Summary and Review: A Separate Peace

Title: A Separate Peace
Author: John Knowles

Summary and Review by: Hyacinth S. Faune [-shanz-phenomenon]

Reviewed in Yahoo on: December 3, 2007
A Separate Peace is the 7th book I borrowed from the Caridad Trillo-Elumba Library of English. I just found this book last week due to the super overdue of Wendelle Dedel with this book. As I read the summary at the back cover, I was so amazed and I wanted to read it right away. I was attracted to the plot and I right away borrowed it.

Here are the characters: MAIN ONLY…. (2)

GENE FORRESTER
Gene is the narrator of the novel and appears at two different time periods: as a man in his thirties re-visiting Devon fifteen years after being a student there, and, for most of the novel, as a sixteen and seventeen-year-old student during World War II. The novel is written in the past tense, and we assume that Gene’s narration is triggered by his re-visitation of his old school when he is thirty-two. And although the older narrator seems long past the emotional turmoil that marked his schoolboy days, the events of his years at Devon are told as if they were occurring in the present, as if our narrator were still sixteen years old. The Gene that we encounter for the bulk of the novel is, like many of his classmates, at a liminal stage in his life-the time between boyhood and manhood. This transition is further emphasized by the war, Gene being in the final years of freedom before he can be legally claimed by the world war in progress. Outwardly Gene is one of the top students in his class and a talented athlete. These traits earn him respect on campus and, most importantly, the friendship of Phineas, whom Gene respects more than any of his fellow classmates. But inwardly, Gene is plagued by the darker forces of human nature, forces which prey upon the turbulence of adolescence. Gene’s admiration and love for Finny is counter-balanced and marred by his fierce jealousy of him, by a deep insecurity in himself, and, because of his insecurity, a need to compete with and “defeat” his friend at all costs. Gene’s internal emotional battles are the major source of conflict and tension in the novel.
PHINEAS (Finny)
Finny is Gene’s best friend. He is nonconformist, self-confident, honest, disarming, possessed of a magnetic personality, and the best athlete in the school. He also has a talent for talking his way out of any problem, not by deceit, but rather by his infectious good nature, so much so that teachers simply cannot remain angry with him. In other words, he seems perfect in almost every way. His failing is that he does not realize that he is unique, that he cannot see the flaws in other people: their jealousy, their hatred. His “good natured spirit” is shown in the one game which he creates, in which there are no winners or losers, but just players. At one point he breaks a school swimming record with only Gene present, but refuses to tell anyone, he only wanted to know that he could do it. Gene says that “Finny was too unusual for competition,” and in the same vein, he does not need a last name. This is significant because it makes him more of a symbol- he is too extraordinary for a last name. At the end of the book, Finny dies when bone marrow enters his bloodstream and stops his heart.

…………………………MY REVIEW ABOUT THIS BOOK…………………

The novel begins with the adult Gene Forrester returning to Devon, an exclusive New Hampshire prep school, which Gene had attended in his youth. The sights of Devon, and in particular a large tree and a marble staircase, evoke memories and emotions within Gene. The book then travels back to Gene’s past, immediately introducing a number of characters, including Phineas. Despite their polar personalities, Gene and Phineas (”Finny”) made fast friends at Devon: Gene’s quiet, introverted intellectual personality matches Finny’s more extroverted, carefree, athletic demeanor.

There was a time when Gene and Finny both sneaked out school and went to the beach. Since it was the day before the trigonometry exam of Gene, he wasn’t able to study and flunked the test the next day.
One of Finny’s ideas during Gene’s “Sarcastic Summer” of 1942 is to create a “Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session,” with Gene and himself as charter members. He also creates a game called “Blitz Ball,” (the name being derived from the term blitzkrieg, appropriate as the story is written in a World War II setting). Finny creates a rite of induction by having members jump into the Devon River from a large, high tree. One night, Finny decides that he and Gene should jump together. While on the limb, with Finny about to jump, Gene jostles the limb. There is no elaboration; his actions are bluntly stated and regretted soon after they are committed. As a result of Gene’s act of jealousy, Finny loses his balance, falls from the tree, and severely breaks his leg. It is too late for Gene to realize that he “was not of the same quality” as Finny; that Gene is suspicious and tends to see ulterior motives where there are none, while Finny is pure joy and untroubled innocence. Gene contemplates his action while Finny slowly recovers.

Finny maintains his characteristically upbeat attitude throughout his convalescence. The only time he shows any anger towards Gene is when Gene first tries to confess to knocking Finny off the tree. Finny refuses to believe it, more wounded by that attempted confession in some ways than he was by the act itself. Upon his return, Finny begins to create a fantasy world of sorts around him to avoid facing the war, whose existence he emphatically denies (”Don’t be a sap. There is no war.”). Finny is “the essence of this careless peace.” Because his leg injury prevents him from engaging in sports activity, Finny encourages Gene to build up his own physical strength and athletic skills. He even trains Gene for the possible 1944 Winter Olympics, which ended up being cancelled due to the war.

