! She stood up in front of class and taught us some stuff and I felt like she did a fantastic job. Unfortunately, the people in my class don't seem to understand the concept of stop speaking so that the teacher can actually teach. Jerks. Oh and Spanish! The debate was super awesome and really funny. I love my class, they're hilarious. It went well, and my team-Social media is bad- lost, which I was okay with. Overall, a pretty decent week.

Review: Queen of Shadows

Title: Crown of Midnight, Throne of Glass #4
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: 1 September 2015
ISBN: 1619636042
Pages: 656
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Format: Hardover
Add it: Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon|Book Depository

Everyone Celaena Sardothien loves has been taken from her. But she's at last returned to the empire-for vengeance, to rescue her once-glorious kingdom, and to confront the shadows of her past...

She has embraced her identity as Aelin Galathynius, Queen of Terrasen. But before she can reclaim her throne, she must fight.

She will fight for her cousin, a warrior prepared to die just to see her again. She will fight for her friend, a young man trapped in an unspeakable prison. And she will fight for her people, enslaved to a brutal king and awaiting their lost queen's triumphant return.

Celaena's epic journey has captured the hearts and imaginations of millions across the globe. This fourth volume will hold readers rapt as Celaena's story builds to a passionate, agonizing crescendo that might just shatter her world.

If you can't tell, I am in love with Sarah J. Maas' writing, so it's sad that it's taken me this long to read this book. But I've finished and I loved it. Sarah J. Maas has once again blown it out of the water and written a story truly worthy of this series.

***Beware of spoilers!****

Being thrown back into the chaotic world of Aelin was such an amazing feeling. I really missed being part of all the deceit and fighting that is Throne of Glass. I was so angry with Chaol throughout this entire book. Don't get me wrong, I loved him deeply at one point. But he's become someone whose done wrong and instead of feeling bad for what he's done, he's playing the victim and I despise him for it. I also think it's a little out of character for him but he's a pretty decent psuedo-villain. However, his actions are completely understandable. He really does believe that Dorion is still within his own body even though everyone has abandoned him. For that, I do have to give him props for holding on to his beliefs. And I also think it's fantastic that he's finally stopped believing that he can't do anything because of "duty". He's grown immensely as a character but I still don't really like him.

Dorion. There's so much here that I can't say without giving up the story but getting his perspective was eye opening and intriguing. Seeing from the perspective of someone who has no control of their body was fascinating. And there were so many conflicting thoughts from Aelin and Chaol about whether he was still there and I loved it all. And the little tidbits that Arobynn kept hinting at throughout all of this conflict was intense. This just increased my hatred for Arobynn as a character but increased my respect for him as a villian. He's the perfect villian to hate and he's also not the only one that we can hate.

Can we all just take a moment to enjoy Manon and her part in Heir of Fire before I get any further. I'm not going to lie, I was probably more interested in her story line than I was in Celaena and Dorion's life in the previous book. And my interest only continued in this book. In this novel, her point of view offered insights into the inner workings of the king's plans and into the ways of the witches. Her dynamic and that of the clan was different from any supernatural being that I've ever seen; the hierarchy is very strict and more important than in any other society. I loved it. I kinda want to see a book with just her, maybe a novella of just her story. She's just an awesome character all around and seeing her change and understanding her, and the other witches, influence in the story is a nice change from any other book I've seen.

There were so many surprises and plot twists that by the end of the book, everything you thought you knew isn't true. It was glorious to read, especially in the second half where things where things were getting more into the actual war against the king. But that does't mean that the first half is boring or anything. In fact, seeing Aelin developing rebuilding relationships with Lysandra, Arobynn, and even Chaol was interesting. It wasn't the usual action- packed story line that Sarah J. Maas usually employs but seeing the difference between "Celaena" and "Aelin" was something to be appreciated.

I don't have too much criticism for this novel. I would have enjoyed more of Dorian's point of view, it couldn't have harmed the plot in anyway. And I also think that the Chaol of the past changed a lot more than was necessary but it might also just be that I've stopped feeling much for him (Rowena is where it's at!). Honestly, if you haven't read this series you should stop reading this and go read the series. It's beautifully written with a compelling plot and dynamic characters. 

Books I'm Ashamed I Haven't Read

There are many many books out there that I haven't read and many more that I will never get the joy of reading. But there are books that everyone seems to have read, everyone but me. And here is my list.

Jane Eyre

Charlotte Brontë

I know, I know. This is a classic must read and I can't bring myself to finish it. I've started it at least three times in the past and have never made it very far. I feel the heaps of shame and hear the judgmental gasps. And to all the book gods, I give my most sincere apologies.

