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SMAN 38 JKT

ADHWA RANA SAUSAN

A Thousand Pieces of You by Claudia Gray

Series: Firebird, #1
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release Date: November 4th, 2014
Genres: Science Fiction, YA

Marguerite

Caine whose parents are a physic scientist are known by their

groundbreaking achievements. Her parents invented sort of a
loop to another dimension, named firebird. Firebird is like a
necklace when you tap it you could be transport to
another dimension. Each dimension has their own time,
story and maybe in every dimension you could be a very
different person with a very different lifestyle. Its very
important to keep on wearing your firebird when you
are travelling to another dimension. Because thats the
only thing that could keep you remember who you
really are though you are some different person in the
other dimension, if you arent wearing the firebird while
you are in the other dimension, you will eventually
forget who you really are and you couldnt go back to
your own dimension.

Marguerites parents has a lot of people that help them to

invented a thing. All of them are very smart and some of
them are very close to her parents and also her family. Two of those people are Theo and Paul.
They are the closest person to Marguerites family. Theyve been working with her parents ever
since ages. Theo is like the opposite of Paul. Theo is a very active person when in the other hand
Paul is a quiet person.

And one day, Marguerites father got killed and one of the firebird is missing. So does Paul.
Everyone started to point their finger on Paul. They said that Paul stole the firebird and escape to
another dimension to get away from the thing that he did. Knowing that, Marguerite is so upset
and also mentally down too, because for sure Marguerite has a special feeling for Paul. But she
couldnt forgive what he did to her father. So Marguerite with the help from Theo, they use the
the two last pieces of firebird to race against Paul. They went to another dimension one by one.
The special thing about the firebird is actually they could know if the other firebird is already
moving into the next dimension or sort of like that.

As she races after Paul through different universes, always leaping into another version of
herself. She also meets alternate versions of the people she knows including Paul, whose life
entangles with hers in increasingly familiar ways. Before long she begins to question Paul's guilt
as well as her own heart. And soon she discovers the truth behind her father's death is far more
sinister than she expected.

PERSONAL REVIEW
Honestly, Im not actually a big fan of sci-fi book because I think (as a movie addict) a sci-fi
movie would be more interesting than a sci-fi book. I bought this book because of the cover. It
reminds me of a movie named Upside Down. When I looked at the back of the book, it started
to make me curious about the story. I put on my hope high for this book because this is also one
of the most expensive book that Ive ever bought.
I went home and started to read it. And, wow. The first time I read it, it was a mind blowing
situation. It feels like I am addicted to the book. I couldnt stop reading it. The price is worth to
pay. I did a research for this book, and I found out that this book is supposed to be a trilogy. But
the second book will be release at the end of November which means this month.
This book has a very incredible story line. When Marguerite and Theo stepped into the other
dimension, you have the feeling of Whats going to happen next? What dimension are they
going to end up in? Are they going to meet the real Paul? and any other questions that makes
you have the urge to read it even more.
The language itself is not that complicated. The writers didnt put on a lot of scientific words
even though this is a sci-fi book. Unlike one of the book that Ive read. That book is using a
vintage British style which makes me kind of confused when I read it because of the chosen
words that are so hard.
What I also love about this book is the characters. Each of the characters here, they have their
own unique personality which makes the storyline came to live even more. Marguerite, she is a
very ambition girl, no fear of anything yet she has a very gentle heart and her love to her father is
beyond compare. She would do anything for her father. And then we have Theo, same like
Marguerite, Theo seems like he has no fear of anything either, he is a good looking boy and also
very active. And we also have Paul, a very quiet and mysterious boy but also has a very gentle
heart. Those are the main characters for the story. I really love how their unique personalities
could blended up together and make the story even more fantastic.
There is also a very deep meaning from this story. This book is not only a sci-fi book that tells us
about all the un-possibilities that couldnt be happen in anytime soon. But this book told us, not
to judge something only based on what you know, what you see or even what any other people
said. The part when they though that Paul killed Marguerites father and escaped with one of
Marguerites Moms firebirds to run away to another dimension so he wouldnt get caught. And
as Margareth and Theo ran after Paul and looking for him from one dimension to another.

