Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25

Michael Vey: Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans.

My husband has a fake book for Michael Vey under the V section of his library. When you pick it up, it then directs the patron to the E section for Evans. That's how popular this series is.

Okay, so I wouldn't say there's much for originality here. There's a select group of teens who have superpower abilities - all electrically related - due to some experimental mishap. Michael Vey, the protagonist, is, of course, the most powerful one of all. But that's not how the book starts out. Michael is the classic underdog. His social life consists mostly of Ostin, his best friend, and his mom. Through a series of events, Michael becomes friends with Taylor Ridley, a hot, popular cheerleader, who also has electrical superpowers. And so the Electroclan is formed.

There's more -- a sick and twisted company is out to get Michael and Taylor. They are collected all of the electrical children and conditioning them into the ultimate weapons.

Okay, so there are a lot cliches and typical plot lines here, but, regardless, this was still a really great read. I read it fast, just like I'm typing fast, through my two children's fighting and constant bickering. I'm actually getting the second book, and that says a lot for me.

PS - This book has "Movie Deal" written all over it. I wouldn't be surprised if there isn't one already in the works.

PPS - Another thing I did like was that some chapters were told in first person from Michael's point of view and other chapters in the third person perspective.

Grade: B+

I Am Legend

by Richard Matheson

A long time ago, when I saw the movie I AM LEGEND with the lovely Will Smith, I thought "Wow! Can I read this book?" Years later, while at the Goodwill, I found a copy. I read this book in April, so my review is going to be a bit dusty and perhaps a bit more of a book-movie comparison than a book review.

Robert Neville is the only man alive. Everyone else has succumbed to a deadly vampiric infection. Or have they? Neville spends his days refortifying his house and killing the infected. At night, he holes up in his fortress-like home and tries to drink away the howls of the now dead and the memories of the ones he used to love. (So far, pretty similar to the movie.)

However, the book Neville isn't one of the best scientists in the world, so gone are all the absolutely wonderful science-lab backstory and vaccine montages that I loved in the movie.

Another however, this book has absolutely none of the hope that the movie does. The book is an end-of-the-world and there's not much you can do about it type of story. I'm torn between which I like better: the bittersweet, yet hopeful ending of the movie or the damned, that's it? ending of the book.

That being said, this is a great read at only 169 pages and while it's not hopeful, I would still easily classify it as light beach reading. B+

Plague (The Gone Series)

Boy, the covers are cheesy, though....

Well, stock in the Gone series has gone back up. After a tepid swim with Lies, Plague is back kickin' ass.

I love a good story about a plague. But strangely enough, the fatal flu wasn't what I flipped over. It was the absolutely disgusting parasitic worms that infected several characters and would literally eat their own hosts. Goodness, I think Grant should have gone into even more detail about those. It was stomach-turning and awesome at the same time. (An aside: Strangely, I have no stomach at all for scary movies, but do love the book versions.)

Back to the book: Albert, the self-made Trump of the FAYZ, has realized that the water levels of the reservoir are dropping dangerously low. Even with one gallon per person rations, the water supply isn't going to last long enough. He sends out an expedition made up of Sam, Dekka, Taylor, and Jack to search the outer boundaries of the FAYZ for additional water sources. While they explore their world, the kids at Perdido Beach must deal with both a devastating flu and a case of parasitic worms - that hatch and turn into almost indestructible and very hungry insects.

But, of course, that's not all. (Because it's not a Gone book unless one hundred other plots lines are happening, right?) Drake and Brittany are back - working for and against the Darkness (a.k.a. the Gaigaphage). What is left of the hate-group, the Human Crew, have beaten Albert to a pulp. Edilio is on his deathbed with the flu, and all hell, of course, breaks out.

Let's just say Caine comes back.

My review? This book really took time to explore Pete Ellison's mind - he's the five year old autistic boy who is responsible for the FAYZ. And he's the center of this whole mystery, so it's terribly exciting to see how he perceives his world. There's a lot of close-up time with Diana, and she absolutely will be the driving force  behind why readers will flock to the fifth book of the series. Character development is still a bit slow, given all the pages, and I'm particularly saddened that I don't really care much for Sam anymore than when I started. However, as always, the storyline is non-stop adrenaline that doesn't let up - or give you time to reflect on plausibility, character development, etc.

