Facebook: Friend or Foe?

Facebook. Every teenager seems to have a page on this website. To us, Facebook is the ultimate way to keep up with all the people in our lives. To others, Facebook is a way to meet new people. And for some, this site is just a meaningless time-waster that keeps them from the more important things in life. There are several pros and cons to this social networking site.

Pros to using Facebook:
1. Facebook helps users expand their social networks to meet other people.
2. Facebook is a way to communicate when there might not be any other opportunities to do so.
3. Facebook is a way to keep up with people that live far away.
4. Facebook lets friends check up on other friends and see how they are doing.
5. Facebook has many fun applications to mess with to occupy free time.

Cons to using Facebook:
1. Facebook is addictive.
2. There is a level of uncertainty for privacy when using Facebook.
3. Some people use Facebook as a tool for procrastination.
4. Harassment can also occur on Facebook.

When all is said and done however, even knowing the pros and cons of Facebook, I enjoy using Facebook, but also admit there is somewhat of an addictive quality to this networking site. In the end, however, the decision needs to be left to each individual.

"To each his own."
(Suum Cuique)

Cicero

Roman author, orator, & politician (106 BC - 43 BC)

Book Review #6 Gathering Blue

Hundreds of years into the future, Earth of today no longer exists. A whole new world where the color blue is lost, people are starving, and rely on a song sang once a year to remember their past, is created by Lois Lowry in this amazing book. Lois Lowry's Gathering Blue took an interesting take on what the future of earth might end up being.

Kira, a girl with only one usable leg, has just been orphaned when her mother died of an unknown illness. In Gathering Blue Kira relies on her skill of weaving and embroidery to survive. The plot of Gathering Blue has a few twists that will keep you turning the pages.

Like other Lois Lowry books, Gathering Blue is set in the future, on Earth, except the earth has gone in a different direction than most people believe. The people live in a village, and are ruled by a council. Every year the people gather to hear a song, sung by the singer, which tells of the downfall of earth and how this new village arose from the destruction. Kira, is selected to be the person who will take care of the robe, worn by the singer each year. The robe tells the story of earth and all the history of the people who now inhabit our planet. The robe is vibrant and beautiful, but...the color blue is completely absent. On top of everything, Kira is responsible to fill in the blank part of the robe with what the council tells her will be in the future.

The characters of Gathering Blue are somewhat static, we find out most all we know about Kira and the other characters usually in the first chapters where we meet them. Most of the story is focused more on plot than characterization.

Overall Gathering Blue was a good book, but not my favorite work of Lois Lowry. I would recommend this book to fans of Lois Lowry's books, but I would say that some of her other books are better.

Book Review #4 & 5 Catching Fire

Imagine being thrown into an arena where killing every other person in that place was the only path to survival. Imagine co-winning that contest with a friend only because the whole society believed you were a lovestruck couple bent on getting out together or dying. Then imagine being thrown into that arena again. Suzanne Collins' Catching Fire took me on a wild ride of adventure and imagination.

Katniss and Peeta have just won the hunger games, an annual display of blood and gore used by the Capitol, the main city of this country called Panem, to scare the "districts" (somewhat like states), into submission. Normally only one victor emerges, having killed all of the other candidates, but in an attempt to both win, they attempt to commit suicide together so the Capitol would be forced to crown them both victors. The Capitol was not happy. That is what happened in The Hunger Games, the first book in the saga, Catching Fire is the second chapter in the Hunger Games saga.

Catching Fire is set in a country called Panem, a new place which rose out of the ashes after the United States fell into chaos and fell to destruction. There were originally 13 districts, somewhat like states, which all bowed to the Capitol, the main city in this new land. But, when the 13th district rebelled against the Capitol, district 13 became no more. Now there are 12 districts, each specializing in making a good for the use of the rich Capitol, while the people of the districts lie on the fence between starvation and survival.

All irony aside, Catching Fire has the theme of standing up to the man, if you will. The people of Panem are on the verge of rebellion, and the flame started by Katniss and Peeta has just enough power to ignite an inferno of rage inside the hearts of this country's people.

