Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Far From Home

by Na'ima B Robert

Summary
Tariro and Katie have never met. They are separated by more than just the 25 year gap in their ages, but they are linked together by a dark secret. The book tells both of their story, with events years apart having reverberating impacts across both of their lives. Set in Zimbabwe, it is the story how two different families had their lives ripped apart by war. The story of the price that victors pay, and the reminder that colonialization didn't take place that long ago.

Review:
Far From Home is a well written book about the Rhodesian empire and the wars for independence that led to it becoming Zimbabwe.  The racism depicted in the book is very accurate, though difficult to read. The views held by the whites in the book were prevalent at the time, in a way it's similar to the Help.  The struggles faced by native Zimbabweans were horrific, especially seen in retrospect. Katie's evolution from a girl raised in a privileged background to a more compassionate and understanding person is well written and believable. It's a good read for those studying civil rights or with an interest in more gritty historical fiction.

Genre: Historical Fiction
Age Level: 10th Grade

Monday, May 20, 2013

The 5th Wave

by Rick Yancy

Summary:

No one knows what the 5th wave is yet. The first 4 waves killed almost everyone. For Cassie the only hope for survival has been to stay alone. To keep away from other people, while searching for her younger brother. But when Evan Walker saves her life, she begins to hope that staying with him will be the right choice. As they work together to try and find her brother, she’ll learn things that will cause her to question everything she knew, everything she’s learned since the invasion, and everything that might come after.

Review:
Not your typical alien invasion book, Yancy has weaved an interesting tale of a being that comes to our planet with the aim of living here. Cassie is a strong character who has survived through a combination of luck and resourcefulness. The book weaves her story with that of her brother's and her high school crush's. The book is original and keeps you guessing til the end. It's well worth the read, an edge of your seat book you'll have a tough time putting down. It is part one of a series.

Genre: Sci Fi
Age Level: 8th Grade

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

If You Find Me

by Emily Murdoch

Summary:
Casey can only remember her life in the woods. She takes care of her younger sister, makes them meals out of what little food their mother has left behind each time she leaves, and keeps them clean and out of trouble. Until the day that a man and a woman come in search of them. A man who claims to be Casey's father. Suddenly both girls find themselves living not in a broken down trailer but in a house with a father, stepmother and a stepsister. As their mother's past comes to light Casey is left to struggle with her own secrets, secrets that might destroy the little happiness she and her sister have ever had.

Review:
Murdoch has created an extremely powerful and impressive book. Casey is a strong, resilient character. Both mother to her sister yet fiercely independent, she struggles to rely on someone else to provide for them. It's a haunting story of how mental illness can destroy a family, and an impressive look at how one girl emerges from such pain. A very well written story with a lot of facets to it. Definitely a good read for teens into realistic fiction.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 10th Grade

Under the Never Sky

by Veronica Rossi

Summary:
When the aether storms destroyed most of the Earth, humankind was divided into two peoples. One who lived in man-made pods, shielded from the elements but never able to leave. The other survived in the wild, existing with little that was left untouched.  Aria, a Dweller who's lived in the pods, and Perry, who's senses have been refined from a life outside, could not be more different. But when a chance encounter suddenly changes both of their lives, leaving them each stranded from the lives they knew, they are left to pick up the pieces together.

Review:
It took me a few chapters to really get into Under the Never Sky. Rossi paints a world both very different and very similar to our own. There is not a lot of explanation in the book for the new names she calls things (like aether which are like electrical storms), which at first made it difficult to really get into. However Aria and Perry are both complex and engaging characters. The romance that develops between them takes second place for most of the novel, though by the end becomes the important theme they both struggle with. It's a good book for those who like dystopians or survivalistic books.

Genre: Dystopian
Age Level: 9th Grade

Series Information: Under the Never Sky (Book 1), Through the Ever Night (Book 2), Book 3 as yet untitled (to be released spring 2014)

Monday, May 13, 2013

Every Day

by David Leviathan

Summary:
Imagine every morning you woke up as someone else. You had no idea where you were, you could be a boy or girl, in any city in the world. A's never known anything else. Every day A wakes up as someone different. A's learned to cope, causing as little disruption to the lives of everyone A has been for a day.  But one day A wakes up as Justin, and meets Justin's girlfriend Rhiannon. In Rhiannon A has found the only person A has ever had a connection to. And when the day is over, and A wakes up in a new body the next day, A suddenly realizes that nothing will be the same unless A can get back to her.

Review:
One of the most interesting parts of this book was the lack of gender identity for A. A is both both and girl, changing from day to day at the drop of a hat. A's love for Rhiannon is both simple and poignant. A had come to terms with life alone, but meeting the one person that they might be able to love sets in motion a path that A could not have imagined. It's a well written book, a love story but one with a poignant end.

Genre: Love Story
Age Level: 9th Grade

Lucid

By Adrienne Stoltz and Ron Bass

Summary:
Maggie is an up and coming actress in New York City. She takes care of her little sister while her mom is at work, but for the most part she focuses on her craft. Sloane is your typical high school student living in a small town. She's got a family that loves her, but as the one year anniversary of her friend's death approaches, is finding it hard to cope with his loss.  What ties these two together isn't simple. You see, every night Maggie goes to sleep, and in her dreams, lives Sloane's life. And every night, when Sloane goes to sleep she lives Maggie's. Neither can remember when it started, but as their waking lives start to intersect they'll have to figure out who is living the real life, and who is just the dream. The only question is, can they do it before they both go insane?

Review:
Lucid kept me guessing until the very end. Both Maggie and Sloane are girls coping with issues they refuse to deal with. The problems are different for both of them, but at the heart of it deals with loss and moving on. Sloane suffered a terrible loss and didn't share the true extent of it with anyone, Maggie lost her father and still struggles to understand what happened. I had no idea who was actually the real person, and who was the dream,  until the very end. It's a great story about loss and the struggles we all have with dealing with it. Good for slightly older teens.

Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 9th Grade

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

The Selection

by Kiera Cass

Summary:

All across Illea, girls between 16 and 20 have entered their names for a chance to become the next princess. Prince Maxon is looking for a wife, and one girl from each province wil be chosen for a chance to win his heart (and the crown). For once the rigid caste system that defines the country won’t matter. For America, born a 5, it’s a chance to better her family’s fate, even if the chances are small that she’ll be chosen to even compete. When her name is chosen, she finds herself in the palace, competing with 34 other girls to win the heart of a prince. A prince is is a lot more than she ever thought he could be. It’s a game of deceit and love, but will anyone really be a winner?

Review:
I really enjoyed The Selection. America is a really likeable character, and the story is kind of a Cinderella story set in a dystopian future. America stands up to Maxon, the only person to do so, and in return gains a friend and confidante. She's still recovering from breaking up with the man she loved back in her province, and the bonds forged between her and Maxon are fragile but important. The love triangle (between her, her former love, and Maxon) is well drawn. The misinformation spread by the palace to the people is an interesting twist, and the way America discovers her country's real history is a great twist. I read it in less than a day, since I couldn't put it down! Great read for teens that like like dystopians.

Genre: Dystopian
Age Level: 9th Grade
Series information: The Elite (Book 2)