Category: Arts and Culture

by Layal Hilal

Nura and the Immortal Palace is a capturing and stunning book by M.T. Khan. It was published in 2022 and is a detailed well-written novel about hope, danger, and greed.

It follows a twelve-year-old girl named Nura who has to mine mica, which are minerals that can be dangerous and even fatal. Mica is used for makeup. Nura works in underground caves with a variety of other kids, some as young as five years old. The caves are dangerous and Nura doesn’t want to work all day, just like the others, but she has three younger siblings and her mom all struggling at home, and mica mining is the only way to support them at least a little. 

When Nura first started working in the mines, she didn’t have any friends but gradually became close to a boy named Faisal. Nura and Faisal, her only friend, both work in the caves to support their families, but they couldn’t be more different. Faisal tries to mine as many little pieces of mica as possible, hoping it will amount to something bigger. Nura, on the other hand, always gets the biggest pieces of mica, the ones that will get the most money for her family. 

One day, Nura learns that her mom wants to put her in school and stop her from mining. But Nura knows that if she stops working in the caves, she won’t be able to support her family and they will crumble. So she works harder than ever, trying to find the famed legend, the Demon’s Tongue. It’s rumored to be worth more than an emperor’s riches and kingdom. If she finds it, it won’t matter if she stops mining mica. But Nura digs too deep. The tunnels collapse, and Faisal, Nura, and five other kids fall into a world of purple skies, pink seas, and jinn. Jinn are tricksters and they will go to any lengths to imprison humans like Nura and her friends. 

It doesn’t help that they land in the Sijj Palace, the number one hotel for jinn and where humans are slaves. But in this world, Nura finds more than evil Jinn. She discovers what loyalty is, what danger means, and how greed is much more than wanting something. It’s wanting things until you don’t remember why you wanted it in the first place. As she starts to realize the true meaning of friendship and hope, she also discovers a way out. 

Nura and the Immortal Palace will captivate readers ten and up and will send them spinning into a whirlwind world of jinn and humans and what happens when two worlds collide. M.T. Khan truly captures the beauty of trust and the danger of greed. This novel will engrave itself in your heart and mind for the rest of eternity.

For information about the author, please visit:

https://www.mtkhan.com/about

For information on the book, please visit:

https://www.mtkhan.com/nura

Thank you!

by Meru S.

A Rover’s Story is a ruminative and hopeful tale by author Jasmine Warga. Published in 2022, this simple but well-written book is narrated by a Mars rover known as Resilience.

Though he is a machine, Resilience (Res for short) gradually begins to understand and even feel human emotions as he observes the scientists at the NASA lab where he is developed. He forms an unspoken but close connection with two scientists, Rania and Xander.

Meanwhile, an eleven-year-old girl, Sophia, who is the daughter of Rania, is incredibly hopeful about Res’s expedition to Mars. She writes letters to him, describing her everyday life and expressing her emotions about his future, whether it is worry, fear, or excitement. Though Res does not see her letters, she continues to write to him occasionally over the more than two-decade-long timeline of the story.

Res’s mission is to find Courage, a rover previously sent to Mars by NASA. Caught in a dust storm, Courage had lost all connection with Earth, and Res must attempt to bring him back online. 

Once on Mars, accompanied by his talkative and friendly drone, Fly, and guided by a bossy but wise satellite named Guardian, Res explores the uneven surface. As he searches for Courage, he collects samples of the dirt and sand and takes photos of the rocky landscape. A single thought fuels his determination; the cost of bringing him back to earth is extremely expensive. Res is resolved to discover something—anything— that will be worthy enough to ensure his return.

However, Mars’s rough terrain can be dangerous even for a rover. Res has to be exceedingly cautious and avoid deep holes and dust storms. But Res is brave—one of the many ‘human’ words he learned from listening to the scientists at the lab—and there is little that he fears. With the constant companionship of Fly and Guardian, the coded instructions from NASA, and the intuition he unexpectedly has, he does not give up easily.

