Storyline - Crater is doing just fine, mostly, without Maria as he, Petro, and Crescent develop and work their new company, Lunar Rescue Company, saving wayward people out in the dust. Maria is also doing just fine, mostly, working in her grandfather's business. But when she is kidnapped, Crater runs off to find her with his friends in tow. The earth is being threatened and it might cost Maria, Crater, Petro, Crescent, and several more lives to save it. Author - Homer Hickam
Publisher - Thomas Nelson
Age Group - 15 and up
Content - *May Contain Spoilers*Characters risk their lives to help others, even if they are not particularly fond of one another. Some recognized their mistakes and tried to overcome them. Torture happened several times. Death and destruction.
Personal Opinion -This is the end of the story of Crater and his friends. Sadly, I wasn't that impressed. There was a lot of action and stuff happening but that is all it felt like, stuff was happening that was leading up to something, everything was prepatory. Now, that might seem like all books do that to a point but it didn't feel like it was building the story and characters. It almost seemed like the reader should already know the characters so they were not developed much. A lot of the information was detailed about the spaceships and their workings and there almost seemed like too many characters being followed so it broke up the story. There was also one question from book 2 to book 3 that I didn't get an answer too. The book did challenge the idea of love and what we do in desperation as well as sacrifice to save others. Plus, the Gillie's personality is still fun as ever and his conversations are charming. Still is not really recommended, though, because it was not a well told story.
Storyline -
Luca has always been different. Being the son of the Deliverer who goes down once a year to the "Rats" in order to make a trade of light for the only water reserve known on earth is hard enough but knowing he will one day have to follow in his father's footsteps makes it worse. Especially when he can do nothing to help the innocent people who are hurt by his government. When Luca's father doesn't return from the exchange one year, he knows something is wrong and has to do something. But when it is revealed that his life is in danger too, he will have to make the decent and have his world, and conceptions, change forever.
Publisher - Zondervan Age Group - 15 and up Content - *May Contain Spoilers*Kids disobeyed parents. Luca seemed more interested in the main girl because of how she looked at first which did change a little bit but still seemed to think of her physically. Fought as hard as they could against oppression. Broke the law to save another.
Personal Opinion -
I thought the premise sounded really interesting for this book but I never got into it. The first chapter was actually enjoyable but then it kinda went down hill. The characters weren't developed enough for me and it seemed they were just running from one place to another. It felt the main character was reflecting on what happened the whole time, like he was telling this story that took place in the past and would make comments that brought me out of the story, such as "Another lie." The language, how the sentences were arranged or the new names for things, cause more confusion than anything else. It was just too strange for girls to be called "hers" and emotions to be called "wrinkles." Even though this is a dystopian society, it just seemed to go too far in change that wasn't believable.
"The Day the Blizzard Started, No One Knew that it was Going to Keep Snowing for a Week. That for Those in its Path, it Would Become not Just a Matter of Keeping Warm, But of Staying Alive."
Bookworm's Ranking - 2 Worms
Storyline - When a blizzard strikes the small town Scotty lives in, he remains behind to help his friend on a project. But soon things become worse than they thought and becomes one of seven stranded at the school for days. Not long after, power slowly goes, heat slowly goes, food becomes scarce, and the snow is ever rising. Can they live through this? Or will they all be lost to the storm?
Author - Michael Northrop
Publisher - Scholastic
Age Group - 16 and up
Content - Hints at teens being together and other such crass stuff. Made some disrespectful comments concerning religion. Scotty helps his friends and turns to God for help. He also helps his friend and stands by them.
Personal Opinion - I didn't enjoy this book that much. Maybe because I felt that Scotty just told you what was happening or because of the characters hinting at being together or making jokes like that. I thought much of what was happening with the character didn't seem completely realistic for what was happening around them. Such as flirting with a girl when you have no power, no heat, and have to live on the second floor because the snow covered all the windows on the first floor. I did like how Scotty stands by his friends and how they became a bit more serious in the end. The adventure about the snow piling up did get more exciting but I still didn't get into this book.
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Awards - Spring 2011 Indie Next List selection, Barnes and Nobel "Must Read for Teens," 2012 TAYSHAS (Texas) High School Reading List selection, and some good reviews by several big name places.
Storyline - When Levi's brother, Boaz, returns from his time with the Marines, he hopes everything will be fine again. But his brother locking himself in his room isn't what he expected or the strange sounds coming from the other side of the door. When Bo starts borrowing Levi's computer, he wonders what his older brother is up to. Then Boaz leaves again and Levi decides to follow even though he has no idea where they are going or why.
Author - Dana Reinhardt
Publisher - Wendy Lamb Books (part of Random House, Inc)
Age Group - 17 and up
Content - Levi doesn't know where he stands but he eventually makes a decision and does something about it. He tries to be there for his brother but it is very difficult. For more than the first half of the book, each chapter had some sort of inappropriate stuff (boy/girl thing) or just plain mention of privet parts at least once but usually more (not all of them were mentioned in that way but it wasn't necessary). Levi almost spent the night with a girl but she says doesn't want to (but why she let her shirt come off first is beyond me). Levi also get drunk once and one of his friends goes to a Catholic school but is one of the worst behaving characters.
