YRC 26

Issue 26 / SGD 7.50

2 Featured Stories To Help You Write Better

CORE 101

An Introvert’s Take on Online Communication

ISSN: 2010- 1376

YRC Investigates The Next Frontier of Entertainment Technology Professions Game Designer

Young Authors Investigate Cyber Addiction

Sheryl Ewe Our Featured Author of the Month

“Go out and explore.”

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Building the Next Generation of Thinkers & Writers

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Vol 8. 2011 /

YRC Online provides blogs and reviews by young authors about issues and topics that concern the youth of today, while giving opportunities to maximise the YRC experience through e-books, worksheets for students and teachers, and e-magazines!

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SGD 7.50 ISSN: 2010- 1376

Breaking Boundaries: Cambodia

2 teachers and 1 village with a dream

YRC Investigates:

Singapore’s Lost History

Discovering memories & more

Health Matters

Celebrating World Milk Day 2011

Fierce Facts

Cool things about pizza

3 Fascinating Tales You Can’t Resist

Jennifer Yip, Maybank 2007 YAA Awardee Our Featured Author of the Month

Building the Next Generation of Thinkers & Writers3 VOL. 8 2011

YRC TEAM Managing Editor/Publisher Catherine Khoo Assistant Editor Raymond Reynolds Tan Designer

Lim Soo Yong Editorial Assistant Natalya Thangamany Editorial Advisory Board

Catherine Khoo, Vijay Chandran, Noel Chia Contributors

Samantha Chin Illustrators

Adeline Lim, Natalya Thangamany Eden Nelle YAC Core Contributors

Kenrick Lam, Lee Tat Wei, Theresa Ellsworth, Ron Yap, Ee Chonghui, Woon Kaiqin, Athena Tan, Fiona Tan, Ambriesh Karthik, Wong Ziling Nur Eva Alisha Md Hisham

For advertising and sales enquiries

6336 8985 Education Subscription Agent

ILoveReading.SG 9007 8361 Emit Asia 6372 0330 Email: info@youngreaderclub.sg Website: www.youngreaderclub.sg All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the written permission of the publisher. Call 6336-8985 for back issues.

Printed in Singapore

by Stamford Press

is published by Experiences & Experiments Books Pte Ltd 261 Waterloo Street #03-08 Waterloo Centre Singapore 180261

By the time you read this, we would have concluded our annual Young Author Awards, a writing competition we started to encourage and spur people on to tell their stories. It is our goal to build up a generation of thinkers and writers, and with each passing year we come closer to that.

To be good thinkers and writers, one has to read. At the Young Reader Club magazine, we aim to encourage that healthy habit that by constantly seeking ways to make content more enriching, and accessible, for our readers.

Which is why, for this issue, we would like to get back to a topic that is very relevant for young people: entertainment technology. Technology is something that holds a lot of promise, but also can be abused, and we aim to provide a balanced look at the topic.

YRC Investigates looks at the evolution of entertainment technology, as well as upcoming cutting-edge technological gadgets. Dig Deep!, a new column in which our young writers conduct polls and extensive research on important topics, will cover the rising problem of cyber addiction. Our Featured Author of the month is Sheryl Ewe, whose story was featured in YRC 25. She shares with us on her love for writing and how she uses the internet responsibly.

Last but not least, we will, of course, have extensive coverage of the Young Author Awards 2013/2014. This year, we launched Izzati: My Amazing Journey, the personal biography of a 20-year-old student with terminal cancer. Izzati has been incredibly brave in sharing her story with the world, and in doing so has undoubtedly touched other lives. We hope her story will inspire you to write as well.

Happy Reading!

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Y Y C RC R

Featured S t o r i e s

YRC Investigates 21

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REEL TALK

features 6

Featured Author: Sheryl Ewe Sheryl Ewe, whose story A Twisted Tale was featured in YRC 26, has seen a lot in life. She may only be 16, but she has travelled around the world quite extensively. She spent the bulk of her childhood years in Singapore, and then went to Oman to study. Now based in the UK, she shares how travelling has broadened her horizons and taught her valuable life lessons!

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THE BLOOD FLOWER by Hannah Koong For a vampire to live in the Human World is no easy feat. To avoid suspicion, Hana enters the Academy of Demon Slaying but becomes an enemy to every student! Join Hana and Kuro, her best friend, as they battle evil forces that want to conquer the world!

27 Professions

Many young people love video games, and some have thought about creating video games in the future.

For this issue we meet Heng Yi Hong, a game designer who gives us a glimpse at what it is like to work

in the game development industry.

