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Do not let your kids check out this book. I admit to not having read it entirely. Actually, I only read the first 3 paragraphs and found 3 curse words, one semi-curse word, and a reference to playing with electrical outlets for fun. I decided at that point to save my mind by not reading any more, and recommend you do the same.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Andersonn, Laurie Halse
A word of warning: this author's books are very good, but tend toward depressing, so don't read them all at once like I did!
Chains is the story of a young slave girl during the Revolutionary War. Her mistress had written in her will that Isabel and her younger sister Ruth were to be freed upon her death, but the lawyer who wrote the will has run for safety and Isabel and Ruth end up being sold to a couple from New York. Their new owners are Tories, and Isabel is soon asked to spy on them for the Patriot Army. This stirring tale follows Isabel's attempts to find her own personal freedom in the midst of the greater struggle for American Independence. It was awarded the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, which I think was well earned. I look forward to the sequel which is hopefully coming soon!
Catalyst is one of the more difficult reads. It's the story of Kate Malone, a high school senior who has hedged all her bets on going to MIT. That's where her mother went, and it's all Kate wants. When she doesn't get in, she feels completely lost until her family gets caught up in the troubles of their next-door neighbors. The girl next door, Tori, is Kate's polar opposite - a thief and loner with a huge chip on her shoulder. When Tori's house burns down, she moves in with Kate and the next few weeks change both of their lives forever. Some of the issues dealt with in this book are pretty tough, so I would only recommend it to older teens, and there are great discussion points that parents and teens could search out together.
Speak was probably the hardest book for me to read. Melinda Sordino was a popular, well-liked girl...last year. At the end of last year, she attended her first ever "real" high school party. She ended up calling the cops, and is now the school outcast. The only friend she has is the new girl who hasn't found her group yet - and who ends up ditching Melinda when she does. Melinda's grades have dropped dramatically, her parents are upset, and she won't talk to anyone. She finally finds her solace in art and begins to express her pain and anger through sculpture, and is eventually able to talk again. Again, this book deals with very tough issues - Melinda was raped at the party, which she doesn't say until near the end, but the discerning reader will pick up on quite a bit sooner. I have to say again that this book would not be appropriate for younger readers, and would be a good one for a mother-daughter discussion.
Prom was a much more light-hearted book. Ashley Hannigan has no interest in the prom whatsoever - and frankly has too many detentions to ever begin to get them done before then. However, when their math teacher steals the prom money, her friends come to her desperate for help and she ends up planning - and attending! - the cheapest, coolest prom her high school has ever put on! Her family is hilarious, and her best friend's Russian grandmother's pranks (swimming in the baptistry of a local church, for one) take the cake. This book was written for "normal kids" because apparently some had complained to Ms. Anderson that no one wrote books about them - this is it.
Fever 1793 is about a young girl who lived through the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. In the summer of 1793, 10 percent of Philadelphia's population died from yellow fever. Anderson tells the story of that summer through the eyes of Mattie Cook, a young girl who works in a coffehouse with her mother and grandfather. It's a fabulous piece of historical fiction, and a great way to spark an interest in an historical study of that time.
Chains is the story of a young slave girl during the Revolutionary War. Her mistress had written in her will that Isabel and her younger sister Ruth were to be freed upon her death, but the lawyer who wrote the will has run for safety and Isabel and Ruth end up being sold to a couple from New York. Their new owners are Tories, and Isabel is soon asked to spy on them for the Patriot Army. This stirring tale follows Isabel's attempts to find her own personal freedom in the midst of the greater struggle for American Independence. It was awarded the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction, which I think was well earned. I look forward to the sequel which is hopefully coming soon!
