Reflective post: Fahrenheit 451, Part One (The Hearth and the Salamander)

We've started this new book called Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury a few weeks ago. I've read the first few pages two years ago and fell in love with the story immediately. Although there were some parts of the book I didn't fully understand (thank God for sparknotes!) I loved the story, the plot and all the characters! I love the style of the author and all the amazing and creative figurative language he uses. This is definitely one of the best books I've ever read. :)

Favorite Book :)

The Declaration by Gemma Malley is one of the best books I've ever read. The book is really easy to understand (the "Reading Level" is 9-12 on Amazon.com) but the story is strong, unique and very touching and meaningful.

 The book opens in the year 2041, where people have "conquered death" by a drug called Longevity. But this drug has lead to serious problems including a way too overpopulated world. Because of this, the authority set a declaration that said if one would want to live forever he or she must agree by law not to have children. Anna, the main character of the story, is a "Surplus," a fallout of this decree. Surpluses were taken away and housed at places like Grange Hall where they are taught that the most they can ever hope for is a harsh life of servitude to make up for their parents' sins: their existence.

This is  a book I would definitely recommend to everyone. :)

Review: 'Poignant, thought-provoking ... , The Declaration is one of those rare books that changes the way you see the world.' Publishing News 

'Stunning, thought-provoking and a book that genuinely stays with you' The Bookseller (Teenage Highlights)

Favorite Author :)

I love to read and there are many authors that I love. One of my favorite authors of all time is Scott Westerfeld. Uglies is his first book.The sequals are Pretties, Specials and Extras.

 It is a science fiction novel written in 2005. Set in the future where everyone is turned "Pretty" by extreme cosmetic surgery when they turn 16. The point for this surgery is because they say that in the past (which means us now) too many people criticize people for their looks including skin tone color. So if everyone looked the same, if everyone was equally gorgeous, there would be much less problems in the society. 

The book is amazing and easy to understand. I love how original the story is and how cool the future society of theirs is. I remember this thing they had called "skin spray." It was this spray you could use if you got a cut and "needed" skin immediately. How cool would it be if we actually had that?!!

This book is " analyzed as a means of understanding modern society's relationship with the body image and cosmetic surgery" and sends off a good message: everyone is beautiful in their own way. That's what makes us special, unique and "pretty." :) okay saying this last part reminds me of a very inspiring song by a very talented artist called Christina Aguilera. The song is called Beautiful. Click here to listen and watch it!

This Week's Reflective Post :)

This week our class read North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell. We read the abbreviated version that was only 100 pages long. The story was boring in the begining but things started to become more interesting when everyone started dying. I know that sounds horrible but a story usually starts getting better when there's a twist and things start going downhill. I loved the ending. It was so romantic and touching and drew a smile on my face. like this:  :)

Oh and for the past 2 weeks, our whole grade went on a graduation trip to Malaysia and Singapore. The trip was exhausting but it was really fun. We went to Malaysia for a week and stayed in Singapore for only 5 days.
What I would probably miss the most about Malaysia is the food! We had curry every single day and it was DELICIOUS!!! I love how rich the curry was. <3 Another thing I probably won't forget is when we went to see the fireflies. I had NEVER seen such amazing creatures before. They were so small, so petite and delicate but they shone so bright and beautifully. They were just like christmas lights. <3 :]
What I would miss about Singapore is the shopping malls and the resort we stayed in. There were so many shopping malls everywhere and they had many  shops that Taiwan was missing like Forever 21, ZARA, MARKS & SPENCER, TOPSHOP and many more...
The resort we stayed in was brilliant! There were many restaurants, one food court, two supermarkets, a bowling place, a swimming pool, a cinema, a manicure place (I got a french manicure hehe) and lots of clothing stores. Basically, it was this one big shopping mall. My friends and I had a great time there. :)
I wish we were on this trip forever. Because now that we're back, we've got tons and tons of homework and projects to do.. :((