Wuthering Heights

Emily Brontë

I have no excuse for why I haven't read this one. The premise is immensely interesting and I'm sure I'll love it. I just haven't gotten around to reading it. Hopefully I'll get around to it by the end of the school year.

Pride and Prejudice
Jane Austin

This is another book that I've started multiple times and still can't finish. It features my favorite type of female protagonist- strong and sassy- so I have no reason for not finishing. My excuse: whenever I start, life seems to get really busy. 

The Book Thief

Markus Zusak

I'm actually really excited to read this book. Everyone I've talked to has nothing but amazing things to say about it. I'm not really sure why I haven't read, I've seen it around everywhere but never reached for it. It's narrated by Death, enough said. If you haven't read it, do better than me and go read it immediately.

Moby Dick

Herman Melville

I'm actually not ashamed I haven't read this one. I'm more ashamed that I have absolutely no interest in reading. None. Zip. Zero. People say that it's this amazing piece of American literature but I don't care.

1984

George Orwell

I love the idea of this book, Big Brother watching everything you do, it's one of my favorite types of literature and yet, I've never even opened it. I hadn't heard about this book until three years ago, but when I did, I knew I wanted to read it. There isn't even any form of excuse I can offer, I just haven't started it.

Tag: The Opposite Books

Hey there! The Opposite Books Tag was created by minhaestante over on YouTube.

The first book in your collection and the last book you bought

The first book I ever got to be part of my collection, that wasn't given to me in school, probably goes to Junie B. Jones is a Graduation Girl by Barbara Park. My kindergarten teacher gave it to me at the end of the year and is the most important book I've ever owned. The last book I bought is the fourth book in Sarah J. Maas' Throne of Glass series: Queen of Shadows. I am in love with this series and am so excited to read this book. Hopefully I'll get around to it on Monday.

A cheap book and an expensive book

The cheapest book I've ever payed for.... I'm not sure. I'm going to cheat a little and constrict this to the past two years. The most expensive book I've bought is A Court of Thorns and Roses. This is the first book in Sarah J. Maas' new series (reviewed here) which I bought it at full price on Barnes & Noble for $11. So worth it though! And the cheapest book I've bought is Dan Brown's Angels & Demons which I believe I spent about $0.50. This is the second book in Dan Brown's The Da Vinci Code series which is amazing.

A book with a male protagonist and one with a female protagonist

Giving this question to some non YA books. One of my favorites with a female protagonist is The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne which is set during the Puritan time period and follows Hester Prynne's life after committing a grievous sin. If you haven't read it, I encourage you to do so. A book with a male protagonist goes to The Outsider which I read back in middle school. It's a fantastic book about the struggles of Ponyboy Curtis living in Oklahoma during the 1960s. This book details two weeks of his life and the issues between his gang, the greasers, and the Socs which is the rival gang. Another phenomenal book that everyone should read.

A book you read fast and one that took you long to read

Well what are we defining as fast? I got through the entire Harry Potter series in a week which I think is pretty fast. If you haven't read them, please go do so immediately. And a book that took me a long time to read goes to Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories Volume I. It's been on my shelf for what feels like forever (probably 3 years). And it's been about 6 months since I picked it up and I am still not completely finished. It's incredibly disappointing because I love Sherlock Holmes and I really want to finish. I will hopefully finish during Christmas break.

A book with a pretty cover and one with an ugly one

I really really like the cover of Between Shades of Gray by Ruta Septys. Despite its title, it has no relation to the Fifty Shades of Grey series at all. Between Shades of Gray is set in Lithuania in 1941 and beautifully depicts the hardships of the time through the eyes of fifteen- year- old Lina. If you really like historical fiction, I thin you'll really enjoy this one.

The book with the ugliest cover goes straight to Pretties by Scott Westerfeld. I am not a fan of real faces on covers, at all. And this one bothered me even more because the amount of face wasn't even- more than half of the guy's face is shown where as only half of the girls is seen. I thought it was tacky. I also didn't like the book which might also be contributing to my dislike for this  cover




A national book and an international book

A national book that I have a lot of love for goes to Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. This book takes place in a futuristic American city. I don't believe we get an official location but I could be wrong. For an international book, I choose Cinder by Marissa Meyer. It's set everywhere from Asia to Africa to the moon.

A thin book and a thick book

One of the thinnest book I own is by Sandra Cisnero and was required reading over the summer for my AP Spanish class. The title is La Casa En Mango Street which translates to The House on Mango Street and unfortunately I was not the biggest fan mostly because everything was from the eyes of a whiny six- year- old.
The thickest book I think I own (not including Harry Potter and the Order of Phoenix)  is Dangerous Women which is a collection of short stories from various authors including George R.R. Martin, Brandon Sanderson, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and many others. It's a fantastic book all about strong female characters with none of the ridiculous "I don't realize how strong I am" crap that's becoming all too common in today's YA.

