Girl Who Played With Fire Book Review

Larsson, Stieg. The Girl Who Played With Fire (Sweden: Norstedts Forlag 2006) 631 pp. Reviewed by Onyx Linton, Los Osos High School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA. The setting is current day Sweden and takes place in multiple cities and one country town.

The novel is formally divided into a prologue followed by four parts. The prologue of the book opens with a girl captured and restrained inside a dark room by an unidentified male. To cope with being captured, she mentally replays a past episode when she threw a milk carton filled with gasoline onto another man inside a car and tossed an ignited match onto him.

The Narrator was reliable and omniscient so the readers we able to get the point of view from every character which made the book extremely dynamic.  

The setting play a major role in the plot because the story would not be possible in a completely rural area, nor in the woods and ultimately reflects the plot. Even though it did not add to the character development it does add to the works theme's.

Lisbeth Salander is the main character. Lisbeth Salander has red hair, which she dyes black. Upon her first appearance in the series, she is described as "a pale, skinny young woman who had hair as short as a fuse, and a pierced nose and eyebrows. She had a wasp tattoo about two centimeters on her neck, a tattooed loop around the bicep of her left arm, another loop around her left ankle, a chinese symbol on her hip and a rose on her left calf. On those occasions when she had been wearing a tank top, a dragon tattoo can be seen on her left shoulder blade.
Salander is a world class computer hacker. Under the name "Wasp", she becomes a prominent figure in the international hacker community, known as the Hacker Republic. She uses her computer skills as a means to earn a living, doing investigative work for Milton Security. She has a photographic memory, and is skillful at concealing her identity, possessing passports in different names and physical disguises that she uses to travel undetected around Sweden and worldwide.
The survivor of a traumatic childhood, Salander is highly introverted, asocial and has difficulty connecting to people and making friends. She is particularly hostile to men who abuse women, and takes special pleasure in exposing and punishing them. This is representative of Larsson's personal views and a major theme throughout the entire trilogy.
She has a complicated relationship with investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist, which veers back and forth between romance and hostility throughout the trilogy. She also has an on-again off-again romantic relationship with a beautiful lesbian, Miriam "Mimmi" Wu.

Lisbeth is framed for the murders of the individuals and goes on a hunt to not only clear her name but find the murders. While she battles the authorities she also has to deal with her complicated relationships and keep her past a secret.

Two of the more prominent themes are identity and friendship. In the process of trying to clear her name, Lisbeth struggles with revealing her past and showing affect.

Most of the story was relatively believable, however, there are some extremes that are not plausible or possible. As for inventiveness, I believe that this book is apart of one of the best trilogies and is ahead of its time. After all, all the best trilogies come in three.  

~Onyx l.

Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1967. Print.

 

Reviewed by Kenny Jeong, Los Osos High School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

 

Fahrenheit 451 is set in a dystopian society, sometime after the 21st century, which is a false utopia where books are symbols of dissent and threat. In this society there is a present irony which is firemen burning books and creating fires rather than putting them out. The setting serves to contrast with the main character Guy Montag who will later on go on to revolt against the standards and ethics of his society. Also, the dystopian society adds to the main themes and motifs of the novel which is the identification and analysis of a false utopia.

The Novel is set in a utopian society and we are taken throughout the whole story through the perspective of Guy. The whole theme of the story is similar to that of George Orwell's 1984  or the Giver. Guy, a fireman in the society that destroys books, starts to find the truth about novels and has a spark of doubt and rebellion in him. As a result Guy starts to collect books secretly and attempts to convert his wife and her friends to his side. Ultimately he goes on to find those with a similar view and goes on a dangerous journey to find the truth out of the false utopian society. As we are taken throughout the novel, we are introduced to many new characters, especially a girl named Clarisse who is the ignition of Guy Montag's change in character and emotions. Rad Bardbury relies on logic and realistic examples to play the story out. Unlike a fantasy or a complete fictional novel, Fahrenheit 451 seems plausible. Considering the era I live in and the technology present in my era. The story of Fahrenheit 451 does not seem too far off from what reality could be. However, the story, I believe may be plausible in a society such as North Korea where dictatorship is the prime rule and anything that questions it is eliminated. 

