Showing posts with label Series. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Series. Show all posts

Friday, December 17, 2021

Mr. Lemoncello's All-Star Breakout Game

By Chris Grabenstein

    In the latest game, Mr. Lemoncello's game goes live on national TV! Kyle Keeley and his friends are playing his newest picture guessing game, What Else Do You See?, on a library computer when their old enemy from the very first breakout game, the stuck-up Charles Chiltington, tells on them to the librarian and gets them all detention, sticking Kyle with 5 of them. Later that day, Mr. Lemoncello, the famous game-maker, goes on TV, telling everyone about the new breakout game that he will be hosting live on the Kidzapalooza network. He also explains that the teams will be chosen in auditions at the Alexandriaville Middle School in Ohio, his hometown, where Kyle and his friends go to school.
    Only one problem...Kyle has detentions to serve at the same time the auditions are taking place. He does the only thing he can do - he skips his final detention, earning him 5 more, and attends the audition. To get into the auditorium, teams of 5 must first pass a preliminary word scramble, which he, Akimi, Andrew, Miguel, and Sierra easily pass. Of course, Charles isn't one to be outdone, and at the advice of his rich, competitive, and oppressive father, he gathers a group of 8th graders known to be the biggest bookworms in school history. In the audition, his team, aptly named the Bookworms, take first place, while Kyle's Lemonheads take second. Both teams will be moving on to the real deal!
    In a final attempt to undermine his adversary, Charles emails Kyle's parents, informing him of the detentions and the skipped detention, painting Kyle as badly as possible. Kyle almost gets grounded, but Akimi is able to explain why it happened and that Charles is a bad person, often insulting Kyle's father for working as a mechanic.
    In the meantime, Mr. Lemoncello and his Imagination Factory have been madly working on their latest invention to be used in the breakout game - the Fictionasium. The immersive virtual reality simulation will enable participants to weave their own story in a genre of their choosing, be it fiction, nonfiction, history, anything, using a combination of motion capture suits and Smell-A-Vision. When the Bookworms and Lemonheads are brought in to train on the system, Mr. Lemoncello tells them that there will be a special third team joining them in the breakout race, to be revealed on the day of the competition.
    The team is the Kidzapalooza All-Stars, a combination of the biggest young stars on the network, including Alexandriavill's own Haley Daley, who gained fame after being featured in commercials as a prize for being one of the winners of the first library breakout game.
    When the contest begins, two things quickly become clear. First, that the All-Stars are indeed all-stars. They quickly took the lead and progressed through the Fictionasium room for each genre. Meanwhile, Charles's Bookworms were found to be indeed bookworms, and not gamers. He had failed to anticipate the interactive aspect of the Fictionasium, and one by one, his teammates resigned, leaving him all alone. Soon, he seems to have given up as well, disappearing for a hour.
    In the meantime, the Lemonheads and the All-Stars work through their rooms, getting all the way to the fourth room, despite all sorts of surprises, while Charles remains AWOL. Then, all of a sudden, Chiltington reappears and works his way through the rooms at breakneck speed, looking like he already knew the answers - because he did. He had found his way into the Fictionasium control room while the guard was in the bathroom, attempted and failed to sabotage the others, then found all the answers before resuming the competition. He is onto his final room, the mythology room, where he discovers that a lightning blaster meant to resemble Zeus's lightning bolts is a bonafide laser blaster! With it, he resolves to take down the entire library, which he and his mother believe to be dangerous and bad for the city.
    In another room, the All-Stars and Lemonheads must collaborate to complete their final room - realistic fiction. And Kyle gets an experience that changes his entire mindset. In it, he plays the part of Charles Chiltington under the name Miles Millerson. When he meets Mr. Millerson, modeled after Mr. Chiltington, he understands why Charles is the way he is. His father is an oppressive man, focused solely on winning, and spares no one from his wrath - not even his son. Mr. Millerson gives him two keys - the two keys that the teams need to open their boxes with the final clue - and tells him to use one for himself and forget the other. Instead, he shares the keys and the two teams race off to stop Charles from destroying the library.
    Kyle decides that the best way is to show him a version of Mr. Millerson who tells him to reconsider his actions. But once Charles is prevented from destroying the library, he tries to win the competition, resulting in a three-way tie playing the game, What Else Do You See?, where the Lemonheads prevail.

