The Pendragon Series

The series i decided to write this month is The Pendragon Series by author D.J MacHale. Personally, I find this series much more intriguing compare to the other novel series I've read. Stereotypically speaking, every main character has countless and remarkable attributes and impressive moral values that all readers can learn from. The main character in this series,Bobby Pendragon is no stranger from it. Before i began talking about his wonderful traits,allow me to give you a brief summary of what this series is about. This series start with how Bobby Pendragon discovers that he will be trained by his uncle,Press Tilton to become a 'Traveler', a warrior task with a crucial mission: to stop the efforts of the shapeshifting demon Saint Dane,to alter all that ever exist,'Halla',according to his own twisted design.

One of his many attributes is that he has immense perseverance.Throughout the series, the Travelers had chased Saint Dane from one Territory to another,foiling his diabolical plans to take over Halla. Despite the Travelers are always one step ahead of him,Saint Dane too had his own tricks that turn the table around. He had countered and at the penultimate book,he had hit Pendragon's weakest point by manipulating him to kill Alexander Naymeer. Although several times Saint Dane seems to have the upper hand, and Bobby met a myriad of obstacles,he did not give up but continue searching for Saint Dane to stop him from taking over Halla.

Bobby Pendragon seems to have an impressive versatile nature.This trait is very convenient for him as he have to travel from one territory to another to stop Saint Dane,with each territory had their own unique cultures,lifestyle and their surrounding. It could be an underewater city,in the midst of a enormous jungle,or an advanced metropolis city. Despite constant travelling through time and space,he is able to quickly adapt to his surrounding and location,and seems to easily blend in with the people living there.

When I read this series,i assume he must have possess some incredible prowess due to him being the lead Traveler and all, I was right.Being a leader of the Travelers,he has a unique tactical mindset. He is able to foresee Saint Dane's evil plan and countered it with one of his own. His expertise in fastidious strategy had made him the team tactician.

All in all,Bobby Pendragon had shown many wonderful traits in the series,and,do pick up some of his impressive attributes because it can be a life-worth moral values.

Fong Kar Wai
4 Cergas
23 February 2014

Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption

            I mean, if there is a movie adaptation of a novel with a 9.3 rating on IMDb you know damn well it is a good book.Yes, Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption is the chosen one for this month's book report. It's simply fantastic. And on that note, lets jump into the moral values in this book shall we?

             Moral Value #1: Hope Never Dies 

In an emotional climactic part of this book, Red, is feeling hopeless and thinking he may never get out of prison and thinking that if he ever does, he won't know how to live outside of the prison walls that he has lived in for many decades. Andy, responds... "There are places in this world that aren't made out of stone... there's something inside... that they can't get to, that they can't touch. That's yours... Hope." Andy then goes on to ask Red to go find something the he had hid before he got put in jail, but he wouldn't tell Red to give him something to hope for. In a letter that Andy writes to Red a bit later, he says "Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."

             Moral Value #2:"Get Busy Living or Get Busy Dying" 
During Red's feeling of hopelessness, Andy responds to Red by saying "You either get busy living or get busy dying." If you are not doing the things in your life that make you happy that allow you to truly live, then you are simply working on dying. If you aren't living life then you are truly dying inside. Do what makes you happy. Spend time with family and friends. Enjoy what you have while you have it, because someday it may be gone.

            Moral Value #3: "Persistence is key"
When people said it couldn't be done, Rocky Balboa trained harder. When Andy takes over as the prison librarian, he wants to expand the library. He goes to the warden and asks his permission to write to the state asking for funds. Although the warden says that they won't give him any money, he allows him to write anyway. Andy writes a letter a week for many years, and finally they sent him some money and some books. Not satisfied and feelings almost written off, he decides to write 2 letters a week and eventually has $500 a year donated to the prison library system (This was around the 1950s, so $500 was way more than it is today) Everyone told him it couldn't be done be he didn't care. He was rejected well over 100 times, but he still persisted and that persistence paid off.

              Audio book link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UUWRuLF44aQ

Foo Zhiyi

4 Cergas

23 February 2014

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

     I'm back! The story book that I have read is Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I would like to give a brief explanation of this series. Initially, the author of this book, J.K.Rowling written her first book, Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone on 1997. When the new year came, she sold her first four books to Warner Bros for approximately 2 million dollars. The series went on and on and it finally ended with the last book by the name of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows Part 2. The book that I'm about to talk about is the forth installment of the stunning series.

The problem of enslavement by their masters
    Hermione Granger researches the plight of the house-elves,who are slaves to their respective master and must do whatever they want accordingly. The house-elves are uneducated and unable to argue for themselves. This situation is almost similar to the issue of enslavement by certain countries all over the world. They are kept unpaid and their treatments depend on the mercy of their masters. Hermione finds this despicable and she worked hard throughout the story to fight for the rights of the house-elves. 

