Mentality

Thinking Inside the Crease

Chris K. Buck

Oran Gelinas

“You must work on strengths and weaknesses in order to move up the pyramid” (Buck 60). As a goalie in a lacrosse game or any position in any sport, in order to move up the pyramid -the various levels of development- you must work on strengths and weaknesses. “It takes SO MANY hours of practice in order to play at the next level.” (Buck 52). For me, it’s high school varsity but it still requires hard-work like someone trying to play in the pros or a 9-year-old trying out for his club team. The other levels to the pyramid are passing/catching/ground balls, position-based fundamentals, understanding team offense/defense, game scenarios (Rides/clears), composure, mastery of skills, and improvisation and creativity. “Take responsibility for ALL shots that go in.” (Buck 64). Taking responsibility is another problem for goalies that is covered in this book. Goalies often blame their defense for not sliding or the mid-fielders for dropping a pass on the clear leading to a 1-on-1. It may have put on odds against you but it’s still a goalies job to stop the ball no matter the circumstances. Another chapter in this book is about the Downward Spiral; it “is when you let in a couple goals (without making any saves), then another, and so on, and so on…” (Buck 74) The downward spiral happens to goalies all the time and feels as if you are trapped and there’s no way to get out of the slump. You always need to focus on the next shot because you can’t go back and change the ones that you already let in. The next shot is all that matters.

There are many challenges a lacrosse goalie faces. The mental challenges can be a huge deciding factor in the game yet one of the most overlooked. As a Lacrosse goalie myself, I think this book is very helpful. As goalies, we aren’t taught how to deal with the mental challenges like the downward spiral or having a lot of confidence in the cage which are really important things. Getting a good warm-up -before a game or practice when you take some shots to get the blood flowing and feet moving- is really important and you want to make sure you get a good warmup that will get you ready to play. This book is a must-have tool for learning how to cope with mental challenges. It goes into great detail about every single interference or mental challenge you will face and how to deal with it. Another great point of this book is that the end of every chapter has a recap. It covers the main topics of the chapter and what is important. If you struggle with a certain interference, you can read the chapter and study the recap of what is most important. One of the points of recap in the chapter “Tryouts and Showcases” was “Play each game like you’re playing for your high school team” (Buck 116) There are about five points in the recap which shortened down a few pages which is a feature of the book that I think is a great idea by the author to integrate into his book. I recommend this book a lot to any other lacrosse goalie or goalie for that matter because it is not just a book, but an excellent practice and training tool. I take a new skill from this book each week and try to work on it daily. These skills have greatly increased my performance in net because I improving on parts of my mental game like trying not to fall into the downward spiral. I found myself getting into that in a practice and I focused on getting out of it. Lacrosse and sports aren’t just physical but there is also a huge mental portion so you need to practice your mentality too.

Becoming Top Lobster

Ryan Politis

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos

Jordan B. Peterson

The world is a better place with you in it.  There is a you-shaped hole in the world that only you can fill.  In Clinical Psychologist and former Harvard Professor, Jordan B. Peterson’s second book---12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos---he sets out on a mission to explain why you take care of your dog more than yourself, how lobsters relate to humans, and why you should stand up straight with your shoulders back.  The goal of Peterson’s book is to help people out of negative habits, bad life decisions, and begin a roll of positive-positive reinforcement. Peterson’s ideas about life are truthful and reflect his experiences with bad choices he made in life.   
I must preface the review by saying that I listened to the audiobook version of this book instead of reading a physical copy.  The parenthetical citations will look different than other reviews because of this. The audiobook is 16 hours long and I haven’t made time to relax and listen to the book.  I have barely scratched the surface of Peterson’s 12 rules but to understand a lot of the concepts in his book you will need to understand his view of the famous Taoist symbol the Yin and Yang.  Peterson describes the white orderly Yang as, “the wise king and the tyrant forever bound together as society is simultaneously structure and oppression” (Peterson Chapter 1). He then describes the black chaotic Yin as, “the new and unpredictable suddenly emerging in the midsts of the commonplace familiar” (Peterson Chapter 1).  If you can understand these concepts of Yin and Yang, then you’ll be able to recognize why some of his rules will sound silly and the reasons why. Peterson explains why standing up straight promotes courage and vulnerability, “If you slump around with the same bearing that characterizes a defeated lobster, people will assign you a lower status” (Peterson Chapter 2).  The lobster and the Yin and Yang show themselves in this rule wonderfully. The edge of order and chaos that come with maintaining the alpha position of a lobster with a lot of serotonin can be connected to your life. Reflecting the posture of a top lobster will have people assign you a higher status; your life will be improved.

This book is great.  I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone.  However, there will be people that will despise this book due to Peterson’s online “controversies.”  Some people that read this will recognize the interview the title is referencing, but I won’t go into Peterson’s other work because it’s completely off topic, however, I will say that if you can get past it and listen to Peterson you can truly understand why I like this book.  It helped me and it will help you.

"Rumors"

“Rumors”
Shelby Campana
The Miracle Stealer by Neil Connelly

You probably think that when people admit that they can heal people through their mind: they’re crazy. Although it may be impossible, the fictional story about Daniel makes it seem so real it’s breathtaking. The Miracle Stealer is a story by Neil Connelly that creates more and more suspense along the way while we discover if Daniels gift is a rumor or not. This book is in the point of view of Andi---Daniels sister who struggles to believe the gift her brother has; saving people through praying and his mind. After multiple cases where Daniel helps and saves people in his town, it is hard to believe it isn't true.

This “rumor” all started when Andi, Daniel, and their parents got into a freak accident that ended up killing both their parents. Ever since the accident, Daniel has been known as, “miracle boy”. All Dani wants to do is protect her brother from the people in his town who want to turn him into a science experiment. Andi just wants her brother to live a normal childhood; without all the interviews. Daniel is unable to stand up for himself or even understand what's going on because he's only six years old. As the book continues, Andi starts to believe that her brother is a “miracle boy”. After one “miracle” Andi realizes she smelt vanilla. This isn't a coincidence, she smelt this after another “miracle” made by Daniel. “Vanilla. It was the same thing I would smell when Miracle was born”(40). These signs start to make it hard for Andi not to believe in her brother. Throughout all the newscasts, Andi loses friends she was close to, college scholarships, and her life is starting to revolve around Daniel. This isn’t only affecting Andi and her social life, it’s affecting Daniel and his self esteem. As Daniel keeps performing “miracles”, some fail. When this happens he blames it on himself, saying, “I didn’t pray good?”. After this happens Andi realizes Daniels gift will greatly affect his future. Andis immediate reaction is to say this: “Just remember, you ain’t special”(22). Their only option is to hope that his gift will do something good in the future.

