I'm Eating an Apple

       S o for my last blog post, I reread Hatchet. Quite a few years ago I read this book and really enjoyed it, so finding it on my bookshelf I thought to give it another shot. Hatchet follows a young 13 years old, Brain Robeson when suddenly his small little plane going from New York to Canada to visit his father crashes in the middle of the Canadian Forest. The rest of the plot revolves around Brain and his ways of surviving by creating self-sufficient food gathering methods, and just by not being eaten alive by bears or the other ways you could end up dying, either by other animals, plants, or even the weather. Then, eventually how he could be rescued.       Reading this novel from the perspective of someone in Scouts, its very accurate and a real way someone could survive stranded in the woods. Reading more on the author, I found that Gary Paulsen himself was very into the wilderness and lived similarly to Brain in Hatchet. Cooking his own meals, fixing shelter, and clothes. Besi

     This month I am reading The Downstairs Girl by Stacey Lee. This book is about a Chinese American girl named Jo living in Atlanta in the 1890s. Jo and Old Gin, the man who has been taking care of her, secretly live underneath the home of the family that owns the Focus, one of the Atlanta newspapers. Old Gin works with horses at the mansion of the richest family in Atlanta, the Paynes. Jo has had multiple jobs. When she was younger, she worked for the Paynes as well until Mrs. Payne fired her for no reason. Then she had a job as an apprentice in a hat shop but at the beginning of the book, she is fired from that job for making the customers “uncomfortable”. Her new job is for the Paynes again. She works as a maid for the daughter, Caroline Payne, who has played cruel tricks on her since they were children.  Meanwhile, the Focus is in trouble. The Focus is unable to get as many subscribers as the other newspapers and might have to shut down as a result. Their stories are good, but th

By Miranda Burgos Growing up, kids often look for role models in the media they consume, whether that is movies, books, or television. As a kid one of the role models I had was Princess Tiana. I loved her because she was a hard worker and it was her who defeated the villain in the end, not the prince. Another inspirational character was Miles Morales. He was the first time I saw someone that was Puerto Rican like me as an animated character. I had always wished to see a Puerto Rican Disney princess or at least a Latina one on the big screen that I could identify with. While Miles wasn’t Disney or a princess, he helped fill part of that longing for a Puerto Rican hero. I also love the Marvel Cinematic Universe. While I enjoy all the Marvel movies, my favorite is Black Panther . The movie took place in Wakanda, an Afro-futuristic nation. Wakanda was a refreshing portrayal that I had not seen before. One of the things I love about the movie is how many powerful black female characters the

With the semester wrapping up, I want to end in a bang. This is now my favorite series of all time, and also the most diverse I’ve encountered. The Honors series is by Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre and consists of three books: Honor Among Thieves, Honor Bound, and Honor Lost. It takes place in 2142. Society has discovered aliens called Leviathan--giant living spaceships that have given humankind technology to prevent society from destroying itself. Every year, 100 people are selected for the Honors program to go on a year-long journey with the Leviathan. Zara Cole, a girl living on the fringes of society, doing what she has to to get by, is chosen for the Honors program. She accepts because people on Earth are hunting her, as she stole something very important--she’s not sure what. She bonds deeply with her Leviathan, Nadim, as well as her human companion, Beatriz, and what follows is a blinding series of space fights, literal aliens, and self-discovery. The Honors series normalizes set

  After reading a whole bunch of books and shows, I’ve realized there are a few common character types in the wilderness of media-land. Whether it be inexplicably hot murder hobos or wannabe Voldemort fanboys, you’ll probably see one or two of these folks in the media you peruse from day to day. The tropes I’m writing about today aren’t the only ones that exist, but the ones that I keep note of whenever I see them.  Anger Issues ™ Type: 🔥 Always annoyed, irritated, and/or angry. Their anger makes up about 80% of their personality, and they always have an exasperated expression on their face. Most of the time, this trope will be on the hero’s team, though some of the supporting characters might object or find them annoying. This character is often used for comic relief or to make dynamics with other characters more entertaining, but they can also be used for more serious matters as well.  One of my favorite things about this personality is that you can combine it with a bunch of differ