This is the first reread of the month, each month during the last week, I will reread a book I read and reviewed during the month. This month I'll be rereading the Maggie Quinn Girl v. Evil series. There will be a repost of the review afterwards.
Taryn.
Monday, March 29, 2010
The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson
The Adoration of Jenna Fox is a futuristic sci-fi novel for young adults. It records Jenna Fox’s life after her year long coma. She has been in a terrible accident and can’t remember a thing. Her parents give her discs recording all her life before the coma in hopes that she will remember who she was. She has trouble remembering the important stuff, like if she had friends, but remembers perfectly sock shopping. Her grandmother doesn’t like her for some reason, her mom is a complete control freak and her father is barely present. She is told that they moved from Boston to California after the accident for a more personalized care. Throughout the book, she makes discoveries and advancements leading up to a great realization three-fourths in. The rest of the book says how she deals with this realization.
I really liked this book and the themes it deals with, such as medical advances and ethics, also how far a parent will go to save their child. The book was great, but not very captivating, to be honest, if it wasn’t for the eight hour long flight I’m on, it would have taken much longer to finish the book. For some reason I keep reading books that I love but creep me out, maybe I’m masochistic in a strange way because I honestly want to read the disturbing books. One more note, another thing I love about the book is at certain intervals it gives you poem sort of composition, I’ll leave with three of my favorites that I love so much I want to type them up, go to Kinko’s, have it printed and frame it so I can hang it in my room.
Taryn.
I really liked this book and the themes it deals with, such as medical advances and ethics, also how far a parent will go to save their child. The book was great, but not very captivating, to be honest, if it wasn’t for the eight hour long flight I’m on, it would have taken much longer to finish the book. For some reason I keep reading books that I love but creep me out, maybe I’m masochistic in a strange way because I honestly want to read the disturbing books. One more note, another thing I love about the book is at certain intervals it gives you poem sort of composition, I’ll leave with three of my favorites that I love so much I want to type them up, go to Kinko’s, have it printed and frame it so I can hang it in my room.
There is a place.
A place where I have no eyes, no mouth.
No words.
I can’t cry out because I have no breath. The silence is so deep I want to die.
But I can’t.
The darkness and silence go on forever.
It is not a dream.
I don’t dream.
I needed it like I needed air.
But no one could hear me.
No one could listen.
No words. No sound.
No voice.
I couldn’t event dream myself away.
Choices were made.
None of them mine
At first I wondered if it was Hell.
And then I knew it was
A bit of someone here.
A bit there.
And sometimes they don’t add up to anything whole.
But you are so busy dancing.
Delivering.
You don’t have time to notice.
And then one day you have to look.
And it’s true.
All of your pieces fill up other people’s holes.
But they don’t fill
Your own.
Taryn.
Sunday, March 28, 2010
My Bake Day, here you go Auntie Maranda
Now, for anybody reading this for book reviews (though I highly doubt it considering the only people I see on this site are my family), but if there are any anonymous, non-family readers, sorry for going off topic but I promised my aunt I would write about our bake day.
NOTE- this may be long, I seem to be almost incapable of telling a simple, to the point story, helpful if you're writing a book, not so much if you’re telling an oral story to someone.
*typewriter sounds*-
0700 Friday, March 26, 2010
I wake, it is dark and cold. My mother is rushing around the house preparing everything, she tells me to get dressed, and I do.
*typewriter sounds*
0730 Friday, March 26, 2010
My mom and I enter our transportation vehicle, it is still cold, I think Hell has frozen over, time for the cheerleaders to kiss the nerds. The sun is starting to shine, but it has little effect on the snow leftover from the blizzard two days ago.
*typewriter sounds*
0800 Friday, March 26, 2010
We reach the house in which we will be baking, I collapse onto the bed and wait. The dog comes to greet me, I reply with a simple "Hi". I fall into a half sleep. I continue to wait.
*typewriter sounds*
0830 Friday, March 26, 2010
I hear the doorbell. It is my Aunt. She enters and she and my mother converse. The baking commences. We start with yeast for rolls. We prepare the ingredients whilst the yeast rises.
*typewriter sounds*
0900 Friday, March 26,2010
we mix the dough. We then let it rise for an hour and start on the almond roca at 0945.
*typewriter sounds*
0945 Friday, March 26, 2010
We make the toffee for the Almond roca. Mother again documents the event on her iPhone. We pour the caramel into the pan and let it harden a little bit, so it is caramel toffee. We place the chocolate squares on top of the caramel toffee and let it melt, we then spread the chocolate over the entirety of the toffee and then place and press the almonds onto the top. We let it cool in the fridge and wait the remainder of the hour.
*typewriter sounds*
1000 Friday, March 26, 2010
We start rolling the bread. I apparently get the rolling down pact faster than normal. Auntie Maranda makes one pan, I make two.