This book has constant plot twists that make you not want to put the book down. Although I don't read a lot, I found this book really interesting and it never got boring. You instantly connect with both the main characters: Andi and Daniel. I think that the book being in the perspective of Andi rather than Daniel makes this book different from others. We Get to read about the feelings that Andi has while her life starts to revolve around Daniel. She loses friend---her family gains attention and money.

I recommend this book to readers who enjoy light, mysterious books. This book has continuous themes like family conflict, deception and love. Any age group could read this book.

Pet Peeves

Edward Lau

The Life of Pi

Yann Martel


          Humans have always been thought of as more superior than animals, while that may be true, an animal can still rip apart a human easily. In this novel, religion and animals have a way of interacting. Pi Patel - a Religion and Zoology graduate from Toronto - tells his story about how learning religion from a young age has changed his view on animals. He tells the reader that his name comes from Piscine Molitor Patel - a swimming pool - but his bullies eventually led him to name himself Pi, as in 3.14, due to his love for math at the time. From a young age, Pi had been exposed to animals since the Indian government had placed them in his home country: “huge zoos, designed and run according to the most modern, biologically sound principles” (15). His exposure to these animals is what got him into Zoology but his Aunt Rohini: “who brought me to a temple when I was a small baby” (Martel 59). She was the one who made Pi really interested in the study of Religion.

          From the beginning of the novel - Pi - the narrator - foreshadows his incident on the boat by stating that he is afraid Richard Parker, the tiger that was on the boat with him. Pi states his views on different topics throughout the sixteen chapters that I’ve read. Most of them are talking about animals. From the start of the novel, Pi talks about the three toed sloth with great detail. Being interested with the animal, he realizes that the sloth lives the most intriguing life because it is so calm. He relates the sloth back to religion - more specifically Catholicism and Christianity - due to the sloth representing the two religions by its characteristics of sleeping and not causing any carnage in the world due to its vegetarian diet. Later on in the novel, he speaks about how people that follow Hinduism won’t approve of zoos because the animals there are unhappy. He tells the reader a lot of his ideas and how he thinks about each animal that he has had contact with in his life. After talking about the animal, he talks about how the animal relates back to religions. He got this point of view from his biology teacher, Mr. Satin, a communist and atheist. His thoughts about communism and his reason for being a atheist makes Pi realize that agonistics are the people that he hates the most. He got his ideas about animals especially from his father when he was young. His father told him and his brother that an animal will only cooperate if it wants something. That will play into the story heavily when Pi is on the boat with the tiger. The rest of the chapters talk about animals that he encounters and reasons why he went to Hinduism.

          I would strongly recommend this book to people. Not only does it have a good plot (so far) but the detail that Yann Martel put into making the reader actually understand Pi as a protagonist is great. The way he thinks “it’s not atheist who get stuck in my craw, but agonists” (Martel 35), or, “we are all born like Catholics” (58), and how he knows, “it’s a trainers best interest to form a good relationship with Omega animals” (56) shows the reader the personal opinions that Pi has to a great detail. That detail is reinforced by having ten or more mini paragraphs in the first part to show how he thinks. This book will make you have a bigger perspective on how animals behave and why people will choose follow a certain religion, but more importantly it will make you open your mind on things.

What is Justyce?

Written By: Kyle Marx

What is justice? By dictionary definition, it is: “the quality of being just; righteousness, equitableness, or moral rightness”. Some may say that it is the act of being fair and equal to all. On the contrary, these same people judge and discriminate against certain groups based on their race. This is seen in Dear Martin by Nic Stone as Justyce McAllister faces the struggles of being a black teenager in 1983. In society, racism often occurs regardless of age or gender and results in unjust acts. Throughout Dear Martin, character Justyce McAllister fails to be treated with said moral rightness.





Dear Martin, written by Nic Stone, tells the story of a black teenager by the name of Justyce McAllister. Justyce is a prestigious student at Braselton Preparatory Academy. He is not only the captain of the debate team but is expected to go to an Ivy League school in the fall. When his ex-girlfriend (Melo) is drunk, alone, and attempting to drive, Justyce rushes over to prevent her from inflicting any harm. Due to her intoxicated state, she screams and shouts which unfortunately catches the attention of a nearby police officer. This officer approaches Justyce and says: “‘Don’t you say sh*t to me, you son of a b*tch. I knew your punk a** was up to no good when I saw you walking down the road with that goddamn hood on’”. This exemplifies how justice is not served because of Justyce’s appearance. He is not given time to explain his situation to the officer and is brutally beaten and verbally assaulted whenever he attempts to speak. Afraid of harsher punishments, he keeps quiet and complies with the officer’s commands. He is later released without charges, but the incident shows to us readers a simple glimpse of the life of a black teenager today. As a coping mechanism, Justyce starts writing letters to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Even though fifteen years have passed since the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, Justyce acts as if he is still alive. Justyce uses these letters to speak his mind freely without repercussions. Shocked by what has happened he writes : “Yeah, there are no more ‘colored’ water fountains, and it’s supposed to be illegal to discriminate, but if I can be forced to sit on the concrete in too tight cuffs when I’ve done nothing wrong, it’s clear there’s an issue” (13-14). Through Justyce’s letter, Stone shows us, readers, that although civil rights laws have been placed, racism can still transpire despite the time period.





Throughout the book, Stone not only teaches us the importance of justice but incorporates a sense of humor which blends in with the messages of the story. Through Justyce’s actions, this humor is conveyed: “She squeezes his bicep and kisses him in the little nook where his jawbone meets his neck. ‘Bye, Jus'. Jus doesn’t say a word. Just stares at Melo’s butt as she saunters off” (57). Stone adds this type of commentary to allow the readers to see from the point of view of Justyce. By effectively adding the sense of how the average teenager thinks, it not only makes it relatable but makes the readers want to continue reading.





I would highly recommend this book to people interested in social sciences, movements, and historically civil disobedient figures. The novel illustrates a vivid image of police brutality that gives readers an idea of what it is like to be a victim of racism. On a scale of one to ten, I would confidently give this book a definite ten. As a black teenager, I found it incredibly easy to relate to some of the things Justyce had been experiencing. However, regardless of one's race, this book is enlightening and educational to all. Nic Stone’s-Dear Martin-provides an invigorating and eye-opening story of a young man's struggle for JUSTYCE.