The action comes to a head when another student, Brinker Hadley, drags Gene and Finny into an assembly room which is known as the “Butt Room” whenre most smokers usually hang- out.and puts them on trial to determine Finny’s “casualty.” They try to force the two to confront the truth of how and why Finny broke his leg. Gene tries to deny everything, knowing that the truth will destroy Finny. Leper Lepellier (once soft and quiet, now mentally imbalanced from his experience in the war) is called in, and he recalls the jump as he saw it, saying the two boys moved “like an engine,” as in one went up and one went down. Finny flees the room in anguish and falls down a nearby flight of stairs, cleanly breaking his already injured leg. Gene tries to go to the infirmary and see Finny, but Finny is furious with him and will not see him. Gene walks around the campus that night as if he were a ghost. The next morning, Gene sees Finny and they reconcile their differences: Gene admits that he made Finny fall, but only because it came from some blind impulse he could not control. Finny accepts this quite easily and forgives him, but Gene is still unsure of his excuse and is not sure if he purposely caused Finny’s fall. Gene leaves and recalls every moment of that day, waiting for Finny to come out of surgery to set the bone, and meets the doctor afterwards. The doctor informs Gene that during the operation some bone marrow from Finny’s leg went through his blood stream and to his heart, killing him. Gene takes the news as a shock, but never cries about Finny; Gene believes that when Finny died, a piece of himself died too, the part of him that was strict and regimented and anti-Finny, and that one does not cry for one’s own death.

Gene reflects that Finny’s death was a result of Gene’s hatred and jealousy towards him. He explains that there is a point in everyone’s life when they realize that there is evil in the world and that they must fight their inner demons to control themselves. It is at that time when one’s innocence is lost forever. Only Phineas was innocent, and although this made him unique, Gene believes it eventually led to his demise.

———————————————————————END

If I would rate this book at the scale of 1-10

I would give it a

9.8!!!!

This book is a must read!
Though there are bad words, I love the story
The story is so touching and moving
Great depth!!!
A masterpiece!!
It talks about the evil deep inside us!
I really had a hard time accepting that Phineas died at the end…
It was as though I was in the story
I love it!!!!
The story is written with wit and style- qualities rare to find these days
Interesting
Beautiful!
Truly a “Gem of Controlled Eloquence”
You must grab a copy!

Summary and Review: The Secret Garden

Title: The Secret Garden
Author: Frances Hodgson Burnett

Summary and Review by: Hyacinth S. Faune [SJSaranghae]

Reviewed in Yahoo on: November 18, 2007

The Secret Garden is the 5th book I borrowed from the Caridad Trillo-Elumba Library of English. In fact, just the title fascinates me already. Just the first few words already strikes me into reading it. In fact, I can hardly put this book down.

………………………………Review……………………………….

Mary Lennox is a sickly, sour-faced little girl who was born in India to wealthy British parents She is mean and sour and a selfish brat who doesn’t care about other people. Unwanted by her parents, she is thrust into the care of a subservient Ayah from her birth and told to keep out of sight lest her unsightly sallow appearance upset her mother and father. Even her Ayah disliked her so much because she was a very “disagreeable child”. Mary treated their native maids so badly that she even sometimes call them “Daughter of a pig”. She was a pale, yellowish, cross girl and her hair is so thin and stringy and she is very weak and thin. When a cholera epidemic makes her an orphan, she is sent to a poor clergyman’s house which had 5 children who refused to play with Mary. They keep on calling her “Mistress Mary Quite Contrary” and they often dance around and tease her:

“Mistress Mary Quite Contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockle shells
And marigolds all in a row”

From India, where she lived, she was sent to Misselthwaite Manor, an isolated country house in Yorkshire, England. It is across the moor and the huge house(or mansion rather) is 600 years old and it has nearly 100 rooms all shut up. There she is again left mostly to her own devices – this time by her mother’s brother-in-law, Archibald Craven, a widower still mourning his beautiful young wife, who died ten years before. In hopes of escaping his painful memories, he travels constantly, leaving the manor in the charge of his housekeeper, the stern Mrs. Medlock. The only person who has any time for the little girl is a chambermaid, Martha, who tells Mary about a walled garden that was the late Mrs. Craven’s favourite. No one has entered the garden since she died because her grieving husband locked its entrance and buried the key.

While exploring the grounds, Mary discovers the key, which had been turned up by a robin digging for worms. Soon after, she finds the hidden door. Once inside, she discovers that although the roses seem lifeless, some of the other flowers have survived. She resolves to tend the garden herself. Although she wants to keep it a secret, she recruits the assistance of Martha’s brother Dickon, who has a way with plants and wild animals. Mary gives him money to buy gardening implements and he shows her that the roses, though neglected, are not dead. When Mary’s uncle visits the house briefly for the first time since she arrived, Mary asks him for a bit of earth to make a flower garden, and he agrees. Thanks to the invigorating Yorkshire air or the moor air (fresh air) and her new-found fascination with the garden, Mary herself begins to blossom, and loses her sickly look and unpleasant manner. She begins to get fatter and her hair becomes thick and healthy. She also lost her being contrary. Martha always talks to Mary about the moor, her house in the moor which is a cottage, which has 12 children in it. Martha talks about her mother and her brother Dickon. In fact, Mary says she likes 5 people. These are Dickon, Martha, Mrs. Susan Sowerby (Dickon & Martha’s mother), Ben Weatherstaff (the gardener), and the red-breasted robin. Mary also learned new words in Yorkshire because Martha speaks Yorkshire while relating to her experiences and stories. Examples are:

Yeller—-means Yellow
Wick—–means Alive/Lively
Wuthering—-means Rushing of the Wind
Tha’rt—-means Thou Art or You are
An’—-means And
O’—-means of

One time after Martha’s day-off, she brought back to Misselthwaite Manor a skipping rope for Mary. And this is what Mary used everyday to practice jumping to about a hundered skips.

