Shelf Life

Collins became a best-selling author with her highly acclaimed “Underland Chronicles” series (Gregor the Overlander, etc.). While that series is popular with some high school kids it is aimed at a jr. high audience. The Hunger Games, with its 16-year-old protagonist, is aimed squarely at high school students (but jr. high students and adults will eat it up as well). This novel is a strong entrant in one of my favorite genres, the dystopian future science fiction story. The Hunger Games will hold it’s own along side Nancy Farmer’s House of the Scorpion, M.T. Anderson’s Feed and classics like 1984.

Katniss Everdeen, an acomplished poacher of wild animals, lives in District 12, the coal-mining region of the country of Panem. Located in the remaining habitable regions of a devastated North America, Panem’s 12 districts are harshly ruled by the distant Capitol. Each year, as a form of entertainment and a brutal expression of the Capitol’s absolute control, a boy and girl from each district are forced to compete in the Hunger Games. This is the ultimate reality show in which the contestants fight to the death before a live TV audience. All citizens are required to watch. Only one contestant will survive. Can Katinis, who has spent her life just barely avoiding hunger, hope to compete against bigger, stronger rivals from the richer districts? Will her drunken mentor help her or only speed her death? And will the government stack the odds to guarantee that a more acceptable candidate wins?

This story has complex and believable characters, political intrigue, romance, and tons of exciting action. The only down-side? It’s the first in a series and the next one won’t be out for quite a while.

Highly recommended for grades 7-12.

By Mr. Doyle

This is a reposting of a previous review. This title is a 2008-2009 California Young Reader Medal nominee.

A direct impact by an asteroid on the moon is big news for scientists but for Miranda, a typical teen growing up in modern day Pennsylvania, it just looks like an excuse for more homework from her teachers. The asteroid turns out to be more massive than expected and the collision alters the moon’s orbit, pushing it closer to the earth with devastating effects. Tide surges, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions kill untold numbers of people and wipe out most coastal cities. All of which leads to the swift breakdown of society, with schools and stores closing and gas and electrical service disappearing.

Miranda and her family are left to survive on their own. Thanks to Miranda’s mother they have a store of supplies but they can’t last forever. Day by day old, mundane concerns lose their importance and are replaced by more urgent needs like food, heat and water. And as global climate change makes the earth less and less hospitable to life they wonder if there will be any reason to keep on living.

Told through Miranda’s journal entries this is a truly frightening story. Although death and destruction are all around they are not described in any detail. It is the plausible day-by-day disintegration of Miranda’s life that makes the story scary. This is a book that is hard to put down and a it is a story that will stay with you long after you finish it.

By Mr. Doyle

I found this gem at Barnes and Noble in the teen section. I admit that I picked it because the author is Irish and for some reason I was feeling my Irish roots that day. What a great story! I was hooked right away and plowed through the 448 pages in just a few days. I hope the author is planning a sequel because I want to see how Stopmouth and his world evolve.

Stopmouth is a human boy living in a brutal world where humans and other sentient creatures (”beasts”) hunt each other for survival. All of the plant life in their world is poisonous so eating flesh is the only way to survive. The humans and the beasts hunt each other for food. Stopmouth, who has a severe speech impediment, is thought to be dimwitted by his tribe. If he cannot contribute to the tribe then he may become a “volunteer”. The old, the sick, the injured, and other non-contributors “volunteer” to be traded to beast tribes– flesh for flesh. So, to live, Stopmouth must show he can help provide for the tribe.

Events conspire to shake Stopmouth’s world to its very core. First he is betrayed by the brother who has always protected him. Then a beautiful woman falls from the sky into his village. And suddenly several beast tribes, who have never been able to communicate well, begin to cooperate and to hunt other species to extinction. It is only a matter of time before they turn their attention to the humans. Stopmouth learns that things are not what they seem and he embarks on a most unusual hero’s journey.

Because of it’s size the book will intimidate some readers. But it is filled with riveting action and there is enough depth to make the reader think about big ideas (loyalty, duty, honor, morality, etc.). Highly recommended for grades 7 and up.