Getting Rescued From One Thing Can Put You In Something Even Worse

Getting Rescued From One Thing Can Put You In Something Even Worse
Andrew Arena

Misery by Stephen King

           After his experience in the novel Misery by Stephen King, Paul Sheldon---an award-winning author---will have a lot to write about. How he got into this sticky situation, Sheldon will always regret. Paul was drunk; he didn’t think things through. He was supposed to take a plane to New York, but had decided to head west, ending up getting caught in a huge snowstorm. The snow proved to get the best of Paul, crushing his car and him. One minute he was on the top of the world, and the next his whole body, and possibly his career and life, was shattered. Paul’s legs made shapes “like broken branches” (King 26). “Luckily” he was found and pulled out of the rubble. Paul Sheldon would survive. Or would he? Getting rescued isn’t always the best thing, especially when you are rescued by Annie Wilkes---a completely psychotic woman---who is apparently your number one fan. Paul thought the car crash was bad, but Annie’s house is a million times worse. Annie loves Paul. However, she also loves to torture him. Paul’s legs are destroyed, but she doesn’t take him to a hospital. Paul is thirsty, but she resists giving him water. Finally, Paul is dying from pain; he receives pain killers from Annie. These are pain killers that he will end up getting addicted to, and need everyday. They are called Novril. Paul and Annie’s relationship progresses throughout the book, his fury towards her building and building with every day that passes. Misery proposes many questions, including the following: will Paul attempt escape, will he succeed, will someone die in the process? Find out in the horror thriller Misery by Stephen King.

           So far, I really like this book. It is the type of book that excites you and makes you nervous. You feel the need to figure out what happens next. When reading this book, you’ll feel just like you are in the movie theaters watching a horror movie. It has such a creepy aspect to it. This is one of the key reasons I am enjoying the book so much. I love books that surprise you and prevent boredom, and this is definitely one of those books. Annie is so unpredictable, and you never know what stunt she’ll pull next. Her and Paul have so many battles, and when Paul wins, he expresses the feeling perfectly thinking: “He had won. This time” (King 28). There may be one day where Paul loses. I recommend this novel to everyone who likes horror movies and likes to be shaking with nerves and excitement when reading a book. Stephen King is an amazing author, and I highly recommend trying one of his books. An aspect of Misery that I believe makes it even a little more scary is that it is realistic. It could happen in real life, and the thought of it happening sends shivers down your spine. Misery also has a lot of lessons displayed in it, including the consequences of drunk driving and the fact that sometimes it’s better to take the safe route instead of taking a risk. Paul Sheldon should’ve never taken the risk of taking the “trip the kid of twenty-four he had been when he sold his first novel might have taken” (King 17). Overall, Misery is a great book that can be classified under the following: horror, adventure, and mystery. I highly recommend Misery to anyone who likes the horror genre and Stephen King novels.

Life or Death?

Cloe Amaral


My Sister’s Keeper

by Jodi Picoult

Have you ever been forced to help a sibling? Maybe by doing the dishes or homework help---but have you been forced to give them your organs? The main character of My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult, Anna, was brought into this world for a specific purpose: she isn’t sick, but she might as well be.

This story is told from multiple perspectives. It follows Anna, a healthy 13-year old who is a perfect allogeneic match for her older sister Kate. This is not a coincidence, as Kate was diagnosed as a toddler with acute leukemia and Anna was only genetically engineered to save her, saying “I was born for a very specific purpose” (7). At this point in Anna’s life, she is beginning to question her purpose and identity. The problem is, she has always been defined in her sister’s shadow, always there ready to give a piece of herself when something went wrong, saying “they chose little embryonic me, specifically, because I could save my sister, Kate” (8). She is tired of going into countless surgeries against her will and never being asked what she wants. Anna has to make a choice that could kill her sister and tear her family apart, but give her the rights to her own body---her own life. This is a story that contains morally and ethically questioning topics and presents a life question: Should you save a loved one and live life not being able to decide anything for yourself, or save your body and mind but risk losing your families respect and possibly one of their lives? Read the book and find out what Anna decides.

The book is bittersweet, engaging, and explores eye-opening debates. It addresses the fact that life isn’t fair and there are some decisions that you’d rather not make. Along reading the story, it makes you think: what would I do? The main character, Anna, is very independent and empowered on the outside; inside, however, you see that she just wants acceptance for who she is and is constantly searching for her identity, saying “a major decision about me is being made, and no one's bothered to ask the one person who most deserves it to speak her opinion” (98). An element Picoult uses that I like is each chapter is narrated by a different character. It gives each chapter a new aspect and you know what everyone's thinking. I also like how when the point of view changes, sometimes the time period does too. The way the book is written adds a lot to the heartbreaking storyline. So far, my favorite perspective is the mother. It goes back to when Kate was diagnosed as a baby and is very heartbreaking. As the news of her sick daughter hits her, you can feel a sense of anxiety and hopelessness from her thoughts, saying “will her hair grow back? Will she ever go to school? Did this happen because of where we live? Did this happen because of who we are?” (63). I like how Picoult put it in italics to get the feeling of her thinking it very fast and panicking. The diction and imagery also add a lot to my comprehension of the book.

This is a sad but very interesting read. It is a unique plot because instead of being centered around the cancer patient, it is about her family and how it affects them. If anyone close to you has/had cancer, you may relate to some of the characters. Parts of the plot made me feel thankful that I wasn't battling this disease like Kate or being faced with a terrible decision like Anna. I recommend this to people who like drama, family conflict, sadness, and/or medical books. I haven't finsihed yet, but I think it will get more sad and I can't wait for the end. It is sort of a long book but even if you don’t enjoy reading, give it a try. I don’t normally read on my free time but I like this book so far; it is touching and interesting and makes me forget I’m reading. If you’ve seen the movie, you would probably get a lot out of reading this and deepen your understanding of the story. Stay tuned for a final review of the book.

