The Deathly Hallows

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is the last installment of the Harry Potter series.  It is by far my favorite one.  After six years of education at Hogwarts, Harry is now ready to try and stop Voldemort.  Last year, Dumbledore died by the hand of Severus Snape.  Along Harry's sixth year, Dumbledore has taught Harry how to defeat Voldemort, Harry will have to destroy Voldemort’s soul.  To defeat Voldemort, Harry has to find and Destroy Horcruxes.  Overall in this story, my favorite character has to Luna Lovegood, for being an oddity.  Prepare yourself for some heart-breaking moments…

Samuel McMahan

A Love Square?

William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, published in 1951, is a funny and lively story of love gone awry.  A Midsummers Night’s Dream is set in Athens on the eve of Theseus and Hippolyta’s wedding, the current and future leaders of Athens.  In this story there are two sets of characters, The Lovers and The Mechanicals.  The Mechanicals are preforming a play for the wedding and not just any play but a tragic love story. Not the best choice for a wedding.  While they are trying to pull the play together in time for the wedding our Lovers are, well in love.  Lysander is in love with Hermia and she is in love with him, however Demetrius is the one whom Hermia’s father has chosen for her to marry, and poor Helena is in love with Demetrius.  With a little help from fate, the King of the fairies, and one mischievous fairy named Puck this love square gets a little mixed up.  I liked this book because it brings a bit of magic and some true humor to a great love story, as well as exploring what the meaning of love truly is.  I would recommend this book to anyone who is looking for some laughs and maybe some romance as well. 

Putting the Present and Past in Flames: Suzanne Collins’ “Catching Fire”

            “Not only are we in the districts forced to remember the iron grip of the Capitol’s power each year, we are forced to celebrate it,” Katniss Everdeen has just finished the Hunger Games, and is back in District 12. Though she is home, there is no more normality for her, she feels as if she is a stranger to her own life. The arrival seems like a departure for she will be hauled back into the horrid memories of the Hunger Games: “I can’t fight the sun. I can only watch helplessly as it drags me into a day that I’ve been dreading for months.” The day has arrived to go to each district, so that the people of the districts may honor and celebrate her and Peeta, but really it is to see the lifeless faces that have had their loved ones torn away from them because of the games, no…because of the Capital.  

This year all the districts come together to celebrate the Quarter Quell, or more so to mourn. The Quarter Quell calls for an even more defiant Hunger Game than all others, but what?

            Suzanne Collins fills the novel with unexpected excitement that creates the perfect balance for adventure and politics for young adult readers. Catching Fire, by Suzanne Collins, was published on September 1, 2009, bringing a tremendous squeal to the novel, The Hunger Games.

By: Ashlyn Medina