In this quiet and observant narrative, Warga beautifully captures the minds and thoughts of machines, giving each character, whether robot or human, a perfectly fitting personality. Readers ages eleven and up are sure to forever hold this not-too-long, not-too-short book in their hearts.

For more information, please visit:

https://jasminewarga.com

by Emery Pugh

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The evil Titan lord Kronos intends to tear down Olympus “brick by brick” and destroy Western Civilization with it. Typhon is wreaking havoc on the country as he marches towards the virtually undefended Mount Olympus. The gods being occupied with Typhon, there is only one thing that stands in Kronos’ way – Percy and his friends at Camp Half-Blood. The situation is bad enough, but it gets worse. Percy not only has to undergo an extremely dangerous plan, but has a horrifying suspicion that he could be fighting against his own fate. One choice can change the destiny of the world.

There are many great aspects to book five of the Percy Jackson series. I love how the series is formed around Greek Mythology. It makes it a unique set of books. However, that isn’t the only reason why I am engrossed in the Percy Jackson series.

The Last Olympian just grips you with the story. Once you pick the book up, it’s nearly impossible to put down. Like many good books, the action is the best part. Once a battle starts, you just want to know what happens next. Not only that, author Rick Riordan does a breakthrough job with cliffhangers, making your brain stubbornly refuse to stop reading. During breaks from the action, this book always has some mystery to solve, prophecies to decipher, or someone’s complex past to delve into.

To add on to all that, Riordan puts the cherry on top – humor. I can’t go without laughing for more than ten minutes at a time. Even right before Percy could die, someone throws out a joke. Riordan never forgets to add hilarity to his books.

Finally, this book has a perfect ending. It isn’t quite a cliffhanger, but introduces the sequel to the Percy Jackson series: The Heroes of Olympus five-book series.

In the end, I really have nothing negative to say about The Last Olympian. It’s definitely a five star review.

by Lucas David

Nestled in the heart of the city of San Francisco, the Legion of Honor museum is structured almost like an art project in and of itself. Spreading before a fountain and an abstract metal statue is a lush field, bordered by a curtain of trees and greenery. On the other side of the fountain and statue is the museum itself. Upon entering the museum, I was greeted by one of the Thinker statues, and two rows of large marble columns on either side. A glass triangle much resembling a miniature version of the Louvre is behind the Thinker, and at the end of the entry area the front doors are behind a short stairway. 

In the past, the LoH has exhibited art from Pompei, the ancient city that was destroyed as a result of the ash from a volcanic eruption. The museum is the main source of impressionism and post-impressionism in the San Francisco Bay Area as well. When I went to review the place, I found LOH is currently showcasing art by Sandro Botticelli, an italian artist from the fourteen to fifteen hundreds. Amongst the drawings was a video that shared a painting I have dubbed, “The First Selfie”. “The First Selfie,” better known as “The Adoration of the Magi,” is a portrait of the wise men offering the biblical figure Jesus, or the Messiah, gold, frankincense, and myrrh. I call it, “The First Selfie,” because Botticelli adds himself into the scene, looking directly and intently at the viewer.

The cafe offers high quality food, but is very expensive, and unless your child enjoys portobello or smoked salmon and potato galette, then they will wind up with an expensive grilled cheese. I recommend bringing lunch, and enjoying coffee and dessert in the cafe, especially the chocolate raspberry tart. There aren’t many restaurants nearby the museum, but I noticed a casual Mel’s Diner on the way there that I took note of for my next visit. 

I highly recommend stopping by the museum for a visit, especially since San Francisco is a beautiful city, filled with so many museums I look forward to enjoying, before going home to subject them to harsh (but accurate) criticism. One of the nice things about the Legion of Honor museum is it’s way of cycling through exhibitions like I mentioned before, but it also means that the Botticelli sketches will not stay for long, and their normal home is in Italy. It’s an hour of driving from where I’m typing to the Legion of Honor museum, but it’s a 12 hour flight from here to Italy, so don’t wait! The exhibition ends February 11th, 2024.