By Mr. Doyle

The good news:
Margaret Peterson Haddix has started a new series.
The bad news:
It has a cliff-hanger ending and we will have to wait about a year for the second installment… ARRRGH!!!

Like Ms. Haddix’s other books (Among the Hidden, Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey,etc.) this one pulls you in quickly and doesn’t let go. The story begins with a plane appearing out of nowhere at an Ohio airport. No pilots, no crew and no flight plan, just a plane full of… well, read it for yourself to find out. Jump forward 13 years. Jonah is 13 years old. He is an adopted child and his parents have been very open about it. To Jonah, it is no big deal. Then the letters begin arriving. “You are one of the missing,” is the first ominous message. Other adoptees, all 13 years old, receive similar notes. Soon the FBI comes into play and strange men appear and disappear seemingly into thin air. No one is who they seem and our protagonist doesn’t know which way to turn. The book ends with Jonah, his sister Katherine, and his friend Chip facing an uncertain fate.

Like the “Shadow Children” series this one seems certain to attract a large and loyal following. Librarians and book store employees should brace themselves for the onslaught of questions about the arrival of the next installment (according to Ms. Haddix’s web site, “Book Two, Sent,coming 2009.”)

By Mr. Doyle

With recomendations from Scott Westerfield, Neil Gaiman, and Steven Gould how could you go wrong? Cory Docotorow, of the Electronic Frontier Foundation and Boing Boing, has written a timely and exciting work about what happens when a society gives up freedom for security (btw– it gets niether).

Marcus Yallow and his friends are on the streets of San Francisco playing an Alternate Reality Game when terrorists blow up the Bay Bridge and the BART Trans-Bay Tunnel. Unable to find shelter, they are swept up by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and are questioned and tortured in “Gitmo by the Bay.” They are humiliated and broken and released, warned not to talk about what happened.

Marcus discovers that his beloved San Francisco has become a police state. Determined not to take it lying down Marcus declares a digital war on the DHS, organizing a teen rebelion against the suspension of civil liberties. Using open source software and encryption protocols they create an underground computer network and use it to organize against the authorities. But can they stand up to the nearly unlimited resources and personnel of a federal government gone bad? To find out, read

Little Brother

.

By Mr Doyle

The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

The book draws readers engaged into the entire story. >From the first chapter to the last words of the book, the reader will remember the book for years.

The story is about a man named Matteo Alacran who makes a clone of himself by using skin cells and placing the embryo inside a cow. The embryo grows into a baby and is named Matt (which is the shorter version for Matteo Alacran). The child grows up facing a different kind of racism. He is disliked between the family all because he is a clone. One girl named Maria, however, actually has a sense of infatuation toward Matt at the age of only six.

As Matt grows on, he learns that he is to take over the place of the original Matteo Alacran. However, his bodyguard says that Matt has a choice to make. He can be a hero and destroy everything the drug lord created or be the organ donor to Matteo Alacran so he can continue to live on. Matteo Alacran dies at the age of 148 years old.

While Matt grows into adulthood, he finds himself with Maria and her mother to find a way to destroy everything Matteo created. In the end, friendship is what saves the young man. He realizes that even if he was a clone, he is still a human no matter what others say. Maria develops her relationship with Matt where they both confess to each other that they are in love with each other.

Matt does meet challenges along the way and develops a sense of care and eventually realizes that he does in fact have a soul within him. This story brings readers to realize anything is possible. This is an unforgettable book as it inspires everyone else to reach their fullest potential and go beyond.

By Jesse Soto

PODCAST
Do you know what is inside you? I mean, do you really know? Or do you just accept that your body is just like those pictures in biology books? Richard Smith never really thought too much about it—until that day in the hospital.

It was just supposed to be a routine examination to check for an ulcer. An endoscopy, an out-patient procedure, is very common but what the doctors saw inside Richard was not normal—not human. Phone calls were made and people showed up. People in suits with hard faces, cold eyes, and guns. People like Ryan, who kills without a second thought. Richard was sedated and they cut him open. And while they had their hands and their cold metal instruments inside his guts he woke up. With the help of a stolen gun he escaped.