One night Mary hears someone weeping in another part of the house. When she asks questions, the servants become evasive and say they cannot hear anything. Shortly after her uncle’s visit, she goes exploring and discovers her uncle’s son, Colin, a lonely, bedridden boy as petulant and disagreeable as Mary used to be. His father shuts him because the child closely resembles his mother. Mr. Craven suffers from mild kyphosis (he is a hunchback), and is morbidly convinced that Colin will develop the same condition. This fear has communicated itself to Colin, who, for purely psychological reasons, has never learned to walk. The servants have been keeping Mary and Colin a secret from one another because Colin doesn’t like strangers staring at him and is prone to terrible tantrums. Colin, however, accepts Mary and insists on her visiting him often.

As spring approaches, Colin becomes jealous because Mary is spending more time out in the garden with Dickon than indoors with him. One day he voices his resentment and, when Mary resists, he throws a tantrum. To the surprise and amusement of the servants, Mary continues to stand her ground. That evening, Colin has a hysterical fit, brought on by his fear of dying young. Mary goes to him and, again taking a firm, no-nonsense stance with him, calms him down. When he asks if he can visit the garden with her, she agrees, as she and Dickon had been planning to suggest it themselves, feeling that it would do Colin good. Colin’s doctor, (Mr. Craven’s brother and Colin’s uncle) agrees to have Dickon and Mary take Colin outside in a wheelchair. Colin is delighted with the garden, and visits it with Mary and Dickon whenever the weather allows. As the garden revives and flourishes, so does he.

The first person to discover what the children are doing is the old gardener, Ben Weatherstaff, who was a favorite of Colin’s mother. Since her death, he has been visiting the locked garden once or twice a year by secretly scaling the wall with a ladder. When he visits the garden for the first time since Mary’s arrival (having had to miss several visits because of rheumatism), he is angry with the children until he sees how improved both the garden and Colin are. Colin orders him not to tell anybody, and he agrees. Colin resolves that the next time his father returns from abroad he will be able to walk and run like a normal boy. He accomplishes this through a combination of simple physical exercise and positive thinking. He refuses to think of himself as crippled, and he invents a kind of mantra to keep himself in the right, or “magic,” frame of mind. He makes great progress, but keeps it hidden from everyone but Mary, Dickon, and Ben, wanting it to be a surprise. Colin’s state has been improving day by day and they pretend that he was still ill so that other servants won’t find out. Colin desired to be an athlete because he felt he is growing stronger. So, Mary, Colin and Dickon kept doing exercises and indeed Colin became well. He gave out lectured on Magic and from a limp, helpless, selfish, disagreeable Rajah-like boy, Colin was now The Athlete, The Lecturer, and the Scientific Discoverer who was a laughable, lovable, healthy human being. They all believe Magic was present inside the Secret Garden and they chanted : The Magic is in Me! The Magic is in Me! It’s in Me!.

Mr. Craven has been traveling throughout Europe but hurries home after seeing a vision of his dead wife, imploring him to come to her “in the garden!” When he receives a letter from Martha and Dickon’s mother (who also knows the secret) saying “I think your lady would ask you to come if she was here”, he decides to return home. He arrives while the children are outdoors. He goes out to see Colin for himself, and finds himself drawn to the secret garden, where he is astonished first to hear children’s voices and then to find Colin not only racing Mary and Dickon around the garden, but winning. They take Mr. Craven into the secret garden to tell him everything. Afterward, they walk back to the house where the servants are astonished to see two miracles: Colin walking and his father looking happy again.

———————————————————————-END
If I rate this book from 1-10, I would give it
a

9.8

This book is amazing!
Truly inspirational and heart-warming!
You can hardly afford to put the book down, I guarantee!!!
One of the best books ever written!
You’ll be wanting more and more!
Every chapter is a look-forward to!
Love the characters!
It sets out your spirit!

Read this because it is a MUST READ and in this book,
You’ll discover the -=MAGIC=-!!!!!!!

