Fixing America By Aryan Deorah

When I was little,
I was told that this country was perfect,
I was taught that this is the greatest nation,
I had read everyone was free, everyone had the same rights,
But was this all true?
I went to school and they said my religion was stupid,
I got on the bus, and they called my friends terrorists,
I turned on the news, and there was another police killing,
I saw videos, they showed people spitting on children because of their origin,
I talked to my friends, and all they mentioned was a man who supports all of these things.
Is this country really as great as I was told,
It is up to our generation to fix these problems,
to heal the wounds,
to accept others,

and to cement this nation as the greatest that has ever existed.

Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge: Roles and the Writing Process

Madman, Architect, Carpenter, Judge: Roles and the Writing Process:

by Betty S. Flowers

Professor of English and

Director of the Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library

“What’s the hardest part of writing?” I ask on the first day of class.

“Getting started,” someone offers, groaning.

“No, it’s not getting started,” a voice in the back of the room corrects. “It’s keeping on once you do get started. I can always write a sentence or two-but then I get stuck.”

“Why?” I ask.

“I don’t know. I am writing along, and all of a sudden I realize how awful it is, and I tear it up. Then I start over again, and after two sentences, the same thing happens.”

“Let me suggest something which might help,” I say. Turning to the board, I write four words: “madman,” “architect,” “carpenter,” “judge.”

‘via Blog this’

VASOL Prompt of the Day

Author Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote, “Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” Based on your experiences, do you agree or disagree with Emerson’s statement? Take a position on this issue. Support your response with reasons and specific examples.

Civil rights leader Mahatma Gandhi wrote, “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Do you agree or disagree with Gandhi’s statement about the importance of helping others as a way of discovering more about yourself? Take a position on this issue. Support your response with reasons and specific examples.

VASOL Writing Prompt(s) of the Day

Thomas Jefferson wrote, “Determine never to be idle . . . It is wonderful how much may be done if we are always doing.” Do we accomplish more if we are always doing something, or does inactivity also serve a purpose? Take a position on this question. Support your response with reasons and specific examples.

 It has been said that a positive attitude is the key to success in life. Do you agree or disagree with this statement about the importance of attitude? Take a position on this issue. Support your response with reasons and specific examples.

Academic Team: The Time I Will Never Forget


Academic Team: The Time I Will Never Forget
       When I was in seventh grade, I had just moved to California and I was starting in a new school.  New places and new faces were all around me.  Later in the year, I joined the school’s academic team at my mom’s urging.  At the time, I didn’t know just how much I would become a part of it and how far I would go with it.  That year, I didn’t participate much, but I gained the insatiable passion that lead me to join as soon as it started the following year. I wanted to make it my one thing that I would be remembered for at my middle school, since I was an eighth grader and I hadn’t really made myself known.  I later found out just how big the academic team would become, and how much I grew.
       When it started in my eighth grade year, I immediately had an edge since I had experience from the previous year.  I combined my previous knowledge along with honing my reflexes in order to be the first to answer the question.  We had buzzers that would signal the judges if someone knew the answer, and it had a button to do so.  However, you also had to be faster than the other team, too.  I was slowly growing in skill within academic team, but academic team almost ended before anything could get going.  The previous coach was no longer going to run academic team, and that meant we wouldn’t be able to continue with academic team.  So I got to talking with one of the assistant coaches about who would be our new coach and I had an idea.  It was a slightly crazy idea, but I was so determined to get academic team to continue on that I went with it.  The person who I thought of as a new coach was not a teacher or a staff member, but someone close to me.  I chose my own mom as the new coach of academic team, since she has shown how effective of a leader she is numerous times.  I was at the time thinking that we would do pretty good, but not super well.  However, destiny decided to prove me wrong.
      
