The Kill Order

The Kill Order
Maze Runner Prequel

James Dashner

Synopsis:
A year has passed since deadly solar flares decimated the planet. With the help of former soldiers Alec and Lana, Mark was able to survive the initial weeks of flooding, radiation, and intense heat, and now he is living in a colony of survivors deep in the Appalachian mountains. Mark starts to think things are starting to become normal again, even if life has been changed forever. However, life turns upside-down once again when a berg shows up and shoots darts into many of the people in his colony. Trying to strike back while they can, Mark and Alec board the berg and attack the crew. Most of the crew is already dead, but two remain. While Alec interrogates the pair, Mark discovers a box of darts labeled "Virus VC321xb47" that look exactly like the ones shot into his friends. In an attempt to flee, the two crew members crash the berg, but Mark and Alec survive and slowly make their way back to the colony. However, when they return, things are far from normal. Large numbers of people are dead, and one of Mark's friends, Darnell is covered in bruises and blisters and has gone completely insane...

My Thoughts:
When I heard that The Maze Runner was going to get a prequel, I was incredibly excited to finally get some answers about WICKED. Unfortunately, there aren't nearly as many as I would like, and Mr. Dashner has shared that this is his last Maze Runner book. However, just because it isn't what I expected doesn't mean I didn't like it. Since Thomas and the other Gladers would have been so young at the founding of WICKED, writing about them wouldn't have fit. Instead, following Mark, Trina, Alec, and Lana through the fall of humanity fits the style of the other three books much better. Also, since these people are just normal people, not test subjects, the things that happen to them can seem even worse than the trials of the Gladers. An interesting aspect of the book was that the main goal seemed to change near the end due to the extremity of the situation. It changed from "get answers" to "save Deedee". However, this may have actually been the story behind Teresa... At least this is my theory. Teresa was one of the founders of WICKED, Deedee was sent near the outbreak of the disease. Deedee seemed really smart throughout the book, Teresa is too. Deedee and Teresa are immune. Deedee's age roughly matches up to what Teresa's would have been at the time of the maze. It just seems to work in my mind. The final thing that I want to say is that the book really makes you think about moral issues. The world doesn't have enough resources for the number of people on it, so no matter what, people are going to die. Lots of people are going to die. Who can really say if the intentions of the PFC/PCC were really all that bad?

Questions for Thought:
1. Were you Mark, would you be brave enough to follow Alec up into the berg despite the danger?

2. After returning to the colony and seeing Darnell, what would your reaction be? How careful would you be around other people who might be contaminated?

3. If you were in Alec's place, would you have the courage to put Toad out of his misery? Was it right for Alec to do so?


4. Obviously people were going to die, even after the flares, due to the lack of resources. Should the PFC have taken action to essentially kill off people so that the survivors would have enough to survive? If so, how would you go about deciding who dies and how they die?


5. Is the PFC good? Do their actions change your opinion of WICKED?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Frankenstein

Frankenstein

Mary Shelley

Synopsis:
Victor Frankenstein has always been fascinated by science, and when he is old enough to attend a university, he quickly blossoms into one of the brightest students. Frankenstein develops new scientific apparatus and makes important discoveries in numerous fields, but he is not satisfied by these developments. Instead, Frankenstein devotes himself with discovering the nature of life. After years of devoting himself to the study of anatomy and physiology, Frankenstein discovers the secret of creating life. However, not concerning himself with the results, Frankenstein refuses to rest until he endows the spark of life into an inanimate body. A body that becomes a monster...

My Thoughts:
The media gets almost everything about Frankenstein wrong. First of all, Frankenstein isn't the monster. Frankenstein is the scientists. The monster sadly does not have a name. Poor Monster. Also, the monster is not slow, is not green, isn't stupid, and doesn't have bolts sticking out of its body. It is actually faster, stronger, and more agile than humans, is almost normal colored though has a slight yellow tint, is very smart, and in general looks relatively like a human. He even wants to be compassionate, but isn't allowed to due to humans' judgmental nature. Really, the story isn't a horror novel at all. If anything, its a tragedy. And while much of the book is sad, I did still enjoy it. The language in the book is very sophisticated without being unreadable. Instead it just helps to enlarge my vocabulary. I will admit that some parts of the book had very lengthy descriptions of events that had no real value to the overall story, but in general, I very much enjoyed it. It shows many faults in humanity, which seeing as it was for my English class, was very helpful for writing a paper. Beyond just the confines of an English classroom, it does teach some valuable lessons; however, I won't go in to all of those here.

Questions for Thought:
1. Who do you think is the "bad guy" in the story?

2. Is Frankenstein morally justified in making a life? If not, are there circumstances that would make it justifiable?

3. If you knew the secret of bestowing life into an inanimate body, would you use it? What would you create?


4. Were you Frankenstein, would you have created your monster a female companion?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Oryx and Crake

Oryx and Crake

Margaret Atwood

Synopsis:
As far as he can tell, Snowman is the last human being on Earth. That is not to say is completely alone. Snowman lives with a colony of humanoid creatures known as the Children of Crake, beings that were genetically designed to be an improvement of the human race. The Children of Crake, or Crakers for short, are perfectly designed to survive and have greatly improved social interactions that eliminate jealousy, hierarchy, and competition among them. They live in perfect harmony. However, Snowman does not enjoy these same traits, and is frustrated at his circumstances. He struggles to survive, and also struggles with his own past, including his own role in the destruction of humanity. When his supplies get dangerously low, Jimmy must return to the compound where the nightmare of his current life began, a quest that is as much about his past as his future.

