2008 January — Jenni Elyse

Jan 28, 2008

Review: The Silver Chair by CS Lewis

The Silver Chair Cover Title: The Silver Chair
Author: CS Lewis
Series: Chronicles of Narnia #6 (chronological), #4 (published)
Genre: Fantasy (Middle Grade)
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A prince imprisoned–a country in peril. Narnia … where giants wreak havoc … where evil weaves a spell … where enchantment rules. Through dangers untold and caverns deep and dark, a noble band of friends are sent to rescue a prince held captive. But their mission to Underland brings them face-to-face with an evil more beautiful and more deadly than they ever expected.

Before reading The Silver Chair, I had heard mixed reviews. So, I was a little skeptical as to whether I’d like the story, especially with Eustace being one of the main characters. However, I quite enjoyed the book, even though there was quite a bit of screaming (on my part) at the characters because they didn’t see the obvious signs until later in the book. Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia is still my favorite of the series, so far, but the adventures in this story were fun and it was fun to meet the new characters (e.g. Puddleglum and Prince Rillian) introduced in this book.

I’m very excited to be so close to finishing the series and I can’t wait until I finish reading The Last Battle. It will be especially exciting to find out how the chronicles end and to see how Lucy, Edmund, and Peter find their way back to Narnia, even though Aslan told them they were too old to come back in previous books.

Filed Under: Book Reviews · Tagged: 3 Stars, Fantasy, Middle Grade · 1 Comment

Jan 27, 2008

President Gordon B. Hinckley

By Jenni Elyse

President Gordon B. Hinckley My mom called me about an hour ago to let me know that President Hinckley had passed away. My first thoughts were how much I’m going to miss him and then how happy I am for him because he’s with Sister Hinckley again.

When I was 14 or 15, I had the chance to shake President Hinckley’s hand. He was the 1st Counselor in the 1st Presidency at the time and gave a talk at our regional conference in Logan. After the conference, those who wanted to could shake his hand. My family was one of those who did. It was such a highlight of my life!

When I was a sophomore in college, President Hinckley gave a talk at one of our institute devotionals at USU. I waited in line for a few hours, missing a couple of classes in the process, so I could get a good seat. I ended up being in the front row. It was really neat to be in his presence as the Prophet. I remember feeling peace and assurance that he was a prophet of God. There was no doubt in my mind.

His teachings have greatly touched my life. President Hinckley is the prophet in which I truly came to realize the fullness of my testimony, so I’ll miss him a little more than I do others that have gone before him. I’m glad I know I’ll have a chance to see him again and become great friends with him!

Filed Under: LDS · 1 Comment

Jan 21, 2008

I Want to Speak Spanish More

By Jenni Elyse

I had an opportunity to be in a Spanish immersion program for four years while I was in elementary school. Basically, my entire schooling from first through fourth grade was in Spanish, other than learning how to read in English. Each year, I had the same students in my classes because we all advanced with each other. It was the best school experience I could’ve ever wished for because I’ve always had a huge interest in learning about other cultures and I now have such a great love for learning languages.

Unfortunately, I’ve forgotten quite a bit because I don’t speak Spanish very often. I try to practice whenever I get the chance, but I’ve noticed I’m a lot shyer and less confident when speaking with other people now that I’m older. I’m always so concerned with speaking perfectly that I stutter big time. When I was younger, I didn’t care if I made a mistake because I knew I was just learning.

Lately, I’ve had a chance to practice a little bit with a few people here and there. However, the best thing that has happened recently is a Spanish thread at The Host Index, one of the community forums I belong to. I can talk to someone whenever I feel like talking, I can take my time when posting something in Spanish, and they all help me out when I make a mistake. I may not be speaking, but I still have to remember words and grammar in order to communicate with the others and each post’s getting easier. It’s been a lot of fun! I think this is the first step to brushing up and losing some of my fear of speaking.

Filed Under: Online Communities · 3 Comments

Jan 16, 2008

Review: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader by CS Lewis

By Jenni Elyse

Title: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
Author: CS Lewis
Series: Chronicles of Narnia #5 (chronological), #3 (published)
Genre: Fantasy (Middle Grade)
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A voyage to the very ends of the world. Narnia … where a dragon awakens … where stars walk the earth … where anything can happen. A king and some unexpected companions embark on a voyage that will take them beyond all known lands. As they sail father and farther from charted waters, they discover that their quest is more than they imagined and that the world’s end is only the beginning.

Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia is still my favorite of the series, so far, but I enjoyed reading this story very much. I enjoyed all the adventures the characters had and all the people the characters met. At first, I didn’t like Eustace and he almost poisoned the book for me. But then, I started to ignore him and really enjoyed the story. Of course, it was very nice to see him change for the better as it made reading the book a bit more enjoyable.

My favorite part about The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was how much Aslan was in this book. Sure, he was in the other four as well, but we didn’t see a lot of him. In The Magician’s Nephew, he doesn’t show up until about the middle of the book. And, again in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, he doesn’t show up until a little after the middle of the book and the book focuses on the other characters until the stone table. In The Horse and His Boy, Aslan’s there a lot, but you don’t always realize it’s him until the end when he tells the characters it’s him. In Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia, Aslan doesn’t show up until Lucy sees him. But, again the story focuses on other characters, so you don’t see much of him. Whereas, in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, he’s there almost throughout the entire story.

Even though I know Lucy and Edmund find their way back to Narnia in the last book, I was pretty sad when Aslan told them they were too old to return. I’m very intrigued as to why they (and Peter) get to come back. I guess I’ll find out soon enough. I’m also going to miss Reepicheep; I hope he somehow finds his way back into one or both of the last two books.