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He Said, She Said We often hear about the wonders and benefits of the internet, about how it has ushered in the information age. Yet the internet has also caused people great harm and distress as well, with trolls and cyber bullies lurking at every corner. People are always hurting others online. For this issue, we pose a question to our writers: Does the internet bring out the worst in people?

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Editor’s Picks: Mobile Applications that Will Improve Your Life Once started as a way to facilitate the obtaining of information, there are now all sorts of mobile applications to suit the most disparate of whims. We pick out four mobile applications that are likely to be useful to young people.

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Young Author Awards 2013/14: Nurturing Writers The Young Author Awards, an annual event organized by Janus Education Services Pte Ltd and its publication arm Experiences & Experiments Books Pte Ltd, continues to nurture new writers. This year, the YAA also celebrated the launch of the biography of a 21-year-old with terminal cancer.

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Dig Deep!

In our new column, YRC Core contributors Lee Tat Wei and Wong Ziling conduct an investigation into the prevalence and effects of cyber addiction among young people.

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THE WOLF PRINCESS by Hana Van de Wiel The Dead Woods are on the border of Beldonia and the Unknown. Giselle is a three-year-old innocent girl. When her family gets assassinated, she is taken in by a pack of wolves. When her adopted wolf father is poisoned, Giselle is determined to find the antidote. But to find the ingredients to the antidote she must ask the wolf witch for help. Will she be able to save her adopted father?

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Professions

Y RC 48 Parents Ask,

Teens Answer

Y RC 62 CORE 101

national education 21 YRC Investigates Entertainment Technology

Entertainment technology is pervasive in society these days. Many people have state-of-the-art gaming

computers, or gaming consoles at home. Even their smartphones are multi-purpose entertainment tools.

But this wasn’t always the case. We look at how entertainment technology has evolved over the years,

and highlight some exciting new gadgets that will change the way you experience entertainment in the future.

46 Parents Ask, Teens Answer

Ever had the passion to do something only to run into parental objection? As we grow older, we will

occasionally develop desires that conflict with our parents’ wishes for us. In this month’s column, we give

advice to a young reader whose desire to pursue an education in the arts is met by disapproval from his parents.

66 Resources

The YRC is more than just a magazine. It’s a useful tool for learning better E n g l i s h

comprehension and writing for both primary and secondary students. Use our accompanying resource

sheets for discussions in class!

inspirations 44 Reel Talk

Films shine a light on life and help us better understand our world. Our contributor Jezreel Castro looks

at the recent blockbuster X-Men: Days of Future Past, and shares with us what she has learnt from the movie.

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CORE 101 An Introvert’s Take on Online Communication by Ee Chonghui, National Junior College

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Aha! Moments by Catherine Khoo Veteran author and publisher Catherine Khoo dispenses practical and useful writing advice.

Catherine Khoo, who is YRC’s Publisher, has endured hard knocks and disappointments as she developed her career in media and communications. Her book, Love! Live Dangerously! And Have Fun! is a tell-it-all.

Without doubt a page-turner, we will be excerpting a chapter from her memoir. May you be inspired.

OUR CONTRIBUTORS

YRC Magazine recognises the talents of our regular co nt r i b u to r s a n d writers. For article, illustration and photo contributions, please contact the Editor at info@ youngreaderclub. sg or call 6336.8985.

Adeline Lim Educator / Illustrator What Adeline did for this issue: Featured Stories Illustrations Ad e l i n e L i m i s a n illustrator, designer and visual artists educator who is currently residing in Singapore.

Experienced in both physical and digital mediums, Adeline has worked as a layout artist for magazines, as well as covered a broad range of illustrated work in ink, watercolour paints and digital collage for children’s stories.

Athena Tan Student, Xinmin Secondary School What Athena did for this issue: CORE 101 A multi-cultural young contributor whose global exploits have brought her from the United States and back Singapore, Athena is a bubbly fashion blogger who is never afraid to show her serious side.

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Ee Chonghui Student, National Junior College What Chonghui d i d fo r t h i s i s s u e : CORE 101 Herself a merit winner in the Young Author Awards when she was still in primary school, Chonghui is now currently contributing to YRC magazine and pursuing her studies at the National Junior College.

Wong Ziling S t u d e n t , N a ny a n g Girls’ High School What Ziling did for this issue: Dig Deep!

A winner of the merit prize in the Young Author Awards when she was 11, Ziling?s aspiration to be an a u t h o r h a s grow n every time she fills a page with words. She is now pursuing her studies in Nanyang Girls? High School and she hopes to study advanced literature in

Theresa Ellsworth Student, Occidental College What Theresa did for this issue: He Said, She Said Even before winning a merit prize in the 2 0 1 1 / 1 2 Yo u n g Author Awards, Theresa has shared her writing dexterity to YRC in snippets of contributions that underline her love for writing and her dream of becoming a published author in the future.