Summary and Review: The Farthest Shore

Title: The Farthest Shore
(3rd series in the EARTHSEA CYCLE)
Author: Ursula K. LeGuin

Winner of the NATIONAL BOOK AWARD

Summary and Review by: Hyacinth S. Faune [SJSaranghae]

Reviewed in Yahoo on: November 11, 2007

The Farthest Shore is the 4th book I borrowed from the Caridad Trillo-Elumba Library of English. It is a sequel which forms the EARTHSEA CYCLE…Earthsea is the fantasy archipelago setting…. Here are books in the Earthsea Cycle:

A Wizard of Earthsea
The Tombs of Atuan
The Farthest Shore
Tehanu
The Other Wind
At first, I had a hard time understanding the first few chapters because the book is a sequel, which means this book is a continuation of the second book. But, then, I was able to cope up.

…………………………..StORy ReViEw…………………………….

A strange, inexplicable malaise is spreading throughout Earthsea. Magic is losing its power; songs and arts are being forgotten; people and animals are sickening or going mad; wizards are losing their magic.

Arren, the young Prince of Enlad- son of Morred, and Archmage and Dragonlord Ged- who is known by his usename: Sparrowhawk leaves Roke, the center of all the reaches: North Reach, South Reach, East Reach and West Reach.
Roke Island is the magical heart of Earthsea and is protected by potent spells and a magical wind and fog that ward off evil. It contains several places of power, such as Roke Knoll and the Immanent Grove. TherG is also the school in Roke as a center of learning in the field of wizardry and magery. Teaching in the school is carried out by a variety of Masters, each with a specialty:

Master Windkey, who teaches weather control
Master Hand, who teaches illusions
Master Herbal, who teaches healing
Master Changer, who teaches transformation
Master Summoner, who teaches calling
Master Namer, who teaches the True Speech
Master Patterner, who teaches meaning and intent
Master Finder, who teaches seeking and returning
Master Doorkeeper, who watches the gates and protects the school
Archmage, who leads the school

Arren and Ged left to embark on a sailing journey on board “Lookfar” to find out what causes the evil disturbances. They first landed in Hort Town, a town where people have gone mad and are hazia addicts. They met Hare, which is according to him, he is a “wizard”. But, he too is into hazia. He says he can lead Arren and Ged, but he ends up lost. Arren was abducted one night and was forced onto a boat and chained with other prisoners to be sold off as slaves. But, after 3 days, Ged was able to find Arren and they continued their quest- going to the South Reach.
They arrived in Lorbanery, where the people have forgotten their skills in weaving silk and dyeing clothes. When they cannot find anything in Lorbanery, they set forth to move on. But, a madman named Sopli told them he could lead the way. He was brought along too. But, as they landed in Obehol, an island in the West Reach, they were attacked by the people living there. Sopli jumped in the water (though he was afraid of water because even though there were attackers, he wanted to get to land; but Ged pushed the boat back into the water) and eventually drowned and died. Gen was hit by a spear in his shoulder in between the shoulder joint and the collar bone and tearing a vein, which caused it to bleed greatly. Arren attended to looking after Ged. But since Ged had no strength yet, it was up to Arren to take control over the boat. They ended up among the rafts-folk. They called themselves the Childrern of the Open Sea. They live in rafts and they come ashore to land once every year on Belatran. After weeks with them, Ged already recovered fully.
One day, after the whole night in which they celebrated the “Long Dance”, the dragon Orm Embar spoke to Ged about something in the Old Speech language in which Arren did not understand. At once, after the dragon went away, Arren and Ged had to go and continue their quest.
They arrived at the island of the dragons called the Dragon’s Run but did not spend much time there. They ended up at last at Selidor, the island where in the evil is. They found out that at the far reaches of Selidor, it was dark and dry. They saw a man in black, slender and it was their enemy. But he just vanished. The next days were spent by exploring more of Selidor’s towns which was abandoned and forgotten. There were no people, but, there were the souls of the dead people there. The man in black appeared once more to them. This time, closer and Ged identified him to be Cob, a dark mage he once defeated. His eye sockets were now empty. And though Ged already killed him in the past, he was there for he said he had obtained “Immortality”. When they tried to attack him, Orm Embar striked Cob first, but then, he was slashed by Cob, and so, the dragon died. Cob disappeared again.
Arren and Ged followed Cob in the dark mountains/dark peaks and that part was the dry land which was completely dark. The world of the dead – “The Dry Land” – A realm of shadow, dust, where nothing changes and “lovers pass each other in silence”. It was a place where it was always night and no wind blows within the land. Although the sky was filled with stars, they were small, cold, and did not move. The constellations in the sky were not the ones that the people of Earthsea recognize from the living world. People crossed over from the land of the living to the land of the dead by stepping over a low stone wall on the crest of a hilltop. On the other side the souls of the dead wandered, never recognizing or caring for one another. At the bottom of the valley of the dead (known as the dry land) was the dry river, and beyond that lay the mountains of Pain, the only way back to the land of the living once one went too far from the wall.
Arren and Ged climed up the Mountains of Pain and there they found the realm or the portal between Life and Death, Light and Dark, which Cob opened. It is because he desired immortality. But, this portal is what has been causing the evil disturbances. Arren handled Cob and killed him once more, and Ged risked all his strength and all his magic to close the realm.
The realm was closed successfully. But it weakened Ged so much that Arren had to help him climb down the mountains and go to the shores of Selidor. The black dragon, Kalessin helped Arren and Ged return to Roke. Arren, who was also called Lebannen was crowned as King, successor of Morred- in his lineage. But, Ged was not already Archmage and he returned to his home in Gont.