Overall, the novel was an experience for a reader to go through a dissenting minority's perspective to understand and see the transformation that takes place. The author's intention which was to demonstrate the effects of a dystopian society on human character and societal behavior as a whole was successful due to his harmonization of plot, character, and setting

Kenny Jeong

Period 3

The Hunger Game Book Review

Collins,Suzanne. The Hunger Games. New York: Scholastic, 2008. Print.


For my 21st Century book, I chose to read "The Hunger Games." My classmates chose to read this book as a dystopian novel but I decided to read this book as my 21st century book to show the features of this book that makes it not only dystopian but also contemporary 21st century book. I actually saw the movie first before I started to read this book. The reason I chose to read the book was that I really enjoyed watching the movie. Another reason I decided to read this book was because I found that this book is a trilogy. Since I enjoyed watching the first one, I decided to read the 2nd and 3rd book before the movies came out.
This book is about a girl named Katniss Everdeen from District 12. The story takes place in a nation called Panem. Every year, the capitol picks one boy and one girl from 12 districts for them to participate in a cruel, brutal competition called the hunger game. The hunger game is a competition that challenges the 24 participants to fight to death leaving only one survivor. From District 12, Peeta and Primrose were picked to represent the district but katniss, Primrose's sister, decided to volunteer in place for Primrose. So the two candidates from District 12, katniss and Peeta moved to the capitol to participate in the hunger game. Basically, Katniss wins the game together with Peeta becoming a new figure to the Capitol, which is illegal. She becomes a threat for swaying the 12 Districts.  The first book ends giving the suspense to the readers that there will be more challenges for Katniss in the 2nd and 3rd book.

Reviewed by Alex Han Period 3 Los Osos High School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

The setting of this book in taken in Panem's capitol where the Hunger Game is taken place. The setting reflects very well with the character, Katniss. Katniss lives in the wild area of District 12 making her fight in a comfortable atmosphere. Setting is a great support to the theme because I feel like the theme is that when we are put to a test of life and death, we will struggle to live even if we have to get our hands dirty. The wild forest  arena portrays our oldest setting we ever lived in, bringing out our bestiality and brutality.

I think the author's intention with this book was to show that our natural behavior towards survival is brutal and cruel. Even though the book takes place in the future after North America gets demolished, there still is no advance in human greed and human behaviors.


Alex Han
Period 3

The Giving Tree

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is one of my favorite books of all times. This was shared by Mrs. Elliott a while ago. Basically the story revolves around a boy and an apple tree. Year after year, the little boy comes to the tree and asks for something from it. The tree, without any complaints, selflessly sacrfices itself in order to make the boy happy.

I don't necessarily agree with the "devoted"love of the apple tree. The most important message I got out of this books is this: when we face our loved ones who are ungrateful, like the boy in the story, do we need to dedicate so much of ourselves to them to a point that we have sacrificed everything we have for them.  I feel like at times love like this can be harmful to the person providing it (the tree) and the person receiving it (the boy). In our society, if one loves oneself more than others, then that person is often labeled as being selfish.

In the final scene of the book, we see the little boy, now an old man, sit on the trunk of the dying tree. We don't know if the boy is thankful or regretful. The heartfelt writing and illustrations allow the readers to reexamine what the "right" kind of love may be. Although the book can be read in 5 minutes, it is worth rereading over and over again.

Senior Memoir

I have always enjoyed reminiscing on old times and past memories.  One of my favorite assignments to do in English this year was my Senior Memoir book.  When putting this together,  I realized how much I have learned in High School.  I did not only learn in class, but I learned life lessons about people and the kind of person I want to be.  Others may not know this, but they have inspired me to be the person I am today.  I have enjoyed meeting new people throughout High School and learning about their lives and their views on life.  This Senior Memoir was fun to put together because it reminded me of all the amazing experiences I had throughout my four years at Los Osos.  I love Class of 2012 and my fellow grizzlies, I will never forget.  