       The assistant coach agreed with the decision (which made me feel good) and soon enough, my mom was running the show for academic team.  Since she was coach, I was able to practice much more intensely at home, even practicing while at breakfast and dinner on school days and every once in a while on the weekends.  I practiced for a long time, eventually becoming the captain, or lead player, for our “A” team.  We had made four teams to compete in an upcoming NAQT-qualified tournament that was close to us.  The winner would go to the National Tournament that was to be held in Atlanta, Georgia.  Our school had never won the local tournament, as there was a math and science academy that always won called Mesa Verde.  Our teams we had created were labeled as Teams A, B, C, and D, with skill determining the members of each team.  The A team was the best of our entire academic team, and at the bottom was the D team.  However, that doesn’t mean our D team was a pushover either.  They were quite good, but not as skilled as the A team was.  So, I was kind of the best player on the entire team for our school, since I had not only the best stats from other mini tournaments, but I also specialized in more areas than most of the team.  However, the challenge was on to try and win this qualifier tournament.  And it wasn’t going to be easy.
       When the day of the qualifier tournament arrived, all of us were both excited as well as nervous.  My mom was keeping everyone calm with positive conversation, but I still felt edgy.  After meeting up at our school, we packed our things and went to the tournament.  Upon arrival, we immediately saw the teams we dreaded to face; nearby were the teams from Mesa Verde, and they had a lot of their heavy hitting players stacked on their teams.  Just seeing them made some of us really nervous.  In spite of this tension, we decided to calm our nerves with some practice.  We went through packet after packet to make sure we were at our 100% best.  Then, the tournament began.
       We went through match after match, each filled with a series of 20 questions.  You had 10 seconds to answer and they were followed by a three part bonus if a team got it correct.  We came close to losing on several occasions, but we managed to keep a winning streak throughout.  Halfway through, we could hear nervous chatter from upcoming teams, because we essentially made ourselves a big representation by being undefeated.  We continued on, pulling win after win.  Finally, the tournament had reached the final match, where every other team that didn’t make it gets to watch the two final teams go head to head in a heated contest.  We were one of the final teams to make it there.  However, our opponents were the #1 team from Mesa Verde, which was the one we saw earlier stacked with their heaviest hitting players.  They had equal status to our undefeated streak, as they have always won the qualifier tournament, and have done so for at least 4 years.  No one stood a chance against them.  But here we were, in the belly of the beast and only one way out.  Winning.
       We sat at our designated area, as did Mesa Verde.  When both teams were ready, the onslaught of questions began.  I was insanely nervous, and my adrenaline was pumping.  The hardest thing is you can’t see your current score or theirs, so you were left in the dark as to how well you were doing.  The only time we knew was when it was halftime, where the coaches talked with the teams and enforced strategies, as well as give them a score update.  At the time, my mom said that it was a close game, but that we were 5 to 10 points behind them.  I was surprised, since Mesa Verde usually won by a landslide victory in the past.  Determined to win, we resumed with the match.  It was as if I had been going on autopilot after that.  I just answered question after question, beating Mesa Verde to the buzzer and singlehandedly carrying the team.  When the questions were over, they said good game and that it was a close match.  Everyone in the audience got on their feet and went wild, and I thought it was because Mesa Verde won.  That was, until my mom ran up to me and said that we won.  I was ecstatic, and so was my team.  We saw that there was only a 15 point difference in the scores, and that we were the champions of the tournament.  After that, everything just flew by for me.  But I knew one thing.  We beat the old champions, and that we were going to the National Tournament.  That was just as fun, but that’s a story for another time.

The First Step

Hey Guys!

Here is a story that I made and sorry it is really long. This is a prequel of my poem, The Final Stand. I highly recommend that you read it first before reading this story, as it may help you understand this story a bit more. You can read it right here:

http://irockenglish.blogspot.com/2014/10/the-final-stand.html

Either way, thanks for reading this and hope you guys enjoy!

-Harish Karumuri

_______________________________________________________


Date: March 10, 3026


Location: Gamma Ray Cloud
R.A.: 05h 34m 33s
Dec.: +22:00:55


Houston Time: 3:48


In front of the Massive Terrier X-1 Photon Cruiser -a prime spacecraft of the fleet at my home planet of Xenonia – was a plethora of Gamma Radiation, an energy at the top of our radioactive wave chart. It powers our cities for years, if not decades. However, this particular source could run our planet for at least a century. This ball of gas and radioactivity is what our planet runs on, and without it our city would be devoid of the technological miracles that have been bestowed to us by the scientists of our planet. We have cures to many diseases, clean energy, and sustainable crops due to the energy harnessed within this destructive force. With my family being grown in the Pre-Bestowed time of Xenonia, a time when plague and famine had came across the planet, I felt a need to help our terrestrial sphere continue its prosperity.


“Captain, how’s the energy?” I hear, from my best friend and partner down at the base.


