Margaret Peterson Haddix

I'm going to start reading Margaret Peterson Haddix's series.  I think I'll start with the Shadow Children series so I get a feel for her writing.  I noticed if the middle schoolers were not checking out her books, they were into James Patterson.  I have to admit, as an adult writer, Patterson is one of my favorites. 

So, I guess that means his YA books are next on the list.  I have quite a reading list to work.  I also have the last Last Apprentice to read.  I'm waiting on PC Cast's last two books in the teen vamp series to come out in paperback.  I also have to read Sorceress and Necromancer in the Immortal Secrets of Nicholas Flamel series.

I'm also going to add Copper Elephant to the list.  Saw that one in the library today at the high school.

The Hunger Games end

WARNING:  SPOILER AHEAD!!


I finished the last book of The Hunger Games:  Mockingjay.  Have to say it still leaves a lot hanging and questions unanswered.  I really don't like the fact that Prim dies so unnecessarily.  I don't like the fact that Gale doesn't fight harder for Katniss.  I don't like the fact that Peeta seems so easily "cured" with just a few remnants of the torture--come on!  Even Kat still suffers just from the Games and the last battles!  Peeta should be feeling nearly the same or worse given the extra torture and that he was in the last battle too.  I don't like the fact that they go back to District 12 and just start rebuilding.  It's too weird.  The epilogue rings odd too.  Like she had to put it in just because Rowling put something in HP 7.  I also don't like the fact that the mockingjay doesn't come out near the end either.  It was instrumental and should be symbol of new hope beyond the rebellion.

The whole concept of the Games leaves a lot of thinking and pondering on the part of the public however.  What if we were war torn and under a military control?  What if we rose up and rebelled against the government?  What would happen if the US really did fall into different areas and there were Hunger Games?  Would we really allow this to happen?  Would we be as hopeless and scared as most people are in the book?

If this really happened, would some other country step in to stop it as a genocide?  Truly that is what it is, a genocide of a select 24 children.  Children used to control the actions of others. (Just as the child barricade around President Snow's mansion)   Children slaughtered to teach the adults to stay in line.  Children missing from District 13 due to disease and infertility.  Would another country step in and stop it, just as the US has in some countries, or would they be selective as the US has been in some countries (Africa)?

How does a story like this affect the thinking & actions of people?  Do you feel more compassionate?  Do you feel safe?  Do you feel you have a pretty good life?  Do you feel as if more should be done for others in that situation, that you would step up and say, This is wrong?  Would you hunker down and just try to survive?

Did you know that middle and high schoolers are reading these stories with a passion, soaking up the events?

Suzanne Collins:
The Hunger Games
Catching Fire
Mockingjay

Summer Reading

So I've indulged my summer by reading a lot.  Without classes this semester, I've been able to catch up on quite a few paperbacks.  I've finised the Immortal series (City of Ashes et al).  I hear there is a fourth book, so I'm a little excited. I've finished Paolini's trilogy, which will now become a series since he couldn't squish everything into the third book (his own admission).  Looking forward to that fourth book.

I'm still waiting on PC & Kristin Cast to allow their last couple of books to go into paperback for their teen vamp series.  I could check them out from the library, but all those teens are ahead of me on the waiting list!   I'll also have to make sure the Last Apprentice doesn't have another paperback/book in case 6 wasn't enough for me of super scary bogeymen & women!  I have to admit that Joseph Delaney knows how to write a seriously scary story.  The illustrations tend to add to the fright level.

I'm contemplating re-reading the Twilight series.  Not because I liked it.  Truly, Meyer doesn't really know how to write well, still by the 4th book she had improved somewhat.  No, I'd like to re-read it for the literary value (whatever might be found) and see how it fits into the teen scene with other books like Harry Potter, the Last Apprentice and others.   Teens seem to be into supernatural and scary, more so than the sci-fi/fantasy of my teenage years.  It's an interesting trend.  Definitely something to investigate.

At some point I'll also be delving into my past and reading some classics.  Dickens, Hardy, Alcott, Cooper.

Vamp Novels

So, I said I'd never read "Twilight" and never intended after the required reading in class to finish the saga.  Unfortunately, my inner book worm wouldn't let me walk away from it.  It surprised me that the story line was quite clean in terms of language and sex for a series that was written for teens.  I'm on the Jacob team, only because Edward is too full of himself and Jacob treats Bella with more equality.  Also, I'm a little partial to wolves.

