Tuesday, May 20, 2008

Hattie Big Sky By Kirby Larson

Hattie Big Sky by Kirby Larson fits into the Juvenile Historical Fiction genre. It was first published in 2006 and is recommended for people age 12 and up.

Summary and Review: Hattie Big Sky is the heartwarming Newbery Honor Book that tells the story of Hattie Brooks. Hattie, who was orphaned at age five, had been living with a long line of distant relatives when she got a letter from her dying Uncle Chester who wanted her to come to Montana and prove up on his homestead claim. Unaware of what this really entails and in an effort to escape her life of feeling indebted to everyone Hattie goes out to prove herself. Once she’s there Hattie learns the true meaning of work with the help of a stubborn cow and the never-ending combination of chores and poor weather. While there Hattie writes letters to her Uncle Holt and also to her friend Charlie who is over fighting the Germans. Her uncle showed her letters to a newspaper man and Hattie got paid $15 a month for her tales of life as a homesteader. She also makes some life-long friends, one of which was German born.  In a time where people are leery of anything German Hattie learns what it means to be patriotic in spite of what other people may say, and becomes a strong and independent woman. Larson’s prose is magnificent and full of wit as she describes the troubles and joys common to a Montana homesteader during World War I.

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Extras by Scott Westerfeld

Extras by Scott Westerfeld fits into the Juvenile Science Fiction genre. It was first published in 2007 and is recommended for people age 14 and up.

Summary and Review: Like many of you I was surprised by this forth volume in the Uglies trilogy that was dedicated “to everyone who wrote to me to reveal the secret definition of the word ‘trilogy’”. It’s been over three years since the cure for the brain lesions was released and the world is slowly regaining what it has lost. Unlike the first three books we are guided through this gripping adventure by Aya Fuse a fifteen-year-old Japanese girl whose one ambition in life is to be popular by “kicking” an interesting story about something important. In a world were popularity buys you everything including the best house, clothes, and friends Aya must do something great to change her mediocre life. In her search for this amazing story Aya meets up with the Sly Girls. These seemingly ordinary girls live on the wild side by riding on top of a super fast mag-lev train while trying to stay away from the kickers. Aya is forced to sacrifice her hovercam Moggle to be a part of their clique so she can gain access to their story but later rescues Moggle and uses him to unlock the greatest story every kicked. The one problem is that she got it all wrong. She has some help getting it right from her famous brother Hiro, her tech friend Ren, her boyfriend Frizz, the always-helpful David, and three of your favorite cutters and mine, Shay, Fausto, Tally. These eight people discover the truth behind the metal shortage and the inhuman “freaks” while once again trying to save themselves and the world from destruction. Extras is an interesting commentary on a world not far from our own where popularity is literally money and people must discover what matters most to them and what they are willing to do to overcome life as an extra. Westerfeld is spellbinding and awe-inspiring as he takes a different angle in this adventurous book with a hint of love story.

Other reviews available:

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Specials by Scott Westerfeld fits into the Juvenile Science Fiction genre. It was first published in 2006 and is recommended for people age 14 and up.

Summary and Review: Superhuman speed, eyesight and hearing sounds good to me but for Tally, as usual, being not only perfect but a special special just isn’t enough. Specials is the third installment in the Uglies series and begins with Tally, Shay, and their gang (Specials known as the cutters) crashing a party to get more information about the New Smoke. Tally enjoys her new job as a protector of the city more than she expected. The Smokey they were trying to get to made an exciting escape that was full of twists and turns that made for a thrilling and page-turning beginning and the excitement didn’t stop there. Zane, Tally’s boyfriend from Pretties, returns to New Pretty Town after his surgery. Tally and Shay agree to help Zane escape and find the New Smoke, each is unaware of the secret plans of the other two along the way and they all get more than they bargained for. While at times I still tripped over the word choice I am more comfortable with it this go around and find it mildly interesting. Westerfeld continues to capture my attention with his exciting and oddly realistic world from a fantastic future.