Now Richard is on the run and he has to find out what is inside him. They had to be wrong. He is human. He eats, he sweats, he goes to bathroom, he gets excited by the touch of a pretty girl. He’s just a normal, teen-aged human, right? But there it is on the endoscopy video—weird silver, brown, and black things inside him– tubes, filaments, and casings that didn’t show up on x-rays. And the cut they made in his stomach is healing fast—inhumanly fast. He can’t go home, not that a foster home is really home. And he doesn’t really have any friends. The only one he can think to turn to is Eddi. He doesn’t really know her but he knows she lives outside the law, making fake IDs. He can’t trust Eddi but he has no other choice. Can Richard and Eddi escape from Ryan and the others? Can they find out the truth about Richard? Do they really want to know?

Brooks (Martyn Pig, Lucas, Road of the Dead) has crafted a gripping mystery with his trade-mark other-worldly feel. Lots of action early on will hook readers quickly and the mystery of who (and what) Richard is will keep them reading to the end.

By Mr. Doyle

PODCAST

A direct impact by an asteroid on the moon is big news for scientists but for Miranda, a typical teen growing up in modern day Pennsylvania, it just looks like an excuse for more homework from her teachers. The asteroid turns out to be more massive than expected and the collision alters the moon’s orbit, pushing it closer to the earth with devastating effects. Tide surges, earthquakes, tsunamis, and volcanic eruptions kill untold numbers of people and wipe out most coastal cities. All of which leads to the swift breakdown of society, with schools and stores closing and gas and electrical service disappearing.

Miranda and her family are left to survive on their own. Thanks to Miranda’s mother they have a store of supplies but they can’t last forever. Day by day old, mundane concerns lose their importance and are replaced by more urgent needs like food, heat and water. And as global climate change makes the earth less and less hospitable to life they wonder if there will be any reason to keep on living.

Told through Miranda’s journal entries this is a truly frightening story. Although death and destruction are all around they are not described in any detail. It is the plausible day-by-day disintegration of Miranda’s life that makes the story scary. This is a book that is hard to put down and a it is a story that will stay with you long after you finish it.

By Mr. Doyle

The Giver by Lois Lowry:

This story is set to be in a utopian society years ahead. The society is structured on security rather than freedom. Each of the members in the community each has an Assignment that is a job that each member must do until they enter the House of Old. Jonas, the protagonist, turns twelve and he is nervous of what his Assignment will be. The Ceremony of Twelve is the celebration in which the Twelves are given their Assignment they will be doing as their career and future. Jonas is assigned as Receiver of Memories, which is an Assignment where he must receive memories of the past from generations before about life.

His trainer, which is the current Receiver of Memories, explains to Jonas what he will expect from the memories. Jonas learns that this Assignment will give him new knowledge that is not known to anyone else such as color, love, and warfare. As he accumulates memories, he tells The Giver (the previous Receiver of Memories since he claimed Jonas to be the new Receiver) that there should be some changes to the society and not have Sameness, Climate Control, and to have choices. The Giver realizes that Jonas has gained wisdom and The Giver himself devises a plan to make changes to the community. Once Jonas leaves the community and goes to Elsewhere (the land that is outside of the community) then the memories will make their way into everyone..
This community basically are robots, not literally though, because they have no true emotions and must do their given Assignments and Jonas learns that there is a need for change so everyone can experience the memories of past, have the ability to see colors, and feel true emotions. So in desperation Jonas leaves the community with Gabriel who is an infant living with Jonas’ family unit (a family unit is composed of a husband, wife, one son, and one daughter) who was set to be released (release is actually a term for the injection that kills a person who is old, and immature grown infant, or a member who has done three crimes/ misdemeanors). Gabriel was brought by Father who is a Nurturer and brought Gabriel to see if he would grow but didn’t meet the standards so he was marked to be released.
Jonas takes Gabriel with him and endure nature at the harshest moments. They went through rain, hunger, and snow to make it to Elsewhere by riding a sled down a snow hill. Jonas wasn’t capable of continuing to go on but he gained strength by remembering the people he loved such as Father, Mother, Lily (sister), Asher (friend), and The Giver. Once he is at the bottom of the hill, he could hear music for the first time. This indicates that he was successful at changing the community but it is unclear if Jonas and Gabriel make it alive or not.