My Thoughts:
Oryx and Crake was not at all what I expected. It was one of two novels I had to read for AP English this summer, so I expected a pretty old, drab book. However, It was actually published only a few years ago, and fits in nicely with many other dystopian books that I have reviewed recently. The story itself was very captivating from the beginning due to a lack of knowledge of the past. Somehow, the world has been decimated, the last human is barely surviving, yet there is a race of humanoids thriving in the wild. As the story progresses, it is not so much about Snowman/Jimmy's survival, but about his past, and the pasts of Oryx and Crake. (This made the synopsis a little difficult to write. Really, the majority of the story is in the past, but I feel like the more "correct" was of introducing the book is in the future.) While the story itself dealt a little heavily on sex and sexual frustration for my taste, Crake identifies that frustration with many of society's problems, so it is somewhat necessary for the story. I did really enjoy the book for its focus on genetic engineering. Jimmy is very worried about the engineers going too far, and it is a valid concern. Improving animals for better food or better compainions seems nice enough, but then what happens when someone like Crake wants a better human? It is a very slippery slope that the book addresses very well. It also is an enjoyable story. Jimmy is a likeable character and provides a good look into the elite world of Crake. Really, my only complaint is that the book focuses too much on the past, and not as much on the current state of the world and the lives of the Crakers. I would definitely recommend this book, but due to a fair amount of sexual content, I would only recommend it to upper level high school students and older.

Questions for Thought:
1. In your opinion, are the Children of Crake human? (Remember, their base DNA came from humans.)

2. Does Snowman need to stay with the Crakers? Or should he leave them alone, like Crake seemingly intended?

3. How far is too far with genetic engineering? How can limits be determined?





4. If humanity had not been destroyed, could they accept the Crakers into society? Why or why not?



Please leave your comments and answers!

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Book of the Month - October 2011

The Book of the Month award for October 2011 goes t0...

...The Death Cure by James Dashner

I think that it is safe to say I knew that this would be the book of the month before the book even came out. You all know I love this series as Maze Runner was last December's Book of the Month, and now that I have read each book a few times I think that Scorch Trials may have really deserved it, but as I said in Death Cure's review, it tops both to be the best in the series.

Anything else would be redundant, and since I just wrote Death Cure's review about a half an hour ago, I don't feel like restating all of that, so I'll just leave you plenty of links to the review. Like this one.

Wait, I do have more to say! As I briefly mentioned in the Death Cure review, James Dashner is writing a prequel to the Maze Runner Trilogy! It will be entitled "The Kill Order" and is scheduled to release next August.

Please leave any comments on the book, or your personal book of the month as well!

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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Mark Twain

Synopsis:
After his adventures with Tom Sawyer, Huck is now living with the Widow Douglas who tries to civilize the boy. Soon, his father comes to town and learns of Huck's new-found wealth, he takes the boy back home with him in the woods. However, after being beat by his father on many occasions, Huck fakes his death and takes off down the river to start a new life. On the way, Huck meets up with Jim, the former slave of the Widow Douglas' sister, who has run away fearing being sent down south. On their voyage down the river, Huck and Jim meet many new people and have many odd encounters that help Huck grow morally as a young man.

My Thoughts:
As you can likely assume from the "moral growth" comment at the end of the synopsis, I read this book for AP English. It was a nice story, but much of the story seemed to lack a clear direction for the plot to follow other than a journey down the river. This may have just been my perception of the book since we spread out the reading over many weeks, but I didn't find it particularly captivating until the very end. However, as we looked at the story from a literary view in my English class, Huck's development throughout the story is done very artfully, showing gradual growth instead of suddenly being "enlightened" into a moral person. Still, many of the characters bothered me by how ridiculous they were; not only the duke and king, but also Tom in the end of the book. It is definitely an appropriate book for an English class, but certainly not a book I would recommend for a casual read.

Questions for Thought:
1. Would you let Jim travel with you, knowing that in that time helping a runaway slave was a detestable action?

2. How would you get rid of the duke and king, if at all?

3. Would you let Tom make Jim's escape complicated and delayed, just to "do it right"?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Catch-22

Catch-22

Joseph Heller

Synopsis:
Yossarian is a bombardier in WWII who believes that everyone is out to kill him. After a comrade is killed in a bombing run, Yossarian is severely scarred and does all he can to remain grounded. Eventually he works up his resolve to finish his tour of duty, but every time he nears the number of required missions, his commanding officer, Colonel Cathcart, raises the number of required missions in a bid to impress his superiors and gain a promotion to general.

My Thoughts:
I know that the above synopsis is very short and rather dull, but this book was quite entertaining. Catch-22 is probably one of the funniest books I have ever read. The book is filled with hypocritical, circular statements and "crazy" characters that had me laughing out loud through much of the book. However, be warned that the plot can be hard to follow since it is completely out of order and frequently will spend chapters at a time on various sub-plots. The book actually starts somewhere in the middle of the action. However, there is a purpose behind the odd chronology as I discussed in my English paper I wrote over the book thoroughly describes. However, I won't bother you with all of the detailed analyses that the paper covers. All of the characters are very unique and leave a lasting impression. Still, Yossarian is by far my favorite as he seems to get himself into the weirdest situations. Really, I'm not sure what else to say about the book. (It's a great book to read but can be hard to discuss. So just read it.)