“Navtek, everything seems to be going well. Preparing to take in energy. And how many times have I told you to call me Clayton?” I hear a chuckle from his side as I begin to take out my Energy Absorbtors to take in the abundance of energy from the Gamma Radiation. Energy begins to first fuel up my spacecraft and then begins to store the excess. From my dock inside the shuttle I see the gauge of the Absorbtors slowly grow. But at the last second, the gauges start to show an excess amount of radiation and error messages along with red flashing lights everywhere. If you haven’t seen any good action movies, this means something bad is going to happen.


In this case, the gamma radiation was so much stronger than what I originally anticipated. The energy was seeping out of the Absorbtors and harming the ship itself.


“Sergeant! What is going on?” I hear through a crackly intermission.


“Navtek, it seems as if the energy source came into the infrastructure of the ship. Run a diagnostic now!”


Within seconds came a response. “The assumption you had was indeed correct. However, the radiation is much too extreme for a body to handle. It is required that the ship breaks apart for the escape of the energy as well. ”


“Then what the heck am I supposed to do?”


“First, wear the radiation armor. Then steer the ship to the coordinates you are about to receive.”


The pair of numbers are sent to me and the coordinates take me to some unknown planet. “What coordinates are these!” I scream in panic as I quickly put on the radiation exosuit. In my 5 years as an energy collector, this is my moment of most panic.


“Sergeant, getting back to Xenonia is literally death. This was the closest planet we could give you.”


With no other option, I hop on to driver’s seat and rush to the planet as fast as I can. “Houston, tell me the details of this planet!”


“Planet name: Un-own. Popula-on: Un-own. Biome: Un-now-.”
“IT’S BREAKING UP,” I scream at the top of my lungs with chaos going on around  me. Knowing that my communication was about to be cut off, I start to take precautionary actions.


“Sur-ival Chanc-: 1.2%” my computer practically shouts at me.


The two words to describe my feelings were, “Oh crap.”


“Out of all the things I hear, that’s the one thing that comes out of you, you stupid computer!? The one thing that totally can motivate me to survive!?” I practically scream.


Everything afterward is just an indecipherable mess of static. I guess cursing at the computer made my situation even worse. I throw my hands in the air in frustration and assess the predicament I was in.


I have no other option. I have to go to this planet and survive. As I wait in anticipation, my ship suddenly goes into overdrive.


Date: March 10th, 3026


Location: Planet Unknown
R.A. 06h 34m 33sec
Dec. +23:01:56


Houston Time: 4:50?


As I painfully open my eyes, I see a desolate land with withered trees outside the cockpit. Toward the back of this cockpit is a blown up and fragmented stern. The ringing sensation in my ears recedes. As I make my way into my ship and look for any undamaged gadgets, a display on ship’s front shows the outside air quality  as anything but breathable. If I go outside, I die. Luckily the cockpit itself stayed intact, retaining the oxygen inside.
I soon decide to scavenge the interior, looking for anything that I can use: mainly oxygen, food, water, and weapons. After a good while of searching, I find a small survival bunker [Thank the lords!], which gives me a week’s worth of nutrition packs with water, a small pistol with several cartridges, a blunt copper dagger, and the one thing I need the most: oxygen. There’s only one problem- I only have three days worth of it.


Three days.


I have to get out of here in three days if I ever want to see home.


See my family.


See Xenonia.


I put on my oxygen mask to head to the doors, leading to a world that I have no idea of- with no sense of what obstacles are going to come across my way, no idea of how I was going to get home, and no knowledge of surviving with any creatures that may be out there.


I take one more deep breath, and open the metal door. A screech of air releases and comes outward, causing red-orange dust to puff around and make my mask become unclear. Soon after I wipe it off, I experience a fearful awe that comes across me.


The sky was nearly dark with small sections of a yellow, glowing rock, dimly fading with a small source of light. Around and below me is a blood red crust that makes me feel miniscule, inferior, and disgraceful. Some sections seemed to be a poisonous and vicious gunk that threatened to melt the soul away from anyone who ventured into it. And across some edges were pools of molten magma, daring for something to come venture into the scalding sections. Some areas even had shriveled up plants and trees thriving for water and nutrition. In short, this place was as if Mars had crashed into the Hell.


As I walk in, I feel the swish of an arrow just above my ear.


So I fling my pistol out expecting to see the most horrifying creature alive. Well, I’m not sure if I should even call it a creature. The only thing that was visible was a charcoal black skeleton with one of the most powerful bows ever invented – a Manalyn Framed, Ferrouskyn stringed bow (Did I mention I got an A+ in Weapon Identification in college?). I had to be extremely lucky that he missed.


