The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Title: The Hunger Games

Author : Suzanne Collins

Main Charaacters : Katniss Everdeen, Peeta Mellark, Gale, Prim, Cato, Clove, Rue, Thresh, Effie, Haymitch, Cinna, Portia and Madge.

Description of one of the characters: Peeta Mellart is a son of a baker in District 12. He gets selected in the reaping to participate in the Hunger games in the Capitol, the capital of Panem (which was once called as the America). He is brave. He once saves Katniss from dying by giving her bread to eat while she was starving. He is very kind.

Whom I like and why: I like Gale vey much. He is very good at hunting. He is Katniss Everdeen’s friend. He is two years older than Katniss. He takes care of Prim and Katniss’s mother while Katniss goes to the Hunger games. He is very brave and kind.

Whom I dislike and why: I dislike Cato and Clove, the Careers. They are participants of the Hunger Games. They try to make Peeta as their ally but fail to. They do not hesitate to kill anyone during the games. Clove gets killed by Thersh and Cato dies on his own, leaving Peeta and Katniss to be the winners.

Setting/theme of the story: During the reaping, Prim Everdeen, Katniss’s sister gets selected to participate in The Hunger Games, a fight for survival against all odds, held in the Capitol every year for the whole country of Parem to enjoy. Katniss Everdeen volunteers and participates instead of Prim. Another boy named Peeta Mellark also gets selected from the same district as Katnisses. They both train under Haymitch, who had been a Victor of District 12 long before. They  go for the games and it starts after the opening  ceremony. Usually there can be only one Victor in the Hunger Games but this year, they amend the rules and the rule becomes that two people can win if they are from the same district. So, Peeta and Katniss decide to win. Rue, a girl from district 2 reminds Katniss of her own sister, Prim, so she takes care of Rue in the arena. One day a boy from District 1 shoots her and Rue dies. One by one all the participants die due to the worse weather. Thresh kills Clove. Cato kills Thresh. At last only Cato, Peeta and Katniss are left. Cato dies due to bad weather on his own. Peeta and Katniss are winners. But no one comes to take them back from the arena. So Katniss acts as if she is doing suicide and at that moment a plane arrives to take them back safely. Katniss’s act has angered all the people of Capitol, but it makes the other Districts people happy. That’s the end of Hunger Games.

Part I enjoyed the most: I enjoyed the part when Katniss actes as if she is going to suicide to make the Capitol people come to take them away from the arena.

Stupid Guy Goes To India

Title: Stupid Guy Goes To India

Author : Yukichi Yamamatsu

Translated By: Kumar Sivasubramanian

Characters: Yukichi Yamamatsu, Surender and Narender

Description of one of the main characters: Yukichi Yamamatsu is a Japanese. He comes to India with an aim to publish a Japanese manga book. He wants to spread Japanese comic culture in India. He tries to sell Samurai Manga on the mean streets of Delhi.

Setting/ theme of the story: Yukichi Yamamatsu, who leaves Japan for the first time, comes to India with an aim to spread Japanese comics culture. He does not have much money, does not know English very much, and has no idea about India. He tries to learn about India before coming but forgets everything he reads. He starts living adjacent to the room of Surender and his family, who becomes Yukichi’s friend. After that Yukichi searches for a translator and finds two students who know Japanese. Somehow Yukichi makes them work and they finish translating the Japanese Manga into Hindi. Then Yukichi goes looking for a publisher and finds one. After editing several times, making many changes, he publishes it like a manga book (bound in the right and has to be read from right to left). He tries to sell the copies of those books in the mean streets of Delhi. But it doesn’t sell a single copy. He thinks that it doesn’t sell because it is bound in the right and has to read from right to left, so he re-publishes it in the Indian style and then tries to sell it. But it still doesn’t sell. He is to return to Japan in a few days and he says,"My dearest wish was fulfilled but I didn’t sell a single copy." He goes back to Japan. He thinks he would know and do better next time he visits India.

Part I enjoyed the most: I enjoyed the part when Yukichi re-publishes his manga book “the Indian way” by binding the book in the left. The way he tries to sell these copies is really funny.

The Warriors of Javida

Title: The Warriors of Javida

Author: Samyuktha Nair

Main Characters : Aaliya, Jared, Aaron, Sara, Nathe, Yasmin, Princess Jeni, King Ni, The King Of Jeneezia, Rhia and Hansel.

Description of one of the main characters: Sara is a jewel warrior. Her birth jewel is diamond. She is the head of the community of jewel warriors in Javida. She serves King Ni, the ruler of Javida. She appoints Jared as Aaliyah’s guardian as every jewel warrior has a guardian. She is very kind. She is the most experienced in the community of jewel warriors.

Whom I like and why: I like Aaron very much. He is Aaliyah’s twin brother. He and Aaliyah were separated when they were young. Aaliyah was taken by King Ni and grew up with the king’s daughter, Princess Jeni. Aaron was taken away by a Jeneezian. An old woman possessed Aaron and tried to kill Jared, the ruby warrior.