Always be modest no matter what you possess
    On Harry's 11th birthday, he received a letter explaining that he has special powers he doesn't know about. He was then invited to at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and instead of being a newbie, he was well respected by every students there. He did not show off his unique powers moreover he even denied the fact that he has special powers. We all should learn from him!

Violence is never the key to solving problems
   Kids, you should always bear this in mind, violence does not solve problems at all and it might even worsen things. In this story, Voldemort tends to solve problems by using violence as he placed imperious curse on people that tend not to listen to his orders. He gradually pulls the wizards community to work for his whims and to perform his malicious task to wipe out Dumbledore, the one and only pure blood wizard. Harry became the archenemy of Voldemort when he foiled the plans of Voldemort to kill Dumbledore.

Prepared by
 How Qi Ming 
 4 Cergas
 22nd of February 2014
     

   

Fish

I have read "Fish" by Charlie James. When Ned Finn's little brother, Bill, eats some of their father's special Fish Crisps, he lands the whole family in rather deep water. Not only does he draw the attention of the local school bully, but an international spy is also alerted to the existence of the highly sought-after Crisps. Bill even finds himself risking life and fin in an encounter with the local aquarium's resident killer whale! From this book, I learn some moral values that all of us should put into practice.

Ned and his sister, Stacey, are on the hand to rescue Bill and the family from some very slippery situation. From this circumstance, we know that family love is the key to solve sticky situation. As much as the siblings dislike and insulting each other, they will still protect them from danger. While Bill transformed into a cod and swam around in the killer whale's aquarium, Ned and Stacey tried their best to rescue their brother. 

Determination is also an admirable value that the Finn family possessed. Although Ned and Stacey might face danger in the process of saving Bill, they were determined to save him up from being the killer whale's fish crisps. Ned did suggest that Bill should tell some jokes to the killer whale. Even when there was a crowd of spectator watching them, they were not thinking about the how embarrassing it was. They were far more concern of their brother's safety. When their father asked his best friend, Geoff, who was the worst printer in town and obsessed with cows in the same way that father is with fish, the T-shirt he planned to hand out along with free samples of his free fish food was printed with a killer whale saying "MOO!". The siblings were forced to hand out the shirt and fish crisps in the zoo. Obviously, the visitors in zoo were not interested in the shirt and free sample of something they couldn't eat. They were in despair as they had twenty thousand of shirts that no one wanted! There were reporters in zoo that capture Ned and Stacey in the "MOO T-shirt" for saving their cod from killer whale. To their luck, people started to ask where to buy the shirt. At last, their determination paid off with their brother being saved and income. 

In a nutshell, moral values that I found in this book are family love and determination. These two moral values should be practiced by all of us to enrich our life. This book is indeed a good book, with values and tiny bit of comedy and humor. 

Diong Wei Shan

4 Cergas

22nd February 2014 

The Fall of Five

For this month, I’ve chose to read one of my favourite author’s finest masterpiece. ‘The Fall of Five’. Now, before I begin, allow me to lead you into the world of six daring teenagers (who are known as the Garde) and their rat race life. Unlike like every other sophisticated teenager, these juveniles don’t even have time to act credulous at all. Justice is the only thing that they have it mind.

           John Smith thought that things would change once the Garde found each other. They would stop running. They would fight the Mogadorians and win, but he was wrong. After facing off with the Mogadorian ruler and almost being annihilated, the Garde know they are drastically unprepared and hopelessly outgunned. Now they’re hiding out in Nine’s Chicago penthouse, trying to figure out their next move. Although the six of them are powerful, but they’re not strong enough yet to take on an entire army—even with the return of an old ally.  To defeat their enemy, the Garde must master their Legacies and learn to work together as a team. Most importantly, they’ll have to discover the truth about the Elders and their plan for the Loric survivors.

Spirit of Justice    

As the story unravels, I seek for the guilty pleasures of every single Garde; tracking them down like venom attacking one’s heart. I wanted to spot out their flaws upon obeying their Elders and Lorien, but I failed. Everyone loved their planet dearly they never seem to deny their duty—to regain back the justice for Lorien and their kind. Unlike like Number Five, every other Garde proved me wrong as they fought their significant ways through battles with a tinge of grace. Trust me, my dear friend, Number Six and her legacies of controlling elements DID fought with grace.

The Power of Silence

Remember when Number Five broke his silence and gave Six a knuckle hand sandwich on her neck? The incredibly strong uppercut had her flying into the sky and landing on Marina’s (Seven) feet. As Five steps towards the genuflecting beast he had charmed, he made Nine regret about his decisions for teasing on him. The whole book seemed to be filled with climaxes but I find this part to be the most intriguing section. Sometimes, people stay silent for a reason. They are not shy but rather cheeky. Therefore, we should never underestimate one’s personality without thinking twice. Like Number Nine, if you were not so gentle or kind enough, you may be at your cul-de-sac in any time.

