SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON (a comprehensive book review) 🌴

Last night after my last book review, I may or may not have accidentally read the entirety of 'Swiss Family Robinson' by Johann David. Here is another book review about this book. 

SUMMARY
Swiss Family Robinson is a loosely plotted storybook describing the turn of events that lead a father, mother, and their four boys Fritz, Ernest, and Jack to be stranded on an island for many years. The story explains in some depth about how they started crops, bred animals, found shelter, moved their shelter, etc, etc. At the end of the book there is a prologue, explaining that when the family were finally found, they did not want to go back to Switzerland and instead stayed on the island. The island, however, became increasingly popular and other people visited often. Ernest left for Europe to study before travelling back to the island. At the end of the book the father reveals that this book was his own personal notebook which would soon be taken back to Europe by a sea captain, where it was published into a book named, 'Swiss Family Robinson'. 

MY THOUGHTS
To put it straight, I absolutely loved this book and could not put it down. There was something about the lack of, dare I say, plot, which reminded me of another favourite book of mine, 'My Side of The Mountain' by Jean Craighead George first published in 1959. I thoroughly enjoyed the way they spoke - so much different from how we speak now! I noticed the author did not use any apostrophes to shorten words, like I've and didn't, and used the proper wording in those situations. The book contrasts from any other book I've read, apart from 'My Side of The Mountain', of course, but in the best way possible. I highly recommend this book for young adults and up. It gives you a sense of adventure, like you're actually going along with this amazingly-brave family. 'Swiss Family Robinson' earns a 10/10 from me and a spot on my top ten favourite books. 

Right, now I'd better start thinking about heading to school as it's 7:30 in the morning and I don't want to be late on a Friday. See ya!

GO ASK ALICE. (a comprehensive book review) 📖

 

"No one in the world but a doper could know the true opposite of depressed."

                                                                                                                - Beatrice Sparks, 1972 


Yesterday Chloe and I were very graciously gifted an entire stack of books from the ever-so-kind Mr Aitken (HOD of English) for our summer reading. I definitely took up this opportunity because I'm travelling for most of my holidays and I'll need lots of books for the long drives, flights, and the 12 hour layover at Sydney Airport I have to endure. 

I received:
- One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest
- Swiss Family Robinson
- The Invention of Hugo Cabret
- Two New Zealand Short Stories books
- Tommo & Hawk
- Save Me From Myself (a Brian Head Welch - a former member of Korn - autobiography)
- Go Ask Alice.

But today we are here to discuss the very first book I read; Go Ask Alice. This is an international bestselling book first published in 1971 by Beatrice Sparks - although she chose to remain anonymous when it was first published, and still is listed as anonymous on the book covers. But thanks to Google, I was able to find out the true author.

This book is written 'diary-style', from the perspective of fifteen year old Alice and her drug addiction and recovery throughout her teenage years. 

A SUMMARY
Alice begins as a good, wholesome Christian girl, but falls into a deep, dark spiral of LSD, pills, heroin, and pot when her drink is spiked with LSD at a party. On the same night she loses her virginity, and the spiral begins. Alice ends up meeting drug dealers, selling drugs via said drug dealers, hitch-hiking to Denver, and finally coming home to her parents where she cleans up. But the light fades for Alice as her grandparents die and she is bullied at school by junkies, purely because she got clean. It's when she's drugged again by her classmates and has an intense trip on LSD, where she hallucinates maggot eating her skin and the baby, and she claws her hair out, busts up her hand and loses fingernails, she is admitted to hospital, and then a mental asylum. When Alice leaves, she is happy. Joel and her kiss at her Dad's very drug-free party, and she is inspired to become a social worker. 
The diary ends on September 21st. Alice concludes this journal with,

"-I hope so, for you are my dearest friend and I shall thank you for always sharing my tears and heartaches and my struggles and my strifes, and my joys and happiness. It's all been good in it's own special way, I guess. See ya."  

Three weeks later, the actual subject the book is based on, died. The cause is unknown, but it certainly raises questions: was it an accidental or intentional overdose? The book ends with a psychologist's comment - a comment that was very well written and heart moving for an adolescent like myself. 

MY THOUGHTS

This book made my top ten favourite books I've ever read. I endured a heart wrenching, harrowing, emotional journey reading it, and it definitely confirmed my aversion to illegal and dangerous drugs. The way the author expertly navigated her way from emotional parts to me internally groaning, 'Alice, don't do it!' was incredible. What's more, the description of when Alice is drug tripping seems so realistic to what it may actually be like to be on LSD. The vivid colours, the dimensions you see the world in, the feeling of floating and unable to control your laughter made me feel like I was actually experiencing the effects of drugs. The most emotional part for me was when I finished on a high note; Alice having taken the high road to recovery and now on her way to becoming a social worker and helping other people, only to find out that she died a mere three weeks later. It was heartbreaking and I have to admit, tears prickled in my eyes.