Lee Tat Wei Student, Anglo-Chinese School Independent What Tat Wei did for this issue: CORE 101 A senior member of the YAC Core, Tat Wei wrote his first book of 27,000 words when he was 11. Now in secondary school, Tat Wei is a football goalie at school, but is just as hard-hitting as a contributor for the magazine.

Ron Yap YAC Core Member, Zhong Hua Secondary School Wh a t R o n d i d fo r this issue: He Said, S h e S a i d / Pa re nt s Ask, Teens Answer As a budding writer, Ron started his stint with the Young Author Scheme, becoming a merit prize winner in the Young Author Awards. Now at 16, Ron aspires to be a travelling author, in pursuit of his ultimate inspiration to write his bestseller.

Jezreel Castro Student, Dunman Secondary School What Jezreel did for this issue: CORE 101 A merit prize winner f r o m t h e Yo u n g Author Scheme, Jez is a musician-songwriter who helps out in the YAC library sessions in the east.

Samantha Chin Content Manager, Focus on the Family What Ruth did for this i s s u e : Pa re n t s A s k , Teens Answer As the Content Manager of Focus on the Family Singapore, Samantha Chin is involved in the writing and content layout of new materials and programs on topics ranging from youth to parenting. She has a strong interest in family issues and a desire to impact lives.

At YRC Magazine, we ensure that stories are kept at their most original form, yet there are times that content is abridged to suit the magazine’s readership.

Stories featured in YRC Magazine are abridged as necessary, to fit page constraints. The YRC is a literary magazine that conforms to the reading palate of 10-16 year olds.

Once a story is featured in the magazine, it is at the discretion of the editor to copyedit articles to a certain extent, to suit the target audience.

The views and opinions of the contributors do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of YRC magazine and its staff.

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Featured Author ...Young writers of today

“What’s important for me is to keep getting experiences and keep your life vibrant and alive.

Because sometimes you fall into a routine that is very dull and monotonous, and it is important to keep getting out there and going for it.”

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By Natalya Thangamany Photos © Sheryl Ewe

PROFILE

Hannah Koong Magic & Fantasy

My name is Hannah and I love writing. I have written many unpublished stories, but this is my first official one. My inspiration comes from all the anime I watch and the fiction books I read. Other things that I enjoy doing are playing basketball and hanging out with my friends. The unique thing about me is that everyday when I wake up, I have a story idea in my head. That is why people say that I am very creative. Anyway, here is my story and I hope you enjoy reading it.

The Blood Flower 1st Prize, Young Author Awards 2012/13

“Kuro!

“Kuro! We’re going to be late! Get out here now!” Hana yelled from outside Kuro’s room, followed by an insistent scratching on his door, courtesy of Inugami, Hana’s pet dog. Muttering to himself, Kuro dragged himself out of bed and stumbled into his toilet. Once he was washed up, he stepped out of his room, only to walk straight into the appetizing smell of Hana’s cooking.

Hana and Kuro shared the apartment because they were partners in their academy cum boarding school, but they were extremely possessive of their own items and rooms. Other than being the strongest team in the academy, they were also top students in both studies and sports and were the best of friends.

The two had similar mannerisms, but were worlds apart in personality and appearance. Kuro had jet black hair that was always spiked up in the same fashion

Illustrations by Adeline Lim

and intense black eyes that made one think that he could see right through you. He had a delicate nose and mouth. Kuro wore pressed clothes that fitted over his muscular body. He had a vibrant and bubbly personality and many juniors looked up to him.

Hana, on the other hand, had glossy, dark brown hair that ended past her shoulders, with her fringe parted at her forehead. Her hazel brown eyes were always sparkling, held a dash of mischief and often showed what mood she was in.

She also had a fine nose and mouth. Hana wore frayed and faded clothes over her slim frame. She did not like wearing what girls her age wore. However, Hana usually had an air of dreariness around her and people avoided her like the plague whenever she started her moping. Beneath it all, Hana was more than meets the eye. After a hurried breakfast of her own, Hana pulled on her socks and shoes and chased after Kuro who

Disclaimer: Due to the length of the story, YRC is featuring only the opening chapter of the story. Get the full e-book on Google Books and the Janus e-bookstore.

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STORY TRIVIA

Vampires have, over the years, risen to the forefront of pop-culture. They’re now celebrated icons, whether in books, on film or on television. They aren’t new fictional inventions, to be sure, having existed in folklore for millennia. They have also been featured in many popular stories over the centuries, but a slew of popular books, films, and television shows have pushed them into the limelight once again.

