Summer Reading

Maybe we've all been institutionalized by our schools to do summer reading. Maybe everything really does slow down during the summertime, giving us a chance to either catch up on something we've missed, pick up something we left, or start something new, fun, challenging, serious, or heartfelt. Whatever is in the air, summertime is reading time.

Although the lazy season technically began only 8 days ago, my reading started once I got out of school in mid-May. One and a half Christian books and half an economics sequel later, I found myself at the library craving something light and fun. I strolled around for half an hour with no success. Instead, I found myself with six DVDs, two of which I've already seen, though there is a three DVD rental limit. I was convinced that I leaving with no new reads when I absentmindedly came across the "New" section of the young adult nook. Yeah, maybe I should've just looked there first. It didn't cross my mind.

Anyway, I found a collection of books which consisted of Twilight copycats, fiction/novels starring pyschologically troubled women, novels starring dark and sexually insatiable women, and very dark tales of dragons and such for male readers, all of which left me concerned and disappointmented to realize these themes are what makes up pop culture for the average American youth today. I was just about ready to leave when I decided there must be a book in this "New" section that I could enjoy. I was determined not to leave empty-handed, or at least, without one book to justify my three DVDs.

A more detailed search left me with two unsuspecting finds. The first book I found and read all in that same day was "Elixir", by Hilary Duff ("with Elise Allen").



I didn't even know she wrote a book. Apparently it was published in October 2010, but it just got to this library. I hadn't heard any news of this book, so I was extremely surprised to see this once upon a time Disney star became a book writer.

I have to be honest though, when I saw the dark book cover with a generic flower photo on the top and a one word title that didn't reveal anything about her or the book, I immediately thought, 'She's not a writer. It can't be good.' I fliped to the inside cover and read the jacket.

The novel is about a high school photojournalist whose father, a humanitarian worker and "renowned surgeon," mysteriously disappears, giving her reason to go on a journey to find him. Along the way she realizes a new yet familiar face has been appearing in most of her photos. The story presents two possible answers to this young man's presence, but alas, the plot thickens and twists into a story you don't want to stop reading. I would say the storyline is something that resembles "Tuck Everlasting," "Harry Potter Sorccer's Stone," and "NCIS" combined- exactly what I needed to remedy my heavy duty reading.

The writing style, on the other hand, is not something I can say I was impressed with. Even as you read the first three pages, you can tell Hilary was narrating in her own voice. The chapters didn't have a particular beginning or ending to it; instead, the book seemed to flow as one long chapter. The ending left many questions unanswered, including one question that really should have been answered. Maybe she is anticipating a sequel. Though the cliffhanger was just not enough to make me want to read a whole other book just to get the answers.

Would I recommend this book to someone else? Yes. But only for people who are at least 17 years old. Why? The main character is 17 years old, which makes some of the context too borderline R-rated for my recommendation to anyone younger, even though the book is labeled for "Ages 14 up." Would I buy this book? No. This novel is definitely not something I feel like I have to or want to reread again. As the first book this actress, singer, and song writer has published, I would say it's good. I hope she continues to write more. I can see she is trying to write for readers who are in the "in between ages," as with how she tried to make her acting relevant to this age group. Brava for her courage to chase in such an uncertain market.


The other book I borrowed is "Legacy" by Cayla Kluver.



I was impressed to find this author as a 16-year old young adult writer. She even has a blog:

http://caylakluver.blogspot.com/

I've only read the first chapter of this book about a young princess with a difficult dilemma between her duty to marry an arrogant prince to save her kingdom from war and her desire to know the truth underlying the hatred from both of the warring kingdoms. The book is pretty elaborate, but I am excited to get started. I love a good princess story. I will blog more on this book once I have finished. Watch out for part two of my Summer Reading posts.

Reflections of My Time at UMass

I am a former student at UMass Amherst, and I was a regular attender of the First Baptist Church (FBC) until I recently graduated. For some reason, I keep feeling like I still have something left to do at FBC and in the Amherst community, and I keep feeling like I need to go back to the area. A friend of mine told me a story that made me realize why I have been feeling this way, but before I tell you the story she told me, I have to share a short story of my own for everything else to make sense.

Story 1

I grew up in the Boston, and about ten years ago there were many more homeless people on the streets. I remember asking my parents why these people were homeless and why they were not living with their families. My parents could have answered in a number of ways including:

1. They are so lazy, they did not bother to find jobs to pay the bills
2. They are bad people, so their families disowned them
3. Their houses burnt down, so they do not have a home, or
4. They gambled too much and lost everything they owned, etc.

Instead of giving me any of these reasons, my parents told me homeless people are unfortunate people who never got the chance to go to college, to get the education they need, to get a job. Their intentional lesson to me was simple: stay in school, go to college, get a job and you will not become homeless.

In hindsight, my parents were subconsciously telling me they were extremely fortunate people. You see, neither one of my parents speak English, nor have they gone to college. However, their lesson stuck with me throughout college, and it became the reason why I majored in Finance and Economics. I wanted to learn why there is poverty, and I made myself a promise and a mission to aid in ending poverty once I have figured out what caused it (see my earlier post for reference).

Four years later, as a UMass alumni, I have yet to make a inch of progress on the mission to end poverty. I spent my entire college career trying to build my resume and transcript up for a well-paying job so I would not be homeless. In the process I lost my true reason for staying in school and studying what I studied. Unintentionally, my friend's story reminded me of my purpose. This is a rough parapharsed version of her story:

Story 2

There are a lot of homeless people around the BU campus. They are mostly found near the Kenmore station, but you will see them in many other places as well. Some of my friends and I would talk to a few of the homeless people. We even learn their names. Sometimes when we attend events and when there is food left over, we would offer it to this one particular guy. He was always very friendly to us. One day, one of my friends gave him a brand new sleeping bag. It was a very nice gesture, but then later on someone stole the sleeping bag from him. I can't believe someone stole his sleeping bag. It was supposed to be a gift for him.

This true story brought me back to the reality that poverty is still prevelant even 10 years later. It is especially prevelant in the Amherst area. I have seen many homeless people on the streets in Amherst center, and even on the UMass campus. I have spoken to some of them when I waited for the bus or when I was on the bus. From their stories, of where they are from and where they are going, I can gather up enough evidence to support what I have learned in my classes. There are multiple causes of poverty, and not any one is a greater cause than the other. Each cause affects a person differently. What did I learn from my friend's story?

If you want to combat poverty, you just have to start somewhere and help reduce the severity of poverty in some way, shape, or form, because if there was an actual formula of what financial, economic, social, or institutional changes need to be made to eradicate poverty, it would already have been done. Of if you are waiting idly for someone to come up with a formula, like how I thought I could find the breakthrough, then you risk the unnecessary suffering of many people now.

My friend's story inspired me to act on my promise. Now that I have gone through college, found a job, and realized what I am missing, I am planning to start a homeless blanket and sleeping bag service project in Amherst. FBC has a homeless shelter complete with free dinner, a movie, showers, a sleeping place with blankets, and a storage bin for each regular attender during the season. This shelter is called The Warming Place, and it is opened during the cold months of Nov. - Apr.

I am currently in the process of getting the logistics down with FBC. If you are interested in participating in the service project, keep checking back for details. If you are interested in coordinating the service project with me, let me know, and I can get you involved asap.

Thanks for reading :D