The Maze Runner

by James Dashner

This book has a Hunger Games, Jr feel to it. Thomas finds himself in the "Glade" with no memory of where or who he was in the past. But he's not alone, a number of other boys are also in the Glade with the same problem. They've developed their own working hieracrchy and manage to get by since whoever created the Glade had the foresight to build in all the essentials: farm, slaughterhouse, etc. The kicker is that the Glade is surrounded by a giant wall and each day the wall's gate open and each night, they close. Outside the walls is an giant, ever-changing maze which the runners (maze explorers) dutifully go out into every day trying to find an escape. But the maze changes every day as well, and there are hidden dangers - robotic, yet mythological creatures whose bite or scratch can prove fatal.

All is running normally - as normally as it can in the Glade - when another new child arrives. This child is different. He's a girl. And she's the last new child to ever be brought to the glade.

The writing in this book is fast-paced and exciting, but definitely for the 10 to 14 range, and not really older. While this is a great read, it lacks the weighty ethical issues that I found myself thinking about in The Hunger Games. One thing I loved was the fact that the storyline is so obviously based on King Minos, the Minotaur, and the labyrinth.

Grade: B

The Forest of Hands and Teeth: Remarkably Like The Passage

by Carrie Ryan

"Who are we if not the stories we pass down? What happens when there's no one left to tell those stories? To hear them? Who will ever know that I existed? What is we are the only ones left - who will know our stories then? And what will happen to everyone else's stories? Who will remember those?
...
'I know about you, Mary.' He places a hand on my cheek, trails one finger along my jaw, and I'm forced to close my eyes so that he doesn't read in my expression the words that ring in my head but that I can't say aloud. That it is not enough.

That I am terrified that he is not enough." (p. 207)

The ocean: a wide, unending expanse of water. A fairytale? Or a memory passed down from mother to child through generations? In Mary's world all that exists beyond the village is the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

In this isolated world of order, all individuals have a common fear: the unconsecrated.
(Or virals, as they were known in The Passage, but the Unconsecrated are more like zombies.)
There are the Guardians, who guard the perimeter, and the Sisters, who make the decisions.
(Or the First Families, as they were known in The Passage.)
There are the villagers, who live their lives out despite the constant death and terror that surrounds them. Grow up, get married, have children.

And then there is Mary, who is torn between the man she is betrothed to and the man she loves. Mary, who also believes in the ocean and the existence of others.

As Mary's world begins to unwind, she learns of deeper secrets held by the Sisters. Secrets that lead Mary to suspect that another world is out there, and it is attainable. As the village's way of life is destroyed, Mary and her friends struggle to determine the right paths for their own lives.

Yup. So this is super familiar, right? We've heard this storyline before. Much to my surprise, though, this novel is much better done than both Cronin's The Passage and Haddix's Running Out of Time. The characters were much more personable, the pacing was super-fast (I read it this afternoon), and the prose was almost poetic at times.

Grade: A

Let the Right One In: A Vampire Novel for Adults

Let the Right One In by John Ajvide Lindqvist is a vampire novel. The most unromantic and depressing vampire novel I have ever read. There is nothing seductive about vampirism in this novel. The thrill and fascination for death, immortality, and power are nil. This is a vampire story by Wally Lamb: gray, depressive, and in need of a real anti-depressant. The back of the book claims that the author is “Sweden’s Stephen King.” If that is so, I am eternally grateful that I live in America. If King’s works seem a tad less serious, the impression they leave is still as lasting as this story and yet much more engrossing.

Oskar, a 12-year-old misfit, is ostracized and bullied to the extreme. He really has no one with whom he can connect with other than his mother, who seems to be just as desperate and lonely. No one really understands the extent to which he is subjected to cruel and inhumane harassment from bullies. No one tries to alleviate the problem. Oskar fantasizes about killing his bullies, and this is where you begin to question the empathy you developed for him. Is this kid whack-o? Is he going to go crazy and kill everyone? But as soon as you develop an aversion to Oskar, Eli enters the storyline and pulls you back in.

Oskar meets the strange, waif-like girl in his apartment complex's playground one night. He is unused to any attention that is not scornful. She, too, seems lonely. From the get-go, the narrator lets you know that Eli is a vampire and that her situation is as sad as the dull, cold apartment complex in which she and Oskar live. Due to her child-like appearance, Eli must live with an adult: a pedophile who is willing to kill for her and clean up the mess. In no uncertain terms is vampirism made appealling. Her situation is not glorified: she is a killer. When Eli hasn’t fed, she becomes old and decrepit looking. She often smells.