Teenage Romance and Tragedy

The Fault In Our Stars
By John Green

The Fault In Our Stars, a novel by John Green, is captivating, romantic, and tragic. The main character is named Hazel Grace; Hazel is a normal teenager although she has been sick with cancer for the majority of her life. When the book begins, the reader learns of Hazel’s loneliness and depression. As the book progresses Hazel starts making friends in her weekly health support group. One friend, in particular, named Augustus, makes a huge impact on Hazel’s life. Augustus (Gus for short) has a very flirtatious sense of humor and is very kind to Hazel. Gus and Hazel go on adventures, romantic dates, and quickly fall in love. Together these two characters go through a lot. The end of the book has a huge twist that the reader does not expect at all.
John Green is an excellent author. Throughout this book, I enjoyed his wide range of vocabulary and great metaphors which form strong sentences to create a lot of imagery. One famous line from the book reads, “..I’m like a grenade. I’m a grenade and at some point, I’m going to explode and I would like to minimize the casualties, okay?” (Green 99)  Another reason this book really stood out to me is that there are a lot of underlying meanings behind the lines the characters say that cause the reader to think and interpret their own understandings. When Gus and Hazel were talking Gus put a cigarette between his lips which made hazel freak out. Augustus told her, “It's a metaphor, see: You put the killing thing right between your teeth, but you don't give it the power to do it’s killing.” (Green 20) One thing I especially liked was how relatable the entire story is to teenagers or anyone who enjoys teen romance novels. This book is very hopeful and teaches the reader that no matter how horrible life gets, it can always get better. The author did an amazing job of making the reader feel as if they were able to predict the characters every next step through foreshadowing, which really built up for the shocking surprise towards the end of the book. This book will make you laugh, smile, and cry with the characters passionate love and emotion. I would really recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a quick read and love-stories.

Magic in a far off land

Shaelyn Hart


Land of Stories: The Enchantress Returns
By: Chris Colfer


Have you ever wished you could travel to a different or better world? Well the Alex and


Connor, the main characters in The Enchantress Returns could do that. The Land of Stories series by Chris Colfer is a spin-off of the Brothers Grimm original fairy tale stories. In this series, twins named Alex and Connor are able to travel from the real world into the fairy tale world full of stories that the brothers Grimm wrote. this world was called the Land of stories. They have a special family connection to that world, their grandmother is the fairy godmother which makes Alex a princess and Connor a prince. I read the second book in this series, called The Enchantress Returns. This book is about another one of Alex and Connors travels through the different worlds. It includes characters such as Cinderella, sleeping beauty, red riding hood, snow white, sleeping beauty’s evil enchantress, etc. The main characters throughout these books are Jack and the Beanstalk, Goldilocks, red riding hood, mother goose, and the prince/the frog. These characters are the ones who are close to Alex and Connor and help them save the Land of Stories. In this book, The enchantress-who cursed sleeping beauty- has come out of hiding and wants revenge. "'The Enchantress'. Sleeping beauty whispered. 'She's back.'" She kidnaps Alex and Connors mom, drawing them back into the Land of Stories. When they get there they find out that The Enchantress has built a wall of thorns around sleeping beauty’s kingdom and has kidnapped their grandmother as well. The only thing that can stop her is an important wand. Jack and the Beanstalk, Goldilocks, red riding hood, mother goose, prince/the frog, Alex, and Connor set off with their friends to find the pieces of this wand, but there is a catch, the pieces are with the villains of these stories. They have to face the seven most hated people in the land of stories, and the enchantress herself in a final face-off.


I personally like this book because I love fiction, and this is pure fiction. It was a definite
page-turner. (It also helps that the author is a character in one of my favorite TV shows). Growing up I always loved those fairy tales like Cinderella or snow white. This book takes those stories and makes them more mature and modern. These stories, in my opinion, are more interesting because they aren’t your original Disney classics. Another thing I like is how the author takes all of the different fairy tales and overlaps them so that they are connected in some type of way. For example, Jack and the beanstalk and goldilocks fall in love, as well as little red riding hood and the prince/the frog. Also, this book conveys many important messages; “Jealousy is just a reminder of the frustrations you have with yourself.” and “Forgiveness is what we all need to forget the past, even if we...”. These life lessons add another aspect to the books. This book was very fast pace and it helped to have these positive messages.

I recommend this book to people who love fast-paced books, that leave you wanting more. It is definitely directed towards people who like fiction and fairy tales. If you have a big imagination then this book is for you.

Like Father, Unlike Son

Braedon Longfritz

The Caldera

John Flanagan

Your best friend’s father abandoned his ship mates when they needed him most. He left your best friend and his mother to face his dishonor. Now he’s back and he needs the help of you and your friend. In the beginning of The Caldera, by John Flanagan, Hal and Stig are faced with this choice. Hal has led the Herons, his crew, on a number of special missions, mainly for Skandia, their home country. Stig, first mate to Hal, has been best friends with him since they were boys. Now, Hal and Stig must lead their crew on another adventure in a far away land, in order to help someone who has wronged them in the past: “ ‘We’ll help you,’ Stig said, and [his father’s] shoulders… subsided in relief” (65).

Flanagan takes his readers through the vast world he has created once more, delivering the same level of depth and enjoyment as before. He has written tons of books in The Brotherband Chronicles series and The Ranger’s Apprentice series that all take place in the same world and build on each other. The Caldera is the seventh book in The Brotherband Chronicles series, and because of this, most of the characters have already been introduced. Each character has their own personality and skill set that allows readers to be immersed and enjoy the novel, and lets the main set of characters create interesting and creative approaches to the problems set before them: “[Hal said,] ‘It’ll take me most of the afternoon to make a wooden replica for this…’ ‘I could always climb up the cable,’ [Lydia] said” (251). However, this also means starting with the first book in the series, The Outcasts would be better than reading The Caldera with no prior knowledge.

In addition to a variety of character traits, John Flanagan and all of his characters are constantly making funny jokes that frequently had me laughing: “After all, everyone knows that we’re equal in all things - except that I’m a bit more equal than he is” (15). Flanagan has been able to consistently deliver jokes throughout his books - without distracting from the messages and plot - which greatly contributed to my enjoyment of both series and made it hard for me to put the books down.

I would strongly recommend The Caldera to anyone who enjoys adventure or fantasy, although I would also recommend reading the previous books in the series first. I was happy to revisit The Brotherband Chronicles after not reading a new book in the series for a year, and I was more interested in reading it than any other book I’ve read recently. Overall The Brotherband Chronicles and The Ranger’s Apprentice have been two of my favorite series that I’ve ever read.