I would recommend Catching Fire to anyone who likes a good futuristic "What if?" book and enjoys being suprised. Catching Fire, like most other books I read, will glue readers to the edge of their seats, and keep them waiting for the next chapter in the Hunger Games saga.


400 Pages -- 2 Books

Book Review #3 The Giver

What would happen if our world collapsed? What if a group of people changed life forever, and worst of all, left us none the wiser? Lois Lowry's The Giver kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end.

The Giver is set on Earth, in the far future, where after all the wars, trauma, and heartache, the people of the world have decided to take all the memories away and put them into the minds of one person, The reciever of memories. When Jonas, a 12 year old boy is chosen on his 12th birthday to be the new reciever of memories, the whole village gets turned upside down.

The Giver focuses a lot on becoming an individual and stepping out of the box when everyone in life seems to be part of a never ending stream of sameness. The theme of this book is that no matter what happens in the world, there are certain fundamental aspects of life, that without, life would cease to have meaning for many people in society.

This book is most definitely written in the same way most of Lois Lowry's books are. She takes a twist on the reality of today, throws the world into chaos, and then brings to life a new and crazy world out of the ashes.

The Giver is a must read book for people of all ages, teaching a fundamental lesson to our youth: To have a good life with meaning, we must endure the hardships together. This book will have readers on the edge of their seats all day and begging for more at the conclusion.

Book Review #2 "The Time Machine"

Is time travel really too far fetched to be possible? Can this amazing feat truly be obtained in the power of mortal man? H.G. Well’s The Time Machine dives head first into this pool of ideas and puts an interesting spin on the topic of time travel. The Time Machine truly broadened my idea of what the future might be like with the vivid details and sky high tales of what the earth might be like one day.

The Time Machine seems to take place in the mid to late 1800s in London, England. This book however, as the name implies, does jump around in the time stream. Although throughout most of the book the time traveler is in relatively the same place, he is not, however, in anywhere near the same time period.

The time traveler, we do not get more of a name than that, begins the story by having a get together with some peers to discuss the possibility of his machine. Then, at another meeting, he announces that he has traveled through time. The time traveler then spins a tale of amazing proportions, telling of the earth in hundreds of thousands of years. The reader learns about the whimsical and carefree over-world people, the Eloi, and the animal-like primitive under-worlders, the Morlocks. The time traveler learns a great deal about these people in the quest to recover his stolen time machine.

The Time Machine encourages readers to think about the future. This book also gives a broader range of more imaginative ideas than most literature of this kind. Times are changing, and we, the readers, decide how time unfolds.

I would recommend The Time Machine to fans of science fiction. Although the vocabulary is somewhat above the average level for a teenage read, teens will most likely find this book interesting.

Book Review #1 "Thirteen Reasons Why"

Why do people commit suicide? Could life really be that bad? Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why catches my attention because this book takes a very tough and controversial topic and shows readers the sometimes untold story in the tragedy of suicide.

Clay, the main character gets a set of tapes, which he finds out have been recorded by a girl, Hannah, before her recent suicide. Clay soon discovers that these tapes chronicle all of the events in Hannah’s life that led up to her decision to kill herself, but the catch is: Someone only get the tapes if they’re on them. That means he must be one of the thirteen reasons why. . . Right?

This story takes place all over the town in which Clay lives. Hannah provided a map with the tapes telling the listeners where to go at the right time to help get the full effect of what she has to say. This addition of changing scenery really does add to the magnitude and emotion that pulsates out of this amazing book.

Thirteen Reasons Why really makes readers think, and causes the them to realize that actions toward others do matter. If a person is hurt by another individual, soon events can lead to a domino effect and make that person’s world seem to be crashing down.

Without a doubt, I recommend Thirteen Reasons Why to any reader in the world, especially high school students. This book truly makes the reader think about how the everyday actions that are just blips in our memory can have a catastrophic effect on the persons toward whom those actions are carried out.