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 :)

 

 

Do you have questions? This book has answers!

Review for “The New Answers Book 1”

By Donna Whistler

Looking for answers for some of the toughest creation apologetic issues out there? Then this is your book! With over 25 questions on creation/evolution and the Bible, this book is packed full of information. It has insightful answers to questions such as:

·         Why don’t we find human and dinosaur fossils together?

·         Did Jesus say he created in six literal days?

·         Hasn't evolution been proven true?

And many others!

This book is written by a collection of authors including Ken Ham, Dr. Georgia Purdom, Dr. Jason Lisle, Dr. David Menton, Dr. Tommy Mitchel and more.

Read the book and have more questions? Check out Answers Books, 2, 3, and 4. If you don’t like to read, watch their DVD companions. You won’t be sorry you read this book, the information is priceless.

Interested in getting a copy? Head to answersingenesis.org and get yours!

The Not-So Secret Life of Walter Mitty

by James Owen

MPAA Rating: PG for some crude comments, language, and action violence.

Director: Ben Stiller

Studio: 20th Century Fox

Starring: Ben Stiller as Walter Mitty, Kristen Wiig as Cheryl Melhoff, Sean Penn as Sean O'Connell, Shirley MacLaine as Edna Mitty, Kathryn Hahn as Odessa Mitty


Are you a daydreamer? Do you wonder what it would be like to be a hero? Welcome to the club.

Meet Walter Mitty (Ben Stiller): a member of Life magazine's negative development team and a daydreamer who has never done anything noteworthy. When the magazine is bought out, Walter receives a mysterious roll of film from an elusive photographer (Sean Penn) containing the final cover image for Life Magazine. However, the image is missing from the roll. So to make the deadline, Walter must travel the world in search of the photographer and find the missing frame.

Divergent: My new obsession

by Eve St. Claire

---PLOT---                    

                   In Beatrice Priors dystopian Chicago society is divided into five factions each dedicated 

to a different trait. Amity (the peaceful) Abnegation (the selfless) Candor (the honest) Eurodite (the 

intelligent) and Dauntless (the brave). On a predetermined date of each year, all sixteen year olds 

must choose the faction to which they will dedicate the rest of their lives. For Beatrice it is a choice 

between staying with her family (in Abnegation) or choosing to be brave. 

                  Throughout the incredibly brutal and competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames 

herself Tris and a whole new person seems to come along with her name. Tris strives to figure out 

where her friends really stand and where, if anywhere, the rather dashing, sometimes aggravating 

boy fits into the life she has chosen. But Tris has a life threatening secret that will make or break her 

existence in this post apocalyptic world, and threaten to unravel her "perfect" society.

Bill Nye "The Science Guy" vs. Ken Ham in a Creation/Evolution Debate

A review on the recent Nye vs. Ham debate held at the Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky.

Written by Donna Whistler

The question: Is creation a viable model of origins in today’s modern scientific era?

For background information on Mr. Nye, click here for a link to the biography on his website. (Billnye.com)

For background information on Mr. Ham, click here for a link to his biography on his ministry’s website. (Answersingensis.org)

The purpose of this review is to give my own thoughts on the statements made and of each individual. There will be no synopsis or overview of the debate, so if you have not seen it, I encourage you to go to debatelive.org and watch it before reading the rest of this post. Please comment in the section below whether you love it or hate it, I would love to hear your thoughts!

The recent creation versus evolution debate held on February 4^th, 2014 has taken the media by storm. As the number one trending topic on facebook and twitter, as well as the number one watched video on youtube, this debate clearly caught the public’s eye. And not just America, it has been viewed in many different countries around the world.

Mr. Bill Nye “The Science Guy”

There were a few things Mr. Nye did that I absolutely loved and think were great tactics. He used anecdotal stories and humor, he stuck to his time limits very well, (he went over by a couple seconds a few times, but quickly wrapped it up when warned by the moderator) and he showed his passion and love for science. His love and enthusiasm for observational science is definitely something to be admired.

On the downside, his part of the debate didn’t hold up too well. He had trouble sticking to the topic, went off on a lot of bunny trails, and failed to acknowledge the questions presented to him by Mr. Ham. He came off very negatively to the scientists at the creation museum, Dr. Damadian, Dr. Stuart Burgess, and the residents of the state of Kentucky.