Stalked

Taylor Pierre

Deadly Little Lies

by Laurie Faria Stolarz

    Have you ever felt like you were being watched? Feeling like if you are alone for even a minute, someone will come and find you. Like you are followed wherever you go and you are never truly alone. Last fall, sixteen-year-old Camelia was dealing with a stalker, her ex-boyfriend Matt. She’s only alive because of her boyfriend, at the time, Ben, saved her. The thing about Ben is that he has psychometry, psychometry is being able to find out about an object’s history through direct contact, like for instance holding an object in one’s hand . Although Ben cared a lot about Camelia, he had to abruptly leave because of an incident. She remembered, “Ever since Ben left four months ago, I’ve been getting fixated on these little things, trying to remember if his scar had three branches or four, if it was his left or his right thumb knuckle that always looked a little-powdered doughnuts or cotton candy.” (1), for the past couple months that he’s been gone, Camelia has felt strange, she has some experiences that causes her to believe that Ben may have passed his power onto her, or could it be from someone that she would never think of? While these experiences have left her shocked, she is in for a big surprise when she finds out that Ben is back in town, well even though Matt is out of the picture “Matt isn’t here.” (28), Camelia has been feeling on edge from everything that happened last fall, but she is given reason to, Camelia has been the victim of suspicious notes, strange encounters, and random calls. “Maybe if you aren’t careful, you will end up victim number-three.” (184).Little does Camelia know that someone close to her might be behind all of this: at this point anyone can be a suspect in this mystery. Even after all of the things that have happened to her, she manages to keep some of her friendships and relationships intact but how long will that last? What if these relationships are the cause of her problems? In the end, Camelia makes some decisions that may change her life for the better or for the worse.

  This book is really amazing if you are very interested in mystery novels. It is filled with clues and making connections at every turn. These connections make the story so intriguing because it really keeps you guessing. “Deadly Little Lies” was definitely a 5/5 because it really creates the scene for you and helps to imagine what Camelia was going through during this time. You really can see how the connections create the suspense in the story. I really connect with Camelia and her friends. They stick by each other, even when Camelia seems to be losing her mind, they try to understand the situation and understand what she is going through. Even though I can’t relate to what happened to Camelia, I can relate with the relationship her and her friends have because my friends also try to be supportive and they stick by me, even when I seem like I’m going insane. The relationships that she acquires during the book seem to really make her a stronger person because each of them teach her a valuable life lesson. From be careful who you trust to some people can prove that they deserve a second chance. These lessons make Camelia a better character, as she works her way to figuring out who’s behind everything. All of these characters in the book make Camelia a stronger character mostly because they either are her weakness or her strength. As you read the book, you’ll discover how her friends, family, enemies and relationships affect her and help her to change her perspective of the things around her. Even though this book was great, it is more for the young adult age group because it does have certain language used that may not be appropriate for children of a certain age and the humor in this book may be more enjoyable to young adults.

Storytime

Steven Lam

To be or Not to be by Ryan North

To be or not to be, that is the question. Every day, we are faced with choices. Depending on our decisions, there are always consequences, either good or bad. In Shakespeare’s Hamlet, after his father is killed and his mother married to his uncle, Claudius, Hamlet is confused about what to do next. In To be or Not to be Ryan North lets us become the characters of the story and make decisions for ourselves, letting us change the course of the story.

To be or Not to be takes readers into the land of Denmark, where we are the protagonist, choosing to be Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, Ophelia, the lover of Hamlet, or Hamlet Sr., Hamlet’s father. As we - the readers - progress through the book, the plot will change as a result of the decisions we make. With us controlling how our tale will go, our story can be quick and boring or can end up being unique and interesting. For example, when I played as Hamlet Sr., the story ended in two moves. After my brother, Claudius, poured poison down my ear and die, the two options that I get afterward are to: “Become a ghost → pg 636 OR Do not become a ghost → pg 633” (203). I chose not to become a ghost, and as a result, my story ended as I can’t do anything if I’m dead and not a ghost. It wasn’t very enjoyable as there was no time to enjoy it with my tale ending so soon. Although this is probably the shortest story in the book, this exemplifies how in a choose your own adventure book, the book can end in an instant. On the other hand, my adventure with Ophelia turned out with me killing everyone in Denmark: “Let’s, as you say, kill everyone in Hamlet… Congratulations, Ophelia! You’ve killed everyone in this story” (218, 627). Unlike my adventure with Hamlet Sr., the choices that I made allowed for the plot to progress into deciding to kill everyone as Hamlet had been murdered. With each new event, I became more fascinated and more drawn in as the plot blossomed, and it turned out to be an awesome ending with me killing everyone. Although this book does not have a direct path to the ending, there are countless common, mediocre, and quirky endings.

By effectively using bits of comedy throughout the book, Ryan North helped make the book more enticing and gave me some good laughs: “Didn't you notice me use the past tense? He’s already dead! You and Hamlet were sleeping together (literally: you were literally sleeping together) (that still sounds weird: look, I mean to say you were both asleep and literally not having sex)” (556). By adding these portions of humor within the book, it not only compliments a chooseable-path adventure but makes the book fun to continue reading.

I recommend this book for people who like comedy and want to have a good time while reading.The strong descriptions of what is happening along with pictures give us readers an easy image of what is occurring at the time. As this was my first choose your own adventure book, it gave a nice twist to things and made the scenarios very interesting every time, making me not want to put down the book.

Hot Head

Ryland Thomas
Iceman: Chris Lynch

Hot Head

    Do you know how it feels to be on a team? Do you know how to deal with winning and losing? Well Eric needs to learn some of this. Eric is not the best sport and constantly gets angry at his teammates. Although he is the best on his team, he still doesn’t understand sportsmanship. During games, he always got penalties, argued with the ref, and slammed his stick after a bad play.
    As the season progressed, Eric got better and better while his attitude got worse. His team was doing well and so was Eric, but one practice -- right as Eric’s attitude was getting better -- he messed up on a drill. Eric started to slam his stick wildly and ended up hitting his teammate in the head. Eric claims, “I broke a new Christian Brothers hockey stick. I broke it over somebody’s head.” (Lynch 71).
    After that incident nobody on the team liked Eric anymore. His teammates made a decision not to talk to him: and informed him that once he changes they will begin talking to him. Eric complains that, “It was an accident, and that’s that. But none of my teammates will talk to me.” (Lynch 73). After a while, Eric began to bring himself back together and control his anger issues. The team began to welcome him back and talk to him. Now Eric and his team need to focus on the last game of the season.
    The last game would be played against Utica. Not only was this the last game of the season, but it was the last game of Eric’s career. Eric says, “The season was finally wrapping up with one more trip into hostile hockey country, Utica, New York. So rather than just quit outright, I figured I’d make one final appearance.” (Lynch 133). Eric’s team ended up by winning in a close game where Eric got a hat-trick in his final game.
    I would recommend this book to kids who like sports, especially hockey. It also teaches great life lessons about sportsmanship and teamwork. I would rate this book an 8/10 because it took awhile for things to flow but once they did, it was a great book.