-Daniella B. Period 3

Poem: When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer

In this poem, one can understand the wonder of the universe by viewing it through personal experience.  The author feels as though you can only learn so much from text books and technology, but there is nothing like actually experiencing nature and the universe in person.  I agree to an extent with the author.   We do learn a lot from the internet and through reading texts, but I feel that you can never truly capture the feeling of something until you  experience  it in person.  You can read about how beautiful the sunset is and be descriptive with the colors and what not, but there is nothing like actually seeing the beauty with your own eyes.

-Daniella B. Period 3

Favorite Poem

"You have brains in your head.
You have feet in your shoes.
You can steer yourself in any direction you choose.
You're on your own.
And you know what you know.
You are the guy who'll decide where to go."
-Dr. Seuss

This is my favorite poem because it basically tells us we have control over our life and the decision to be successful is your own.  I like how his poems are relatable to kids and adults.  It is very simple yet very meaningful at the same time.

-Daniella B. Period 3

The Hunger Games

For my dystopian novel,  I read The Hunger Games.  This is a perfect example of a dystopian era.  America is separated into twelve different districts.  As an annual show of loyalty to the Capitol, each District must send two young Tributes- one male, one female – to compete in the national Hunger Games.  Twenty-four people are put into the Hunger Games and are all trying to survive and fight for their lives.  Only one person can survive and become the victor of the games.


-Daniella B. Period 3

Of Mice and Men

For my 20th century novel I decided to reread Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. This is one of the few books I read at school that I truly enjoyed.

Lennie is an innocent big guy with the mind of a child. He depends on his friends, George, who is a quick-witted man. The two friends, like other migrant workers, move from one place to another as they search for farms that can provide them with job opportunities. Despite of this unstable lifestyle, Lennie and George have a beautiful dream--and that is to earn enough money so they can buy a land and have all kinds of animals, including Lennie's favorite rabbits. Because of Lennie's love for soft objects, he accidentally kills Curly's wife. Knowing what horrible consequences Lennie would have to face, George takes Lennie to the forest and there he retells all the wonderful details of their dream. With Lennie fully captivated by the bright future they envisioned together, George kills him.

The ending of this book definitely surprised me. I would have never imagined that the story would end with a twist like this. I think that in a way Lennie is fortunate that he died in George's hands. He is able to live his last moments with such a joyful and hopeful attitude. I cannot imagine what went through George's mind when he finally pulls the trigger. Not only was he ending the life of his only companion, he was also throwing away him and Lennie's big dream that once kept him motivated in life.

Of Mice and Men is a fast read with a deep messsage that kept me thinking for a long time. The portrayal of the characters' psychological states is extremely detailed and powerful. I would definitely recommend this book to everyone.

The Pact

For my 20th century novel, I read The Pact.  This story is about Chris Harte and Emily Gold, childhood friends who fall in love.  From an outsiders view, their lives seemed perfect.  Their families were best friends and not only did they want their children to date, they thought they would get married in the future.  However, all that changes once Emily Gold is announced dead due to a gun shot to the head.  With Chris being the only one there at the time of the accident, all fingers are pointed to him and he is being tried for murder.  The story flashes back from "Then" to "Now" and we learn about how they grew up together and the aftermath when Chris is in trial.  

This book shows qualities from the 20th century because Chris is an example of loss of belief in anything besides self.  No one knows the real truth besides Chris himself.  He doesn't know how to deal with losing the one person that meant the most to him.  He can only trust himself because he has no one else to go to.

-Daniella B. Period 3

The Secret Life of Bees Book Review

Kidd, Monk Sue. The Secret Life of Bees ( New York, NY. Penguin Books, 2002), 302 pp. reviewed by Chrystal Okwuokei, Los Osos High School, Rancho Cucamonga, CA.