Vampires are mythical beings who survive by feeding on the life essence (usually blood) of living creatures. In folklore and myths, they are presented as undead creatures, stuck in the zone between the living and the dead; they have technically died, but continue to live with most memories and emotions intact. In most depictions of vampires, they are not able to be exposed to the sun, and as such usually sleep throughout the day in tombs.

Early folklore depicted vampires as bloated creatures with a dark appearance, but since the 1800s, vampires have been often depicted as pale and cold to the touch.

In olden times, there was a great deal of superstition around vampires, and that led people to all sorts of extremes, such as staking corpses. In modern times, while belief in vampires still exists in certain 20

cultures (especially more superstitious ones), most people regard it as nothing but a myth, a creature of fantasy.

In young adult fiction, or movies targeted towards young people, vampires have become something of a rage. See Twilight, or The Mortal Instruments, or The Vampire Diaries, for example. In these books/television shows, vampires are featured prominently, and some of the vampire characters have huge followings.

Perhaps it has something to do with young people’s identification with vampires. Who wouldn’t want the super strength and speed of these vampires? For young people everywhere, heroic fantasies require an exceptional amount of physical prowess. Additionally, pubescent teenagers experience strong feelings and desires, as well as isolation and fear, constantly, which are all experienced by vampires.

Reading about them in books, or watching them on television can help young people understand themselves better.

YRC Investigates

...Understanding how the world works

By Natalya Thangamany NATIONAL EDUCATION

Y RC

Entertainment Technology Entertainment is an antidote to the busyness and stress of life. Good entertainment makes us laugh, stirs our imagination, and gets us excited.

A great amount of our entertainment these days come via our computers and mobile devices. We are spoilt for choice w h e n i t c o m e s t o d i g i t a l m u s i c, v i r t u a l games with realistic graphics, games you can play on your mobile devices, video s h a r i n g we b s i te s… t h e l i s t g o e s o n . An d all these things have one common goal: To let us have fun and be happy amidst our hectic daily lives. This is what we call ‘Entertainment Technology’.

Back in the 90’s and early 00’s, entertainment technology existed in the form of computer games on floppy disks and compact discs, saturated pixel graphics, bulky plastic gaming consoles and arcade machines with gigantic levers.

I remember my preschool days where I would sit with my cousins and friends to watch them play computer games on big bulky square screens – The Secret Island of Dr Quandary, Escape from Monkey Island, Putt Putt, Gulf War, Jurassic Park, Lemmings, Mario 64, the Sims, etc. Now, such titles are long forgotten, only occasionally mentioned on gaming forums under threads discussing vintage games.

I remember when Playstation was that one gaming console everyone wanted to get.

I remember Neopets, an online game where you raise a virtual pet and do activities with it. It was a trend when I was growing up.

I remember chalet vacations where I would visit arcades to play anything from racing to combat to shooting.

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Google Glass is a wearable device launched on the American mass market in May this year by Google, amidst negative criticisms and health concerns.

Google Glass is a kind of eyewear that works as a hands-free cyber device, which is controlled through voice commands and a touchpad.

People can use it to make videos, surf the web, find directions, play music, send messages, take photos, video streaming‌the list goes on.

On the Google Glass website, users who call themselves Explorers use Google Glass to make and share videos about their life experiences – whether it be cooking, nature conservation, making music or playing sports.

Recently, tennis player Roger Federer starred in a video where he used Google Glass to video-stream and give fans his personal POV of engaging in a friendly tennis match with his coach. Through Google Glass, viewers could see the match as if they were playing it as Federer.

Despite criticism over its use and appearance, Google Glass is making its way into media, education, healthcare and social fields, and especially gaming. App company Blippar is planning to implement Google Glass in augmented reality games, where people can activate games in real time while wearing Google Glass.

These games are interactive and rely on recognition technology. They allow Google Glass users to play games through interaction with objects or images. Those with the Blippar app for Google Glass could also play such games.

For example, you can virtually paint the real world with Google Glass and your creations can only be seen by those using the Blippar app for Google Glass. Or you can use the Blippar app with Google Glass to kick a soccer ball printed on a soda can. Through such developments, people can use Google Glass for creative expression and to play interactive games without the need for a screen or a button.

Currently, Google Glass is only available in the US and priced at around USD 1,500. It may be released internationally either at the end of this year or next year.

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Professions

...Understanding how the world works

By Lee Tat Wei F E AT U R E S

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Heng Yi Hong, Game Designer

For this issue and the upcoming one, we will be interviewing game developers from Ubisoft Singapore. For the next issue, we will be speaking to Douglas Ong, a QA Tester.

