Mourning and Humanity

Today, there was a shooting at an elementary school in Connecticut. Very sudden, very sad. There's been many posts on Facebook, Twitter, etc. about it. Just a little while ago I saw one asking why there isn't such a nation wide uproar when soldiers die or drunk drivers get behind the wheel and kill people. My response was: 
"I believe because in the military there are always going to be people dying. It's sad, but it's what happens. When you send 5 year olds to school, you don't expect them to die. It's sad no matter how someone dies or what the circumstances are, though. They should all be mourned."

Really, I think the main point about this disaster, is the fact that the majority of victims, were children. Innocent, little children. 
Did you know that one of the teachers kept telling her student she loved them because she thought it was going to be the last thing they heard. 
That is what I call humanity. Humanity: the good in us all. In his VlogBrothers video for today, Hank Green can be quoted with what has become my favorite thing said by anyone ever:
"Humanity is good. Some people are terrible and broken, but humanity is good. I believe that."
People who commit these horrible acts, like killing those guilt-free students and teachers, are broken. They are disturbed and atrocious. 

I think the thing is bothering all of us, is the fact that they were children. Children with their whole lives ahead of them. Like when the president gave his speech today, he wasn't a president, a democrat, a politician at all. He was a father. He wasn't thinking about the media attention to him; but about his own daughters. If they had been in one of those classrooms. I can tell that my parents thought that exact same thing by their reactions.
I feel the parents/adults of this country, in addition to us students, ache for the parents and families of the victims. 

I remember being in elementary school. Just following the leader in line. I never knew if something bad was happening. I was oblivious. Just imagine what those kids were experiencing. Teacher freaking out, lock down. being gathered at the back of the room. Terrifying.
As I've grown and matured, I feel like I have a sort of responsibility to not only myself, but to this country, to be aware and sympathize with everybody else.  
Mourning does not come easy to me, especially in cases where I don't personally know the deceased. But my heart truly, deeply goes out to them. 


Taylor

TWLC: Update

I hope you've liked the past 8 posts/reviews! I'm actually going to be taking a break from them for a while. I will start back up once I've finished one of the books I am reading now.
What I am reading now is Volume 1 of The Vampire Diaries and also The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas.

TWLC #8: "An Abundance of Katherines" by John Green

Back of book summary:
"19 Katherines and counting...
When it comes to relationships, Colin Singleton's type is girls named Katherine. And when it comes to girls named Katherine, Colin is always getting dumped. Nineteen times, to be exact. On a road trip miles from home, this anagram-happy, washed-up child prodigy has ten thousand dollars in his pocket, a bloodthirsty feral hog on his trail, and an over-weight, Judge Judy-loving best friend riding shotgun--but no Katherines. Colin is on a mission to prove The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability, which he hopes will predict the future of any relationship, avenge Dumpees everywhere, and may finally win him the girl."

I have already revealed in this post my love for John Green and his books.
This one is no exception. He made me care for the characters. I loved the dorky, Sheldon Cooper-like main character, Colin; his over-weight, Muslim, joke-cracking best friend, Hassan; and their new, Southern "family", Hollis and Lindsey.
In most John Green books, the major plot line, I've noticed, doesn't show up until later in the book.And the protagonist faces challenges he/she never had to before. And yet another quality of Green's books that make them truly genius.

**5 out of 5
Where to get it

The new cover designed by an actual Nerdfighter(!!!):

TWLC #7: "1984" by George Orwell

Back of book summary (keep in mind: my copy is the Commemorative Edition for the year 1984):
"The year 1984 is finally upon us, and George Orwell's prophetic, nightmare vision in 1949 of the world we were becoming is timelier than ever. 1984 is still the great modern classic of "Negative Utopia:-- a startlingly original and powerful novel that creates an imaginary world that is completely convincing, from the first sentence to the last four words"

I read this last year, and it was scary. Thought police, giant TVs in every home that, instead of you watching it, it watched you.
1984 was very different from the books I normally read. It was dark. I suppose I chose to read it because of my 8th grade science teacher, Mr. Kruse. He based a lot of our lessons on this book and also Adlous Huxley's Brave New World, which I have yet to read.
I would most certainly recommend this to all who have allowed technology to over-take their lives. It shows how we must take a second look and analyze where our "short-cuts" are really taking us.