Overall this is an excellent book for young adults and up. If you are a parent I recommend your children reading this, and if you are children, I recommend you read this to know the importance of staying away from illegal drugs. Reading an experience - based on real life - gave me an insight of what it's really like. I imagined drug addiction to be so much different in teenagers. Trust me, you should read this book. 
11/10: one extra point because I absolutely love unexpected, emotional endings, even the death scenarios, and also the original cover featuring multiple faces definitely hits home for me. 

 "It was awful. And now I feel like the greyness in all the grey days in the world." 

                                                                                                         - Beatrice Sparks, 1972

WEATHER WITH YOU 🌧🔆

Weather With You (Creative Writing)

There, in the chapel, stands a girl by the window.
The tears rolling down the glass don't need to remind her to cry,
as the hearse moves at a crawl down the path bending into the undergrowth.
She steps away from the window, hearing footsteps. God forbid it be her brother.
"Please. Don't cry." the voice pops into her head.
"Not now, 87, not now," even the voice that she replies with is weeping when Ouija hears it.
"It's me. Your special friend."
"Go away. I don't want you."
"He's in heaven now."
"Heaven's not real. You'd be there."
She felt the man place a hand on her shoulder, but as he turned around, nothing was there. Her vision became blurry with a wave of a hand. The man; nothing but a dark silhouette, stood in the chapel. The girl's hands dug deeper inside her pockets.
"You're right." Ouija stated.
"I'm in hell. I am a slave to Lucifer. Now please, don't choose to not believe me when I say heaven is real. Your Dad is at peace now.
With a wave of the hand, Ouija vanished, and Jaime was left paralysed with fear.
She'd forgotten to take her anti psychotic this morning.

Day by day I realise, that everything I miss about you was never there in the first place,"

- Rupi Kaur

CRAZY LYRICAL DIALOGUE 🎶

"Well I'd rather have my eyes sewn shut," 
Doug McDoogal mocked his father's thick Southern accent; his tone that of an angered, older man, not that of a fourteen-year-old boy sitting in a rocking chair in Dallas. The question he had been asked was quite simple, really: "What the bloody hell will we do if he's elected?" - the words of Derek McDoogal. The thirty-seven year old man was enraged, beer resting in his palm, lips stretched back into a disturbing grin. There was something about the way his father looked out at the red, white and blue sea of people before him. Something peculiar. Like something out of the ordinary was going to happen.
It was 1:12pm - Derek had checked his wristwatch - when the 'Lincoln' finally appeared on the horizon. What Doug and Derek first observed it as a red dot grew bigger, crowds roaring, flags waving. With a grunt Derek stood up on the porch, followed by Doug. 
"She's coming in fast," Derek growled at once, marching inside, throwing down his beer.
"She's nearly here, Dad!" Doug called proudly. He could make out the face of the woman now; smiling wide, standing proudly in the back seat of the Lincoln. If Derek was there, Doug knew he'd be outraged. Finally Derek stepped out onto the porch, but Doug hadn't seen his father take it out. The crowds roared louder and the quiet drone of the engine could be heard, but Derek felt everything fall quiet. It was the quiet click that alerted Doug to his father's position.
"DAD, NO!" 
Bang.

