The Molly Moon Series!

Another Review from the Sofa of AJ

It was approximately in 2nd grade when I took an interest in reading Molly Moon. I had finished my home-work and did whatever small chores I was assigned on time that day, and was allowed to go to the local bookstore and pick up a book. While looking for one good book that a youngster like me would enjoy, I saw a glistening silver book with numerous spirals on it, making me dizzy. I laughed, and even though I noticed the great thickness of the book, I decided to accept the challenge. The book had the colorful words inscribed on it, 'Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism'. After about a month (which at that age was fast for a book that long), I pleaded for the next in the series, 'Molly Moon Stops the World', only to hear my parent's confession that it was already bought and in the hands of my elder sibling. Although shocked by the secrecy, I happily collected the book and went on to read the next 2 books in the series. A few weeks ago, a package arrived in which under the brown paper was the green covered 'Molly Moon and the Morphing Mystery', which I am currently reading with zeal.

This fictional series is about an ordinary orphan, Molly Moon, (named after the brand Moon's Marshmallows), who lives in the orphanage Hardwick House. After having a fight that day with her one true friend Rocky, she encounters a curious-looking book labeled 'Hypnotism: An Ancient Art Explained.' After practicing what was only written in words, Molly was able to learn the secrets of hypnotism, the baby steps to the big adventures in her life. Later on, in the next few books, she becomes able to stop the world, travel through time, read minds, and even morph into different things. But during this knowledge-attaining process, Molly Moon comes across many dangers from which she must use her powers to save her friends, and the family she never knew existed, who grow throughout the stories.

My Critic Comments: The series as a whole, in one word- miraculous. The writing used by the author, Georgia Byng, is simple enough for any young reader to understand, yet descriptive enough for an adult to visualize.  The ideas of each book, the way the plot builds up, all of them make reading this utterly enjoyable. I know what I said in my last review, that being a critic I must say something negative. But this is that plate of food worthy of winning Masterchef, or that painting that's identical to Da Vinci's. Okay, maybe its not THAT good, but a series was with you for life is bound to have you attached. But really, if you're bored of your mundane old life, read the Molly Moon Series, for it's out of this world!

Again, my usual ending: hopefully my merge of a summary and review, which I have decided to call an AJ sumview (or revmmary), has stimulated that tiny part of a book-lover that is present inside every one of us, even if you don't know it. So read the book! It really is amazing! Fine, if you decide to ignore this, and won't read the book, I'm warning you... Slender will come after you! Now it's the time to allot awesomeness- if you've played the game, you are AWESOME. So be it.   

The YouTube Fanatic!

An Epic Review with Awesome YouTube Stuff

YouTube is one of the most commonly visited sites in the world, with over 4 billion visits per day, and 39 hours worth of videos uploaded every minute, out of which 35 hours are about CATS (ya, I am an Ellen line thief). The most subscribed channel is currently smosh, with more than 7 million views and rising. The least subscribed channel is, well, any boring channel with no views whatsoever. The most viewed video is the ultra-famous Gangnam Style, with over 1.25 million views (as of the release of this blog). Alright, so I am one of those YouTube freaks. But surprisingly, I don't have an account, so I can't comment on my favorite videos or anything. Depressing, right? Anyway, the following words are my epic opinion to what I think you have to watch on the amazing 'Website of Fame'.

                                                                                    

If I had to decide, I would say that the most deserving YouTube channel ever would be TheFineBros channel. They made the impossible possible, being hilarious and informational at the same time. The Fine Brothers make the online shows Kids React, Teens React, and Elders React to different viral videos and made YouTubers React after they became famous. Absolutely marvelous. You have to see it to believe it! Another brilliantly funny channel is realannoyingorange, where they make the Annoying Orange YouTube show. If you read my last blog post, The Tamarind Trilogy, or at least the end of it, you would probably realize how huge of a fan I am. Honestly, if you want a good laugh, the talking fruit are your place to go. I mean, AO is so annoyingly funny that if he goes underwater, even SpongeBob would find him competition. 

Of course there are a ton of other amazing YouTube stars, like Smosh (as mentioned above), IJustine, NigaHiga, and possibly TayZonday. But just DON'T watch Happy Tree Friends. Don't let the cute little things at the beginning deceive you, they will scar you for life!

