Sunday 30 September 2012

Scored by Lauren McLaughlin

Scored The five elements of your score:
                                  
Peer Group 
Impulse Control 
Congruity 
Diligence 
Rapport

Imagine, every single thing you do and say is scored and your  future depends on your score.

This is the kind of society where Imani lives.The friends you should  hang out with are the ones who have the same score as you, so you may have to say goodbye to some people along the way. Cady has been Imani's friend for a long time and they even had a pact , but when Cady's score falls ,Imani knows she should forget about her.

However, since Imani's score has also gone down, she has to do more to get a scholarship, to find a good job in the future , to be who she was meant to be .So she does what she has to do and for some good, bad and worse reasons Imani starts seeing Diego, an unscored boy, which is worse than a lowbie. And she gradually begins to see things in a different way.

Incidentally I happened to see the film The Tall Man with Jessica Biel around the time I was reading the book and the combination of both made me think about some of the positive things of being scored.

But, as you will find out  there are negative things as well.

Very good food for thought.

Friday 21 September 2012

Beautiful Creatures : the movie

The film based on the book by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl looks promising. Will it be as good as the book?We'll have to wait until  February 2013.

Beauty and the Beast:Jay Ryan interview

Wednesday 12 September 2012

Interview with Nina Dobrev

Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Insurgent (Divergent, #2)  
Insurgent :  lots of action + some romance + a little bit of thinking (or a lot ).

The book starts with Tris  in the Amity headquarters. She has to deal with her past , the death of her parents and her romance with Tobias (Four).

I like the fact that she cuts her hair at the beginning of the book, I think it is a way to symbolise her will to overcome the loss of her mother.She knows she has to move on and changes her appearance to try to forget when she used to comb her hair.However no matter how much  she tries and how much she changes she is still her parents' daughter.

Let's ramble a bit about the factions:

I deeply dislike the Amity people.How can they be neutral? It is not possible to be friends with everybody if you know the difference between right and wrong and if you care about it.


Abnegation people are a little boring , to say the least.They seem to lack personality.They remind me of the members of  a cult.Although during the attack they were very brave and willing to sacrifice themselves for the survival of their society and later on  some of them prove to be even braver.So perhaps they are not so boring, just focused on what needs to be done.

Dauntless people,however, are fun, crazy,but fun.They act, don't think much and act again.They are livelier than members of other factions but the cruelest faction as well.

Candor people are honest ,just like children, they tell you exactly what they think and want you to do the same .Peter used to be Candor, which is funny because he is just the opposite,but not so funny if you take into account that Candor people are known to be merciless.

Erudite people started the war.They wanted to control information, and they had no qualms about making dauntless soldiers kill for them.Tris finds out that a member of her family was born into the Erudite.

Factionless people seem to lack the necessary qualities to be member or a faction, both the good and the bad ones,but in my opinion mainly the good ones.Four's mother turns out to be one of them, a fine example of motherhood, to say the least.

Divergent people belong to at least two factions, Tris to three.People with flexible minds.

Done with the rambling.

In the book Tris grows into a young adult,not easily though.We learn more about the factions and about their society. If you liked Divergent , you will probably like Insurgent as well. 

I think both novels deal with what it means to be human , our flaws and our virtues in a very innovative way. They also make us wonder what faction we would chose depending on  our best and worst traits. 

It was hard for me to finish the book. There was so much fighting , hatred, secrets,betrayal... I was getting tired, just like after watching the news or reading the newspapers when everything seems to be bad and getting worse. That's why I couldn't agree more with the way the book ends and I am really happy I finished it. I just hope to find some good news in the third book, some hope.














Tuesday 4 September 2012

Uruguay : Colonia de Sacramento

Colonia de Sacramento is  a town in the south of Uruguay facing Buenos Aires (Argentina) .The historic quarter of the village is a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

 by Chivito


Saturday 1 September 2012

Malaysia: Bloom of the Hibiscus

One of the most beautiful fountains in the world at the entrance of the Pavilion Shopping Centre in Kuala Lumpur .Constructed in Liuli crystal, it  represents the hibiscus, the national flower of Malaysia, a symbol of opulence, passion and progression.The three bowls represent the multiracial society of the country.

Everyday and every night tourists and locals gather around the fountain to enjoy its beauty.

TA