Of all the wonderful young adult disutopian novels written in the past few years, this one is my favorite. I haven't read such an exciting and intense book in a long time. This book offers so many topics for thought and discussion: the power of fear, how the strong control the weak, the creation of classes, love, forgiveness, the harmfulness of rivalry and ignorance, survival, how to change things, and how to maintain humanity in a brutal world. I anxiously wait to see where Collins will take this story.
caution: swearing and violence
***** middle school and up
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency
Even though this book has been highly praised and recommended to me by many people, I put off reading it because I do not like detective stories. Surprisingly, I was delighted by this quirky original book that is not just a detective story.
**** adult
**** adult
Friday, July 17, 2009
Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan
Another vampire story geared towards upper elementary and middle school boys.
This is a quote from the introduction:
This is a true story.
I don't expect you to believe me-- I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't lived it-- but it is. Everything I describe in this book happened, just as I tell it.
The thing about real life is, when you do something stupid, it normally costs you. In books, the heroes can make as many mistakes as they like. I doesn't matter what they do, because everything works out in the end. They'll beat the bad guys and put things right and everything ends up cool.
In real life, vacuum cleaners kill spiders. If you cross a busy road without looking, you get whacked by a car. If you fall our of a tree, you break some bones.
Real life's nasty. It's cruel. It doesn't care about heroes and happy endings and the way things should be. In real life, bad things happen. People die. Fights are lost. Evil often wins.
I just wanted to make that clear before I began.
caution: violence
**** upper elementary and middle school
This is a quote from the introduction:
This is a true story.
I don't expect you to believe me-- I wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't lived it-- but it is. Everything I describe in this book happened, just as I tell it.
The thing about real life is, when you do something stupid, it normally costs you. In books, the heroes can make as many mistakes as they like. I doesn't matter what they do, because everything works out in the end. They'll beat the bad guys and put things right and everything ends up cool.
In real life, vacuum cleaners kill spiders. If you cross a busy road without looking, you get whacked by a car. If you fall our of a tree, you break some bones.
Real life's nasty. It's cruel. It doesn't care about heroes and happy endings and the way things should be. In real life, bad things happen. People die. Fights are lost. Evil often wins.
I just wanted to make that clear before I began.
caution: violence
**** upper elementary and middle school
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
City of Bones by Cassandra Clare
What if there were magical creatures all around, but you just couldn't see them?
This book is like taking the best from Maximum Ride, The Pretties, and Twilight and mixing them all together to create something new and exciting.
caution: swearing and violence
**** middle school and up
This book is like taking the best from Maximum Ride, The Pretties, and Twilight and mixing them all together to create something new and exciting.
caution: swearing and violence
**** middle school and up
Thursday, July 2, 2009
A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini |
A beautiful book about love, sacrifice, endurance, and hope. Reading it made me so grateful for the easy life I have.
Caution: violence, swearing, and sexual content
**** adult
Caution: violence, swearing, and sexual content
**** adult
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