The Radish

Kathryn Phillips Sixteen-year-old Hetty’s life at Raxter School for Girls, a boarding school on a small island off the coast of Maine, hasn’t been the same since a deadly virus called the Tox has reigned terror on the school and put the island under strict quarantine. A year in, most of the girls are used to their new life. But when her best friend, Byatt, disappears from the infirmary after a flare up of the Tox, Hetty knows something isn’t right. Along with her classmate Reese, Hetty launches a secret investigation into who took Byatt, where the Tox really came from, and who on the island is hiding ulterior motives. The reason I loved Wilder Girls by Rory Power was the world building. The interesting concept combined with Power’s frank, thoughtful descriptions pull you into the world of the Tox. One example of this is the wildlife on the island, which has become vicious and deadly since the Tox. On the first page, a coyote is described as, “Something. Way out in the white-dark. Betw...

      So, as the title implies this will hopefully be my last blog about fairy tales, or at least I have run out of fairy tale books at this point. The story today is truly an odd one, with seemingly nothing to say to the reader. The tale is The Tinderbox, a slightly horrifying and pointless tale about knights, dogs, and the fairy tale staple, marriage. The story begins with a soldier returning from a war, and while walking encounters a witch. The witch tells the knight "'You are a real soldier! You shall have as much money as you want" (335 Andersen). The witch informs him of the riches to be found under a hollow tree that the witch points to. Inside is a dog with saucepan-sized eyes over a box with copper riches, then one with a dog with millstone-sized eyes over silver riches, and the final dog with eyes as big as the round tower over gold riches. To obtain these riches the dogs must be placed on the witch's apron and then he can gather the riches. In exchange, the...

  Aya Surheyao "The infinite tapestry of life is but a semblance with a black hole at its heart" (Lane 193).        Today, we often assume that most scientific exploration has already happened. We know that mysteries still exist and yet we fail to grasp their scale. In  The Vital Question , Nick Lane explores the unknowns of evolutionary biology. He describes the chasm between eukaryotes (like us) and prokaryotes (bacteria and archaea). With amusing anecdotes and the input of many other experts, Lane lays out the origins of complex life from itty bitty compounds in ocean vents to full-fledged eukaryotes with nuclei, distinct sexes, and some with bio homework of their own. Keep in mind that this book leans towards the denser side of nonfiction, and for the sake of this post, I won't go too in-depth.       Throughout the book, Lane bursts with enthusiasm for the concepts he describes and engages meaningfully with the reader. From the first...

               For this blog post, I will be reviewing the book Relativity: The Special and General Theory  by none other than Albert Einstein. This is different from the previous books I have reviewed, as they have all been science fiction but fiction nevertheless. This is a nonfiction book detailing the special and general theory of relativity, the most accurate descriptions of the workings of space, time and gravitation that we have today. Developed by Einstein himself in the early twentieth century, the theories are summarized in this book translated from German by Robert W. Lawson. This book is enjoyable due to many reasons, one of which are its clear methodical approach which allows the reader to fully comprehend the content.               Einstein uses a rigorous approach in this book, starting off with the basics of geometry and coordinate systems. He then introduces the principles of class...

“The one thing she still had was the freedom to follow the narrative that suited her best.” Kathryn Phillips 26-year-old black babysitter Emira Tucker’s life is thrown into a confusing spiral when a police officer wrongly accuses her of kidnapping the white child she’s looking after. The child’s mother is Alix Chamberlain, a feminist author who reluctantly moved away from the hustle of New York to start a family with her news reporter husband, Peter. Such a Fun Age by Kiley Reid tackles themes of racism, classism, and privilege as it follows the complicated lives of the two women and their relationship with each other. The thing that makes this book so good, in my opinion, is the format it’s written in and how that enhances the message. Specifically the fact that each chapter alternates between Emira and Alix’s perspective. I have seen this in a lot of books, but I think it’s especially powerful in Such a Fun Age because it not only gives you information about the characters, but...

  I believe everyone should read the "Time Machine," not because of any narrative reasons (even though it was a decent book) but because it was one of the first Science Fiction books to ever be written. Being written in the 1800's it was extremely interesting to see where he though the future would lead, and while the the "Time Machine" takes place several hundred years in the future even now; I can confidently say it won't be accurate. We only know the main character by the name The Time Traveler. He builds a time machine in his workshop, using all sorts of Victorian era materials like ivory and gems. After a lengthy talk trying to convince his friends that he really did create a time machine. He travels to the year 2800 and finds no humans as we recognize them. Instead he finds a bunch of short and dumb people with no one doing any work in sight.  The structure of the time machine is surprisingly easy to understand for a book as old as it is, and with it b...

Aya Surheyao " Nishat can be anything she wants to be, except herself " (Jaigirdar 204)   In 2021 I’m making an effort to branch out from sci-fi/fantasy books and read more realistic fiction. Full of love, laughter, and tears, The Henna Wars does not disappoint. This novel, by Adiba Jaigirdar, tells the story of a Bangladeshi teenager who moved to Ireland with her family when she was young. At home, Nishat grapples with her new family dynamic when she comes out to her parents. At school, she’s used to the occasional rumors flying around about her culture and her parent’s Bengali restaurant. She’s shocked when in a school business competition, two of her classmates (including the starter of the rumors) decide to start selling henna designs, just like her. Furious, Nishat becomes determined to beat them. Throughout the story, Nishat displays great strength and persistence. She refuses to break down after her mother essentially gives her ultimatum saying, “Your Abbu and I love v...