Personal Opinion - Would have liked it more had it not taken so long to get to the main story (over half the book) and excessively toned back the inappropriate (hinting at teens having been together and stuff like that) junk and privet part mentioning. It was so much, something was brought up after going a few pages. I don't get what all that had to do with the story other than trying to make it realistic to teens but it didn't have to be that much or was necessary to the story or anything else for that matter. I found it just disturbing. When Levi was finally on the trip with his brother, it really toned back allot and I started to enjoy it. I even liked Levi's beginning romance until we got to the part where they almost slept together (was tempted to stop reading the book all together after that). But, the ending was really good and so beautiful. I would have loved the book for the ending and the growth of Levi in understanding his brother but I will never recommend this book for everything else that it contained.
Storyline - After getting in trouble at his school on the Spokane Reservation, Junior decided that he wants to go to school in Reardan, a white school in the town 22 miles away, to try to make a better life for himself. During his freshman year, he deals with racism, crushes, the hate of his tribe, and loses as he tries to find his way and a place to belong and acceptance.
Author - Sherman Alexie
Publisher - Little, Brown and Company
Age Group - 15 and up
Content - Had some good lessons about fighting for yourself, getting out of bad situations, and forgiveness. He also came to see what revenge really was and showed that you have to work hard to make a better life for yourself but it is what is best in the end. There was also examples about what racisim looked like and how cruel and wrong it can be. But the book also had lots of sexual coments, an insolting comment about Christianity and other Christian religion negatives, and bad language. He blamed God for bad things that were happening, made fun of God, and the only time he thanked God was for something gross. I'm not asking for the character to become Christian but some respect would have been nice. Said he could kill himself and some others but was very depressed at the time from some precious people dying in his life.
Personal Opinion - Even though there were parts I liked, I would hesitate recommending this book because of some of the content within. I would have liked the book more if there had been less sexual content and the negative comments about Christianity hadn't been there but I really enjoyed the snappy comebacks that Junior came up with and the book leaving you with hope that he will make a better life for himself unlike some of the others in his tribe. At times, there was a lot of telling instead of showing in the book but it is in diary format so that works. The way it portrayed how bad drunkenness is and what it can do to you which had a sobering affect. If this is what it is truly like in school systems and for Native Americans, oh boy, it is sad.
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Awards - 2007 National Book Award, 2008 Boston-Globe Horn Book Award, 2009 International Book on Books for Young People Sweden - Peter Pan Prize, 2010 California Young Reader Medal, and Finalis for the 2007 Los Angeles Times Book Prize. It has also been on the New York Times Best Seller List.
Storyline - Book 1 - In 1611, Jack Fletcher is on a voyage with his father to find the Japanese and trade with them. But when ninja assassins attack the wounded ship, everyone on board is killed except Jack who is rescued by a Japanese family and then adopted by a samurai. Not understanding the language or customs is difficult but, as he is learning, Jack also starts to pick up the bokken (a wooden version of the katana) and gets attacked again by the ninja who killed his father. Eventually, he is take to a samurai school to learn the Way of the Warrior. As he's there, he has to over come people who resent him because he is not Japanese, learns Bushido, and must defend the school's honor.
Author - Chris Bradford
Publisher - Disney Press
Age Group - 12 or 13 and up
Content - There were so many honorable lessons in this book (one of them being honor). The students would talk to the teachers and learn from them and one of the teachers, Sensei Yamada, was shown to be wise and very helpful (he had the best advise). This Sensei also told Jack not to seek revenge and that one day the ninja who killed his father would pay for what he's done, even if it has to be in the next life. Forgiveness was a big thing among the Japanese and apologies were seen as taking responsibility for ones actions. A student told the truth once to help Jack when he got in trouble because of another student, putting himself in trouble with the bully as well. Another student told the truth to give Jack a honor that he was going to give up to help him. Bushido, or Way of the Warrior, is very interesting. It consists of rectitude, courage, benevolence, respect, honesty, honor, and loyalty (I took this right out of the book but can't remember the page number). These are all good things to have and support and, if everyone did them, I think our world would be a better place. The book also showed that girls are tough and gave a good example of a strong girl who was also a samurai (did anyone else know girls could be samurai back then?). Unfortunately for all the good things in this book, it was very tit-for-tat with negative behavior or happenings. A fellow student of Jack's constantly picked on him so when the bully got in trouble, Jack and his friends enjoyed his predicament. One of the characters you are supposed to like gets drunk once, even though he knows not to. God's name was used in vain once (if I remember correctly) and Jack told someone to go to h***. Jack also lied a couple times to keep something safe and to help out a friend. A friend tried to kill himself but Jack saves him and talks some sense into him. Some things that might make others uncomfortable but I saw more as historical stuff that was a lot of killing, the mention of ritual suicide, and Buddha was mentioned on occasion (there was a hall called Buddha Hall and a monk said "even Buddha will wait"). But, my biggest problem with the book was that it painted the Catholic faith in a bad light. I found it very insulting how it was depicted and, if the author tried at all to redeem the look he gave it, it didn't even become lukewarm. More details about this in the 'Personal Opinion' section because this is getting a little long.