Tuesday, August 10, 2021

Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25

By Richard Paul Evans

Book 1 in the Michael Vey series

    Michael seems to be just another kid in the small town of Meridian, Idaho. He gets bullied, he gets by in school, and he has one friend, Ostin, a genius at everything but social life. There's also a secret he's hiding, that only his mom and Ostin know about. He's electric. Literally. He can "surge" or "pulse" and shock people. He and his mom have moved around for years to prevent people from knowing.
    But one day, as he is being pantsed by Jack, Wade, and Mitchell, he can't take it anymore and electrocutes all of them. The hottest girl in the school, Taylor Ridley, sees it. His mom is upset, but tries not to show it. The next day at school, Taylor keeps passing him notes, insisting on him telling her about the power. Finally, she gets him to her house and reveals that she, too, has an electric power. She can "reboot" people and read their minds if they are touching. Michael tells her about his ability.
    Michael also tells Ostin, and the three form a club, the Electroclan, for people with electric powers. They discover that they were both born at Pasadena General Hospital in the same week (Taylor was later adopted), and that all but 17 of the babies born there in that time died. They discover that Dr. C.J. Hatch of the Elgen corporation was testing a machine called the MEI there, and that it had adverse side effects. Soon after, Ostin discovers that the 17 children are all electric and that they are the only 2 the Elgen haven't found. However, their computer searches reveal them, and Taylor is kidnapped (with a note to her parents saying she ran away). Meanwhile, Michael and Ostin are celebrating his birthday when a man tries to rob his mother. Michael shocks him, prompting a mysterious man later revealed to be Hatch and two electric children to come forward. Ostin shows up at that moment, forcing the Elgen to take Michael's mother as bait.
    At the Elgen Academy in Pasadena, Taylor is pampered into believing Hatch is good. She quickly realizes that he is using the "glows", as he calls them, to his own plans of world domination. When she refuses to kill people at his command, she is locked up in a cell with others who defied Hatch. Ian can see through walls (even though he is physically blind), Abigail can make pain go away, and McKenna can generate heat.
    Michael comes to rescue her and his mother with Jack and Wade, who are terrified of him now and agreed to drive him to California. They try unsuccessfully to free Taylor before they are caught by Hatch. Hatch offers Michael a place at the Academy, and Michael, not knowing how bad the place is, agrees. That is, until Hatch tells him to electrocute Wade as proof of loyalty. Michael refuses, and is locked up in Cell 25, where he is tortured by Tara, Taylor's lost twin sister, who can induce emotions.
    After 25 days, he is brought back out into a room with Taylor and Austin, along with Zeus, who had similar powers to his. He taunts Zeus into throwing lightning at him, but it turns out Michael can absorb electricity and use it, allowing him to free himself and his friends. Taylor probes Zeus's mind and eliminates falsehoods that Hatch has planted, successfully turning Zeus to their side.
    They break out of the cell and free both the other glows and the regular prisoners, storming the building and forcing Hatch to flee with the glows still loyal to him.

Wednesday, November 25, 2020

The Trials of Apollo: The Tower of Nero

By Rick Riordan
*Read previous Rick Riordan Greek myth books for context

Book 5 in series

    Apollo has spent half a year as Lester after his fall from Olympus. After narrowly defeating Caligula and Commodus at Camp Jupiter, he and Meg are returning to New York on an Amtrack. Apollo sees a two-headed snake on the train and is immediately suspicious. When Meg is unconcerned, he tries to figure out if the snake really is evil on the pretense of going to the bathroom. The snake grabs him and utters the next stanza of Apollo's final prophecy, scaring him. Unfortunately, the regular humans can't see any of this because of the Mist and shush Apollo. After the snake delivers its prophecy, it momentarily panics about missing its station before it is killed by an arrow. Apollo turns and sees that some of Nero's henchmen have caught Meg. It turns out Meg knows one of them, a Gaul named Luguselwa. She cryptically tells them to pretend to go to the bathroom near Union Station. She and Meg pretend-fight while Apollo decouples their train car from the rest of the train, completing their escape.