Ever had that moment while playing Dead Island when you had an idea on how to improve the smoothness of combat? Ever posted suggestions on internet forums on how to improve the mechanics of a Call of Duty game?

If you have done any of the above things, perhaps you might have thought about a future in the game developing industry before. We at the YRC had the privilege of meeting up and interviewing employees of Ubisof t Singapore, the local branch of the international game developing and publishing company Ubisoft Entertainment. The multi-national company has developed multiple Triple-A titles such as the Assassin’s Creed franchise, the Far Cry franchise, and most recently Watch Dogs. I had the opportunity to inter view 30 year- old game designer Heng Yi Hong, based in Ubisoft Singapore, about his job scope and personal thoughts on the game developing industry.

As it turns out, like many teenagers

nowadays, Yi Hong first got his interest in the gaming industry from his early days in gaming. His discovery that game development was (and is) a combined e f fo r t , a s o p p o s e d t o h i s p r e v i o u s assumption that it was a one-man show, piqued his interest in the industry. As a result, he joined Ubisoft Singapore and started out in the quality assurance department, and presently serves as one of the game designers for the studio.

We all roughly know how games are made; they are the cumulative product of contributions from various departments like graphics, music, writing etc. But what exactly are the duties of a game designer?

To explain what a designer does, Yi Hong used the “door analogy�. Using a door Issue 26

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He Said, She Said The Voices of Teens Today...

Everywhere you go on the internet, you’re bound to see the same things. Internet trolls.

Quarrelsome people.

Blatant displays of cruelty. This begs the question: is the internet really a good thing?

Does it bring out the worst in people?

THERESA ELLSWORTH

Occidental College

A mask, whether it comes in the form of a physical mask or a virtual one, aims to conceal a person’s identity. In more precise, dictionary terms, a mask is a “covering worn as a disguise”. In the olden days, before the creation of the Internet, masks could only change the physical appearance of a face. Nowadays, the Internet is a huge mask of anonymity, and that allows us to do many things otherwise not possible – and some of those things are not good.

One outcome that has not seemed to fade away yet is cyberbullying. Instead of the old playground bully who storms up 30

to the small kid at lunch, cyberbullying consists of unknown bullies who use words to attack in ways that can, and have, led to depression and suicide.

The old phrase, ‘sticks and stones may hur t my bones but names will never harm me’ does not apply to our world anymore.

While other types of bullying cer tainly still do exist, cyberbullying presents itself as one of the worst kinds because of the inability of the victim to put a face to his or her bully. To the victim, it could be anyone, a classmate, a teacher, a best friend.

Bullies take advantage of the situation

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Editor’s Picks

By Raymond Tan

Mobile Applications that Will Improve Your life Our smartphones are getting increasingly smarter. The humble cellphone, once only a tool for making and receiving calls, is now a multi-purpose lifestyle device.

There are many things you can accomplish with a smartphone now, such as picking up up-to-the-minute news, listening to music for free, and sharing photos to the world to see.

We do many of these things through mobile applications. A mobile application, or mobile app for short, is a computer program designed to work on smartphones, tablet computers, and other mobile devices. These apps are usually available through application distribution platforms like Apple App Store, Google Play or Windows Phone Store. Many are free, and some must be bought – but most don’t cost more than a few dollars.

They are usually downloaded from the platform to a target device, such as an iPhone, BlackBerry, Android phone or Windows Phone, but sometimes they can be downloaded to laptops or desktop computers.

Meme Factory Many of you reading this spend loads of time on sites like Reddit or 9gag, and if you frequent those sites, you will be familiar with the phenomenon called “meme”, A “meme” is an activity, concept, catchphrase or piece of media which spreads, often as mimicry, from person to person via the internet.

(The word “meme” is often mispronounced as “me-me” or “meh-meh”, but in fact should be pronounced “meem”,) Now for those of you who are already familiar with what memes are, and enjoy reading memes, why not make your own? Put those creative juices to use and come up with your own meme, then share it on the numerous social media platforms available. Meme Factory is a simple-to-use app that allows you to both view memes and create your own. The app also comes with many standard meme templates, so you can start coming up with your own memes the moment you download the app.

• Free. Available on iOS devices.

Mobile apps were originally designed, and offered for general productivity and information retrieval, including email, calendar, contacts, and stock market and weather information. Because there is so much support and so many tools in place for developers to make their own programs now, however, there has been an overall broadening in variety of mobile apps. These days, you even get apps that can tell you the name of songs that are playing in your background.

Below, we list three applications that have proven to be popular, and that we think will continue to be a hit with young people.