Think my negative opinions of Mr. Nye’s side of the debate are isolated to the creationist side of the argument? Think again. In this article of the Daily Beast, the author, Michael Schulson, had this to say about Nye’s presentation: “He spent 10 minutes delivering a dry lecture on geological sediments and biogeography, using the kind of PowerPoint slides that a high school junior might make for his AP Biology class.” Although this article was very negative towards Mr. Ham as well and he agrees with Mr. Nye’s viewpoint, he didn’t agree with the debate at all. He also said: “It was like watching the Broncos play the Seahawks. Nye never had a chance. Ham won this debate months ago, when Nye agreed to participate.”

Ouch. Schulson, who gives some low blows to Mr. Ham, dealt a few even worse ones to Mr. Nye. He said: “Last night, it was easy to pick out the smarter man on the stage. Oddly, it was the same man who was arguing that the earth is 6,000 years old.” He also said Mr. Nye had “less political acumen than your average wombat.”  I realize this is all from one article, but there are many more like it out there. This is an extremely leftist, liberal, and atheistic newspaper, (with the full support of the ideals Mr. Nye stands for) and he completely insulted and degraded Mr. Nye. To top off his article with a flourish, Schulson entitled it “The Bill Nye-Ken Ham Debate Was a Nightmare for Science”.  Here is the link to the article; I encourage you to read it. It is very interesting.

Mr. Nye also received a rebuke I found very interesting. A man wrote him a letter and corrected some of his statements about science and his generalization against Kentucky. Attached is the link to Mr. Ham’s blog where he posted the letter.

There are many other things I could touch on, and mostly what I did was pull resources and state a little opinion. That was the purpose of this post though and I hope you find it thought provoking whether or not you agreed with my conclusions and/or tactics. I also wish to say I do not hate or wish to rag on Mr. Nye in any way, but I disagree with him deeply.

Mr. Tom Foreman

This is just a quick side note on the moderator of the debate, Mr. Tom Foreman from CNN. He was fabulous, both sides of the fence can agree on that. He kept both sides even and fair, handled it professionally, and was an excellent time keeper. Mr. Foreman wrote his own review on the debate entitled "What I learned moderating the creation/evolution debate". It is an excellent, well written and thought-provoking article sure to please. I encourage you to click the link and read it.

Mr. Ken Ham

Mr. Ham all around did an excellent job. Now I know everyone wants review to be “neutral” in order to please more readers, but neither this post nor any are neutral. In order to be fair to this post and my beliefs I can’t be neutral on this.

I can’t find fault in Mr. Ham’s approach. He spoke well, clearly, used professional slides and a professional manner when going about his business. As always, he was humorous and delightful to listen to. (Maybe having something to do with that great Australian accent!) He only hesitated once in the debate when asked what would make him give up his beliefs. In his post-debate interview with Dr. Georgia Purdom, he explains why. Mr. Ham says he hesitated, not because he did not know how to answer the question, but because he wanted to word it the best way he could for the non-Christians in the audience and watching the live stream. He then pulled out a thorough and polished answer, whether you agree with him or not.

Now many Christians I am sure find fault with Mr. Ham’s side. Either he did not say what they wanted him to say, or they are old-earth creationists and side with Mr. Nye on that matter. Many on both sides of this divide have criticized Mr. Ham for his lack of scientific evidences in the debate. As Mr. Ham believes though, it does not matter how much evidence you point out, we all have the same evidence, just different starting points. He clearly demonstrated his starting point and the world got the message.

(He did include some scientific evidences. Also on his website they answer the questions that came up in the debate but he didn’t have time to answer. Check out this link and click on the drop down bar next to the debate. Scroll through your categories and pick a topic, and you will find a Biblical and scientific answer to the question.)

I can’t agree with them. Mr. Ham stuck to the topic, tried his best to answer Mr. Nye in the few precious minutes he had, and explained himself well. He stuck to the authority of the Bible, and preached the gospel several times to everyone listening.

That’s what really matters and what Mr. Ham is all about. He isn’t trying to look good, make himself sound smart or sophisticated, or just get a chance to argue on TV. His goal was to spread the gospel and defend the Scriptures, and he did just that.

And remember, "there is a Book...."

Now You See Me...

...The closer you think you are, the less you’ll actually see

Generally, in a book or movie, there should be a plot that looks something like 

this: A rise, a fall, and a rock bottom slap in the face for the hero/heroine. Or 

something along those lines - normally. But what’s unique about this movie is that the 

plot doesn’t resemble that idea at all, and that is why this movie is so great.

The story  begins when four of the worlds best emerging magicians are brought 

together to rally the public behind the idea that magic is real and all around us. J. 