I shot him several times, and that only made him seem to rage even more. His body started to light up as a blinding flash came about. Then, I saw no longer a skeleton, but a flaring skeleton monster, with teeth sharper than a granite-sharpened damascus steel sword. His body grew to at least seven feet inside. When I look even closer, it seems as if it has a black smog releasing from him as his focus began to come on me.


Crap.


I began to once again shoot wildly, trying to hit every part of his evil, skeletal body. However, this came to no avail.
Then I took out the one weapon I had left. The copper dagger with a dull tip was what my life came down to. I had no other choice. I chucked the worthless piece of metal at him as hard as I could and when the knife struck him, a piercing screech shot out of him and his body slowly shriveled to ash leaving only one thing.


The copper dagger.


I slowly creep toward the body, hoping that it won’t somehow magically pop back to life in a more bloodthirsty form. But as I reach the death spot the glint of the dagger was the only thing found in the mound of dark ashes. I pick up this strange shard and begin to marvel at the power that seems to be inside.


That is, until when a hard thump of a club hits my head. The last thing I hear is a gruff man saying, “Dang it Billy! Boss told us to keep him alive!


Date: March 11th?, 3026


Location: Planet Unknown
R.A. 06h 34m 33sec
Dec. +23:01:56


Houston Time: ?:??


Hey Boss, I think the guy’s waking up.” I hear the same gruff voice.


I hear another unfamiliar voice, assuming it’s Billy’s saying, “I told you I didn’t kill him!”


I try to pretend to remain sleeping so I could eavesdrop into the conversation, but a third unfamiliar voice, “Wake up Clayton. We know you’ve already been awake for the past five minutes.”


What the. They know my name!


The same unfamiliar voice replied, “Yes. We know your name. That’s probably why I said it.”


I swear, these guys are freaking mind readers. I manage to open my eyes and sit up to find myself in a meager, metal-walled room with computers and flashing lights. Each screen had different things on it, like a security camera. The first camera had a picture of the atmosphere. The second was a picture of a fortress, seeming to be made out of a refined sort of the crust that I had crash landed on. A third screen trailed a buff man which seemed to embody evil. The man had a dark, ashen aura seeping out of his body. He was wearing obsidian armor with damascus iron boots, and a light, flexible black undercloth. His face showed a evil pair of eyes with no pupils showing. His blood-red colored hair was tied in an ornate fashion with jewels and gold, showing his vile face which was a stygian skin on top of the evilness that was already in him. The camera followed him until he reached a weak and undernourished boy. The boy moved his lips in fear, as if he had done something wrong. Then in a flash, the evil man took out a shadow iron sword and decapitated the poor little child.


I can’t say any more about what he did at that moment.


And on the fourth screen was a broken down Terrier X-1 Photon Cruiser.


“Wait a second, why is my Terrier X-1 Photon Cruiser on the screen!” I yell in frustration.


The third man who had spoken responded with, “Uuuuuuuuummmm. You should follow me.”


But then I realized I was talking without an oxygen mask. “Before you say anything else, where is my oxygen mask?”


“We went to refill it. There is oxygen constantly being filled in this base so you will be fine.”


Oh. So I guess these guys are friendly. What’s this guys name anyway?


“Yes, we are friendly. And the name is Ramhart. I am part of the Pure Blood clan. We are here in order to bring prosperity to this land.”


Once again, freaking mind readers! “What’s the name of this planet?”


“Welcome to planet Earth, or nicknamed by us as the Underworld.”


Yikes. I’ve only heard legends about this place by elders who escaped from the planet and fled to Xenonia. “And why do you want me?”


“You took down a monstrous force that kills three of our members every time it approaches. You took it down with no effort.”


“Well, I di-”


“Don’t say it was the copper dagger! There’s something inside of you that can help us. You may be…” Ramhart began to mumble off.


“What was that?”


“Oh nothing. Let me introduce you to the leaders.”


After what I think an hour has elapsed, I finally get an understanding of the “Pure Blood” clan. So this group has five different leaders, and each of them have mastered their minds and bodies and are now able to control one of the six elements. Ramhart has mastered spirit, giving him telekinetic powers, so he’s the only one who can mind read. The group also made him the general leader, so that’s who “Boss” was. A slender and fast girl, Bryze, controls the element of wind. Because of her, we have the oxygen in this area. A girl named Blaise pretty much bends fire, so she gives the heat when we need it. The Gruff guy, named Thomas, has electricity, so I think it’s self explanatory on how he helps the base. Finally, Billy can control water, so he gives the group hydration.


