Maximum Ride: The Fugitives

The Angel Experiment, School’s Out - Forever, Saving the World and Other Extreme Sports

A quiet fourteen year old boy, a blind one, an eleven year old motor mouth girl, an eight year old fart kid, his six year old angelic sister, and a fourteen year old girl leading them. Sounds like a great story? Not so much right? Oh, I forgot, they have wings and they can fly.

Synopsis:

So it’s about the group of genetically modified human avian hybrid kids, mostly from the point of view of Max, their leader. They escaped from their laboratory with the help of their father figure, Jeb, who disappeared two years ago, leaving the flock on their own.

The story begins when the Erasers, human and wolf hybrids, kidnaps Angel, the youngest of the flock. They know that she would be taken back to the “School,” the laboratory in California where inhumane experiments were done to them. So the rescue began. Along the way, they split up, got bloody encounters with the Erasers, got back together and got caught, before they could rescue Angel and escape as a whole. And this is just the beginning.

As the flock discovers some of their hidden mutant powers, Max begins hearing a voice in her head, telling her that she is to save the world. This “Voice” acts more like an annoyance than a guide, but the flock ends up following its advice and directions since it actually act as an ally. All along, Erasers, including Jeb’s son, Ari, keep popping up here and there to make things complicated, each time as a new and improved version.

Max has troubles of her own; as a number of people, clues, and secrets pointed out that she is supposed to save the world. The thing is, she doesn’t have a clue how, why, and from what.

The Flock as illustrated by Nara Lee in the graphic novels

Review:

The thing is that they are kids who can fly. They are free to do what they want, but they must also survive on their own. The whole experience of reading their story through their point of view is fun and exhilarating. Of course, flying kids travel a lot. In these three books, they watched a concert in New York, rode the Disney World’s Splash Mountain in Florida, and even spend some time in the restaurants of Paris, France.

This trilogy is very fast paced. One moment everything was nice, then the next they’re fighting for their lives. I think the title fits the story. You really feel that they were fugitives. They were always on the move, always alert, as if in any moment the Erasers could attack. And they did.

The books are divided into small chapters. It’s a smart way of writing I think. The story was just too riveting that it makes its readers want to read more but the small chapters somehow manages to slow the pace down just a bit by giving the readers some breathing room.

All in all, the trilogy is really great. However, the story doesn’t really have an ending until the third book. The first two doesn’t really provide some closure of any sort. After this trilogy, three more books were already published, and the seventh and series ender book will be out on February next year.

The Hunger Games Trilogy

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay

Catching Fire Synopsis:

Katniss survived the 74^th Hunger Games, after that special twist at the end of the games. Now Katniss must go and visit all the districts, which were forced to celebrate her win, as the Capitol rubs the deaths of their contenders in their faces. The president of the Capitol was into Katniss, as he was majorly pissed off from what she did at the last Hunger Games, considering that it have sparked a rebellion among the districts.

Long after the celebrations, it was time again for another Game. Katniss is already involved as she was to train District 11’s new players. It turns out that the 75^th Hunger Games marks the third Quarter Quell. On the 25^th Games, the districts were forced to vote for the kid to play in the Games; on the 50^th, twice as many players were sent to the arena; now it’s the 75^th and the Games is spiced up once again. Which means Katniss will be involved much more than she had imagined: a clear and direct punishment from the president himself. All the while, the spark of rebellion that Katniss created was slowly turning into a wildfire.

Mockingjay Synopsis:

The whole Panem was in a state of war. There are rebellion forces in every district which the peacekeepers try to subdue. With a lot of casualties, the rebellion needs a spark of hope and determination. They need Katniss, their Mockingjay.

But Katniss has been underground, in what was the secret community of District 13. With Peeta at the hands of the Capitol and with the death and destruction in her home district, she struggles hard not to break down. District 13 is leading the rebellion and has the technology, weapons, manpower to overthrow the Capitol. But they also need the all the other districts' help, so they also needed Katniss.

Seeing an opportunity to save Peeta from certain death, she strikes a deal with the District’s president to be the face of the rebellion, with her comeback as the Mockingjay.

The only official character artworks that I've seen.

Review:

Catching Fire is just as good as the first one. It started where the first book left off, but continued all through the year along the celebrations, the preparations for the next game, and well through the 75^th Games itself. A lot happened, but it did not feel rushed at all.

Although it started slow, the story develops beautifully in this book. This one had more, bigger, and better twists than the first one. The action packed scenes kept me on the edge, and it mercifully gives breathing rooms at the right moments. The love story is still there, as well as all the girly stuff from the first book, but it’s nothing to complain about. It makes the book better than it already is.

Mockingjay is a bit different than the first two. This time, most of the time, Katniss is in relative safety. There could have been a lot of opportunities to have some action packed fights, but as the story goes, it feels like it was all saved for last parts of the book. Even then, compared to the first two, I did not feel as much adrenaline.

This one however has at least two of the most heartbreaking moments of the series. Like I said on my first review, this is a book about killing. Like the second book, a lot of new characters were introduced in this one, though only a few joined the other cast to become major characters.This is also concludes whom Katniss will end up with. And I’m glad my team won.