Setting/theme of the story: Jared takes away Aaliyah to the place where the jewel warriors liven when Aaliyah and Princess Jeni were out in the streets of Javida. According to Sara’s prophecy, a girl with a gold armband in her left hand would end the war between Javida and Jeneezia. As Jared saw Aaliyah with a armband in the left hand made of gold, he took her to his hut. Aaliyah mets Sara, Nathe and Yasmin, the three  other jewel warriors in Javida. Sara appoints Jared as the guardian of Aaliyah. Aaliyah discovers that her birthstone is Emerald. She learns to use magic. One day war breaks out between Javida and Jeneezia. Aaliyah kills the ruler of Jeneezia. Even the Jeneezians feel happy about the death of their ruler. After that, Aaliyah meets her long lost twin brother, Aaron. Soon they discover that Aaron is being processed by an old Jeneezian woman who has been employed by the new ruler of Jeneezia to kill Jared, the ruby warrior. She wants to kill Jared as he is the ruby warrior. Ruby is the sacred stone of Javida. Jared represents ruby, so she wants him killed. But Aaliyah kills the old woman using her magic and saves both Jared and Aaron. One day a man named Hansel, comes to take Aaliyah to the king’s palace as King Ni wants her immediately. Aaliyah goes and she discusses with King Ni, a strategy to kill the present ruler of Jeneezia and end the war. Hansel, a Jeeneezian spy of the king of Jeneezia, rides to Jeneezia that night to tell the Jeneezian king the plan. Then he comes back to Javida and decides to kill Aaliyah. Meanwhile Sara gets a vision that Hansel is about to harm Aaliyah. So the jewel warriors go to the palace of King Ni just in time to save Aaliyah from Hansel. Suddenly a war breaks out. Aaliyah again kills the ruler of Jeneezia. Javida and Jeneezia come to peace at last.

Part I enjoyed the most: I enjoyed the part when the Jeneezians felt happy about the death of their cruel rulers in the battles.

Note:

There are three parts in the story:

1.    Sara’s prophecy

2.    The sacred ruby

3.    Aaliyah’s triumph

Jeeves And The Feudal Spirit

Jeeves and the Feudal Spirit (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Title: Jeeves And The Feudal Spirit
Author: P.G. Wodehouse
Main Characters: Florence, Bertie, Aunt Dahlia, Percy, Uncle Tom, Lord Sidcup, Mr. & Mrs. Trotter, Ma Trotter, Stilton and Jeeves
Description of one of the main characters: Lord Sidcup is very interested in old silver. He collects those like Uncle Tom. He is also an expert in jewellery. He had studied about diamonds and pearls. He is also called Roderick Spode. Uncle Tom shows Aunt Dahlia's pearl necklace to Sidcup to check whether it is original.
Whom I like and why: I like Jeeves very much. He is honest and loyal. He adjusts to awkward situations. He finds a way for Wooster's and Aunt Dahlia's problems. He is really intelligent and quick-witted.
Whom I dislike and why: I dislike Stilton as he is really annoying. He disturbs everyone in the Brinkley court, the residence of Aunt Dahlia and Uncle Tom. He often gets in to fights with Percy, Florence and Bertie.
Setting/Theme of the story: Aunt Dahlia tries to sell her magazine, The Milady's Boudoir, to L. G. Trotter and his family. Florence and Stilton come to the Brinkley court to stay with Aunt Dahlia. Uncle Tom does not like this company and calls Lord Sidcup to stay with him and discuss about jewels. Aunt Dahlia, to get more money, sells her pearl necklace in London. When Uncle Tom informs Aunt Dahlia that he will be asking Spode to look at the pearl necklace, she does not know what to do. If Uncle Tom comes to know that she had sold it, he would be mad with anger. So Aunt Dahlia seeks Jeeves's help. Jeeves asks her to hand over the necklace to Bertie Wooster and just pretend that the necklace is stolen. But the plan doesnt work as Spode arrives a little earlier than expected. Later, the pearl necklace is found with Ma Trotter who is always jealous of it. Uncle Tom gets it back from Ma Trotter and Aunt Dahlia is saved.  Aunt Dahlia somehow makes L. G. Trotter buy the magazine and after much thought he accepts. Everything settles down perfectly.

The Mark of Athena

Drawing of Athena Parthenos (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Title: The Mark of Athena

Author: Rick Riordan

Main Characters: Annabeth, Leo, Percy, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel, Athena, Arachne, Aphrodite (Venus), Bacchus (Dionysus), Coach Hedge, Reyna, Octavian, Phorcys, Nemesis, Gaea, Ephilates, Otis, Chrysaor, Terminus, Nico and Keto.

Description of one of the main characters: Arachne was a weaver who claimed to have skills superior to Athena’s. This angered the goddess, who destroyed Arachne’s tapestry and loom. Arachne hung herself, and Athena brought her back to life as a spider. Arachne guards the Athena Parthenos, a giant statue of Athena, the most famous greek statue of all times. She gets tricked by Annabeth and falls deep into the Tartarus. But she pulls Annabeth and Percy also in with her.

