The Brethren: Book review by Mani Sankar

By

John Grisham

In John Grisham’s latest, The Brethren, two Western judges and a Southern justice of the peace have formed an unofficial law practice inside the Florida minimum-security federal prison where they’re incarcerated. Known collectively as the Brethren, Joe Spicer (grand theft), Finn Yarber (income-tax evasion), and Hatlee Beech (vehicular homicide while under the influence) spend most of their days advising other inmates for a fee. Once a week they hold court to settle prisoner disputes. And just recently the three bored and embittered old men have expanded their activities to include a by-mail extortion scheme. After identifying rich, closeted gay men who have responded to a bogus personal ad, the Brethren spring their trap, demanding tens of thousands of dollars from their horrified victims.

One of those victims turns out to be Aaron Lake, a 53-year-old Arizona congressman running for President. After the Brethren penetrate Lake’s pseudonym, they concoct an airtight blackmail plan. If Lake can manage to have their sentences commuted, they won’t demolish his campaign and his life. What the Brethren don’t know is that Aaron Lake’s run for the presidency has been financed from the beginning by the CIA — specifically, by its Machiavellian director, Teddy Maynard, as a part of his scheme to double the U.S. military budget.

The crisis (and most of the black comedy) comes when all the mighty covert power of the CIA is unleashed against the Brethren, in a seesaw of cons, negotiations, betrayal, and murder. It’s also a flat-out guilty pleasure, Grisham’s first real page-turner since 1997’s ”The Partner.” But for all its skilful execution, you do feel a little dirty in the company of such despicable characters.

Reviewed by

Mani Sankar

XB, Shift-I

The silence of the lambs: Book review by Salini Johnson

by

Thomas Harris

“A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some  fava beans and a nice chianti” – Hannibal Lecter

The above-mentioned sentences are the world famous hair-raising confessions of the cannibalistic Hannibal Lecter, enlivened on the silver    screen by the Academy Award winner Anthony Hopkins. To be frank, it is  hard to come by a bloodcurdling novel like “The Silence of the Lambs”        with its cool style of storytelling that could leave you in utter amazement whether it was really a horror story you had just finished! That is where the real    success of this book as a best-selling novel lies in enthralling its audience, leaving behind us with a feeling of having drenched in cold water.   In my opinion this novel is incomparable and indubitably stands out among the run-of-the-mill horror fiction. The adept ability of the author Thomas Harris is indeed praiseworthy.

The plot of the story mainly revolves around Dr.Hannibal Lecter, the name  that sends a chill down the spine. He is portrayed as a psychopath, with extraordinary intelligence, secluded in a high security prison. The reader is first introduced to Clarisse Starling, an FBI agent who seeks advice from this sociopath on the whereabouts of a killer unrestrained whose modus     operandi is to leave his victims flayed. The rest of the novel is indeed    breath-taking and mesmerizing, at times petrifying, yet suspense-filled.

All in all, the book has been weaved into a smooth tale of tracking-the-murderer in a unique manner resulting in gluing our eyes to its pages throughout. No wonder “The Silence of the Lambs” has been caught on        reel to sweep off the Oscars in its time. Some horror novel this is!

Reviewed by

Salini Johnson,

Class: XI-A.

The Andromeda Strain: Book review by Manisankar

by

Michael Crichton

The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton became a New York Times Bestseller because it was so frighteningly real and it’s characters were developed in detail. From the first page of the book it appears it is a secret document about something that really happened in the 1960’s. Michael Crichton opens with “This book recounts the five-day history of a major American scientific crisis…” and he weaves into the people who really helped him with writing the book. The purpose of Wildfire, a top-secret project located in Nevada, is to be a research station for any extra-terrestrial beings found. Therefore, when a satellite crashes back down to earth and then 49 inhabitants of Piedmont, Arizona drop dead, Wildfire becomes the perfect place to study the incident. The fact that the book takes place in areas that every American knows about makes the book even easier to believe. The Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton is a novel that takes science fiction writing to a new degree of realism. The author uses well developed characters to tell of a possible scientific disaster. With the world at such unrest today, it is clear why the book is a New York Times Bestseller.