The thing with a great book and a great sequel, it can’t be helped to have high expectations for the concluding novel. It was great, but just as I said, I expected a little more.

I got my Mockingjay book! And bookmark! And shirt!

Just got back from the mall to pick up my copy of Mockingjay.

I reserved one from National Bookstore weeks ago and got a 30% discount. Nice, right? But it gets better. When I reserved my copy of The Deathly Hallows three years ago, I got a free bookmark. This time, aside from the bookmark, the freebies include T-shirts! What a great deal!

Bookmark reads:

"My name is Katniss Everdeen. Why am I not dead? I should be dead."

I'm still in the middle of reading another series but screw it, I'm putting it down and start reading Mockingjay instead. I have really high expectations, hopefully I won't be disappointed. Okay. I'm off! Happy reading! =)

His Dark Materials

I saw the movie, The Golden Compass with my friends a few years back. I also found out that it’s quite a controversy on its own that might actually offend me for it sort of attacks my religion. But the movie really left a good impression on me with the armored bears, the flying witches, and most of all: the dæmons, which are basically humans' soul in animal form. I really liked the idea and the next thing I knew, I wanted to read the books. So I went to buy them, and they look awesome.

Synopses:

The Golden Compass

The story takes place in a world pretty much like our own, with a girl named Lyra and her dæmon, Pantalaimon. She doesn't know that she is special, that she is destined to make a decision in which everything is depended on. In a span of a few days, she learned about the mysterious particle called "Dust," her bestfriend, Roger, went missing, and she received the Alethiometer, a truth telling device: The Golden Compass.

Lyra begins her great adventure to rescue Roger from a terrible fate. She was rescued by a society that lives on boats, found out the truth about her parents, helped an armored bear gain back his

honor, met flying witches, and traveled all the way to the north; only to fail ultimately in the end by an unimaginable betrayal.

The Subtle Knife

The second book begins at our world with Will, a boy leaving his mother in order to search for his father, an explorer who went missing years ago. He found a secret window to another world, an

empty city, where he joined forces with Lyra. They met Dr. Mary Malone, a scientist that studies “Dust” and Will got became the bearer of a weapon that can slice anything, even the fabric between universes: The Subtle Knife.

Back at Lyra’s world, Lee Scoresby, a friend of hers was on a quest to find Dr. Grumman who holds the answers about the "Dust." Lee found out that he is from Will’s world, and he vowed to get him back. Even though most of the goals were fulfilled, th

e book ends with tragic losses. All the while, a great army of creatures from different universes is gathering under Lord Asriel’s command to fight the oppressive Authourity (that was built from lies) and its forces.

The Amber Spyglass

Lyra and Will went on to finish Lyra’s goal and traveled to a lot of worlds and ended up their destination: the land of the dead, where they should leave their dæmons behind before they could accomplish their goal. All the while, Dr. Malone learned that the "Dust" are vanishing as she observed on the device that she made: The Amber Spyglass.

The war between the Authority and the rebels began. It turns out in the war that whoever has the kids' dæmons will influence the two kids, and would ultimately end the war in their favor. The answer to the mystery of "Dust" is revealed, and if it not resolved, would mean the end of everything. The only way to save the very fabrics of the universes and everything on it will have great consequences for the two children, the ones destined to make the very decision.

Official movie trailer of The Golden Compass:

Review:

I felt that the whole of Lyra's journey was great. There are just too many adventures. When a goal was finished, there is always another one waiting. I enjoyed reading and following her and Will's story all throughout. Specially in the first book where she went a lot of places and met a lot of friends: most of which will make a pleasant comeback on the next two books. The trilogy also made me tear up more than once. There are a lot of emotional moments, specially the intense, tear jerking moment with Lee on the second book.

The idea of the multiverse amazes me, and from the moment Lyra crossed the bridge to the stars, and when Will acquired the Subtle Knife, we knew that a brand new story just began. I didn't get offended at all about the issue of the Authority, but I can clearly see while a lot will be. It's basically a war against God. It kinda turned me off. So it's a good thing that most part of the books are about Lyra and Will.

A scene from each book from the covers of the British Junior Editions

I also find it easy to get confused when the story shifts to the different minor characters, specially the ones preparing for the war and even Dr. Malone's journey. I know that Lyra's adventure is the main story and the war itself and Dr. Malone's discovery of dust are just part of the bigger picture but when I'm reading those parts, I can't help getting sleepy and bored and putting the book down.

There are a lot of times that a part of a story closes and another one opens all throughout the trilogy. As the last book comes to a close, we find out what should be done and read on wishing that something would come up to have a perfect happy ending. The series got me hooked on that much. I agree that the ending was good, but I admit, I did not like how it turns out.

I loved the Compass and I loved the Knife. The Spyglass? Not as much. All in all? A great Trilogy.

The Hunger Games

I've always been interested in to read this book because in every bookstore that I have been to, it's always prominently displayed. I searched about it online and found myself wanting to read it more. The only thing that stopped me from buying this until now was that it doesn't have a paperback edition yet, and I have to save up to buy all P759 of it.