You Can't Pay For Love

Dark Song
By: Gail Giles

Amber Medbery

Family love could be light or the love of family could be dark. The life of Ame was exotic - all the fancy vacations, clothing, and lives in a mansion - she had a life of a no stress. In the novel Dark Song by Gail Giles; the novel had a true meaning of how life can be good at times, but also very rough. “The disaster has been and gone.” (Giles 5)

In this book there is a girl named Ames Ford; Ames has a younger sister named Chrissy, a mom, and dad. In the beginning, Ames’s family goes to a big fancy rich vacation which leads them in their description of the family being rich. The two daughters go to a private school, have a big house, expensive clothes, and other fancy things. “Me: sweaters, jeans, books, a new laptop, more clothes, and new hiking boots.” (Giles 8) As the story goes on with the life of Ames at school with drama, love, drama, love, and then more drama and love, it’s a continuation. Time goes on and the life of the Ford family suddenly goes downhill. During school one day her best friend Emily - who’s dad is a lawyer - tells Ames that something is going to happen with her relatives, “Something about your dad and his job. If people are whispering, it’s not a promotion. There’s something wrong.” (Giles 22) The parents mention something about money and how they need to be careful of what they buy through these times, but as the story goes on no one tells Ames the truth about why her dad is now staying home, starts to have a drinking problem, her mom is now getting easily aggravated, and now their money has to be used very safely. In Ames situation, she has to deal with two things, her family and the drama at school about how her father and her family are getting poor… Life isn’t going so well as the book continues Ford’s family love is not good. The mother and father aren’t having any more good love connections, and the only thing that's possibly keeping them together is Chrissy and Ames, but Ames and her mother are definitely not in good terms as the - almost - ending of part one evolves. “When I got up, I found a note from Mom: If you plan to go to school, you can use the bus or ask Em to take you. I’m done chauffeuring you.” (Giles 102)

In my opinion, I think the book is very realistic - no wonder it’s in the genre realistic fiction - and dramatic. The choice of diction the author uses seems so satisfying. I connected with this character, especially Ames because I truly feel sometimes the way that Ames feels about how life changes so quickly and how it's unfair. Life sucks. The writer's language makes each character seems so special. This book impressed me with its way of having Ame's thoughts and her tones. through the writing. I really recommend having 14-year-olds through however old you would like. This is because throughout the book it is very mature for some parts and I would imagine the author to take in each moment that Ames witness rather than just laugh at it abruptly.

The book Dark Song by Gail Giles shows how life can change just in an instant.

Among The Front

Alessio Baggio
A Jewish Soldier In Hitler’s Army Unlikely Warrior
By Georg Rauch


  1933 Hitler is elected chancellor; 1939 Germany invades Poland; 1943 A Jewish soldier is placed on the front lines in the war against Russia as a telegraphist. Will he survive? Will he die? Only one book will be able to tell the tale of Georg Rauch’s A Jewish Soldier in Hitler’s Army. This historical non-fiction true story follows the main character, Georg Rauch, who is an Austrian citizen of Jewish descent. Otherwise known in German as a Mischlinge for being a quarter Jewish. The story captures his adventures as a telegraphist for the German army along the Eastern Front. From the very beginning, he experiences full fueled human anger and hatred as well as the horrors of death and destruction, “There thousands of vehicles had been left standing up to their axles in the mire. Stinking horse cadavers with legs pointing stiffly toward the sky" (Rauch 124). But Georg always sees ahead and triumphs over his own declining morale. As a historical note since the time he had entered the front, the German army had been in decline after two major military defeats at the Battle of Stalingrad and Battle of Kursk. Throughout his experiences on multiple fronts as well as eventual capture by the Russians, Georg hops across the European continent as both a soldier and a prisoner. Yet still keeps his own morals and value by writing letters back to his Austrian family throughout his time in service.

  I would highly recommend this book, not just because it's an action-packed war story, but also because it’s an exciting and interesting war story that reveals the complete memoir of someone's life. It explores new aspects of the war that I’d never read about before. In my reading experiences, I haven’t found many books translated into English uncovering the life of a German soldier (especially one being Jewish). For me, it's a unique experience reading about the enemy’s views and ideas of the war in Europe. A Jewish Soldier in Hitler’s Army expresses thematic ideas such as hope and perseverance and because of this, the book gave me a sense of realization that even in the darkest bleakest situations, light can still be found in the smallest cracks and crannies. While reading the few but long chapters the book has to offer, a portion of the pages are filled with letters the main character wrote to his family. What I found fascinating about this is even when “planes tipped from the sky and dropped their bombs, one wave after another. Giant fountains of explosion shot up the sky”(Rauch 189), Georg, was still writing letters of hope and reassurance back to his family in Vienna. Flashforward a year later in 1944 Georg finds himself in an open Romanian field as Russian tanks close in on his location. In a pure attempt to stay alive and live another day Georg scrambles to make a trench to hide. In the following minutes “ I could feel and hear, above the noise of the shrieking chains, the continuous working of heavy diesel motors" (Rauch 198).

  The story relates to me personally on many levels: my hobby, my heritage, and my family history. This book struck my fancy because it’s about WWII, which is a topic I’m very interested in both for its impact on human history and its memorabilia. In terms of my heritage, this book related to me because on my grandmother's side I’m partially Austrian due to my Northern Italian ancestry. Lastly, on a historical level, I found this book interesting because my grandfather during WWII was living in Italy during the German occupation and had to learn and adapt to the German language for his own survival.

  I would recommend this book to anybody interested in WWII and would rate this book for anyone 12 and older. This book can also relate to anyone interested in action and adventure because this also fits that criteria.

