Poem: Timeline

Timeline

The sun has risen,
With morning song.
Nothing behind me,
the line is long!

The day's still young,
I've traveled short.
But I'll get farther;
I'm the tough sort.

Morning's no more,
Noon is here!
Brightest time of day,
Nothing to fear!

Evenings come,
And I turned around.
I'm following my path,
But behind me, no line is found.

It feels like I just started,
But I do not forget.
Because that ain't no sunrise.
It's a sunset.

Poem: Dark Stars (Dark Stars #1)

I think the theme of this poem is overused.  Oh well.

Dark Stars

All stars are great,
All stars are dangerous.
From far, they're beautiful.
Up close, they'll kill you,

Stars bring light to the darkness,
But stars can take away your light.
Because in darkness dwells the light,
And in light, the darkness.

Stars wrap you in their warm embrace,
But in time you'll reach for cool reprieve.
Because too much of something,
Can destroy anything.

From stars, spring life,
And stars, bring death.
For what is white,
If not, for black.

What is heaven, if there is no hell?
What is love, if there is no hate?
For there is no beauty in a star,
If it isn't surrounded,
By Darkness.

Dark Fire (Dark Stars #2)

Poem: Chasing Stars

Chasing Stars

The stars, were
First to come,
And from them,
We became.

We are all,
Made of stardust.
We can all,
Choose to glow.

Chasing stars,
Won't let you shine.
Chasing stars,
Your light will die.

From stars, we became.
So you don't need,
To chase the stars.
Cause you can just,
Light your own.

Graceling by Kristin Cashore (Book 1, Graceling Realm)

.

Changing up my book reviews.  No spoilers, individual reviews for books in a series, etc.

Genres: Young Adult, Fantasy, Adventure, Romance

Summary:

Katsa, niece to the king of the Middluns, is not an ordinary lady.  Ever since the king realized that she was born with a Grace, a special talent, for killing, the king has sent her across the seven kingdoms to do his dirty work; punishing those whom the king wishes her to punish. One day, Katsa meets Prince Po, and they become friends.  Together, they search for clues relating to the the people behind the kidnapping of Po's grandfather.

What I Liked:
I read this book because of the awesome cover, it's really cool.  Anyways, there were lots of things I liked about this book.  One of these things was the main character, Katsa. Like in the cover, Katsa is pretty kick-ass.  She can use knives, daggers, swords, bows and probably other things with skill and efficiency, and fights bare-handed just as well. She has an interesting enough personality; short-tempered, impulsive, capricious, stubborn.  She doesn't really joke around, but she can be nice to people, especially children.  She avoids hurting or killing people when she can.  I also liked most of the other characters, like Po, who's a good-natured fellow and quite different overall from Katsa.  Another thing I liked was that the romance was a side thing for most of the time, and filled the spaces where there was lack of action.  I also liked that many details were given about the land the book was set in, although noticeably less details on the exact environment.  That's pretty much what I liked about this book.

What I Disliked:
I wasn't bothered too much by this book, but others might think the pacing to be too slow.  The book had long stretches of time where not much action occurred.  And due to the pacing not a whole lot happened in the book.  Another thing I disliked was that there wasn't much information given about the main antagonist, but I'm hoping it will be answered in the next few books.  There is also a minor problem that I had with some of the sentences.  Some of them seemed to run awkwardly.  But it's a minor problem.  What I disliked most about this book is that I think the problem was resolved too quickly, and it was kind of anti climactic.  That sums up what I didn't like about this book.

Additional Notes:
There is not that much character development throughout the book; her views on marriage remain the same, she's still stubborn and fickle and short tempered.  Her views do change a bit after learning certain things, but not that much really.  I personally don't have much of a problem with this, since throughout the book her interaction with others was kept to a small circle of three people.

Final Remarks:
Definitely read this book if you are a fan of the fantasy and romance genres.  If you liked books such as Throne of Glass, chances are you'll like this book too.

Rating: 7 out of 10

Poem: What Once Filled Me Is Gone

I've been noticing that I feel something like this whenever I finish a really great book(series) or anime, especially ones that had me craving to read more.  It also possibly ties in with how it feels to suddenly stop smoking/doing drugs.  Idk, I've never done drugs before.

What Once Filled Me Is Gone

The minutes, tick away.
Nothing happens, day after day.
I feel it, I know it.
What once filled me is gone.

Thoughts swirling in my head,
My body's stiff, like lead.
I yearn for it, but it doesn't return.
What once filled me, is gone.

No tales to be told,
No secrets to be spilled,
My empty heart aches,
To be filled.
But.
What once filled me....is gone.

Poem: Chains

Chains

The chains protect me,

Yet I thrash against them.

The freedom can hurt me,

But still, 

I want it anyway.

The cage, it stops me,

From flying high and far.

From being what I

Want to be.

Have to be.

No chains to ground me,

I fly high, too high.

And I drop, farther than

I could ever fly.

I am lost.

No wall has blocked me,

No cuffs have bound me.

Freedom.

It's made me

into something

I never wanted to be.

Poem: Running into the Sky

I don't know.  I think I like poems.

Running into the Sky

Look up, into the sky.

Gaze into it’s depths.

A blue deeper than the seas,

Dotted with powdery white.

Reach up, towards the sky.

Take hold of the many winds.

A gentle whisper, a powerful roar,

The tears of life fall down.

Look up, into the sky.

Wander into the blue.

Another place, another time,

Scary, yet beautiful.

Run up, into the sky.

Don’t stop, won’t stop,

Falling, forever and ever.

Falling into the sky.