**4 out of 5 stars

TWLC #6: "As You Like It" by William Shakespeare

Back of book summary:
"As You Like It is considered by many to be one of Shakespeare's greatest comedies, and the heroine, Rosalind, is praised as one of his most inspiring characters and has more lines than any of Shakespeare's female characters. Rosalind, the daughter of a banished duke falls in love with Orlando the disinherited son of one of the duke's friends. When she is banished from the court by her usurping uncle, Duke Frederick , Rosalind switches genders and as Ganymede travels with her loyal cousin Celia and the jester Touchstone to the Forest of Arden, where her father and his friends live in exile. Observations on life and love follow (including love, aging, the natural world, and death) friends are made, and families are reunited. By the play's end Ganymede, once again Rosalind, marries her Orlando. Two other sets of lovers are also wed, one of them Celia and Orlando's mean older brother Oliver . As Oliver becomes a gentler, kinder young man so the Duke conveniently changes his ways and turns to religion and so that the exiled Duke, father of Rosalind, can rule once again."

The first Shakespeare comedy I ever read! Unlike his tragedies, many of the characters of this play were underdeveloped. And I know this is not one of his better comedies. 

While writing this review, it was hard to remember the plot and premise of the play. I must not have cared enough for it to remember it. 

But I did enjoy it. If you are in need of a quick, fun read, this is it!

**3 out of 5

Where to get it (No fear Shakespeare)

TWLC #5: "Wicked: the Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West" by Gregory Maguire

  

Back of book summary: 

"When Dorothy triumphed over the Wicked Witch of the West in L. Frank Baum's classic tale, we heard only her side of the story. But what about her arch-nemesis, the mysterious Witch? Where did she come from? How did she become so wicked? And what is the true nature of evil? 

Gregory Maguire creates a fantasy world so rich and vivid that we will never look at Oz the same way again. Wicked is about a land where animals talk and strive to be treated like first-class citizens, Munchkinlanders seek the comfort of middle-class stability, and the Tin Man becomes a victim of domestic violence. And then there is the little green-skinned girl named Elphaba, who will grow up to become the infamous Wicked Witch of the West, a smart, prickly, and misunderstood creature who challenges all our preconceived notions about the nature of good and evil."

 

Yes, this is the book the musical, Wicked, is based on. No, it's not as good. 

The show is fun and up-lifting. This book was dark and very...raunchy. Maguire's writing style, the way he chooses to describe things, could be construed as perverted. There was a whole scene I skipped completely (the Philosophy Club). 

The book has a wonderful premise and general story, though. 

I read Wicked in 8th grade. And, I can confidently say, it is very much intended for adults. 

This book is first in a series of four. I own all four, but have only rad the first two. Book two, Son of a Witch, in my opinion, is far better than its predecessor. 

Since reading Wicked, I am unable to watch The Wizard of Oz without loathing the Wizard and even Dorothy at times. I begin to feel compassion for Elphaba, the Wicked Wotch of the West.

**2.5 out of 5 (suited for adults)

Where to get it 

TWLC #4 "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen

Back of book summary:
""It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." This memorably begins Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, one of the world's most popular novels. Pride and Prejudice-- Austen's own, "darling child" -- tells the story of fiercely independent Elizabeth Bennet, one of five sisters who must marry rich, as she confounds the arrogant, wealthy Mr. Darcy. What ensues is one of the most delightful and engrossingly readable courtships known to literature, written by a precocious Austen when she was just twenty-one years old.Humourous and profound, and filled with highly entertaining dialogue, this witty comedy of manners dips and turns through drawing-rooms and plots to reach an immensely satisfying finale. In the words of Eudora Welty, Pride and Prejudice is as "irresitible and as nearly flawless as any fiction could be."" 



A very clichéd book-- I know! But I had to read, I had to!  And I'm glad I did. I absolutely adored this book! P&P is a classic for a reason. When an unfortunate event befell the Bennet family, I felt their pain, their disgrace. When one of the girls received a marriage proposal (from the right guy), I was excited and giddy. My cheeks hurt from smiling and my heart hurt from aching. 
I chose to start this book because of the mini-series, Lost in Austen (LiA), and the webseries, The Lizzie Bennet Diaries (LBD). In LiA, the main character is P&P's #1 fan. She miraculously get the opportunity to swap places/lives with Elizabeth Bennet. Thus, a new and absurd retelling of the tale commences. Some characters who were previously labeled as "villains" become the new heroine's hero.  LBD is an updated version of the story told through video blogs (vlogs). And it is adorable! All the actors portray the characters so well: Jane is a sweet heart and Lydia a party animal. It is simply FANTASTIC. 

I always used to wonder what all the hype about Mr. Darcy was. Well, now I know. All the attention the character gets is well deserved. I fell in love with him. I fell in love with Darcy the same way I fell in love with Augustus Waters (The Fault in Our Stars): I wanted him to be with the heroine of the story. Unlike TV, where I wish I could get the guy, I shipped Elizabeth/Darcy so hard. My little shipper heart couldn't take it. I didn't fall in love with Darcy, I fell in love with Darcy and Lizzie, as a pair. And I think that when an author is capable of making one fall in love with two people together, well that's talent.