However, there is something between Eli and Oskar. Some understanding between their souls, some understanding of the quiet loneliness they both live with. They become friends. An odd friendship comprised of meeting at night and communicating through walls using Morse code. But this friendship, however strange, seems to give Oskar a little more strength in daily life.

It is Eli, primarily, and Oskar whom you want the story to develop around. However, there are so many subplots to the story that weave in and out, dampening my enthusiasm for the book. There’s the group of alcoholics that have little in their own lives but each other and the need to drink. There’s the pedophile that is willing to kill for Eli who has his own depressing and repellent background. There’s Oskar’s own sad alcoholic father. The author even develops the stories of the main detective who investigates the mysterious murders. And the story of his girlfriend and her drug-addict son, Tommy. Even the background of the main bully is explored. There’s just too much in the way of character development, and I’m not sure if it really adds much to the story….

Except to focus on the complete lack of connection these characters feel to any other human in their lives. So little love is displayed. So little enthusiasm for life.. And why would that be relevant other than to depress us? Well, it highlights the fact that maybe Oskar and Eli’s friendship isn’t all that odd. In a place with so little life, so little warmth, so little to hope for, perhaps Eli is a good choice as a friend.

Grade: C+

A Quick Synopsis of Some Books in the Past

I've read quite a few books in the past six months, and I haven't reviewed any of them. So here's a brief summary of the highlights:

#1 Recommendation: The Hunger Games.
This book kicks butt! Seriously, I love this book. Violence. Children who must fight to their death. A dystopian society. A female protagonist and yet it's still a book that the boys love, too. And fashion! Who would think kick ass fashion would play so well into a YA book that also involves such violence? And the ethical questions that the protagonist/readers must ponder!

THIS BOOK ROCKS. (Side note: I have never convinced so many people to read a book as this one.)

#1a Recommendation: Catching Fire. The sequel to The Hunger Games. A little slower, but ends with a dead-silent,-I can't-believe-it ending.

#2 Recommendation: Elsewhere.
Life in the afterlife? Can it really be as normal as the one we have here on Earth? This was a great YA read, but one that took me about five tries to fnally get into. I read this right after reading The Lovely Bones, and it was a wonderful breath of relief.

#3 Recommendation: First Light.
A much better City of Ember.

#4 Recommendation: Oh. My. Gods.
A Percy Jackson beach read for girls? Yup! This was all fluff but all fun. A private boarding school for the demi-gods of the mythological elite? Set in present day Greece 2010? Why not? Lots of fun, Sweet Valley High style.

The Last Olympian

Percy Jackson and the Olympians
The Last Olympian by Rick Riordan

This book, the last of the series, has Percy fighting Kronos, who has taken over Luke's body. If Kronos is not defeated, the Olympian gods will perish. Unfortunately, the gods have deserted Manhattan in an effort to combat Typhon, a terrifying monster that is ravaging the United States. Mount Olympus is left undefended and Percy must unity the demi-gods, satyrs, and other creatures in a great battle against Kronos for control of Manhattan, the Empire State Building, and Mount Olympus.

As a wrap-up book, we learn more about Luke, Rachel Dare, Nico the demi-god of the Underworld, and Annabeth. There's a lot of action in this story: traitors, a dip in the River Styx, a visit to Poseidon's palace, and several visits to Luke's past.

This book promises a great read... and possibly another book. The Last Olympian ends with another prophecy from the Oracle...

Grade: A+ (Perhaps this is really a B+, but I am a crazy huge fan.)

Ink Exchange

Ink Exchange by Melissa Marr

(Warning: This book is marketed as YA, but I would not recommend it to anyone under 14. Depictions of sex and violence are a little mature and offer no real reflection to help a younger reader process it.)

A companion piece to Wicked Lovely, this story sets Aislinn’s friend Leslie as the protagonist. Leslie is ignorant of the fantastical changes that have overcome her friend. Aislinn is now Queen of the Summer Fairies. In fact, Leslie is unaware of the existence of fairies at all. She is only aware of the new presence of several overwhelmingly attractive and enigmatic people whom Aislinn now calls friends. Despite some of these odd changes, Leslie is preoccupied. She is hiding many dark secrets from her friends: the deterioration of her home life, an alcoholic father, and an abusive and drug-addicted brother. In the chaos of her life, Leslie is trying to keep it together and take control. It’s a tightrope balanced walk, and one way that she tries to regain control is through the reclaiming of her body with a tattoo.

