The Book Thief, a book review!

Book: The Book Thief

Release date: March 14, 2006

Genre: Historical fiction

Author: Markus Zusak

Pages: 550

Publisher : Knopf

Stars:  ★★★★★

    Markus Zusak an Australian author also known for "The Messenger" got his inspiration for The Book Thief through his parents who are both Germans. The Book Thief was featured on " The New York Times Best Seller" list for over 250 weeks. The novel was translated in 40 languages and has an international success. In 2013, a film adaptation starring Sophie Nélisse, a Quebecer actress hit theatres. 

    The novel takes place during World War II. It's the story of Liesel Meminger, a young German whose childhood is marked by war. Young Lisel and her brother is sent by their mother to a foster home. During the trip, Liesel's brother died of cold and poverty. During the funeral, Liesel steals her first book. The only problem is that she can't read.

California Part II

   During the whole trip, my most listened to song was California by Phantom Planet. You know the one where it goes "We've been on the run. Driving in the sun. Looking out for number 1. California here we come  Right back where we started from" and then it goes like  "Driving down the 101. California here we come. Right back where we started from". Well, I was actually driving down that 101 road. On our first day in California, we had to drop off the lobster load in downtown LA. If you're familiar with Los Angeles, it was really close to Little Tokyo. Downtown wasn't what I thought it was. First of all, there's not many skyscrapers and it looked really small. Moreover, I realized that la la land wasn't all pretty and fancy. I got to see a lot of homeless people carrying all their belongings in a shopping cart. It really opened my eyes.

 Dropping off the load can take several hours, so I got hungry. We all are familiar to Ice Cream trucks, but what about Mexican Food trucks? My father and I went to get ourselves a morning burrito; eggs, bacon,sausages in a pita bread. Great stuff I tell you. When we were finally done unloading, we parked the truck in Ontario,California and took a taxi with another truck driver from Texas. He was really nice guy but was really opened about guns! He told us he once went to Canada with his wife's gun and the customs wouldn't let him pass with it. It made my father and I laugh. Those Americans and there guns huh! 

Happy New Year!

                                  

Happy New Year! 2013 seems to have been a challenge to everyone. Watching my mother battle cancer has made me stronger, and I'm more ready than ever for 2014. Now, it's not because 13 is the devil's number that it was only a horrible year. I got to travel a lot in 2013 and hope I can do the same for 2014 I didn't make any resolutions this year because I never keep them. However, I will try to blog more this year. All in all, I wish you all a Happy New Year and stay healthy, it's the most important thing. 

-Marjorie

The Black Keys live at Festival d'Été de Québec

Québec City has a great music festival called ''Le Festival D'été De Québec''. It is Canada's largest outdoor musical event. This year, I got the opportunity to get myself a pass. 

On July 6, I headed downtown Quebec City to see one of my all time favorite group, The Black Keys. I'm a big fan of their album Brother and El Camino. At 9:30 PM,  Dan Auerbach & Patrick Carney took the stage and opened up with my all time favorite song, ''Howling For You'' followed up by another song from ''Brothers'' , ''Next Girl''. The show was a blast. They are absolutely phenomenal live. 

Flashcardlet!

Hey guys,

     Today I have another great app. to show you! Let's face it, it's the end of the year, even copying off someones homework seems difficult. Well, I have a great tool to help you study and get you to pass your year. It's called "Flashcardlet".

     I'm a very visual person. I used to write a bunch of colourful flashcards but they could take days to write. The concept of this app is the same. You write flashcards and then you study them. However, it takes no type to write since you type it!

The Host; a movie review!

 

Movie: The Host

Release date: March 29, 2013

Genre:  Sci-fi, Action, Adventure, Romance,

Director: Andrew Nicool ( known for In Time)

Writers: Andrew Nicool and Stephenie Meyer (known for Twilight saga)

Cast: Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, Jake Abel, Diane Kruger

Stars: ★★★★ 

Storyline: The Host takes place in a futuristic world where a new specie has taken over human bodies and erasing their memories. Wanda (Saoirse Ronan) has taken over Melanie's body. But, Melanie's soul is still there. Two minds in one body. Together, they make Wanda work with the human race to try to make Melanie reconnect with her past.

Review:

  I decided to go to the cinema and finally see "The Host". It's a book adaptation by Stephenie Meyers. I remember trying to read the book back in six grade with no success. Not only was it too complicated, but the first 100 pages were dull.  However, when I saw the trailer, I freaked out. It look like a great movie. But, was it?

California; Part 1!

Downtown Los Angeles

     I love to travel. I can even admit that it's a passion, a need. I need to travel. To get away, to escape. Each time I leave, I come back different, happier & with great memories. Today, I wanted to blog about my favourite road trip so far; California!

The truck in Arizona!

    My passion for traveling comes from my father. He's been driving trucks and exploring the North American continent ever since he dropped out of high school. He's been to every province/territory in Canada and to every American state (except Alaska and Hawaii). I admire him for that. I use to take his Atlas and name some random cities and he'd tell me in what state those were located. Having a truck driver as a dad could be pretty hard at times. I was basically raised by my mom as I would only see him every two weeks and for a short period of days. Back then, I couldn't understand his job. I would beg him to quit his job and get a job at an office so I could see him more often, like a normal father. Kids at school would even tell me that the reason why he's not home every night is that he doesn't love me or care about me. Cruel much? But, in the end, when he would come back from his trips, he had so much too tell and I would listen to him and hoped that one day, i'd go to the same places. Today, I can understand why he became a truck driver. I would myself become one if I wasn't so afraid of the roads. Like I said above, having a dad who drives truck can be hard but, it can also be great. I'm 14 years old and I can proudly say I've been to over 30 states while, half my classmates never even left the province or the country!

   

Great view in Ontario, California

   He always knew California was my all-time dream. Don't we all have this place where we're attached to? Where you envy the people living there and want to have their lifestyle? California is a common place where people want to establish their lives because it's probably one of the most popular state (and every celebrity has a house there). My sister had gotten the opportunity to go with him and I would always look at her pictures and wish that one day, i'd be standing with those cactus too. In December, I was washing the dishes (again) with my father when the subject came up. He had a load of lobster to bring there in a week. I couldn't help but think about it every day. Where would we go? What could we visit?