Unwind by Neal Shusterman

This book won me over.  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.  I read every chapter expecting at any moment to encounter some sort of diatribe for or against the practice…but it just isn’t there.  The story is not really about abortion at all, but about the value of a human life.

The kids in the story all must face the fact that society, including their own families, do not value their lives.  They also wrestle with questions such as do we have souls and, if so, at what point do we receive them and at what point to they leave.  Shusterman does a marvelous job of dealing with these questions at a young adult’s level, while firmly avoiding any attempts to sway their thinking or lead them towards any conclusions.  Like many of my favorite novelists, he seems to see his job as getting a reader to think on their own and consider difficult questions they might not normally pursue.

While reading the book, I never quite got over my fear that it would turn decidedly political, but even then I managed to fall in love with the characters and with Shusterman’s narrative style.  (Of course, it is well documented that I am a sucker for non-standard narrative techniques.)  The entire story is told from the limited third-person perspective, but the limited focus shifts with each chapter, with the title of the chapter letting you know which character’s perspective is revealed therein.  It allows for some marvelous insights into both the characters and their assumptions about each other, while still revealing various situations from multiple perspectives.

All in all, I really enjoyed the book and highly recommend it.  It would definitely be a great book to read and discuss with young people.  I can’t wait until some of my own students read it in preparation for the California Young Reader Medal voting.


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.  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 already know how much I loved Hunger Games, and while Jenna Fox was interesting, it sort of paled in comparison.  I do love that it tried to tackle ethical issues, but like many YA books that try to do so, it tends a little towards the didactic.

Unfortunately, it is also one of those books that if I talk about any part of the story or even go into detail about what I liked and didn’t like, I’ll be giving away some major plot points.

Suffice it to say, it is a science-fiction story set in an indeterminate future where unchecked and unregulated scientific development has left the environment and humanity on verge of catastrophe.  While the science aspect of the story is fairly well developed, the novel is much more about the ethical issues involved and the interpersonal relationships between the characters.

I did really liked the characters.  I thought they were realistically developed and the relationships between them were complex in a very natural way.  The plot never seems to really rev up, despite some suspenseful moments, and the end of the story departs from what you expect without giving sufficient explanation.

All in all, I don’t think this one would get my vote…if I were a young reader, that is.


January 9, 2011   Posted in: science fiction, Young Adult  No Comments

A Return to the Book Meme

Day 05 – A book or series you hate

This is a tough one.  The only book I can remember just absolutely hating was a book called Pavane.  The title and the premise seemed so interesting, but I only got about half way through it before completely giving up.  There was never enough background information for me, as a reader, to make sense of the world the author was creating.  I also never understood how the stories connected to one another, but maybe that’s because I never finished the book.

To this day, it is still the only book I can recall choosing to not finish reading.  (There were a few books when I was in college, but that was a different story altogether.)

December 30, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  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.  My interest wasn’t really piqued until the end, but let me explain that beneath a cut, since that will include some spoilers. Read the rest of this post »

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.  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.  It would be perfect to pair with a social science curriculum that focuses on the early colonies.  You can also bring in a discussion of mass hysteria, as the narrator in the book does a good job of describing the confusion of feelings that happens to her as she is around all the other girls as they go into hysterics.

The other topic this book touches on that would make for some great discussions is how Christianity can be twisted to serve some pretty diabolical ends.

Unfortunately, as an adult, this book was a pretty dry read for me.  It didn’t really engage me until the very end, and even then I found it a bit predictable.


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.  The story is set in a post apocolyptic North America that has been divided into thirteen districts that are controlled by a central capital.  Industry is all centered in the districts, which support the capital.  Years before the story starts, the districts rebelled against the capital because of the inequities inherent in this arrangement, but the rebellion was quickly quelled and district thirteen was completely destroyed as a warning to all the others.

In addition to that warning,  a tribute system was set up to remind the districts each year that they are powerless against the capital.  Every year, two names are drawn from among each districts young people between the ages of twelve and eighteen.  These twenty-four children are sent to the capital to compete in the hunger games–a fight to the death in which only one child can survive.

There were just so many things to love about this novel.  The story is completely riveting from beginning to end, both well developed and well told.  The fictional world is fully developed.  At every turn, there is commentary about poverty, power, the environment, vanity, the value of life, compassion, etc., but Collins manages to do so without it feeling didactic; she leads you to the issue and lets you see it from the narrator’s perspective without beating you over the head with it.  Plus, I love that she was able to make me both laugh and cry.

I can’t comment yet on the rest of the series, but I’m sure you’ll be hearing from me soon.  (The books are already in my cabinet at work, waiting for me on Monday.)

As far as age appropriateness goes, middle school readers could certainly handle the reading and the content, though a lot of the more sophisticated issues may go over their heads a bit.  Plus, I find that many of my sixth grade students aren’t all that interested in the romance aspect of it yet; that aspect is not incredibly pronounced in the book, but it is a significant part of the plot.  High school students would definitely enjoy the book and would most likely pick up on a lot more of the nuances.  And, of course, it is one of those YA books that I highly recommend for adults, not just those with children who are trying to monitor what those children read.  This is an entertaining and engaging book that you’ll want to talk about with everyone else who has read it.