Poem: A Demon's Heart

A Demon's Heart

A heart beats,
Steadily, eternally.
It's a demon's heart.
One...two...three...

It isn't black,
Nor is it blue.
Like us,
The heart is red too.

Hear the heart.
Does it belong to you?
Because humans,
can be demons too.

Akame ga Kill!

Hi there!  This is my first time reviewing an anime.  I don't think I'm very good, and I don't really know how to review the anime's music and visuals.  Still, I hope you enjoy!

Summary:

A boy named Tatsumi journeys to the Capital to join the military and receive funds to support his village, which has suffered under heavy taxation.  However, upon discovering how corrupted the people there were, Tatsumi joins a guild of assassins, called Night Raid, who work for the Revolutionary Army, an army intent on overthrowing Prime Minister Onest, the source of the corruption, and creating a better country to live in.  The assassins of Night Raid are devoted to the cause and kill any of their targets without hesitation, knowing that they were corrupted.  They use special weapons called Imperial Arms, which all have special powers better suited for different people.  Akame ga Kill explores darker elements within the show, such as death and gore.

Things I Liked:

The main protagonists were each unique in their own way and they were all nice(usually) people.  Each assassin in the guild loved their comrades and protected and trusted each other with their lives.  The main antagonists, I didn't like as much.  A few of them were good people but they were misled, the rest were just sadistic killers and purely evil.  This anime had a lot of cool fight scenes, especially since the character's weapons had special powers.  Each of the weapons and their powers were very different and unique, and all very useful in their own way.  For example, a weapon in the shape of a gigantic pair of scissors, able to cut absolutely anything in the world, or a laser gun whose power increases the more the user is in danger.  

Another thing I liked(sort of) was that some of the protagonists died, which makes the anime a lot more realistic.  Something I hate is when someone survives(happily and healthily as if nothing happened) after suffering immense blood loss, a hundred slices across the abdomen(*cough* Bleach *cough*), or a serious injury that shouldn't be possible to heal from.  This anime has character's die after they suffer damage enough to kill them, which makes it a lot more realistic.

The opening theme and ending themes were pretty nice.

Things I Disliked

Something I didn't really like was the strange character's and personalities, although this is something that happens in quite a few anime, so I won't complain too much.  But sometimes, the crazy qualities of the characters bother me, especially since this anime explores a darker theme.  In an anime that is mainly about chopping off heads, you just don't expect exaggerated childish personalities.  For example, one of the characters eats absurd amounts of meat.  Similarly, I don't like it how whenever they aren't fighting, the anime just adds a bunch of bad jokes into the story and the overall theme for the anime suddenly changes to a childish, happy theme.  

I also dislike how a large majority of the antagonists are just merely evil and twisted killers with boring pasts, or no past at all.  I like it better when the antagonists have a reason for being they way they are.  

Another thing that I disliked was that it seemed like the character's personalities were just thought up on the spot.  It was like they thought "This person's going to be silent and super skilled!  This one is going to be loud and talkative and nice!  This one's going to be a tsundere!".  There was almost no character development in the anime.  This also leads to another thing I disliked.  In the anime, a large majority of the characters are killed off, which makes sense, since they were in a situation where people should die, but I honestly think the anime went a bit overboard with the killing.  Basically every single protagonist was killed off, except for one of them, just so that the "good guys" could win.  Or at least beat the "bad guys".  I also think they tried to make some of the deaths sad, but due to the lack of character development, the audience doesn't really know the character, or any of the characters for that matter, well enough to be sad about a certain character's death.

Conclusion:
I thought this anime was pretty cool, you should definitely try watching it sometime!  It's kind of gory though.

Why You Should Read...Artemis Fowl(series) by Eoin Colfer

Artemis Fowl the Second is no ordinary 12 year old.  He’s a criminal mastermind who can outsmart anyone on the planet….as well as those inside the planet.  From a young age, his father raised him with the family motto “Aurum Potestas Est” or “Gold is Power”.  So when he finds out about the secret community of fairies living below the surface, and that they had lots of gold, he decides to be the first one to take some of it.  After kidnapping a fairy, who happens to be a captain of the fairy police force, Captain Holly Short.  This event started the series of attacks the fairies launched against the great Artemis Fowl and his bodyguard, Butler.  Can Artemis’ plan outsmart the fairies’ sheer numbers and powerful, time-stopping magic, or will Artemis end up in a “fowl” mood?

This series was very exciting and also very interesting, and the ideas Artemis comes up with are simply ingenious.  Eoin Colfer sets the stage with an amazing book, leaving you wanting more of Artemis and his sophisticated and cunning plans.  My favorite part of this series was the way Artemis thwarted evil plans with his own ingenious(and sometimes evil) plans with the help of his one-man army, the bodyguard Butler.  His cunningness makes me smile from the beginning to the end of the story, and through all the other books in this series.  I also liked how the point of views switched to many different characters periodically, and it let me see all the perspectives of the story. This book incorporates a genius so ingenious that he's surpassed nerd-hood, soldier elves, farting dwarves, sassy centaurs and evil pixies. Who wouldn't want to read a book like that?

There is one problem I have with this series.  All of the stories have really slow storylines.  As exciting as it sounds, the book has to explain some of the boring stuff to the reader, and I think these explanations take a bit too long.  This problem actually didn’t occur much in some books, but a few of the other books do have this problem.  Other than the slow-paced story-line, this book was great!

Age Group: 11-15 years.

Genres: Fantasy, Fairy Tale, Magical Realism

Rating: 9.3

Artemis Fowl is an ingenious story, and everyone should read it.  Even if you don’t like fantasy and fairies, what’s the harm in reading about a criminal mastermind?