Daniel Atlas(Jesse Eisenberg), Henley Reeves(Isla Fisher), Merrit McKinney(Woody 

Harrelson), Mark Wilder(Dave Franco) are all brought together anonymously to start a 

group of magicians that will change the world. One year after their mystery meeting, the 

group known as the Four Horsemen, put on their biggest show yet. They attempt to do 

something that you can only see in the movies, they use their magic to rob a bank. Or,

to be more precise, they use a volunteer. A specially chosen volunteer who happens to 

own the bank in question. An important piece of this puzzle is that the bank is 

in Paris, France, and the Four Horsemen are in New York City. How does this work you 

might ask? Well, it’s all part of the illusion, they make you believe that it’s just part of the 

act and nothing was really stolen while in reality they’re robbing you blind. From this 

point on, the story follows the journey of FBI agent Dylan Rhodes and Interpol Agent 

Alma Dray as they go on the hunt for these supposedly dangerous illusionists. 

Throughout the film you will see the enormous influence of the infamous Thaddeus 

Bradley, the man who has become famous for watching magicians perform their tricks 

and then telling the public exactly how they did it on national television. Mr. Bradley’s 

knowledge and talent for destroying magicians reputations makes him a serious threat 

to the Four Horsemen. The film will keep you guessing until the very end when the 

director of this film(Louis Leterrier) will blow your mind.  He is very hated among the 

magic community but he is smarter than many give him credit for. Though you won’t 

know it until the end, the movie is greatly centered towards ulterior motives, 

underhanded dealings and old acquaintances of friends and enemies. This film will keep 

you guessing up until the last second, but the end will surely surprise you. I would 

sincerely give this movie a $$$$ out of $$$$$

***Content Alert*** 

Throughout the movie there is slight innuendo along with a few harmless kisses, 

that spark the romance between Agent Rhodes and Agent Dray. At one point along 

the way there can be seen some partial nudity among the crowd of Mardis Gras party 

goers, though nothing is shown. Mild cursing is interspersed throughout the film, such 

as sh**, d***, god*****, a**, d**k, as*h*** in spite of which the movie maintains a light 

hearted feeling which everyone will enjoy.

~Shaniqua VI~

The Swiss Family Robinson: From Beginning to End

                                                                               

Author: Johann David Wyss

Genre: Classic Fiction

        Disclaimer: An original copy of The Swiss Family Robinson is, in fact, quite rare. There is a large number of different abridged versions, in which the events of the original book vary a fair amount. That being said if you read this book, there may be some differences between your copy and the events mentioned in this review.

        Synopsis: Mr. Robinson (William), his wife Elizabeth, along with their four sons Fritz, Ernest, Jack, and Franz are caught in a terrible storm while at sea. However, due to their clever resourcefulness, they make it to the shores of the nearby, but unsettled, island. They are left with nothing but the supplies and animals that were on board the ship, which was abandoned by the rest of the crew and passengers. Everything else they need they will have to forge for themselves in the wild of this untamed and mysterious island. But the question is, for how long?

        Themes: This book deals with things like the love of a family, and how one should respond to challenging situations (like being stranded on an island). Johann Wyss has a very positive take on the family. Throughout the book, though there is naturally some bickering and troubles, Mr. Robinson keeps the family unified, loving and encouraging one another throughout their situation. Over the course of the book, their relationship grows very strong. Wyss also shows his faith in God, for Mr. Robinson constantly makes the point that they are not forsaken, that God is with them, and they must trust in Him. For example, William Robinson says this in response to his children's despair at learning they were abandoned by everyone else on board their wrecked ship: “My good children, we must not despair, although we seem deserted. See how those on who's skill and good faith we depended have left us cruelly to our fate in the hour of danger. God will never do so. He has not forsaken us, and we will trust him still. Only let us bestir ourselves, and each cheerily do his best.”

        Content: This book really has no questionable content. The word a** is used sometimes, but not in the vulgar sense of the word but the original use, meaning donkey.

        Conclusion: All in all, even though I greatly appreciated the lack of profanity and questionable content, as well as Wyss's good nature towards God and the family, I did not enjoy this book. In fact, I hated it. Admittedly I enjoyed the book at the beginning, and some way into it, and I also enjoy Johann's writing skill. However, as I read on, from beginning to end, the book had less and less appeal. Let me explain.