Personal Opinion - I would have really enjoyed this book if not for my faith being put in such a bad light which kind of ruined it for me. First, a sailor called a Jesuit a devil and someone said that the Catholics could have "poisoned the minds of" the native Japanese so then, since the sailors were Protestant, they might be killed for being heretics. When Jack meets a priest, he is very insulting to Jack because he is a Protestant and English (the priest was Portuguese. There was some sort of conflict between the two countries at the time I guess). The priest was made out to be not a very great character and kept you second guessing what the man's motives were as he started being kind to Jack. Also, when the priest kissed a cross once, it was called a talisman. Now, there have been Catholics who have made mistakes because we are still human and, also, hostility between Portuguese and English and Protestants and Catholics might have been true during that time period, but it being the only example of Catholics is insulting and misleading. Not all Catholics are like that and it's not fair how that is how they are portrayed. The book showed even two sides of the samurai and the Japanese people but didn't even give Catholics a fighting chance. It is unfortunate how my faith was depicted because Chris Bradford is a good writer. He kept the story going well without losing any details but it didn't drag either. The 'Pronunciation Guide' in the back was very helpful in understanding Japanese words and one of the best I had ever used (in fact I learned a few with the book and I now how to speak Japanese a little. Whether I pronounce them right is another matter. A little interested in learning that language now but that is besides the point). The characters are diverse and interesting, too. You can understand how they feel and could identify with them. But, because of how my faith was shown in the book, it's because of this, and this alone, that will probably keep me from reading the rest of the books in this series. And keep me from recommending it. I could have over looked everything else, but this.
Storyline - Book 1 - I am Number Four - Number Four, also known as John, has moved from one town to another to escape the alien race that wants him dead. When he was just a child, his home planet was destroyed by the Mogadorians but a small group escaped. Three of the nine original children who are the only hope for their planet's survival are dead, and Four is next. After once again moving to a new town, Four's, or John's, Legacies, powers, finally start arriving. As he learns to control his skills, John must face bullies and alien fanatics while trying not to have his powers discovered. But as his power grows, so does his chances of being found.
Author - Pictus Lore
Age Group - 15 or 16 and up
Positive - The characters are dedicated to one another and try to help each other. The main character mostly listens to his guardian. He also sees another side of the bully, Mark, who also changes his colors. Four once risked his secret for someone he cares about and pretty much all the main characters risked their lives for one another. Four realizes why his guardian moves him around even though he doesn't like it and is sorry for going against him at one point.
Negative - There is a lot of bad language in the book. Much of it is back to back with sections without swearing between the but there is a lot. The main character seems to use excessive amounts of violence (even though he uses it during times when people are in trouble, he seems to keep using it when he doesn't need that much and also uses it to get information from those people he's fighting. Wouldn't it then make him just as bad as the bad guys because he's hurting them for information like they were going to hurt him or someone he cares about?). He strikes out in a lot of anger and rage. Also, he wants revenge on the Mogadorians for what they did to his planet and it seems that is okay. The main teen characters also go to a wild party. The scale tipper for me was when the main character and his girlfriend go into his room, sit on his bed, start kissing, then fall back on it. Nothing happens but something could have if the boy's guardian didn't show up. I don't need to read that stuff and I don't think it is right to put an almost sleep-together scene in a book for teens for that matter (it's why I changed the Age Group from '14 or 15 and up' to '15 or 16 and up'). Sex scenes are not okay, period. (There is more but this section is getting really long and I am beginning to retell the entire book)
Writing - The storyline was a very interesting idea but it wasn't put together very well. There was a lot of short sentences which could have been strung together to make for a more interesting description. The book also seemed to drag to the big climax at the end which got exciting and held my attention for most of it but then it also got a little long. I would like to say that something could have been cut from the story but I just don't know what. But, then again, the dragging problem probably could have been fixed if the short sentences had been worked out and would have made the book more interesting.
Personal Opinion - I'm afraid that this book was not that good. The dragging, short sentences, and everything in the 'Negative' section really kept me from enjoying the book. That and most of the things in the 'Positive' section didn't happen until much later in the book (pretty much after almost all the bad stuff happened) so it seemed Four wasn't learning much or changing. I also think the romantic scene stated above is very inappropriate and should never have been in the book and was unnecessary. If it was just to show how much he cared for the girl and loved her and how much it would hurt if they left, I already got that from other stuff in the book. Anyways, do we want to be teaching teens that it is okay to sleep with someone if you think you are in love with them? The amount of swearing in the book was also not needed. The characters make it seem that revenge was okay against the bad guys which teaches a really bad lesson on how to treat others. Sure, if someone is trying to kill you, you are going to have to fight back, maybe even to the death. But wanting to seek out revenge is just supporting violence and pain in the world. And, as pointed out in a different book by a different author, when does the violence stop? When is it enough? The bad guys are just going to seek revenge so then the good guys are just going to go after them again. Whatever happened to justice? (sorry, getting a little preachy). I probably wont be reading the other books in this series if this is how the others are going to continue.