Whom I like and why: I like Leo very much. He is very jolly. He is the son of Hephaestus. He knows everything about machines and machine parts. He can summon fire in his hand, being a son of Hephaestus. He makes Argo II, the fantastic ship which can both sail and fly and has Festus’s (a machine dragon made by Leo) bronze dragonhead as its figurehead. His ship was named after Argo, the ship used by a band of Greek heroes who accompanied Jason on his quest to find the golden fleece. Leo makes Argo II because they needn’t be in contact with Gaea (Earth), the mother of monsters. Leo loves Archimedes(a son of Hephaestus).

Whom I dislike and why: I dislike Phorcys, the old sea God. He was the sea God before Poseidon. He hates Percy, son of Poseidon. He captures Percy, Frank and Coach Hedge. But they manage to break out. Phorcys is very jealous of Poseidon. He supports Gaea. He is the son of Gaea.

Setting/theme of the story: Annabeth, Jason, Leo, Piper and Coach Hedge come to the Roman camp, Camp Jupiter, to reinforce peace between the Romans and Greeks, which had not been there for centuries. They make settlements with Reyna, a Roman, that the ship, Argo II wouldn’t land and that Leo would stay up in the ship to see to that nothing goes wrong. They go to see New Rome and Annabeth meets Percy at last. Just when everything was going smoothly, the Roman camp is attacked by Leo from Argo II. All the Romans panic. Annabeth, Percy, Jason, and Piper do not understand what is happening. They can’t believe Leo had done something to spoil their plan. They can’t stay in Camp Jupiter anymore, so they go back to Argo II with Percy’s two Roman friends, Hazel and Frank. They quickly sail away from the Roman camp. Leo tells the others that he wasn’t himself and didn’t know that he was attacking the Romans. Using her charm-speak  Piper finds that Leo had been possessed by the eidolons, possessing spirits. They continue the journey but at one point Leo tells his friends that he needs coal and celestial bronze. Leo and Hazel meet Nemesis, goddess of revenge. She tells them that Nico, Hazel’s brother is in trouble. Hazel decides to somehow save him. They go in search of the giant twins, Ephilates and Otis. Meanwhile Athena gives Annabeth a coin to follow the Mark of Athena and find the Athena Parthenos. Annabeth goes alone and finds herself alone with her worst enemy, Arachne. She somehow flatters Arachne and asks her to do a Chinese handcuff model using all her silk. Arachne accepts and does the Chinese handcuff. Annabeth says that there is a flaw inside and asks Arachne to go in and see for herself. Arachne gets struck. Annabeth had made Arachne weave her own trap. Just then, Arachne breaks the news that they will fall into the Tartarus if the floor gives away. At that time Argo II appears with Nico in it. Nico had been saved. Percy and Jason had defeated Ephilates and Otis with the help of Bacchus, the God of wine. They safely transport the Athena Parthenos to the ship. But they are too late to save Annabeth. Arachne pulls Annabeth into Tartarus and trying to save her, Percy also falls into the Tartarus. He asks Nico to meet him in Epirus, the door of death from the mortal side. Leo, Jason, Piper, Frank, Hazel and Nico prepare to go to Epirus. They decide save Percy and Annabeth.

Part I enjoyed the most: I enjoyed the part where Annabeth falsely tells that Arachne’s weavings shall be displayed in Olympus and tricks her to make her own trap. A chinese handcuff tightens when you try two move out of it. So after Arachne goes in and when she tries to come out, it tightens and she gets struck.

A King’s Ransom: Cahills VS Vespers

The 39 Clues (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Title: A King’s Ransom

Author: Jude Watson.

Main Characters: Amy, Dan, Nellie, Ian, McIntyre, Natalie, Aliaster Oh, Hamilton, Jonah, The Holts, Vesper One, Casper, Cheyenne, Evan, Atticus, Jake, Erasmus.

Description of one of the main characters:

McIntyre is lawyer. He was the layer and friend of Grace Cahill. He is kind and helps Amy and Dan in saving the Cahill members from the Vespers. In the last, he dies as someone strikes him with a poisonous needle.

Whom I like and why: I like Evan as he helps Amy and Dan when Casper and Cheyenne lack Amy and Dan in a room and reduce the oxygen level slowly to 4%. Evan saves them by unlocking the room at the right time.

Whom I dislike and why: I dislike Casper and Cheyenne as they always try to kill Amy and Dan. They are selfinsh and cunning. They are Vespers. They want to get a good name from Vesper one.

Setting/theme of the story: Amy and Dan try to steal a map for the Vespers, who threaten to kill the seven members of the Cahill family taken as hostages. No one has seen the map for half a century! They find the map with the help of Atticus and Jake. But Casper and Cheyenne kidnap Atticus. Now Amy and Dan have to follow the Nazis and go to mad King’s castle.

Part I enjoyed the most: I enjoyed the part when Amy and Dan escape from the auction room, where the map was first found before 50 years.