Leslie finds herself mesmerized by a particular tattoo that is special and unique. Unbeknownst to her, it is the tattoo of the King of the Dark Fairies, Irial. The Dark Fairies, who feed off of negative emotions, have been going hungry ever since Aislinn gained rule and the reigning Winter Queen, Beira, was ousted. Beira had kept the emotional pot of fairy emotions at a constant boil, and there was no end to sating the evil fairies’ appetites. Now that a kind rule has come over the fairy world, the dark fey are starving, and Irial must devise a new way for them to feed.

Leslie’s tattoo is more than mere mortal body art. It is an ink exchange, which will link Irial and her together, allowing Irial to filter all of humanity’s emotions through her. While she detests having been used, Irial’s magnetic power is overwhelming. Leslie at turns fights being used as such a tool, and at other moments prefers her tethered state to her previous sad life.

Irial’s court is truly a dark one. Humans are used and abused in the foulest ways so the fairies may extract the fullest range and depth of negative emotions: lust, greed, pain, gluttony, rage, and insanity...

The character development of the main characters, Leslie, and Irial, is good. Most spectacular is the descriptive and emotional language that shows up regularly. However, I still feel as though the background story is not fleshed out enough. Readers are left asking too many questions about side characters and practical questions about fairies. What exactly happens to a fairy that starves? What exactly do fairies do? What is their purpose? The holes in this book caused me to put this book down several times and ask, “What is the point? Do I really even care to know the end?” I persevered, and I can’t really say I felt a sense of satisfaction at completing it.

GRADE: C

Prince Caspian

Prince Caspian - A solid A. I don't know if the story is developed better in this book, or if at this point in time I'm just thoroughly entrenched in the lives of Narnians and the Pevensies. This book so far is my favorite.

Grade: A

Now Reading: My Sister's Keeper

Can't Wait: Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Last Straw

Okay, in all honesty, I can wait for the third Wimpy Kid book. I mean, I know that I will enjoy it, but what I'm most excited about how much the kids love these books. One, I like it when they like books. Two, I feel like the belle of the ball because I have the book that they all want. Isn't that totally childish?

Finally Gave Up On: Rumors (the sequel to The Luxe). Don't judge this book by it's cover. Cover: A++ Storyline: Frustrating.

Want to give up on, but I can't because I have to print progress reports tomorrow: My Accelerated Class's Writing Papers

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

I really do hate saying that I enjoyed the movie better than the book, but in this case, I must.

This is not to say that the story isn't good. It is. I love the narration, which really lends itself (in my opinion) to being read aloud. Or at least, the omniscient narrator feels akin to a person reading the story - an old grandpa like the grandpa in The Princess Bride.

I felt that the character development of the four Pevensies was rather shallow in the book. Edmund gets a bit more character development in the book than in the movie, but is perhaps less likable in the text. I feel that Lucy is well-written, but Peter and Susan are not given much description or action to shape them into well-rounded characters. However, in the movie I grew truly attached to them.

And Mr. and Mrs. Beaver? Equally great in the book and in the movie! I wouldn't mind a book dedicated just to them.

I do believe there is an interesting difference between the two versions: the stance on women in battle. In the book, Father Christmas gives Susan her bow and arrow, but he tells her that "You must use the bow only in great need... for I do not mean for you to fight in battle." In the movie, there is no mention of Susan refraining from fighting. When Lucy receives her gift of the small knife, Father Christmas tells her, "the dagger is to defend yourself in great need. For you are also not meant to be in battle... Battles are ugly when women fight." Of course, Father Christmas makes no mention of females in combat in the movie.

I can't recall if Susan ever does fight in the Narnia movie. I know that she does in the Prince Caspian, but I can't recall for the first.

Grade: A

The Magician's Nephew

The Magician's Nephew by C.S. Lewis

After finishing Silas Marner, I was lost in regards to reading. Generally, I easily alight on a new book without much difficulty. I may not read quickly all of the time or rabidly, but I usually do have something that I enjoy reading nearby. Not so for the last few weeks. Metaphorically speaking, my search for a read has been akin to a night full of tossing and turning - looking for the best, coolest spot on the pillow.