*typewriter sounds*
1030 Friday, March 26, 2010
We wait for the bread to rise more. Auntie Maranda's is done first, we place it into the oven at 1045, it is done cooking at 1100.
*typewriter sounds*
1100 Friday, March 26, 2010
My bread is done rising, I receive praise for the good placing and rolling of the dough. We bake the bread, it is done at 1120.
*typewriter sounds*
1145 Friday, March 26, 2010
While Mother is eating the bread, Auntie Maranda and I break the almond roca. We then eat some of the roca.
*typewriter sounds*
1200 Friday, March 26, 2010
Bake day is over, message will self destruct in 5 seconds.
*robotic female voice*
five, four, three, two, one.
*BOOM*
NOTE- this may be long, I seem to be almost incapable of telling a simple, to the point story, helpful if you're writing a book, not so much if you’re telling an oral story to someone.
*typewriter sounds*-
0700 Friday, March 26, 2010
I wake, it is dark and cold. My mother is rushing around the house preparing everything, she tells me to get dressed, and I do.
*typewriter sounds*
0730 Friday, March 26, 2010
My mom and I enter our transportation vehicle, it is still cold, I think Hell has frozen over, time for the cheerleaders to kiss the nerds. The sun is starting to shine, but it has little effect on the snow leftover from the blizzard two days ago.
*typewriter sounds*
0800 Friday, March 26, 2010
We reach the house in which we will be baking, I collapse onto the bed and wait. The dog comes to greet me, I reply with a simple "Hi". I fall into a half sleep. I continue to wait.
*typewriter sounds*
0830 Friday, March 26, 2010
I hear the doorbell. It is my Aunt. She enters and she and my mother converse. The baking commences. We start with yeast for rolls. We prepare the ingredients whilst the yeast rises.
*typewriter sounds*
0900 Friday, March 26,2010
we mix the dough. We then let it rise for an hour and start on the almond roca at 0945.
*typewriter sounds*
0945 Friday, March 26, 2010
We make the toffee for the Almond roca. Mother again documents the event on her iPhone. We pour the caramel into the pan and let it harden a little bit, so it is caramel toffee. We place the chocolate squares on top of the caramel toffee and let it melt, we then spread the chocolate over the entirety of the toffee and then place and press the almonds onto the top. We let it cool in the fridge and wait the remainder of the hour.
*typewriter sounds*
1000 Friday, March 26, 2010
We start rolling the bread. I apparently get the rolling down pact faster than normal. Auntie Maranda makes one pan, I make two.
*typewriter sounds*
1030 Friday, March 26, 2010
We wait for the bread to rise more. Auntie Maranda's is done first, we place it into the oven at 1045, it is done cooking at 1100.
*typewriter sounds*
1100 Friday, March 26, 2010
My bread is done rising, I receive praise for the good placing and rolling of the dough. We bake the bread, it is done at 1120.
*typewriter sounds*
1145 Friday, March 26, 2010
While Mother is eating the bread, Auntie Maranda and I break the almond roca. We then eat some of the roca.
*typewriter sounds*
1200 Friday, March 26, 2010
Bake day is over, message will self destruct in 5 seconds.
*robotic female voice*
five, four, three, two, one.
*BOOM*
Friday, March 26, 2010
Sweethearts (Zarr)
Sweethearts by Sara Zarr is a captivating story of love and loss. With that first description you would probably think, "God, another stupid chick-lit", but honestly, it's not really all that chick-lit-y. It's about Jenna Vaughn, 17-year-old high school student, perfect body, perfect friends, perfect boyfriend, seemingly perfect home life. But what the rest of the world doesn't know about Jenna is she used to be the "fat kid" the one who didn't talk to anybody, who got teased. Her only friend was Cameron Quick, child abused kid that was so totally weird, everybody would be scared (I think a good parallel would be a nerdier version of Judd Nelson in The Breakfast Club with a little bit less swagger). On Jenna's ninth birthday Cameron takes her over to his house to show her the birthday present he made, only to be abused by his father in front of Jenna, they escape, but terrified only to be cornered again by Cameron's father. Cameron disappears shortly after this incident, everybody tells her he's dead, and Jenna reforms herself. Now I didn't mention this before, but Jenna was never Jenna, she used to be Jennifer Harris, that was the fat kid, Fattifer to use her nickname. Now Jenna's mom's remarried and she has a loving step dad, an entire new life. But on Jenna's eighteenth birthday she finds a note in her mailbox from Cameron and her life gets turned upside down. The rest of the book tells of Jenna's realizations during her time with Cameron.
