Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Turnabout: June 25th

  • Title: Turnabout
  • Author: Margaret Haddix
  • AR Points: 7
  • Page I am on: completed
  • Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

I finished this book over the weekend. Definitely not as amazing as Unwind, the last one I read, but it had a lot of interesting aspects. This book followed two women who we met close to death in their old age. They were given the option to try out this experimental drug that would "unage" them. They decided to go forth with the experiment & they begin to unage. They quickly find out that the doctors did not have all the "kinks" out and problems ensue. Melly & Anny Beth are on a race against time to find the solution before they end up in diapers again, unable to help themselves.

Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Unwind: June 17th

  • Title: Unwind
  • Author: Neal Shusterman
  • AR Points: 14
  • Page I am on: completed
  • Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

I finished the book today. Phenomenal! I would definitely say one of the best in young adult fiction I have read in years! What follows are spoilers to this book: please don't read the rest if you plan on reading this book and do not want it spoiled for you!

The part I found most intriguing & shocking at the same time was when one of the characters who was the antagonist throughout the book was taken to be unwound. This scene was incredibly graphic and haunting because of the nature of what happened. I think it was so intense because the scene was told from his perspective while the procedure was happening to him; it was much more personal!

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Unwind : June 12th


  • Title: Unwind
  • Author: Neal Shusterman
  • AR Points: 14
  • Page I am on: 112 (Ch.20)
  • Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

I started this book yesterday and it is definitely one that I have trouble putting down.  It follows a group of teenagers that are known as "Unwinds", unwilling organ donors. In this scary futuristic society, up until the age of eighteen your parents/guardians can sign an order for you to be taken away and your organs harvested. The three characters we have met so far found out they were to be Unwound and made a run for it! We have Connor - a troublemaker who's parents signed the order, Risa - an orphan, who literally was playing the piano for her life, and Lev - a "tithe", who had been brainwashed from the beginning of his life to believe that his soul purpose in life was to be this sacrifice.

In addition to the main story-line being uber interesting, there are a lot of small things that I find intriguing that the author included. For instance, in this society, they have a practice known as storking, where a new mother may drop off their newborn on someones front porch and if they are not caught in the act, the family that finds the baby must keep it as their own! Another cool addition to the series is that donated parts continue to function the way they did was the original donor. For instance: someone can have one hand that can paint extraordinary things while the other hand cannot, since the original donor was an artist. Fascinating book!

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Dealing with Dragons: June 5th

  • Title: Dealing With Dragons
  • Author: Patricia Crede
  • AR Points: 8
  • Page I am on: Ch.3
  • Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

Cimorene's journey continues: she enters a hovel only to be transported elsewhere and finds herself in front of multiple dragons who want to eat her. Cimorene, being the brilliant non-conventional princess she is, convinces them to forgo eating her to become one of their personal helpers. A female dragon, Kazul, is the dragon that takes Cimorene in and offers to teach her magic again, which was something Cimorene was prohibited from learning as royalty. One thing that stood out to me was when Cimorene mentioned her parents wouldn't be worried once they found out where she was...is she insane? There is no way they will be all for their heir & daughter being held captive by dragons! One mystery I want to learn more about: what "favor" did the dragons do for the dwarves?

Soon, knights begin to arrive, attempting to rescue the damsel-in-distress but Cimorene is having none of that! She does not want to be rescued but each of the knights cannot fathom why a princess would want this, so they continue to come, continually interrupting her work. I predict that Cimorene is going to have to do something about this situation soon otherwise either her dragon or the knights are going to get hurt.

Monday, June 2, 2014

Dealing With Dragons: June 2nd

  • Title: Dealing With Dragons
  • Author: Patricia Crede
  • AR Points: 8
  • Page I am on: Ch.2
  • Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

So far I really like this book, it's a fictional fantasy that has adaptions on fairytales. I like that the main character is not your typical "princess" & that she is definitely pushing the bar on what is expected of a princess. I think this book could be good for young students, either male or female, because it shows that gender roles do not define you: girls can do "boy-ish" things while boys can do "girl-ish" things. It shows that, yes, you may catch grief over doing something contrary to the norm but you will be more happy about it.

I love fiction that incorporates twists on the classics, especially fairy tales. I noticed a reference to Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty) in the first chapter. They mention the main character, Cimorene's Great-Aunt Rose, who so happened to have spent "all those years asleep under that dreadful fairy's curse." Sound familiar? Our main character's is clearly the great-niece of Princess Aurora, aka Sleeping Beauty. I find these things fascinating & look forward to noticing more of them as I continue to read!

Sunday, June 1, 2014

A Feast for Crows - June 1st

  • Title: A Feast for Crows
  • Author: George R.R. Martin
  • AR Points: 45 (oh my!)
  • Page I am on: p.459
  • Where I am toward my AR goal: current points/goal point

This book is the fourth book in the A Song of Ice & Fire book series, which is the book version of the very-popular TV series Game of Thrones. This book has the reputation for being the worst in the series so far --there are currently 5 books in the series and the author plans on having 7 in total -- and I am on the fence on whether I agree with this or not! I can see possibly why a lot of people dislike the book but I still find it interesting enough to constantly want to keep reading it. One thing I think that is different about this book then the rest in the series so far is that the characters that we have the perspective from this time around are not as important in the series. They are minor characters and a lot of the stuff that happens to them in their chapters are not as dramatic or crazy, so I can understand people's "beef" with this novel. At the same time, I know how intensely interwoven the plot is throughout the series and I know, without a doubt, that literally everything that happens in the book is important to the main story-line. Yes, they are more minor things but they are the things that lead up to everything else! So while I don't agree that this book is horrible, I  agree that it may be the least interesting because it focuses on the smaller details so that once we get to the more important things, they will be that much more intense! Regardless, I love this book series and definitely await the next time I get to read it!