What still brings this intense, thrilling, and suspenseful science-fiction novel to the front is the story where scientists have to find the cause of a disease strain that came from outer space. The strain came from a meteor that crashed near a small town in the desert and it has killed everyone in the town except an old man and a newborn baby. In a secret underground government laboratory, four scientists are brought together to find a solution as fast as possible. If they don’t find the cause and a solution in five days, the town, the area around the town, and the secret laboratory will have to be destroyed by nuclear explosives to prevent the spread of the deadly strain from outer space.

Reviewed by

Mani Sankar-XB

Shift-I

The Kalam Effect: My years with the President: Book review

by

P.M.Nair

Author:        P.M. Nair P. M. Nair had a long and varied career in the IAS, which he joined in 1967.  In July, 2002, he was appointed Secretary to the President and continued that position all through the five years (July 2002-July 2007) of APJ Abdul Kalam’s tenure at Rashtrapathi Bhavan.

The Kalam Effect is an account of P.M. Nair’s days with President APJ Abdul Kalam, recounted with frankness, sincerity and affectionate reverence.  Dr. Kalam became President of India in July 2002.   He was a surprise choice for president.  A scientist and not a politician, and an unassuming way of doing things, and no other agenda except that of seeing India become a developed and a strong nation.  He was a good listener and an innovator in the art of communication.  He daily visited his own website answering question posed to him on e-mail or otherwise from across the country.  No wonder that he was known and loved as People’s President.  Dr. Kalam’s creative and innovative emphasis on spiritual values was like a ray of sunlight in the lives of the people of India.  He is a source of inspiration to the millions, especially the young.  By nature, kind and compassionate, Dr. kalam’s positive attitude infected all those who came in touch with him.

The Kalam Efect is easier to read informative and enthusiastic.  The 16 pages of colour photographs helped the readers to see Dr. Kalam on different occasions during his presidency.  The appendix given in this book is quite informative. It helps the readers to know about the author as well as how the President mingled and interacted towards the secretary on various occasions during his tenure with the President.

The author, through this book helped the readers to understand about the Rashtrpathi Bhavan and its magnificent glory. It is an excellent book and any kind of libraries can hold it in its possession.  Through this book we can see Dr. Kalam, as what the author had seen him during his tenure as secretary to the President.  The author has quoted that once Archbishop Tutu said about Nelson Mandela, “He was a Goodman, and did good things”.  How true this is of Kalam too.

Reviewed by

B. Surendran

Librarian (Shift II)

THE TINY LABOURERS by Amrita G.

They are tiny labourers

Working for themselves.

Living as their neighbours,

We don’t do much for ourselves.

Hungrily I ate, dropping a piece of wafer

Greedily they came; united they took.

This forced me to give them a look.

Poor ants! Struggling to take it!

“I will help you dear ones”, I said

I took the piece from them,

Depressed they went empty handed…

Seeing this with wonder,

I uttered, “Fools! I don’t need any wage!”

By

Amritha.G

IX: D

Ist Shift.

Gleaming Ganga by Amrita G.

Snow mounts pushed apart,

She gains the space and departs,

Her journey as the glorious Ganga…

Pushing those mounts behind,

Gushing through the greenery,

She looks like the white quill on a parrot.

Spouting towards the plains,

From the top of the peaks,

She sounds aloud her laugh.

With a paper and a pen,

Poets all around her,

To praise her beauty,

Which never fades as her laugh.

Accepting her charm,

She runs again never ceasing,

To gratify the other admirers of hers.

This is Ganga.

The Glowing Glorious Ganga…

by

Amritha.G

IX: D

Ist Shift.

“A long way gone” by Ishmael Beah: Book review by Aiswarya Nandakumar

A long way gone

by

Ishmael Beah

“ A long way gone ” by Ishmael Beah is an extraordinary memoir which gives a first hand report of the hardships and desolate situations faced by people and countries during war.Ishmael Beah is a graduate from Oberlin College and a member of the Human rights watch children’s rights division and advisory committee of U.S.A. He emerges as a gifted writer by reporting his life in a clear eyed and liberate fashion and will surely haunt the reader for some time.Among the different war stories which are published, this one stands out as a bestseller because of its simplicity and transparency as seen and experienced by the author. It is a first hand information and gives an idea to the reader of the problems faced by the civilians, the army and the rebels during any war like situation.

