Book Review : Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

Synopsis: 

The New York Times bestselling first book in a dark new series that reimagines the Oz saga, from debut author Danielle Paige.

I didn't ask for any of this. I didn't ask to be some kind of hero. But when your whole life gets swept up by a tornado—taking you with it—you have no choice but to go along, you know?

Sure, I've read the books. I've seen the movies. I know the song about the rainbow and the happy little blue birds. But I never expected Oz to look like this. To be a place where Good Witches can't be trusted, Wicked Witches may just be the good guys, and winged monkeys can be executed for acts of rebellion. There's still a road of yellow brick—but even that's crumbling.

What happened? Dorothy. They say she found a way to come back to Oz. They say she seized power and the power went to her head. And now no one is safe.

My name is Amy Gumm—and I'm the other girl from Kansas. I've been recruited by the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked. I've been trained to fight. And I have a mission: Remove the Tin Woodman's heart. Steal the Scarecrow's brain. Take the Lion's courage. And—Dorothy must die.

Review :

I want to start off by saying that when I started this book I what I would think if it. My twisted sense of curiosity is what got the best of me on this one and I am glad it did. Lots of twisted and backwards adventure to be found here!

Amy Gunn is your average girl who has been dealt a bad hadn at life. She has no friends (thanks to nasty Ms. Madison), her father left when she was young and her mom is is a druggie. She wants nothing more than to get away from her crappy trailer life. Well she gets her wish; just no how she expected it.

Welcome to Oz. But not how we know it. Yes the happy movies and the book is based on what had taken place but the story didn't end there...Dorothy came back and apparently became power and magic hungry. Glinda is a horrible slave driven, the munchkins are back to living in fear worse than with the witches. The beloved Scarecrow, Tin Man and Lion are mutated and twisted into something atrocious! And many other twists await!

Let me give warning: DO NOT get attached to characters. There is a fair share of death in this book. And the first one I read has me very distrustful of bubbles right now and was gross! so unpleasant death at that! You have been warned...

Then we get the fun job of attempting to figure out who to trust. Everyone tells Amy to trust no one. So that sends a firm message that has me wondering through the entire book. Many characters seem to have ulterior motives and secrets. So Amy has to train and learn to fight, control magic all while wondering what is going on and why.

Danielle Paige has done a great job with character creation. Nox, Glamora, and other fantastic new characters are in this book. Amy I felt could have been a bit better. I do like her with her balance of flaws and abilities but her frame of mind and willingness so early on to kill disturbed me.

The ending bit a bit rushed with lots of important facts but it is just sort of hurled at the reader. Which leads to my last small annoyance: the back cover is misleading....By the end of the book she is just barely starting on the actually missions set. When I got this book I was not expecting a long series. Now I wonder how long this can be. I have no problem with a series but I prefer my summaries to cover the book not the whole series arc. There is a lot if filler in this book. While enjoyable, it was not necessary and I feel is deliberately drawing it out (much like drawing a movie into 2 parts-I don't like that either).

Less those few flaws, I really enjoyed this book. A good start to a new adventure. This is for older teens-adults with some graphic scenes and behaviors. The recreated world is fun to re-explore after many years. I will assuredly be continuing the series!

najwa

Top 10 Things You Can Do To Help The Enviroment

Without the Earth we have no where to live, along with many other organisms. If we don't save the Earth now maybe our children or grandchildren might not be able to see it for long. Our atmosphere is weakening and we have to do something about it fast. 

We could plant more trees to create more oxygen to keep the bad air away from the atmosphere, or we could just stop cutting down the rainforest. We are living and we need the space but we aren't the only species on this earth. Saving the rainforest is not only good for us and the atmosphere but also good for the many different species that it homes.

We could try to get as many people as possible to switch to hybrids and other energy saving things to use less fossil fuel for energy and relying more on solar and wind energy. Fossil fuels are destroying our earth and we need to limit the use of it.

Recycling is a great and easy way to help our precious planet. Everyone can help, all they have to do is follow three simple rules; Reduce, Reuse, Recycle! 

The world is precious and we need to keep it that way.

1. Reduce energy use
   Adopt energy-saving habits. Make it a habit to turn off the lights as you leave a room. Also, replace standard light bulbs with energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulbs. Turn off your computer and unplug electronics when they are not in use.
   
2. Change the way you think about transportation
   Walk or bike whenever possible. Not only will you reduce your carbon footprint, but your overall level of health will improve and you will save money on parking and gasoline.
   Take public transit or carpool whenever possible.
   When purchasing a vehicle look for one with better mileage.  Increase your fuel economy when driving by sticking to posted speed limits and avoiding rapid acceleration and excessive braking. Plan and combine trips and errands. This will save you both time and money as well as reduce wear and tear on your vehicle. When travelling long distances, try to take a train or bus rather than flying or driving.
   