Grade: B+

N.B. The covers for these books are absolutely horrible.

Lies

by Michael Grant

In the third installment of the Gone series, way too many things happen... So it's business as usual for the world of the FAYZ.

• Sam has ceded control over to the council: A council that is much to slow to make decisions or take action.
• The Human Crew forms; it's a freak-hate group.
• A prophetess named Orsay is communicating with those outside the FAYZ.
• Mary Terrafino, who cares for the children in the nursery, has become overburdened and under-medicated. 
• Astrid and Sam argue.
• Oh, and Brittany - the girl who died during the nuclear power plant fight - comes back from the dead.
• And Drake, too.

Listen, tons of other stuff develops, too, but I read this book two weeks ago. Grade-wise, I would probably give this a C+. Too much happens, and the storyline becomes burdensome with so many different angles to it. However, there were a few redeeming qualities. Astrid's character is developed more. She's conflicted and arrogant. In a way, she's one of the better developed characters. Grant has gone about giving this goody-goody such sharp edges that make her hard to like. Unlike, strangley, the bad-girl Diana, with whom (I assume) most readers probably empathize. I found the whole storyline with Mary Terrafino to be terribly long and boring. For a girl suffering from way too much responsibility, depression, and an eating disorder, I found it hard to even want to pay attention to her.

So, all in all, this book had its slow moments. But in the end, it's about the mystery of the Darkness and Little Pete. What does this five-year old autistic child have to do with the FAYZ?

Grade: C+

The Compound

by S.A. Bodeen

What if the world had been nuked? 

What if your family had an escape plan? 

What if your family had a well-stocked fallout shelter? 

What would happen when things went wrong?

Eli has lived for six years in his family’s compound. An unending compound with room for the whole family, filled with enough supplies to last a nuclear winter of fifteen years. But the time for Eddy has not been one of relief, because for the last six years his identical twin, Eddy, has been dead. Left outside. Because of Eli.

For six years he has not cut his hair. He has not touched anyone. He has cocooned himself from life and from himself, just as much as the compound has cocooned the whole family. After all this time, the strangeness of his life underground doesn’t seem shocking.  But then Eli finally makes the choice to enter his brother’s room in the compound. And his world is torn apart.

Review:

Excellent! I would actually say that the ideas presented in this book were more disturbing than the violence of The Hunger Games or the mercy killing in This World We Live In. The pacing is fast and exciting, and despite the brevity of the book, I developed a connection with the characters, especially Eli (narrator) and his older sister, Lexie.

I have a few complaints. First, this book should have been longer. There are a lot of ethical issues that could have been delved into deeper. Second, had the plot been more developed, it would have given more time for Eli to discover more about the compound and his father’s insane plans. Hence, as a reader, I would have learned more. I love scientific background stories.

Grade: B+

Hunger (sequel to Gone)

by Michael Grant.

One day all the adults disappeared, and only children under fifteen were left in San Perdido, California. One day an impenetrable dome surrounded the town. One day all the children learned they were on their own, in a new world: the FAYZ.

Three months after the FAYZ occurred, life is still the same: the adults are gone, some children have superpowers, and Caine and Drake are still the menacing enemies. But now they are hungry.

As children go hungry, tempers flare, and a rift grows between the "normals" and the "moofs" (mutant freaks).

While Sam Temple, the protagonist, tries to create order out of chaos, find food, and mediate squabbles and fights, Caine - a cruel, power-hungry (with super powers to boot) kid from Coates Prep School - devises a way to topple Sam from his position of leadership. He decides to take over the local power plant.

But Caine's not the only enemy now. Sam and his friends are now fully aware of "The Hunger" a creature that lives underground and is growing more powerful and evil...

My Review:

Perhaps it's because I've read close to thousand pages of this series in the past two weeks, or perhaps it's the actual novel, but I felt like there was some real character development in this book. Astrid, Sam's girlfriend, and Edilio, Alberto, and Quinn (normals who are Sam's friends) become more interesting and create more depth in this fast-paced plot.

Once again, Grant's story was exciting and compelling - although for a brief spell (pages 200 to 300 or so) I lost interest.

Ethically, the book becomes more interesting as character have to deal with prejudices and mistrust between the moofs and the normals.

