Simon Bloom: the Octopus Effect

by Michael Reisman

Reviewed by: Ramya Paravastu

Fall 2016

REVIEW: Simon Bloom: the Octopus Effect by Michael Reisman

ISBN#:9781101082324

THE STORY:

Simon Bloom is a gifted middle schooler who has the power to control physics formulas. He and his friends, Owen and Alysha, are part of the Union, in which there are Keepers of Books of different branches of science. Keepers can bestow scientific formulas to certain deserving people, who in turn can use them to control specific aspects of science for the greater good. Though most Union members

Medusa

By Clive Cussler

Reviewed by Richard Cao

Fall 2016

Review: Medusa by Clive Cussler

ISBN#: 978-0-399-15565-9

THE STORY:

Near Bermuda, a NUMA crew sends a bathysphere holding two passengers, Joe Zavala, a NUMA engineer, and Max Kane, into the ocean to study wildlife. Soon after, the cable connecting the ship to the bathysphere snaps apart, leaving the bathysphere stuck at the bottom of the ocean. Kurt Austin, a NUMA scientist, dives into the ocean in a Hardsuit and saves the two passengers.

Hystopia

by David Means

Reviewed by Vijaya Kukutla

Fall 2016

REVIEW: Hystopia by David Means

ISBN#: 9780865479135

THE STORY:

Set in Michigan, America, fixed around the time of Kennedy’s first assassinated and the Vietnam War, the book Hystopia spins out a unique storyline of the enfolded victims of the Vietnam War. Enfolded soldiers come from the Psych Corps building established and initiated by President Kennedy. The author’s America is an alternate America, with bleak violence everywhere. Rake, an enfolded Vietnam War soldier, goes amiss and abducts Meg, who is another enfolded soldier. Though

Lord of the Flies

By William Golding

Review by Nathan Young

Fall 2016

REVIEW: Lord of the Flies by William Golding

ISBN#: 0-571-05686-5

THE STORY:

A group of British children are stranded on an island and don’t know what to do or how to survive in this environment. The boys find each other and gather up to discuss what they have to do. Eventually, in order to recreate the society they lived in before, they host an election and vote a boy named Ralph as their leader, and they start to plan out how to survive.

Pride and Prejudice

By Jane Austen

Reviewed by Krystal Lam

REVIEW: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

THE STORY:

The Bennet family is a family with a modest income. Jane, the eldest of the Bennet sisters, dances with Mr. Bingley twice, much to the delight of her mother. Mr. Bingley brought an acquaintance, Mr. Darcy, with him, and everyone assumes he is rude and arrogant. Jane catches a cold on the way to the Bingley’s house and Elizabeth walks over to the Bingleys. Mr. Darcy begins admiring her, and Miss Bingley, Mr. Bingley’s sister, notices his admiration for her she instantly feels jealous.When Mr. Collins a self important man comes to visit, and proposes to Elizabeth, she says no.  Elizabeth later goes to visit Charlotte, who has married Mr. Collins. She there meets Mr. Darcy’s aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Mr. Darcy also comes to visit, and while there, he goes to meet her, purposefully during walks. Elizabeth reads a letter from Mr. Darcy himself that he did not stop fortunes from going to his family’s ward, Mr. Wickham. Elizabeth goes to visit the Gardiners, where she learns of Mr. Darcy’s true nature. Mr. Wickham who hates Mr. Darcy, whom at first Elizabeth saw with a good light, she now learns he is distrustful, but he has eloped with Lydia, her younger sister. Elizabeth is now fearful for her family reputation because Wickham might not actually marry Lydia and goes back to Netherfield. But in the end, her family’s savior is Mr. Darcy, and Wickham agrees to marry Lydia. Mr. Bingley and Mr. Darcy come back to Netherfield, and both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth says nothing about their current relationship with each other. Even though Lady Catherine does not want Elizabeth dating her nephew, she still does it anyway.(281 words)

The Sun Also Rises

by Ernest Hemingway

Reviewed by Joseph Zhang

Fall 2016

REVIEW: THE SUN ALSO RISES BY ERNEST HEMINGWAY

ISBN#: 7-5062-0438-X

THE STORY:

Jake, an expatriate American author living in Paris during the 1920s, is a World War I veteran, whose war wound has made him impotent. The beginning of the story starts off seeming like a romantic novel between Jake and Brett, who has had many affairs with other men, as the two often discuss how they will never have an ideal relationship since Jake is impotent. The character development often occurs in nightclubs during the evenings where the characters would often have deep, philosophical conversations of their relationships and life. In the middle of the story, Jake, Brett, and his friends or