Kony 2012

You've probably seen Kony 2012 all over social media the past two days. Maybe you've taken time to watch this video that explains this project. Maybe you've glanced over what this is about.

Well, I agree with Invisible Children. If a thirteen-year-old girl can become a celebrity overnight for a horrible music video, then it's time for Joseph Kony to become famous for his crimes.

What the heck is Jenna talking about? You might be wondering. Who is this Joseph Kony guy?
Let me take you back...to my freshman year of high school, 2006.

For my English class, we took a period to watch a documentary that some local college kids made about something going on in Africa.

Oh, boy, did the waterworks pour.
Three Americans went to Uganda and discovered that a man named Joseph Kony led the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army, and no, this isn't a religious group) who abducted children, forced them to become soldiers, mutilated people, killed people, raped girls, and committed just about every atrocity you can think of. I saw hundreds of people huddled together at night for protection. I saw the victims of these crimes, the few who had escaped. I heard a boy's testimony of the horrors, saw him cry, heard him admit he'd rather die than live, even now that he was free. All of this has been going on since 1986. And no one knew about it, until three California boys with a camera captured it all.
These three college boys started Invisible Children, a group that was determined to end this war.

I donated what I could when my high school's club would have fundraisers. I didn't go to the club because of schedule conflicts. Honestly, I didn't do as much as I could have. I did some, but not as much as I wish I did.

Other people did, though. Invisible Children has grown and this year, they're determined that Kony will be famous for his crimes.

Joseph Kony, the world's #1 most wanted war criminal

I'm not going to be able to give up school and march around America shouting for this cause, but I'm determined to do more than I did before. Evil only continues when we sit by.

Some people criticize Invisible Children's involvement in this. They say America should sit by and worry about our own problems. Let Uganda deal with this. We have no business interfering.

But get this. All Invisible Children is asking is that 100 advisers stay in Uganda to help the government capture Kony. None of our troops. None of our soldiers dying. Only 100 advisers to save thousands of lives.

Is this really such a hard decision to make? For me, it isn't. Kony must be stopped. And 2012 is the year.

This is only the briefest of information, but I encourage you to learn more about this and get involved. Helpful links to do this:
Kony 2012 video
Invisible Children's first documentary
Invisible Children's website
Sign the pledge

Book Review: Gregor and the Code of the Claw by Suzanne Collins

Title: Gregor and the Code of the Claw
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic
Genre: MG (fantasy)
Why I read it/how I found it: Fifth and final book in the Underland Chronicles

Description:
Everyone in the Underland has been taking great pains to keep The Prophecy of Time from Gregor. Gregor knows it must say something awful but he never imagined just how awful: It calls for the warrior's death. Now, with an army of rats approaching, and his mom and sister still in Regalia, Gregor the warrior must gather up his courage to help defend Regalia and get his family home safely. The entire existence of the Underland is in Gregor's hands, and time is running out. There is a code to be cracked, a mysterious new princess, Gregor's burgeoning dark side, and a war to end all wars.


Review:
This book doesn't disappoint with the ending to a great MG series. If you've read The Hunger Games, this is sort of the Mockingjay of the series, although less depressing, as it is for younger readers. At the same time, Gregor doesn't escape a hard path, and the results of it are less happily-ever-after than most other MG books. Character arcs are filled out nicely, there's a satisfying resolution to the Underland, and a lot of action and suspense to fill it out. This was my favorite book out of the series, and for any MG fan, I'd recommend these books.


Other info: Last book of the five-book Underland Chronicles. Suzanne Collins's website is here.

Book Review: Feed by M.T. Anderson

Title: Feed
Author: M.T. Anderson
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Genre: YA (science fiction)
Why I read it/how I found it: One of the books I could read for my writing for adolescent's class.

Description:

Identity crises, consumerism, and star-crossed teenage love in a futuristic society where people connect to the Internet via feeds implanted in their brains.

For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon - a chance to party during spring break and play with some stupid low-grav at the Ricochet Lounge. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who has decided to fight the feed and its omnipresent ability to categorize human thoughts and desires.

Review: 

This book is, to me, an exaggeration of what consumerism and our technology could potentially do. I recognize it as an exaggeration, but at the same time, even slipping a little bit into this society that no longer cares for the planet or anything else but their new toys. In that way, it was very thought-provoking and made me look at our own society. It's very compelling in that way. I loved Violet's character, she was so vibrant and a breath of relief with the other characters who were...well, let's just say a lot like the people I didn't care for in high school. However, I didn't like Titus. He was pretty cool in the middle with Violet, but at the beginning and the end I didn't like him. There's one point where I really hated him. In this futuristic world, there's a lot of new jargon. "Meg," "unit," "mal," just to name a few. I had no flipping idea what a lot of those words were used for. I still don't know what "unit" is. When going into slang terms not known to the readers, we need some clues, but I didn't pick up on them. Not like with Scott Westerfield's Uglies. And rest of the language--so annoying. I get that he wanted to show how low society had sunk to have "like" and "was all" for dialogue tags, but when it gets distracting and annoying to the reader, it's not a good thing to use. I felt like I couldn't inject myself in the world at the beginning. In the middle and end it lightens out, so after the first thirty or forty pages it's fine. But those first few made me annoyed--and I'm from California, I use those phrases all the time when I'm telling a story.