Each time you think you're unpeeling the mystery of the FAYZ, you find out there is another layer that you didn't know existed, and these mysteries have me chomping at the bit to read the next book: Lies.

Grade: B+

Gone

By Michael Grant

Gone is touted as a modern-day Lord of the Flies. It's not that good. By that I mean, you won't be weighed down with any heavy ethical issues. No guilt for Piggy.

But it is good fun. And like all teenaged fun, it's best not to have the adults around.

San Perdido, California. One minute - normal life. The next? All individuals over the age of 15 have disappeared. There one second, gone the next.

Sam Templeton, a quiet 14 year old boy, becomes the leader who helps band the local kids together - fighting the bullies and also the rich, private school students who come down from their mountain to try to gain control of the town. The young children must be cared for, fights resolved, and a community must be governed.

In all honesty, there's enough to that story line to develop an engaging read.

But Grant gives us more. Along with the disappearance of adults comes the children's development of super powers. And the impenetrable domed barrier that prevents anyone from leaving the area. Oh, and did I forget to mention the mutating animals?

Throughout all the trials, the characters and the reader struggle to determine how? and why?

Honestly, that's a lot of ingredients for one story. And a lot of authors (especially if they were a seventh grader) would lose control of everything. But Grant does a good job tying it all together, juggling it all to help create a compelling mystery that drives the reader forward. I imagine that the reader's hunger to know the mystery is comparable to the series Lost (which I have never watched), Defying Gravity (awesome sci-fi series that was cancelled), or Battlestar Galactica (Best. Series. Ever.).

Of course, all this action and mystery has to take a toll on some aspect of the novel and it does: character development is rather shallow. But you'll forgive the book for this because you don't care so much for the characters as for the strange events, the mutations, the super powers, the fights, and the mystery. The fast pacing of the story line won't give you a moment to reflect on the weaknesses of the book anyway.

If you liked Hunger Games, super power stories, action-packed books, The Girl Who Owned a City, I Am Number Four, you will like Gone.

Grade: B+

I Am Number Four

by Pittacus Lore

An alien race called the Mogadorians destroyed the planet Lorien. John Smith is one of nine alien children who escaped the destruction that occurred on Lorien. One of nine children with superpowers. Accompanied by their guardians, the nine arrived on Earth and have been living lives on the run, hiding from the Mogadorians who are out to finish them their race off.

The Nine are bound together by a charm that only allows the Mogadorians to kill them in order. John Smith is number four, and he is next.

Living a life constantly on the run has not been fun for young John Smith or his guardian, Henri. When fate finally lands them in Paradise, Ohio, John decides he’s ready to develop roots. He finds a friend and falls in love. As the story progresses and as John becomes more comfortable with his life in Paradise, the Mogadorians draw closer.

My review?

This story is one dimensional. There’s not a lot to drive the plot forward other than the Mogadorians, and the rising action doesn’t really create the suspense or tension readers enjoy with good action/adventure/mystery storylines. The character development is minimal; by the end of the book, I hadn’t really developed a connection with any of the characters. In fact, the character I liked the most was Bernie Kosar, John’s pet beagle.

The writing is one part sophisticated, one part middle school. The writing style is polished, but there is a lack of restraint that I also find in middle school writing. Overbearing, unnecessary descriptions of places. Details added in that seem to add little. Poorly explained background stories or descriptions. Beasts and turns of events added just to create more chaos. That's a typical middle-school writing trick: just adding extraordinary stuff on the fly just for shock effect. Ad-lib writing and "just because" justifications.

However, the book pulls together in the end because of the introduction of one compelling character: Number Six. It’s for this reason that I leave this book off with a B-/C+. Because it left me hope that the next book would be better.

Grade: C+

Birthmarked

By Caragh M. O’Brien

Birthmarked is a sci-fi (although a subtle sci-fi) story set in a dystopian future. Hundreds of years into the future, only small remnants of humanity remain – small pockets of communities. Water is scarce – so scarce that even the Great Lakes are now “unlakes.” An oppressive ruling class called the Enclave has devised a system: the privileged and chosen live inside a gated community where resources are plentiful, while those outside the wall must scrape by on what the Enclave will give them.