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Spotlight

By Raymond Tan Additional reporting by Athena Tan, Ambriesh Karthik, Ee Chonghui, Nur Eva Alisha Md Hisham, and Theresa Ellsworth.

Young Author Awards 2013/14: Nurturing Writers T h e Yo u n g A u t h o r Awards ( YAA) 2013/2014 was held on 14 June at the Woodlands Regional Librar y auditorium. The YAA is an annual event organized by Janus Education Services, a premier creative education provider.

Over the years, the YAA has grown into a powerful platform for emerging young writers to get their works recognized and read. Winners at the YAA will have their stories published by Experiences & Experiments Books, the publications arm of Janus Education Services. Several alumni members of the YAA have also gone on to become regular contributors of the Young Reader Club Magazine.

The YAA was conceived by Catherine Khoo, managing director of Janus Education Services, as part of her mission to build the next generation of thinkers and writers. At this year’s event, she mentioned that her dream is to groom a Booker Prize (the most prestigious award in the literary world) winner one day.

Celebrated at the event was the launch of Izzati: My Amazing Journey, the inspiring memoir of a twenty-one-year-old woman with terminal cancer. Izzati, the author, gave a rousing speech about the power of writing, and how it is able to educate and inspire.

Speaking to YRC, she said, “I see a 36

lot of people struggle and give up. So I wanted to share part of my own life’s journey. I want to encourage and inspire others through my own battle with my illness. I want to make the world a better place.”

Her book was published by Experiences & Experiments Books, and the cost of production was sponsored by Apple Hong, an actress and celebrity, who was present at the YAA 2013/2014 as well.

Gracing the event this year was Mr Teo Ser Luck, Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry and also Mayor of North East District, where Izzati lives.

After the launch of the book and the intermission, the awards ceremony quickly kicked off. There were twenty merit prize winners this year, in addition to the top three prizes. The third prize went to Eliora Joseph, a

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Spotlight

Young Author Club on StarHub Community

Yo u n g A u t h o r C l u b o n S t a r H u b Co m m u n i t y i s a j o i n t c o l l a b o r a t i o n between StarHub and Janus Education Services. StarHub is one of the largest fullfledged telecommunications companies in Singapore, providing a full range of services over mobile, internet and fixed platforms. Janus Education Services is a premier creative education provider in Singapore.

and got their books published.

Officially unveiled at the Young Author Awards 2013/2014, the Young Author Club on Starhub Community was conceived as a project to build and nurture the next generation of thinkers and writers with a writing community. Mr Darren Choo, the Assistant Vice-President of Social Customer Relations Management at StarHub, stated that StarHub, true to its namesake, aims to be a “hub for the stars”. This project provides a platform for young people to hone their writing abilities, and helps them to deepen their love for reading.

• Encouraging young authors by publishing their best works on Booktique, the StarHub E-book platform

The first campaign was the Book It! Community Favourite Award.

• Mechanic: vote for your favourite of the 38 finalists • Results: over 1,000 participants in just 3 weeks and 1,200 votes cast • The top-voted entries won mobile phones 38

The Young Author Club interest group was created with these in mind: • Aiming to inspire & empower the next generation of thinkers & writers • Sharing tips and mentoring aspiring authors • Link ing international young authors with local authors to form a community

• Empowering aspiring writers to realize their dreams of publishing a book via StarHub’s Crowdtivate Another point mentioned by Mr Choo is the importance of mutual encouragement among writers. With the Young Author Club interest group at Starhub Community, there is now an accessible outlet for aspiring writers to learn practical tips from seasoned, veteran writers, such as Ms Catherine Khoo, a published author and the managing director of Janus Education Services.

There is also wealth of useful writing tips dispensed by the alumni of the Young Author Awards. One such alumni member, Lee Tat Wei, who is a regular contributor at the Young

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Dig Deep!

By Lee Tat Wei and Wong Ziling

Dig Deep into Cyber Addiction Wi t h t h e r i s e o f s o c i a l m e d i a , a n d w i t h t h e p ro l i fe rat i o n o f co m p u te r games, young people are spending an increasing amount of time online.

W h i l e s o c i a l m e d i a c a n b e a fo rce for good, many people do not realize that they are growing overd e p e n d e nt o n i t – to t h e p o i nt o f being addicted.

Almost a decade ago in 2005, a 28year- old South Korean man died of heart failure stemming from deep exhaustion in an internet cafe after playing Starcraft for 50 consecutive hours. Two years later, at the age of 16, a boy in Ohio who had recently succumbed to gaming addiction, shot both his parents in the back of the head with a 9mm gun after they expressed disapproval towards his violent games. Just recently in 2011, a 20-year-old Xbox addict from England died after 12 hours of non-stop gaming from deep vein thrombosis, due to sitting with little to no movement for long periods of time. In the 40

21st century, usage of entertainment devices has become a staple in any adolescent and adult’s lives. The power of the internet has been acknowledged by the masses for its double-edged uses in entertainment, social networking, and intellectual exchange.