 The Secret Life of Bees is a 21st century, fictional novel that takes place in Tiburon, South Carolina. The main character Lily Owens has to deal with the absence of her mother after accidentally "killing" her when she was a child. She struggles to replace the emptiness in her heart because she searches for her mother's love. She runs away from her abusive father T. Ray with her nanny Rosaleen. On their escape they encounter a bright pink house and meet three sisters August, May, and June Boatwright who invite them to live with them. August teaches Lily to become a beekeeper and she learns how to make honey and candle wax.

Lily receives the support, comfort, and love she needs from Rosaleen and the Boatwright sisters. They teach  her to have faith and she begins to feel empowered. Lily continues to learn and grow and eventually moves on from her troubled past. The major themes in the novel are the power of sisterhood and the mother figure which represents universal love. Sue Monk Kidd uses both coincidence and accident to propel the plot because although Lily didn't have a plan on where to go after she ran away from home she is still able to find the truth that she seeks.

Youth

The poem I chose for the poem project is called "Youth" by Kim Nan-Do

 

It's youth because you are anxious
It's youth because you are lonely
It's youth because you are Indecisive

It's youth because you are alive
So It's youth.

Kim Nan-Do is a famous poet in Korea right now. His poetry book called "It's Youth because you are hurt" helped him rised to fame. He's very liked by young people in korea because  the young people really enjoy reading his book. Most of the reviews of the book are about how all the people reading the poem can relate to it. Like many young people in korea, i also  can relate very well to this poem. It fits so perfectly and it amazes me how Nan-do was able to capture all of these feelings. Youth is such an important part of life and i believe that things that happen during someone's youth wil determine the outcome of how they wil turn out to be. Although I'm very nervous it's my youth time now but in another way, I'm really excited for it. I can't wait to experience life as a person in his youth. His ability to catch the actual feeling lead me to really love this poem. I hope it does for you as well ^^

Alex Han

Animal Farm

Dystopia is to put it simply, anti- utopia. This book is a dystopian novel i really enjoyed reading this book. It's main theme was very intriguing to me. Basically, this story is about bunch of farm animals taking over the farm to create a better world for them to live in. The old major boar gathers all the animal to tell them about his dream, a dream to bring harmony and peace to the farm by working together and cooperating. Without fulfilling this dream, the old major boar dies of old age. After old major dies, three younger pigs take over. Although they start with the same intent the old major wanted, their original plan gets skewed and goes off tangent. They start on an idea called, Animalism. at first it seemed like everything was going to plan but as time went by, one of the pig became greedy. Napoleon starts to behave rather badly and starts to frame another pig as a villain and a dore thumb to the community. In the end, there is no peace and the pigs who despised the human beings started to become like them. They started standing up and drinking whiskeys like greedy human beings they despised.

Reading this book, i came to realize even more how corrupted human beings are. it sickens me to think that whether you are human being or an animal, you will eventually turn your head towards corruption.



Alex Han

The Scarlet Letter

For my 19th century novel I read The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne. The main theme of the novel is adultery and the consequences that people face if they commit it. For those of you that have read the book before or seen the movie Easy A. You know that the main character Hester Prynne is forced to wear a bright, red, letter A on her clothes, after she conceives a daughter, named Pearl through an adulterous affair.  After being exposed for the crime she struggles to create a new life of dignity. Another theme in the book was guilt. Hester  was a bold woman and  she wasn't ashamed of committing the sin. She doesn't confess to who she had the affair with either. Hester went against the morals of the society and she was judged and ridiculed for not being a righteous woman. In the end her secret is revealed that she had the affair with Dimmesdale and they were buried with a red A on their tombstone. I believe that the moral of the story is that the truth always comes out even if  you try to cover it up so you should always be honest.

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch

The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch is a book that I read this year as a part of our individual reading project. It was recommened by my former middle school teacher, who said that it changed her views about life and that it would challenge me to think about the purpose of my life. The book, written by a young professor diagnosed with terminal cancer, contains many life lessons.

This book has impacted me in so many different ways. Although it may not be a book with literary merit or extremely sophisticated sentences and vocabulary, the author's writing style makes it easy for the readers to establish a connection with him. With a lighthearted tone, Pausch shares his positive outlook on life and death. He wrote, "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." After reading this book, I hope I will be able to cope with not only death, but with all the difficulties I may encounter in the future with courage.