I finished most of a Brave New World (a re-read), carried around the sequel to Wicked Lovely, and began a YA novel of unknown title that my sister said was good. But nothing really settled. I finally sat down, determined. I would begin reading the Chronicles of Narnia series. I had watched the two movies again - HD Blu-Ray, and I thought that I should really learn more.

I've started with the first: The Magician's Nephew. This book was written after The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe and tells the reader of the creation of Narnia.

Digory and Polly are two London children who find themselves thrown into another world due to the work of Digory's magician uncle (hence, the title). While hopping through worlds, they accidentally awaken the evil queen Jadis (who later becomes the White Witch) and bring her back to London. There she wreaks havoc on all sorts of things, and the children successfully maneuvered her out of our world and into an unborn world - the future world of Narnia. While floating in this unformed world, the group (for the children bring more people than intended), the birth song of the world - sung by Aslan - is heard. Aslan's song brings the world and its creations into being. Aslan gives chosen animals thought and speech.

The shame of this beautiful new world is that the son of Adam -Digory- brought evil into the Narnia, that being Jadis. Digory is sent on a mission by Aslan: to find and return with a powerful silver apple, but not to be tempted to eat it. Digory resists the temptation and returns with the apple. However, Jadis finds the tree and eats from it. When Digory returns to Aslan, they plant the apple, which Aslan tells the creatures it will provide them with protection against the White Witch. As a reward, Aslan provides Digory with another silver apple to help save his dying mother back in Earth. When the children return, Digory revives his mother with the apple and then buries the apple core and all other magical paraphernalia in the ground. A tree grows. This is the wood from which the wardrobe was created.

My Thoughts:
This is a dry read, one definitely more fit for illustrations because the text isn't exactly absorbing. The action sequences are low-key, and the story line is not movie-made. However, it does provide nice background info for The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I kind of like to the think that the Bartle book by Rowling probably has a similar feel.

Regardless, this was a fun and quick read. I enjoyed the background info and I really like the fact that I know why there was a lamp post in the middle of the woods in the movie.

Grade: B-/C+

Side Note: At one point the newly born creatures of Narnia mistake the uncle for a talking lettuce. This made me think of a story about cabbage that could talk and feel. It was written by Bergerac in a book called The Other World. Anyway, I googled it and found that C.S. Lewis has a book of compiled essays and stories called Of Other Worlds. Connection? IDK.

Wicked Lovely (YA) by Melisssa Marr

Wicked Lovely.

Oh, if only stories lived up to their titles. Wicked Lovely isn't a bad story; in fact, it's quite good. But still not as good as its title.

Plot Synopsis:

Wicked Lovely is about Aislinn, a human girl, who has the ability to see fairies. Throughout her life, she has strictly adhered to the rules: Never speak with or engage a fairy. Contrary to belief, most fairies are neither kind nor complacent. They are capricious and cruel. Their viciousness may alight on anyone who rouses their interest. Unfortunately, Aislinn discovers that the dethroned Summer King, Keenan, has chosen her to be the next Summer Queen. But, of course, nothing is ever that easy. Keenan has searched for centuries for the right Queen who will help him realize his full power. Throughout the ages, those chosen girls have been given a choice: Take the challenge to see if they are truly the Summer Queen and become Keenan's true partner or turn into a Summer fairy. Those who have taken the challenge and failed become "Winter Girls." Aislinn is the Keenan's newest pick.

But Aislinn is a modern girl, and she wants to have her cake and eat it, too. Although Aislinn feels in her heart that she is the true Summer Queen, she is unwilling to give up her mortal love.


Critique:
The world of the fairies is fully flushed out and completely intriguing, which is why I'm eager to move onto the next book in the series, Ink Exchange. What isn't completely understood is how the two worlds, mortal and fairy, are related. What are the fairies' interests in humans? If the Winter Queen is getting closer to winning her battle - a win which would affect fairies and humans alike - wouldn't humans feel the change? Basically, I'm a sucker for background information.

The prose is poetic at times ("Then he bent down and kissed her, lips open against hers. It was like swallowing sunshine...p.224) and sometimes over the top, but never to the Stephanie Meyers' level.

Character development is best in Keenan, who is at times arrogant and self-centered and at other times the charming Fairy King that one would expect. It is also outstandingly developed in Donia, the Winter Girl, who is torn for her love for Keenan and her desire to have her chilly mantle taken on by a new Winter Girl.

Although Aislinn is a modern girl who refuses to give in easily to Keenan, things still work out a tad bit too well for her. Then again, this is a Young Adult novel.

Grade: B+