Book Review: March

I have mentioned this book several times in passing throughout my other posts, but now I shall review it. Get ready for "The Hound of Rowan" by Henry H. Neff.

I believe that this was a book that my Nana bought for my sister.
However, it remained on the shelf un-read for a long time.
I think my sister tried to read it, but was frightened by the vyes.
Years later, I discovered it when we were sorting through stuff
and decided to read it. I'm very glad that I saved it!

The Hound of Rowan begins in a familiar setting. It takes place in modern day Chicago as Max and his father go to the art museum. Then Max discovers the tapestry. The tapestry that will change everything.

The tapestry depicts the Cattle Raid of Cooley and later the story will explain what that means. If you are already familiar with Irish mythology then you've got a bit of foreshadowing of what is to come. Soon after Max discovers the tapestry he finds a letter in his pocket. A letter from a school called Rowan where he is invited because he is special (Very Harry Potter-esque, but it has its own merits). The letter informs him that he will be visited the next day by someone from the school.

I'll stop here since I don't want to spoil the story for you, but if you like Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, or any book that has a world half in and half out of our reality, then you will enjoy this as well. (Maybe even more, if you choose to read the whole series).

One of the strengths is that the story is focused on Irish mythology and Celtic history. I don't think these topics are explored in young adult literature or at least it appears infrequently. I love anything with mythology and so this captured my attention right away. I wanted to know what the tapestry meant and, when they start talking about the Sidh and the Tuatha De Danann, I just had to learn more about those stories.

Since this is the first book, it is a set-up story and a foundation. The key factors to great stories are the characters. This book gives readers an understanding of Max and his background as well as seeing how he adapts to a new place. He faces challenges that increase in severity as the book goes along, just as Max grows in strength as the story progresses.

Now this might be me, but I love a main character who is brave when the time arises, humble about their deeds, grateful for aid offered, and flawed as much as anyone. Max fits each of these and having a likable character makes it easier to read.

Max has to grow up fast. It is a coming of age novel before he comes of age and if you choose to continue, you will see that he faces adversity that challenges him at every turn. What I love about Henry H. Neff's writing is that he doesn't do half-measures. He brings conflict into a full scale and then finds a way for it to resolve. It might not be a happy ending, but it is satisfying and I think that's all a story really needs.

Sick as a Dog

Do you know that feeling when your head is pounding so hard you can't see straight or every step is like going from the oven to the freezer?

Currently my state of body and if you are feeling unwell then I empathize with you. It's tough when you live on your own, because you have to take care of yourself and really take the time to think (even if it feels like your thoughts are in a blender). Taking care of your health is one of the most important things that you can do. It starts with prevention.

Days before I felt this poorly, I must have come into contact with a viral infection. The thing is these infections will incubate inside your body for several days and you won't even know until the symptoms hit.

First rule and the one that saved many lives in the past centuries: washing your hands. It's important. We come into contact with so many germs that scrubbing our hands which come into contact with our mouth, eyes...and really our entire body, can really make a difference.

After that, eat healthy. If you want a strong immune system, then you need to maintain a healthy diet that provides you with all the nutrients necessary to keep your antibodies active and fighting back.

Sleep is also very important. Sleep is the time for your body to rest and recharge. We need sleep just as much as we need food and water to survive.

That's the next thing, stay hydrated. When you're burning up and sweating out the liquid of your body, you really need to get more liquid into your body. If you're in the throws of the illness, then sports drinks like Powerade and Gatorade can help you by replenishing your body with electrolytes and fluid. (Fun Fact: did you know that if you are well hydrated gatorade tastes salty? Apparently when you are dehydrated it should taste sweet. Think about that the next time you have a bottle.)

So how did I succumb?

Good old stress, unhealthy eating habits and very little sleep. Yes, I really should take care of myself better, so take a lesson from this and I hope that you have a healthy season without the nasty side effects!

A Lucky Penny!

Do you know those moments when you see a penny and a hundred thoughts run through your head?

My first thought is usually:

"A penny! Pick it up!"

But, before I can pick it up, another few thoughts go through my head.

• "Is it heads or tails?"
• "Do you remember that time that you picked up a penny in the Harris Teeter parking lot?"
• "Do you remember those videos of people being pranked and the penny was really glued to the ground?"
• "What year could it be?"

By the time all of these thoughts go through my head, and several more, I've already walked past the penny. The thing is pennies are worthless. They actually cost more to make than they are actually worth. 

In 2018, it cost 1.5 cents to make a penny which means that it cost 50% more than its actual value.

Also, pennies are made out of zinc coated with copper. In my high school chemistry class, we did an experiment where we put the pennies in a solution that removed the copper and showed the zinc so all of our pennies turned silver, then there were pennies that we could turn a gold color. I wish I could tell you what we actually put them in, but I can't remember. 

If you want more penny facts, then feel free to peruse the link:
https://www.usmint.gov/learn/kids/about-us/fun-facts/category/penny/page/2 

P.S. I walked by the spot where I saw the penny, intending to pick it up on this second go around. Unfortunately, it was gone when I got there. So there is somebody who still likes pennies!

HGP (Hysterical Gondola Pie)

Do you like to fill in random words when you don't know the meaning of an acronym? I like to fill in random and funny combinations of words. In this case, HGP really stands for the Human Genome Project. Have you heard of it?

I'd heard of it in passing years ago, but I never dug further. Now that I'm in a genetics class, I'm required to look further. This is the exciting thing about college. While my education may require me to choose classes that are unrelated to my major, I can still find ways for them to be useful. This class is actually useful for my major and my writing interests so I have a good deal with it either way.

The Human Genome Project's main goals were to:

1. Map all of the genes
2. Determine the sequence of every DNA base pair
3. Make all of this information available to the public

To understand some of this, I'm going to give you a very brief course in genetics. 

First off, our DNA is made of little puzzle pieces that match together called nucleotides. DNA is like a twisted ladder and the rungs are made of nitrogenous bases: adenine, guanine, cytosine and thymine. For these bases, adenine matches with thymine, guanine matches with cytosine. DNA is made up of two strands and a sequence can look something like this: TACGACGCA

The most important thing to understand is that these base pairs and strands of DNA make up our chromosomes. Chromosomes are the condensed genetic material and what is in our genetic material controls are genotype and phenotype. The genetic expression of traits and the physical expression of traits. 

If you like writing science-fiction, then learning more about these sorts of things can help you plan ahead or inspire you. If you want the population of your world to have genetic mutations, then it might be important to understand the basics of those occurrences in our world. When you understand these things and can help readers to understand them, they will be more willing to invest in your work. When things contain at least some of the truth that builds trust and readers will have a sense of familiarity with your story. Plus it's always exciting to recognize something that you have learned and be able to connect it to something else!