Other reviews available:

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Extras by Scott Westerfeld

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld fits into the Juvenile Science Fiction genre. It was first published in 2005 and is recommended for people age 14 and up.

Summary and Review: Pretties is the second book in the series that began with Uglies and opens with Tally turned into a pretty. Just as she suspected Tally’s mind was changed with the operation but she remembers little or nothing of her pre-operative life. Even her speech is changed to “pretty talk” which, let’s face it, is really annoying. Words like “brain-missing” and “pretty-making” while they illustrate Westerfeld’s point about how pretties are not all there make me feel like I’m reading well beneath my level. Word choice aside, the plot was interesting enough. Tally is mainly concerned with getting into the clique who call themselves Crims which is short for Criminals. This group was formed for people who didn’t want to give up on the practical jokes and tricks from their Ugly days but it had an added bonus of creating people who saw the world clearly and were able to get past their pretty-mindedness. This is important in a world where everyone is monitored that is strongly reminiscent of the Orwellian 1984 with Big Brother always watching. Zane is the leader of the Crims and becomes Tally’s boyfriend. Together they are able to see clearly and decipher messages that were left for them by the New Smoke. Tally and Zane convince the other Crims to join them on what proved to be the adventure of a lifetime.

Other reviews available:

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Extras by Scott Westerfeld

Friday, May 9, 2008

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton

The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton fits into the Juvenile Fiction genre. It was first published in 1967 and is recommended for people age 12 and up.

Summary and Review: The Outsiders tells the shockingly realistic story of two gangs, the Greasers and the Socs (as in Socials). Ponyboy Curtis tells the story from the side of the Greasers because, as he puts it, “Someone should tell their side of the story, and maybe people would understand them and wouldn’t be so quick to judge a boy by the amount of hair oil he wore.” Ponyboy is the youngest of the Greasers and is being raised by his two older brothers, the oldest no more than twenty, after the untimely death of their parents. Hinton’s novel had a fresh view on an old topic and it was interesting to read about these boys’ adventures. They stuck together through everything from drive-in movies to murder in self-defense. There are some components of this book that would make people shy away from it but I think it is worth the read for anyone who shows interest. A boy is murdered but it does not dwell on the scene for more than a paragraph, it deals mostly with what happened after. While it was not a page-turner it did go quickly and it was interesting even though it didn’t draw me from the beginning. It reminded me of West Side Story without the love story element.

Thursday, May 8, 2008

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Genre: Science Fiction

Published in 2008

Recommended Age Group: 16 and Up

Summary: The Host begins with the insertion of an alien into a human’s body. Some of the aliens were afraid of using this particular body because Melanie Stryder was part of the resistance that formed after the initial alien invasion. However, it was deemed necessary so they could have access to her memories but they got a lot more than they bargained for. Against the norm Melanie did not fade into obscurity with her memories as the only evidence that she lived. Melanie fought to keep control of her body against the alien Wanderer that now occupied her body. It was only because of their mutual hatred toward their Seeker that they bound together and eventually found a settlement of humans that had escaped the invasion. At first it was hard for the humans to trust that Melanie was still there with Wanderer, nicknamed Wanda by the humans. One by one they started to believe and they saw how she could be helpful. In the human colony they reunite with Jared, Melanie’s companion before the alien encounter. They also meet Ian who becomes their unofficial bodyguard while the other humans get used to the idea of a non-hostile alien. Complications arose because of Jared’s love for Melanie and Ian’s love for Wanda. They could not all have what they wanted. Wanda and Melanie must solve the problem while doing what’s best for everyone, the only question is what will happen to Wanda?

Personal Notes: I don’t know if it’s fair to compare this book to Twilight because they are not even the same genre. However, I think our enjoyment of Twilight is why most of us picked up, or will pick up this book. The Host was an amazing book. It did grab me from the start but not as strongly as Twilight because I actually slept that first night instead of reading it all night long, but I bought it only yesterday and here I am finished so it did grab me. This book was also intended for adults and it has a different feel to it but by no means inferior.  Even though it is written for adults I do not think that I would exclude any age group.  In a recent interview for All Things Girl Stephenie Meyer said, "The only reason it’s considered “adult” is the ages of the characters."

