Children's & Young Adult book reviews by a rather odd duo.
Posts tagged friendship
Everything Is Not What It Seems
March 1, 2013
by Ruby
XVI by Julia Karr (Book 1 XVI Series)
Every girl gets one. An XVI tattoo on the wrist—sixteen. They say they’re there for protection. Some girls can’t wait to be sixteen, to be legal. Nina is not one of them. Even though she has no choice in the matter, she knows that so long as her life continues as normal, everything will be okay. Then, with one brutal strike, Nina’s normal is shattered; and she discovers that nothing that she believed about her life is true. But there’s one boy who can help—and he just may hold the key to her past. But with the line between attraction and danger as thin as a whisper, one thing is for sure…for Nina, turning sixteen promises to be anything but sweet.
The year is 2150 and women’s rights and the freedoms we enjoy today (at the moment) are just a memory. The world that 15-year-old Nina Oberon lives in is frightening to me. Frightening because it’s all too plausible. The Governing Council controls the populace through the Media. Through the Media girls are “trained” to become a sex-teen when they turn sixteen. There’s even a guide for this transition. How to dress and act to attract guys. Girls become adults at sixteen, identified by a tattoo on the wrist – XVI. This becomes an invitation (unwanted or not) that girls are ready for sex. Girls don’t have many choices, they either marry above them or get accepted into the FeLS (Female Liaison Specialists) program. (more…)
“If you had one day left to live, what would you do?”
February 20, 2013
by Ruby
Fracture by Megan Miranda (Book 1 Fracture Series)
By the time Delaney Maxwell was pulled from a Maine lake’s icy waters by her friend, Decker Phillips, her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. But somehow Delaney survived—despite the brain scans that show irreparable damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be fine, but she knows she’s far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can’t control or explain, Delaney now finds herself drawn to the dying, and when she meets Troy Varga, a boy who recently emerged from a coma with the same abilities, she is relieved to share this strange new existence. Unsure if her altered brain is predicting death or causing it, Delaney must figure out if their gift is a miracle, a freak of nature—or something else much more frightening….
The plot of this novel is very similar to The Body Finder Series by Kimberly Derting, but has thrilling psychological aspects that make it unique. The story is told from Delaney Maxwell’s POV as she tries to navigate the ups and downs of life after death, literally. Fracture is an apt title in many respects. Throughout the story we see the fracturing of Delaney’s home life, friendships, and her own sanity. (more…)
“I knew there was something peculiar about you…”
April 26, 2012
by Ruby
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Book 1 Miss Peregrine)
A Mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very peculiar photographs. It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that Miss Peregrine’s children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow – impossible though it seems – they may still be alive.
This novel is amazing! The first thing you want to do when you pick up this book is flip through the pages to look at the unearthly mysterious collection of vintage photographs. Riggs has done an amazing job of pairing each photo with the narrative being told. Instead of trying to imagine what these children look like, these photos give us almost the whole picture of their personalities. The part we have to imagine is their peculiarities.
Jacob is definitely someone you can sympathize with as he struggles to make sense of his grandfather’s death and the mysterious “magical” life he led before. Jacob learns that the stories his grandfather told him about his childhood, featuring children with peculiar abilities and terrifying monsters, are actually true. (more…)
History Turns Into Itself in This Newbery Winner
April 18, 2012
by Jenny
Dead End in Norvelt by Jack Gantos
Jack Gantos has a whole summer planned full of baseball, history books, and war movies when suddenly, caught in the middle of his quarreling parents, he becomes “grounded for life,” ruining everything. Even though he lives in the dying town of Norvelt (originally founded by Eleanor Roosevelt to help poor families) and there’s not much to do, when his mom volunteers him to help an aging neighbor type up the town’s obituaries, he’s less than thrilled. Soon, though, Jack finds himself absorbed in the town’s history and the “original” Norvelters, as his spunky neighbor calls them, and he’ll do anything to get out of house arrest and over to help her in her task. Soon he’s involved not only with the obituaries but in a feud with an old man who ride’s a trike, play-acting the Grim Reaper, distributing Girl Scout cookies, digging a fake bomb shelter, and a near-constant nose bleed, not to mention a potential murder. Suddenly his summer is anything but dull!