Time To Take Matters Into Your Own Hands

Parker Stanley

Last Shot

By: John Feinstein

     For any basketball player, it is their dream to win the championship, but for this college star ---Chris Graber--- this dream has been taken away. In this novel, two young reporters ---Steve Thomas and Susan Carol--- have been selected as winners to a writing contest, so they were given the opportunity to report at one of the worlds greatest sporting events, the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans. The reporters overhear a conversation between Minnesota State star, Chris Graber, and an unknown man, while wandering through the immense NCAA buildings. The reporters overhear the blackmailer state, “You just play your butt off against St. Joe’s and choke against Duke. We’ll take care of the rest” (56). The reporters are in complete shock and disbelief. They are now apart of one of the largest scandals in basketball history; they have trouble putting their thoughts together. Susan, smart and bright, was unaware of what to do at the moment: “What do we do?” (56). Steve and Susan try to get help, but have no luck, so they take matters into their own hands. They eventually slip through security, thanks to Susan’s quick thinking, and are able to reach Graber’s room. The reporters explain to Graber, “We overheard your conversation yesterday, and we want to try to help you” (111). From here on, the three of them have a mission to save Graber’s basketball career and put an end to the blackmailer.


     At the end of every page, John Feinstein leaves you hungry for more. It was very hard for me to put the book down. Every line seemed to peek my interest; I never felt as if I was bored. I enjoyed this story because I am a basketball and college sports fan, but if you do not have interest in sports, then this may not be the read for you. This story can relate to college basketball now, due to the scandals between players and coaches. This fictional story may not be far from the world of college sports today. Once the scandal is developed in the beginning, it gave me continuous ideas and predictions about the rest of the story.

     Besides the plot, I enjoyed the development in Chris Graber’s character and the idea of getting things done right by yourself. Chris Graber is originally seen as a basketball star who is focused on one thing and one thing only, basketball. Graber is projected to go first round in the NBA draft. Steve and Susan thought that they would never get an opportunity to interview or speak to him, nevermind save his career. Once they get in contact with him, Graber portrays himself as strict and busy. Graber was annoyed with the teenagers: “I’m going to give you guys two minutes to tell me what the h*** this is about...” (110). Throughout their time together, Graber becomes hopeful and starts to create trust with the teenagers, so he can continue his career. I find it interesting how two reporters were able to meet one of the worlds greatest athletes and change his mindset. This begins to discuss the idea of how the reporters were not able to get others to help, so they did it themselves. They showed leadership and perseverance, which is not a common trait held by 13 year olds. This idea had an impact on me and other readers to become a leader, not a follower. Overall, I would give this book a 5/5 stars.

Things Aren't Always What They Seem

Jessie Young

The Girl on the Train

By Paula Hawkins

Where could she have gone? What happened to her? That’s what everyone is trying to find out. The police, her husband—Scott— and even Rachel, who started out as just a people watcher. But she’s much more important to the story now. Maybe even more than she thinks.

Rachel Watson is just a woman who takes the train to London every day, always watching the people of the house at the signal. Her ex-husband, Tom, lives on the same street as the house. In fact, he lives in the same house he lived in when he was married to Rachel. This is why she knows the area so well. This comes into play a little before Megan’s disappearance. Megan--the woman everyone’s been looking for-- has been a little mysterious lately; to Scott at least. She goes to the therapist a lot, which is the cause of many lies to Scott, making her one and only friend take the blame for her. But when she goes missing, Rachel gets worried that she played a role in it. Scott feels this way too, but about himself. This case is causing everyone to question everything they knew, not only about Megan but about themselves. “She’s...I don’t know. I don’t trust her.” (123). About halfway through the book, you can see how the two main characters and their lives come together. Rachel finds herself more and more in the town Megan lives in, on Megan's street. Their lives seem to collide almost, without them knowing it. eventually, Rachel finds herself searching for Megan when they really don't even know who each other are.

I very much recommend this book. It would definitely appeal to people who enjoy mystery books. I’m not a big fan of the mystery genre myself, but I still found myself intrigued and always wanting to know more when I was reading. I think that this is a novel that won’t waste your time, and you’d be glad that you read it. It covers themes such as: how your actions affect others and the importance of communication. Some characters spoke to me, like Megan, for example, who feels like she has nowhere to go with any of her feelings and sometimes feels like she just might explode, as is shown in an example on page 55 “sometimes, I don’t want to go anywhere, I think I’ll be happy if I never have to set foot outside the house again.” her feelings and actions seem to stand out to everyone else’s in the book. This is in ways such as the fact that when she wants things, she gets it, and there isn’t much given up for her. It’s relatable in a way that if you were mad or upset, Megan would be a good example of people’s irrational thoughts and actions at those times.

This book definitely had a strong first impression with me, for it starts out with a foreshadowing of everything it’s about. “There is a pile of clothing on the side of the train tracks” (1). The author also goes through the story in a way that we find out past events in the character’s lives as we move forward in time. I thought this approach was very interesting and made the book stronger and rich.

The Ghosts Of Ourselves

Aleah Kearsley

The Accident Season

                                                       By, Moïra Fowley-Doyle

  The ghosts of ourselves can, and will, follow us anywhere. Whether our ghosts are of the people we want to be, the person we are meant to be, and the person we were once, our ghosts can haunt us; watch over us. For Cara, Bea, Alice, and Sam, their ghosts follow them every step of the way. Cara, Alice, and Sam have always found themselves in the accident season every year. During the accident season---believe it or not--- accidents occur daily. These aren’t your small everyday accidents like bringing the wrong clothes for gym, or forgetting your phone at home. These accidents are dangerous and crippling like falling down stairs, getting hit by a car, falling in a river etc. For Cara, Alice, and Sam they need to navigate through high school, relationships, friendships, parties, and the accident season every year, and their best friend Bea is there to help them weather the storm. The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle is a mix of mystery, fantasy, fiction, and romance all combined into the tale of four children trying to make their way out of the accident season alive.

  This book was very interesting, to say the least. Every chapter brought something new for the reader to digest. The only problem with this is that there were so many things going on at once it was all hard to keep track of. It almost seemed like there were two stories combined into one. As the book is called The Accident Season I thought it would be about just that: a season full of accidents. As I read it went from a season full of accidents to searching for a missing girl to ghosts on a train to, “we should have a party… a Halloween party” and each one was randomly visited in their own chapters(57). Each chapter was focused on a different point and these points were a bit scattered through the book. Although they included all the same character and the time frame they tended to jump around themes. It would go from the mystery of the missing girl to the fantasy of their ghost selves, to the romance of their relationships. Although this was kind of confusing, I did enjoy the book. Each of the points I described was interesting to read and I wanted to follow each point to its end in the book. In the end, all the themes came together and all problems the characters were facing resolved. I personally connected to the main characters because they are a small group. Each one of them have their stories and memories that after, “that we became best friends”(40). My friends and I hang out with other people, but in the end, we all come back together. Just like their group, my group hangs out the most and we will be friends for a long time. I was moved by the language because unlike the books we have to read, the characters are modern and teenagers, and they sound like the people around me. 