This is a really thought-provoking book that I loved but also creeped me out a little bit. I was weirded out by the fact that Jenna has completely compartmentalized her life, there's Jenna Vaughn and there's Jennifer Harris, who is almost compliantly suppressed. The term 'compartmentalization' creeps me out in this scenario for two reasons, A. (this applies to all uses of the word compartment with any additions to the root word), now, I'm not a slob but I'm not a neat-freak, so I don't agree with compartments and cabinets and frankly, the word gives me a microscopic case of the heeby-jeebies, B. The whole part of the book that says that someone can completely force themselves to change and suppress their previous selves within, gives me a MACROSCOPIC case of the heeby-jeebies. Of course the parts I loved were awesome, like the fact that the 'Ninth Birthday Case of 1998' is revealed slowly in little pieces until everything falls into place, ecelente. Another awesome thing, the perfect placement and development of supporting characters adds just the right amount of crazy. This book is a must read for anyone, it tells of human nature and puppy love (a perfect combination in my opinion).
P.S. I seem to be saying that everything is awesome, but don't worry, I picked up some books that people said were complete bombs. Also, if anyone has suggestions of books that sucked please tell me, I need to work on my constructive criticism.
P.P.S. WARNING, if you get easily annoyed by fictional characters that are total shitake (substitution for the S-word I picked up today), you have been warned, proceed with caution.
Taryn.
This is a really thought-provoking book that I loved but also creeped me out a little bit. I was weirded out by the fact that Jenna has completely compartmentalized her life, there's Jenna Vaughn and there's Jennifer Harris, who is almost compliantly suppressed. The term 'compartmentalization' creeps me out in this scenario for two reasons, A. (this applies to all uses of the word compartment with any additions to the root word), now, I'm not a slob but I'm not a neat-freak, so I don't agree with compartments and cabinets and frankly, the word gives me a microscopic case of the heeby-jeebies, B. The whole part of the book that says that someone can completely force themselves to change and suppress their previous selves within, gives me a MACROSCOPIC case of the heeby-jeebies. Of course the parts I loved were awesome, like the fact that the 'Ninth Birthday Case of 1998' is revealed slowly in little pieces until everything falls into place, ecelente. Another awesome thing, the perfect placement and development of supporting characters adds just the right amount of crazy. This book is a must read for anyone, it tells of human nature and puppy love (a perfect combination in my opinion).
P.S. I seem to be saying that everything is awesome, but don't worry, I picked up some books that people said were complete bombs. Also, if anyone has suggestions of books that sucked please tell me, I need to work on my constructive criticism.
P.P.S. WARNING, if you get easily annoyed by fictional characters that are total shitake (substitution for the S-word I picked up today), you have been warned, proceed with caution.
Taryn.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Maggie Quinn Girl vs. Evil series (Prom Dates from Hell, Hell Week, Highway to Hell) {Clement-Moore}
Prom Dates from Hell by Rosemary Clement-Moore is an amusing book full of wit and Sci-Fi movie references (which I'm a sucker for). The book is about Maggie Quinn and is the first in a trilogy of books featuring her. She goes to school in Avalon High with her best friend D&D Lisa and the Jocks and the Jessicas. When some freaky stuff starts happening, she starts to rediscover and accept her clairvoyant gift. With the help of her new friend Justin, Lisa, and Brian (surprisingly one of the Jocks) they save their prom from the ancient Babylonian demon Azmael.
In Hell Week Maggie has moved to the local collage and for a spot on the collage newspaper, tries to infiltrate Rush. For those of you who don't know, Rush is what all aspiring sorority girls must go through. Maggie gets her spot on the newspaper and writes under the pen name Phantom Pledge. She eventually discovers some weird things happening in the Sigma Alpha Xi sorority that she pledged to. This activity turns demonic quickly and during Hell Week Maggie saves the day with Lisa, Justin, and Devon (a SAXi who turned on her sorority.
And finally, in Highway to Hell Lisa and Maggie go on spring break (again for the school newspaper for a story under "The Least Likely Spring Breakers") Their car runs over a cow in the middle of the row with strange bite marks all over it's body. Their Jeep gets broken by the cows horns and they are stuck in the nearest Middle of Nowhere town, Dulcina. And by now you probably know what happens next, freaky, weird, strange things happen. Maggie and Lisa hear a rumor from the barkeeper that the strange stuff (animal killings almost exactly like the one with the cow that the girls ran over) is because of El Chupacabra a mythical monster that kill livestock and drinks their blood (hope you don't mind if I go off track here for a little bit, but ever since I heard Blood by My Chemical Romance, every time I see the word, I get the song stuck in my head). Of course the killing can't just be some monster that can be killed, they have to be demonic. Maggie saves the day with, let me hear it, Justin and Lisa, and one new addition, Justin's childhood friend Henry.
