Archive for the ‘fiction’ Category
the Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn
I’m pretty disappointed with this one. I think it is trying to be an updated 1984 for today’s young adults but doesn’t even approach that iconic work of speculative fiction. The first issue I had with the book is that the author’s political commentary is actually a little above the heads of her target audience. [...]
February 18, 2011
Posted in: science fiction, Young Adult 
No Comments
The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn
I’m pretty disappointed with this one. I think it is trying to be an updated 1984 for today’s young adults but doesn’t even approach that iconic work of speculative fiction. The first issue I had with the book is that the author’s political commentary is actually a little above the heads of her target audience. [...]
February 18, 2011
Posted in: science fiction, Young Adult No Comments
Unwind by Neal Shusterman
This book won me over. Â I was very skeptical at the beginning when the story is set up in a future where there has been a second Civil War fought between pro-life and pro-choice supporters. Â I read every chapter expecting at any moment to encounter some sort of diatribe for or against the practice…but it [...]
January 14, 2011
Posted in: science fiction No Comments
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
It’s time for the California Young Reader Medal once again. Â Usually, I try to get some of them read before the kids start on them, but this has just been a really busy year, so the only two that I’ve gotten through so far have been Hunger Games and The Adoration of Jenna Fox. You [...]
January 9, 2011
Posted in: science fiction, Young Adult No Comments
Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix
This one is probably a good mystery book for the middle school set, but doesn’t have a lot to interest older readers. Â My interest wasn’t really piqued until the end, but let me explain that beneath a cut, since that will include some spoilers.
December 15, 2010
Posted in: fantasy, mystery No Comments
Time of the Witches by Anna Myers
I’ve read several historical fiction books about the Salem Witch Trials, but this one was a little dry. Â What it does have going for it is that it is one of the few I’ve read that really is entirely appropriate for younger readers. Â It would be perfect to pair with a social science curriculum that [...]
December 6, 2010
Posted in: fiction, historical fiction No Comments
The Hunger Games
It’s been awhile since this has happened…I’ve read a book that drew me in enough to make me want to post about it right away. The Hunger Games is so powerful, filled with significance while still subtle. Â The story is set in a post apocolyptic North America that has been divided into thirteen districts that [...]
October 3, 2010
Posted in: fantasy, science fiction, Young Adult No Comments
The Looking Glass Wars
Alice in Wonderland is one of those books, at least for me, that was fun to read as a child, but then when I reread it as an adult, it had me wondering if  Charles Dodgson (a.k.a. Lewis Carroll) wasn’t a but touched.  In The Looking Glass Wars, Frank Beddor takes this classic children’s tale [...]
June 24, 2010
Posted in: fantasy, fiction, retold fairy tale, Young Adult No Comments
The Heir Series
My brother recommended these books to me, so I suppose that he should really be the one to write the review. Â He doesn’t feel all that confident in his writing (yet), so you’ll have to put up with my version, yet again. As far as fantasy for young adults goes, these books are some of [...]
June 3, 2010
Posted in: fantasy, fiction, Young Adult One Comment
Uprising
This novel isn’t a page-turner, but it is certainly a good historical novel. The story centers around the events that led up to the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, which was the catalyst that finally initiated significant reforms to workplace laws that actually protect workers. The novels follows three young girls that are all tied to [...]
April 22, 2010
Posted in: fiction, historical fiction, Young Adult No Comments
