Ready Player One, written by Ernest Cline, has become increasingly popular. I would give it a 5/5 star rating, because I loved the book and the characters. It was a great read, and I couldn’t put it down once I started it. It is a fun and unique book that is packed with action and adventurous quests. It also has extremely relatable characters for teenagers, and is a great story about a young boy overcoming his hardships.Throughout the book, you see the main character, Wade Watts, grow and develop his personality and beliefs.
Wade Watts lives in a world where people would rather live in a fantasy than face their reality. Wade is a poor teenager who spends most of his time in the Oasis, a virtual world. James Halliday, the creator of the Oasis, left an Easter egg for the players to hunt. Wade is one of the millions of people embarking on this quest for the Easter egg, as whoever finds the egg will become the owner of Halliday’s well-profiting company, as well as a large sum of money. In order to find the hidden egg, the hunters must first find three keys to unlock it. Wade finds the first key and passes the first of the three gates, which brings him closer to his dreams of money and fame. When Wade refuses offers made by the head of a powerful company and continues his search for the egg, the hunt transfers to the real world, but they are no longer hunting for the egg. This time, they’re hunting for Wade.
The book received 4.3/5 stars on Goodreads, and many appreciative reviews. It has even been dubbed the Harry Potter for older children by some people. It has also recently been made into a movie, which is a testament to its greatness. Ready Player One is a must read.
By Mya Schlueter
The Philosopher’s Stone guarantees eternal life and regeneration. The series Fullmetal Alchemist follows brothers Edward and Alphonse Elric through their battle to achieve the Philosopher’s Stone, as Alphonse lost his body and Edward lost one arm and one leg after trying to revive their mother. As well as the brothers, the story highlights other characters, some also trying to obtain the stone. Out of twenty seven books, the first ten of them only highlight half of the story, but they take you to a new world of imaginations.
The plot of a book should be well developed and nicely laid out so that is able to be understood and easily followed. The plot of Fullmetal Alchemist is pretty stretched out, as it is over twenty seven books, so it’s really slow. Although it is pretty slow, it builds up just perfectly, and takes it’s time to reveal new and interesting information about the characters. For some people, I guess it wouldn’t be as gripping as it was for me, because it doesn’t give as much information about the characters, other than what the main goal is, right away.
There are many advanced characters that fit the theme of the book well, including the brothers and many supporting characters. Characters like Winry, a close friend of the brothers, or Scar, an antagonist, often take the spotlight of the two leading characters, the brothers, Edward and Alphonse, with their own side stories. Like a normal novel, there are scenes that flash back or forward, hinting at new information about each of the characters, whether supporting or main. Although there are points where the main characters seem like they are no longer the main characters, there are more parts of the brothers and their plot instead of those of the supporting characters.
The setting of this series also completely fits the storyline. The setting often changes from dark to light, from liveliness to a vast wasteland, which expresses the whole plot. The whole world lives outside of this whole conflict of wanting the Philosopher’s Stone, which highlights the setting of happiness or life, while the change of scenery to a more dark atmosphere shows how there is a whole new side of this conflict. It’s like a puzzle piece, which fits into the whole picture.
I would give this book a 9.1/10. Although this is one of my favorite mangas, it cannot have a perfect score for one reason. Sometimes the story seems to jump from one story to the next, supporting information from the brothers, Winry, Scar and the Homunculi. Each person has their own little plot line inside of this whole story, which is amazing, but also confusing at the same time. However, the points of gratitude though, are that of the setting, the characters and the whole plot itself. If you take away the points of confusion, each little piece of the story adds up to the whole picture in the end, which makes it a really great series. The characters are amazing as well, each of them being developed and relatable, despite being in a totally different world from ours.