Catalyst is one of the more difficult reads. It's the story of Kate Malone, a high school senior who has hedged all her bets on going to MIT. That's where her mother went, and it's all Kate wants. When she doesn't get in, she feels completely lost until her family gets caught up in the troubles of their next-door neighbors. The girl next door, Tori, is Kate's polar opposite - a thief and loner with a huge chip on her shoulder. When Tori's house burns down, she moves in with Kate and the next few weeks change both of their lives forever. Some of the issues dealt with in this book are pretty tough, so I would only recommend it to older teens, and there are great discussion points that parents and teens could search out together.
Speak was probably the hardest book for me to read. Melinda Sordino was a popular, well-liked girl...last year. At the end of last year, she attended her first ever "real" high school party. She ended up calling the cops, and is now the school outcast. The only friend she has is the new girl who hasn't found her group yet - and who ends up ditching Melinda when she does. Melinda's grades have dropped dramatically, her parents are upset, and she won't talk to anyone. She finally finds her solace in art and begins to express her pain and anger through sculpture, and is eventually able to talk again. Again, this book deals with very tough issues - Melinda was raped at the party, which she doesn't say until near the end, but the discerning reader will pick up on quite a bit sooner. I have to say again that this book would not be appropriate for younger readers, and would be a good one for a mother-daughter discussion.
Prom was a much more light-hearted book. Ashley Hannigan has no interest in the prom whatsoever - and frankly has too many detentions to ever begin to get them done before then. However, when their math teacher steals the prom money, her friends come to her desperate for help and she ends up planning - and attending! - the cheapest, coolest prom her high school has ever put on! Her family is hilarious, and her best friend's Russian grandmother's pranks (swimming in the baptistry of a local church, for one) take the cake. This book was written for "normal kids" because apparently some had complained to Ms. Anderson that no one wrote books about them - this is it.
Fever 1793 is about a young girl who lived through the yellow fever epidemic in Philadelphia. In the summer of 1793, 10 percent of Philadelphia's population died from yellow fever. Anderson tells the story of that summer through the eyes of Mattie Cook, a young girl who works in a coffehouse with her mother and grandfather. It's a fabulous piece of historical fiction, and a great way to spark an interest in an historical study of that time.
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Anderson, Kevin J. and Moesta, Rebecca
So, no, I didn't give up reading for the holiday season, just haven't found time for blogging. I've been reading a lot of things, which I may tell you about, but next on the library shelf was the Young Jedi Knight series by Kevin Anderson and his wife Rebecca Moesta. The only bad thing I have to say about reading these books was that 2 of them were missing. Otherwise, I loved them. I had read the Shadow Academy series before but not the rest of them, and I was very happy to remedy that fault. If you have a young Star Wars fan in your house, these books are the perfect Christmas gift - they are clean, fun, and even have Boba Fett in them. It doesn't get better than that.
The series follows the adventures of Jacen and Jaina Solo, the twin children of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo. They are studying at the Jedi Academy under Luke Skywalker, but they actually spend more time away from the Academy than actually there. Along with their friends Lowbacca (Chewbacca's nephew) and Tenel Ka (the heir to the Dathomir and Hapes systems) they have incredible adventures all over the galaxy that no parent would actually allow a 15-year-old to experience but which make for great reading. I highly recommend this series to all Star Wars fans, and particularly to the young ones. These books would make an excellent choice for parents who aren't quite ready to let their children watch the movies yet and who get asked every day when that decision will change. :)
The series follows the adventures of Jacen and Jaina Solo, the twin children of Han Solo and Leia Organa Solo. They are studying at the Jedi Academy under Luke Skywalker, but they actually spend more time away from the Academy than actually there. Along with their friends Lowbacca (Chewbacca's nephew) and Tenel Ka (the heir to the Dathomir and Hapes systems) they have incredible adventures all over the galaxy that no parent would actually allow a 15-year-old to experience but which make for great reading. I highly recommend this series to all Star Wars fans, and particularly to the young ones. These books would make an excellent choice for parents who aren't quite ready to let their children watch the movies yet and who get asked every day when that decision will change. :)
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