"Hope is a Thing With Feathers"

For my poetry video, I picked "Hope is a Thing With Feathers" by Emily Dickinson. I really like this poem because unlike most poetry, it is very easy to understand. This poem also has a positive and encouraging message.

Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune--without the words,
And never stops at all,

And sweetest in the gale is heard;
And sore must be the storm
That could abash the little bird
That kept so many warm.

I've heard it in the chillest land,
And on the strangest sea;
Yet, never, in extremity,
It asked a crumb of me.

By comparing hope to a bird, Dickinson is able to describe an abstract idea with a concrete example. Hope is a bird and its sweet song is the voice of hope. Hope is described as a precious and essential element in life as it selflessly provides warmth to people. Despite of this poem's simplicity in its structure and vocabulary, the ideas mentioned have a much deeper meaning. With her straightfoward style, Dickinson encourages the readers to always keep an optimistic attitude even when faced with obstacles in life. 

Heart of Darkness

I've been reading the book, Heart of Darkness for a while now. It's such a hassle trying to decode this book. It's such a complicated book, it made me struggle for a long time. Joseph Conrad's advance vocabularies definitely hindered me to understand and finish the book in good time. What I can bring out of this book is Conrad's view towards brutality. It's really unfortunate for the indigenous people to suffer, but it was inevitable during this time. I think Conrad is trying to portray that although brutality is wrong, it's impossible to escape from it. It's part of nature and you can't mess with it and sometimes, it becomes a issue that you have to ignore. The consequences of making people suffer is indeed grave, but the fact that you are living in a society stop you from speaking out. Brutality, and Conspiracy is imbedded into our society and it's a natural thing to just accept it and go along with it. It saddens me that we have come this far, but as greed of human being increase, the morals of human beings will gradually decrease.


Alex Han

The Woman Warrior by Maxine Hong Kingston

I have been reading The Woman Warrior for a long time now, simply because I only read a little at a time and I am reading other books simultaneously. The interest in this book lies mainly in its cultural perspective. The narrator writes from a Chinese perspective and incorporates many aspects of Chinese culture into her writing. It has been difficult for me to get absorbed into his book because of the fact that some of the chapters are written in a Chinese folk tale style. They have a lot of symbolism and the writing style is very complex and hard to understand at times. The perspective switches between chapters, from a folk style to a modern style. There are some parts that seems to be memoirs of the author, yet others are stories she has made up herself, and some are stories told to her by her mother. Each chapter is from a new perspective, and it is up to the reader to discover which new direction Kingston is taking. It has definitely been a challenge, but I have recently used Spark Notes to better understand the format of the book and what is referring to who. By now gaining this basic understanding, I can better appreciate the rich language and try to interpret the underlying details and messages. I would suggest this book if you are up for a challenge and are interested in Chinese culture.

Chicana Falsa

 Chicana Falsa by Michele Serros is a combination of poetry and fiction. I really enjoyed reading this novel because it was short and entertaining. Michele Serros describes her life growing up in Los Angeles and struggling to find her true identity. She has to deal with stereotypes and not being considered a real Chicana because of the way she speaks.She wanted to become a writer at a young age but some of  her family members and neighbors didn't  believe she could become a writer because there weren't many Latina writers during that time and she didn't get good grades in English.
Her mother was the only person who supported her dream and encouraged her to continue writing. This was her first novel which she dedicated to her mother after she died, because even though her family was poor her mother spent all the money she saved to buy her a desk where she could write her stories. She struggled to find something to write about but then realizes her life was the perfect story to tell.

The Girl Who Played With Fire

This book was originally written in Swedish by Stieg Larsson in 2006 and is now at the top of my favorite books list. It is filled with action, mind boggling mysteries, and a shocking ending. The main character Lisbeth Salandar is a computer hacker who is blamed for three murders. Lisbeth is the most fascinating and dynamic character that i have had the opportunity to read. so much so that i feel apart of her life. This book is relatively long but extremely worth it.