The sheer power of the internet and its negative influence over the world has slowly revealed itself in the past few years. Even the very nature of internet usage has evolved; through the advent of smartphones and tablets, one can indulge in cyber entertainment (such as playing mobile games or checking one’s Facebook account) on the go. Now, with the internet so easily accessible, the responsibility of using it moderately has become a difficult task, leading to the widely discussed cyber addiction of individuals.

But, firstly, what is cyber addiction? Even now, cyber addiction has not been officially categorized as a type of mental disorder.

At this moment, there is still wide debate regarding the legitimacy of cyber addiction as a mental disorder.

Being such a recent problem, there has been difficulty trying to diagnose or treat cyber

Y RC

Reel Talk

By Jezreel Castro, Ngee Ann Polytechnic

[Note: Spoilers will be discussed in this article.]

“Just because someone stumbles and loses their path, doesn’t mean they can’t be saved,” muses Professor Charles Xavier in the movie X-Men: Days of Future Past.

When the film begins, we see a dark,

bleak world – a vision of what life is like in the future. It’s a horrible world. Mutants - human beings with mutated DNA, conferring them special powers – have been hunted down to the point of near extinction by huge, aggressive robots called the Sentinels.

At first meant as a way to control and eventually eradicate mutants, the Sentinels soon started attacking humans who were supporting the rights of mutants. Eventually, the sentinels started attacking all kinds of people, human or mutant.

These Sentinels are able to adapt in a matter of moments to mutants’ powers, and their numbers are large, so the war against 44

mutants is nearly impossible for the latter to win. All they can do now is to prevent their deaths by pre-empting the Sentinels’ attacks.

A small band of mutants have managed to survive, thanks to the powers of Kitty

Pryde, who has the ability to bring a person’s consciousness back in time. She doesn’t technically turn back time with her powers, though she is able to bring someone back into the past to relive events, so that the future is changed. Among the mutants who have survived include Bobby Drake, or Iceman (Shawn Ashmore), who has the power to freeze objects, and Blink (Fan Bingbing), who has the power to create portals.

The movie constantly shifts between the past and the present day, and hence we can see how the technology has advanced drastically over the years. For example, Charles Xavier’s uses a standard wheelchair

Y RC

Parents Ask, Teens Answer ...Linking teens and parents together

In this issue, we will be reversing roles for a change.

Instead of featuring a question from parents, we will be responding to a question from a teenager.

Many teenagers find themselves warring with the wills of their parents, who sometimes exercise a strong amount of control over them.

But what if what your parents want for you is at odds with your own dreams and ambitions?

Ron from Victoria Junior College asks: I am keen on obtaining a tertiary education and subsequently pursuing a career in the ar ts. Yet, my parents a re e x t re m e l y a g a i n s t i t . H o w d o I persuade them to let me go to an arts institution?

Ron Yap, Senior YAC Core As Albert Einstein once said, “If you want to live a happy life, tie it to a goal, not to people or things.” So many people

The purpose of art is to enchant,educate, and in so doing,

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illuminate the wonderful world around us.

have underachieved and missed out on a meaningful life because of a lack of something to fight for.

The purpose of art is to enchant, educate, and in so doing, illuminate the wonderful world around us. Artists—authors, musicians, filmmakers, singers, painters, directors etc.— are the pioneers of the great movement to blur the line between work and play, eliminating the drudgery of work and replacing the burdens and responsibilities of life and time with beauty, to make it all more enjoyable and

PROFILE

Magic & Fantasy

Hana van de Wiel, 12 Holland School Hana van de Wiel lives in Singapore.

She is 11 years old and has lived in Singapore for 2 years. Hana was born in Hong Kong on 11/09/2001 and lived in Hong Kong before she came to Singapore. She is Dutch and Japanese.

She has one brother and one sister.

The Wolf Princess Illustrations by Adeline Lim

Prologue The bad people were coming. She could smell the fear in her mother’s scent.

Her own heart beat against her chest in small, rapid booms. Her mother finally stopped.

“I’m sorry, my little princess,” she said with tears in her eyes. “You should have grown up in a better world than this. My little Giselle.” She laid her child down, trying not to look at the blood pooling around the little girl. Her mother took a small cloth blanket she had been carrying and stood up. Then she looked wistfully at her only child. The tears were running down her face as she ignored the lonely cries of a small child. Holding the cloth blanket, her mother pretended that Giselle was still in it.