Synopsis:

The book is set in Panem, a some kind of post-apocalyptic North America. It has its dominating Capitol surrounded by 12 districts. Decades before the story began, there was a failed rebellion among the districts to overthrow the unjust Capitol. As punishment and as a reminder of their the power over the districts, the Capitol created the Hunger Games.

74 years on, the Games continue. A boy and a girl, aged 12 to 18, from each district will be drawn in a lottery to play the televised Game. They will be placed in a huge outdoor arena to kill each other. The last kid standing wins. Of course, the book's protagonist, Katniss Everdeen from District 12, was entered into the games, and we see her fight to death along with his male counterpart, Peeta Mellark.

Strategy is everything

Review:

It's a book about killing. Expect it to have blood. Although as brutal and bloody as hell as it was, you won't feel so disgusted by the deaths: part of it knowing that there could only be one survivor by the end of the book, and part of it is rooting for Katniss all throughout the Games. As long as it's not her death, you can deal with it.

With a female main character and a female author, the book at some point is bound to be, well, girly. Specially in the parts where they have to prepare Katniss in front of Panem, very much like a beauty pageant. We also have Peeta. A guy. With Katniss. A girl. From the same district. Both trying to be the only survivor and hoping that they won't be the ones to kill the other. What a love story.

The story is filled with action and a lot of heart-pounding moments, but as it goes, it gives its readers some breathing rooms in between. Underneath all the violence and the love story is a hint of the bigger picture of rebellion against the Capitol through its Hunger Games, which is just plain wrong in every possible way.

A very very good read. Easily a perfect 5 out of 5.

Visita Iglesia 2010, Bulacan

Seven churches, 14 Stations of the Cross, two stations per church. That's how it's done, unlike our attempt last year. The churches we visited were just around our area in Bulacan. Three in Marilao, two in Meycauayan, and one each in Bocaue and Sta. Maria. Here they are:

San Isidro - San Roque Parish Church

Malhacan, Meycauayan

St. Francis of Assisi Parish Church

Poblacion, Meyacuayan

St. Michael the Archangel Parish Church

Poblacion I, Marilao

St. Martin of Tours Parish Church

Antipona, Bocaue

La Immaculada Concepcion Church

Poblacion, Sta. Maria

National Shrine of Divine Mercy

Sta. Rosa I, Marilao

Our Lady of Fatima Parish Church

Heritage Homes, Marilao

The whole trip took us around three hours. As a souvenir, I bought myself a rosary ring from the Divine Mercy Church. I got five of them so far: one from our high school retreat in Caleruega, Batangas; one from the Our Lady of Manaoag Church in Pangasinan; one from Our Lady of Peace and Good Voyage in Antipolo; and a gift from a Ninong that he got somewhere in France.

I suddenly got interested in GoogleEarth and mapped out our journey. I used our own parish church, Sto. Nino, as the starting and end point on the map below. Here's the whole trip:

The Alchemyst

The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, first book.

After finishing the Harry Potter and Percy Jackson series, I realized that I am hooked into fantasy novels. I saw this book at a local bookstore, read the synopsis at the back cover, and thought that I just might like reading the series. I did some research in the net and found out that is a recommended good read after Harry and Percy. So I bought it.

It is a good read, though not as great as I expected it to be, but if you're also into fantasy novels, I highly recommend it.

Synopsis:

It's about fifteen year old twins Sophie and Josh, whose world turned upside down when they got caught up in a magical fight between a mysterious man called John Dee and Josh's bosses who turned out to be none other than Nicholas and Perenelle Flamel. In the middle of the fight is the Book of Abraham, the secret behind the Flamels' immortality. It holds a lot of secrets, including one that can give rise to a better world of the "Elders" that only include humans as slaves or food, and one that prophesies the twins: one has the power to create it, the other, to prevent it.

John Dee managed to steal the book and kidnap Perenelle, but Josh tore off the last two pages to prevent Dee's plans to change the world. Now, Nicholas must find a way to awaken and train the twin's powers to stop Dee at all costs. But with the book gone, so is his immortality. He only has a month to do it.

This book actually has a trailer

Review:

This is very different to the books that I use to read. The book was told in everybody's point of view, including the antagonists. Every scene shifts to another character to see in their point of view. Sometimes the story goes on as it shifts from somebody's point of view to another, other times the time will be reset to see what the other characters are doing while the previous chapter was happening. This made the book very long in a sense that we see a lot of things that are happening at the same moment, but at the same time, very short: the whole book happened in a course of two days.

There are a lot of great battles in the action packed book. We see fights between immortals using their auras to blast each other up, we see an amazing event happen at the Golden Gate Bridge, we have a horror movie scene wherein a town was attacked by zombies, and we have a battle of half-crows and half-cats against pterodactyls and half-boars as the god-like "Elders" take on each other. A lot of that good old fantasy novel action.

The thing is, as the book ends, you'll know that it's only the beginning. So only read it if you are prepared to read the whole series of six books, the fourth book only to be released on May 25, so it will be a long wait.