Something became odd. The fact that Paul didnt kill Marguerites father but trying to help him
because Marguerites father is actually kidnaped and trapped in another dimension without
firebirds so that he couldnt remember anything. And as the time goes by, Margareth started to
realize that Theo that helped her from the beginning, is not the actual Theo but the spy from the
evil company that kidnaped Marguerites father. As the time goes by, the truth started to be seen.
This really taught us that we cant point our finger on someone based on what we know or what
we see. Because that wont guarantee it to be the truth. Truth will be seen sooner or later, all we
have to do is just keep on looking for the truth and work hard to get it. So far, this is my favorite
sci-fi book. I cant wait for the second book to be released. I havent seen the flaws on this book
either. I am highly recommend this book.
But however, it will depends on the readers type of novel too. If you dont really like any of scifi novel and you would rather to read another genre, I cant guarantee that you will like or even
enjoy the story. But I think, as a person who didnt really into sci-fi novel, this novel is worth to
try with.

Abraham Lincoln : Vampire Hunter by 20 Century Fox

Cast

Benjamin Walker as Lincoln

Dominic Cooper as Sturgess
Anthony Mackie as Will
Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Mary Todd
Rufus Sewell as Adam
Jimmi Simpson as Joshua Speed
Erin Wasson as Vadoma
John Rothman as Jefferson Davis

Directed by

Timur Bekmambetov

Written by
Seth Grahame-Smith
Horror, Thriller
Rated R for violence throughout and brief
sexuality
94 minutes
.
In 1818, Abraham Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) lives in Indiana with his parents, Nancy (Robin
McLeavy) and Thomas (Joseph Mawle), who works at a plantation owned by Jack Barts (Marton
Csokas). There, Lincoln intervenes when he sees his friend, a young African
American boy, William Johnson (Anthony Mackie) being beaten by a slaver. Because of his son's
actions, Thomas is fired. That night, Lincoln sees Barts break into his house and attack his
mother. Nancy falls ill the following day, and dies shortly afterwards. Thomas tells Lincoln that
Barts poisoned her, but asks that he promise not try to avenge her death.

Nine years later, after his father's death, a vengeful Lincoln breaks his promise, and attacks Barts
at the docks, but Barts, who is actually a vampire, overpowers him quickly. However, before
Barts can kill him, Lincoln is rescued by Henry Sturges (Dominic Cooper). He wakes up in
Henry's home, and Sturges explains that vampires have existed in the New World for centuries,
and offers to teach Lincoln to be a vampire hunter. Lincoln accepts and, after a decade of
training, travels to Springfield, Illinois, one of many vampire-infested cities across the United
States, armed with a modified silver-bladed axe. Sturges explains that the vampires in America
all descend from Adam (Rufus Sewell), an ancient vampire who now owns a plantation in New
Orleans with his sister, Vadoma (Erin Wasson). Sturges also tells Lincoln of the vampires' sole
weakness, silver, and presents him with a silver pocket watch as a gift and a reminder of his
mission.
In Springfield, Lincoln befriends shopkeeper Joshua Speed (Jimmi Simpson), getting work and
lodging in his shop, while going out at night to hunt vampires, burying their bodies outside the
city limits. Though Sturges warns him not to form any close relationships, Abraham meets Mary
Todd (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) for whom he develops romantic feelings, despite the fact that
she is currently engaged to Stephen A. Douglas (Alan Tudyk).
Lincoln finds and defeats Barts though not before learning that he knows about Mary. Before
dying, Barts reveals that Sturges is also a vampire. Lincoln confronts Sturges, who reveals that,
centuries ago, he and his wife were both attacked and bitten by Adam. Henry's wife's soul was
pure, thus the bite killed her, but because Sturges' soul was impure, he became a vampire, and
that prevented him from harming Adam or any other vampire ("only the living can kill the
dead"). Henry spends his life finding and training vampire hunters, hoping to one day destroy
Adam.
Disillusioned, Lincoln abandons his mission. However, Adam learns of his activities and kidnaps
Johnson to lure Lincoln into a trap at his plantation. He captures Lincoln and tries to recruit him,
revealing he plans to turn the United States into a nation of the undead. He then prepares to force
Lincoln to help him by threatening to kill Johnson. At the last minute, Speed rescues his friends,
and they escape to Ohio.
Months later, Lincoln marries Mary and begins his political career, campaigning to abolish
slavery. However, Sturges warns Lincoln that the slave trade has kept the vampires under
control, as they use slaves for food, and that if Lincoln interferes, the vampires will retaliate.
Leaving the warning unheeded, after Lincoln's election as the 16th President of the United States
of America, he moves into the White House with Mary, where they have a son, William Wallace
Lincoln (Cameron M. Brown). But William's room is infiltrated by Vadoma, disguised as a maid,
where she bites him off-screen. As Lincoln mourns his loss, Henry appears and offers to turn

