Baytown Library's Blog

What if your memory was completely wiped? You wouldn't remember anyone... you would have no memory of anything. Restart by Gordon Korman explores that possibility. Chase Ambrose, a football player and middle school bully falls off of his roof to wake up with no memories. Throughout the beginning of the story, Chase interacts with different characters. Some are happy that he's back, like his friends Aaron and Bear, some treat him like a legend, and others like Shoshanna, who poured frozen yogurt on his head, are mad at him. Even the principal talks to him about this being a clean slate in life.  Chase's mom also hides many things about his past from him, like the fact that he was sentenced to community service. Previously, Chase set off cherry bombs during a piano performance, resulting in his arrest. Chase's reputation precedes him, but his new friends from the video club defend him and keep him out of trouble. Even with Chase's new position at the video club, peop

As someone who grew up reading Greek myths for fun, I find it a bit sad that so few people actually know any myths, and frustrated when I see Greek figures like Hades misrepresented in movies. I understand that this happens because the ancient Greek myths are often perceived as having no value or relevance to our modern society, however, I think that this line of thinking is incorrect because the themes of many myths are still relevant and many of the stories and figures can be recontextualized in such a way that they become relevant to our current struggles.  To begin, let’s talk about Icarus and his wax wings. For the uninitiated, the myth of Icarus tells the story of how the young, Icarus, and his father, Daedalus, used wings made of bird feathers held together by wax to escape their prison. As they flew, Daedalus warned his son not to fly too close to the water because it would make the wings soggy and unable to fly. He then warned his son not to fly too close to the sun for it wou

What if you were the child of a legendary Greek god?  Would you use your amazing powers for good, fighting monsters and going on dangerous quests? Or would you stay safe and hidden at Camp Half-Blood, a place where demigods (half-gods, half-humans) can be safe? The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan explores this possibility. Percy Jackson, the demigod son of Poseidon is a 12 year old with dyslexia who has been expelled from school several times as a result of bizarre “accidents”. After one such accident reveals his math teacher to be a Fury, Percy is expelled from school one last time. That summer, his mom drives him to Camp Half-Blood, but when they arrive a Minotaur turns her into light and teleports her to the Underworld. Upon his arrival at the camp, he meets Annabeth, a 12 year old daughter of Athena. It is then revealed that his friend Grover is actually a Satyr and his Latin teacher is Chiron, the legendary teacher of heroes. Percy is then sent on a quest along with Annabeth and

A comparison of the two Disney versions of Mulan and an original drawing.  While many of the Disney princess movies we look to detail stories of love and romance, there are those that also tell of the epic travels, trials, and tribulations of the strong women they are centered on. One of the most notable examples of this is Mulan. Mulan’s Disney tale begins with the war against the Huns requiring more troops from Mulan’s home province. Each family is ordered to send one man eligible for war. For most, this means a son. For Mulan’s family, this is her father, who is already too old for combat. Mulan takes on the role as the family’s “son” by disguising herself to take her father’s place in the military. Her sex aside, she manages to fight, and almost single-handedly stops the invasion of the huns. With the new live action Mulan movie scheduled to release this month to stream on Disney+, it seemed more than fitting to explore the origins of what is one of the most impactful and emboldeni

What if you could travel through stories? Would you go through all your favorite novels, interacting with all the characters? Story Thieves by James Riley explores that possibility. Bethany, a half-fictional girl, has the power to travel through stories at will, however she avoids it and tries to hide her ability. One day, she travels into the book C harlie and the Chocolate Factory  to grab some chocolate while in class. Her classmate Owen takes the book while Bethany is still inside of it and brings the book to his mom's library. To his surprise, Bethany pops out of it. When he learns about her power, he demands that she take him into his favorite book, Kiel Gnomenfoot . She agrees, not knowing that secretly Owen plans to change the story, which is against her rules of book traveling, and would put his and her names in the book. Will Owen successfully change Kiel Gnomenfoot , rewriting the entire book and fulfilling his dream of being a hero, but exposing Bethany's power

Recently, I have had the opportunity to read one of the greatest classics of all time: Pride and Prejudice . I was guilty of the unspeakable crime of watching the movie before reading the book. Now, understand: I had been in possession of Jane Austen's complete collection of books for over a year. Me being me, I opened Sense and Sensibility , read half the book, then moved on to a "more thrilling" novel. Oh, the woes of childhood. It could be said that I have very mixed feelings about classical literature. It's more of a love/hate relationship. In this blog, I will be stating the pros and cons of reading a classic. Hopefully, it will help you know a little bit more about what styles of writing you would be interested in reading. If you know me, then you know I am a "pro" reader. When I read a book, I try to just focus on the good stuff about them. (Though I am, hands-down, a biased Harry Potter fan.) In reading Pride and Prejudice , The Maiden's Bequest