———————————————————————END
If I would rate this story in the scale of 1-10, I would give it a
9.8

You really must have the whole Earthsea Cycle! It’s a must!
I love the story…so splendid…..
Complex and Innovative!
It is full of adventure!!!!
It is filled with suspense!
Magical! Absolutely magical! I can relate though…see, I’m a mage in Dragon Fable….hahahaha! Did you ever get the feeling that maybe Dragon Fable was inspired and created through the ideas of the Earthsea Cycle?
I want to have more! I must buy the whole cycle no matter what!
One of the best books I’ve ever read!!!!!!!!!

My Own Summary and Review: The Silver Crown

Title: The Silver Crown
Author: Robert C. O’Brien

Summary and Review by: Hyacinth S. Faune [SJSaranghae]

Reviewed in Yahoo on: October 24, 2007
This is supposed to be the third book I’ve borrowed from the library. But Mary Joy borrowed High School Musical Junior Novel using my library card, and so, filling up the third space….
Nevertheless, I borrowed this book 2 days before the Semestral Break in the Caridad Trillo-Elumba Library of English.

………………………..My Personal Review………………………….

Ellen Carroll, a ten-year old girl wakes up one morning finding a silver srown with blue stones encircling it on the pillow beside her. Since she has longed for so long to be Queen, she stood up, took her handbag and her pocketbook with her and went out the house. Since it was her birthday, she thought that the Siver Crown was a birthday present to her….but by who?

Ellen found out the crown was foldable. Besides the crown, she slipped in her pocket a dollar and fifty-six cents. Her family was still asleep when she went to a small wooded park where it was rather misty. She sat on a log which she imagined her royal seat. She began imagining about the wonders of being a Queen and how it would feel being one too. In the tall bushes nearby, she thought she saw someone pass by…a person with a green head.

Soon, she smells smoke and heard sirens of the firetrucks. Her house had been burned down! Firemen were gathering around it. But according to the neighbors, it burned down so quickly…like and explosion only with no noise. Everything has been burned down and turned to ashes. But the weird thing is, the firemen reported that no person lived there. Although Ellen insisted she lives there, no family member even showed up…so the thought came to her that they died. So, she asked for help from a police named Officer Drogue who immediately told her he’ll be taking her to the precint to help her find her family.

When they stopped over a store, they saw a man in a green hood who shot the store manager. Officer Drogue followed the green hood and left Ellen for hours. Ellen then decided to go to the post office and write her Aunt Sarah who is in Kentucky a letter to inform her of what has been happening. She then sat down a bench beside a fat man who was talking about his diets. He gave her a sandwich and told her to be careful of the green hooded man, who also killed Officer Drogue.

Ellen decided to hitch-hike by herself all the way to Kentucky. She went to a nearby gas station and looked for road maps…but she only saw Virginia and West Viginia….no Kentucky! But then, a shiny blue car appeared with a person inside, who introduced himself as Mr. Gates, a “school teacher”. Mr. Gates offered Ellen a ride to Kentucky since, as he said he was going that way. But, later on, as Ellen saw a green hood in the car rear, she hopped out of the car, knowing he too was one of the green hoods who killed both the store manager and Officer Drogue. Ellen fled into the forest nearby and hid from Mr. Gates, who failed in finding her.

The next morning, she saw a boy wandering in the woods where she is currently in, whose name was Otto. He took her to their house somewhere in the woods. When Mrs. Fitzpatrick saw her, she immediately let her rest in a vacant room.

Ellen stayed for more days there until one night, she heard footsteps outside and an evil laugh. The next morning, Mrs. Fitzpatrick woke Ellen up and told her she must get out of the place and go to Kentucky as soon as possible. Mrs. Fitzpatrick then revealed to her Otto’s true identity, that he was not her true son, he was only taken care of since she found him. But, she didn’t want Otto to know this. Mrs. Fitzpatrick told Ellen that Otto will go with her because Otto is used to the forests, brave, smart. Mrs. Fitzpatrick also requested that Ellen would tell her Aunt Sarah that if it could be, Otto would stay there.

They left early at dawn and Mrs. Fitzpatrick packed everything they needed…from food to clothes. At first they do not have any problem at all…they were enjoying the walk up the mountains into the valleys, the steep slopes until they reach the highway pass to get to Kentucky. But after days, problems began to rise…

shortage of food
shortage of water ever sice they could no longer find brooks
sore legs…from walking all day long
a man in a black uniform actually stalking them

They came into Mr. Jason Carver’s cabins. There, they ate food, drank water and spent the night. They found out that Mr. Carver was actually a woodcarver. He told Otto and Ellen about his past…his job before as a stonecutter, his wife and his daughter. He showed them his wood carvings and gave Otto a carving of a dove, which he actually likes. Then, they found out that the stranger followed them up the hill all the way to the cabin. Mr. Carver went out with King, his dog. The stranger forced his way in but Mr. Carver wouldn’t let him. As the stranger pulled out a pistol, King pounced on him and he went away. Ellen and Otto were forced to take a route straight ahead, not down the hill for the stranger may come back. At first they continued gradually. But then, they found out the road was broken.