        In Swiss Family Robinson, besides the initial event of the Robinson's stranding, and the eventual death of a pet donkey, there is virtually no conflict. While they are stranded they use their unrealistic knowledge of plant life and animals to make not only a suitable home and way of life, but a paradise for themselves. In addition to this, the island on which they are stranded has an impossible diversity of animal life, ranging from lions, to walruses, to ostriches and everything in between. To give an exhaustive list would simply be tedious and quite boring. If that isn't enough, the Robinson family somehow manages to unrealistically tame many animals, including a buffalo, a jackal, and a raven.

So all of that being said, I am sure you can see why it is I disliked this book so much due to its unrealistic and unexciting nature. I could not recommend this book to anyone, especially those who enjoy a good thriller with many conflicts and plot twists. The only exception would be younger children who enjoy books in which, for the most part, only good and amazing things happen, and dislike it when tragic or suspenseful events occur. For that, is what this book is.

~John Watson~

Frozen: Will Melt Your Heart

~Frozen really heats up this winter season with its heart-warming charm and lovable characters.~

Synopsis

           Sister-princesses Anna and Elsa are the best of friends. But, when Anna is injured by Elsa's magical power to create ice and snow, she has to have her memory of Elsa's powers erased.  In order to protect her beloved sister from her dark secret, Elsa keeps their relationship very cool and distant.  On her coronation day, Anna and Elsa have a fight about Hans, a man Anna just met. Elsa's emotions get the better of her, and her icy powers trap the kingdom of Arendelle in an eternal winter.  Anna, always fearlessly optimistic, sets off on a great journey--teaming up with unrefined mountain man Kristoff and his faithful pet reindeer Sven--to find her sister.  Their journey entails frigid temperatures, a snow monster, magical trolls, a hilarious snowman named Olaf, and, of course, true love.  Together, Anna and Kristoff fight the elements of nature in a race to rescue the kingdom from Elsa, who fears she is now becoming the monster her people believe she is. 

Directors

            Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee.

Stars

            Kristen Bell (Anna), Idina Menzel (Elsa), Jonathan Groff (Kristoff), Josh Gad (Olaf), and Santino Fontana (Hans).

           Frozen, which has been on top of the charts for weeks, has really won us all over.  The love story does not focus on the typical boy-girl relationship, but primarily on the unconditional love of family.  (***SPOILER***) Anna loved her sister so much she sacrificed herself to save Elsa.  It is not your typical princess-meets-prince movie, but rather it is a refreshing story promoting acceptance and the true meaning of love.   Another highlight of the film is its memorable songs.  My personal favorite is Elsa’s solo “Let it Go.”  Elsa sings about how she won’t let anything or anyone stop her again from being her true self. The song is inspiring, and, in my opinion, one of the best Disney songs ever.  Personally speaking, there are really no negative points about this movie, except for the fact that it is geared toward the female population.  All in all this is a fabulous movie.  Disney, you have really outdone yourselves.  This movie provides safe family fun for everyone.  I highly recommend Frozen.  I would give it J J J J J out of J J J J J.

Hi!  I’m Olaf and I like warm hugs!

*Ariel Iven*

P.S.  If you have any thoughts, concerns, or suggestions, please comment.  We would love to get your feed back.  Thanks, all!

Our New Writers

by James Owen

It's my great pleasure to announce the addition of two new writers to the TeenView staff.

First off, I hear you have already met Donna Whistler. Earlier this week, she reviewed The Good Earth. 

I'd also like you to meet John Watson. As you may be able to tell, he is
one of our TV show experts.

We look forward to outstanding work from these talented writers.

The Good Earth

A book review on The Good Earth written by Pearl S. Buck

Review written by: Donna Whistler

Synopsis: The Good Earth follows the life of Wang Lung in historical China. The story follows Wang Lung’s rise from poverty and his moral destruction.

Themes:  The Good Earth has two main themes. The first theme has to do with status and poverty. Wang Lung was a farmer, and a farmer during this time period was the lowest of the low.  Wang lung works hard and through his perseverance his family becomes extremely wealthy. The second theme has to do with money and its correlation to morality. As Wang Lung gets richer and richer, his morality declines.

Note: This book is best enjoyed with its historical context in mind. If you end up choosing to read this novel, get a copy of the book with the historical context outlined in the back. Or just simply research the time period first.

Overview of the novel: In the beginning of the book, Wang Lung is preparing for his wedding day. He goes to the house of Hwang, (the richest family near him) and goes to retrieve the servant they have promised him for his wife.  The house of Hwang, although very wealthy, was very wicked. There the old lady of the house of Hwang smoked opium all day and the servants were worked to death and mistreated. The old lady finally grants him his wife and Wang Lung and O-lan (his new wife) set out for home.