Described as “melding the entirely true and the wildly fictional,” Dead End in Norvelt is a most-times funny and sometimes heart-breaking story of a boy coming of age in an old town past its prime full of wacky yet believable characters. Both darker and lighter themes blend with Gantos’ humor as Jack finds himself imbedded in nearly everything going on in town. The relationships between Jack’s parents and himself are enough to fill a book, but author Gantos has woven an entire town’s worth of personalities and interactions together seamlessly. (more…)
Let’s Go to the Mall!
March 27, 2012
by Ruby
No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz (Book One TBA Trilogy)
(Review based on Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) of the book.)
Hundreds of people go to the mall everyday, but for 4 teens, a trip to the mall could be deadly. Marco, Lexi, Shay and Ryan have come to the mall for reasons all their own. Marco works as a busboy at a mall restaurant. After being chased by school bullies in the parking garage, he discovers a device attached to the AC unit for the mall. Lexi is out with her parents for some family time, which rarely happens because her mother is a state senator. Shay just wanted to escape the house her family has just moved into, but she had to come with her grandmother and sister. Ryan is running an errand for his older brother, a QB for the local football team, of which he is a member too.
Told from alternating points of view from these four teens, we start to get a picture of what each of them is like and how they handle the situation at hand as their world descends into chaos. We also start to get a feel for each of their personalities, which I hope the author will delve into more in the remaining two books in the trilogy.
The tagline for this trilogy in “Contagion meets Lord of the Flies in a mall that looks just like yours.” I haven’t read LOTF, yet, however I know the story. I thought Contagion was a huge bore. My favorite disease on the loose move is Outbreak. Dustin Hoffman rocks! Sorry, getting off topic a bit. (more…)
Oh my Zeus! Is that a Greek god in that book?!
January 21, 2012
by Jenny
The Son of Neptune by Rick Riordan
Really? you must be asking yourselves. Rick Riordan? Hasn’t the whole world pretty much reviewed his books, like, years ago?
Well, yeah.
But hey, I loved the books! (Also, I’d rather review The Son of Neptune than clean my room.)
On the off chance that nobody here has read (or heard of) the Percy Jackson series, here’s a brief overview: ancient Greek gods and goddesses are real, and they never disappeared–they’ve followed the rise of Western culture and currently reside on Mt. Olympus over the Empire State Building. Percy Jackson–main character, obviously–discovers he’s a “hero” or Greek “demigod”, a half-mortal, and his father is Poseidon, which turns out to be problematic. After a brief time at Camp Half Blood, he and his new friends are off on a quest full of mythical beasts, minor deities, and worldwide catastrophe. It’s rollicking good fun, incredibly smart, and impressively accurate on the ancient history/mythology level. Alas, after five books, the series was done.
But wait! There’s more! (more…)
Murder, Espionage, and Romance
October 31, 2011
by Ruby
The Season by Sarah MacLean
Author Sarah MacLean has written many best-selling historical romance novels, but with The Season, she jumps into the young adult realm. As an avid romance reader, I have not had the pleasure of reading her previous novels, but if The Season is anything to go by, she has won my reading loyalty.
In the tradition of Jane Austen’s novels, MacLean has created characters that can hold their own with the likes of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy. As the only daughter of a Duke, 17-year-old Lady Alexandra “Alex” Stafford is being launched for her first season in London society. Despite her mother’s wishes for her to catch a suitable husband, Alex wants nothing to do with the marriage-minded men of the ton. She finds them dull and not at all her intellectual equal. She longs for adventure, not romance.
Alex and her friends Vivi and Ella (also being launched for the season) find themselves embroiled in an espionage plot against England and childhood friend Gavin. When Gavin’s father dies under suspicious circumstances and Alex overhears something she shouldn’t, the mystery deepens and a budding romance begins. (more…)
Guest Review: Marin
October 18, 2011
by Ruby
The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler
(This review based on Advanced Reader Copy.)