There was one more element which I questioned them about, but they all pretended like they didn’t hear it. It was frustrating, but I didn’t really want to get on the bad side of some people who could wreck my face in a few seconds.


There were also other members from crashed planes and refugees from the so called “Death Age” who helped the cause here as well. They didn’t manage to be able to “master” themselves, but they help out the place by developing new tools and such.


After being bored in the room I awoke to for a long time, I got up and and checked the place around. Despite what I originally thought, this place was gigantic and had intricate hallways and many different rooms. In the midst of roaming around, I heard Ramhart speaking from a small distance away. As I ventured closer to the sound, it seemed as if the leaders were having a discussion.


“Is Clayton the one?” Bryze says.


Wait, what? They’re talking about me? What do I have that can make this place great?


Then I hear a sound that I never thought that I would hear. Navtek.


“Clayton is your guy. He’s been one with nature since childhood. He loves animals and he has a huge garden back here. He will help Earth come back to how it was,” he said through a transmission.


I couldn’t hear anymore. I could not listen in. I immediately left the area. All that “unknown” crap he gave me about this planet. He knew the ins and outs of this place. He never wanted me to get back home. He wanted me to fight for some bloody cause. But then I heard my name once again.


“Clayton, I know you’re listening in on this. I’m sorry man. I had to do this. You know what? Xenonia is on its tipping point too. We may not have plague or hunger, but we have another problem. Greed. Wars are breaking out between us and many countries. There’s overpopulation. We need more room to grow. That’s why you are here.”


I just ran away as the ending click came. Thomas was coming out and trying to send a stun ball my way, but as he threw it, a trap door opened below my feet into a dim area. As I was falling, the door was going back into place and the only place I could go was down.


I seem to be waking up with paining eyes way too much within the past few, hours? Days? I don’t even know at this point. I get up off this dusty floor and I find myself in this old and decrepit room. On the far side of the room are podiums, each one with a small symbol on them. I come closer and see that the first one had a Purple circle with a four pointed star in the middle. The one after had strokes of white coming forward as if it showed a sense of wind. The one after was remarkably like a fire burst with colors of crimson and orange. The next had a lightning bolt on it with a golden yellow. The one after had waves of water.


The final one had a tree with branches that came forward at me and was calling my name. And what was really different about this one was that there was a sword handle sticking out of the top. It had an intricate carving of branches and leaves. There was a force belonging to this sword that was longing me to pull it out. I went forward to grab it and I clasp my hands around the handle.


As I tried to pull it up, the sword remained stiff and refused to come up no matter what I tried.

I pull with great strength for an extreme amount of time and begin to frustrate myself. After what I think is an hour, I give up and try to head back.


No need to though. Blaise and Bill manage to come in and help me out. They said nothing. They just get me out, take me to my room and left. Nothing more than that. I lay down on my bed, thinking about everything that happened and just fall asleep with the confusion in my head.


Date: March ??, 3026


Location: Planet Earth
R.A. 06h 34m 33sec
Dec. +23:01:56


Houston Time: ?:??


“BEEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEP BEEEEEEEEEEP”


I jolt awake immediately. Red flashing lights with ear-splitting sounds scream at me. A worker tells me to go to the conference room, the same room where I heard Navtek. Everyone was squished into the area to see a giant video message from the ominous man I had seen on the security camera.


“Hello there Pure bloods,” he said with a mocking tone. “My name is Oklarth Tenebis. It has come to my attention that you are attempting to steal my kingdom. If anyone tries to steal it, I punish them. So, I have done exactly that. Take a look at these people.” Gasps came out from all around the room. Each of the clan leaders were there, tied to a pole surrounded with billions of things that could kill them. Things from flame throwers, to tear gas, to motion detecting turrets ready to fire at the slightest bit of movement. “I have heard that these people are leading this cause. If you want them back, you have one thing to do. Fight. Otherwise, say goodbye. You have 2 hours starting now. May you lose!” He followed that with the most menacing laugh heard by any being’s ears. A timer came afterwards.