Please leave your comments! (Questions are just too hard for this one.)

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The Death Cure

The Death Cure
Maze Runner Trilogy
Book 3

James Dashner

Synopsis:
Thomas and the Gladers have been told that they are finally done with the Trials. WICKED has all the data that they need to create the blueprint for a cure. Or so they say... After all of the Lies, Thomas, Minho, and Newt don't know what to believe, and when Rat Man Jansen brings them to get the Swipe removed, the trio decide they don't want their minds messed with any more. After a failed escape attempt and period in confinement, Jansen says that WICKED must restore Thomas, Minho, and Newt's memories, but surprisingly Brenda, who has worked for WICKED the entire time, helps them escape at the last minute. After wandering the surprisingly empty WICKED complex, the group escapes with the help of Jorge and his Berg. After arriving in Denver, the group is confronted by a group known as the Right Arm, a secret organization trying to overthrow WICKED! After all they have been through, all of the friends they have watch die, Thomas, Newt and Minho finally have a chance to strike back at the organization that started it all...

My Thoughts:
Wow. I knew this series was good, one of the best I had ever read, but The Death Cure pushed it WAY over the top. For this first time in my life, I can actually say that I have a favorite series: The Maze Runner Trilogy. (Which won't exactly be a trilogy for long....if you saw my facebook post the other day you already know this: a prequel is in the works! I'm pumped!) Okay, I guess I need to focus just on THIS book. Alright, first of all, James Dashner did a phenomenal job at creating the outside world. I can only imagine how complicated it would be to create a world that is advanced enough to have WICKED's technology, scared enough to be ravaged by the Flare, and is still realistic. However, his description of Denver and the Crank Palace are very believable and logical. Little details such as holographic ads in the city and all of the glass at the Crank Palace being broken for weapons show just how much thought was put into making a realistic environment. Also, the character development is great. The whole conflict with Newt as he nears the Gone is.... well I don't even know how to describe it. You become Thomas in those scenes. The emotion in them is so powerful I had to stop reading for a few minutes just to pull myself back together. Another complicated relationship is Theresa. With her betrayal and love of WICKED she becomes hard to like, but the relationship she and Thomas developed in the first book still makes you want to like her. Although Brenda certainly complicates the relationship. And then WICKED..... I still don't know if they are good or not. That last page of that report at the very end of the book was so strong I was in shock for a few minutes. (I don't remember if I mentioned it or not, but I was sort of the same way after finishing Everfound, but even worse this time.) And then how WICKED wants to get the last information from Thomas....it reminds me of Unwind....I really freaked out when they were about to start the final procedure... All of the complexity and detail of this series continues to amaze me, even after rereading the books multiple times. Even more incredible is that each book continued to get better and better, which so rarely happens. This last book captivated me so much I read it in one day. I downloaded it to my Kindle the moment I woke up the day it was released and read until I finished it that night. And this was on a school day. Since then, I have been able to convince a few of my friends to start this series and they have all loved it. Some of them haven't read for fun in years and this series has rekindled a joy of reading. I think that is the ultimate compliment a book can get.

Questions for Thought:
1. How would you react if you were one of those not immune?

2. Would you choose to get your memories back? Why or why not?

3. Would you risk trying to escape, or would you play along with WICKED?

4. Could you really trust Brenda after learning she lied to you in the Scorch?

5. How would you react knowing that Theresa and the other Gladers left you behind?

6. After escaping from WICKED, where would you go? Would you go to Denver to make sure WICKED can't control you anymore, or would you run to some secluded part of the world and start a new life?

7. Would you be able to trust Gally after everything he did in the Maze and immediately after?

8. How would you react to Newt in the Crank Palace?

9. Would you be able to kill one of your closest friends if they desperately wanted it? Especially if it would save them from suffering and hurting others?

10. Would you be able to sacrifice yourself for the hope that it would cure the Flare?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Book of the Month - September 2011

The Book of the Month award for September 2011 goes to...

...Human.4 by Mike A. Lancaster!

I'm glad that I finished this one in September and not August, because it really deserves to be Book of the Month, but I'm not sure it could have beat Outside In. The idea behind this book was very original in my mind, and totally baffling. Since are such a technology-driven society, it is interesting to consider how life would be if we could be upgraded just like our computer operating systems. Also, as my friends and family know, I have taken a C++ programming course and am currently taking a Java programming course and really enjoy programming, so this book combined two important aspects of my life.

Well last month I know that I said I would get this review up in a more timely fashion, but this one has taken even longer to get up. This semester has been very busy for me, but I should have a lighter load at least for a few months, so I hope to keep you all more up to date. Anyway, you should expect a few more posts tonight to update the blog through the end of November. If I don't get that far today, know that I will be getting that far soon. Thanks for understanding!

Please leave any comments on the book, or your personal book of the month as well!