It was an amazingly complex and interesting story. I think it was a stroke of genius to combine the alien and the human in one body so we can get the perspective of both from the same experiences. It was fascinating to see how they could view the same thing so differently. I also enjoyed their internal interactions, the struggles between what is right and wrong and the love they have for different men. Overall it was a captivating story and it surpassed even my high expectations.

Other reviews available:

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Breaking Dawn by Stephenie Meyer

Monday, May 5, 2008

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

Genre: Juvenile Science Fiction

Published in 2005

Recommended Age Group: 14 and Up

Summary: Uglies is set about three hundred years in the future and is about a culture where at the age of 16 everyone gets changed from being ugly (or normal) into supermodel beautiful through an operation and then they move to New Pretty Town. We follow the story of Tally, an ugly who is about to change. She and her best friend Peris make a deal that they’ll stay friends even though he gets to change over three months ahead of her. Tally is surprised when he doesn’t keep his end of the bargain and acts weird when she sneaks over to New Pretty Town to see him. On the way back she meets Shay and they spend the next three months becoming fast friends. Tally is surprised at Shay’s lack of enthusiasm about the change but thinks nothing of it until about a week before they are to change Shay tells her about Smoke, a secret city, and her desire to run away and not be pretty. Tally then must pick sides and decide which she wants more, to be pretty or to keep her new friend.

Personal Notes: This book was not at all what I expected it to be but it was much better. My sister recommended it to me and I've been surprised how often it's come up since.  I was pleasantly surprised by the unexpected sci-fi element. I also enjoyed that the plot didn’t go how I anticipated it to. There were surprises along the way that definitely kept me reading with interest. Overall a great read and a captivatingly fresh breeze in the literary world.

Other reviews available:

Pretties by Scott Westerfeld

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

Extras by Scott Westerfeld

Thursday, May 1, 2008

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett

Genre: Fiction

Published in 1989

Recommended Age Group: Adult

Summary: The Pillars of the Earth covers the building of the Kingsbridge cathedral in twelfth century England.  There are five people who guide us through this journey.  Philip, an ambitious monk that serves God through his intelligence; Tom, master builder of the cathedral; Ellen, Tom’s second wife and a practicing witch; Jack, Ellen’s son who later becomes the master builder of the Kingsbridge; and Aliena the destitute daughter of a former Earl who rises unexpectedly to triumph.  It is from these five views, and a few others, that we learn of Kingsbridge and the struggle to build the cathedral amidst threats of weather, poverty, and numerous malicious enemies.

These enemies also play an important role in the book.  The principal villains are: Waleran Bigod, a monk who thinks that the end justifies the means in service to God, and William Hamleigh, a power-hungry man who will stop at nothing to ensure that people fear him because he feels this is the only way to lead.

Through the tale we also learn of the miracles of building of the Middle Ages and the ingenuity of the men at the time.  We are led through time and space on this expedition that not only built a cathedral, but a town.

Personal Notes: I was interesting in the book right from the start.  A friend recommended it to me and wanted me to read it and let her know if it was worth finishing.  This intrigued me because not only do I love recommendations but it was flattering that she wanted to know what I thought.  For me it started well enough but it was slow.  Around 250 pages into it I started reading it because I wanted to and I was thinking about it when I wasn’t reading and thus showing interest.  By page 400 I decided I had to finish because it was so good and I was thoroughly engaged in the story.  It was also at this point that many of the horrible and disturbing scenes with William Hamleigh stopped.  I have to admit that was the only failing the book presented to me.  William rapes quite a few women and I feel that there is needless detail and while it does secure the readers hate for William it also removes some of their virtue.  I feel that the book would have been better if these scenes were smaller because I do see the need for them but not the length.

Overall it was a great book not something to be taken on lightly as it will demand time but it is well worth the effort.