{FIFTEEN YEARS LATER}
"I'll be damned if I can say so myself," Jaylin Barr murmured, eyes hooded in the winter sunrise. His  figure was leaned up against the dumpster of Shawshank Prison; a small correctional facility just out of Maine, Portland. The date was 22 November 1978; fifteen years after President McQueen had been assassinated and Derek McDoogal had been sentenced to life without parole. Now, the 52-year-old was sprawled out across the Shawshank docking bay; down to the filter of a contraband cigarette - an anniversary gift from Barr himself. McDoogal let out a chesty cough. "God damn, Barr, when did you get these? The 50's? They're stale!" 
Barr only took another drag of his cigarette and exhaled slowly. "Don't forget our agreement, McDoogal. Last time I checked, you were a prisoner," he said bluntly, dropping the cigarette to the ground and grinding it to ash with the heel of his boot. 
McDoogal's face dropped to a deathly glare. "And do you think you deserve your freedom? No, I don't think you do." 
Jaylin stepped forward to the nicotine-addicted man. 
"I'm not the one who killed the motherf***ing president-elect of the United States." he growled, leaning down, only to wince at the stench of McDoogal's foul-smelling breath. 
"I'd do it all again too!" McDoogal wheezed; and finished his sentence with another chesty cough. He took out a handkerchief, squeezing his eyes shut for just a few moments. He stopped coughing abruptly. Silence. Then, footsteps approaching him.
"Well if it isn't the man who nearly killed me," 
McQueen towered over the man, and he suddenly became aware that his scruffy orange uniform was pale in comparison to the once-president-elect's navy pantsuit. McDoogal was speechless. She'd grown so older; a strange feeling as he finally saw the face who had haunted him for years.
McQueen grinned, a somewhat evil glint in her wrinkled eye. "I never thought I would come face to face with you again, Derek." she began. McDoogal watched her nervously. 
"Yet here we are." 
McDoogal did not utter a word, simply out of sheer terror. 
"Aren't you gonna say somethin', sugar?" McQueen said, soft yet dangerously. Her Southern accent voice had an edge to it; an edge that made McDoogal's heart thump. 
"SAY SOMETHIN'!" 
Suddenly the entire prison seemed to fall quiet. In the distance, standing atop the guard's tower, Barr glanced up to see two guards looking over in the direction of the docking bay. No guns were in sight - they'd been prepped on the situation beforehand. Inside the prison, only a quiet murmur of prisoners was to be heard. 
McDoogal decided now was the best time to speak. 
"I-I..." 
"Or are you too drunk out of your mind to speak?" McQueen looked at him expectantly. 
McDoogal nervously nodded his head, too busy trying to ignore a wave of nausea that was washing over him. There was nothing to do as he watched McQueen pull a stack of fresh bills ($100? $1?) and hand it over to Barr, who took it with a smirk. 
McDoogal groaned and squeezed his eyes shut, rolling over onto his back. It was the click of a gun that made his heart sink and eyes snap open. 
"No-no!" McDoogal croaked. He tried to sit up, but two of McQueen's guards stepped forward to hold him down. Barr stood with a gun to his forehead, the metal of the barrel cold against his forehead.
"McDoogal, do you regret what you did to me fifteen years ago?" McQueen asked calmly, standing to the side of the gun.
"Y-yes... I regret everything..." 
"Is there anything you'd like to say to me before you go?" 
"I'm... I'm sorry, Ch....Chloe." 
"Thank you, Derek. But I simply cannot tolerate this behaviour. Oh, if only Uncle Jamie was alive. He would have had beaten you before the bullet even hit me." 
She'd finally said it. Yes, readers, McQueen and McDoogal were, in fact, first cousins. 
"What are you going to do to me?" 
McQueen continued, paying no attention to McDoogal. 
"But, you're in luck, your son just got back from the army."
"No, no, no no no!" 
The dock door opened slowly with a loud creak. McDoogal fought helplessly as the short man who sported a shaved head, whom he had not seen in over 30 years, march over. 
"Barr?" 
Barr handed over the gun to Doug, but it stayed pointed at the drunken man the entire time. McDoogal squeezed his eyes shut.
"Oh Dad. I haven't seen you in years, and this is how you repay me?"
"Doug... please don't.. I'll do anything." 
"Bulls**t, Dad. I knew you better than anyone. I knew you would do this someday. You had a hate for poor Chloe here for years. God forbid anything happened to her. I knew you didn't like her but I never thought you'd go and try to kill her!" Doug stopped to wipe a tear from his eye.
"I thought Chloe was a goner when you shot her. And it was you who tried to take her life from her. How could you do that, Derek?" Pete cried. 
"Son, nooooo," McDoogal wailed like that of a baby: an intoxicated, adult-sized baby, that is.
"And now," he began, tears streaming down his face, "We must, as a family, and as a country, get our revenge."
"No, you certainly can't." 
BANG.

WELCOME TO FAT SAM'S GRANDSLAM! 🥂

Finally I've arrived back at school for musical theatre. Today we ran through the whole performance, and I've got to say, it was extremely nerve-racking. It didn't help that I'd been away for the whole week.

Some things I need to work on/don't know -- and how I can fix it.

• When the lights are focused on something else and the bar is dark, what do I do? I can ask a teacher to fix this.
• I don't know the lyrics to some songs: tonight I'm going to listen to the soundtrack on repeat to fix this.
• What am I going to wear for the big night? I can reference to photos of 20's inspired bartenders to fix this.

Other than that I generally just have to work out where I'm standing (in the wings, offstage etc.) and work together with the rest of the cast to put on an amazing show. 