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The Son of Neptune

The Son of Neptune
Heroes of Olympus
Book 2

Rick Riordan

Synopsis:
Percy Jackson cannot remember anything ab0ut his past. Knowing only his identity, Percy finds himself racing toward Camp Jupiter, a haven for Roman demigods. Though most of the campers are suspicious of the strange new arrival, misfits Frank and Hazel quickly befriend Percy. Quickly after arriving at the camp, Percy and his two new friends are sent on a mission to rescue Thanatos, god of death, from Gaea. To make matters worse, the difficult quest is made even harder since monsters won't die!

My Thoughts:
This is one of the best Percy Jackson books yet. I was a little disappointed in the first book (which somehow didn't get a review...I'll have to work on that...) of this new series that Percy didn't make an appearance, but this definitely made up for it. The introduction of new characters with the whole Roman camp is a welcome addition to the book, and this series is lining up to possibly be better than the first. As always, Riordan includes lots of humor in this book, making it (for the most part) a lighthearted read. However, I do miss the entertaining chapter names that came with the original Percy Jackson story, but the way that Riordan narrates from different characters' points of view is another way the new books stand out. All in all, this was a great book that I would definitely recommend!

Questions for Thought:
1. How would you react if all of your memories strangely disappeared?

2. How would you react to Percy showing up at Camp Jupiter were you already a camper there?

3. Were you Percy, would you have accepted Reyna's offer to be a praetor?

4. Would you capture Ella for Phineas?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Ashes, Ashes

Ashes, Ashes

Jo Treggiari

Synopsis:
After disease has killed nearly the entirety of humanity and natural disasters have shaken her world, Lucy has been forced to live alone in the remnants of Central Park. For months, she has survived on her own, but one day a mysterious boy shows up and warns her of a pack of wild dogs that are hunting her. The boy, Aiden, tells Lucy about a band of survivors that live in the ruins of the city, but Lucy is hesitant to leave with Aiden. However, when a tsunami destroys Lucy's camp, she sees no choice but to seek refuge with Aiden. At first camp life seems wonderful with plenty of food, modified showers, and better shelters, but when a group of Sweepers invade the camp and kidnap some of its inhabitants, Lucy realizes she is not as safe as she believes. Moreover, she is angered that nobody in the camp is trying to rescue the kidnapped survivors, she decides to take charge and try to free them herself.

My Thoughts:
For the past few months, I have been hearing phenomenal reviews for Ashes, Ashes, but, in my opinion, the book does not deserve them. Something about the book just didn't seem plausible to me. The fact that Lucy could live alone for MONTHS and never see a single person until Aiden seems very unlikely, even given the large percentage of the population that died. New York is a big city. She would have found someone. I didn't have too much of a problem with the sweepers or medical staff, but a few of them were too much. I can understand drive to find a cure, but it wouldn't turn you into an evil maniac. The whole story just felt a little uncomfortable to me, so it is definitely not one I would recommend to most people. It tried to hard to be like the Scorch Trials and didn't work. (Sorry to sound so negative; it wasn't an awful book, it just wasn't good.)

Questions for Thought:
1. Were you immune, where would you go to live? Out in the woods like Lucy, find a group to live in (like Aiden's), or somewhere else?

2. How would you react if Sweepers invaded your camp?

3. Were people you barely knew kidnapped by Sweepers, would you risk your life to save them?

4. If it was thought that you carried the key to a cure in your blood, would you sacrifice yourself for the chance you could save humanity?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Human.4

Human.4

Mike A. Lancaster

Synopsis:
The trouble started when Kyle Straker volunteered to be hypnotized at the annual Millgrove talent show. Trying to help his friend Danny by voluteering to be one of four people to be hypnotized, Kyle prays that he wouldn't do anything too stupid under Danny's influence. However, when Kyle and the other three volunteers wake up, the entire town is frozen in whatever action they were when the four were hypnotized. After an hour of panic, everyone wakes up and Kyle is escorted home by his parents. However, though they look and sound like his parents, Kyle senses that they are not the same people he knows. When he asks about the talent show, their perception of events is completely different of his own. A doctor arrives at his house to check up on him, and Kyle claims to just feel a little ill and pretends to go take a nap. While the adults think he is taking a nap, he hears the doctor tell his parents that his is one of the 0.4 and must be dealt with. Confused and scared, Kyle races around town trying to find the other three people who were hypnotized. When they recount similar tales of strange behavior, the quartet gets scared, and rightfully so. The whole town is now their enemy...

My Thoughts:
Though a somewhat hard book to summarize, this book was a phenomenal read! The format of the book itself, being a transcript of 3 cassette tapes recorded by Kyle and transcribed by one of the 1.0's. Then, the concept of the book, treating people like programs (well, in reality more like 'objects'), was so clever. Even if this was as far as the story went, it would have been a great book, but it had more! There was a fair amount of humor in this book, unlike many recent dystopian stories. (At one point, the story turns in a very surprising direction only to flip back the other way, and it totally killed me! Read the book, you will understand...) Though really, one could argue that this is a utopian story where the narrator got left out. I recently read an article that acknowledged that many dystopian stories are very good, but that "the end of the world just isn't fun anymore" because it is getting too depressing without humor. At the end of the article, the author even goes so far to say that he wishes that authors would start writing utopian stories, and depending on how you look at this book, it satisfies both of these criteria. Another thing that I like about the book (and kind of hate at the same time) is that the ending doesn't give you all of the answers you want. It leaves you wondering about a crucial decision that the main character is about to make, and you have many questions about the nature of the new world. Talking about the book now is making me all excited about it again! If that doesn't tell you its a good book, I don't know what will.