O-lan proves to be an excellent wife for Wang Lung. Although she is quiet and rarely speaks a word, she is frugal, hardworking, and a good cook. She also takes good care of Wang Lung’s father with whom they share a house.  Together, they work hard to become prosperous. O-lan bears him a son, a sign of good omen to the Chinese. They become more and more prosperous, and O-lan gives Wang Lung another son. When O-lan bears Wang Lung a girl, and a mentally challenged girl at that, their fortune begins to change. Wang Lung and his family have to flee because of political conflict, famine, and drought.  Once again at the bottom of the chain, Wang Lung and his family have to work hard to survive. Eventually, they return to their homeland. Because Wang Lung was smart and had invested his money in land, he did not have to start over. Many other families’ money had been stolen, but Wang Lung invested in land which he believed could not be taken from him.

Wang Lung once again works hard to prosper. As he becomes more and more successful, more and more problems arise. His sons start to rebel against him. Wang Lung realizes he never taught his sons the value of hard work. He had done it himself. Both his sons desire to be scholars and leave the farm. They had a disdain for traditional Chinese culture, hard work and perseverance. Wang Lung begins to make his own mistakes. Whereas before he had an unusual amount of respect for his wife and his daughter, which was quite uncommon and shameful in Chinese culture, he starts to disregard his wife through adultery. He hires people to do his work for him and starts recklessly spending his silver in the village. He goes to the tea house, a prostitution center. He picks out a prostitute named Lotus and goes to see her every day as a secret. Finally in a last stance of defiance and disgust against O-lan, he builds Lotus a compound onto his house and lives with her.

Wang Lung completely ignores O-lan’s well being after he met Lotus. O-lan contracts some deadly disease which makes her day to day chores harder and harder, yet she keeps working trying to please Wang Lung. When O-Lan dies, Wang Lung is grieved at his actions towards her. He realizes how good of a wife she really was, and he begins to go back to his lifestyle of hard work in the fields. This “repentance” however does not last long. He shows no sign of doing anything about Lotus and becomes lazy and a reckless spender again.

Eventually, Wang Lung is an old and very rich man. When the house of Hwang was ransacked and abandoned during the time of famine and drought, Wang Lung set his eyes upon living there someday. He purchased the old house of Hwang and moved his whole family in. His sons spend tons of his money on luxuries, expensive food, and decorations. Wang Lung had started to stay away from women. He became an easy pushover for his sons and starting acting more his age, until he gave himself a new wife, a young girl named Pear Blossom. Once again he becomes foolish and lustful when he is rich and at ease.

Wang Lung knows his death is coming soon. He has his sons make him a coffin and place it in his room. He reflects on his life every morning as he looks at his coffin. Finally he makes a decision to go back to his old farmhouse and live out the rest of his days there. His sons out of duty come often enough to visit him, and Wang Lung would have them walk the lands with him. Although the end of the book could be summarized, Pearl Buck’s final ending is too good to be paraphrased. One day when Wang Lung and his sons were out on the land, his sons start to discuss selling the land when he dies and building railroads across the rest of his property.

“’Now, evil, idle sons—sell the land!’ He choked and would have fallen, and they caught him and held him up, and he began to weep.

Then they soothed him and they said, soothing him, ‘No—no—we will never sell the land—‘

‘It is the end of a family—when they begin to sell the land,’ he said brokenly. ‘Out of the land we came and into it we must go—and if you will hold your land you can live—no one can rob you of land—‘

And the old man let his scanty tears dry upon his cheeks and they made salty stains there. And he stooped and took up a handful of soil and he held it in his hand and muttered, ‘If you sell the land, it is the end.’

And his two sons held him, one on either side, each holding his arm, and he held tight in his hand the warm loose earth. And they soothed him and they said over and over, the eldest son and the second son, “Rest assured, our father, rest assured. The land is not to be sold.’

But over the old man’s head they looked at each other and smiled.”

Conclusion: Through hard work and perseverance, Wang Lung finally gets his wish. He wishes to be rich and a well respected member of his community. When he goes to get O-lan at the house of Hwang, he dreams of someday being rich and honorable enough to be lord of a house like that. Although he recognizes all of the problems and sin in the house of Hwang, he ignores it and admires it nonetheless.

Wang Lung finally achieves his goal. He buys the house of Hwang and has it richly adorned by his eldest son’s design. Wang Lung is also a prominent rich figure in the village. Because Wang Lung chose to ignore the problems he worked so hard to achieve, his family suffers pretty much the same consequences as the house of Hwang.

