Hunger Games: Catching Fire

“Every revolution begins with a spark”

Summary:

Katniss has returned from the Hunger Games, and is finally settling back into her new life as a Hunger Games victor.  She and Peeta are about go start their Victory Tour, and President Snow is breathing down her back.  He is upset because of the way that they defied the Capitol with the berries.  She and Peeta must convince the entire country of Panem that what she did was not an act of defiance, but that she was too in love with Peeta and wasn't thinking straight.  In an effort to get rid of her the President decides the next Hunger Games, the 3rd Quarter Quell, the tributes will be chosen from the existing pool of victors.  Katniss and Peeta are going back into the arena. 

"What in the World is Going On?!"

That is what you're going to be asking yourself three-fourths of the way through the 2006 Operation First Novel Contest winner, Vanish, by Tom Pawlik. It is a suspenseful, inspirational, and interesting book that will have you guessing until everything is revealed.

Summary: Three people find themselves alone on earth after a mysterious storm reaches them. The first, a lawyer named Connor Hayden, is successful at work, but falling apart in terms of his family. Then there's Helen Krause, A middle-aged model who must come to grips with the end of her career. And there's Mitch Kent, A mechanic who is trying to put his life together after his father ruined it. Though they are all stranded when they waken after the storm, they eventually meet up and decide to work together in order to figure out what in the world is going on. You can figure the rest out by yourself.

Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

by James Owen

Rating: TV-PG

Studio: Marvel Studios

Starring: Clark Gregg and Agent Phil Coulsen, Ming Na-Weng as Agent Melinda May, Brett Dalton as Agent Grant Ward, Chloe Bennett as Skye, Iain De Caesdecker as Agent Leo Fitz, and Elizabeth Henstridge as Agent Jemma Simmons

Guest Stars: Cobie Smulders as Agent Maria Hill, Maximiliano Hernandez as Agent Jasper Sitwell, Saffron Burrows as Agent Victoria Hand, Bill Paxton as Agent John Garrett, Jamie Alexander as Lady Sif, with Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury

Episode List:
"Pilot"
"0-8-4"
"The Asset"
"Eye Spy"
"The Girl in the Flower Dress"
"FZZT"
"The Hub"
"The Well"
"Repairs"
"The Bridge"
"The Magical Place"
"Seeds"
"T.R.A.C.K.S."
"T.A.H.I.T.I."
"Yes Men"

Network: ABC

Mr. Peabody and Sherman

    What is Mr. Peabody and Sherman? I will be honest with you all. Before this movie came out I had never even heard of Mr. Peabody. Which now, I think it is quite sad that I hadn't. The show, Mr. Peabody and Sherman, came out in the late 1950's and early 1960's television in the show Peabody's Improbable History, segments created by Ted Key, and was voiced by Bill Scott, while Sherman was voiced by Walter Tetley. It is about a beagle who is one of the most intelligent creatures on the planet. He had adopted a boy named Sherman because he realized he needed a family. The twist that made the episodes popular were that Mr. Peabody had created a time machine. In each episode, they would go on adventures to different times. These creative short episodes were funny, entertaining, and very educational. When I saw the commercial for the new adaptation of the original series that came out in March, I did get a little excited. It seemed child-like and cute. I was going to watch it even if it was childish. (I am just that kind of girl) But I was very wrong about this movie.

Calvin and Hobbes

Calvin and Hobbes Cartoons

By, Bill Watterson

Review written by Donna Whistler

Everyone has their favorite childhood memories. 

The Help: Change Begins With a Whisper

By Evangeline St.Claire

TeenView Commercial

by James Owen

I'm really excited, guys! TeenView has finally put together its first video spot. With the acting skills drawn from our staff members, we have put something together that I think you will enjoy.

What do you think? Leave us a comment below!

SEAL Team Six Blew Me Away

by James Owen

Well, I guess Howard Wasdin didn't expect to survive as the lone operative on the bow of a ship carrying men working for Saddam Hussein. Nor did he probably expect to survive as he laid naked on a runway with two bullets in both of his legs, one leg nearly blown off. But that is all in a day's work for a United States Navy SEAL (SEa Air and Land) sniper.

When the United States Navy sends their elite, they send the SEALs. When the SEALs send their elite, they send SEAL Team Six: a top secret tier of the SEAL Teams that specializes in counter-terrorism. This is the story of Howard Wasdin: a SEAL Team Six sniper who lived through the Navy's grueling selection process for the SEALs, managed to get through training to get into SEAL Team Six, and lived through one of the bloodiest battles in U.S. military history. Join him as he takes you on a first person journey through the through the death stricken streets of Mogadishu, Somalia, the barren deserts of Iraq, and in the bay of a helicopter as its blades are sheared off. He recounts the exciting, the terrifying, and the embarrassing parts of his life. But for a SEAL, the only easy day was yesterday.

Sherlock: BBC's Masterpiece

     Sherlock is a modern take on that age old sleuth, Sherlock Holmes. Sherlock is a BBC show primarily written by Steven Moffat, (who also writes much of the popular BBC show, Doctor Who, of which I am quite fond) and Mark Gatiss. Gatiss co-stars in Sherlock as Mycroft Holmes, and he also has written some episodes of Doctor Who. 

     The show stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes, Martin Freeman as John Watson, along with Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes, Una Stubbs as Mrs. Hudson, Rupert Graves as DI Lestrade, Louise Brealey as Molly Hooper, and Andrew Scott as James Moriarty.