Questions for Thought:
1. Would you/have you ever volunteered to be hypnotized?

2. What would you do if you woke up from being hypnotized and found everyone frozen?

3. How would you try to help Mr. Peterson?

4. Would you try to run away from your family after they started acting weird, or would you stay and try to figure out what was going on?

5. How would you react after seeing the entire town "joining hands"?

6. Would you have entered the silos and been upgraded, or would you stay a 0.4?

7. What do you think Lily and Kyle chose to do after recording the tapes?

8. Would you consider this book a dystopia? If not is it a utopia, or one in the making? Why or why not?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Book of the Month - August 2011

The Book of the Month award for August 2011 goes to...

...Outside In by Maria V. Snyder!

Every once in a while, the moment I finish a book I can tell it will be a Book of the Month. This is one of those books. I loved the prequel to this book, Inside Out (May's Book of the Month), and this sequel was definitely better in my opinion. I could continue to say how great it was, but then it would just be a repeat of its own review, which can be found here.

Sorry for the somewhat short post, I sort of forgot I hadn't posted the Book of the Month. In my mind I had posted this with my Human.4 review, but that didn't really happen. Since then I've forgotten the things I was going to say. I will do my best to get September's up in a much more timely fashion. I hope to have two more books up this month as well, so keep your eyes peeled!

Please leave any comments on the book, or your personal book of the month as well!

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Blog Update....8 Weeks Late

Hey guys! How's it going?

What? Not good? Oh yeah, my bad, I guess I should have told you that this update would be late instead of right on July 3rd when I got back from camp....

Well, there isn't anything you can do about it and you have 11 posts (now 12) in 2 days to make up for it! (If you are looking at the post dates of some of them, thinking "Wait, some of these were posted back in June and July, they didn't come today..." should first of all be thinking "Dang! How did he manage to pile 4 blog posts into one minute, conveniently the last minute before the month changed?" and then realize that I have magical computer powers that lets me go back in time to look like less of a slacker. Well, really it is just to keep the Books of the Month in the right month, but anyway, the "not looking like a slacker" thing is a nice bonus. Now back to your regularly scheduled programming. That isn't regularly scheduled at all.)

So sorry I have not posted in a timely fashion, but hopefully all of these posts will help make up for it, especially this one.

Well, school has started, and unlike my dreadful premonitions of having absolutely no time to read and therefore not being able to post here, I have read more in the last week or so than in the previous two months. Of the recent stuff, I was totally pumped about Outside In. It was definitely a step up from Inside Out, and even that was really good. So check it out. (That means both of them if you haven't read Inside Out.)

I have been in book-lover heaven recently because I have realized how much stuff is coming out soon! Here is what I can remember quickly, but I am sure there is more.

Inheritance
Well, as many of you know the Inheritance Trill- I mean Cycle (Stupid series name change....gets me every time....) is one of my all time favorite series. I am such an Eragon nerd that I was Eragon for Halloween one year and won the Shur'tugal costume contest. Plus, my most popular posts have all dealt with the Inheritance Tri- Cycle (Dang, it still got me!), especially the Eragon Book Three Predictions. I may or may not make a predictions post in the near future. It depends on how much homework my teachers want me to have. (So if you really want a post, you should email them and tell them to not give me much. ;) )

Anyway, the final installment, Inheritance, is coming out November 8! Still pretty far away, but I'm pumped, nonetheless. You can see the cover below with the green dragon that was originally going to be the cover for #3, but Chris decided that the trilogy should have a fourth installment....If you are interested in a chapter exerpt, check out the Barnes and Noble page for Inheritance. You have to scroll down a little ways to get to it. To see some thoughts by the experts at shurtugal.com, click here and look around. There is some very intriguing stuff.

The Death Cure
One of my more recent favorite series is The Maze Runner Trillogy, which I will probably reread in the near future. Its conclusion, The Death Cure, will be released on October 11. I am super pumped! Here is the cover:Some information can be found at the Maze Runner Website, and the Kirkus review can be seen on James Dashner's blog. Both places have info on the book, but you will probably find more on the blog. I hope we finally get some answers in this one!

A few other books of importance (not that books not mentioned aren't) will be released soon, such as Rick Riordan's Son of Neptune coming out in early October, and others have already been released, like Pittacus Lore's The Power of Six! With all of these fantastic books coming out, it is hard to keep track of everything, so make sure to visit your local library and/or bookstore often for the latest teen reads! (Wow that was cheesy, but it really is good advice.)

I would like to have discussed some new Hunger Games material that has been released, but that will have to wait for another update. If you have any announcements about the movie, please comment and let me know! I'm not always good at keeping up with the latest news!

As always, please leave your comments, questions, complaints, concerns, etc. You can contact me in a multidue of ways. First of all, you can comment here on this post, or any other post here on the blog! I love to hear from you all, even if it is a "Sounds like a good book!", so take the twenty seconds to post. The next way is to post on the Corey's Book Talk facebook page! Another method is to @ mention @CoreysBookTalk on Twitter. Finally, if you are lucky enough to know me in person, you can talk to me about book stuff any time!