Saturday, September 5, 2020

The Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy

The Trials of Apollo: The Dark Prophecy
By Rick Riordan
Read in 7th grade
*Read previous Rick Riordan Greek myth books for context

Book 2 in series
Book 5 (coming soon)

    Apollo has found the Grove of Dodona...and it didn't leave good memories. Meg ditched him because he was afraid her father, Nero, would be mad, and he just got a horrible prophecy with a talking arrow to boot. As the next part of Apollo's quest, he heads to Indianapolis with Leo and the newly-freed Calypso. Upon arrival, they are immediately attacked by Commodus's army of blemmyae. These monsters have faces across their chests and must behave with the utmost manners. Commodus is the next emperor they will face, and he is known as the New Hercules. He has a special vendetta against Apollo, for Apollo killed him when he became too violent in ancient times.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

The Unwanteds

The Unwanteds
By Lisa McMann

Book 1 in series

    Alex Stowe and his twin brother Aaron Stowe await their fates on the day of the Purge, the annual selection of Wanteds, Necessaries, and Unwanteds in the authoritarian state of Quill. Alex knows he is going to be Unwanted and Aaron will be Wanted. He has shown creativity many times, which is banned in Quill. Aaron, on the other hand, has been a model citizen - most of the time. Many years ago, Alex got Aaron to try drawing in the mud. Their father caught them, but he mistook Aaron for Alex and Aaron went along with it to keep his record clean.
    Alex gets on the bus to the Death Farm while Aaron goes to the University. On the bus, Alex sees Samheed and Meghan, and meets a girl named Lani, who later turns out to be a governor's daughter. At the gates of the Death Farm, all the Unwanteds are dropped off. The Eliminators come out to take them to the Lake of Boiling Oil. But then, the strangest thing happens. A man named Mr. Today emerges from a shack, and the wasteland turns into a colorful, bountiful world beyond imagination. The Eliminators become girrinos, guardians of Artimé. Mr. Today is the head mage, for inside this hidden land, the Unwanteds thrive and learn magic, which only creative people can learn. Meghan even meets her Unwanted brother, Sean. Only Samheed isn't receptive to the new world. The children live in a huge, magical mansion with a giant stone cheetah named Simber (displayed on cover) and an ebony warrior named Florence.

Thursday, August 13, 2020

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
By Suzanne Collins

Book 4 in series

    64 years before Katniss Everdeen entered the arena in the 74th Hunger Games...young Coriolanus Snow is chosen to mentor the female tribute of District 12 in the 10th Hunger Games. The Games looked very different back then, with tributes in the same decrepit arena every year with a selection of weapons. This is the first time mentors are allowed. Coriolanus's father was a Capitol general who was killed by Rebels in the war, and his family is now nearly broke. Performing well as a mentor and winning the prize at the Academy is his only chance to make it to the University.
    Coriolanus decides that even though Dean Highbottom appears to have pranked him with the supposedly worst tribute, he will play it up as much as he can. He meets his tribute, Lucy Gray Baird, when she gets off the train, and somehow ends up in a cage with the tributes, which gets him great publicity. Lucy Gray is an odd character. She is apparently in a traveling band that was confined to 12 by the Capitol after the war. She wears a rainbow dress and is an amazing singer, enrapturing the audiences at the zoo. (That's where tributes used to be kept). Coriolanus brings her food, and appears to be the only one building a relationship with his tribute.

Monday, August 10, 2020

Mockingjay

Mockingjay
By Suzanne Collins

Book 3 in series
Book 4! The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes

Weeks have passed since the mayhem at the Quarter Quell and the bombing of District 12. The survivors are now in District 13 with Katniss and the other victors who were helping the rebellion. District 13 was thought to have been destroyed in the rebel defeat 75 years ago, but it wasn't. It was the original Capitol military base, and it had nukes. It reached an agreement with the Capitol to pretend to disappear if the Capitol left it alone. Now, the above ground is in ruins and everyone lives underground.
    Katniss returns to the ruins of District 12 to collect a few things, and returns in time to see Caesar Flickerman's interview with Peeta. He claims that she didn't know about the rebels and that everyone should call for a ceasefire. Katniss knows the District 13 military will see this as treason, and leaves the military room in a rush. Fortunately, Gale helps her figure out that she can use her Mockingjay role to her advantage. She tells President Coin she will play her part only if she assures that Buttercup, the family cat, can stay, all the victors who were captured by the Capitol get full pardons when the war is over, Gale will be her partner in battle, and most importantly, she gets to kill Snow. Coin agrees to announce this to the public so that she can't go back on her word.