3. Insulate your home
   Insulate yourself and your home. By properly insulating your home, you can ensure that heat stays in or out depending on the season. You can do this by purchasing windows and window coverings that will block out or keep in warmth, and by sealing any existing cracks. In winter, reduce your thermostat by 2 °C to enjoy energy savings and a cozy sweater. In summer, use fans to circulate air, and set air conditioners to make your home a comfortable temperature. Lowering the temperature on your water heater to between 55 and 60 °C and insulating your pipes also makes a difference. Federal government programs such as the ecoENERGY initiative provide incentives for energy-saving home upgrades.
   
4. Make every drop count
   Conserve water by fixing drips and leaks, and by installing low-flow shower heads and toilets. Challenge yourself to a speed shower. Turn off water while brushing teeth or shaving. Treating and transporting water requires energy, while water conservation results in reduced energy requirements and carbon emissions.
   
5. Cool wash and hang to dry
   These are not just washing instructions on a label anymore, but an equation for energy savings. Wash clothing in cold water and hang clothing to dry outside, or indoors on a drying rack. Taking these steps will reduce your electricity bill and also prolong the life of clothing by reducing wear on the fabric caused by dryers.
   
6. High efficiency appliances
   When replacing appliances, look for high efficiency units. Appliances with ENERGY STAR ratings, an international standard for energy-efficient consumer products, typically utilize a minimum of 20 % less energy. This means savings for you and the environment.
   
7. Switch to "green power"
   Research where your power is coming from - wind, water, coal, or solar - and talk to your power provider to determine if a greater percentage could be coming from renewable resources. Encourage power providers to switch to green power and, if possible and/or economically viable, switch to a company offering power from renewable resources.
   
8. Recycle
   Make recycling part of your daily routine. Recycle all packaging and consumer goods that you can. Aim to purchase items with minimal and recyclable packaging. For certain items with large amounts of packaging, ask retailers if they can recycle or re-use it. For electronics, facilities now exist that can dispose of electronics in an environmentally responsible manner. Encorp Pacific Return-It programs recycle "broken" end-of-life electronics.                                                                                                           
9. Repurpose
   Rather than discarding or recycling clothing and household goods, give them a chance at a second life. Gently used clothing can be donated to charity or exchanged with friends and family. Old T-shirts can be repurposed into rags for cleaning. Household goods can be donated to charity or sold at a garage sale. Through repurposing, the amount of waste being sent to landfill sites is reduced, there is no need to use energy for recycling, and others can benefit from your used items.
   
10. Plants, our new best friend
    When gardening, select plants that are well suited to your climate and require minimal watering and attention. Better yet, plant a tree, and it will provide shade and soak up carbon from the atmosphere.

                                                                          

                                                                                      credit; Nur Naseha

Ashurbanipal created the world's first libary in Assyria, this libary known as The Royal Library of Ashurbanipal, named after Ashurbanipal, the last great king of the Neo-Assyrian Empire, is a collection of thousands of clay tablets and fragments containing texts of all kinds (royal inscriptions, chronicles, mythological and religious texts, contracts,

royal grants and decrees, royal letters, assorted administrative documents, and even what would be today called classified documents, reports from spies, ambassadors, etc.) The collection written knowledge in some sort of repository is a practice as old as civilization itself. About 30,000 clay tablets found in ancient Mesopotamia date back more than 5,000 years. Archaelogists have uncovered papyrus scrolls from 1300-1200bc in the ancient Egyptian cities of Amarna and Thebes and thousands of clay tablets in the palace of King Sennacherib, Assyrian ruler from 704-681bc, at Nineveh, his capital city. More evidence turned up with the discovery of the personal collection of Sennacherib's grandson, King Ashurbanipal. The Great Library of Alexandria, a public library open to those with the proper scholarly and literary qualifications, founded about 300bc. When Egypt's King Ptolemy I (305-282bc) asked, "How many scrolls do we have?", Aristotle's disciple Demetrius of Phalerum was on hand to answer with the latest count. After all, it was Demetrius who suggested setting up a universal library to hold copies of all the books in the world. Ptolemy and his successors wanted to understand the people under their rule and house Latin, Buddhist, Persian, Hebrew, and Egyptian works - translated into Greek.

Let a hundred flowers bloom: China, Korea, Japan in cherry trifle

BEIJING: A perennial debate over the birthplace of the cherry blossom has taken a fresh turn as a Chinese industry group claims the Asian giant is the tree’s true home, rather than Japan or claimant South Korea.