They went to another way and farther ahead, Richard, Otto’s pet crow began acting strange. They also noticed there were no birds in this place. They saw a crevasse and they must cross it to reach the other side. Down the crevasse was a brook. They used a strong vine to get down. Otto got down easily, but Ellen did not. So, she severely sprained her ankle. Otto took her to a nearby cave where Ellen rested her ankle. They found out that the cave was shining with granite rocks, that look like diamonds. Ellen placed hot compress every now and then. But it seems like her ankle was not getting any better.

A new problem came up. Their food supply was shortening. Otto was the one looking for food which were usually blueberries, raspberries, wild strawberries. Otto one night after his hunting told Ellen that she saw a huge black building which was a castle and black in color in the woods. He said that he saw childern in there and told Ellen he could easily climb off the wired fences.

One time, Otto did not come back and the berries were all gone. This forced Ellen to search for him. Ellen buried the Silver Crown somewhere in the cave entrance and marked an “X” on the spot. With her ankle getting better, Ellen, climed up the crevasse and began the search. She then ended up in the black castle Otto told her about. She saw a bus with 6 childeren on board get out. The childern looked like dead people walking with a blank stare in their eyes. To investigate further, and to save Otto, she blend in with the other childern and went in the castle. She noticed that, the path was black.

Ellen recieved a tour and a uniform. The personnels didn’t find out that the 6 childern now became 7…and this was quite a relief for Ellen. Ellen then enters a classroom which seemed ordinary to her for it has a teacher in front, with desks. But, a textbook in her desk has the title

“ELEMENTARY DESTRUCTION
SECOND-GRADE READINGS in DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR”

This was weird though. But what was weirder was in the lower right hand corner of the cover of the book was a picture of a crown, exactly the same shape as Ellen’s, only, it was black. Under the crown was a name imprinted “Hieronymus”. The name rang in Ellen’s mind. She was told to stay away from a person named Hieronymus. The book has strange lessons in it.

One was:

“Mary had a little lamb
Its fleece was white as snow
And everywhere that Mary went
The lamb was sure to go”

—- so far so good, but….—-

“It followed her to school one day
Which was against the rule
It bit the teacher on the leg
And knocked her off the stool”

—-that was wrong—-

“Hit the teacher! Hit the teacher!
All the children cried
And each of them picked up a rock
And stoned her till she died.”

—-at this, Ellen was aghast!”—-

What a horrible school…teaching children to be evil. But, somewhere in the class, she spotted Otto! But, the teacher noticed something wrong about Ellen. She was not with the class; she wasn’t “in tune”; she was “out of tune”. Then, the teacher sent Ellen to the dungeon. Later, she met Jenny, a girl who is kind of a prisoner, since she too is not “in tune”. When Ellen asked Jenny what “out of tune” means, she said that the “Hieronymus Machine” isn’t working on her. This machine can control other people who are “in tune” or hypnotize them into obeying only its commands. The Hieronymus machine obtains its full powers when it is near malignite, a black stuff that is responsible for making the Hieronymus machine be able to control other people. Brother Michael toured her around the castle and tricked her into getting in THE SCREEN….Here, the Hieronymus machine works stronger and it would surely put anyone “in tune”…Being placed in a screen is having a treatment to get you “in tune”. Jenny has been recieving these treatments too. But, even at force 20, the strongest force, Ellen was not placed “in tune”. As she found her chance, she explored down in the very basement as saw that is was completely dark in there and water covered the entire floor; water as she theorized that came from the brook in the crevasse. When Otto who was “in tune” mysteriously got them (Ellen and Jenny) out of their cells, the went down where Ellen said there was water. By following it, they may head for the crevasse. Ellen was right. It did came from the brook in the crevasse. But, Otto acted strange. He began shouting that he found the crown as soon as Ellen showed them the spot where there was an “X” mark. Ellen pulled hard the belt Otto had and it snapped loose. It was when Ellen realized that the belt Otto had been wearing since she saw him opening their cells was made of malignite. But it was too late. Jenny told Ellen it was a trick and she got the crown and scampered off. Captain Julio captured both Ellen and Otto and brought them to Hieronymus, otherwise known as “the King”.

But, the crown was not with them. Otto, who was back to his senses, smart as ever saw that the golden door which has the Hieronymus machine inside is quite open. He saw Jenny was hiding there for it would be the last place they would look for her and the crown. Jenny gave it to Otto and Otto threw it to Ellen…she caught it! Then, everyone in the room began taking orders from her. The King was paralyzed and some prisoners including her family members were released out. Ellen, who was wearing the crown ordered the Black Crown to be thrown into THE BIG SCREEN where it exploded and purple smoke came out. She then discovered something written on the Hieronymus machine both in English and in Latin…The English one goes like this:

Who weareth the Black Crown, I rule
Who weareth the Silver Crown, ruleth me.

