Blog Continuation

Hey people,
Its now August 2008, andIwas wondering if we are going to be continuing this summer blog.

Title: Angels and Demons
Author: Dan Brown
# of pages: 608

Review:

Robert Langdon, Harvard professor and renowned symbologist, has conducted extensive study on the secret organization called the Illuminati, that once comprised of all of the most brilliant scientists during the Renaissance on and rebelled against religion. One night, he is assigned the task of investigating an extremely peculiar case involving the death of a CERN physicist. There are no clues - except for the prominent Illuminati brand on the late Leonardo Vetra's chest, and Langdon knows that the Illuminati, after centuries of relative inactivity, has resurfaced.

To make matters worse, the messenger of the Illuminati has notified the Roman Catholic Church of a time bomb that has been hidden at the heart of Vatican City, prepared to detonate at midnight and destroy the world's smallest nation in size and population. With the company of Vittoria Vetra, Leonardo Vetra's adopted daughter, Langdon sets off on a journey against time that takes him across the city of Rome.

Angels and Demons is filled with adventure and suspense from the beginning to the end. The twists in the plot leave the reader baffled by the circumstances, and the large cast of characters allows for more suspense to build up as reporters in the media itch to be the first to reveal the story, Langdon and Vittoria attempt to find the culprit and the time bomb, and the Vatican Guard ponder over their decisions.

As many websites have identified, there are, however, several notable similarities between Angels and Demons and Dan Brown's other notable bestseller, The Da Vinci Code. They still had their respective differences in the plot, but perhaps it would be better if there were more.

Angels and Demons is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys reading action-packed stories, or would be interested in Roman art and architecture.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny
Branch: Angus Glen

Waterfall of Destiny is our blog winner

Hi, Everyone:

After counting reviews, we have found that Waterfall from Angus is our summer blog winner.

The prize to our winner was a $25.00 gift certificate for Chapters.

Waterfall, we will arrange pickup with you directly.

Catherine

The nature of jade

Title: The Nature of Jade
Author: Deb Caletti
# of pages: 288

Review:

Jade DeLuna occasionally suffers from panic attacks, and she already has scheduled therapy sessions and prescribed medication. She realizes that she can also help treat her anomaly by spending more time at the nearby zoo. She sets up the elephant exhibit's webcam in her room so that she can watch the elephants' daily routines, until she notices a boy around her age carrying a baby who visits the elephants every day. Intrigued by him, she eventually volunteers with the elephants, admiring their grace and semblance to human minds, and meets Sebastian.

Later on, she struggles to balance her life of hiding her relationship with Sebastian from her friends and family, increasingly-estranged friends and family, and maintaining good grades in her Advanced Placement courses. Although she feels at times that she has not done so successfully, she still tries her best to make ends meet.

The Nature of Jade was quite an interesting read for me. Jade faces the same obstacles in her life as many other teenage girls do. She seeks solace in caring for the elephants. When the members of her own family distance themselves from each other, she almost treats Sebastian's family as her own. She uses alternative methods to deal with stress that prove to be very useful.

In some way, this novel was similar to Nothing but the Truth (and a few white lies). Jade is trying to find herself amidst several looming problems in her life, the same as when Patty Ho was in a stage of self-discovery. There are conflicts to deal with on the way, but through all of the struggle, they learn to appreciate themselves and their families.

The Nature of Jade is highly recommended for people of all ages: those who understand well enough to accept who they are, and those who have yet to find themselves.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny
Branch: Angus Glen

For which categories are the draws this week gonna be? And is there a prize for the most reviews/comments?

Mina

The DaVinci Code

Title: The Da Vinci Code

Author: Dan Brown
# of pages: 454

Review:

Robert Langdon, Harvard professor and renowned symbologist, is suddenly awakened by a phone call, discovering that a curator of the Louvre museum has been murdered. To make matters worse, he is the prime suspect for the crime thanks to a cryptic message left by the curator in his dying moments.

Fortunately, for him, though, the curator's cryptologist granddaughter Sophie Neveu knows that he is innocent, and accompanies him on his proceeding quest for the true culprit behind the murder, leading him to travel the world in search for justice.

Filled with twists and turns in the plot, it is no wonder that The Da Vinci Code became a worldwide success, later being adapted for the silver screen. Dan Brown's writing is filled with action and adventure, along with strong elements of mystery. The completely unpredictable events will keep the reader yearning for more, until the twist in the conclusion that finally puts everything into perspective.

I would highly recommend reading this and Angels and Demons, despite the already large numbers of rave reviews in recent years.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny
Branch: Angus Glen

HP and The Deathly Hollows

Title: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
Author: J. K. Rowling
# of pages: 607

Review:

Harry Potter has been left with an extraordinarily difficult, yet crucial task of finding all of Voldemort's Horcruxes, pieces of his soul that have been separated from Voldemorts physical being. Doing so will finally bring down the Dark Lord and his reign of terror over the magical world, but every minute he and his best friends Ron and Hermione spend is filled with fear of fatal discovery by the Death Eaters.

And so, they set off to hide in the wilderness for the duration of what would have been their last school year at Hogwarts if not for Voldemort. The Death Eaters have now taken over the Ministry of Magic, and several stringent regulations regarding Muggle-borns, Muggles, and "blood traitors" who are pure-bloods but support the Muggle cause have been enacted. The evil regime poses an enormous problem for witches and wizards who mean good, but Harry remains true to his destiny and works to

Though some were unsatisfied with the last instalment of the bestselling Harry Potter series, I thought it to be a fitting conclusion to the series save for certain parts of the ending. Had Harry died, readers would see a dynamic close to the saga. Some of the deaths that did occur, however, seemed unnecessary in that they didn't influence the emotional aspect of the novel.

Nevertheless, J. K. Rowling did a wonderful job of putting in many twists and turns in the plot, piqueing the reader's attention and making the story an absolute thriller from the beginning to the end.

I would highly recommend reading this and the other Harry Potter novels, even if the fanbase is already at a quite substantial size.

Screen Name: WaterfallOfDestiny

Branch: Angus Glen