Personal review: I have very mixed feelings about the book. The first third of the book had me so intrigued I could not put the book down. The writing style, the historical context, the themes, and the moral lessons contained within are all fantastic. Altogether the novel is cohesive, all the loose ends are addressed and the resolution drives home the moral point. Pearl S. Buck was definitely a fantastic writer and she deserves to be remembered for her outstanding contribution to literature.

On the other hand, this book also left me feeling a little sick. The sexual content and all the sin issues were much more then I would have wished to read about it. As a reader you become attached to O-lan, and Wang Lung’s defiance against his wife is sickening and made me want to stop reading. For this reason alone I cannot in good conscience recommend this as a good read to anyone.

I wish that this novel could have played out another way. But looking back on it, there was no other way to properly display her point. Her lessons about wise money spending and work ethics is to be admired, and could not have been portrayed in a more convincing way. I wish more people knew and followed the principles Wang Lung built his prosperous life upon.

Once again, torn, I cannot recommend this book. But if you do choose to read it, you will learn a lesson you will never forget.

Note: For reading purposes, I chose not to include all of the sexual content in the book. The book is very descriptive and goes into much greater detail and takes up a large portion of the books pages. This book is recommended only for those who think they can handle the content correctly and with a Biblical mindset. I would especially not recommend this book for young men, but I would also not promote it for women either. If this book interests you feel free to ask comments in the comment section below and make sure to pray for wisdom and discernment. 

The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: A Bit Off?

                    

Lake Town as depicted in the movie, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug

Directed by: Peter Jackson (and Andy Serkus)


 For those who have already seen the movie, stick around! I'm going to discuss some controversial opinions on the accuracy of the movie,

Questionable content: One thing I love about this movie is the clean language. I haven't spotted any swearing in this movie whatsoever. The violence in this movie, however, is extensive, though not graphic. One other part of the movie under question is the scene where Beorn changes form from bear to man without any clothing. However, the angle and the lighting are not revealing, and it is in no way an innuendo. And of course, there is the love "triangle", where both Legolas and Kili (or was it Fili? Well, whatever) love Tauriel, and she is torn between her love for both of them. There also is also a fair amount of black magic in this movie, though it is always depicted as evil. Other than this, the movie is clean and very enjoyable.

Summary: The Desolation of Smaug is the second part of a trilogy based on the book, The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. It begins right before the company meets Beorn, and ends (*****SPOILER ALERT*****)
right before Smaug goes into Lake Town to wreak havoc. Along the way, Bilbo gains more of a reputation among the dwarves, Kili is perhaps mortally wounded, and Thorin's true character seems to be revealed. Gandalf, by the way, was not with them while these things happened. He was off discovering things about the feared Necromancer, and he, well, we'll see when There and Back Again comes out. And just so you know, assuming you've watched the first movie, the ending in the second one is way more suspenseful (if that were possible).

Now for the part you don't need to read unless you've seen the movie already:

                                                             Was the movie a bit off?

Well, let's examine the parts of the movie in question:


1. Shortened visit with Beorn and the little time spent in Mirkwood
To be honest, the first time I saw the movie, I myself was disappointed in the length of these scenes, and wondered why anyone would take out such content, especially when trying to elongate a third of a small book. But then I realized that this content would not well fit into the movie format, especially the walking and walking and walking and walking and... you get the picture.

2. The barrel scene and the orcs following the dwarves into Lake Town
The answer for this one is nearly the same. Imagine a movie where barrels are floating down a river, with lids, for a long time. Now imagine that movie being good. Pretty hard, isn't it? Of course, Taking this scene completely out would have been a major mistake. That is where the orcs come in.They make the barrel scene exciting as well as slightly humorous, and they are in and out of Lake Town without affecting the main plot. I think this idea was definitely a plus for the movie.

3. Why were four dwarves left behind, and why the big fight scene with Smaug?
Well, once again, neither of these additions affect the main plot in any way. And the fight scene is just awesome. I think that the book did not have anything like this because Tolkien wanted to provide some irony: the dwarves dreaming of glory and not even being the ones to fight Smaug (this is just my guess). However, dwarves were warriors, and since the movie is less light-hearted than the book (because it shows what was going on with the Necromancer), the fight portrays how they would have acted had they gotten a chance.

So, though the movie both added and took away, it did so in a way that respected the integrity of the book, as well as the consistency of the entire world of Middle-Earth.

Overall, I'd give this movie a 4.6731 out of 5.0000

                                                                                       -- Bob Schoch --