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Catching Fire

Catching Fire
By Suzanne Collins

Book 2 in series
Book 3! Mockingjay (coming soon)
Book 4! The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (coming soon)

    Katniss has returned to District 12 after winning the 74th Hunger Games. Supposedly, her life should be carefree now. But it's in more danger than ever. President Snow sees her refusal to kill Peeta and create two victors as an act of rebellion, and he promises to kill everyone she loves if she doesn't pretend it was out of pure love. You see, despite her show of "madly in love", the worst treated Districts are on the verge of revolt. He gives her the Victory Tour to make it right. On top of that, the supposed love with Peeta has driven a wedge between her and Gale.
    Still, she is happy to see her prep team and designer, Cinna, who will go with her on the Victory Tour. She will go to each of the 12 Districts to make a little speech. Unfortunately for her, she and Peeta are too good on the Districts, and although she doesn't know it, she sparks a revolt. It's quickly put down, but Snow isn't happy. 

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games
By Suzanne Collins
Read in 9th grade (though most read earlier)

Book 1 in series
Book 2! Catching Fire (coming soon)
Book 3! Mockingjay (coming soon)
Book 4! The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes (coming soon)

    Katniss Everdeen is a teenager in District 12 of Panem, a country that rose from the ashes of the old world. It is controlled by the Capitol which has become every more authoritarian after a rebellion by District 13, which is now in ashes, 74 years ago. To remind every one of the Dark Days, it hold the Hunger Games. Each of the 12 districts must provide 2 tributes, one boy and one girl, to participate. They will be thrust into the arena to battle it out, and the victor will be free from participation and be immersed into the riches of the Capitol.
    To keep the Districts in line, there is a fence, and poaching of wild animals is illegal. Katniss and her friend, Gale, both have families to support, so they hunt anyway. Gale makes good snares, and Katniss's bow never misses.
    Today is reaping day. Both Katniss and Gale are receiving tesserae for their families. The reaping is a kind of lottery. If you enter your name extra times, the government will give you just enough salt and grain to survive. They have both vowed to never let their siblings get chosen. But it doesn't matter.

Thursday, July 30, 2020

Scythe

Scythe
By Neal Shusterman
Read in 8th grade

Book 1 in series
Read book 2! Thunderhead (coming soon)
Read book 3! The Toll

    First book in Arc of a Scythe series. It takes place in a world past death, without disease or aging. Pain nanites can regrow limbs, and if you are killed in an accident, you are revived. There is no politics, because the world is taken care of by an AI called the Thunderhead. It keeps the world running, and every move is calculated so it is never wrong. Its mission: Protect humanity. At all costs. So how is the population kept in check if no one dies? Scythedom. This group is beholden to no laws, and the Thunderhead must stay out of its way as a part of its fundamental programming. These people go around and glean people, and can also grant immunity for a year. They can take whatever they want, and everyone fears/respects them. 
    One day, Scythe Faraday shows up at Citra Terranova's house and eats a meal. Afterward, he asks for a knife. Her family is terrified, but he gleans the person next door and grants Citra's mother immunity. Rowan Damisch is sitting at his friend Tyger's bedside after he splatted from hundreds of feet up. At school, Faraday shows up to glean the high school quarterback. Rowan stays with him for emotional support. Faraday notes his compassion. Later, he is ridiculed, accused of being with the quarterback for immunity.

Sunday, July 26, 2020

The Toll

The Toll
By Neal Shusterman
Read in 9th grade

Book 3 in series
Book 1! Scythe
Book 2! Thunderhead (Coming soon)

The 3rd and final book in the Arc of a Scythe series. It is 3 years after the sinking of Endura, and the world has changed. Robert Goddard survived the sinking and has now proclaimed himself Overblade of North Merica, claiming it was the Grandslayers’ last action. The Thunderhead has declared everyone unsavory, closing itself off to all but one, Greyson Tolliver. The Tonist cult has used this to their advantage, naming him the Toll, their spiritual leader. Meanwhile, Goddard has turned Scythedom into an absolute dictatorship, even preventing people from salvaging Endura. He doesn’t want this because the scythe rings, the only things that can crown a scythe, are there, and all his secrets are there too. However, the Amazonian Scythedom unearths the rings. And Rowan and Citra. Citra, Scythe Anastasia, has become a legend, while Rowan is universally despised as Scythe Lucifer.