Genetically, the pool of genes within the Enclave was small – inbreeding occurred and recessive diseases like hemophilia became rampant. To strengthen their pedigrees, the Enclave takes what it must from those who live outside of the wall: their children. The Enclave requires the first three babies born in each month be taken-"advanced"- from their parents for a better life inside the Enclave. In return, those taken babies will help increase the Enclave’s genetic diversity.

Gaia is from the outside. She is a mid-wife. It was her mother’s vocation, and ever since the Enclave imprisoned her parents, it is now hers. For the first time, she truly begins to question the Enclave’s right to children outside the wall.

This was a very good book written by a local CT author. At times the plotline felt too convenient, but otherwise a really good read. If you liked Handmaid’s Tale or The Giver, you’ll probably enjoy this.

Grade: B+

Ender's Game

by Orson Scott Card

Ender’s Game is an interesting book, first published in the late 70s. I believe, but perhaps erroneously, that it is one of the “classic science fiction” novels specifically targeting children and young adults. But it’s hard for me to explain what this book is. If you like science fiction, will you read it? Yes. Will you like it? Maybe. Does it have a few interesting moral and ethical questions for you to ponder? Yes.

So, let’s cut to the chase. Ender Wiggins is a young boy in a society set far into the future. A society that is ruled by three separate entities, who are currently united in one fight: the fight against the buggers – an alien race that has attacked Earth twice before.

The international military is constantly preparing for their next encounter with the buggers. They prepare by picking the most intelligent children who have personalities that are highly suitable for military leadership. Such children leave their families and spend the rest of their childhoods learning, training, and fighting in Battle School.

Six-year old Ender Wiggins is chosen. But he turns out to not just be chosen; it’s like he is the chosen one. The adults quickly realize his potential far outweighes the potential of any other student, and so they begin to manipulate Ender’s life. They ensure that Ender is always on the outside to keep him from getting comfortable. They do little to prevent Ender from being bullied because they want him to learn how to deal with conflict on his own.

Ender quickly advances through the ranks, constantly outperforming everyone’s expectations. He is their genius military leader, but he begins to wonder if it’s all worth it.

Readability-wise this story reads kind of like a textbook with a B-line plot and shallow character development. It wouldn’t make a bad Made-For-TV movie. The shame of it is with more time and development of characters, I think I would have really enjoyed this book. When you enjoy this book, you’re enjoying it simply for the premise not necessarily for the writing.

Interesting Ethical Areas:

Childhood: Is it ethical to begin strict military training at the age of 6? Do we treat children like pawns? Are we unable to see children’s true potential because we see them as “children”?

Violence: When is violence justified? Exactly how violent can children be before it could be considered a “problem”? Can you justify exterminating an entire race – when those in question are attacking aliens?

Interesting point: One totally cool thing that this book focuses on is orientation, planes, and zero gravity. Ender spends a lot of time training his troops to give up their Earth orientation: where up is up and down is down. In zero gravity, you can be anyway. This is interesting because if you watch sci-fi (Star Wars, Star Trek, Battlestar Galactica), the ships all fly together on the same plane. Why?

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

The Passage by Justin Cronin

The Passage by Justin Cronin. It's, like, the 'it' novel for the summer. Or at least the sci-fi-vampire 'it' novel. So I ran out and got it. And it is looooooooooong. Here's what Ron Charles of the Washington Post has to say:

"Imagine Michael Crichton crossbreeding
Stephen King's "The Stand" and "Salem's Lot"
in that lab at Jurassic Park"

That's exactly my thought!! Except I might have added a bit of Dean Koontz. (Okay, I've only read Door to December, but still... The Passage feels a bit Koontz.) And I might have added King's Charlie McGee (the little firestarter from Firestarter).

But this is the thing: I love vampires. And I LOVE MICHAEL CRICHTON. And I have a deep respect and enjoyment of Stephen King. So this is, like, perfect, right?

Well, it is and it isn't. I love that vampirism is turned into a coldly scientific and unromantic virus. I love the background story. I mean, who doesn't love an origin story? as my husband would say.

The first two hundred pages are the origin story with all its juicy science-y stuff. Introduced are a hard-nosed FBI guy and an abandoned, precocious little kid. The precocious little kid is purposefully infected with the virus, thanks to US Military's scientific need for research. Loved it.

