I have changed my mind on Attack on Titan - Yan L

    Yeah...so Attack on Titan is no longer my favorite manga...and you're probably thinking "Well that was fast." considering exactly a month ago I wrote a blog about why it is. However, quite a lot has happened this month so let me explain to you how and why did Attack on Titan fall downhill so suddenly, and so quickly. Warning: spoilers ahead. 

    To be honest I was never the biggest fan of the ending, though I also didn't despise it compared to most of the community. It was quite a cheesy ending with the main protagonist Eren Jaeger, who turned "evil", making the others realize he was doing everything for them. This wasn't too bad of an ending as Attack on Titan has always been a shounen (for ages 10-16) manga, meaning it should've been expected to have a very generic ending. That being said, the author Isayama could've definitely executed that much better. If you want to see how a good version of that generic "bad guy turns good" plot twist and why AoT couldn't execute it, please check out Jaewoon's blog at The Bowl. To summarize, the twist came too suddenly without any foreshadowing or hints, Eren's final goal never needed him to turn to the dark side, thus making the plot twist seem useless.

    It seems like this is the ending Isayama wanted originally, and maybe that's why it was bad and unfitting. I would describe Isayama as an "accidental genius" as his original goal was to just write about the adventure and interactions of the three main characters of Eren, Mikasa, and Armin. However through the story, Isayama "accidentally" made the other characters' dynamic and characteristic way more interesting and developed compared to the main three. The serious and philosophical tone he wrote the story in also may have made the readers overanalyze many ideas that were just supposed to be one-sided. This would lead to many fan theories and interpretations (especially about the ending) that Isayama cannot have because of the publisher's restrictions. He also didn't change anything from his original plan for the well-developed side characters as they did not get a chance to grow and simply just stayed the same from start to finish. 

    Lastly, and what convinced me to write this blog, is the eight extra pages Isayama added, the "epilogue of the epilogue" finally convinced the remaining fans who enjoyed the ending to absolutely detest it. Not to spoil too much since the official pages haven't even been released yet, but basically, it is revealed that everything Eren did was useless, he failed to save most of humanity, he failed to confess to Mikasa, and most importantly, the only thing everyone thought Eren accomplished at the end: destroying the titans, was proven to be untrue. 

    Even after all this, I definitely would still recommend Attack on Titan just because of simply how amazing it was before the ending. The soundtrack for the anime is also, in my opinion, up there with the greatest. And though I will no longer consider it as my favorite, it will always have a special place in my heart simply because of the 7 amazing years I experienced because of it. And to end it with a quote: "to the boy who sought freedom, goodbye."

Book Recommendations for New Readers by Zhaoxin Sun

In a sort of semi-continuation from my 2nd quarter post about books versus technology in children’s education, this week I’ll be giving book recommendations for new readers. If any of you have younger siblings who hate reading, they might be convinced to give it another shot after reading these!

A couple obvious recommendations are classic early-reader series like Geronimo/Thea Stilton or the Magic Treehouse series. Books like this are action-packed and have lots of images, with each installment being relatively short. While older readers will find them very annoying due to their repetitive plotlines, such series are riveting and captivating to younger readers. They have a good mix of realistic and imaginative elements, which I think makes readers believe that these crazy things just might have a slight grain of truth in them. For beginners who may not be able to stomach complicated concepts and plotlines, this is a perfect formula to start out with.

Another series I remember loving was the Rainbow Fairies. This series really plays into the imagination and fantasies of young children; I, personally, was thrilled whenever they described their glittering wings, beautiful dresses, and instruments. The short length of the books in the series also makes it suitable for young readers. While the plot is undeniably the same each time (this might not be good if your siblings are unusually perceptive and will call the series out), the pure adrenaline rush of reading about beautiful things and a simple plot that is over in a sixteenth-inch of book keeps readers addicted. Like in the previously mentioned series, authors of this series have figured out a formula to keep children reading. This makes all of them an excellent choice to get children motivated and excited to read, as well as the sense of accomplishment that comes with finishing a book or an entire stack.

The last one and my personal favorite is for your philosopher sibling who is bad with words but seems to understand everything else. Owly by Andy Runton is a wonderful series about an owl and its friends. The books deal with very applicable and complex ideas like friendship, worry, hard work, and disappointment. By describing the lives of these animals, the author portrays these ideas in an interesting and touching way. Part of the charm of this book is that it does not use narration or dialogue. Even in the rare text box, there will only be symbols such as arrows or magnets. While this contributes to the thematic atmosphere of the book and makes it accessible to all ages, it can also be viewed as a drawback. While I personally think having no difficult or “cringey” dialogue makes it worth reading for people of all ages, some may be discouraged from having their children read this because they aren’t really learning to read. Because of this, Owly is more of an interest-building series and a way to get children familiar with flipping the pages of a book than something to learn reading and words through. 

I hope any younger family or friends enjoy these recommendations!

 

Books for Boredom (quick and easy reads)

    Boredom is the worst, and often leads to scrolling through Instagram or watching YouTube videos. So to help you out I've picked out some of my favorite go to books, that will help cure your boredom! Before we get started though, let me give you the basic gist of a boredom book. What I would classify as a boredom book would be something to take your minds off things for a while. A book that you can just pull of yourself to entertain yourself with. You don't want something to long or that requires a commitment, because that's too much work. You especially don't want something too dark and depressing because those can be hard to read. 

Calvin and Hobbes (comic books)

    Calvin and Hobbes, Big Nate and basically any other comic book are great, easy books to read. Calvin and Hobbes is a comedy comic book about Calvin, a young mischievous boy and his stuffed tiger Hobbes. The comic covers a broad range of topics including daydreams, attacks on Susie, trouble in school, sled rides and more. What I love the most about Calvin and Hobbes is the simplicity of it. Each book is created from a collection of comic strips some funny, some sweet and others more philosophical. There is no overarching story, and if you wanted to, you could read start reading from the middle of the book. Calvin and Hobbes is the perfect solution to boredom and I would recommend reading it. 

Carl Hiaasen

    Carl Hiaasen has published many young reader chapter books about nature and mysteries. These books include Hoot, Flush, Scat, Squirm, Stink - No Surrender and Chomp (Hoot was made into a movie). He has also written some adult novels, but I have yet to read those. All his Young reader books fun, playful and intriguing stories. He always finds an interesting storyline, like in Chomp two young kids and one of their fathers join a production company to film a nature show when a thunderstorm appears, and the main actor goes missing. Another one of my favorites by him is Flush, a story about a brother and sister investigating a gambling ship for illegal sewage dumping. These stories are always a fun read and are a great cure to your boredom for a few hours.

Reread a favorite book. 

    You can never go wrong with rereading one of your favorite books! 

    Rereading books is a great way to pass some time. You've already read it and know what's going to happen, so you can be a little more relaxed while reading it. It's also something you know you'll enjoy, so there's no stress involved!

Thank you for reading!

 - Sophie A.