**5 out of 5 stars
 WHERE TO GET IT
  

TWLC #3 "The Season" by Sarah MacLean

Back of book summary:
"Seventeen-year-old Lady Alexandria Stafford doesn't fit into the world of Regency London-- she's strong-willed, sharp-tongued, and she absolutely loathes dress fittings. Unfortunately, her mother has been waiting for years for Alex to be old enough to take part in the social whirlwind of a London season so she can be married off to someone safe, respectable, wealthy, and almost certainly boring. But Alex is far more fascinated by adventure than romance.
Somehow between ball gown fittings, dances, and dinner parties, Alex, along with her two best friends, Ella and Vivi, manages to get entangled in her biggest scrape yet. It's a mystery brimming with espionage, murder, suspicion, and love."

 Okay, I seriously loved this book! It's set in Jane Austen-y times. I really enjoyed it. Unlike Austen's heroines, Alex is really not concerned with finding a husband and she is completely content with being single, much like Emma from Emma by Jane Austen.
This book also has some dark parts to it. There is this constant reoccurring theme/situation of a major character's father's murder and how he is dealing with his newly given title.
The way I've described this book to friends has been as a faster paced Austen novel. 


**4 out of 5 stars
Where to get it

TWLC #2 "For One More Day" by Mitch Albom

Back of book summary:
"For One More Day is the story of a mother and a son, and a relationship that lasts a lifetime and beyond. It explores the question: What would you do if you could spend one more day with a lost loved one?
As a child, Charley Benetto is told by his father, "You can be a mama's buy or you can be a daddy's boy, but you can't be both." So he chooses his father, and he worships him-- right up to the day the man disappears. An eleven-year-old Charley must then turn to his mother, who bravely raises him on her own, despite Charley's embarrassment and yearnings for a complete family.
Decades later, Charley is a broken man. His life has been crumbled by alcohol and regret. he loses his job. He leaves his family. He hits bottom after discovering that his only daughter has shut him out of her wedding.
And he decides to take his own life.
He makes a midnight ride to his small hometown, with plans to do himself in. But upon failing even to do that, he staggers back to his old house, only to make an astonishing discovery. His mother-- who died eight years earlier-- is still living there, and welcomes him home as if nothing has ever happened.
What follows is the one "ordinary" day so many of us yearn for, a chance to make good with a lost parent, to explain family secrets , and to seek forgiveness. Somewhere between this life and the next, Charley learns the things he never knew about his mother and her sacrifices. And he tries, with her tender guidance, to put the crumbled pieces of his life back together."

Okay, so Mitch Albom. He wrote Tuesdays with Morrie and Five People You Meet in Heaven. Fantastic books. But this tale, it didn't necessarily live up to them.  It was confusing and hard to stay with at times. Granted, I was in the eighth grade when I read it.
I feel like it was an idea he had one night, and decided to run with it. It was a difficult feat. At times, I felt like I was left wanting to know more.
But if you are a Mitch Albom fan, and have recently lost a loved one, I recommend it to you.

**3 out of 5
Where to get it

TWLC #1 "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan

Back of book summary:
"One cold night, in a most unlikely corner of Chicago, two strangers cross paths. Two Teens with the same name, running in to very different circles, suddenly find their lives going in new and unexpected directions, culminating in heroic turns-of-heart and the most epic musical ever to grace the high school stage."

I absolutely loved this book! Granted, the main reason I picked it out was because of John Green, but it is genuinely a great read. The two authors take alternating turns at telling the two stories, chapter by chapter.
It's a book about two teenage boys, both named Will Grayson. They are polar opposites. One is a depressed, homosexual boy whose only joy in life is his conversations with a stranger online. The other is a kid with only one real friend, Tiny Cooper. "Tiny Cooper not the world's gayest person, and he is not the world's largest person, but I [Will Grayson, 1] believe he may be the world's largest person who is really, really gay, and also the world's gayest person who is really, really large (Chapter 1, p 3)."
As you can see, it has very interesting and fun characters that are able to make you laugh.
About half-way though, the two Will Grayson's meet! YAY! But, it's in a porn shop...
This book was my second John Green Book (after Looking For Alaska), and he has this amazing ability. See when he writes, he's able to capture part of the human experience and put into words what it means to live and be human. That's what I love about John Green and his writing style. It's human-ness.

**4 out of 5 stars
Where to get it

*NEW PROJECT*

After a long absence, I have returned! I thought to myself, "Wow, I've read a lot of books... people should know." Thus, the workings of this brand new idea formed in my head. I have decided to give little, book-report-like, summaries of some of the fantastic books I've read.
Tonight will be the jumping off point. For, BEHOLD, the newly titled project:
"The Wondrous Literary Challenge,"
*or "TWLC" for short.