Well, that's all for now. Happy reading!

Corey

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The Dead and the Gone

The Dead and the Gone
Life As We Knew It Series
Book 2

Susan Beth Pfeffer

Synopsis:
In Life As We Knew It, Miranda heard reports that New York was devastated, but she didn't know many of the details. In The Dead and the Gone, we hear what happened from the perspective of Alex, a hard-working Puerto Rican student at a prestigious Catholic school. Alex was never concerned about the moon being hit by a meteor. In fact, he nearly forgot it was going to happen. But when he is walking home the night of the incident and the moon grows huge, followed by a killer storm, he starts to get nervous. Once he gets to his apartment with his two sisters Bri and Julie waiting for him, Alex learns that tsunamis have started crashing against the New York coast. As a few days go by, Alex is concerned, having not heard from his parents since before the incident. His uncle Jimmy gives him lots of food from his grocery store, but Alex is still concerned. Though he manages to stay calm and keep his sisters under control at first, when people begin dying all around him, Alex begins to get scared...

My Thoughts:
As much as I enjoyed Life As We Knew It, this one just didn't do it for me. I'm not really sure why, since it should have been more intense than its companion, but something about the story couldn't keep my attention. My guess is that since I live in a setting more like Miranda's, I couldn't relate to Alex as well. The circumstances were even more dire since Alex's parents were gone, possibly dead, and there were many more plot twists throughout the book that in its companion. Really, there isn't too much else for this one that I have to share. I guess I felt that parts were unrealistic, such as Alex not being able to get food from apartments in his building. To me, once people left, knock on the door to make sure nobody's home, then find a hammer or something and break off the doorknob or something to find the food. In a twelve-story apartment (at least), Alex should have been able to find plenty of food or goods to trade.

Questions for Thought:
1. Would you be able to go back to school after such a scary event when your parents are gone?

2. Would yo have sent Bri away with the hope that she would be better off, or would you have kept her to protect her yourself?

3. Would you let yourself believe that your parents were dead, or that they were just stranded?

4. Would you have sent Julie away with your uncle with hopes that she would have more food?

5. Is body shopping moral? Either way, would you be able to do it?

6. Would you have tried to tough it out in New York, or would you have left immediately?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Outside In

Outside In

Maria V. Snyder

Synopsis:
The revolution is over, the Pop Cops are gone, and the Travas are imprisoned. Trella thinks that this means a nice, normal life now, but continued tension between the scrubs and uppers has led to work strikes and resentment toward the Committee. Trying to avoid the frustratingly slow politics, Trella leaves the comittee for more time to explore the new levels she found, but when the Inside is bombed and the transmission goes out, putting them on a collision course with an asteroid, Trella knows that a nice, relaxing life is not in her new future. By working with her old allies Logan and Riley, as well as some new friends, Trella works to investigate who is bombing the Inside. However, leads are turning cold and the network is starting to shut down. After weeks of growing tension, Logan confides in Trella that there is someone on the Outside who wants in...

My Thoughts:
Inside Out was one of the best books I've read this year. And this one was even better. Coming from me, that especially means a lot, because I hardly ever will say a sequel beats the original book, but Snyder has done a fantastic job raising the bar. Outside in was packed with lots of action, bringing in many new fight scenes, especially in the second half of the book. The constant betrayals and lies between different factions with different ambitions keeps the reader wondering who really wants to protect the Insiders and who is looking for power. The plot kept twisting and turning, making me hate having to put the book down. I read this in just over 24 hours, which is fast even for me, but I also did this right at the beginning of school, so that should tell you how much suspense is in this thing. If you enjoyed Inside Out, this is certainly a worthy sequel. Very good work, Ms. Snyder.

Questions for Thought:
1. How would you go about getting the Committee to start making the important decisions instead of griping about the silly little things?

2. Had you found the "bubble monsters" at the top of the expanse, would you share the information, or keep it secret?

3. Would you be willing to live with a woman who had betrayed both resistance movements and claimed to be your mother? Would you be willing to find out if she really was?

4. Would you believe Logan that the Outsiders really exist without the camera proof?

5. After being "kidnapped" by Jacy, would you still trust Bubba Boom, or would you flip?

6. Once you were collared by the Outsiders, would you still try to fight, or would you give up knowing they could control you at any time?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Life As We Knew It

Life As We Knew It
Book 1

Susan Beth Pfeffer

Synopsis:
Miranda thought that the meteor that was going to hit the moon would just be an excuse for her teachers to give more homework, and in the days leading up to the event, this premonition is coming true. However, as Miranda, her mother, and younger brother Jonny watch the collision, they are terrified as the moon moves significantly closer to Earth! The next day, after a few classes at school (and a monstrous thunderstorm), Miranda is pulled out of class by her mom to go get as many groceries as possible. Things were worse than anyone could have imagined. Reports of massive tsunamis, earthquakes, and increased volcanic activity have sent Miranda's world into chaos, and her life will never be the same...