NOTE
From this point onward, I will be referring to the books with these acronyms-
Prom Dates From Hell- PDH
Hell Week- HW
Highway to Hell- HH
I immensely enjoyed each book but I feel as though PDH was great HW was good and HH was okay. PDH used the one thing that will win my heart in excess, pop culture references. It was fun, funny, and real (if you exclude the demons, and the physic powers). I honestly think anybody would like it, the main character is likable and witty, the supporting characters keep to their personality, and there's one gigantic plot twist at the end. I didn't like HW as much because the supporting characters weren't as developed as in PDH, which one thing I really liked about the first book. Also, the pop culture refences were kept to a minimum, other than that, the book was as enjoyable as the first. HH was, again, funny and awesome, but not as good as the previous two books. HH has the same problems as HW, supporting characters weren't as developed and even the supporting main characters (as I like to call the other main characters, like in Harry Potter, Harry is the main character, Ron and Hermione are the supporting main characters) weren't like Ron and Hermione but were like, um, let's say, Hagrid in the Sorcerers Stone and Dumbldore in the Half Blood Prince. And the pop culture references were almost not there. I would recommend this book to anyone for that matter, but I have one final note, there is swearing in this book (but nothing too bad confined mainly to the S-word, D-word, and H-word).
In Hell Week Maggie has moved to the local collage and for a spot on the collage newspaper, tries to infiltrate Rush. For those of you who don't know, Rush is what all aspiring sorority girls must go through. Maggie gets her spot on the newspaper and writes under the pen name Phantom Pledge. She eventually discovers some weird things happening in the Sigma Alpha Xi sorority that she pledged to. This activity turns demonic quickly and during Hell Week Maggie saves the day with Lisa, Justin, and Devon (a SAXi who turned on her sorority.
And finally, in Highway to Hell Lisa and Maggie go on spring break (again for the school newspaper for a story under "The Least Likely Spring Breakers") Their car runs over a cow in the middle of the row with strange bite marks all over it's body. Their Jeep gets broken by the cows horns and they are stuck in the nearest Middle of Nowhere town, Dulcina. And by now you probably know what happens next, freaky, weird, strange things happen. Maggie and Lisa hear a rumor from the barkeeper that the strange stuff (animal killings almost exactly like the one with the cow that the girls ran over) is because of El Chupacabra a mythical monster that kill livestock and drinks their blood (hope you don't mind if I go off track here for a little bit, but ever since I heard Blood by My Chemical Romance, every time I see the word, I get the song stuck in my head). Of course the killing can't just be some monster that can be killed, they have to be demonic. Maggie saves the day with, let me hear it, Justin and Lisa, and one new addition, Justin's childhood friend Henry.
NOTE
From this point onward, I will be referring to the books with these acronyms-
Prom Dates From Hell- PDH
Hell Week- HW
Highway to Hell- HH
I immensely enjoyed each book but I feel as though PDH was great HW was good and HH was okay. PDH used the one thing that will win my heart in excess, pop culture references. It was fun, funny, and real (if you exclude the demons, and the physic powers). I honestly think anybody would like it, the main character is likable and witty, the supporting characters keep to their personality, and there's one gigantic plot twist at the end. I didn't like HW as much because the supporting characters weren't as developed as in PDH, which one thing I really liked about the first book. Also, the pop culture refences were kept to a minimum, other than that, the book was as enjoyable as the first. HH was, again, funny and awesome, but not as good as the previous two books. HH has the same problems as HW, supporting characters weren't as developed and even the supporting main characters (as I like to call the other main characters, like in Harry Potter, Harry is the main character, Ron and Hermione are the supporting main characters) weren't like Ron and Hermione but were like, um, let's say, Hagrid in the Sorcerers Stone and Dumbldore in the Half Blood Prince. And the pop culture references were almost not there. I would recommend this book to anyone for that matter, but I have one final note, there is swearing in this book (but nothing too bad confined mainly to the S-word, D-word, and H-word).
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Animal Farm by George Orwell
Animal Farm by George Orwell is a fairy tale for adults. It is about a farm, Manor Farm, to be exact. An old pig tells the animals on Manor Farm of a song he heard when he was a small pig, Beasts of England. Hearing this song arises a spirit of rebellion in the animals on Manor Farm. The animals eventually rebel and expel Jones (owner of Manor Farm) and his employees. The animals rename the farm Animal Farm and make it a place of equality. The pigs on Animal Farm, the smartest of all animals, lead the Rebellion, come up with "The Seven Commandments of Animalism". Animal Farm works in perfect order with only one battle of the humans trying to take the farm back. This works until Snowball (one of the pigs) proposes the idea of a windmill which will do much of the animals work for them. But then, Napoleon sets hounds he has trained from birth on Snowball and drives him out of Animal Farm. Napoleon then takes over Animal Farm and slowly turns the farm back to the tyranny it used to be. But this change happens so gradually that none of the animals notice enough to change it before it is too late.
I really enjoyed this book, but honestly, some parts after Napoleon takes over Animal Farm, I honestly want to kinda punch that two-faced swine in the face (two notes on that, A, I mean swine in the insulting sense, you know, "You miserable swine!", and B, I really do mean that, I don't care if it's a book or if the PETA and the ASPCA start knocking on my door, they should knock on Napoleon's). This book was technically excellent and a great study on the effects of tyranny, rebellion and the effects thereafter. This book reminded me of an e-mail I got from a Filipino friend (a chain e-mail), about a leader or something in the Philippines who said he had humble beginnings but the e-mail showed his house and how he was using all of his power to provide an overly extravagant life for himself. Whenever I think of Napoleon and post-Snowball Animal Farm, I think of that e-mail, and I think it provides a really good parallel for the book. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a thought provoking read.