  I would recommend this book to whoever likes fantasy and mystery. It is very interesting if you are able to piece things together and notice little details along the way, because even if you think something is “all we have to go on,” there will always be something more to it (148). Some things in the book are also relatable like how the characters act and talk, so if you are looking for something you would be able to connect to this is also a great choice. I would rate this book a 4.5/5 because it is a very interesting book once you get past the changing plot and it held my attention throughout the whole thing.

Hard Work Really Pays Off

Brady Mullin

Relentless by Julian Edelman

In life, you can succeed with grit, determination, and hard work. This is the theme of the greatest memoir of all time, Relentless, by Julian Edelman - the wide receiver of the New England Patriots football team.

This memoir is all about Edelman’s driven life from back when he was a young, scrappy kid in California through winning Super Bowl 51. It highlights his hard work and determination through the ups and downs of his life. Though he was smaller than others his age, he never let his size affect him - nothing did.  The book started off with his early childhood. Julian was a crazy child: “Jason tells me I spent my early time rummaging through equipment bags on the sideline during practices, emptying out water bottles, throwing stuff around, and generally acting like a little troublemaker.” (Edelman 30). After that, we learn of Edelman playing football in high school where he transitioned to a star quarterback. He was the captain of his high school team and was known for always demanding the most out of his teammates. The coaches loved his ferocious attitude on and off the field. But sadly, no Division 1 colleges - which are for the top athletes - were looking at him, so he went to the Community College of San Mateo. During his year there, he was an absolute stud with: 1,253 rushing yards, 17 rushing touchdowns, 1,312 passing yards, and 14 passing touchdowns. These are amazing numbers for quarterbacks in community college.  Edelman demonstrated real talent. That is most likely why the next year, Kent State - a Division 1 school - recruited him. At Kent State, he was the backup quarterback but worked his way up to a starter even though his college career was plagued with injuries, including breaking his arm twice. After college, he trained for the NFL Combine where the top recruits try out for NFL teams, but he wasn’t invited. So he made the strategic decision to change his position to wide receiver. He trained for Kent State's “Pro Day” - a tryout for the recruits who didn’t get invited to the combine. He was a success and got a chance to play for the New England Patriots. The Patriots brought him in to be a punt returner, but he performed so superbly, he was moved to starting wide receiver. We then find out about the fate of the rest of his NFL career.

There is a boatload of ways I could ramble on about how this memoir is extraordinary. What I personally liked the most is the approach Edelman took to writing. He could have lied and said he was a superstar, didn’t have to work hard, and is the definition of God. But he is humble and not at all arrogant: “I did not play well.” (Edelman 85). A professional athlete might just cut that part out of his memoir, but Edelman didn’t. That makes him a relatable person who can admit to being less than perfect - not some Greek God that no one will ever measure up to.  I think it is probably because he is a genuinely good person. He doesn’t act nice for the cameras - he does it for himself.

Another element that draws you into this book is how Edelman makes you feel like you are with him for the whole story. Not one single page is boring or uneventful. “I got to the second level and started right, then cut it back around midfield for a ninety-six-yard touchdown.” (Edelman 69).  He takes you through plays like they are happening in that moment. This is interesting because it shows the world through his eyes and he doesn’t hold back; it allows the action to take over the driver’s seat. You want to read more because it’s so engaging. When he hurts you hurt; when he is victorious, you feel victorious.

Last but not least, this memoir is inspiring because it teaches a valuable lesson: work hard and you will succeed.  This is a universal rule which applies to everyone. From work to school, to sports: Working hard can get you far in life. After all, the only person you can disappoint in life is yourself. Edelman teaches us this by example - the way he would field 500 ground balls a day in his early life, to working unrelentlessly to get drafted and signed by the Patriots. Edelman never gave up and he was determined to meet his goals. This memoir makes you want to succeed at your own goal even more than you did when you started; it really changes your mindset for the better.

I would recommend this memoir to any sports fan who wants an inspirational, motivating, and entertaining read - except for maybe Falcons fans, considering they lost the Super Bowl to him! This book is recommended to all readers, whether you read five books a day or five books a year. It is similar to Heart Over Height, by Nate Robinson, where a professional athlete describes his life and how he succeeds with a strong work ethic. This is my book of the year recommendation: 1,000,003.4 stars out of 1,000,003.4 stars!

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Nothing good comes from the world; the Boudelaire children-Violet, Klaus, and Sunny- learned this the hard way. In the book The Reptile Room by Lemony Snicket; after a huge fire destroyed their house and killed their mother and father the children became orphans and had to move into one of their closest relatives houses. There lawyer taking the term closest relative to literally the closest in distance instead of knowing the relative the best puts the children into the hands of a evil person named Count Olaf. Olaf has a evil plan to steal the childrens large fortune of inheritance. The children have to fend for themselves to keep their fortune safe while Count Olaf kills each of their guardians one by one.

The series/book is very good because the author Lemony Snicket puts lots of lines that have great meaning and make you think about life, “It is a curious thing a death of a loved one. We all know our time in this world is limited...And yet it is always a surprise when it happens to someone we know”(Snicket 96). Lines like this add ture meaning to the book in a deep way because he wants you to value what you have now because eventually it will die away. Also the ways Snicket writes is unique in a very good way, “ ...the word ‘oblivious’ here means ‘not aware that Stephano was really Count Olaf and thus being in a great deal of danger’”,(Snicket 79) The way his writing is unique is that he will pause right in a action scene and explain what a small vocab word means like nothing is happening. The use of dramatic irony is always present in the books, “...’dramatic irony’. Simply put, dramatic irony is when a person makes a harmless remark, and someone else who hears it knows something that makes the remark have a different, and unusually unpleasant meaning”,  (Snicket 32). It’s always present in his books and he basically tells you from the beginning that Count Olaf isn’t finished and that he will come back for the kids and kill their guardian at the time. When reading the books and hoping that the Boudelaire children will find a nice new home, but evil keeps coming back and destroying all they have keeps the reader interested and makes you want to get to the point where the orphans are freed from fear that Count Olaf puts on them. All this gives the book and the series a straight 10/10.