Naomi

I have finally reached the last book of the twilight saga, Breaking Dawn. In this final chapter, we see Bella make the most important decision of her life, to become a vampire forever. Her world was being split in half; her love for her father, who she has become incredibly close to in these past few years that they've been together, her silly, but comforting mother whose finally found stability in her life, and last but not least, her very best friend (who happens to be a werewolf) Jacob Black, the one person who will always be there for her, but the deep love that they have for each other can never happen. Then there is the new family she craves to join; the irresistible Cullen family and their loving bond that they have for each other (including the man of her life, Edward). She graduates high school, gets married and tries to live life as a human for the very last moments. Once she finds out that she's pregnant with Edwards baby during their honeymoon, she becomes fatally ill as this “monster breed” is tearing her insides. Never have they heard of a half-immortal/half mortal child before, so the Cullens are in grave fear of what this may bring to the world. Jacob is more infuriated with the fact that his best friend is willing to die for this creature. The story transgresses, Bella gives birth to a beautiful girl, Reneesmee, she becomes immortal, Jacob finally moves on from his love for Bella...to his new love for Reneesmee [by imprinting:]. Bella, being a newborn vampire has the great ability to control her emotions and cravings, so shes capable of maintaining her relationship with her father, and the last parts of her human life that seemed the most important to her;and then they live happily ever after....until the Volturi clan plans to come to exterminate the Cullen clan because of Reneesmee. Carlisle,Esme, Alice,Jasper, Emmett and Rosalie search for all of their fellow vampire friends from all over the world to witness the “trial” that would possibly condemn their lives. We all know that at the end of the book, no one dies [except for Irina the betrayer:]. The Cullens are safe, the werewolves [or shape shifters according to Aro:] are safe, and maintain the newly found bond with the Cullens. Jacob and Bella will always remain best friends forever, and he will wait till Reneesmee is of age before they have their relationship. Bella will be able to keep in contact with her father, and the rest of the werewolf pack. Everyone seems to live a happily ever after.


The entire series is worth the reading. Even though im torn between which one is my favorite (im leaning towards Eclipse), it is captivating from the first to last page.

On March 2nd and 3rd 1859, American history was forever changed when the largest slave auction was held in Savannah,Georgia. A total of either 429 or 436 slaves were sold due to the fact that the slave owner, Mr. Pierce Butler was a gambler, and couldn't afford to pay off his debts. Though the Butler family and the slave auctioneer in the story are actual people and the story is based on historical events of that family, the writing is historical fiction. Julius Lester writes this novel in the form of dialogue in order to capture the stories that weren't told, the voices of the slaves can be overpowering and heard much louder than the long days of rain that flooded such a dehumanizing event. “The Weeping Time” was what they called that period of time in which those hundreds of slaves were sold under that heavy rain, and once it was done, the sun shone bright. This is a really good book if anyone is interested in historical fiction. Lester is a really good writer so thats the main reason why I decided to read this book and its definitely a page turner.

This is probably one of the best books I have ever read. At first I was skeptical about reading S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders (written in 1967). But when I saw Copolla's movie adaptation starring Matt Dillon, Rob Lowe, C. Thomas Howell etc. I was amazed at how good the movie was. It was so real because you were able to connect with the characters since they grew up in tough neighborhoods trying to fit in society. So I decided tot read the book in order to find out if the movie actually is worse than the book ( since sometimes watching the movie before the book gets hopes up for nothing). But in actuality, both the movie and book are equally great because not many directors are able to capture the depth of a novel and visually interpret it the exact way that the audience wanted their ideas to be visualized. It is like West Side Story with a twist [ and no secret love affair], the Greasers and The Socs [socials, pronounced Soash] and each of the characters in the greasers gang (Ponyboy, Sodapop and Darrel ‘Darry' Curtis, Dallas ‘Dally' Winston,Steve,Two-Bit and Johnny) each have personalities that make you sympathize with them and love them so much more than their society does (being poor, dirty JD's and hoodlums). All the actors did a great job portraying those characters and I recommend it to anyone who wants to read/ watch a great movie.

3.5 stars

The third book with Robert Langdon back in the spotlight after Angels and Demons and the Da Vinci Code was indeed an addictive novel that I could never put down. Reading it in four days, this book had the same elements that Dan Brown always incorporates in his books: suspense, thrills and alluring details that captivate the mind. In this book, Robert is urgently sent to Washington D.C to give a speech in front of his dear friend Peter Solomon and his colleagues. Little did he know that it was a hoax set up by a power hungry man named Mal'ahk who disguises himself as different people to get his way. Peter Solomon, a wealthy Mason has everything that people want, power and money. Mal'ahk on the other hand, wants the wisdom that is stored within the pyramid, handed down to the masonic family from generation to generation. To keep the summary vague, Mal'ahk goes through all measures to get what he wants and once again, Robert goes on another life-risking journey to save his friend and the secrets of the free masons.