4 7/8 (1/8 taken off because I didn't like it as much as other books I've read.)
Taryn.
I really enjoyed this book, but honestly, some parts after Napoleon takes over Animal Farm, I honestly want to kinda punch that two-faced swine in the face (two notes on that, A, I mean swine in the insulting sense, you know, "You miserable swine!", and B, I really do mean that, I don't care if it's a book or if the PETA and the ASPCA start knocking on my door, they should knock on Napoleon's). This book was technically excellent and a great study on the effects of tyranny, rebellion and the effects thereafter. This book reminded me of an e-mail I got from a Filipino friend (a chain e-mail), about a leader or something in the Philippines who said he had humble beginnings but the e-mail showed his house and how he was using all of his power to provide an overly extravagant life for himself. Whenever I think of Napoleon and post-Snowball Animal Farm, I think of that e-mail, and I think it provides a really good parallel for the book. I recommend this book to anyone who wants a thought provoking read.
4 7/8 (1/8 taken off because I didn't like it as much as other books I've read.)
Taryn.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Flipped by Wendelin Van Draanen
The question is, where to start. Well, we can start by listing traits of this book, awesome, funny, indescribable (either that or I'm horrible at putting my thoughts into words). It's about Bryce and Juli, boy and girl. Juli's lived in the same house all her life and when Bryce moves in across the street a few days before second grade, she flips. This book documents their life from both sides from the start of second grade to mid-eighth (don't worry, it's not extremely detailed, as it documents the major events). Bryce starts the book with this line, which I love,
This perfectly describes their situation until eighth grade, where everything changes. Up until then, Juli Baker loved Bryce (well, as much as a kid can romantically love some other kid), and Bryce vehemently disliked Juli. She was annoying, loved climbing a huge sycamore tree, and kept chickens for fun (not only that but she dived into the chicken coop filled with chicken poop to snuggle with her chicks). Then Bryce sees something in Juli, something he's never seen in anyone else before. I won't go into details on how this came up, but I think it worked out pretty perfectly. But what totally sucks, the moment Bryce starts liking Juli, the roles get flipped, Bryce loved Juli, and Juli vehemently disliked Bryce.
I haven't described the book in detail, because there's a lot to give away. It's not like I can say "This happened which caused this to happen, which brings about the ending" and not give the ending away. So, I'll just say that this book describes junior high in such a way that makes me wish I wasn't homeschooled (but then I turn on the TV and thank my lucky stars I don't go to normal school). It's great and gives me hope, people can change, and there are other complete weirdoes out there.
I have three other comments to make on this book, mainly regarding what other people say about it. First, some people say that Juli doesn't sound like a real eighth grader, I deny that, I'm in seventh grade and Juli and I have the same tone of voice and besides the tree climbing, chicken keeping, and boy loving, we think A LOT alike too. Also, regarding the Basket Boy thing (again I won't give too much details, but Basket Boys are a tradition started by Bryce and Juli's school, that elects twenty middle school boys that girls bid on, they have lunch with the Basket Boy and can skip the second half of school), I forgot where, but I have seen something similar to the Basket Boy tradition. And finally, the ending, I thought that sucked, but it was about the only thing that sucked, it ended basically "Maybe I'll go talk to him, 'cause we never really talked". BAM. END. So, I hope there's a sequel, and if there isn't Van Draanen's got some 'splaining to do.
I give the book 4 out of 5 smily faces ☺☺☺☺ (one taken off for the ending).
Taryn.
All I've ever wanted is for Juli Baker to leave me alone, for her to back off- you know, just give me some space....... She didn't just barge into my life, she barged and shoved and wedged her way into my life.
This perfectly describes their situation until eighth grade, where everything changes. Up until then, Juli Baker loved Bryce (well, as much as a kid can romantically love some other kid), and Bryce vehemently disliked Juli. She was annoying, loved climbing a huge sycamore tree, and kept chickens for fun (not only that but she dived into the chicken coop filled with chicken poop to snuggle with her chicks). Then Bryce sees something in Juli, something he's never seen in anyone else before. I won't go into details on how this came up, but I think it worked out pretty perfectly. But what totally sucks, the moment Bryce starts liking Juli, the roles get flipped, Bryce loved Juli, and Juli vehemently disliked Bryce.
I haven't described the book in detail, because there's a lot to give away. It's not like I can say "This happened which caused this to happen, which brings about the ending" and not give the ending away. So, I'll just say that this book describes junior high in such a way that makes me wish I wasn't homeschooled (but then I turn on the TV and thank my lucky stars I don't go to normal school). It's great and gives me hope, people can change, and there are other complete weirdoes out there.