By: Jesse Soto

In The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams, an average ordinary Englishman named Arthur Dent has had a not so average and ordinary day. To start off, his house was bulldozed in order to make room for a highway. He then finds out that his friend, Ford Prefect, is not in fact, from the same world as he is and is quickly teleported to one of many giant spaceships that are about to destroy Earth in order to make room for an intergalactic bypass. Arthur and Ford are then booted off of the ship and then quickly saved by another spaceship that distorts time and space by generating highly improbable events in order to travel through space faster. So to say the least, it has not been an average and ordinary day. This new and strange ship, being piloted by the arrogant president of the galaxy, Zaphod, has become Arthur’s new home, in which he travels through space on a wild goose chase to find Magrathea, a legendary planet that makes other planets for profit, in order to find out the true meaning of life.

By Shig Kubo

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is a great novel that I recommend to everyone. This story revolves around the protagonist Charlie Gordon. Gordon is a middle-aged man with the mind of a little boy. He undergoes an operation that changes his life foreover. This surgery results with an increase in Charlie Gordon’s intelligence. Gordon becomes a genius. Algernon is a white mouse that also has the same operation. This mouse is Charlie Gordon’s true companion. At first things are great. With an increase in intelligence Gordon is able to do the things he never was able to. However, Gordon learns that the chances of him staying smart are not certain. Therefore, he runs away with Algernon and tries to fix this problem. The struggle to be intelligent and live a normal life begins. This novel is an emotional, physical and mental ride with Charlie Gordon and I encourage everyone to read it. Will Charlie be able to do it and will he remain as a genius? Read and find out!

Jyotti Pannu

One of my favorite science fiction authors, John Scalzi, has a post on his blog entitled “10 Things Teenage Writers Should Know About Writing.” If you are thinking about becoming a professional writer it is well worth reading. You can find it here:
http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/004175.html

If you like good science fiction I recommend his books. The Old Man’s War, though based on the works of Stephen Heinlein, is a very original story. It is set in a future in which the Earth is caught up in shifting alliances with alien races all competing for habitable planets. Being a soldier for the Earth armed forces is a dangerous job requiring superhuman strength, high intelligence, and a lifetime of experience. The only way to find soldiers like this is to create them. Using the modified DNA of retirees and advanced technology new bodies are created and the minds of the old folks are transferred to the new bodies. As the main character fights his way across various alien planets he begins to wonder just what it means to be human and whether the never-ending war is worth it.

By Mr. Doyle

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is about a retarded man named Charlie Gordon who gets a second chance in life when he is selected to have a brain surgery that will increase his intelligence. After surgery, Charlie is becoming more and more smart. However, his emotions start coming in his way when he starts going back to his past and starts finding out how badly he was treated. With these memories, he learns more and more information about his family and himself which is weakening his heart with pain. Most importantly, he is facing his fear of having a relationship with a woman. After much searching and thinking, he wishes he hadn’t done the operation. Then, he starts working on his experiment but in the end he is unable remember it. For one to know how a writer forgets his own experiment, he/she has to read this eye opening book.

By Nina Bajwa

Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea tells the adventures of a scientist and his servant while on board a submarine ship. The story is very good although some may find the language used to be a little advanced, the story of Captain Nemo and his ship the Nautilus is entertaining and mysterious. I recommend it to those fond of classic literature and who aren’t bored by “fancy” language.

By Emilio Granado

Time Traveler’s wife by Audrey Niffenegger is a riveting love story. It is the story of Henry Detamble, a handsome and daring librarian. Henry has been born with the ability to time travel. However, he has no control on when and where he time travels. This takes him into the childhood and adolescence of his future wife, Clare Abshire. Henry and Clare share a most peculiar relationship and must endure the test of time. Their bond is sacred and their love pure, but can they withstand the test of time?

