#4: The Sweetest Gesture

The Marquis and Mel have another "sa-woon" moment when he asks to kiss her! (I feel like I've already wrote about that....) They make a wager; if Shevraeth arrives at the inn first, he wants a kiss from Mel. (I am internally screaming. Screaming for joy.) In the end, Shevraeth takes a short cut and he gets to the inn first.... KISS. But he doesn't kiss her, he is waiting until the perfect moment for Mel is fuming with anger and would punch him if he touched her the wrong way (Not possible!) This next part needs some explanation; when Mel was back at her own palace, she received a note form the Marquise of Merindar, the cousin of Galdren (the evil dictator that Shevraeth killed) saying that she would like Mel to come to court so they could "meet at last." Mel is hesitent because of the Marquise's name and relations so she keeps the letter secret. During the most recent ball, the Marquise arrives with her children; a girl who is tall and thin and very intimidating and a boy, who is extroadinarily beautiful. Both children kept to themselves. During the party the Marquise takes Mel by her hand and leads her into the library; a library the size of three public libraries put together. Mel qawked at the history. The Marquise is trying to win over Mel. Trying to get her on their side, I thought.
This next part gets juicy.
Mel runs into Shevraeth in the palace's library (not he Merindars, but the one in Shevraeth's palace). Mel finds him in a secret room. (I am internally screaming) They get into an arguement, however, and the "sa-woon" moment is nearly ruined. But on his way out, for they were interrputed, Shevraeth says, "I apologize. I also realize trying to convince you of my good intentions is a fruitless effort, but my own conscience demanded that I make the attempt." That night Mel finds a beautiful saphire ring on her pillow; she has no idea who it is from.
SA-WOON.

Blog #3: Crown Duel

I forgot to mention in the last post that Bran, Mel's brother, is struck with an arrow and Mel believes him dead. Well, a few pages into the next chapter, we fine that after the struggle with Debegri Shevraeth kills the king and aids Bran back to life. I am still frustrated as ever with Mel! She thinks once again, "I was also, therefore, intensely aware that my life was now in the hands of people I had considered enemies not two dawns ago. Did they still consider me one?" (Smith 195). I have an overwhelming urge to chuck this book out the window and yell, shut up, Mel! But the tale itself, keeps me reading and wondering what will happen next. Their plans for overthrowing the current ruler go awry, even though they did succeed in killing Debegri, the military leader. Mel explains, "There's no use in talking about the plan, because of course nothing went the way it was supposed to. Even the passage of time was horribly distorted" (Smith 197). The group of rebels meet up with Galdran, the king of their land, and faced a fight. Mel is knocked unconscience but is told the whole story after she awakes in a wood gatherer's cottage. Shevraeth killed Galdran. Mel and her brother recieve all of Galdrans earnings, making them fabulously rich. PART 2: Mel stays at her palace, away form court, while Bran stays with Shevraeth and all the court pricks Mel hates. Bran returns home with a fiancee and Shevraeth. Mel is surprised. Mel is forced to go to court to marry off her brother, all the while..... DUM DUM DUM falling in love with the Marquis!! He sends her love letters, although Mel has no idea who they are from. (Shevraeth! Shevraeth! Shevraeth!) Mel replies and falls in love with the mystery man. (Shevraeth! Shevraeth! Shevraeth!) BUT the Marquise of Merindar presents a problem; the Marquise has her eye on the crown because no one has taken Galdran's place yet. Of course the land and villages all wish to see Shevraeth as king; for he has been charitable and clear minded and has his military advantages.
So, here it is, there is a crown duel.

Blog #2: Frusterating

After Mel has been captured and humiliated in front of court, she is locked in a dungeon where she receives unexpected and certainly secret gifts. Such as food and blankets and water. The Marquis of Shavraeth obviously granted Mel these secret gifts and wished that she surrender so she is not killed. (Out of love. I just know it.) Of course Mel escapes and spends the majority of the reading hiding from horseback. It is so obvious that the Marquis loves her! Mel is so stubborn and so ignorant to notice, however, how much effort he gives to keep her from being caught! One time he even looks into her eyes when he and others are searching a building, smiles slightly, but does not say a word to the other searchers. Mel, of course, does not understand his behaviour and thinks it is because the Marquis wishes to finish her off himself. (She has to be wrong. I just know it.) I am getting a little annoyed at how much she analyzes other people's reaction toward her. She believes that every person on the planet has something against her. She believes that there is an undercurrent, secret meanings, to everything people say to her. And it frusterates me that she always wishes to escape when, clearly, the Marquis is helping her! Mel thought, "All right, defeat so far, I thought as I winced and gritted my way through arranging my leg much as it had been on the previous ride. All I have to do is catch him in a single unwary moment... He mounted behind me and we started off, while I indulged myself with the image of grabbing that stick and conking him right across his smiling face." (Another sign of an unspoken love!)