I have three other comments to make on this book, mainly regarding what other people say about it. First, some people say that Juli doesn't sound like a real eighth grader, I deny that, I'm in seventh grade and Juli and I have the same tone of voice and besides the tree climbing, chicken keeping, and boy loving, we think A LOT alike too. Also, regarding the Basket Boy thing (again I won't give too much details, but Basket Boys are a tradition started by Bryce and Juli's school, that elects twenty middle school boys that girls bid on, they have lunch with the Basket Boy and can skip the second half of school), I forgot where, but I have seen something similar to the Basket Boy tradition. And finally, the ending, I thought that sucked, but it was about the only thing that sucked, it ended basically "Maybe I'll go talk to him, 'cause we never really talked". BAM. END. So, I hope there's a sequel, and if there isn't Van Draanen's got some 'splaining to do.
I give the book 4 out of 5 smily faces ☺☺☺☺ (one taken off for the ending).
Taryn.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Lois Lowry's The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger (companion novels)
Here I will review each book separately (as short as I can make it, it might be a little long, though).
Here's my review of The Giver, the 1994 Newberry Medal winner.
“The Giver” by Lois Lowry is a fictional story for young adults, but do not be fooled by that description, this book will make anyone think about the meaning of happiness, sadness, and the true meaning of love. This book is hypnotic and will capture your attention immediately with its meaning and story of agony and exultation.
“The Giver” takes place in the fictional future of earth. To be more specific, the story takes place in the mysterious “Community” where perfection, precision, and monotony rule the lives of its citizens. The Community, is what is considered the perfect utopia, where any misbehavior is punished, where there are no imperfections and life is lived in blissful ignorance.
Jonas lives in The Community. Jonas is the main protagonist in the story, and on his twelfth birthday, when all the other Twelves are being assigned to the job they will hold until the day they are unable to work, Jonas gets selected. Jonas is selected to be the Receiver of Memories and starts his job the next day with fear because the Chief Elder said to him during the Ceremony of Twelve that this assignment will cause him physical pain. During his days at work , Jonas learns of pain, war, happiness, sadness, and most importantly, love.
When Jonas learns what is really happening in The Community he decides to run away, taking the newchiled, Gabriel, with him. The ending to this book is different than most, considering it has no definite end, no definite happily ever after, no written “The End”. We know nothing of the ending, but we do know that it is happy because the goals are achieved. They are achieved through trails, agony, and the survival skills learned in Cub Scouts but are, of course, not taught in a utopia.
One of the bigger messages is the message of happiness and sadness. Lowry teaches that without true pain, there is no true happiness. This says that the citizens of The Community can never be truly happy, no matter how much they think they are, because they have felt no pain in life except the trivial bruises and scratches from falling of their bicycle. This lesson is taught through the memories Jonas receives. The Giver gives Jonas good memories at first, and he enjoys them, but after The Giver gives Jonas horrid memories, he learns to really love the good ones and learns true happiness. Lowry does an exceedingly great job of communicating this message.
As you can probably tell from the preceding paragraphs, I really like this book. Lowry’s style of writing and expression of feeling makes the fantasy seem real and the characters’ reactions to things that are trivial and normal in our everyday lives seem like things from another planet. She really delves into the characters mind, and I have a feeling if I showed her an item, or a song, or a book, she could tell me exactly how any of the characters would react to it. This book is a must read for anyone who can read, I definitely recommend to everyone.
Now here's my review of Gathering Blue.
Gathering Blue is set in the same time as The Giver, but in a different place, a VERY different place. The Giver is set in a utopia, a seemingly perfect world, Gathering Blue is set in the exact opposite. If I knew the antonym for 'utopia' I would say that that is what is written all over it. Of course there is more to the book.
It's about Kira, an orphaned girl who was born with a twisted leg. Her mother defended her at birth and her grandfather was very powerful, so the villagers didn't send her to the forest to be eaten by beasts like they did with all the other children with birth defects. The village in which Kira lives in is horrid, the mothers call their children tykes and abuse them by locking them in a pen like they do animals. After Kira's mother dies, a woman in the village, Vandara, threatens to take her home and use it to build the "Kid Pen", as I named it, along with throwing her to the beasts. This conflict is brought to the leaders of the village and they decide that Vandara will get Kira's house, but Kira will live in the Council Edifice and be a Weaver recruited to restore the Singer's robe, worn only once a year at the Gathering.
Kira goes through many trials during her time restoring the robe, one of these is discovering and nurturing her Gift (to make this more familiar, it is like what Jonas had in The Giver, his 'seeing beyond'), which is weaving things that almost take on a life of their own. The boy who lives across the hall from Kira, Thomas, the Carver, has the same sort of gift, but with carving. Kira's friend, Matt, eventually comes to travel to a place to get a plant that will make blue (hence the title) and comes back with not only blue, but with Kira's father, who was thought to be dead. Kira's father tries to convince her to come back with him to Village where people with birth defects are accepted. Kira turns down his offer and stays to try and change the ways of her home.