Then her mother ran for her life, allowing her baby to escape. When the men caught her, she just laughed.

“What yer laughin ‘bout?” one of them

snarled at her. Then they realized that the baby was gone. They had been tricked. The cry for revenge filled the forest.

“Kill her!” The men smiled, enjoying the pleasure that violence brought to them.

She screamed as the dagger pierced her heart. But she died at peace as her baby was saved.

* * * “Mama?” came the timid call. Then Giselle started to cry. Her mother had left, she was gone. Maybe never to come back!

At this thought she started wailing even harder. But the crying exhausted Giselle and she yawned. Her eyelids were getting heavy, and before she knew it she was sound asleep.

* * * The wolves were out hunting. The forest echoed with their howls. Then

Disclaimer: Due to the length of the story, YRC is featuring only the opening chapter of the story. Get the full e-book on Google Books and the Janus e-bookstore.

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The Werewolf in Young Adult Fiction

We r e wo l ve s , a l s o k n ow n a s lycanthropes, are mythological or folkloric humans with the ability to shapeshift into wolves, either intentionally or under a curse (such as when humans have been bitten by other werewolves). They have been a feature of much European folklore since centuries ago, but it is only recently that werewolves have become extremely popular in young adult fiction and movies.

A werewolf tends to be hyper-masculine in appearance and behaviour. Most werewolves depicted in fiction and film tend to be male, and the typical werewolf is hyper-masculine. He’s exceptionally muscular, hairy and violent.

Many of you are fans of the young adult fiction genre, and many of the franchises in the genre feature werewolves. Franchises like the The Percy Jackson series, the

Harry Potter series, the Twilight series, The Mortal Instruments series, etc. are all geared towards children or adolescents, and they feature an assorted slew of supernatural beings, like dragons, unicorns, centaurs, vampires, and yes, werewolves.

What accounts for the sudden rise in the popularity of werewolves, along with their other supernatural counterparts? Won’t children and adolescents be frightened by their gruesomeness of their human-to-wolf transformation? Well, young people have always been fascinated by the supernatural, a n d m a ny a u t h o r s have recently taken advantage of that trend.

In psychological terms, you might think of a person’s struggle with lycanthropy (or the condition of being a werewolf) as a struggle to accept and deal with his primitive nature.

When a man becomes a werewolf, his primal instincts, which aren’t necessarily considered to be appropriate, take over.

Lycanthropy or the state/curse of being a werewolf is relatable to young people because there are many parallels to puberty.

During puberty, the human body undergoes drastic physiological changes. These changes can feel strange and confusing, and they are not within a young person’s control.

Similarly, in some depictions, lycanthropy is a metaphor for menstruation.

This is one of the reasons why people can identify with werewolves, despite their less than glamorous transformations. Teenagers and young adults go through sudden, uncontrollable, and sometimes extreme changes in their body, and they can identify with the emotional extremes, and turmoil, of adolescence.

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Y RC

Aha! Moments

By Catherine Khoo

[ Editor’s Note: At 55, YRC’s Publisher, Catherine Khoo, has endured hard knocks and disappointments as she forged her career in the media industry.

Her book, Love!

Live Dangerously!

And Have Fun! is a tell-it-all.

The inspirational book is used in her workshops to exhort everyone to live life well. Here’s the preface, followed

by Chapter 1.]

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u We hope that yo ne holidays!

Ju e om es aw an had spending While you werelaxing, we at re ys da your holi revamping ourre YRC were busy ke it even mo ma magazine, to fo r you to read.d enjoyable e awesome an ar u yo Because e best! th e deserv

Keeping Secrets by Ee Dakang Ever yone has secrets, even me. I am going to give the valedictorian speech next week. Everyone is going to find out my most embarrassing secret! Can I solve the problem before rumours spread? Read more to find out!

The Dead Body in Room 126 by Tang Sze Kay Mr. Robertson Thomas is the manager of a hotel. A very lousy one, actually, and his office is the size of a broom cupboard.

But still, it’s relatively peaceful, and things aren’t all that bad.

However, one day he receives a call from one of his employees, and his quiet life is shattered. On the run from those who would like to see their heads on a platter. The manager and the head of deadliness affairs of the Burgundy hotel go on a desperate race to hide something – a dead body, in fact, that was found in Room 126.

PLUS OUR NOT-TO-BE-MISSED COLUMNS AND DEPARTMENTS:

* YRC Investigates * CORE 101 * Reel Talk * Inspirations * He Said, She Said * Professions * Editor’s Picks Get to know more about YRC Magazine! Visit www.youngreaderclub.sg for subscriptions, contributions and more!