Friday, July 24, 2020

Supernova

Supernova
By Melissa Meyer
Read in 9th grade

Book 3 in series
Book 1! Renegades
Book 2! Archenemies

This is the third and final book in the Renegades series. Nova (Nightmare) returns to Renegade headquarters in her uniform the day after she destroyed it as an Anarchist, escaping with Ace Anarchy’s helmet only to find that the Renegades captured him. Adrian is furious because he thinks that Nightmare hurt Max, who is in critical condition, when it was really Frostbite, who accidentally stabbed him instead of Nightmare. He also finds it suspicious that she wasn’t affected by Max’s power.
    After the nights’ events, the Council has decided to include Ace Anarchy’s neutralization and execution as part of the public reveal for Agent N. To make matters worse, Gennisa Clark and her team, who were neutralized by Nightmare, are mad at the Council, renouncing their development and use of Agent N.

Thursday, July 16, 2020

Archenemies

Archenemies
By Melissa Meyer
Read in 9th grade

The second installment in the series opens with Nova, Adrian, and the rest of their team chasing drug stealers. They follow them, but one of the henchmen grabs a young girl and threatens to kill her. Because the Code says to avoid civilian casualties at all cost, Nova and Adrian let him go. Luckily, Ruby (Red Assassin) and Oscar (Smokescreen). Get him from behind. Danna (Monarch), Nova, and Adrian go after Hawthorn, the prodigy who assisted the burglars. Adrian slips away and puts on his Sentinel armor. When Hawthorn begins to get away on a barge, Adrian follows her. Unfortunately, he loses and is tossed into the water. He returns to his team with a bad explanation for why he is soaked as the Renegades search the river for the Sentinel’s body.

Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Renegades

Renegades
By Marissa Meyer
Read in 8th grade

Book 1 in series
Book 2! Archenemies
Book 3! Supernova

The Renegades are prodigies - people with superpowers, and they are attempting to rebuilt Galton City after the supervillain Ace Anarchy tried to destroy it. But his allies, the Anarchists, aren’t ready to give up. They have a hidden member. Nova Artino, alias Nightmare, who can put people to sleep with her touch. Her job is to kill the invincible Captain Chromium, one of the original Renegades, in his eye, his only weak spot. But she fails, and chaos ensues. She is trapped by Monarch, Red Assassin, and Smokescreen, when a mysterious vigilante named the Sentinel shows up. The Puppeteer, her ally, saves her with a puppet string, when Captain Chromium hits the engine of their balloon.

Sunday, July 12, 2020

One of Us Is Next

One of Us Is Next
By Karen M. McManus
Read in 9th grade
Teen book

Book 2 in series

The drama is all over in Bayview...or is it? The aftermath of About That has changed Bayview High School. And Maeve, Phoebe, and Knox are getting roped into it. Many About That copies have popped up, most of them bad. But the latest is playing a game of Truth or Dare. And the first candidate? Phoebe. When she refuses to play, the Unknown exposes her. She slept with her sister’s boyfriend. This cracks Phoebe’s relationships with her sister and friends down to just Knox and Maeve. Now, people know: Always pick Dare. School mascots on street signs, kissing random people, the fear and interest levels are matching About That.

One of Us Is Lying

One of Us Is Lying
Karen M. McManus
Read in 9th grade
Teen book

5 high school seniors, each with a secret to keep, all in one room for detention because of a phone that wasn’t theirs. Then, one of them, Simon, dies while the teacher is outside the room to investigate a car accident. No one can figure out which one of the other four did it. To make matters worse, the boy who died was the creator of About That, an app that exposed the deepest secrets of everyone in the school. And his next post was about the four in the room. The story makes media headlines as each person is exposed, Bronwyn for cheating through chemistry, Addy for cheating on her boyfriend, Nate on selling drugs, and Cooper for being gay. It makes their lives horrible, but instead of turning on each other and making accusations, they band together and dig in to the story behind the boy who was murdered. He had depression, he made nasty posts on revenge forums, and had the whole school in his grip with his secrets. They finally find something. Someone continued About That after the murder, and at least one was written by Addy’s boyfriend, Jake. Then, Nate is arrested because the medication Simon needed to survive the day he died is found in his locker. But all is not over. Addy finds from Simon’s girlfriend that Jake was told about her cheating, and teamed up with Simon to get revenge. No one murdered Simon. It was suicide. And he wanted it to be different, something people would remember, and wanted revenge in the process. With this evidence, Nate is freed, and all is well.

