More books read, but no time to review!

With the new school year craziness, I haven't had time to post, but I'm still plowing through the young adult books.  Here's a few more quick reviews and thoughts:

1. "Pretty Little Liars" - Nope, no way.  Not for any academic library.  I thought I'd give it a read since a few of my elementary students requested it for the library.  I'm sure the TV show has a lot to do with their interests but, in my opinion, it's not appropriate for a school library.  One of the main characters has a sexual relationship with her high school teacher.  That alone is enough cause not to have it in your school.  There is drinking, sex and profanity in the book.  Not recommended for school libraries of any age range.
   
2. "Vampire Diaries" - Interesting in how very different it is from the TV show.  I only read the first volume, "Awakening", and it would be appropriate for 6th grade and up...at least this volume.  No inappropriate relationships, no one was having sex or drinking.  If your district has other vampire books, or books with paranormal characters, the book would fit right in.  Check the other volumes in the series first though as the character relationships might progress to sexual levels, given the TV show content.
   
3. "Oh.My.Gods" - Cute book about the descendants of the Greek gods.  Main character's mother remarries and quickly moves her daughter to a tiny island in Greece.  Naturally, you have the remarriage issues, new sibling and new student conflicts, etc.  The twist is that every student in the new school is a direct descendant of a Greek god, so they have paranormal abilities.  I would recommend this for middle schools and high schools.
   
4. "A Tale Dark and Grimm" - Loved this book!  It's a fun read and has a unique twist.  The author takes you through some of the original Grimm fairytales with Hansel and Gretel as the main characters.  The author narrates periodically in a humorous way.  Some of the content is grisly, however, so I wouldn't recommend it for young children.  I could see it fitting in for middle or high school students.
   
5. "Fever Crumb" - This is a good dystopian tale.  It reminds me a bit of "Black Hole Sun".  It's a bit long of a read at times, with detailed descriptions, but likeable just the same.  The futuristic world is dark with people rebelling against a race of beings who thought they were superior to humans, so they controlled humans and treated them as slave labor.  The main character is the first female engineer and you follow her as she makes discoveries, finds the rebel force and confronts her own history, etc.  It's recommended for middle school and up.

Now, I'm going to read a book for me, then back to the young adult lit!

I've been remiss!

It's been quite a while since I've posted, but I've been reading like crazy!  Here's a couple of the more recent ones!


"Abandon" by Meg Cabot - Excellent book, very intriguing.  It's based on the Hades/Persephone myth but set in modern times.  The book deals with a girl who died, but came back to life after escaping the Underworld.  She has several serious issues to deal with, such as being disconnected from the world, a former best friend who committed suicide as a result of having an affair with a teacher, parents getting divorced, moving to a new school far away from her previous one, not to mention the Furies who are after her and a tempestuous relationship with John, the ruler of one Underworld.  This is the first book in a new series and one I would recommend for middle or high school.  The affair is not gone into detail, but mentioned as she tries to avenge her friend.  No sex or profanity is described.

"Matched" by Allie Condie - Interesting dystopian book, the first in a planned trilogy.  This book reminded me of "The Giver" in that the society is planned by a group of people and the general populace does whatever they are told.  Once children are of age, they are matched with their future mates.  They attend a banquet where the matches are announced.  However, once at home, there is a glitch in the information and one person sees a flash of a second match.  What is she to do?  The novel winds its way through the society and how professions are determined, friendships, love, even entertainment is all proscribed by the ruling body.  What happens when someone rebels?  One thing that I love about this book is that it gives the same though provoking feel as "The Giver", including killing the elderly at the age of 80 in a manner that the majority of people don't know that it is murder, but the writer avoids killing babies.  That scene in "The Giver" always bothered me, so I'm very glad it is missing from Condie's world.  If you're looking for a companion, or a replacement, to "The Giver", this would be a good one.  Recommended for middle school or high school.  Nothing more than kissing is done sexually, no profanity, and the elderly are killed off using poison in their food, although in the actual scene they simply fall asleep.

"Black Hole Son", by David Macinnis Gill (YA-Sci Fi)

"Black Hole Sun" is a dystopian novel set in the future on a teraformed Mars.  The population is extremely segregated by social and economic classes.  The working class population struggles to earn enough to eat and water is scarce.  The life is hard and dangerous, and that is before you toss in the former humans turned cannibals who eat children and torture people.

This book was a favorite of my mentor, and my teenage son also loved it, however it was not my cup of tea.  It's a shame really, as I was hoping the book was more along the lines of "Firefly", but it ended up more like "Resident Evil".  While I love fantasy novels, sci-fi often leaves me wanting more.  The violence and imagery in this book did not appeal to me in the least.  I read halfway through the book before giving up as I really didn't care to finish it.  Given the violence and torture, I would not put this book in any school younger than an upper middle school or junior high school.  There wasn't any sex or inappropriate foul language. 

"Hunger Games", Suzanne Collins (YA fantasy)

The world is a very different place than we know it.  North America rebelled against the government and is paying the price.  We have been divided into 13 colonies that are not allowed to intermingle with each other.  In order to remind us of what we wrought, each year a boy and girl (ages 12-18) are randomly drawn from each district and forced to participate in a televised fight to the death.  Whomever is the last person standing gets food for their district for the next year...all other districts are left to starve and manage as best they can.  Hence the name, "Hunger Games".  The twist for this year?  The boy and girl from district 13, who's district hasn't won in several decades, happen to love each other.  How are they supposed to kill each other in order to survive?

"Hunger Games" is an interesting dystopian novel for young adults and the first in a trilogy.  This book is very well written with a male and female protagonist so as to engage readers of both genders.  The storyline is gripping with a few plot twists and the beginnings of a little romance (nothing more than a kiss).  There is some violent scenes, which should be obvious given the context of the book, but nothing overly descriptive.  This is a book that I would recommend for middle or high schools, as well as for adults.

"Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment", James Patterson (young adult, fantasy)

"The Angel Experiment" is the first volume in the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson.  In this edition, we are introduced to the flock and get the basic background and set up for the rest of the series.  This storyline revolves around a group of children who have undergone genetic manipulation by a secret government or wealthy private medical group (the specifics are unclear).  These doctors/scientists have spliced animal DNA with human DNA and created a variety of experiments, similar to what happened in "Dark Angel", if you're familiar with that TV show, or inspired by H.G. Well's Dr. Moreau even.  There are mentions of several experiments, but the main focus is on a wolf/human hybrid group and a human/avian group.  There are 6 members of the avian flock, ranging in ages 6-14, who are trying to live on their own and outwit the wolf packs sent to find and retrieve them.  At one point the youngest gets caught and the rest try to rescue her but get caught in the process.  Find out what happens after they break out, as well as who their parents are, what Max's mysterious destiny is and where they go from here...