And Then There Were None

Agatha Christy is one of the world's best selling authors, having sold over two billion books, with And Then There Were None being her bestselling work, selling over 100 million copies. And for good reason. And Then There Were None is a gripping thriller of the highest caliber with many truly haunting moments, enough twists and turns to keep you guessing, and an ending that may well leave many in complete confusion. The twist for this book (and the one that, in my opinion, makes this book so great) is the fact that one of the ten characters, to which you'll grow quite attached, is a murderer.

Green Light for Red Dawn

It was a normal fall weekend in Spokane, Washington.  Then came the Saturday morning unlike any other.  First came the explosions, then the paratroopers.  Only at the last minute did most of the people of Spokane realize what was happening;  the United States was being invaded by North Korea.  The disturbance woke Jed Eckert, a Marine home from Iraq, and his younger brother Matt.  In an effort to follow their Dad’s orders to “go to the cabin,” they hop in Jed’s car, picking up stragglers along the way whilst dodging soldiers.  After a couple of days, their cabin is discovered and they must flee into the wilderness.  For Jed there is only one response: fight back.  Jed trains the ragtag group of young people into a team capable of war-trained resistance.  Meanwhile, Matt waits for the moment he can rescue his girlfriend, Erica.  But his desperation to do so may result in the complete ruin of this unusual group of teen heroes who have come to call themselves the Wolverines.

Enders Game: Game Over

"In the moment when I truly understand my enemy, understand him well enough to defeat him, then in that very moment I also love him." - Orson Scott Card

Enders Game is a fantastic film in which you will realize the deep connection that an opponent has with his enemy and what it takes to defeat them. Ender Wiggin (Asa Butterfield) is an incredibly brilliant, yet very young recruit in the Military's program for gifted children. The movie starts out with Ender as a young recruit who hasn't made it out of basic training and observation. You instantly understand his eagerness and need to do well and please not only his commanding officers, but his family. Ender is the youngest in his family and since his two older siblings have already been expelled from the program, both for completely different reasons, he feels pressure to do well and learn from their  mistakes. His big brother Peter Wiggin (Jimmy Pinchack) opted out due to his preference for violence and his older sister, Valentine, (Abigail Breslin) failed Battle School, the next step in training, due to her compassion. 

The Veritas Project: Only Two?

The Veritas Project is a book "series" by Frank Peretti. I put series in parentheses because it only consists of two books, the first of which is called Hangman's Curse.

Not your normal Jane Austen book!

Prom and Prejudice

By Elizabeth Eulberg

     Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg is a twist of the classic tale Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. At first I thought this book would be one of the many lame spin-offs of Pride and Prejudice that have been written over the years. Instead this has become one of my favorite books! It is different from the original by adding a modern flare to everything but yet it stays true enough to the first story that you still get enraptured in the plot that you have grown to love so much! Do not let the hearts and dress fool you. This story has some not so nice characters and some twists that you will not believe.

Summary: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single girl at Longbourn Academy must be in want of a prom date."  This is universal knowledge for the girls at Longbourn Academy. Longbourn is the most prestigious school in the country. It is filled with girls from families who are millionaires and billionaires, and the only thing they care about is prom. From the moment winter break ends, it is an obsession of every young lady to get the best guy as a prom date. The guys come from the school across the street, Pemberley Academy. The girls also have to have the best dress made by the world's best fashion guru. Everybody loves prom at Longbourn! The press and fashion magazines highlight this event every year.  Everyone is looking forward to it, except Lizzie Bennet.

Elizabeth Bennet is a scholarship student at Longbourn. The girls at Longbourn hate scholarship students. Especially since the year when a scholarship student ended up grabbing the most popular guy for prom and showed up in a dress from Macy's! The horror!!!! Lizzie just wants to graduate and move on with her life to become a  famous pianist. Prom is the least of her worries, but her roommate Jane is set on getting her a date. She forces Lizzie to go to the "meet and greet" with the Pemberly men and this is where they meet Will Darcy and Charles Bingley. Will and Elizabeth do not like each other which is true to the original story. They seem to have this strange relationship where Will comes and gets coffee everyday at Lizzie's workplace. Of course, in all Pride and Prejudice stories you need Mr. Wickham. Otherwise known as Wick. The plot being similar to Pride and Prejudice also adds some more unexpected events that I cannot reveal, so you will have to read this book to find out.

Conclusion: Overall, this book does not disappoint. You have some action towards the end, with romance sprinkled throughout. What more could a girl want? ;)

Good: Some items that I enjoyed most in this book are that the romance scenes are not inappropriate in any way. The author does not abuse these relationships by trying to make them "modern" and adding unnecessary details. The swearing in this book in minimum to none at all. It only happens towards the end when Wick cusses at Darcy. 

Bad: The only part that I would warn readers about happens towards the end. I cannot tell you exactly what happens but it involves champagne and Lydia, a sister to Jane. The drinking is not extreme but they are drinking and are underage.  

The age group that I recommend this book for is 13 and up. 

I give this book a 4 1/2 out of 5 stars. 

This funny upbeat version of the original story is a great read and I encourage anyone who likes Pride and Prejudice to read Prom and Prejudice! 

So I leave you with these thoughts: Will Lizzie and Darcy be a prom date in the making? Or will Lizzie's pride and Darcy's prejudice keep them from not going to prom? 

Who are you going to prom with?

Signing off!

       Piper Diamond :)