Cinder

Image owned by Macmillan 

Recently I recommended a book called Cinder to my super sweet younger brother Nick. It might sound cheesy, but Nick is hands down the best little brother ever. Not only is he one of the funniest people I know, but he enjoys reading. I thought Cinder would be the perfect book for him because he loves good vs. evil stories, and Cinder is one of the best good vs. evil stories I've read. Plus, the technology and world building is very much his taste.

Anyways, Macmillian Teen recently posted about this super cool contest where they'll be giving away twenty ARC's (advanced reader copies) of Cress. This is one of the coolest contests I've come across, and I urge you to participate (sorry, super late notice, but it's better late than never). If you want to find more out about the contest click here.

Without further ado, here is what Nick thought about the book!

Me: Hi Nick.
Nick: Hi Lexi.
Me: After finishing Cinder, what do you have to say about it? Was it as good as you thought it would be?
Nick: It was better than I thought it would be. I saw Lexi reading it and I thought that it looked like a weird book, but I actually quite enjoyed it.
Me: Who's your favorite character? 
Nick: Iko! He was hilarious and had an entertaining personality. I also liked Prince Kai. He was actually pretty cool. I'd be mad if they got rid of him.
Me: Do you think this is a good book for boys?
Nick: Yes, however I think it is more targeted at the female audience. I think that the publishers should try and get more boys to read it by making the covers less girly. Some of the boys at school thought it was weird I was reading a book with such a girly cover.
Me: Do you think you'll be reading the next book?
Nick: Yeah, I do.
Me:  What do you think is going to happen in future books?
Nick: I think that there will be tension between Levana and the Earthen Union. I think that there may be war. (SPOILER) At the end I think Levana will die and Cinder/Princess Selene will marry Prince Kai.

Official Review
by Nick (scribed by yours truly)
4/5 stars

I thought it was a good book. There were no parts in it that were boring. I liked that because a lot of books can get really boring. It kept me hooked, mainly because it wasn't predictable. I didn't know what was going to happen next! I also thought it was a very fresh and original book. I've never read anything like it before. I highly recommend for you guys to go check it out. You will be quite surprised and you won't regret picking it up.

10 Things You May Not Have Known and Poverty

1. The Philippines used to be an American territory. 

2. The word soccer comes from the word association. 

3. India is the world's largest democracy (!!!). 

4. The Golden Gate Bridge is the world's number one spot for suicides (which makes me question why it's not taken down. I suppose money trumps all). 

5. Cats don't have collarbones. 

6. What do Julius Caesar and Oprah Winfrey have in common? They're both lefties! 

7. They call a group of kangaroos a mob. 

8. In Sweden there is hotel made of ice. It must be rebuilt every year. 

9. Human eyes never grow. 

10. Hot water weights more than cold water. 

The Ice Hotel in Switzerland.
Ice Hotel Website

I found many of these facts here. Some of it is not the sort of stuff I would personally be interested in knowing (read: it's inappropriate). However, most of the information on there is fun to know, and you can simply ignore the other facts (like me!). 

In other news, has anyone been following the typhoon in the Phillippines? My dad’s currently in Hong Kong, and it’s big news over there. They’re estimating that over 10,000 people have been killed in one town alone, which is approximately three times the amount killed in 9-11. I find it very sad. If the same thing happened in America, the number of casualties would’ve been under 1,000, but since most of the Phillippines is very rural without a good road system or properly built structures, the number is a lot higher. 

They say that money can’t buy happiness, but that is complete and utter rubbish. Maybe that’s true in America, where no one is truly poor, but when you’re living in an impoverished country like the Phillippines, an extra one-thousand dollars means the world. It means being able to buy food. It means being able to live in more expensive areas that aren’t as prone to natural disasters. It means being able to buy ultra-expensive supplies and food after a natural disaster. It means being able to afford a ride out of the effected area.

It means EVERYTHING. 

On the news (or Oprah, I can’t remember) there was a story about how happy people in India were, despite the fact that many of them were poor. The lady described how going to India ‘enlightened’ her. My dad looked at me and made the most hilarious face. 

“ India is not the sort of place where I feel enlightened,” he said. 

I’m tired of this new western idea that poor people are happy. They’re not. No human is happy hungry. No human is happy watching their child die because of a lack of medical care, and it’s stupid to think they are. If you really want to know the secret for happiness, stop looking for it. 

They look so happy, don't they?
Image courtesy of Borgen Project

Note: Feel free to disagree with me in the comments! I realize that I am not the world's leading expert on this subject. I haven't lived through poverty, so I don't really know what it's like, but I'm still going to try to understand.