I had no idea what do or or say. But then I saw a small, green pathway, similar to the one on GPS, urging me to follow it like the yellow brick road. With the shock I was in, I decide to follow it. It leads me down some stairs and directly to the sword.


The Sword.


I was about to curse and scream in frustration, but I heard a voice. A small voice.  


Ramhart.


“Pull-the-sword.” I hear his croaking voice. “Pull-the-sword.”


It all begins to click in my head. Spirit. Wind. Fire. Lightning. Water. Life. A newfound will comes into me. Ramhart is right. I will pull this sword out of this podium. I will not be stopped. These are my friends at stake. This is the planet at stake.


This is Xenonia at stake.


I will be the warrior of life.


I take a good look into the sword and grasp the handle. As I pull my hand upward, there is a copper sword ready to destroy a skeleton army.

Honors Reflection Essay Assignment

Honors Reflection Essay Prompt: After carefully reviewing the writing and assessments you have completed over the course of the year, write a reflection essay that demonstrates your understanding of your strengths as a writer, reader, and thinker and the areas in which you have grown as a writer, reader, and thinker this year. Your essay should be structured as an argument, and as such, it should include a thesis statement and specific textual evidence (quotes) from your work throughout the year to support that thesis. An exemplary essay will be deeply and honestly reflective, will explicitly analyze the ways in which the student’s growth has led to a change in behavior, and will demonstrate an awareness of an area for future growth as a reader, writer, and/or thinker.

Details:

  • 400 and 500 word count 
  • Completed in and out of class 
  • Three drafts minimum Typed, Double Spaced, MLA header, Times New Roman 12 pt, 1 Inch Margins 
  • Graded according to the attached rubric Counts as 25% of your fourth quarter grade

Blood of Olympus Or End of Olympus?

By Gwyneth Schloer

Blood of Olympus Or End of Olympus?

The giants have risen along with thousands of long passed-away monsters who have only one thought on their minds: “Awake Gaea and take revenge”. In this finale to a long and adventure-filled series, heroes Annabeth, Jason, Percy, Leo, Piper, Hazel, Nico, Frank, Reyna, and Coach Hedge are aboard the Argo II trying to save the world from destruction, as the Greek and Roman camps attempt to slaughter each other.

The Mother Earth Goddess, Gaea, is rising from her once eternal slumber, and the only thing in the way of her rising, is the blood of a male and female hero, the Blood of Olympus. If she wakes, it is almost certain the world will end. Caught up in their petty rivalry that has taken place for hundreds of years, the Roman camp doesn’t even know that they should be helping the heroes fight against Gaea. Malicious, self-centered and evil Octavian decides it is the camp’s best interest to target and kill the Greek camp in order to end the God’s silence. What the Romans and Octavian don’t know is that the Gods are silent because they are suffering from an extreme case of multiple personailty disorder. Due to the conflict taking place between the Romans and the Greeks, the Roman and Greek sides of the Gods both want their side to win, so the Gods’ brains are constantly switching between personalites. In order to stop this so that the Gods can assist in the saving of the world, the two sides must stop fighting. Only then will the demigods and Gods be able to team up and defeat Gaea and her evil army of Giants. With Octavian in charge manipulating the Roman legion’s minds, there is no chance that peace will happen any time soon. The only chance that the Greeks have at surviving relies on the Athena Parthenos statue that was retrieved by the demigod heroes. It is said that the statue has magical powers, so the heroes decide this might be a good way to defend the Greeks from the pending Roman attack. The only trouble is, how are they to get it across the world in such a small amount of time? On the other side of the world, while Reyna, Nico, and Coach Hedge attempt to bring the Athena Parthenos to Long Island, its home, the heroes on Argo II are trying to kill all the giants that have risen in order to make sure they don’t succeed in awaking Gaea.

Writer Rick Riordan provides an outstanding ending to his five-part epic, Heroes of Olympus, in The Blood of Olympus. Not only does he bring back the stories of the Gods and the heroes, but he also inserts jokes, slang, references, and items relevant to today’s society, such as a Wii remote and the series Doctor Who. The dynamic characters, or heroes, in The Blood of Olympus represent the ideal humans and their flaws and imperfections. Even the relationships between each character were carefully thought out based on what mood the character was in, who was in the room, and what had just happend or what was about to happen. In this desperate fight to stop the ever-nearing end of the world, the author mixed in stories of love, tragedy, and comedy. This modern twist on Greek and Roman mythology deserves a full five-star rating.