UPDATE: I have pulled out of the role for the drag queen who auditions/Kornukopia (I'm definitely not as confident as I was in the Lion King!) I am instead going to incorporate Kornukopia into the role of bar manager instead!

I have been working on some sketches to illustrate what I believe Kornukopia will look like - I'll share these with you sometime soon in my next blog post.  Until then, goodbye!

THE ROARING 20's (no, not the P!ATD song, the other one) 💃

What do you know about the world of Bugsy Malone? Things were very different in the 1920's and now is your chance to get into the mindset with some research. 
- What were buildings like? 
- What was the fashion like?
- What was home life like?
- What was entertainment like?

To find out about fashion I created a 1920's inspired mood board to represent some of the fashion trends (although I doubt that word was used back then!) including jewellery, shoes, suits, perfume, etc for both females and males. 

The 1920's (Roaring 20's if I may) was the era of very glamorous fashion. Dresses were very common in females, the dresses being very straight and long. Striped suits were very on-trend for males, often paired with bowties, sensible shoes and fedoras. Probably the most iconic fashion piece of the decade were beaded or feathered headdresses on women.

These looks were the trend
for men and women of the Roaring 20's.

WANT TO BUY A BEADED HEADDRESS LIKE THE ONES FROM 20'S? SHOP GUCCI'S CRYSTAL HEADBAND FOR $900. IT'S SO ICONIC THAT JEFFREE STAR OWNS IT. 

Makeup in the 20's - exaggerated, dark lip lines were very popular in the 20's, especially after 1915 when the metal lipstick container was invented. Although, modern makeup like mascara wands weren't invented until the mid 20's, so women resorted to household products such as Vaseline mixed with coal to achieve the look of darker lashes. Blush was also popular in the 20's and women would achieve this look using blush (or rouge, as they called it back then) in compacts. 
Men in the 20s would often sport clean shaven faces. However, it wasn't uncommon for men to grow moustaches. Even less rarer, the beard, as it went out of style after its success in the 1800's. 

The ideal female body type in the Roaring 20's:
- Flat chested
- Short hair (bob hairstyle like as shown above)
- An almost 'boyish figure' - no breasts, small hips and waist, skinny.

Music and entertainment in the 20's was very different as it is today as we have much more developed technology to do things such as listen to music and watch films - for example, we no longer have to watch *gasp* silent films! Yes, there were actually films made without sound, simply because, they didn't have the technology in the 20's.


One of the most famous silent film stars had to be Charlie Chaplin. He was an actor, filmmaker, comic actor and composer who starred in over 26 successful silent films over a span of 75 years lasting from his childhood through to his last film in 1967. 21 years later, in 1988, Charlie Chaplin died, leaving behind 11 children, a collection of amazingly-successful films, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Drag queens were prominent in the 1920's - though not as popular as they are now. Jean Malin was one of the first gay drag queens in the 20's, but, surprisingly, he was not punished for this.


In fact, the 20's was an era of LGBT (although they definitely did not call it this!) acceptance that was not seen again until at least the 1970's. The 20's was a great time to be alive if you are LGBT! 🌈

CAN SOMEONE TEACH ME TO DEATH DROP? 💅

It's that time of the year again. Yes, remember Festival of The Arts and that surprisingly-successful production of The Lion King we did last year? Hornby High is back again with another school production. No, I'm not playing an ape. I'm playing my ultimate alter-ego, the stunningly-sassy, flamboyant and gorgeous Kornukopia the drag queen. 

This is the look I had in mind.
of course this is the gorgeous IRL drag queen,
Pearl.

Okay but for real, I'm playing a small character - a drag queen who auditions for a job at Fat Sam's lively joint. I'm also playing the often-seen but never heard bar manager who works at Fat Sam's. 

CHARACTER PROFILE
Name: Kornukopia
Age: 22
Gender: Male>female drag queen
Appearance: Very pale skin. Blonde Marilyn Monroe wig with one of those beaded flapper headpieces. Long and straight black/white dress (something very 20's) Enormous high heels - borrowed from my Mum. Fur coat possibly.
Early life: Raised in the Bronx, her father Jean Malin was a drag queen, her mother died of Polio. Self-taught singer and actress who has starred in a number of silent films including 'The Jazz Singer' in 1927. 
Props: microphone.

CHARACTER PROFILE #2
Name: Betty Flowers
Age: 25
Gender>female
Appearance: Light makeup - bright red lipstick, subtle eyeliner (this role appears before Kornukopia does, so I need to be able to put makeup on top of it instead of having to remove it) White collared shirt, suspenders, black pants and black kitten heels. I need to be able to possibly dance and move around in the 'Fat Sam's Grand Slam' number. 
Props: Cigarette/cigar, tray of drinks. 