Other information: M.T. Anderson's website is here.

Two digits make a difference

Two days ago, I was nineteen. In a matter of hours that changed. I'm now twenty.

People make a huge deal out of eighteen and twenty-one, but so far, twenty is the big number for me. At eighteen, yeah, I was technically an adult, but still in high school and relying on my parents. I didn't have anyone to vote for, military branch to join, man to marry, desire to buy lottery tickets, infomercial products, or cigarettes. Twenty-one will be a big number for me, although probably not the way it's big for most other girls.

Still, twenty seems so large. Why hasn't it gotten recognition before? At eighteen and nineteen, I was technically an adult, but I still felt a lot like a kid. Now, twenty. I have a whole new decade ahead of me. Probably one with the most life changes (graduating from college, going to grad school, getting a job, maybe getting married and starting a family, maybe getting a publishing deal, maybe going on a mission, and for sure entering the adult world for real). It didn't hit me in my teens how much my life could change. Of course, I saw it as the fog in the distance, but now I'm in the middle of the fog, with a compass to point me but no way of knowing what I'll bump into along the way and how I'll need to adjust my compass because of it. I feel a lot of big changes coming my way.

But, for some stuff that was fun about my birthday yesterday:

• Tickets for The Hunger Games went on sale and I got mine for Friday, March 23 at 12:01 AM. This fangirl is ready.
• I actually ate out at a restuarant (skimpy college kid here...never mind my roommates treated me).
• Starkid announced their next show, Holy Musical B@tman!
• Prepared for three different midterms (oh wait...I said fun, didn't I? Scratch this)
• Lots of messages on my facebook wall.

Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins

Title: Gregor and the Marks of Secret
Author: Suzanne Collins
Publisher: Scholastic
Genre: MG (fantasy)
Why I read it/how I found it: The fourth in the Underland Chronicles.

Description:
It's only a few months since Gregor and Boots returned from the Underland, leaving their mother behind to heal from the plague. Though Gregor's family receives frequent updates on her condition, they all know Gregor must return to fulfill his role as the warrior who is key to the Underlanders' survival. Accompanied by his now-talkative little sister Boots, still considered the honorary "princess," Gregor joins forces with another princess--12-year-old Luxa--and Ripred the rat to defend the Underlanders and the vulnerable "Nibblers," or mice, from the rat army.


Review:
I feel like I say the same thing with these books. How great the characters are shaped, how the themes are so important, how high-action they are. Because it's all true! One fun thing with this one is that Gregor starts to get a crush on Luxa, which is just adorable to watch. It feels really natural to how a twelve-year-old feels with a crush. Also, this one digs deeper at choices that Gregor made in earlier books, and I think could create some pretty great discussion.


Other information: This is the fourth of a series of five. Suzanne Collins's website is here.

11 Questions...I've been tagged

Daisy and Sophie tagged me to answer some questions! So let's get cracking!

From Daisy:

1. Favorite villain and why? Ooof, this one's hard. Because I am obsessed with it right now, I'm inclined to say Regina from Once Upon a Time. Mostly because right now I hate her the most, and that's what villains should make me do, right?
2. What's the last book you read? Gregor and the Marks of Secret by Suzanne Collins.
3. If you could travel back in time, where would you go and why? Wow, there's so many places I kind of want to pull a Bill and Ted! But let's face it, I'm a pretty modern girl. I think I'd go to the 1950s because there's still indoor plumbing, swing dancing, rock and roll, poofy skirts, and glass Coke bottles.
4. Would you rather have an unlimited gift card to your favorite bookstore OR a publishing contract but never be allowed to read any other books? UNLIMITED GIFT CARD. Hands down. I can find a way to a publishing contract, but if I can't read any other books? Not only would I fail my major, I don't know what I'd do with my life!
5. If you were an animal, what would you be? A cat. I'm more introverted and if I could sleep for 23 hours of the day...yeah. That'd be pretty great.
6. What's your very first memory? The first memory I know actually happened was when I was two and my little brother was born. My parents were informed that based off of the heartbeat of their unborn child, they'd most likely be having a girl (my mom never wanted to know the sex of any of her kids, but for some reason listened to this). I'd been led to believe that I'd be getting a little sister, so when the couple babysitting us informed us that we had a little brother I yelled, "NO! IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE A GIRL!" I was really mad and blamed my babysitters that I'd gotten a brother. (I am now very grateful that I got a little brother and not a little sister)
7. Suzanne Collins, JK Rowling, Stephenie Meyer, Neil Gaiman, Judy Blume and John Green call.  They all want you to come to their house for dinner, but all on the same night.  Whose dinner invitation do you accept? Suzanne Collins. Suzanne Collins. I'm getting all wiggly just thinking about it (is this what Bieber fans feel like?).
8. You discover a planet.  What do you name it? Well, I guess I should go along with the whole Roman thing, in which case I'd name it Minerva. I'd be really tempted to name it Kolob, but it wouldn't be my place to name it that. 
9. What world/nation/city/place from a book would you most like to visit? Hogwarts (is there another answer for my generation, really?).
10. Here's a million dollars.  How would you spend it? *note, I said spend.  It's a fantasy!  No saving!* Tuition. Books (but the fun ones!). Go to Europe. Remodel my parents' house. 
11. On which reality TV contest or gameshow would you be a contestant? The Price is Right, because I would watch it on my days off from school all the time and I've always wanted to spin that big wheel!