This book was good, but I think that it was slightly plot less. If you've ever read a book that you enjoyed but when you look back on it, you wonder why you liked it, that's what Gathering Blue is like. It is technically good and shows Lowry's way with words, but does seem a little pointless. I would recommend this to someone who's looking for something to fill up some free time, but not for someone wanting to read a good, thought provoking book.
Now for the last book in the series, Messenger.
Messenger takes place in Village, the place where Kira's father (from Gathering Blue) dwells. Matt (now Matty), Kira's friend who first finds her father, lives with him. Kira's father is known as Seer throughout the book. Here we also see Jonas, Village is what Elsewhere was in The Giver, he is known a Leader in Messenger, however.
Matty is the person in Village who takes messages to various lands, he hopes, when he receives his true name, that it will be Messenger. He takes trips through Forest to carry the messages of Leader to the lands beyond Forest. He is the only one who can repeatedly go through Forest, but not for reasons such as everybody else is too old, no, it's because Forest has a mind of its own. It will give someone a Warning (usually in the form of a prickly vine growing very rapidly and stabbing someone in the leg with it), and if that person doesn't heed that Warning and returns to Forest, it will kill the person by Entanglement. Matty has never received a Warning, but when Village is about to close itself to outsiders, Seer sends Matty to get Kira, and when he returns to Forest with her, both of them get Warnings.
"Forest is thickening," Matty heard Leader say, and on the return to Village, he hears Kira say the same thing. They both get very wounded, Matty gets acid burns on his arms from the sap of vines he had to cut through, and Kira gets her feet shredded from the vine Warnings. Leader ends up going into Forest to try and save Matty and Kira, but ends up getting almost Entangled by the vines.
He communicates with Kira through their gifts and Kira tells Matty to use his gift (I did not state it here, because I didn't want to give anything away) to save them. This is where the book ends, Matty saves them.
But this ending, in my opinion is horrible, a thousand times more cryptic than The Givers ending. I'm not sure if Matty died, or was just really badly wounded, or if Village ended up closing. The book ends with something akin to, "Leader carried Matty's body away". BAM, ending. Matty is probably dead, but considering this is the end of the series, I would really like a definite ending for once, Ms. Lowry. Anyway, the book is great, but the ending kind of distracts from the excellence of the rest of the book. I would recommend this to almost everybody, except people who are easily angered by a bad ending.
Here's how I stared each book-
The Giver- 4 3/4 (1/4 taken off for ending)
Gathering Blue- 3 5/8 (1 3/8 taken off for seemingly plot less-ness)
Messenger- 4 (one star taken off for ending)
Hope you enjoyed,
Taryn.
Here's my review of The Giver, the 1994 Newberry Medal winner.
“The Giver” by Lois Lowry is a fictional story for young adults, but do not be fooled by that description, this book will make anyone think about the meaning of happiness, sadness, and the true meaning of love. This book is hypnotic and will capture your attention immediately with its meaning and story of agony and exultation.
“The Giver” takes place in the fictional future of earth. To be more specific, the story takes place in the mysterious “Community” where perfection, precision, and monotony rule the lives of its citizens. The Community, is what is considered the perfect utopia, where any misbehavior is punished, where there are no imperfections and life is lived in blissful ignorance.
Jonas lives in The Community. Jonas is the main protagonist in the story, and on his twelfth birthday, when all the other Twelves are being assigned to the job they will hold until the day they are unable to work, Jonas gets selected. Jonas is selected to be the Receiver of Memories and starts his job the next day with fear because the Chief Elder said to him during the Ceremony of Twelve that this assignment will cause him physical pain. During his days at work , Jonas learns of pain, war, happiness, sadness, and most importantly, love.
When Jonas learns what is really happening in The Community he decides to run away, taking the newchiled, Gabriel, with him. The ending to this book is different than most, considering it has no definite end, no definite happily ever after, no written “The End”. We know nothing of the ending, but we do know that it is happy because the goals are achieved. They are achieved through trails, agony, and the survival skills learned in Cub Scouts but are, of course, not taught in a utopia.
One of the bigger messages is the message of happiness and sadness. Lowry teaches that without true pain, there is no true happiness. This says that the citizens of The Community can never be truly happy, no matter how much they think they are, because they have felt no pain in life except the trivial bruises and scratches from falling of their bicycle. This lesson is taught through the memories Jonas receives. The Giver gives Jonas good memories at first, and he enjoys them, but after The Giver gives Jonas horrid memories, he learns to really love the good ones and learns true happiness. Lowry does an exceedingly great job of communicating this message.