...Or is it? Read One of Us Is Next here.

Note: There is a whole lot more romance and sexual content than I have written here.

Friday, July 10, 2020

A Wrinkle in Time

A Wrinkle in Time
By Madeleine L’engle
Read in 9th grade

Meg Murry is not a normal 14-year-old girl. Ever since her father disappeared on the pretense of work, she has been a troublesome, unwilling girl at school. None of the children like her, and adults believe she is foolish for believing her father is alive. She has three brothers. The twins are normal, but Charles Wallace, just a baby, is different. He is super smart, and can somehow sense things others can’t. One day, he takes Meg up the hill to the haunted house, where three eccentric old ladies live. They speak of a tesseract, and they know where Meg’s father is. They “tesser” through the universe to a planet just outside of a certain “Black thing” that their father is fighting. There, the three women’s identities are revealed.

Sunday, May 31, 2020

The Trials of Apollo: The Burning Maze

The Trials of Apollo: The Burning Maze
By Rick Riordan
Read in 8th Grade
*Read previous Rick Riordan Greek myth books for context

Book 3 in series

Apollo has saved Indianapolis from Emperor Commodus, and extracted a prophecy from the Dark Oracle. Being told to find a "cloven guide" to lead him through the maze to the next Oracle. Meg manages to summon Grover Underwood, satyr, the Lord of the Wild. They travel through the maze to his current shelter, where he is trying to solve the mysterious fires plaguing Southern California. The place is also Meg's former home. Her father came from a line of people trying to recreate the ancient Meliai, supposedly superpowerful dryads created from the blood of the Earth. Because of this Caligula, the next emperor they will face, destroyed his home. He wants to be the new Apollo, and he is trying to capture Apollo.

Saturday, May 30, 2020

The Trials of Apollo: The Tyrant's Tomb

The Trials of Apollo: The Tyrant's Tomb
By Rick Riordan
Read in 8th Grade
*Read previous Rick Riordan Greek myth books for context

Book 4 in series
Click here for Book 5! (Coming soon)
Book 2

The fight against the Triumvirate gets ever harder. On Caligula's boat, Jason, Lester's half brother, dies saving him. To honor his death, Lester (formerly Apollo) and his master Meg take him to Camp Jupiter for his burial. But of course, they can't do even this without monsters attacking. Ghouls sent by Tarquin, an ancient Roman emperor allied with the Triumvirate, attack. They narrowly escape thanks to a legionnaire named Lavania, but not before Apollo is scratched. Due to his mortal state, he has just days to live before he becomes an undead himself. Meanwhile, Caligula and Commodus ride in their boats toward the camp, armed with killer machines. The only hope is to summon godly help, apparently possible with "the last breath of the silent god".

Thursday, May 28, 2020

The Trials of Apollo: The Hidden Oracle

The Trials of Apollo: The Burning Maze
By Rick Riordan
Read in 8th Grade
*Read previous Rick Riordan Greek myth books for context

Book 1 in series
Click for book 2! (Coming soon)
Book 5

After the modern wars with the Titans and Giants, Zeus blamed Apollo, who generated the prophecies for both. Apollo feels it is unfair, since he cannot control the oracular power, despite being the God of Prophecy. He is cast down to Earth as a mortal, where he must presumably serve a master until his punishment is over. Much to his bad luck, he is bound to a ragtag demigod named Meg McCaffrey. He seeks the help of the famous "heroic fodder", Percy Jackson, but is turned down. Apollo cannot get used to the mortal way of living, where he is imperfect and scorned. But throughout the book, the sorrow his conceitedness has brought emerges, and he comes to terms with the mistakes of his past. But back to the story.