Cherry blossoms have long been associated with Japan, where viewing the short-lived blooms is an enduringly popular pastime to herald the arrival of spring.

In recent years, some South Korean media have claimed that the country is actually the flower’s origin – sometimes provoking prickly reactions in Japan.

But according to He Zongru, executive chairman of the China Cherry Industry Association, both are wrong, and the Middle Kingdom is the blossom’s true birthplace.

He cited a Japanese monograph on cherry blossoms which stated that the flower originated in the Himalayan mountains of China and did not arrive in Japan until the Tang dynasty more than 1,100 years ago.

“We don’t want to get into a war of words with Japan and South Korea, but we want to assert a fact: Many historical documents confirm that the cherry blossom’s place of origin is in China,” He said, according to the Guangzhou-based Southern Metropolis Daily on Monday.

“As Chinese people, we have a responsibility to let more people know this history,” he added.

For decades, Tokyo has given the prized plant to countries including the US as a gesture of goodwill, and every spring people across Japan gather under cherry blossom trees to eat, drink and admire.

Thousands of visitors line the banks of Washington’s Tidal Basin every spring to catch a sight of the city’s pink and white flowers, which were a gift from Japan in 1912.

In Beijing, the most popular place to view them is Yuyuantan Park, home to more than 2,000 cherry trees – roughly 200 of which were given to China by Japan in the early 1970s, when the two countries re-established diplomatic ties.

Nonetheless the row reflects tense relations among the three Asian rivals, which are frequently at odds with each other on issues including Japan’s 20th-century history – when it colonised Korea and parts of China, culminating in World War II – and competing territorial claims in regional waters.

Often, such battles see Beijing and Seoul team up against Tokyo, as when China unveiled a memorial last year to a Korean national hero condemned by Japan as a “terrorist” for killing a Japanese official a century ago.

Even so He’s message to Seoul in the latest debate was uncompromising.

“Simply put, the cherry blossom originated in China and flourished in Japan,” the paper quoted him as saying. “South Korea has nothing to do with it.” 

People gather under cherry blossoms in full bloom in Tokyo on March 29, 2015. Many people in the Japanese capital enjoyed the sunny spring weekend. 

4U9525 CRASH: Victims DNA found as rescuers battle terrain

BERLIN: Investigators picking through the wreckage of a passenger jet that crashed on a remote Alpine mountain said they had found DNA from more than half of the victims, as more details emerged concerning the doomed flight’s last minutes.

Forensic teams announced they had isolated almost 80 distinct DNA strands from body parts at the Germanwings crash site in the French Alps, as recovery personnel continued their grim task following last week’s tragedy.

French officials say the plane’s black box voice recorder indicates that co-pilot Andreas Lubitz, 27, locked the captain out of the cockpit of the Airbus jet and deliberately crashed Flight 4U 9525, bound for Duesseldorf from Barcelona.

Investigators have described the difficulty searching for bodies and a second black box as “unprecedented” due to a combination of mountainous terrain and the violence of the impact.

The plane is said to have crashed at a speed of 700 kilometres per hour, killing all 150 on board instantly.

Prosecutor Brice Robin, one of the lead investigators, said an access road was being built to the site to allow all-terrain vehicles to remove some of the larger parts of the plane and help transport bodies.

He said forensic experts had identified 78 different DNA strands.

“We haven’t found a single body intact,” said Patrick Touron, deputy director of the police’s criminal research institute.

“We have slopes of 40 to 60 degrees, falling rocks, and ground that tends to crumble.

“Some things have to be done by abseiling. Since safety is key, the recovery process is a bit slow, which is a great regret,” he added.

Most body parts were being winched up to helicopters and transported to a lab in the nearby town of Seynes, where a 50-strong team of forensic doctors, dentists and police identification specialists is working.

Between 400 and 600 body parts were being examined, Touron said.

“In catastrophes, normally around 90 percent of identifications are done through dental records,” he added, but in the case of flight 9525, DNA was likely to play a greater role than normal.

Once DNA samples have been taken, they are sent to another lab outside Paris where they are compared with samples taken from family members this week.

Captain Yves Naffrechoux, a mountain ranger, said finding the second black box – the flight data recorder which logs all technical data – was a priority.

Germany’s Bild newspaper on Sunday reported more details of the flight’s final moments.

It said the captain, which it identified as Patrick S., shouted at the co-pilot to “open the damn door” as he desperately tried to get back into the locked cockpit after leaving to use the toilet.