My Thoughts:
This book was much better than I expected. It has been sitting on my shelf for a number of months now, but I was never motivated to pick it up until I wanted something to read after finally finishing East of Eden but didn't want to wait for a library book. As it turned out, it is a fantastic story. Really, it is quite realistic, seeing that at any moment something could collide with the moon and send it closer to Earth. On top of that, the side effects of tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanoes make a lot of sense. What I really liked about the book was the way society reacted. Since the characters in the story are living in the same society as we are, it makes the story much more believable and realistic compared to some futuristic dystopias. Also, you can picture the madness in grocery stores and angry citizens at the events. Though most of the book takes place in Miranda's house and would have the potential to get boring or repetitive, the way it is narrated though Miranda's diary keeps the focus on interesting, unique events. That writing style worked very well for this story. Overall, it was a great book!

Questions for Thought:
1. Were an meteor supposed to (innocently) hit the moon, would you make an event of it, or simply watch from home and keep the rest of the evening normal?

2. Once you had seen the moon move closer, what would you do? Just proceed like normal until you really knew what happened?

3. Were you Miranda and were rushing for supplies in the grocery store, what would you go for first? Your favorite food that may be in the middle of a large crowd, decent preserved food with a somewhat smaller crowd, or try to get lots of cans that nobody wants, like vegetables, while there isn't much competition?

4. Once things really started looking bad, would you try to head to a better part of the country, or would you stay at home and hope for the best?

5. Were you the government, what would you be doing to try to help in such a large disaster?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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East of Eden

East of Eden

John Steinbeck

Synopsis:
Adam Trask has had nothing short of a rough childhood. His mother died before he was old enough to know her, and his father has forced a military lifestyle on Adam and his step-brother Charles. Adam, who has never been competitive, hates the lifestyle and resents his father, but Charles is envious of the love their father gives to Adam, even though Charles is the stronger, tougher child. Eventually, Charles nearly kills Adam out of jealousy, and Adam heads off into the army at his father's request while Charles remains at home. After leaving the army, Adam is lost and wanders for years before coming back home to Charles. One day, a terribly wounded girl shows up on the brothers' doorstep, and Adam falls in love with her. After nursing the girl, Cathy, back to health, Adam marries her and they head off to California to start a new life. However, Adam doesn't see that Cathy doesn't really love him and is only using him to get her strength back. Once in California, Adam and his new servant, Lee, befriend a family of Irish immigrants, the Hamiltons. As time passes, Adam and his children struggle with their pasts, ultimately leading to many characters' demise.

My Thoughts:
Sorry for the somewhat rough synopsis (and questions, once you get there)....this book was so long and complicated that it is hard to sum it up. Throughout the story, so many characters are followed for significant lengths of time that it makes it hard even to say who the story is even about. Also, it is hard to discern what the final conflict will be until you are 2/3 of the way through the book, so it is hard to set it up without giving too much away. Anyway, I read this book for my AP English class, and after my initial doubts, I did wind up enjoying the book. At times, the story can be dry, especially when Steinbeck is simply describing the general way of life at the beginning of each "part" of the book, but once the multitude of main characters are introduced, the pace picks up. Still, most of the book was about everyday life of a large cast of characters instead of a straightforward plot, so for me the book was less enjoyable than some of the other recent fiction I have read, but the story definitely had more "deeper meaning" in it than my typical reads.

Questions for Thought:
1. Which Hamilton child are you most like? Why?

2. Were you Lee or Samuel, how would you go about getting Adam to acknowledge his children?

3. Who is to blame for the tragic end to the story? Cal? Adam? Cyrus? Cathy?

4. How would you react if you found out your mother was Cathy/Kate?

5. Was Abra right to stay with Aron so long, even though she knew that he didn't really love her?

Please leave your comments and answers!

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Book of the Month - July 2011

The Book of the Month award for July 2011 goes to...

...Ranger's Apprentice: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja by John Flanagan!

July did slightly better than June with a whopping 3 books, but two of those were nonfiction stories that were not really "enjoyable" reads, so this month's choice was quite clear. However, don't think that this was just a granted since it is a fiction book, this book really deserves a Book of the Month, even if it goes to the whole series.

As I said in the review post, I love this series and always have. I started it years ago, and the first two books of the series were some of my first reviews of this blog, so this series has some sentimental value for me. Also, as I said, I love studying this time period, so all of the creative battle planning is right up my alley. The story had lots of clever plans that can only be expected by two rangers, and I love the characters that have been developed so well over the 10 book series. I look forward to rereading these in the future and reading John Flanagans new works in the future.

Please leave any comments on the book, or your personal book of the month as well!

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Ranger's Apprentice: The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

Ranger's Apprentice
Book 10
The Emperor of Nihon-Ja

John Flanagan

Synopsis:
Horace has been sent to the exotic land of Nihon-Ja to exchange pleasantries with the emperor and learn new fighting techniques. Just before leaving, one of the emperor's generals revolts and tries to take the throne for himself! Horace, who has seen the kindness in the emperor's heart decides to stay and help the emperor and his small band of loyal supporters. However, Horace knows he can't beat the rebels alone. Horace gets a message to Princess Cassandra asking for help, and she goes straight to Halt and Will for help. Right away they set off to help Horace and the emperor, also accompanied by Alyss and their newer friend Selethen from Arrida. Though help is on the way, Horace and the emperor still have an army nipping at their heels with nobody but local woodsman and a rumor of a fortress deep in the mountains for help. Will Halt, Will, and their friends arrive in time to help? Will just the 5 Araluens and Selethen be enough to defeat an army of vengeful Nihon-Jan? Find out in this fantastic conclusion to the Ranger's Apprentice series!