In the interest of YAL research, I found that there are several Vamp authors out there.  I know about Anne Rice (never read her and I don't believe I will ever read her books).  I thought with all the authors, perhaps I should do a little research and read one or two of the books to keep in tune with YA.  Turns out I picked up one of the juiciest series out there (at least, I think so) in terms of teenage love.  I would not recommend it for anyone younger than 16.  I believe the amount of teen romances is overly dramatic and the fact that the main character has not only a human boyfriend, but also teen Vamp and adult Vamp boyfriends.  The story line is not quite up to par for a mystery/horror read, but the romance portion is all there.  Definitely a chic book!

I'm going to finish this series and maybe look at others, but I'm afraid I have a great dislike for the syrup of romance novels.  That's why I've never read Jackie Collins.

The Alchemyst by Michael Scott

A new series...at least for me. This is a definitive young adult series. It covers the current life and times of Nicholas Flamel, the famed alchemyst and sorcerer. Flamel appeared first in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, or Philosopher's Stone depending on the nation of publication. The stone was secreted away in Hogwart's School of Wizardry and Witchcraft for safe keeping. Flamel is also known as the creator of the Elixir of Life, providing immortality to those that drink it.

Turns out that potion needs to be brewed every month or a person will start to age a year a day. Nicholas and his wife Perenelle have set death aside for over 700 years. Now they live and work in San Francisco, owning a used book store. Josh Newman happens to be an average, modern day 15 year old working for the Flamels, or as he knows them, the Flemings. His twin sister, Sophie, is working in the coffee shop just across the road. That all changes when Dr. John Dee shows up with his Golems in tow.

Thus begins a fight for life and for freedoms. Josh and Sophie, of course, fulfill a destiny that twins will save or destroy the world. Scott weaves a story fully built on the ancient mythology, explaining the ancients along the way. This is a great little story and three more books are currently available to carry along the threads. This book is a good beginner book for those who want to keep to the familiar (Harry Potter) and yet start expanding their reading tastes into more fantasy genre. It's easy to follow, much easier than HP. It's also a great way to introduce the mythology of Greek and Roman legends.

Yes, I finally finished the Twilight series

It was brutal, but I did it. I finished all 4 books of the Twilight series. Like I said with the first book, it's a cute romance and does carry along, but there are just not enough cliff hangers to keep me going. Meyers keeps her vamps toned down to the point of almost uninteresting. Her vamp fights hold a great deal of potential, but they never grow to maturity. You are told what could or would happen, but you never really see that devastation. Everything has a way of working itself out in the end.

The final showdown between the Volturi & the other covens is anticlimatic, even with Bella feeling her full potential in power. I would be very interested to read a book from the point of view of Rosalie and Emmett or Jasper and Alice or even another from Jacob with Renesme (what's in a name??!). It was a little bit a of let down.

I do like that fact that we got to here so many "how did it happen to you?" vamp stories. It really lent more to the characters. I would have liked to see that a little sooner so the reader could understand the characters' motivation a bit more. Perhaps we should check out Garrett and Jasper, seeing as they both came up during major American wars. Alice needs a little more finding of her background too.

Overall, a nice little story, but so much more could have been said and written. There is a great potential for plot lines that I believe could stretch Meyer's abilities even more.

The Last Apprentice by Joseph Delaney

My niece was reading a cool looking book a few weeks ago. I asked what it was and in true "I can't be troubled while I'm reading" bookworm fashion, she gently flipped over the soft cover to reveal the whole title and half the author's name for me. It turned out to be a new series of supernatural portions.

Delaney spins a tale from somewhere in Europe and sometime in the mid to late 19th Century. It could even be earlier or take place in North America. They tend to speak English and that's not all that specific either. This is the kind of book that intriques the reader on so many levels. The main character/protagonist is young Thomas Ward, apprentice to The Spook. Spook rids the county of evil doers and mischief makers of a supernatural kind--boggarts, witches, banes, and such. Written in such a manner to evoke the Salem witch hunts and the evil eye, we find that young Tom is well on his way to being the next Spook.

Tom is the seventh son of a seventh son and a son of a witch to boot. His new master is also a seventh son and has a boggart keeping his house and grounds. Spook likes to deal with the evil in a logical, well grounded manner. Witches are buried beneath 13 iron bars. Boggarts are bound in a square hole painted in iron, salt and special mud then covered with a custom slab of stone. Most beings can be temporarily held with a silver chain or driven off with salt and iron.

Well written, the story does move a long. However, Tom tends to be a little stupid and rather than following his instinct he chooses to follow his heart. Thus, trouble abounds and is often created by him. Like any 10 year old, he tries to rectify his mistakes, and while succeeding, he often is found out and gets extra duties to atone.

Teen Top Ten Week

This year, teens once again get to vote on their top ten favorite books. The American Library Association will post it. Find all the information @your library!

See this year's picks at: http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/teenreading/teenstopten/ttt09.pdf

Vote between Aug. 25 and Sept. 18th: www.ala.org/teenstopten