PHOTOS FROM REHEARSALS SO FAR

SYMBOLS IN DRAGONHEART

Symbols are words or images that have a special or significant meaning in the text. They usually represent an abstract idea. 

Some symbols found in Dragonheart:
- The Old Code
- The 'Draco' star constellation
- The heart of the dragon

Some I noticed myself:
- The King's crown
The first of the two symbols I will be talking about is the symbol that is the King's crown. Born worn by both Freyne and Einon during the film, the crown is a symbol of power. A scene where this symbol was shown was when Einon was thirsty to have power and stole the crown from his father Freyne, therefore this is displaying how he took over the position of the king. The director included it to explain how much Einon wanted the crown and how he was thirsty for power - evident when he steals it etc. This is linked to another key moment where Einon is finally killed, it relates because the once-prince who let his father die to steal the crown is now getting a taste of his own medicine when he is murdered. 

-The Old Code
The second symbol in the film is a rather significant one; it's the Old Code. It is significant because knight Bowen, the protagonist, practises the code and what he teaches others, including Einon. The Old Code is a symbol of values that the director used, in my opinion, to really bring the film together. The Old Code gives motive for Bowen to change and to restore faith in himself, gives Einon something to rebel against. It is a symbol for change. This is linked to a few key moments in the film; when Bowen in tutoring Einon at the start, when Bowen loses and restores his faith, etc, etc. 

THE THEME OF DRAGONHEART

The themes are important ideas the film makes us think about.
Some example themes from Dragonheart:

• Good vs. evil
• Rediscovering one's faith
• Courage and honour

Some themes I noticed:

• Sacrifice
• Justice
• Adventure

TASK: Explore each theme by Quote Hunting. Find quotes from characters in the film and explain why they are important in explaining each theme. Present these in a creative way. 

"You've seen that it is! Through the heart we share each other's pains and power, but in my half beats the life source. For Einon to die, I must die!" - Draco

"You will never win until Einon's evil is destroyed, and to do that you must destroy me!" - Draco

These two quotes by Draco portray the theme of sacrifice in the film Dragonheart. It means that for Einon to die, Draco must sacrifice himself to Dragon's heaven, since they share a heart.

"I am a knight of the Old Code. My word is my bond." -Bowen
I believe this quote said by Bowen portrays the theme of courage and honour because he is obviously very proud of what his title as a knight. 

"What now, Draco? Without you, what do we do? Where do we turn?" -Bowen
"Long ago, when man was young and the dragon already old, the wisest of our race took pity on man. He gathered together all the dragons, making them vow to watch over man, always. And at the moment of his death, the night became alive with those stars. [points towards the constellation Draco] And thus was born the Dragons' Heaven. But when we die, not all dragons are admitted to this shining place. No, we have to earn it. And if we don't, our spirit disappears as if we never were. And that's why I shared my life force with a dying boy - so I would reunite man and dragon, and ensure my place among my ancient brothers of the sky. But... my sacrifice became my sin." - Draco
These heart-wrenching quotes portray the theme of sacrifice in the film. It is what is said by Bowen after he reluctantly slays Draco, therefore sacrificing him, and Draco's speech. 

"I've always said death is a release, not a punishment!" -King Einon
Next time stab more flesh. Less cloth." - King Einon
Immediately when Einon said these in the film, I thought to myself, 'Evil.' These are good examples in demonstrating the theme of good vs. evil as Einon is undoubtedly sounding very evil and wicked through these quotes.

"I wanted to correct a mistake made years ago, when I saved a creature not worth saving."-Queen Aislinn
This quote is one of my favourites from the film - in my eyes I see this as a portrayal of the theme 'rediscovering ones faith'. Queen Aislinn is in fact discovering her own faith, the faith to kill her own son.

"All my life I've dreamed of serving noble kings, noble ideals. Dreams die hard and you hold them in your hands long after they've turned to dust. I will not be that naive again."-Bowen
I believe this quote represents the theme of rediscovering ones faith as it is said after he regains faith in the Old Code. 

This quote was actually not said by any of the characters in Dragonheart. It's actually a quote from the Old Code. I think this quote relates to both rediscovering ones faith (it is the faith Bowen finally finds belief for) and courage and honour because Bowen is very proud of the Old Code. 

https://www.canva.com/design/DADHx7SiNbg/tyaPS5f5exW_FAMDMnli7g/view?utm_content=DADHx7SiNbg&utm_campaign=designshare&utm_medium=link&utm_source=sharebutton

Above is a link to a Canva I made to display the quotes in a creative way.