Literature

Superhero Story

I've always liked imaging writing a book and becoming famous for it. Haha...........unlikely. Well, anyways, my teacher (Mr.Comfort) convinced us to create our own superhero. It was fun, all the sketching and brainstorming possible personalities. The next level was to take that superhero we created and write the first chapter of a story for them. It was optional, but I decided it would be good practise. Anyways, anyone who reads this, please comment what you think! It would be greatly appreciated!

Chapter 1

    The white tiled ceiling of the hospital is too unnatural. A spotless white, free of any specks of dirt. That is what I see when my eyelids flutter open. I push my pale blond hair out of my face, absentmindedly rubbing the hospital wristband nervously. What am I doing here? What happened?

    “Hello, miss.” A young nurse walks in, clipboard in hand, pen poised to write. She’s young, for a nurse, with short brown hair and dark brown eyes.

    “Hi.” My voice sounds raspy, and I cough. Water. When was the last time I had water?

    “You must be thirsty.” She smiles and hands me a glass. Clear crystal water sparkles under fluorescent lights. I smile gratefully and raise the cup to my cracked and dry lips. Water has never tasted so sweet before. “May I ask you some questions?” She waits until the glass is empty. I nod, tentatively. Just what happened to me?

“What’s your name?” The nurse smiles kindly, taking the empty cup out of my hand and placing it on a nearby table. Like the ceiling, and everything else in the hospital, the table is white.

    “My name?” I repeat. “My name. I-I don’t know.” Maybe I didn’t have a name, or maybe it was forgotten. I sit up on the hospital bed, looking at my sore arms and hands. Faded cuts and bruises stare back at me, half healed burns showing on my wrists.

    “It’s alright.” The nurse smiles apologetically. “Amnesia.” She mutters to herself as her pen connects to the paper on her clipboard, scribbling quickly. “You can come in now and visit her.” She calls to the door. Guess what colour the door is? That’s right. A clean, boring, spotless, unnatural white. Hospital white. She walks out with the empty glass that I drank from, and a figure walks in.

He must be about my age, 14-15, but I’ve never seen him before. Recognition flashes in his night black eyes. People don’t have eyes as midnight black as that. Maybe really dark brown, but no one has eyes that dark colour of night. His skin is a pale honey colour. He raises a hand to his head and pushes a wave of chocolate brown hair away from his eyes. “You feel better?” he grins. Does he know me? Do I know him? He seems to know me.

“Do I know you?” I ask, confused. I did see recognition in his eyes. Definitely. The light in his strange black eyes disappear, and I see his midnight sky eyes cloud over.

“El, you don’t know me?” If he does know me, then maybe my name is El.

“My name is El.” I whisper to myself but I think he hears. He walks over and sits in a chair by the bed I’m sitting in.

“Elynn.” He sighs. “Your name is Elynn.” Something, maybe pain flashes through his eyes.  “Amnesia. That meteor was set up. Halloween. Halloween is only weeks away.” He mutters. Thoughts spin in my head. Amnesia? I have amnesia? Isn’t that a memory forgetting condition? Maybe that’s why I can’t seem to remember anything. And what’s that about a meteor and Halloween?

“Who are you?” I ask again. A wry smile crosses his face.

“Lucas.”

“I’m Elynn. At least, that’s what you believe.” He laughs, a light sound that seems to brighten the room. But his eyes are still clouded, the laughter not reaching his midnight eyes.

“Trust me El, you are Elynn.” El must be a nickname he calls me.

I lie back on the hospital pillow, looking out the small window, into a world free of the perfect, spotless hospital whiteness. Gray clouds loom threatening over the city, dark shadows cast onto buildings, making them seem sinister. The look of a ghost town hangs over the atmosphere, not even the sunlight penetrating the dark clouds. Lucas follows my gaze into the cloudy sky and smiles. One of those smiles that doesn’t reach his eyes.

“Klyde von Moor doesn’t get much light these days.” He says, gesturing out at the withered plants that died long ago. “Ever since the meteor fell.” I look out at the city. A kind of calmness settles over the city like a cloak, but it’s unsettling. Like the calm before a storm.

“Exactly what happened.” I point to my arms, scabs and scars and bruises. “What happened to me. I can see it in your eyes that you know.”

Lucas takes a deep breath and crosses his arms, staring at me. “You know. You’ve just forgotten.”

“So tell me.” I demand, wincing as my arm hits the metal bars on the sides of the hospital bed. Lucas looks tired, a look I don’t know showing in his eyes. Again, he pushes back his brown bangs, which have fallen over his eyes again.

“I-I can’t. I’m sorry, El.” He walks out of my room, room 13, I see as he opens the door. 13. Isn’t that an unlucky number?

The nurse who was with me previously walks in just as Lucas leaves. The fluorescent lights are dim, so I probably didn’t notice it before. The way Lucas’ shadow doesn’t follow the movements of his body. The way his shadow didn't follow the exact movements of his body. It danced around, as if it had a mind of its own.

   

Well, thanks for reading. I'm still debating whether I should continue or not.....