William, thus restoring him. Lincoln is unsure, when Mary enters and voices her approval,
having found and read the journal that Lincoln had kept hidden. She blames Abraham for the
misfortune brought upon them.
With the onset of the American Civil War, Confederate President Jefferson Davis (John
Rothman) convinces Adam to deploy his vampires on the front lines, in exchange for the
expansion of his clan into the North. The appearance of the vampires on the first day of
the Battle of Gettysburg terrorizes the Union Army as their weapons prove ineffective on them.
In the White House, Lincoln contemplates leaving Washington, then laments that the North's
forces are as ineffective against the vampires as a fork. Instantly reminded of silver's potency
towards vampires, Lincoln orders all the silver in the North to be melted for ammunition.
However, Speed, believing that Lincoln is tearing the nation apart, defects and informs Adam
that Lincoln will transport the silver by train.
As the train crosses the countryside, Lincoln, Johnson, and Speed stay to protect the silver. Adam
and Vadoma, who have set fire to the upcoming trestle, send their men to attack Lincoln and
Johnson. During the fight, Henry appears, attempting to fend off Adam, who has personally
boarded the train. But, in the course of the fight, Adam learns that the train holds only rocks, not
the silver. Speed then appears, and reveals that his betrayal was a ruse planned by him and
Lincoln to lure Adam into a trap, though Adam kills Speed for this, in front of Lincoln. The
bridge begins to collapse under the blaze, and Lincoln, with Johnson, make their escape, leaping
over the collapsing train cars towards the locomotive. As they near the end, Adam pulls them
down onto the support beams. Lincoln and Adam engage in a climactic fistfight on top of the
train, ending with Lincoln punching his silver watch into Adam's chest, killing him, and Sturges
helps the two escape the train before it explodes. Questioning Lincoln on the lack of silver,
Johnson comments that there is more than one railroad in the nation. Meanwhile, Mary and the
ex-slaves have transported the silver to Gettysburg through the Underground Railroad. There,
Mary spots Vadoma, attempting to claim one more life from Lincoln, and kills her by shooting
her in the head with a shotgun loaded with her son's toy sword, avenging William's death. The
now leaderless Confederate vampires stage a final, massive assault and are met head on by the
Union. Armed with their silver weapons and ammunition, the Union Infantry destroy the
vampires and eventually win the battle for the North.
Nearly two years later, on April 14, 1865, with the war coming to a close, Sturges tells Lincoln
that the remaining vampires have fled the country, as far as the Orient. Sturges tries to convince
Lincoln to allow him to turn Lincoln into a vampire, so that he can become immortal and
continue to fight vampires, but Lincoln declines before departing to Ford's Theatre with his wife.

In modern times, Sturges approaches an unknown man at a bar in Washington, D.C., as he did
Lincoln, hinting that the man may be the next vampire hunter

PERSONAL REVIEW
"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" is without a doubt the best film we are
ever likely to see on the subject unless there is a sequel, which is unlikely,
because at the end, the Lincolns are on their way to the theater. It's also a
more entertaining movie than I remotely expected. Yes, Reader, I went
expecting to sneer.
The story opens with young Abe witnessing the murder of his mother by a vampire. He swears
vengeance, and some years later is lucky to be getting drunk while standing at a bar next to
Henry Sturgess (Dominic Cooper), who coaches him on vampire-killing and explains that it is a
high calling, requiring great dedication and avoiding distractions like marriage.
There's an early scene in which Lincoln tries to shoot a vampire, but that won't work because
they're already dead. Then whatever can he do? "Well," he tells Henry, "I used to be pretty good
at rail-splitting" This line drew only a few chuckles from the audience, because the movie
cautiously avoids any attempt to seem funny.