A fiction book and a non-fiction book

For a fiction book I choose Lexicon by Max Barry. I think I'll have a review of this sometime soon but let me tell you that the premise is insanely interesting: Mind control using words. No weird science, no odd machines, no terrible spells, mind control that is specific and unique to every person through common sounds and words.
And for non- fiction, the award goes to The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat and Other Clinical Tales. This was required reading for the people taking Psychology and I thought the title was interesting so I picked it up. It was hilarious and also very informative in a way that didn't make me feel like I was reading a boring textbook. Each of the psychological disorders had an explanatio and a short anecdote. I thought it was well crafted.

A way too romantic book and an action book

I have to be completely honest here, I rarely read romance. I don't even think one could say I read the genre on occasion. I just don't find the genre very interesting so I'm not going to choose a book from the genre that is romance. Instead, I'm going with a book that I felt the romance was unnecessary. And that title goes to The Lightening Thief by Rick Riordan- I though Percy's romance to Annabeth was ridiculous and predictable.
Action books are right up my alley, I really enjoy things where there's stuff happening on every page. Dan Brown's Digital Fortress kept me on my toes and had things happening all the time. It was an intense read that really went beyond my expectations.   

A book that made you happy and one that made you sad

There are a lot of books that have made me happy but for the purpose of answering the question, I think I'll go with all of the Nancy Drew books I've ever read. What can I say, I love mystery and intrigue. And a book that made me sad is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows; anyone who's read the book will understand why this book saddens my soul so.


So what about you? What books would you choose? 
I'm tagging Shouni at Through the Book Portal, Cindy at Stranger Things Have Happened, and anyone else who desires to do this tag.

Review: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses
Author: Sarah J. Maas
Publication Date: 5 May 2015
ISBN: 1619634449
Pages: 416
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Format: Hardcover
Add it: Goodreads
Buy it: Amazon|Book Depository



When nineteen-year-old huntress Feyre kills a wolf in the woods, a beast-like creature arrives to demand retribution for it. Dragged to a treacherous magical land she only knows about from legends, Feyre discovers that her captor is not an animal, but Tamlin—one of the lethal, immortal faeries who once ruled their world.

As she dwells on his estate, her feelings for Tamlin transform from icy hostility into a fiery passion that burns through every lie and warning she's been told about the beautiful, dangerous world of the Fae. But an ancient, wicked shadow grows over the faerie lands, and Feyre must find a way to stop it... or doom Tamlin—and his world—forever.

I went into this book with some really mixed feelings. I had high expectations because it's Sarah J. Maas and her Throne of Glass series is phenomenal! However, I had low expectations because I knew that it was intended to be a Beauty and the Beast retelling and, from my experience, retellings almost always end up badly.

I am glad to say that Sarah J. Maas definitely exceeded my expectations for this book and I don't think I can wait a year for book two. While I was reading, I often forgot about the Beauty and the Beast aspect because she did such a fantastic job of bending it and making it her own. Her world building was fantastic and all of the various types of Fae were so well depicted. She also did a fantastic job of describing Prythian, the place were the Fae reside, but I would have loved to see a map that showed all of the places that were mentioned. It would have made understanding Feyre's movements easier.

I also loved the villain, who I will refer to as V. V was such an interesting character to get to know mostly because V was actually present in the novel where as in Beauty and the Beast, the villain wasn't explored. V was extremely intense and was a villain I enjoyed disliking. V's sidekick was probably more fantastic because he was so complex. From the first time we meet him until the very end, he's... different from any other villainous sidekick I've ever seen. He's an all around confusing and multifaceted character who I loved and hated immensely.

Despite all of the greatness, there are some things that I really didn't enjoy. Most importantly, I was really not a fan of the masks which were a result of the curse (not a spoiler, remember Beauty and the Beast). I thought it was childish and vain because even with the masks all of the characters were these beautiful, god- like creatures. The masks were useless and made the characters less interesting than they could have been. I was also extremely disappointed by the instalove . Fortunately, Feyre didn't act on her instalove but the fact that it even existed was so frustrating.  In fact, Feyre as a character wasn't one of my favorites. I don't really know why but I didn't like her. Maybe it was because she was blind to see what was right in front of her but whatever it was, she was irksome. However, she didn't act on her instalove and for that I do have to give her props.

Overall, A Court of Thorns and Roses was a fantastic book. There are somethings I was pretty unhappy with but they were definitely outweighed by the things Sarah J. Maas did amazingly. I seriously cannot wait to see book 2 (which comes out May 3, 2016). I would recommend this book to anyone whose in for a little romance and great fantasy. And even if you're not a huge fan of retellings, I think you'll enjoy this one.