Report 4: KonoSuba: God’s Blessings on this Wonderful World!

 As the fourth part of this review, Konosuba’s major events are really punctual and can be listed in four particular junctions of the story: when Kazuma meets Aqua and both are sent to the kingdom of Belzerg; Kazuma and Aqua meet Megumin and let her join the party; Kazuma learns steal and uses it against a certain enemy that I prefer not to mention in order to avoid spoilers; the party fights against one of the eight demon king generals, which will be omitted in this review to encourage the readers of this review to give a try to the novel.

Now, I have to say that Konosuba completely surpassed my expectations, because I thought a fantasy-comedy novel was going to be lacking in content and world development. However, it really proved me wrong by introducing charismatic characters and a world that actually felt alive, since not every moment of the story is focused solely on the protagonists. Actually, I have to say that I feel identified with Kazuma, because he feels like a normal person in a world that is way bigger than he is; he does not have any powers or superintelligence. Kazuma is just a normal guy with common sense and good luck, which makes him feel like a friend telling you his story.

Nevertheless, a good story cannot avoid having flaws. Probably because this is the first volume of a series of novels, Konosuba feels a little heavy to grasp since it takes some time to build its world, which might be a little daunting for new readers.

To conclude, Konosuba is a really great story with unique characters. It definitely makes you feel as part of its world through the various interactions the protagonists have. Moreover, these characters give a sensation of nostalgia, as if you were talking with a group of old friends from your youth. I really recommend this novel since it truly was an adventure for me, and yes, I will absolutely continue reading the series.

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Sorry for overextending, but this is one of my favorite books and wanted to do it justice in this review. Thanks for reading.

Diego Santiago Cervantes Chi

Reading Report 4: The Great Gatsby by Mauricio López

 After the crash, the body of Myrtle was found by Tom while passing by with Nick. He told Wilson who was responsible for Myrtle's death (believing it was Gastby). Back at the Buchanans’ house in East Egg, Nick finds Gatsby hiding in the garden and discover that it was Daisy who was driving. The next morning, Nick tells Gatsby to run away but he reveals everything about his real past and why he wants to marry Daisy. But while waiting in his mansion, he was killed by Wilson and then Wilson killed himself. The story ends with Gatsby's funeral which almost no one attends, not even Daisy, because she left and continued with her life. Disgusted with the life, Nick goes back to the Midwest. 

The story was excellent, at every single point of the story you are shocked by everything that happens and even you can learn about life and the importance of the truth. It was definitely not the normal romantic story that you see, with an amazing and totally unexpected ending you can understand the feelings of the characters which I totally enjoyed all time. 

In my opinion, the only negative comment was about the saturation of some information and facts which were interesting but didn´t  support a lot of the story. You were able to understand the story but you were obligated to remember a lot of facts which can be hard at the beginning, however, as the story develops, it is easier. 

As a conclusion, this story definitely goes as a classic which shows us the pessimistic side of the wealthy people and how wealth can not be everything in our lives, mostly a simple thing such as love can be the thing that everyone pursues but almost nobody can reach. I will strongly recommend this book to all the readers who want to read a classic and who are fans of drama and tragedy from the beginning to the end. Fitzgerald writes excellent books which I will be willing to read if they are of this kind of gender. Doing readings such as this, allows the students to achieve skills that sometimes are not normally practiced and also to acquire healthy hobbies such as reading, being an activity that should be done outside the classroom and makes you progress in the target language. 

Reading Report 4: James and the Giant Peach

    Today, I finished the cutest story I had ever read. James and the Giant Peach is a novel that, without taking you apart from the real world, will give you a new magical perspective about little things that surround us every day and will respond to any doubt children may have about nature and life. What are bugs’ personalities like? How are rainbows made? What is above the clouds? If you are willing to answer these questions, do not hesitate to read this marvelous book.

    Although there are many characters in the story, I did not feel identified with any of them. However, I loved them all. My favorite ones were the Old Green Grasshopper and Miss Spider because they looked like the parents of the group of creatures, who also have very funny personalities. Besides, James is a really cute kid that any child will feel identified with.

    For sure, the content of the story is intended for the general public. It is very engaging and easy to read. However, there are moments in which a specific character says bad words sporadically. The Centipede is a grumpy character that tends to criticize the Earthworm by using language, which to my taste, is inappropriate for children.