Lincoln's weapon of choice becomes an axe with a silver blade, which he learns to spin like a
drum major's baton. That he carries this axe with him much of the time may strike some as
peculiar. I was reminded uncannily of Buford Pusser, walking tall and carrying a big stick.
Against Henry's advice, Lincoln (Benjamin Walker) marries Mary Todd (Mary Elizabeth
Winstead), and the story moves quickly to his days in the White House, where he discovers that
the vampires are fighting on the side of the South. This seems odd, since they should be equal
opportunity bloodsuckers, but there you have it. Still with him his childhood friend Will Johnson
(Anthony Mackie), a free black man whose mistreatment helped form Lincoln's hatred of
slavery. Also still at his side is Joshua Speed (Jimmi Simpson), who hired him in his Springfield
general store; Johnson and Speed join Lincoln in Civil War strategy sessions and are his principal
advisers, roles overlooked by history.
The film, directed by Timur Bekmambetov and written by Seth Grahame-Smith, based on his
novel, handles all these matters with an admirable seriousness, which may be the only way they
could possibly work. The performances are earnest and sincere, and even villains like Adam
(Rufus Sewell), the American leader of the Vampire Nation, doesn't spit or snarl over much. It
regrettably introduces but does not explain Vadoma (Erin Wasson), a statuesque woman who is
several decades ahead of time in her taste for leather fetish wear. Are vampires kinky? I didn't
know.
Although we do not attend "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" in search of a history lesson,
there's one glitch I cannot overlook. In the first day of fighting at Gettysburg, the Union sustains
a defeat so crushing that Lincoln is tempted to surrender. This is because the Confederate troops,
all vampires, are invulnerable to lead bullets, cannon fire and steel blades, and have an alarming
way of disappearing and rematerializing. Over breakfast, Lincoln confides his despair to his wife
and says conventional weapons are of no more use against them than why than this fork!
As he stares at it, he realizes it is silver, and vampires can be killed by silver weapons, as he has
proved with his axe-twirling.
Now try not to focus too much on the timeline. After his realization, Lincoln mobilizes all
resources to gather wagonloads of silver in Washington, melt it, and manufacture silver bayonets,
bullets and cannon balls. Then we see him, Johnson and Speed on board a weapons train en route
to Gettysburg. It is night again, so apparently all of this took less than a day.
Never mind. What comes now is a genuinely thrilling action sequence in which the vampires
battle with Lincoln and his friends on top of the speeding train, which hurtles toward a high
wooden bridge that has been set alight by the sinister Vadoma (pronounced "Vadooma," I think).
This sequence is preposterous and yet exciting, using skillful editing and special effects.
Somehow Benjamin Walker and his co-stars here are even convincing well, as convincing as
such goofiness could possibly be.
"Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" has nothing useful to observe about Abraham Lincoln,
slavery, the Civil War or much of anything else. Blink and you may miss the detail that Harriet
Tubman's Underground Railway essentially won the war for the North. But the film doesn't
promise insights on such subjects. What it achieves is a surprisingly good job of doing justice to
its title, and treating Lincoln with as much gravity as we can expect, under the circumstances.

Even though this movie doesnt have a high rating at the IMDb but there are so many people
agreed that this is one of the best movie yet a fantastic movie with a lot of historical plot twist on
it.

US Supreme Court rules gay marriage is legal

nationwide
The US Supreme Court has ruled that same-sex marriage is a legal right across the United States.
It means the 14 states with bans on same-sex marriage will no longer be able to enforce them.
Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote that the plaintiffs asked "for equal dignity in the eyes of the law.
The Constitution grants them that right."
The ruling brings to an end more than a decade of bitter legal battles.
Same-sex couples in several affected states including Georgia, Michigan, Ohio and Texas rushed
to wed on Friday.

