Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip By Jordan Sonnenblick

Today I am reviewing Curveball: The Year I Lost My Grip By Jordan Sonnenblick.

  Young Peter Friedman is a champion baseball pitcher and he and his friend A.J., also a champion baseball pitcher were amazing at their pitches and catches. He had a growing arm pain, and one game it stopped him from playing baseball again. Now he entered high school, and is worried about his future with no baseball. His moral support is all in his grandfather, the famous wedding photographer Paul Goldberg. He joins a photo class in high-school, and his grandfather's knowledge helps him find his way to the advanced photography class. He is the only freshman in the class except a girl named Angelika. She likes him and becomes his girlfriend. Know he has to deal with high-school, a girl friend, and also a best friend who won't believe his arm is hopeless.

  To add on, his grandpa is losing his memory. Also, he gets drunk and is invited to high-school parties... Is his life hopeless? There may only be one way out. Peter Friedman needs hope, the one thing he never seems to have. He has to record videos of his grandpa's memories, and even teach his grandpa had to do the simplest things, like putting bread into a toaster.  Now A.J wants to train him for baseball season, and Angelika is mad that he is drunk. He burrows deeper and deeper into the problem, and it never seems to stop. When will this stop? Maybe there is a way to end this all. Peter knows he has to convey to A.J. that it's too late for his arm, and has to tell his parents about his grandpa's problems, but he is worried it will all go wrong. Excited? Well, read to find out. You will see how Jordan Sonnenblick writes a detail high-school life, that is mostly realistic. It shows most of what high-school could be like if you take a certain path. In this exciting, hectic adventure you will wonder what your life would be if you, were in Peter Friedman's shoes.

Book Review: Hard Drive Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire By James Wallace & Jim Erickson

Today I am reviewing a Bill Gates biography called Hard Drive , Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire,  by James Wallace & Jim Erickson.

Book Cover

 From birth to rise of fame Bill Gates has done many things, improved a lot, and created a lot. In 6 chapters James Wallace and Jim Erickson have noted his entire life from Birth to Billionaire. Bill Gates was born into a upper-middle class life in Oregon. He went to ordinary schools but ended up in Harvard. He then began to write a version of BASIC(Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) for the first major computers, like the Altair, to make them run properly. In this process he met his would be employees, and partners in his new business Microsoft. He created Microsoft to professionally program software for new laptop brands. Through various ways he create his own laptop OS company Windows, and also ended up creating Microsoft Office applications. As he goes in and out with new products and new versions he also must battle against copyrights and law suits, many which can be impossible to negotiate. Soon he must also discover the limit to his company's value, and also deal with selling company stocks. In this one-of-a-kind biography anyone will be sure to have a good deal of laughs, and a lot of understanding.

Book Review: Insignia By: S.J. Kincaid

Today I am reviewing a science fiction novel by S.J. Kincaid called Insignia.

Book Cover

A young Tom Raines is born in a distraught, divorced family. His father Neil gambles and says he will always win the next time, but never does. With only one parent to take care of him, who is drunk mostly, he is quickly offered to child care agencies and alternate schools. Then luck hits him. As he is gambling in the VR (virtual reality parlor, where he always wins) he notices that he was being observed by the military General Marsh. General Marsh offers him into a program in which he could use his gambling mind in virtual reality games for real life. Situated at the Pentagon in Washington D.C., a military training site is designed for kids with strategic brains like Thomas, so that they can train and fight battles against the enemy countries. In this period of time there are a several companies banded together to fight for their rights on resources in outer space. In one side with the U.S., India, Western Europe, Canada, and Australians is companies like Dominion Agra, and Nobridis. Inc who want to their own piece of space resources, on planets like Saturn and Uranus. On the other side with the Russians, Chinese, South America, Africa, and the Nordic is companies like Stronghold Energy and Harbinger who want their share of outer space. The kids like Thomas are implanted with millions of dollars worth of neural processors to enhance their brain capacity. Because they are worth so much, both sides don't actually kill the opponent party, because a war would start in which they would lose millions of dollars. Instead, the kids control machines in outer space to fight their battles. As Tom goes through the training, he learns how to program his neural processor, place a firewall to protect his neural processor, and how to get into someone elses neural processor.
Then a kid from his side, and a kid from the Russian side must compete in a public battle. They have fake controllers and behind the scene Thomas is controlling one ship, and the undefeated Medusa is controlling the other. Additionally someone from his side, is trying to sabotage him. In this fun-action packed book, everyone is guaranteed to get a good deal of laughs, learn a lot from a teenager in the military, and also experience his battles and how they felt.

Book Review Physics of the Superheroes

Today I am reviewing James Kakalios’ ‘The Physics of Superheroes’.

The Physics of Superheroes

This book skillfully shows what it would take to make the superheroes’ powers real or possible. In this book James Kakalios talks about the mechanics of a superhero, the energy of a superhero, the modern physics of a superhero, and then review what he had discussed. The first thing in mechanics he talks about is forces of motion on superheroes. It talks about superheroes jumping great heights in one jump, and how that is possible or not, like Superman jumping up high. Next he goes on to talk about how someone as strong as Superman would get that dense muscle. Next he talks about falling. He talks about a Spiderman comic where Spiderman ”killed ” Gwen because of an abrupt stop that broke her fall, and snapped her neck. Next he talks about the tensile strength of spider webs, and if they could hold Spiderman. Then he goes on to talk about the fastest superhero, Flash, and how friction, and sound would affect him at fast speeds.  Then he talks about the speed of light and how it would affect Flash. Afterward he talks about muscle mass, shrinking, and the effects of shrinking on muscle mass, like in Ant-Man. Then he talks about how he would have the strength as he was when he was normal sized. Then he talks about vision, sound, smell, taste, and touch at a microscopic level, for Ant Man.  Then he moves on to growing and how it affects the human body. He talks about you having the same strength as you were normal sized, so you would be big and weak. He also talks about a limit to your growth at 65 feet, were your bones would be so weak, they would snap.

In the next section Energy, Heat, and Light he discusses energy in food necessary to run fast, grow, or even shrink. Then he talks about heat at a small level on miniature sized superheroes. Then he talks about conducting a lot of electricity and its effects on Electro. He continues this magnetism and magneto’s powers. Then he talks about how superheroes can’t go back in time and change the past. He finishes with talking about Iron Man’s armor, and how it would work. Then he gets to the last section, where he talks about everything from mutants, to armored men in a short summary.  He talks about the Cyclops’ power, and Batman’s weapons. He also talks about different things that are possible by the Comics Code Authority, like Spiderman not shooting webs from his bottom, or Hulk’s pants not ripping completely. He also talks about how the Angel could fly, and how strong metals like Adamantium or Vibranium are possible. This book will question the way you’ve thought about superheroes and will probably inspire you to give an attempt to gain “Superpowers” in the real world.