And here's from Sophie:

1.When did you start writing? First grade at school, but on my own when I was eight.
2. Who are your literary heroes? (/favourite authors) Suzanne Collins, J.K. Rowling, Jane Austen, Laura Ingalls Wilder.
3. What is your favourite fictional character? Peeta Mellark.
4. What genre(s) do you write? I always say that I write YA and anything that can't really happen...although with my class that's proved to be false, so now I write everything!
5. What is your favourite book, tv show and film? Book: Mockingjay or Persuasion. Please don't make me choose. TV show: I'm going to go with Gilmore Girls since Once Upon a Time hasn't been on long enough for me to know for sure I'll always love it. Film: Probably Penelope. It's just so dang cute!
6. What is your favourite place you've visited in the world? I haven't visited many places, but I'd say Niagara Falls.
7. What is your favourite music? Hmmm...stuff like SafetySuit and He is We, but I like a lot of different kinds.
8. Have you ever written fanfic?/Opinions on it? Yes, and I think it's a fun way for writers to start out, but there are some things that just shouldn't be written at the same time.
9. Where is your favourite place to write? Anywhere comfy, with my music, and no one to distract me. So for where I am right now, my couch while my roommates are at school.
10. Tea or Coffee? Hot chocolate! (don't drink tea or coffee, sorry!)
11. Have you ever taken part in NaNoWriMo?/ Opinions on it? I tried once two years ago and failed. I think that it's great for people who need motivation, but for people who can finish stuff on their own time should spend their stress somewhere else. ;)

Here are my questions for those I pass along to:

1. Redvines or Twizzlers?
2. With your iPod/MP3 on shuffle, what's the first song that comes up?
3. What's your least favorite book you ever had to read for school?
4. You're the producer for turning any one book into a movie, which do you choose to do?
5. What's your favorite youtube video?
6. Who did you look up to when you were thirteen years old?
7. Which food do you wish you could rid the planet of?
8. Why did you decide to start blogging?
9. Do you cry over books/movies/TV shows?
10. What's one thing you believe in with all your heart?
11. Flowers or chocolate?

And now, I tag:

1. SM Robertson
2. Carrie
3. Rod Tyson
4. Jeigh
5. W. Chaser
6. Rhiannon Morgan
7. C.B. Wentworth
8. Callie Kingston
9. Laurie Dennison
10. Stephanie Allen
11. Karina Lawrence

The Character Your Character Could Be Like

The following post has spoilers for Once Upon a Time, including the most recent one. Just in case you care and haven't had a chance to watch it yet.

Sadly, there aren't enough characters like Rumpelstiltskin as he's portrayed in ABC's Once Upon a Time.

He's not a moral person. Some would probably even call him evil. But the writers of OUAT know how to develop characters (these are the same people who did Lost after all). I've always been impressed with the characters on the show, but last week's episode blew me away.

You see, Rumple here has a heart. We knew from his previous episode "Desperate Souls" that he can love--he had a son before he did anything to protect. But what about the Rumple we first saw behind bars, jumping around like a madman? With the end of his origins episode, people (or at least I did) assumed that he just became evil after he took on the power of The Dark One. But now we know from this past episode he is quite capable of love, despite all of the bad things he did. Even after the more than twenty-eight years since he lost Belle, he continues to love her. He just thought at the time he loved his power more. 

Rumple isn't a good guy. But he's a rather sympathetic character when knowing his backstory. Usually I only root the the good guy, I've never been the kind to side with the villains. But at this point in the story, I don't see Rumple as a villain anymore, even though he does some awful things.

From what I've learned with Rumple's character is that you need to go deeper with your characters. Are they really all good/bad? (probably not). What made a specific character the way that he is? What about the character will surprise the reader, but still fit with her personality?

This past episode has really made me consider my own characters and develop them further.