The King was only controlled by the Hieronymus machine when he found the crown, thus making him evil. Ellen also ordered the destruction of the machine.
At the end, mysteries were solved. About her burnt house and how her family got in the castle:

After Ellen went out during the early morning of her birthday, someone phone called the family members and told them that Ellen was kidnapped and would be killed if they did not go to the address provided. So, they went out to search for her in the said place.

The crown was really her Aunt Sarah’s present which so bought in a store in Spain, unaware of the magical powers it posses.

———————————————————-END———
If I would rate this book:

I would give it a

9.9

This book is a must-read!!!!
Full of adventures, explorations!!!!

Super fantastic!!!
Well-developed plot!!!
Thrilling and full of suspense!!!
I can’t get enough…must get more!!!!!!!
Can’t put the book down!!

Summary and Review: Oliver Twist

Title: Oliver Twist
Author: Charles Dickens

Summary and Review by: Hyacinth S. Faune [SJSaranghae]

Reviewed in Yahoo on: October 7, 2007

This is the second book I borrowed in the Caridad Trillo Elumba Library of English……

An infant is born of a dying mother in a parish workhouse. Old Sally, attending the birth and death, takes from the dying woman a locket and ring. Bumble, the parochial beadle, names the boy Oliver Twist. Oliver is sent to an infant farm, run by Mrs Mann, until he is 9 years old, at which time he is returned to the workhouse.

The orphans at the workhouse are starving due to callous mistreatment and cast lots to decide who among them will ask for more gruel on behalf of the group and Oliver is chosen. At supper that evening, after the normal allotment, Oliver advances to the master and asks for more.

Oliver is branded a troublemaker and is offered as an apprentice to anyone willing to take him. After narrowly escaping being bound to a chimney sweep, a very dangerous business where small boys are routinely smothered being lowered into chimneys, Oliver is apprenticed to the undertaker, Sowerberry. Mr. Sowerberry is kind to Oliver, however, his wife, Mrs. Sowerberry is mean, cruel and unjust to him.

Oliver fights with Noah Claypole, another of the undertaker’s boys, after Noah mocks Oliver’s dead mother as a “regular right-down bad ‘un”. After being unjustly beaten for this offense, Oliver escapes the undertaker’s and runs away to London.

On the outskirts on the city Oliver, tired and hungry, meets Jack Dawkins who offers a place to stay in London. Thus Oliver is thrown together with the band of thieves run by the sinister Fagin. Oliver innocently goes “to work” with Dawkins, also known as the Artful Dodger, and Charlie Bates, another of Fagin’s boys, and witnesses the real business when Dawkins picks the pocket of a gentleman. When the gentleman, Mr. Brownlow, discovers the robbery in progress Oliver is mistaken for the culprit and, after a chase, is captured and taken to the police. Oliver, injured in the chase, is cleared by a witness to the crime and is taken by the kindly Brownlow to his home to recuperate.

Oliver is kindly treated at the Brownlow home and the housekeeper Mrs. Bedwin, and after a period of recuperation, is sent on an errand by Mr Brownlow to pay a local merchant 5 pounds and to return some books. On carrying out this charge Oliver is captured by Nancy and Bill Sikes and returned to Fagin’s den of thieves.

Mr Brownlow, thinking that Oliver has run away with his money concludes that Oliver was a thief all along. This assumption is further strengthened when Bumble the beadle, answering an advertisment in the paper, placed by Brownlow, for information concerning Oliver, gives a disparaging opinion of Oliver.

Oliver is forced by Fagin to accompany Sikes in an attempted robbery, needing a small boy to enter a window and open the door for the housebreakers. The robbery is foiled when the house is alarmed and, in the ensuing confusion, Oliver is shot.

Oliver is nursed back to health at the home of the Maylies, the house Sikes was attempting to burglarize. Oliver imparts his story to the Maylies and Doctor Losberne.

The mysterious Monks, revealed to be Oliver’s half brother, teams up with Fagin in an attempt to recapture Oliver and lead him into a life of crime thereby negating the unknowing Oliver’s claim to his rightful inheritance which would then go to Monks.

Sike’s woman, Nancy, having compassion for Oliver, overhears Fagin and Monk’s plan and tells Rose Maylie in the hope of thwarting the plan. Rose recruits Mr. Brownlow, Dr. Losberne, and others.

Bumble the beadle has married the matron of the workhouse, Mrs. Corney. The former Mrs. Corney, attending the death of Old Sally, has taken the locket and ring that Sally had taken from Oliver’s mother on her deathbed. Monks buys this locket and ring from the Bumbles hoping that in destroying it that Oliver’s true identity will remain hidden.

Mr. Brownlow and Rose Maylie meet Nancy on London Bridge and she tells them where to find Monks. Fagin has had Nancy followed by Noah Claypole and, enraged, tells Sikes that Nancy has betrayed them. Sikes brutally murders Nancy and flees to the country.

Monks is taken by Mr. Brownlow. Fagin is captured and sentenced to be hung. Sikes, with a mob on his tail, accidentally hangs himself trying to escape. The Bumbles are relieved of their position at the workhouse, become paupers, and are now inmates at the same workhouse they once managed.

