Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Unwind


WOW!!!!! There is one scene in this book which almost made me stop reading, it was so disturbing. When a 13 year-old kid is slated to be unwound, it means that he is brought to a harvesting center where he is turned into as many parts as can be transplanted. This is a very scary scenario when you see how easy it is for parents to turn over their kids for any reason - they can't afford to feed them, the kids are getting into trouble, any reason at all.
Connor is a 13-year old boy who has been getting into fights and so his family signs him over to be unwound. On the way to the harvest center, he escapes his transport, causes a major accident on the freeway, and kidnaps a "tithe" out of his car. His escape eventually becomes a legend amoung unwounds. He is rescued by an underground railroad for unwounds and is taken to a sanctuary where he can stay until he is 18 and is no longer desirable for harvesting.
I highly recommend this book if you like action and you aren't too squeamish (there is one extremely unsettling scene which takes place at the harvest farm).
My rating - *****

Friday, February 22, 2008

The Chocolate War


Robert Cormier's book which takes place in a Catholic boys' school, is in the top five of ALA's Most Challenged Books (probably because of the references to masturbation). I started to read this book once and put it down and just read it all the way through for a class. Since I had to analyze themes in this book, it really came home the amount of cruelty and bullying that appeared in this book.

For the first time since I have started this blog, I have to say I can't recommend this book. Our hero, Jerry, is given an "assignment" by the secret society called The Vigils. He has to refuse to sell chocolate bars for a school fund raiser for a set length of time. When the time runs out, he continues to refuse and actually starts to be an object of respect by the student body. The administrator of the school bullies the bullies to turn the students' regard of him back to disdain. In the end, Jerry is standing alone, no adults (not even his father helped) or friends support him. I can appreciate books that leave me with a sense of unease, like I could do something to better the situation, but this book left me with no sense of how things could have been better.

My rating for this book - +

Thursday, February 7, 2008

Links for Twilight

Fans of Twilight are eager to learn who will be cast in the upcoming movie and when will the next book be released. All of these tidbits can be picked up in the author's official website
and the official fan site

You will want to put these sites with your favorite links.

Eclipse


The third book in the series by Stephenie Meyer is just as exciting as the first two. When I was reading this book, I was transported back to when I was a teenager reading a romance book and I relived that giddy feeling gotten from fantasizing that two gorgeous guys were in love with me and protecting me against evil. Wow! In this book, Bella graduates from high school, realizes that her wish to become a vampire to be with Edward will cause incredible grief to her father, and is being hunted by Victoria, the evil vampire. The werewolves and vampires join forces to protect Bella and destroy Victoria and her band of young, out-of-control vampires. Everyone who has read this book is eagerly awaiting the fourth installment.
My rating: ++++

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

The White Darkness


Geraldin McCaughrean has written a marvelous adventure which takes place mostly in the frozen wasteland of Antarctica. Symone (Sym) is taken by her uncle to Antarctica to find a legendary hole to the middle of the Earth, a fixation he shared with Sym's father. Her whole life was spent studying books about this continent, survival in extreme cold, and history of the explorers who went to the South Pole. All of this knowledge came in very handy for Sym. I really enjoyed this extreme adventure and I think teens with a taste for travel will enjoy it too.

My rating: +++