When former best friends Emma, 17, and Josh, 16, discover they can look into their futures via Emma’s computer, dealing with their findings will strengthen or sever their relationship forever.
If you could uncover facets of your life fifteen years in the future would you? Two high school students may have stumbled upon a way to do just that. It’s 1996 and thanks to the AOL CD-ROM Josh gave her, Emma’s internet connection mysteriously links her to her 2011 Facebook page. After exploring the future, she sets out to change her prospects, a cheating spouse and possible depression, while Josh welcomes the possibility of his future marriage to the high school “it girl”.
Small actions have big effects and anything is possible in this seamlessly co-written tale. The authors alternate points of view. Asher tells Josh’s story and Mackler Emma’s, but the narrative flows effortlessly. The characters and their ideas are relatable for teens today as well as those who lived through their adolescence before the digital age. While Josh and Emma explore who they are and what they really want, they question what friendship really means, and if destiny exists. Quirky characters and entertaining twists will keep the pages turning until the satisfactory ending.
The book will be released on November 21st, 2011.
Ages 13+
ISBN: 9781595144911
Also available as an eBook.
Image from www.goodreads.com
Author Spotlight: Interview with Clete Barrett Smith
October 10, 2011
by Jenny
A while back Ruby and I had the amazing opportunity to read an advanced copy of Aliens on Vacation and then have dinner with the author, Clete Barrett Smith. We loved his book and pestered him with tons of questions, but of course we didn’t have our notepads handy. That was months ago, but we’ve kept in touch, and for some reason he’s still willing to talk to us despite our annoying e-mails. We’re proud to finally share our interview with such a great, fun author! Enjoy!
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Aliens on Vacation is about a 13-year-old boy, Scrub, who is sent to spend the whole summer with his hippy grandma at her Intergalactic Bed & Breakfast (which turns out to be a vacation hot spot for aliens). How did you come up with the big idea?
I’ve always loved alien-visitation stories, but it seemed like everything that I saw at the time was really dark and violent; the aliens were coming here to enslave us, or eat us, or steal our resources or whatever. The spark of the idea was: “Wait a minute . . . what if they are just coming here to hang out?” I thought that would be a fun way to do an alien story with a lot of humor mixed in with the action.
Why aliens?
When I was ten years old I was sent from my little hometown to spend the weekend with my grandpa in the big city of Seattle. My grandpa was a great guy and real character . . . but not always the best babysitter. On Friday morning, he said, “I have to work all day, here’s $20. I’ll see you at 6:00 and we’ll have dinner.” I was pretty nervous in downtown Seattle, so I walked to the nearest movie theater to buy a ticket to anything so I’d have a safe place to hang out. The only PG offering was a brand-new movie premiering that day that I had never heard of: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. (more…)
Curious Kids and Summer Adventures
October 10, 2011
by Jenny
Cheesie Mack is Not a Genius or Anything by Steve Cotler; illustrated by Adam McCauley
You would think that graduating from the 5th grade would be a piece of cake after the school year itself, but Cheesie Mack’s life is anything but boring. When Cheesie and his best friend Georgie find an old envelope with mysterious contents, they decide to track down the owner. When it turns out that the things they found are valuable, they must make a decision between doing the right thing and having the coolest summer ever. On top of that, “Goon” (Cheesie’s yucky older sister) is always trying to make him look dumb, his best friend Georgie can’t afford to go to their annual summer camp, and the mystery they’re trying to solve involves a haunted house. Things are getting complicated!
Cheesie is a curious kid and a great character, always looking to learn something new about the world and ready to share his information, whether it’s a list of the differences between frogs and toads, illustrations of pennies and secret hideouts, efficient breathing techniques for winning bike races, or ways to gross out your sister. (Feel free to check out his website to help add to his archive of facts: www.cheesiemack.com!) Full of funny comments from a young, probing mind, Cheesie Mack is a fun romp through fact and fiction, and author Steve Cotler won me over with the believability of his characters. The book’s narrative is paired with Cheesie’s own illustrations to help the story along (maps, caricatures, instruction guides, etc.), and together they bring you into the mindset of a regular, inquisitive boy. (more…)