As you can probably tell from the preceding paragraphs, I really like this book. Lowry’s style of writing and expression of feeling makes the fantasy seem real and the characters’ reactions to things that are trivial and normal in our everyday lives seem like things from another planet. She really delves into the characters mind, and I have a feeling if I showed her an item, or a song, or a book, she could tell me exactly how any of the characters would react to it. This book is a must read for anyone who can read, I definitely recommend to everyone.
Now here's my review of Gathering Blue.
Gathering Blue is set in the same time as The Giver, but in a different place, a VERY different place. The Giver is set in a utopia, a seemingly perfect world, Gathering Blue is set in the exact opposite. If I knew the antonym for 'utopia' I would say that that is what is written all over it. Of course there is more to the book.
It's about Kira, an orphaned girl who was born with a twisted leg. Her mother defended her at birth and her grandfather was very powerful, so the villagers didn't send her to the forest to be eaten by beasts like they did with all the other children with birth defects. The village in which Kira lives in is horrid, the mothers call their children tykes and abuse them by locking them in a pen like they do animals. After Kira's mother dies, a woman in the village, Vandara, threatens to take her home and use it to build the "Kid Pen", as I named it, along with throwing her to the beasts. This conflict is brought to the leaders of the village and they decide that Vandara will get Kira's house, but Kira will live in the Council Edifice and be a Weaver recruited to restore the Singer's robe, worn only once a year at the Gathering.
Kira goes through many trials during her time restoring the robe, one of these is discovering and nurturing her Gift (to make this more familiar, it is like what Jonas had in The Giver, his 'seeing beyond'), which is weaving things that almost take on a life of their own. The boy who lives across the hall from Kira, Thomas, the Carver, has the same sort of gift, but with carving. Kira's friend, Matt, eventually comes to travel to a place to get a plant that will make blue (hence the title) and comes back with not only blue, but with Kira's father, who was thought to be dead. Kira's father tries to convince her to come back with him to Village where people with birth defects are accepted. Kira turns down his offer and stays to try and change the ways of her home.
This book was good, but I think that it was slightly plot less. If you've ever read a book that you enjoyed but when you look back on it, you wonder why you liked it, that's what Gathering Blue is like. It is technically good and shows Lowry's way with words, but does seem a little pointless. I would recommend this to someone who's looking for something to fill up some free time, but not for someone wanting to read a good, thought provoking book.
Now for the last book in the series, Messenger.
Messenger takes place in Village, the place where Kira's father (from Gathering Blue) dwells. Matt (now Matty), Kira's friend who first finds her father, lives with him. Kira's father is known as Seer throughout the book. Here we also see Jonas, Village is what Elsewhere was in The Giver, he is known a Leader in Messenger, however.
Matty is the person in Village who takes messages to various lands, he hopes, when he receives his true name, that it will be Messenger. He takes trips through Forest to carry the messages of Leader to the lands beyond Forest. He is the only one who can repeatedly go through Forest, but not for reasons such as everybody else is too old, no, it's because Forest has a mind of its own. It will give someone a Warning (usually in the form of a prickly vine growing very rapidly and stabbing someone in the leg with it), and if that person doesn't heed that Warning and returns to Forest, it will kill the person by Entanglement. Matty has never received a Warning, but when Village is about to close itself to outsiders, Seer sends Matty to get Kira, and when he returns to Forest with her, both of them get Warnings.
"Forest is thickening," Matty heard Leader say, and on the return to Village, he hears Kira say the same thing. They both get very wounded, Matty gets acid burns on his arms from the sap of vines he had to cut through, and Kira gets her feet shredded from the vine Warnings. Leader ends up going into Forest to try and save Matty and Kira, but ends up getting almost Entangled by the vines.
He communicates with Kira through their gifts and Kira tells Matty to use his gift (I did not state it here, because I didn't want to give anything away) to save them. This is where the book ends, Matty saves them.
But this ending, in my opinion is horrible, a thousand times more cryptic than The Givers ending. I'm not sure if Matty died, or was just really badly wounded, or if Village ended up closing. The book ends with something akin to, "Leader carried Matty's body away". BAM, ending. Matty is probably dead, but considering this is the end of the series, I would really like a definite ending for once, Ms. Lowry. Anyway, the book is great, but the ending kind of distracts from the excellence of the rest of the book. I would recommend this to almost everybody, except people who are easily angered by a bad ending.
Here's how I stared each book-
The Giver- 4 3/4 (1/4 taken off for ending)
Gathering Blue- 3 5/8 (1 3/8 taken off for seemingly plot less-ness)
Messenger- 4 (one star taken off for ending)
Hope you enjoyed,
Taryn.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Hello World!
May this post be a testimony to the first blog post I have done. This is my blog, The New Nerd. Named so because that is what my mom and her friends call me (more specifically, "The new breed of nerd"). I am a seventh grader, homeschooled, an avid reader, movie watcher, and music lover. I am a writer, and am working on a novel, although it is still in the very young stages. This is my blog about my book life, my movie life and my music life. Let's do this.
Taryn
Taryn
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