So that's the end of it. Short and simple. Actually, not that short. But coming into a serious context, do you think YouTube is corrupting us? Allowing anyone to post videos of any types, having the freedom to comment and interact with unknown... okay! I have to stop making my posts moody. Got to end this before it happens again, so what is your favorite YouTube channel/video? Tell me! Tell me now! (Oh the joy of Annoying Orange references...!) 

The Tamarind Trilogy!

A Review From the Desk (or sofa) of AJ

For those non-smart people out there, trilogy means a series of 3 books. Just a while ago, in my last summer vacation I went for a sightseeing vacation with my family to different parts of Europe. Even though the holiday was packed with fun and enjoyment, going from one part of a country to the other on a long train ride is bound to get monotonous. And it got worse- I forgot to take any books or board games or nice gadgets to pass the time. So I decided that at my next stop, I would get SOMETHING. So I went to a book store in the closest mall, and went to the small English section among all the French books (which I couldn't understand much of), and picked up the most colorful one on the shelf, labelled in gold and black calligraphy 'The Lost Island of Tamarind'. My first thought: I had never heard of it before. My second thought: Not many options here, just take it to the check out counter! So I did. And believe me, what a huge Nadia Aguiar (the author) fan I've become since then. 

The book was about 3 children, Maya, Simon, and Penny, who lived on a boat, the Pamela Jane, with their amazingly amicable parents who were marine biologists. One day the youngsters were separated from them in a storm and landed on a mysterious island known to the inhabitants as Tamarind. The children must go on an exhilarating adventure to save Tamarind from the wars that were to destroy it, and bring peace once and for all. The 2nd book in the trilogy, 'Secrets of Tamarind', is about how after the kids settle on Bermuda with their friend Helix, find out their precious island, for which so many scary and joyful memories were attached to is in danger; and now they are urged by their will to go back and help the Tamarinders. And her 3rd book (have you realized I've said 3 a lot today?) is still yet to come out, and I'm going to be kept on my toes until I'm able to read it!

 My Critic Comments: The first book is definitely surprising, for one that isn't too famous, and is one of those 'deserving but unnoticed' books despite its loud and bold colors and text. I mean, it's super hard to find it in most bookshops, and you usually have to look online. It has maybe a few hundred readers, which does not suffice the story ideas and quality of writing. But being a critic, I have to point out SOME flaws. The problem with the 2nd book is that even though the concept was brilliant, the output climax wasn't as fast and gripping as it's former. I'm expecting the last of the trilogy to be as good, if not better than the first. 

I hope that this summary and review inspired you to go to your nearest library and check out this wonderful tale. It truly is great, and I admit, even though this post was pretty long and boring, it's worth it. And I don't care if you're not a bookworm. You still have to read it! Or else... you're an APPLE! If you realized that was an Annoying Orange reference, you are awesome. Yup. 

My First Blog!

Okay, so today is the day I'm starting my first blog. 

Unlike a smart person, who would start it right after New Year as their resolution, I've started now, when February is already approaching. But I've got to say, 2013 is going better than I planned. After the fear that the "Mayan End of Days" would come out to be true passed, I realized a few things. First of all, I was being a moron to believe that the world could end because of prediction by some ancient civilization, which wasn't even a proper prediction. (Because if the Mayans were so good at predicting, they'd still be around!) And second of all, the fact that we could have actually just KICKED THE BUCKET like that made me realize that we all need to relax and enjoy our lives a bit more. 

Speaking of enjoying, my class went for a little excursion recently in which we went trekking up a tall mountain full of dirt and plants and got to enjoy a simply heart-stirring view. Puffs of mist hanging over a glistening, crystal clear lake, splashing in icy cold waterfalls, a blazing fire to stop the chills, the friendliest German Shepherd in the world and his buddy, the trip was just magnificent.

So that's it for my first blog. On AJ Bloggin, I'll be discussing books and movies that I get to experience, make reviews (what I'm best at) and talk about the boons and banes of the latest craze. For example, social networking. It is one thing that hasn't even slightly decreased in the new year. Everybody is either on Facebook, Twitter, or Google+! But 2012 has had many cases in which social networking has taken LIVES, cyber-bullying can end up that bad. So what do you think? Safety or connecting with friends? Should we have social networking in as much of an extent as we have it today? 

But seriously, my 'critic-like' comments are to die for (or die laughing at).

So a happy 2013 to you all! Pretty late to say so, but it won't harm me if I do, right? So there.