Oliver is revealed to be the illegitimate son of Edwin Leeford and Agnes Fleming. Leeford has fathered the evil Edward (Monks) through a failed former marriage. After seducing Agnes, Edwin dies, leaving a will which states that the unborn child will inherit his estate if “in his minority he should never have stained his name with any public act of dishonor, meanness, cowardice, or wrong” in the event of which all would go to Edward (Monks), hence Monk’s attempt to corrupt Oliver via Fagin.

Monks is given half of Oliver’s inheritance by Mr. Brownlow, who had been a friend of Edwin Leeford, in the hope that he will start a new life. Monks flees to America (The New World) where he quickly squanders his portion and dies in prison. Rose Maylie is revealed to be the sister of Agnes Fleming who is adopted by the Maylies after her parents die, therefore Rose is Oliver’s aunt.

Oliver collects his inheritance and is adopted by Mr. Brownlow. Rose marries longtime beau, Harry Maylie.

——————————————————————-END

If I would rate this book in a scale of 1 to 10, I would rate it:

9.7

This book is full of mysteries…………
This book is a must-read……

Full of adventures and surprises….
As you embark along the journey, the thrilling the scenario gets…..
Full of heart-warming events

Truly a beloved classic

My Own Summary and Review: Jip His Story

Title: Jip His Story
Author: Katherine Paterson

Summary and Review by: Hyacinth S. Faune [SJSaranghae]

Reviewed in Yahoo on: October 1, 2007

Winner of the Scott O’ Dell Award
An ALA Notable Book
A PUBLISHER’S WEEKLY Book of the Year(1997)
My Own Personal Review:

I borrowed this book from the ANHS library….specifically the Caridad Trillo Elumba Library of English.

The story is all about a boy named Jip who has been told that when he was small, he fell off a gypsy wagon and no one ever came back for him. He lives in a poor farm owned by Mr. and Mrs. Lyman. His best friend is Sheldon Morse. Sheldon is about 30, but his mind is of a 10 year old. The town’s overseer/Overseer of the Poor, Mr. Flint had Jip and Sheldon to build a cage for the arriving “lunatic”.

The Wilkenses: Mrs. Wilkens, Lucy and Toddy came to live at the farm. Sheldon offered to work at a quarry which resulted to his death after a dynamite blasted off the heart of the stone. Sheldon’s death brought great greif to Jip.

Jip offered to care for this “lunatic” in a cage in the cage room since no one in town dared to do it. Sometimes this lunatic called Put…short term for Putnam Nelson would lose his bad spells and be a wise, proper old man. Jip and Put shared a warm friendship. Jip tried his best to be with Put all the time possible since he doesn’t want his friend to be sent to Brattleboro or in the asylum. He sacrificed for Put even during the states he has some spells in which he speaks nonsense, shouts out curses and curses the name of the Lord….But Jip knew that Put wasn’t his self and that he could not control being in the state of “lunacy” sometimes. But despite these, Jip and Put became the Best of Friends.

Toddy and Put developed a nice kind of friendship too in which Toddy asks Put to sing his song “All is Well”. Lucy, who at first was ignorant to Jip became friends with him. They both went to school, where they met their Teacher (whom they also call Teacher). Teacher was kind and patient to Jip and they read Oliver Twist which has some kind of connection to Jip (remember Oliver doesn’t know about his past…). Teacher had a friend called Mr. Stevens (he later knew as Luke Stevens).

Sometime at night a strange person would appear on the farm while Jip was alone. This dark figure would usually freak him out (later discovered as the slaver). Unaware was Jip about the mysterious man and his evil schemes.

At the end of the school, the Wilkenses left the farm. Jip by a chance came over the Quakers’ farm (where Luke Stevens lives). Jip saw Luke who told him about his real identity. He was put on purpose on the road by his mother so that he would not be a slave too… He is also not a gypsy but an African (the white kind…)He learned about his mother and the people trying to catch him. So, Luke offered Jip help. He told Jip not to bring Put along but Jip insisted…(what a fool he is…)

Jip and Put traveled all the way and they could not get into the first station (the Quakers’ farm) for Jip’s captors had been there first. The Brackett Brothers helped in the capture.

After a long time hiding and seeking for help (he seeked the Wilkenses’ help first but found out that Mrs. Wilkens betrayed him and Lucy told him that she is a remaining loyal friend. She told Jip to go to Teacher for help in fear that her mom would wake up. Jip gave the only penney he EVER earned to Lucy and Toddy as a remembrance), he was finally caught. Put, who tried to rescue Jip was shot by a slaver with a pistol. In turn, Put, with his last strength killed the slaver.

Jip was put to prison, but with the help of Teacher and Luke Stevens, he escaped and went northwards following the Big Dipper as Put have said while still living and went to live with Teacher and Luke’s friend in Montereal: Reverend Ezekial Freeman
———————————————————— END

Rating of the Book: (1- 10)

I would rate the book a

9.5

This book truly is a job well done….
This book is touching………
This book will melt your hearts………

truly full of revelations and surprises!