However officials in other states, including Mississippi and Louisiana, said marriages had to wait
until procedural issues were addressed.
President Barack Obama said the ruling was a "victory for America".
"When all Americans are treated as equal, we are all more free " he said.
Obama: "This ruling will strengthen all our communities"
However, Christian conservatives condemned the decision.
Former Arkansas governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee called it "an out-of-control
act of unconstitutional, judicial tyranny".
And Kellie Fiedorek, a lawyer for an anti-gay marriage advocacy group, said the decision
"ignored the voices of thousands of Americans".
Greg Abbott, the governor of Texas, a state where marriages licences will now be issued to samesex couples, said the justices "have imposed on the entire country their personal views on an
issue that the Constitution and the Court's previous decisions reserve to the people of the states".
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Media captionEmotion of winners and losers outside Supreme Court

AT THE SCENE - PAUL BLAKE, BBC NEWS

Loud cheers erupted outside the court after the
ruling was announced, and there were tears, hugs,
and cheers of "USA USA USA!".
A sea of rainbow flags overwhelmed the few
anti-gay marriage activists who reacted in
disbelief, and the demonstration seemed to turn
into a street party.
A tour bus drove past honking as hundreds
cheered the decision.
One of the demonstrators, Jordan Monaghan, called his mother from his mobile phone amid the
celebrations.

"Hey mom, I'm at the Supreme Court. Your son can

have a husband now," Mr Monaghan said.
Image captionJordan Monaghan told his mum:
"Your son can have a husband now."

Minutes after the ruling, couples in one of the states that had a ban, Georgia, lined up in hope of
being wed.
In Texas, Yasmin Menchaca and her partner Catherine Andrews told the BBC that they are
"trying to round up our parents" in order to get married on Friday.
The two have been together for six years, and had attempted to marry in Washington state - but
decided to wait because of the financial burden of flying their parents across the country.
On social media, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton merely tweeted the word
"proud" and the White House changed its Twitter avatar into the rainbow colours.
The case considered by the court concerned Jim Obergefell, an Ohio resident who was not
recognised as the legal widower of his late husband, John Arthur.
"It's my hope that gay marriage will soon be a thing of the past, and from this day forward it will
simply be 'marriage,'" an emotional Mr Obergefell said outside the court.

EQUAL DIGNITY IN THE EYES OF THE LAW'

"Their hope," Kennedy wrote, "is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one
of civilization's oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The
Constitution grants them that right."
Kennedy has written the opinion in significant gay rights cases and when he uttered the key
sentence that same-sex couples should be able to exercise the right to marry in all states, people
in the Court's public gallery broke into smiles and some wiped tears from their eyes.
In a dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia blasted the Court's "threat to American democracy."
"The substance of today's decree is not of immense personal importance to me," he wrote. "But
what really astounds is the hubris reflected in today's judicial Putsch."

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote that the decision had "nothing to do with the Constitution."
"If you are among the many Americansof whatever sexual orientationwho favor expanding
same-sex marriage, by all means celebrate today's decision. Celebrate the achievement of a
desired goal," he wrote. "Celebrate the opportunity for a new expression of commitment to a
partner. Celebrate the availability of new benefits. But do not celebrate the Constitution. It had
nothing to do with it."
The U.S. is now the 21st country to legalize same-sex marriage nationwide, including territories.
Married same-sex couples will now enjoy the same legal rights and benefits as married
heterosexual couples nationwide and will be recognized on official documents such as birth and
death certificates.
Hundreds of same-sex marriage supporters flooded the plaza and sidewalk in front of the Court
to celebrate the ruling, proudly waving rainbow flags and banners with the Human Rights
Campaign's equal sign, which have come to represent the gay rights movement. In an emotional
moment, the supporters sang the National Anthem, clapping wildly after singing that the U.S. is
"the land of the free."
After the ruling, President Barack Obama called Jim Obergefell, the lead plaintiff in the case,
while he and his supporters celebrated the ruling outside the court.