A Review of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
By: Oliver
A book by Mary Shelly, Frankenstein, is considered by many to be the first book in the science fiction genre. It is a fascinating exploration of the human mind, guilt, and responsibility. This classic follows a young Victor Frankenstein throughout the course of several years, during which he develops an obsession with the natural sciences and becomes fixated on the creation of life itself. Then, as anyone who has heard of the story knows, he creates a creature which has come to be known as Frankenstein’s Monster.
The story follows Frankenstein and the creature as the former does his best to forget what he has done, while the latter tries to reconcile with its miserable existence. Both characters stand out as fascinating, complex, and sympathetic figures, whose plight urges the reader to consider actions, their consequences, denial, and responsibility.
I was kept interested throughout the whole book, often finding myself immersed in the deeper aspects of the story, asking myself what actions were right and wrong, about the choices that should have been made, and the tragedies that could have been avoided. While not entirely being what I expected, this book was a thoroughly fascinating read that gave me room to fully think about the bigger themes of the story. Frankenstein is an excellent book, and those who enjoy classics or stories with interesting, relevant themes should consider giving it a read.
Picture by Isiah
Calico Pennants, also known as Valentine Pennants due to the Heart Patterns on their tails and the bright red color of the male, are striking dragonflies that fly in the summer months. The species lives in varied wetland and vegetated lake shore habitats and is my favorite species of dragonfly.
Art by Isiah
Anchored, Part Two
By: Ben
April 9, 2036. 41 million miles from Earth.
Cricket had finished most of the sketches or the aliens they had seen yesterday, including the spider-creatures they decided to name “Hunting Mantis”, because their spear-like arms resembled the claws on the Praying Mantis back on earth.
As they climbed in the two-person submarine, Cricket was looking forward to what their group would find. On earth, the deeper you go in the ocean, the weirder the animals get because of lower light levels and the immense pressure. The Giant Siphonophore Apolemia found off the coast of Australia, for example, is a giant worm-like colony of smaller creatures. The creatures they would see soon would prove this. Descending in the ocean, Cricket observed three-foot tall, transparent balls with tentacles protruding out from the middle of sleek, shark-like creatures with huge pointed horns on their head. Alongside these, fish-like animals with crescent disks instead of pectoral fins that fish on earth have swam with other strange fauna.
“You seeing all these?” Jonathan, the pilot of the submarine, spoke, responding in wonder to these creatures of the deep.
“Yeah,” Cricket responded.
“My kids would love this. It’s a shame they’ll only be able to see it in reports from this mission.”
Cricket, who made the reports, was sure Jonathan wasn’t trying to be rude. He seemed very kind, and excited about Keto.
Due to the size of the submarines, they only had about four hours of oxygen away from the habitat. It was a very quick four hours. Nisha was radioing the other two submarines and the rest of the crew at the habitat. She seemed a bit on edge, which Cricket found strange. She was always very collected. Suddenly, Cricket heard the loud crunch of metal. They turned to look at the submarine next to theirs. It was hard to make out, but they could see something that looked like a combination of a crocodile and a walrus. It was about 5 feet long, with fur on its back, four legs, and its short, shark-like tail. One of the radios crackled on. All Cricket could hear was screaming.
“Calm down! These submarines are supposed to be able to defend against bullets!” Nisha yelled.
How many bullets? Cricket thought. They saw two more of the creatures that had appeared and begun to chase the submarine upwards. The screaming cut out, as the radio short-circuited.
Sunlight began to penetrate the inky darkness around the submarines.
“We’re almost to the habitat!” Jonathan yelled. Finally, they did make it to the habitat’s plateau. Cricket punched the radio, and it crackled on. “We’re okay!” Jonathan reported into the radio’s headset.
“Samantha and Jill aren’t. I saw their submarine collapse,” one of the crew members said.
There were a few seconds of silence. Three people had already been lost on this mission, and NASA wanted them to stay here for another full day. Cricket had a feeling this mission would only get worse.
Continued in the next issue of The TABloids…
The Teen Advisory Board of the Library is made up of a variety of teens aged 12-18 that meet once a month to discuss all things library. They develop events and curate different displays for the teen lounge. To learn more about TAB information and an application form can be found on the Library website. Visit the Teen Advisory Board application page.
