Review: Dragon Fire by Pedro L. Alvarez

I was very interested in a new world to explore the past week and I found this in an ARR program. Pedro L. Alvarez is a debut author that I think we should all keep an eye on. The story he lays out for the reader is amazingly detailed and well thought out. Dragon Fire is a mixture to me of a coming of age/romance/dystopian like world. 

If there is not enough reason that you should get a bow and arrow well here's another book. Lately that's been the trend I've found. For example, Faelorehn by Jenna Elizabeth Jonhson, The Hunger Games Trilogy, and a few weeks ago I saw Brave form Pixar. Not that I don't have anything against bows and arrows but I wanted something different. Maybe something new and unheard of.

Pedro L. Alvarez has the most beautiful way of telling a story that amazed me while I was reading. Though his writing isn't filled with complications making me re-read constantly, it had an old timey feel. I felt very sucked into this world he created and the characters that joined in. I don't know how to say this because this is a very tricky review for me to write. I love his writing, but the story didn't make me want to read more. I really wanted to like this but I couldn't. It's not bad or anything, but I just could not go into another coming of age story. The genre is incredibly gigantic and I did not feel like anything was special.

Block Dude

So I think that we have all been there. Well, as long as you had/have a TI calculator you've seen or played the everlasting Block Dude. I personally don't have a TI 84 to play Block Dude, but many friends of  mine have played it during math class or in their free time. I had this one friend that was addicted to it and started making a project on it for her computer's class. Not that it's a bad thing, but it's a revolutionary thing in my opinion. To have video games going on through class, some teachers have noticed and some just plain ol' don't care.

For some people that don't know what Block Dude is, it's a game you can play on the TI 84 calculator, which is a graphing calculator most middle and high schoolers use. This "program" is you are playing "dude" a guy who is trying to escape by moving blocks around to get to the door on the other side of whatever. You use the arrow keys to move up, left, and right, then you press the bottom key to pick up and put down blocks to the places that is most ideal for your journey to the door.

I have decided to download the app on my ipod touch to try it out, since everyone I know is always playing it and being very selfish "block dudes". I've only passed the first two levels and I'm already bored. It got me thinking then, so if you just keep doing this where is the fun? Realization dawned on me that the addiction some might say is sneaking behind teacher's back and pretending like they are calculating tough, can't be solved mentally equations and such, not the true game it's self.

Then there are some people I know that play whenever and for just the fun of it. I know I'm not one to judge because no one is one to judge, but playing Block Dude is not my idea of fun. There is an excitement though of playing video games on a calculator that makes it interesting to students. Just my thoughts on Block Dude and feel free to leave comments if you'd like.