In this story, the author is a 12 year old boy living happily with his close knit family in a place called Mattru Jong. He and his gang of friends, enjoyed school like any one of us and played rap music as pastime. The only exposure to war for them was movies. Suddenly their lives are torn apart by a group of rebels who attack unannounced  and the whole family is separated. Initially the author stays with his brother whom he later loses as they move from village to village in search of safety. The book vividly describes the impact on the young minds as they see families blown apart and the sufferings of those left behind.

It also gives a vivid description of the life of refugees who are ill treated and bribed by the nation’s own army. This book depicts the events in sequence how the cruel fate, forces them to join the army and the hardships and atrocities they are forced to commit and how it changes the impressionable young minds from home loving  to destruction. This book not only gives the account of war but also the turmoils in the young minds as they try to re-acclimatize to the civilized way of life. Thankfully by the timely intervention of the UN, we find as we read that we will start to concur with the actions  done by these young minds. the author finds some timely respite as he is reinstated with his uncle at Sierra Lane only to be heading to war. He tries to escape in order to not end up as a rebel or recruit. Reading this book makes us wonder how any one can come out of such horror with his humanity & sanity intact.

This book is also a testament of the ability of children to outlive their sufferings if given a chance. It really leaves an impression of a long way gone…by a determined impressionable mind………………………..

REVIEWED BY

AISHWARYA NANDAKUMAR

IX – C (Shift-I)

Explore More

Da Vinci Code: Book review by Karthika P.

 

           “Blinded ignorance does mislead us

            O!Wretched mortals open your eyes”

These words were said by the famous painter LEONARDO DA VINCI,

the creator of the world famous paintings like The Mona Lisa , the Last Supper,

the Vtruvian man etc. He was an expert in many fields. It is said that  Da Vinci has left

many codes in his paintings.

       In the year 2003, a novel by DAN BROWN established that Da Vinci has certainly left

many secrets. The book was none other than THE DA VINCI CODE. It is a fiction featuring

Robert Langdon, a symbologist and Sophie Neveu, a cryptologist who deals with numerical code breaking. The story starts with a murder. The curator of The Louvre Jacques Saunere’s murder and the message left by him Langdon and Neveu towards a new world of thousands of years old secrets.

      Although the number of characters are limited,each one plays a definite role. The language and style of writing is incredible. The main theme of the book is the journey towards the Priory keystone which leads one to the Holy grail and many other well hidden secrets. According to the myth, only the members of the Priory of Sion, a secret society knows the exact location of the Holy grail.

  Da vinci being one of the grandmasters of the secret society wanted the world to know the truth and hence left many clues in his paintings. One such striking trait is visible in The last supper. Da vinci has assigned certain feminine characters to disciple John seated next to Jesus Christ. Holy grail happen to be the cup in which Jesus had wine during The last supper. Mary Magdalene is also referred to as The Holy Grail. It is said that Da Vinci has painted John as Mary Magdalene to show Jesus’s intimacy towards her.

           Mary Magdalene, a prostitute who joined Christ and later became of  his favorite disciple. In the book the author establishes that Jesus had relationship with Mary Magdalene

and that their bloodline exists to this century.

       A huge uproar was roused by this very book. The church and many disciples of the church launched protests against the book and movie alike. In many places the authorities were forced to ban the book. The reason put forth was that The Da Vinci Code hurts their religious sentiments. To be more precise, in the book it is said that

• The Christians overpowered the Pagan religion to establish Christianity all over the world.
• Jesus Christ was selected as ‘ Son Of God’ by mutual voting
• Jesus’ relationship with Magdalene proves to be a major point of controversy.
• In the book a monk named Silas murders the members of The Priory of Sion with the help given by a bishop.

Despite many controversies the book happen to be a best seller throughout the world. Anyone who thinks a fiction can never affect your religious beliefs may go ahead and read the book without hesitation.