October 3, 2010   Posted in: fantasy, science fiction, Young Adult  No Comments

30 Days of Books Meme–Day 4

Day 04 – Your favorite book or series ever

This is a VERY difficult one to answer.  There are so many books that I truly love, and choosing just one among many feels sort of like trying to choose a favorite child.

I suppose the two series that made the greatest impression upon me growing up, and that I have continued to read and talk about with people are The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia.  On the other hand, I can’t ignore the huge impact that the novel Dune made on me as a young reader and again later when I reread it as an adult.  Then there is Jane Eyre, that I loved far more reading it as an adult than I did when I first read it as a teen.

But if I ended this post here, you might get the impression that I haven’t read anything as an adult that has truly impressed me, and that is simply not true.  If anything, I’ve read far more as an adult, both in sheer quantity and quality.  I suppose the most memorable so far have been The Handmaid’s Tale and the Twilight series, for very different reasons.  The first is a powerful social commentary that avoids being heavy handed, and the second drew me into the story more completely than possibly any other book I’ve read.

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August 8, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  One Comment

30 Days of Books Meme–Day 3

Day 03 – The best book you’ve read in the last 12 months

Hands down, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  It is filled with humor but manages to not make light of serious issues.  Plus, it is one of the few books I’ve ever read that made me both laugh and cry in the span of only a few pages.  The book is marketed at a young adult audience because the protagonist is high school age, but I believe adults will get just as much enjoyment from the book, if not more.

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August 7, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

30 Days of Books Meme–Day 2

Day 02 – A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about

A lot of YA series have gotten a lot of attention lately.  From Twilight to Percy Jackson, Hollywood has discovered that young readers make a good target audience.  Yet, I feel that they have overlooked a positive gem in the Heir series by Cinda Williams Chima.  It isn’t that the writing is out of the ordinary, and I do occasionally question her plot choices, the world that she has created in these three books is superb.

While I don’t know that her writing is strong enough to keep this series going, I’d love to have more people to talk with about the books, and may try to turn some of my students on to the series.  I’d also like to see Disney do something with it other than make a cheesy kiddie flick or just sit on it.  (The third book in the series came out with the Disney logo discretely on the binding, so I’m assuming they’ve picked up the movie rights.)

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August 6, 2010   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments

30 Days of Books Meme–Day 1

Day 01 – A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)

Well, when I was a kid, I really wished that The Lord of the Rings went on and on.  I was somewhat satiated when the Silmarillion was finally published, but that wasn’t exactly what I’d been looking for.  I wanted more stories about Frodo and Sam, Merry and Pippin, Gimli and Legolas.  I wanted them all to go on more adventures, and I really hated that everything had to change at the end, with everyone going their own way.  It made me sad as a child, probably because I feared change myself.  Of course, through the process of growing up, and partly thanks to books like this one, I’ve learned that change is both necessary and good.

The series that I wish would finally end already are the Southern Vampire Mysteries by Charlaine Harris.  The last one to come out really fell pretty flat…too much going on without any real mystery to it.  I think it’s time for Harris to move on to some other focal character or maybe a completely different creative world.

Day 01 – A book series you wish had gone on longer OR a book series you wish would just freaking end already (or both!)
Day 02 – A book or series you wish more people were reading and talking about
Day 03 – The best book you’ve read in the last 12 months
Day 04 – Your favorite book or series ever
Day 05 – A book or series you hate
Day 06 – Favorite book of your favorite series OR your favorite book of all time
Day 07 – Least favorite plot device employed by way too many books you actually enjoyed otherwise
Day 08 – A book everyone should read at least once
Day 09 – Best scene ever
Day 10 – A book you thought you wouldn’t like but ended up loving
Day 11 – A book that disappointed you
Day 12 – A book or series of books you’ve watched more than five times
Day 13 – Favorite childhood book OR current favorite YA book (or both!)
Day 14 – Favorite character in a book (of any sex or gender)
Day 15 – Your “comfort” book
Day 16 – Favorite poem or collection of poetry
Day 17 – Favorite story or collection of stories (short stories, novellas, novelettes, etc.)
Day 18 – Favorite beginning scene in a book
Day 19 – Favorite book cover (bonus points for posting an image!)
Day 20 – Favorite kiss
Day 21 – Favorite romantic/sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 22 – Favorite non-sexual relationship (including asexual romantic relationships)
Day 23 – Most annoying character ever
Day 24 – Best quote from a novel
Day 25 – Any five books from your “to be read” stack
Day 26 – OMG WTF? OR most irritating/awful/annoying book ending
Day 27 – If a book contains ______, you will always read it (and a book or books that contain it)!
Day 28 – First favorite book or series obsession
Day 29 – Saddest character death OR best/most satisfying character death (or both!)
Day 30 – What book are you reading right now?

August 5, 2010  Tags:   Posted in: Uncategorized  No Comments