Love’s Immortality

Why do I say love is immortal? When Number Eight dies without saying goodbye to Marina, she screams with great terror as a fresh burn scar spreads across her ankle. Even though Marina knows that Eight is already gone, she still runs over to heal him with her legacies. After failing to proceed what she wanted to do, anger grew within her and caused her to develop another new legacy towards Five —radiating cold. With her new legacy, she acts on pure furious instincts and freezes Five who killed Eight. Love here is definitely not just powerful; it is immortal as it can help one gain his confidence towards his life or goal.

I would like to end my section with a picture I drew. It’s not like everyone gets to imagine how Number Six really looks like, don’t you think? 

Sau Jean Ying

4 Cergas

19th February 2014

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS

BY J.K.ROWLING

Tolerance of People who are Different

The idea of tolerance within a community is highly important in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. The plot of the novel explores this idea through Salazar Slytherin's intention to wipe out "mudbloods," or wizards with non- magical ancestors, from Hogwarts. Harry himself is only half-wizard, and Hermione's parents are both "Muggles," non-magical people. However, Harry and Hermione are better wizards than Malfoy, who is from a family of generations of pure wizard blood, showing that dedication and work, rather than genetic heritage, are the important factors in guaranteeing success. Rowling describes the Slytherin students as inbred: all are oversized, strange-looking, mean and unintelligent. But their blood is pure, and that is what matters most to them, their final torch of victory when they have nothing else in their favor. The Dursleys too add to this theme with their inherent intolerance-they are a pitiful lot, terrified of magical people, mean to Harry, nosey and ill-tempered, and yet extremely proud of themselves for being, in their opinion, normal.

 

Reliance on a Community

In the novel, almost nothing is achieved by a single person alone. Harry, Hermione, and Ron break the secret of the Chamber, find the entrance, and defeat the beast inside by working together. Each of the three adds a special element to the trio, and all depend on the others for support and assistance. When Harry and Ron are about to be eaten by spiders, Ron's car saves them; when Harry is about to be eaten by the basilisk, Dumbledore's phoenix saves him. Although the three main characters are courageous, they are also able to seek help when necessary, either from each other or from outside sources. Although Harry is the protagonist and hero, he must rely on others to succeed.

 

The Importance of Choices

Dumbledore explains the importance of choices when he reassures Harry that Harry is meant to live in the Gryffindor dormitory. Although it is important for wizards to have inborn skill and astute minds, knowing how to use ability and knowledge is ultimately a more important trait. Harry, although famous from the beginning, is impressive because he does not count on his special abilities to protect him. Harry uses each moment as a springboard for the next test of his will and courage, making choices that shape his life, not waiting for his life to shape itself.

 

-      SHANGARI DEVARAJ –

          4 CERGAS

 

 

 

Artemis Fowl

Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer

One of the series that I have decided to write about is the series of Artemis Fowl, which tells of the adventures a criminal-mastermind-turned-juvenile-genius boy who delved into the mysteries of the Fey. One of the moral values that we can learn here is the value of loyalty.

Artemis Fowl himself showed the value of loyalty. Although he had initially kidnapped a fairy named Holly Short, he befriended her in the end and had many a time helped her in her missions. One such example is his decision to help the fairy race defeat the goblins that had managed to conquer Haven, the land of fairies with the help of a deranged pixie. Using his intellect and wits, he had also managed to prove his unswerving loyalty to the fairy kind by helping them lock the Berserker Gate which was opened by the same deranged pixie, Opal Koboi, even at the risk of his own life. Although this action has caused him to lose his memories, the fairy kind never forgot his courageous efforts and of course, where his loyalties lie.

Another character that showed loyalty was the elf that Artemis Fowl had initially kidnapped, that is, Holly Short. Although she had first deemed Artemis untrustworthy, she soon grew to start treating him as a friend and even saved his life on several occasions. When both of them went back into the past to defeat Opal, she refused to leave him there alone even though her own link with the present timeline was starting to fade. Another such occasion in which she had shown her loyalties is when she decided to follow Opal's commands in order to save her commander Julius Root's life. Even though Julius died in the end, Holly still followed his last orders, that is, to protect both the fairy and human race from all kinds of evil, mainly Opal Koboi.

Foaly, a centaur and also friend of Artemis Fowl and Holly Short, had also proven his loyalty to everyone he cares about. To Artemis, he helped him in his various plans and missions to save both the fairy and human kind. To Holly, he provided her with information and sometimes new prototype gear, albeit disobeying his commander's orders. To his wife Caballine, he vowed to protect her from any kind of threats such as an impending goblin attack at their home. To Comammander Root, he managed to give him information needed to defeat the goblin troops and Opal Koboi even though he was imprisoned. Using his extreme intelligence, he also managed to figure out Artemis Fowl's final clue as to what he was supposed to do after Artemis's death, such as preparing a chrysalis and cloning Artemis using his DNA, which enabled Artemis's soul to be reincarnated into his clone's body.

It is not that hard to see the moral value of unswerving loyalty that lies present in almost all the characters in this series. Loyalty is one value that should also be present in every human being, regardless of who he or she is.

Ho Jin Jonathan
4 Cergas
7th February 2014