Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Life of Pi by Yann Martel is about an Indian man whose name is Piscine Molitor Patel. He is a normal man who attended the University of Toronto and double-majored in religion and zoology. Piscine describes his childhood within the first part of the novel, and how it relates to his majors of college. His father used to own a zoo. Piscine describes the behavior of animals and emphasizes the fact that animals live a happy life in a zoo. He knows the activities of many animals in the zoo from watching and analyzing the animals every day on his way to school. Piscine also majored in religion. He is Muslim, Christian, and Hindu all simultaneousely. He describes how he learned about each religion. Being born in India, he was raised as a Hindu. He says that he will always be a Hindu. Later, he went to a church and was enlightened by Christianity. Also, he learned of the beliefs of the Muslims by a baker whose name was Mr. Kumar. In the beginning of the book, Piscine expllains how he got his unusual name and the troubles in life because of his name. He was named after a magnificent pool in France. His family friend had taught Piscine how to swim. The pool's name was the Piscine Molitor. Piscine had many troubles, being raised with a name like Piscine. At his elementary, school everybody would pronouce his name wrong, even the teachers. The kids called him "Pissing" for his elementary school career. "Piscine" is pronounced with an emphasis on the "Pi-," as in the math symbol (π). Eventually, Piscine got so tired of people mispronouncing his name that everyday, he would go up to the chalk board and write his name as he was pronouncing it aloud. I really like this book because if the detailed descriptions of the events on Piscine's life. Also, I am very enlightened by Piscine's theories of both religion and zoology. Not only is Life of Pi an interesting book, it is also quite insightful and adventurous.

Hero by Perry Moore

Thom Creed, a teenage boy trying to balance his thoughts about his homosexuality and his superheroic powers, is face with many problems throughout Hero. His father dislikes all of these attributes, but Thom just has to live on. He decides to tryout of the League, a famous group of professional superheroes, and makes it on the team. He is put into a training team with four other superheroes: a speedy named Kevin, a "hot" (literally) girl named Scarlet, a kid named Larry who can create any illness, and a clairovoyant old lady named Ruth. Ruth is the olnly one on the team who respects Thom. She can 'see' all of his problems. Ruth tells Thom how she relates to Thom's problems. When Ruth was younger, she fell in love with an African American. She explains her story to Thom. Thom Creed also has to deal with his family problems. His father is an ex-hero who hates everything about superheroes. When he figures out about Thom's joining of the League, he goes berserk. Thom Creed, in return, gets pissed and destroys his father's old costume. As the story unfolds, Thom Creed figures himself out. Thom wants to satisfy his father, but at the same time live his own life. I find this book very interesting because it balances fiction and realism. Thom Creed faces the same problems that many people face today, such as how to deal with his homosexuality, and how to live a life with a normal career. The superhero part is te fictional, creative aspect of the book. Also, I realized that in almost every book, Freudian ideas are tied in. Thom Creed has to deal with his superego, ego and id. His first reaction is to do what is only best for him, but, he also has to think of other people when he makes decisions. Many characters in this book have different opinions over many problems, and they have to think about the right way to deal with them.