To find out read The Time traveler’s Wife. The Time Traveler’s Wife has received tremendous national acclaim. It is a national best seller. The Chicago Tribune calls it “A soaring celebration of the victory of love over time.” The Washington Post says “Readers will see a love that works despite all travails and impediments.” It is an untraditional love story but an epic one nonetheless. Niffenegger mixes elements of suspense, drama, and romance to form a love story like no other. It is a true page turner and sure to satisfy any reader’s appetite.

By Bushra Choudhry

Things Not Seen by Andrew Clements is a fiction book about a boy, named Bobby, who one day wakes up invisible. Bobby, with the help of his parents and his blind friend Alicia, now have to find a way to get himself back to normal again before it is to late.

When Bobby goes missing for quite some time the school begins to wonder what happen to him. The school calls the social security to check on Bobby and his parents. Bobby’s parents tell the social worker that he is away visiting an aunt in Florida. Bobby needs to find a way to get himself back to normal or his parents can be in really deep trouble.

By Olivia Andam

Frankenstein written by Mary Shelly is unique in ways. Growing up and going to school was his life and creating a monster was his goal. The twists and tails in this story will keep you on your toes. Adaptation and survival is key in this novel and the thought of loneliness is the key factor in and throughout the novel. The terror and torment of the monster creates a scary and morbid tone for the Novel.

By Bryan Wright

Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes, is about a retarded man named Charlie Gordon. He is chosen for an experimental operation that, if successful, would make him smarter. Everyone can relate to this book in some way or another. This book is interesting from beginning to end. This is the only book I would ever read twice. Yes. It is THAT good.

By Andy Arroyo

The novel Flowers for Algernon, by Daniel Keyes, is about a mentally retarded man named Charlie Gordon, who undergoes an experiment that will raise his I.Q level. Alice Kinnian is Charlie’s teacher and through out the process, she supports him. The entire novel is written by a series of progress reports written by Charlie. Charlie works at Donner’s Bakery.

At the beginning, of the novel Charlie meets Algernon, a white mouse who is undergoing the same experiment. Through the process, Charlie recalls his childhood memories. As time goes by Charlie realizes he is falling in love with Alice. After, Charlie escapes from a scientific convention with Algernon he meets his neighbor Fay. Fay is an attractive, sexual artist who becomes friends with benefits with Charlie.

At the end of the novel Charlie begins to loose his intelligence and has a brief relationship with Alice. Algernon dies due to the scientific experiment and the last request from Charlie is to leave fresh flowers for Algernon’s grave.

I enjoyed reading this book; however, the ending was very depressing and unexpected. I give these novel four stars.

By Hermila Moreno

Cal works for the Night Watch, a secret, extra-governmental agency that has operated in New York City since colonial times. Cal’s job is to hunt down parasite-positives (a.k.a Peeps). The parasite alters the host’s physiology and brain chemistry, making them stronger and faster, giving them heightened senses, sensitivity to light and an extreme hunger for meat– the rarer the better. The parasite is transmitted through bites or an exchange of bodily fluids. In other words, vampirism is an STD.

As the book opens Cal is hunting down his ex-girlfriend Sarah. Cal finds her in a warehouse in Hoboken with her brood of rats. He manages to subdue her for the transport squad to take her into custody. Cal has to hunt down all of his exes because he infected them with the parasite. Cal is a rarity, a carrier who does not become a full-blown Peep. With Sarah in custody Cal has found all the women he infected. Now he must find the woman who infected him, Morgan. His hunt for Morgan leads him to Lace, budding journalist, to whom he is drawn. Their investigation uncovers some bizarre goings on under the city and within the Night Watch itself. Is someone in the Night Watch protecting Morgan? And are there things worse than Peeps stalking beneath the city?

Westerfeld’s take on the vampire story is original and refreshing. The fiction is mixed with science as Cal gives occasional discourses on parasitology, some grisly enough compete with main story. If you liked Klause’s The Silver Kiss, Anderson’s Thirsty, Hautman’s Sweetblood, and Amelia Atwater-Rhodes’ books you will love this one.

Mr. Doyle