    All in all, the story is amazing and I highly recommend it as a reading resource for middle or high school teachers. In the case of elementary students, the only recommendation would be to check the language and adapt the swear words for a different expression. 

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Report 3: KonoSuba: God’s Blessings on this Wonderful World!

  After their first failure, a beautiful female paladin approached Kazuma and asked him to let her join the party. However, he was completely dumbstruck because he used to be a shut-in in his previous life, so it was really difficult to even respond to her. Nevertheless, Kazuma said very quickly ‘No’ out of nervousness, which triggered an unexpectedly pleasant reaction from the paladin. This is where things get interesting, because our main character realizes that he is probably bound to form a party full of strange people. Moreover, he was destined to be the only one with a basic class in the group, and still had no special skills.

A couple of days passed, and Kazuma decided to learn his first set of abilities by asking people of the guild to teach him some. Once in the main building, he met with the paladin from the previous night, she was going by the name ‘Darkness’ and was accompanied by a white-haired thief called Chris. Sooner than later, Darkness asked him again to let her join the party, but he refused. However, Chris took the reins of the conversation and told Kazuma that she heard he was looking for a teacher in order to learn useful adventuring skills, which caught his attention. 

After a series of events, Chris taught Kazuma the abilities of a thief, which included the named skill Steal, alongside other very useful ones that our protagonist would use very soon. Thus, an emergency call echoed throughout the city, calling all adventurers—from beginners to veterans—to group up at the main gates of Axel...

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Diego Santiago Cervantes Chi

Reading Report 3 by Mauricio López

 Reading Report 3

A couple of days later, at Gatsby's request, Nick makes Daisy visit Nick's house so Gatsby can meet him. When they met, Daisy was astonished to meet Gatsby after almost five years. The meeting was uncomfortable at the beginning but later on Nick gives them privacy and they reconcile. Afterwards, they visit Gatsby's house , which later on, Tom discovers that Daisy has an association with Gatsby. Gatsby invites Daisy to the next party but Tom goes with her, they both dislike what the party is and leave, which makes Gatsby upset and angry. 

Gatsby's parties cease thereafter but Daisy visits Gatsby in the afternoons. At the end of the summer, Nick, Jordan and Gatsby are invited to the Buchanans’ house. Daisy flirts with Gatsby which makes Tom angry and decides to invite everyone to drive into town. Daisy and Gatsby leave in Tom’s blue coupe, while Tom drives Jordan and Nick in Gatsby’s garish yellow car.

On the way, Tom stops for gas at Wilson's garage which receives the notice of Wilson and Myrtle are going to the west, this shocks Tom and makes him more angry. In Manhattan, they celebrate in a party at Plaza Hotel, but the mood is hot and in a bad temper. Tom confronts Gatsby about Daisy and she tries to calm them down but the fight escalates to the point of Tom revealing Gatsby's secrets of his fortune which was selling illegal alcohol during the prohibition but he denies it, however, Daisy has lost her resolve but both leave the place in Gatsby's car.

Daisy was driving but while arguing with Gatsby and killed Myrtle by accident, who, after having a vehement argument with her husband, had run into the street toward Gatsby’s passing car thinking it was Tom.  

Reading Report 3: James and the Giant Peach

 I have already read more than half the book and the story is each time more interesting. Do you remember when I told you the peach was on the sea? Well, the story continued with some sharks getting around the big fruit. All the creatures got scared about them and they thought they had started to sink, so they asked little James for a plan to survive. 

At first, the boy’s idea was not a good one for them, but then, they accepted. Mrs. Spider and Silkworm were asked to create a lot of threads in order to catch enough seagulls to move the peach from that risky place. To me, the funniest part of this scene was when they had to convince the Earthworm to be the bait of the birds. He was really scared and the Centipede encouraged him in an aggressive but funny way. James’ plan worked exactly as he said and everyone got really happy to have caught 502 seagulls who lifted the peach from the sea. 

The story starts to get even more surreal when the peach flies up to the sky. James and the creatures found the ‘Cloud-Men’. I haven’t finished reading this section and I hope to understand it better, but it seems that they are the ones who make hailstones during the winter and they practice during the summer.

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