THE HUNGER GAMES

Okay, so I read the Hunger Games AGAIN. What? It's a good trilogy and deserves respect. If you haven't read it yet, it's a trilogy (book 1: The Hunger Games, book 2: Catching Fire, and book three: Mockingjay) by Suzanne Collins about 16 year old Katniss Everdeen living in the ruins of North America after natural disasters ruined the world. The little land that was left is a shining, prosperous capital city named Panem surrounded with 13 districts with lots of poverty. Then the Dark Days came, when the 13 districts united and rebelled against Panem. 12 were defeated, the 13th obliterated. To remind the districts of their defeat and treason against the capitol, each year, one girl and one boy are chosen from each district to go to the arena. To fight to the death on live television. The last one alive wins. Kill or be killed. When Katniss volunteers for her younger sister, it seems like she's going to die. When you're in an arena with traps, man-eating beasts and 23 people who want your death, your chances are not looking so good. Doesn't look like you'll live too long either. But Katniss' district partner is 16 year old Peeta Mellark who gave her bread when her family was starving and claimed to be madly in love with her on live television. Katniss thinks it's just an act, but is it? Even if it's true, the arena can change everything. "When your life is on the line, everything precious to you disappears. The tributes who want your life become reality. It's you or them."- Mokingjay "

[The Hunger Games] is a violent, jarring, speed-rap of a novel that generates nearly constant suspense...I couldn't stop reading." --Stephen King, Entertainment Weekly Review

"I was so obsessed with this book I had to take it with me out to dinner and hide it under the edge of the table so I wouldn't have to stop reading. The story kept me up for several nights in a row, because even after I was finished, I just lay in bed wide awake thinking about it...The Hunger Games is amazing."
--Stephenie Meyer, www.stepheniemeyer.com

"The Hunger Games is as close to perfect an adventure novel as I've ever read. I could not put it down. Collins has transformed the ancient Labyrinth myth into a terrifyingly believable tale of future America. Readers will be hungry for more. --Rick Riordan, author of The Percy Jackson Series and The 39 Clues

“[The Hunger Games] is a great book, and very thought-provoking. Read this along with your teen and discuss it.” --Charlaine Harris, www.charlaineharris.com

"BEST. CHILDRENS' BOOKS. EVER." "A Recent Book That Rocked My Dystopian World"--Jon Scieszka, Newsweek

What I find is really interesting is Panem. Originally, it was named after the Latin phrase "Panem et Circenses" which translates to Bread and Circuses. The districts provide Panem with food and entertainment (The Hunger Games) and the Capitol gets to keep governing them. Because the districts lost the war during the Dark Days, they live in fear of the Capitol. The citizens of Panem spend their days decorating their bodies and eagerly anticipating the next Hunger Games. Dyes, tattoos, wigs, and costumes of outrageous fashion sense are what everyone wears. Citizens of Panem talk with an accent which Katniss describes as high pitched with clipped tones and odd vowels, the ends of sentences going up as if they're asking a question and a hiss at the letter "s". At parties, guests are tempted with multiple tables with food. There's much more food than needed, while the other 12 districts starve. A guest will eat as much food as they can, then walk to a different table and drink a liquid that will make them throw up the food they just ate. Everyone does this, and it's expected at parties so they can fill their stomachs multiple times. Meanwhile, in the districts, people are starving. Is this what our society will turn out like in, I don't know, a couple of centuries? I think the author did a good job capturing the inhumanity of humans. So that we can prevent this kind of world.

Suzanne Collins is an awesome author. She expresses humanity, inhumanity, and love very well. The characters were all well created and they each have their own special personalities. Katniss is an independent survivor, is sometimes lethal, and very logical. Peeta is gentle and kind, but fights well in hand-to-hand combat. He is also a good liar, very persuasive and can sway crowds with his words(and lies). If she keeps on going as an author, I will definitely keep reading her novels.

On March 23, 2012, the Hunger Games movie comes out! They have been in production since early spring 2011, and I think all the fans have waited long enough. It's going to star Jennifer Lawrence as Katniss, , Josh Hutcherson as Peeta, Liam Hemsworth as Gale, Elizabeth Banks as Effie, and Woody Harrelson as Haymitch. On February 22nd, tickets for the Hunger Games go on sale! While Shooting the film on August 8, 2011, it was announced that, Catching Fire, the sequel movie to the film The Hunger Games is scheduled to be released on November 22, 2013. Here is the trailer;

Ta-da! This is the cover of the soundtrack for The Hunger Games, titled Songs from district 12 and beyond. The first single from the film's soundtrack, "Safe & Sound" by Taylor Swift featuring The Civil Wars, was released on December 23, 2011. It topped the charts in less than 12 hours. I've already heard it and it fits the theme of the Hunger Games awesomely. You can listen to it here;

MusicPlayOn.com - Let the music play on!

Theoretically, I think you should read the series. If you don't, your grandson will persuade you to finally read The Hunger Games when you are old and you will regret when you read my blog post, and you didn't read it when I advised you to. If you have already read the trilogy, good for you! I recommend you go see the movie when it comes out in March. This is the ONLY book which I cried. Honestly. Once you read the whole trilogy, you will (hopefully) realise how sad it is in the end. Suzanne Collins truly is a good author and I have never read something as good as The Hunger Games.

Reference: http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hunger_Games http://thehungergames.wikia.com/wiki/The_Hunger_Games_Wiki http://hungergamesmovie.org/

Literature is a form of art. Writing brings out happiness, tragedy, and love. I love reading because when I read, reality exists and as the story unfolds, I feel like all the problems in the world disappear. It feels like I never have to go to the dentist, do chores, or turn in yesterday's assignment. Poetry, drama, fiction, and nonfiction are forms of literature. One of my favourite authors are Suzanne Collins, who is the author of the Hunger Games Trilogy. When you read the review, at first it may just seem like teenagers killing on live TV in the story. But it is much more than that. They are being forced to do it by a faraway city that holds all the power named Panem. When boy kills girl, and girl kills boy, it seems like a terrible book, but the meaning is much deeper than that. the main character is forced to weigh survival against humanity, and life against love. I am going to be writing a few book reviews.Behind every song, every drawing or painting is a story. Some times you have to look deeper to find it. ~Jingfei