by Carrie Ryan
Summary:
Mary has lived her entire life in a village surrounded by forest. A forest she has never set foot in. A forest overrun by the Unconsecrated. But then the Unconsecrated finally break through the wall protecting her village, and only she and a few others escape into a protected passageway that goes through the forest. Now they are forced to move forward, to see if anyone else has survived the return which turned so many people into the undead. But the forest of hands and teeth hides many secrets, and few will survive learning them.
Review:
I am not a huge zombie book fan, and for whatever reason didn't know this book was about zombies when I started it. That said it also took me about half the book to realize the Unconsecrated were zombies. The book uses them as peripheral characters, though ones who have a constant impact on the actions of Mary and the rest. It's very well written, and definitely a great read for teens looking for a not typical series. The second two books were great as well!
Genre: Zombie Fiction
Age Level: 8th Grade
Showing posts with label Horror. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Horror. Show all posts
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Unwind
by Neal Shusterman
Summary:
Years before Connor, Risa, or Lev were born, a war raged in America between those who were pro-choice, and those who were pro-life. In the end a compromise is reached: abortion is ruled illegal but instead a new practice is put into place. A practice which allows parents to choose to retroactively terminate teens between the ages of 13 and 17 though a process called unwinding. This solution meant that the child itself would not be killed because all of their body parts would be used for transplants, ensuring that they live on just in different forms. Now it's been in place for years, and few question it, but for these 3 teens the death sentence put upon them might just cause the spark that causes people to see reason.
Review:
Unwind is an incredibly interesting, though disturbing, book which grabbed me from page one. More than once I wondered how something like this could happen, and then realized how easily it possibly could. The solution that was reached at the end of the war was supposed to be so ludicrous that it would shock the opposing ideological factions into realizing that their needed to be compromise. Instead it became a death sentence for many teens, and resulted in babies being born and abandoned to the state until they were of age to be harvested themselves. At first you think that everyone will see reason, but instead the demand for healthy body parts overshadows where these parts came from. In one scene the unwinding process happens to one teen, who is conscious throughout the entire procedure. It was deeply disturbing, and as a result I hesitate to recommend this book to any younger teen. The book raises a lot of flags about the danger of being too ideologically wedded to a cause, about the necessity of compromise and reason, and discusses the courage needed to finally stand up to injustice.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 10th Grade
Summary:
Years before Connor, Risa, or Lev were born, a war raged in America between those who were pro-choice, and those who were pro-life. In the end a compromise is reached: abortion is ruled illegal but instead a new practice is put into place. A practice which allows parents to choose to retroactively terminate teens between the ages of 13 and 17 though a process called unwinding. This solution meant that the child itself would not be killed because all of their body parts would be used for transplants, ensuring that they live on just in different forms. Now it's been in place for years, and few question it, but for these 3 teens the death sentence put upon them might just cause the spark that causes people to see reason.
Review:
Unwind is an incredibly interesting, though disturbing, book which grabbed me from page one. More than once I wondered how something like this could happen, and then realized how easily it possibly could. The solution that was reached at the end of the war was supposed to be so ludicrous that it would shock the opposing ideological factions into realizing that their needed to be compromise. Instead it became a death sentence for many teens, and resulted in babies being born and abandoned to the state until they were of age to be harvested themselves. At first you think that everyone will see reason, but instead the demand for healthy body parts overshadows where these parts came from. In one scene the unwinding process happens to one teen, who is conscious throughout the entire procedure. It was deeply disturbing, and as a result I hesitate to recommend this book to any younger teen. The book raises a lot of flags about the danger of being too ideologically wedded to a cause, about the necessity of compromise and reason, and discusses the courage needed to finally stand up to injustice.
Genre: Realistic Fiction
Age Level: 10th Grade
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Bunnicula
by James Howe
A great series about a bunny who sucks the life out of carrots!!! Funny with some halloweenish humor, its a great read for a 1st-2nd grader!
A great series about a bunny who sucks the life out of carrots!!! Funny with some halloweenish humor, its a great read for a 1st-2nd grader!
Monday, March 7, 2011
Coraline (movie)
Coraline
Movie Distributed by Universal
Publisher: Universal City, CA. : Universal Studios Home Entertainment, c2009.
Plot Description:
Coraline is a young girl who stumbles upon a parallel universe in the new house her parents have moved into. Here her other mother and father lavish her with the attention that her real parents never give here. There movie follows the theme of the book with fantastical Tim Burton cinematography.
Review:
The movie bears some stricking differences from the book, most notably that it is set in the US instead of in England like in the book. Coraline has a friend in the movie, Wybie, who helps her navigate the parallel world and defeat other mother. The general plot remains the same, though little changes are made to different objects to make them more relatable to an American audience. Overall the movie is a pretty typical Tim Burton film. It’s a bit more scary than the book itself, suited to a little more mature of an audience than the book itself might lend itself to.
Genre: Horror
Viewing age: 4th-5th Grade
Similar Movies: Alice in Wonderland
Reader’s Advisory:
Personal thoughts- good horror story that is not too gruesome or violent
Subjects/themes- Fiction, Horror, Parallel Worlds, Rats, Cats, Family
Character names/descriptions-
Coraline- young girl who finds a parallel world on the other side of a door
Other Mother- Coraline’s mother in the parallel universe, turns out to be evil, has buttons for eyes
Misses Spink and Forcible- former actresses who give Coraline a rock for
protection
Mr. Bobo- upstairs neighbor who has a mouse circus
Wybie- her friend who helps her navigate both worlds
Annotation: Sometimes opening a door can be the wrong move to make.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Coraline
Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman
Publisher: New York : HarperCollins, c2002.
Plot Description:
Coraline is an explorer. When her parents move into a new flat, with Mr. Bobo and his mouse circus upstairs and Misses Spink and Forcible below, she takes it upon herself to learn all about her new house. Including the mysterious door in the parlor which opens to a brick wall. After hearing strange noises one night, Coraline opens the door to find not the wall, but a corridor leading to another flat. A flat with her other mother and other father. Where things are just a bit different from her real life. Where everything is full of menace and traps. Coraline will have to outwit this evil version of her mother to get back to her real home, but will she be able to?
Review:
I found Coraline to be an excellent. Well written and engaging, the book is suspenseful and a big frightening without being overly so. It touches on the themes of imagination and family, as well as the concept of a parallel universe. My favorite part was where Coraline is talking to other mother and the other mother offers her everything she has ever wanted and Coraline states that she doesn’t want everything because then nothing is special. I thought that this demonsrated wisdom beyond young Coraline’s years, though on a number of occasions Coraline shows remarkable clarity and intelligence. A really good book for both boys and girls.
Genre: Horror
Reading level: 4th-5th Grade
Similar Books: A Series of Unfortunate Events, Alice in Wonderland
Reader’s Advisory:
Personal thoughts- good horror story that is not too gruesome or violent
Subjects/themes- Fiction, Horror, Parallel Worlds, Rats, Cats, Family
Awards- 2003 Hugo Award for Best Novella, 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novella, 2002 Bram Stoker Award for Best Work for Young Readers
Character names/descriptions-
Coraline- young girl who finds a parallel world on the other side of a door
Other Mother- Coraline’s mother in the parallel universe, turns out to be evil, has buttons for eyes
Misses Spink and Forcible- former actresses who give Coraline a rock for
protection
Mr. Bobo- upstairs neighbor who has a mouse circus
Annotation: Sometimes opening a door can be the wrong move to make.
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