 

Reviewed by

By KARTHIKA.P.

   11A

SECOND SHIFT

Artemis Fowl And The Lost Colony: Review by Varun H.S.

 

Artemis Fowl And The Lost Colony

by

Eoim Colfer

Artemis Fowl is a series of fantasy novels written by Irish author Eoin Colfer, starring the teenage criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl II. This is guy is a genius and there is a lot of tech jargon talk and I hope you will get adjusted o it. To people who are reading this series for the first time the first few chapters may sound a bit boring. But I promise you once you get over the first few chapters you well enjoy the book thourghly.

In the starting you will find Artemis in Spain with his body guard Butler waiting for a demon.After this is the book gets a kick start.Getting introduced to magical creatures, going to other dimensions to mention a few. You find that there is another genius just like Artemis and the clash between them is worth reading. Well talking about the plot Artemis has got a mission rescue the Demon  kind.You can always vist Wikipedia for the total ploy summary.

On thenegative this book has got a lot of serious language with some humour. This is both good and bad.You are bound to feel bored during some parts of the book ince this dual language usage creates a sort of confusion. And also this book is meant purely for Sci-Fi fans.

Well you can get this book in our library. So if you like Sci-Fi, and Fantasy this is one book for you.

 

Varun H.S.

IX B (Shift-I)

The Author of this Review can be contacted At his Blog Or E Mail: allstar57@in.com

EMPATHY by Mrs. Anila Mathews

“Encouraging a child to imagine how the other person feels or to put herself in that person’s place is a powerful way to nurture empathy.”

-Michelle Barb

This enables an individual to really step into another person’s shoes and feel with him.

How to Listen Empathetically

1. Actively attempt to understand the Other’s point of view

1. Take in information without passing judgment

1. Acknowledge the speaker

1. Model empathetic practices

1. Create a trusting environment

1. Allow the expression of emotion and sharing of problems

Specific things to DO:

1. Be attentive

1. Be interested

1. Be alert

1. Create a positive atmosphere

1. Allow the Other to bounce ideas off of you

1. Indicate you are listening

1. Reflect your understanding back to the speaker

Specific things to Avoid DON’T:

1. Change the subject

1. Discount the speakers’ feelings

1. Let the speaker “hook” you into an emotional exchange

1. Interrupt

1. Give advice

1. Interrogate

Successful students often recognize that much of their success involves their ability to communicate with others. They are also able to view themselves and the world through the eyes of others. This means, examining beliefs and circumstances of others, keeping in mind the goal of enhanced understanding and appreciation. Successful students value sharing experiences with persons of different backgrounds as enriching their lives

EXAMPLE-Athul and Krishnan were students of class 9 and had been classmates since childhood.

Krishnan lived with his grandparents as he had lost his parents in an accident when he was 3 years old. Krishnan loved to go cycling around the colony and played cricket with his friends in the neighborhood Athul’ past time was playing games on his PC and watching television.

Athul was interested in making Krishnan enjoy computer games. He decided to give Krishnan game CD’s for a week. But Krishnan did not have computer at home. Athul replied sarcastically and rudely “How can you be living in the 21^st century without a computer at home?”

Krishnan tried to explain that his grandparents were looking after him his grandfather got a meager pension which he could give him school education; He could not afford a computer for him.

Athul retorted “It is ridiculous your grand parents do not care for you, How can there be a household without a computer?”

Krishnan was able to place himself in his grandparents shoes and realize the affordability of his grandfather while Athul was not able to place himself in Krishna’s shoes to accept the reality.

Being empathetic means one has the ability to imagine oneself in the shoes of someone else that is a friend, parent, teacher or others and experience their positive and negative emotions. Empathy makes a person understand others concerns, worries, fears, need, and feelings.

Empathy towards others is a unique quality every adolescent should inculcate in life. This enables the youngsters to appreciate others better; it helps in improving communication and in establishing worthwhile long term relationships.

Parents and teachers can be good role modals in being empathetic towards their sons, daughters and students this improves he bond between adults and young people.

By

Anila Mathews

Life skill teacher