My Thoughts:
First of all, I must say, I am terribly sad that this series is over. Though it may be a little young for me now, I still love this series. I reread the entire series lately, and I was able to pick up on so many references to our world history through the different peoples in the books, which was a lot of fun. Plus I love the medieval/renaissance periods, so this time frame of book is right up my alley. As a book in the series, I think it was one of the best. It was certainly the largest to date (I believe...) and for good reason. Time had to be taken to set up the background of Horace's trip, for him and the emperor to flee to the mountain fortress (the name currently escapes me), for help to arrive, and for all of the battles to take place. The way the fighting occurred was very innovative, as Will's plans usually are, but the ending to the battle seemed a little too easy. I know it was hard getting to that point, but seeing as it was the "epic conclusion" to the series, I was hoping for a little more. Granted, I loved the actual ending to the story, though an epilogue maybe a year later would have been fun and made the closing more final. Still, a fantastic end to a fantastic series.

Questions for Thought:
1. Were you Horace, would you help the emperor knowing you might well be killed in a battle that isn't yours to fight, or would you go home as would be expected?

2. How would you have delayed the perusing army if you were the emperor?

3. How would you have encouraged the Kikori to fight their "upper class" of warriors? How would you train them?

4. What would your tactic be against Ashoka? Would you wait out a siege, attack them head on, or something else?

5. Would you be able to let Cassandra and Alyss venture into dangerous territory to enlist the help of potentially barbaric people?


Please leave your comments and answers!

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Alive

Alive

Piers Paul Read

Synopsis:
On October 13, 1972, a Fairchild F-227 was en route to Chile from Uruguay, bringing the Uruguayan Old Christians rugby team, along with friends and family, to a tournament in Santiago. As the plane passed over the immense Andes Mountains, a blanket of clouds blocked the vision of the pilot. Shortly after this change in weather, the plane ventured off course and began its descent into Santiago while still deep in the heart of the Andes. When some turbulence caused the plane to drop several hundred feet, the forty-five people on board were alarmed to see mountains nearly ten feet away from the plane’s wing. Suddenly, the tail, followed shortly by both wings, snapped off the Fairchild and the plane crashed into the snowy mountain valley. When the debris settled, only thirty-three passengers remained alive to face their terrible circumstances. Only minimal food remained on the plane, most of the luggage was lost, and many of the passengers were injured. In his book Alive, Piers Paul Read chronicles their desperate attempts to survive high in the Andes and the miraculous rescue, after seventy-two days, of sixteen crash survivors, finally able to escape their nightmare.

My Thoughts:
This is the second book I had to read for AP English this summer. Unlike the other survival story, Alive was not narrated by a survivor. Read was never involved with the accident and didn't know those involved until he started writing the book. This meant that much of the story wasn't very personal, and many emotional moments that really happened were dulled down by the book. One nice thing about this book was the more detailed discretion of the parents' search for the missing Uruguayans. It made up for some of the lack of emotion by sharing the parents' emotions. Also, though the start in particular seemed to lack emotion, the later half of the book felt very adventurous with the expeditions starting. Still, I cannot credit this to Read, but to the situation itself. Once again, this was not a pleasant book to read, especially since canibalism was the main method of survival, but it was still a good story that is important to hear from the view of the survivors.


Please leave your comments on this book, or your thoughts on nonfiction stories in general!

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Not Without Hope

Not Without Hope

Nick Schuyler

Synopsis:
On February 28, 2009, Will Bleakley, NFL players Marquis Cooper and Corey Smith, plus their personal trainer Nick Schuyler set out from the Florida coast to deep-sea fish in the Gulf of Mexico. The trip started rather uneventfully, the only abnormality being Nick’s seasickness due to the choppy waves that morning. As the day wore on, the waves became increasingly violent, and the group decided to head back to shore. When the anchor got stuck on the ocean floor, the young men, all in the best physical shape of their lives, tried pulling it up, but it would not budge. In a second attempt to free the anchor by using the power of the boat, the craft flipped, launching the athletes into the freezing waters of the Gulf of Mexico. All food, water, clothing, and means of communication were trapped under the boat, nearly impossible to reach. Not Without Hope, narrated by Nick Schuyler, the only survivor, tells the story of the friends’ struggle to work together for survival in the frigid Gulf waters.

My Thoughts:
I think that this is a Book Talk first: a nonfiction book. I had to read two nonfiction survival stories for an AP English project this summer, and this is one of them. Usually I am not a fan of nonfiction, (though Into Thin Air, an Everest survival story, is an exception) so it was interesting to read about actual events for a change. This story, narrated by the survivor, is very personal and makes you feel like you are there on the boat with the four friends. Schuyler's account of the story is very emotional and greatly affects the reader. Though the story can get repetitive at times, it gives an accurate account of the events, or at least as accurate as Schuyler remembers. I will admit parts of the story were very captivating, but since I knew that the events actually happened to people, it was not a pleasant book to read. The stress that Schuyler experienced is transferred to the reader, leaving you unsettled after reading it for long periods of time. Still, I do think that it is good to read stories like this to get an accurate account of such events. In fact, Nick Schuyler wrote the story for the very purpose of distilling any rumors about the accident.


Please leave your comments on this book, or your thoughts on nonfiction stories in general!

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