Blog #1: A great beginning?

Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith begins with Countess Meliara and her brother Branaric mourning their father's death. It seems that this book never really had an exposition, chapter, or even a paragraph describing the setting. The reader is thrown straight into a war. I started reading this and was confused and bored right away. I cannot read about war strategies, my mind just wanders so the beginning of Crown Duel was difficult to get through. But the information Sherwood Smith was giving seemed important for the rest of the book, so I did not let myself get discouraged. I found out, however, that Crown Duel is not just a story about war strategies: it is one of suspense and action. By page 43, Mel falls into a trap, a literal trap that badly injures her leg. She is captured by the Court Shmuck a Marquis, Varandic Shevraeth. I did not understand or even like the beginning of this book! But now that Mel has been captured, it all of a sudden has wonderful suspense and action. Sherwood Smith ends almost every chapter with a sentence such as, "And then I was captured." Or, "And then everything went black." Wonderful supsense. The action is plentiful as well. Mel can fight with and without a sword, on horseback and off. Even the snobby Marquis can fight. He does, in fact save Mel's life more than once. And I think it is because he fancies her. And despite her intense hatred toward him, she, as well, fancies him. Ah, so much to talk about!

Introduction to Outside Reading

“A fast-moving tale of adventure, intrigue, and honor, with Mel a likable heroine and a lively narrator,” Booklist described. The Horn Book also commented, “A delightful read.” Crown Duel by Sherwood Smith is a story of war, deceit and intrigue. The reviews and the synopsis on the back cover draw me to this book. “A realm in trouble, a spirited female hero with magic to surround her, mystery, romance, an enigmatic marquis, court etiquette and secret messages- this is the stuff of dreams!” Tamora Pierce wrote.

Blog #2: A Culture Different From Your Own

"Shortly before parliamentary elections in December, foremen fanned out across the sprawling GAZ vehicle factory here, pulling aside assembly-line workers and giving them an order: vote for President Vladimir V. Putin’s party or else," Clifford J . Levy wrote. I can not believe people still do that. Ordering people to vote for a certain party just shows how insecure the people of the party really are. But, I supposed, where ever you go bribery and threats will follow. This article goes on about how Vladimir Putin is turning into a dictator, ruling with an autocracy. That is how Hitler got elected to office; by democratic vote. So, what if Vladimir is the next Hitler? Hopefully he won't put people in concentration camps or anything extreme like that, but people did not really expect that from Hitler, either. What if Obama turns into a Hitler character? Gaining millions of supporters and love; he could turn on us at any second... But he won't. I think Vladimir Putin is just a stickler and will only have things his way and people like that scare the rest of us. But, maybe we, the people, the supporters and voters, maybe we need to just have a little faith in our leaders. Putin may look rough and stern on the outside, but he did get elected by the people so the people should trust in the decisions they have made; not go back on their word.

Levy, Clifford J. "Putin’s Iron Grip on Russia Suffocates Opponents." New York Times. Feb 24, 2008. March 4, 2008.

Blog #1: Natural Disaster

An earthquake in China a little over a year ago left 80,000 people dead or missing. A
four-year-old reservoir, the Zipingpu Reservoir, built close to the fault line at the center of the earthquake is speculated to have been the trigger. With that piece of information alone, one can only suspect how the Chinese government is faring. We all understand that dams and reservoirs are funded and owned by the government, so saying government property has caused one of the most terrible natural disasters in Chinese history can be a huge blow and set back. But aren't natural disasters, well, natural? Natural meaning not being caused or triggered by human behaviour? A natural disaster is related to land and wind and air. But then again, that is the question; did the government cause this earthquake? Or was it destined to happen? Based on the information given in the article, I find it hard to believe a reservoir could cause seismic waves in the earth's crust. Honestly, if the Earth wants to have an earthquake, the earth wants to have an earthquake. It's not one of those things that can be created by water pressure in a corrupt country. And, really, the government wanted to help it's country by creating a dam, not to trigger a terrible "natural disaster".


Lafraniere, Sharon. "In China Quake, a Man-Made or Natural Disaster?" International Herald Tribune. Feb 6 2009. Feb 16 2009. < http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/02/06/asia/06quake.php>