“For God’s sake, open the door” he yelled as passengers’ screams could be heard in the background, it said, citing information from the cockpit voice recorder.

Bild said “loud metallic blows” against the cockpit door could then be heard, before another warning alarm went off.

As investigators seek to build a picture of Lubitz and any possible motives, media reports have emerged that he suffered from eye problems, adding to earlier reports he was severely depressed.

German prosecutors believe Lubitz hid an illness from his airline but have not specified what it was, and said he had apparently been written off sick on the day the Airbus crashed.

The Bild tabloid and the New York Times have reported that Lubitz had sought treatment for problems with his sight.

Police have found a number “of medicines for the treatment of psychological illness” during a search at his Duesseldorf home, Welt am Sonntag newspaper said.

It added that the Germanwings co-pilot was suffering from stress and severe depression, according to personal notes found.

German prosecutors revealed Friday that searches of Lubitz’s homes netted “medical documents that suggest an existing illness and appropriate medical treatment“, including “torn-up and current sick leave notes, among them one covering the day of the crash.”

A flight attendant told Bild she had a relationship with Lubitz last year and recalled him saying: “One day I’m going to do something that will change the whole system, and everyone will know my name and remember.”

Bild also reported that Lubitz’s girlfriend with whom he lived was believed to be pregnant.

French police investigator Jean-Pierre Michel told AFP Saturday that Lubitz’s personality was a “serious lead” in the inquiry but not the only one.

Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr has said that Lubitz had suspended his pilot training, which began in 2008, “for a certain period” before restarting and qualifying for the Airbus A320 in 2013.

The second-in-command had passed all psychological tests required for training, Spohr said.

Half of the victims were German, with Spain accounting for at least 50. The remainder were a mix of more than a dozen other nationalities.--AFP

A French rescue worker inspects the remains of the Germanwings Airbus A320 at the site of the crash, near Seyne-les-Alpes, French Alps. REUTERS

New system to help students choose right varsity courses

KUALA LUMPUR: In a bid to reduce the number of disgruntled school leavers who cannot get courses of their choice in local universities, the Education Ministry’s centralised university unit (UPU) has come up with a new system.

Students can now key in their details and the system will show them the courses for which they are eligible and likely to be accepted.

Deputy Education Minister P. Kamalanathan said this was to reduce the number of disgruntled applicants who could not get their chosen courses when they only met the minimum requirements.

“Applicants must provide their full names, IC numbers and Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA), and the system will suggest a list of public universities and the courses (that they qualify for),” he told reporters after launching a special secretariat to provide guidance to SPM and STPM school leavers on their future study options.

He stressed that school leavers had to go through this step before they could enter their choice of courses in UPU.

The requirement known as Semak Syarat could be found on http://upu.moe.gov.my.

Although applicants meet a course’s minimum requirements, he said there was no guarantee they would get it as there might be other applicants with higher CGPAs. Citing an example from last year, Kamalanathan said there was an applicant with a CGPA of 2.1 who obtained a place in a public university as he had done research and found out the right courses and public universities that he qualified for.

“There was another applicant who had a CGPA of 3.0 but did not get an offer because he only chose popular courses.

“This is why this system will help applicants to know which are suitable courses,” said Kamalanathan.

He urged SPM and STPM school leavers to carefully research all their study options to avoid disappointment.

On those who did not do well in the examinations, Kamalanathan said they could still enrol in other institutes such as community colleges and polytechnics.

On another matter, Kamalanathan said he had discussed the issue of parents in Selangor being unable to register their children for Year One in 2017. They can only do so online a year before their children start school.

“I hope the issue can be resolved in one or two days,” he said.

SPM 2014

 11,289 students score straight As

PUTRAJAYA: A total of 11,289 students scored straight As in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM).

Education Ministry director-general Datuk Seri Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof said there was a slight dip in the number of students who scored all As.

"For 2013, a total of 13,970 students scored straight As. Even though there is a slight decrease, the gap is still small," he told reporters during the announcement of the SPM results this morning.

Khair said one of the factors of the decrease in straight As scorers could be attributed to the new examination format.

He also said the national average grade (GPN) for 2014 was 5.08 and there was a decrease of 0.15 points as compared to 2013 (4.93).

The GPN measures a student's overall performance in the examination, and a lower score indicates a better student achievement.

A total of 455,839 students had sat for the examination which took place at 3,655 examinations last year.

The SPM examination took place from Nov 3 to Dec 3, 2014.

Education Ministry director-general Datuk Seri Dr Khair Mohamad Yusof announce that a total of 11,289 students scored straight As in the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM). Pix by Ahmad Irham Mohd Noor.