The rest of the 600 or so pages cover what the world in like 100 years into the post-virus future. A small community has survived called "The Colony." They live in a large compound that is powered by wind turbines, which help the lights stay on. Because the lights have to stay on. There are vampires about, remember?!? Except they call them virals. I agree with Ron Charles's astute criticism: this is where it got a little slow for me. There is so much detail about everyone in this community and their history; it gets tiresome. The story picks up momentum as a group from the colony leave their community, searching for an answer, other humans, something...

I liked this book. Crisp and fun at the start, a bit soggy in the middle, but a delectable end.
Anyway, I'm posting Ron Charles's review here.

BTW, although this has been purchased for its movie rights, I do not think a feature film is the way to go. I know it's risky, but I really believe this story would do better as a mini-series (like The Stand, V, etc.) The Passage is interesting because it takes the time to weave so many stories, and a movie wouldn't be able to do that. (I know! I just complained that the book was too detailed and too long, but I didn't sit down for just an hour or two every Monday night to read it.) The Da Vinci Code worked out well, because in the end, it was about the code - not about the people. But The Passage is about the people not the, necessarily the virals. It's about how they cope with their situation. How they put together the small clues to their future and past. It would really lend itself to a mini-series. Ohwell.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

Who decides on life?

In the faraway future of Unwind, society and policy know the answers to such questions. Through the development of new transplant technology, the debates and differences between pro-life proponents and pro-choice proponents have been solved. The Bill of Life states that while all pregnancies are protected, unwanted children can be "terminated retroactively" between the ages of 13 to 18. And how, exactly, does that conform to the standards of pro-life beliefs? Each child who is "retroactively terminated" is divided up so that all parts are used again; hence, you are not killed but simply redistributed. Unwound.

• Connor is a teen boy with behavior problems whose parents have signed his "Unwind" papers.
• Risa is an orphan who is going to be rewound because she is not talented enough to keep in the already crowded orphanage system.
• Lev is a thirteen year old tithe. His parents had him for the express purpose of donating him for the greater good. Lev believes whole-heartedly in the philosophy of unwinding, and he is proud to be a tithe.

All three are on the their way to be unwound at a "harvest camp" when Connor decides to rebel and fight back. His actions help free both Risa, who wants freedom, and Lev, who does not. While on the lam, the legend of the Akron unwind who fought back against the police grows. If each can survive on the run until the age of 18, they'll be free again.

This was a great book. If you liked the ethical issues and sci-fi feel of House of Scorpions, this is a great book for you. In some ways I wish Shusterman had been more explicit in the discussion of the life/abortion issues. I think that some kids could read this without really connecting to the issue as it stands today, in 2010. However, I appreciate the focus it does give to "newspeak" and the power of redesigning language. You're not murdered but rather "retroactively terminated"? As a Crichton fan, I loved it for the sci-fi future details. As a Stephen King fan, I loved the "unwind" scene - scary - but not too scary for a sixth grader. It also has a lot of fast-paced action to keep your attention.

I'm adding this to my list of books that I like that deal with the ethics of organ transplanting/donation:

• House of Scorpions
• Next
• My Sister's Keeper
• Never Let Me Go (This book and Unwind are the most similar. Very similar but Never Let Me Go has no action.)

Grade: B+

This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer

This is the final companion to Life As We Knew It and The Dead & the Gone. Miranda Evans and her family have survived over a year after the catastrophic meteor hit the moon, creating an inhospitable earth. Life is a monotonous game of survival: eat now or perish? eat now or relish later? While life seems better, the government is able to send out some food. Their hope is guarded.

Hmm...honestly, I read this book awhile ago and have been putting off reviewing it for some time. It's not fresh in my mind, and I'm still deliberating how much I liked it.

Here's my quick synopsis: Miranda Evans and her family are still struggling to survive in rural Pennsylvania. Miranda dreams of something -anything- different, and longs to know if her father, step-mother, and baby sibling have survived. Her brothers go off on a fishing expedition, and her older brother, Matt, returns with a wife. She's odd, beautiful, and damaged, and she definitely makes Matt happy - but she is one more mouth to feed.

Later, Miranda's father and step-mother return. Having had no luck traveling west, they have been slowly making their way back to Pennsylvania, so that Miranda's father can be near all his children. On their trip home, Miranda's father and family have adopted others: Charlie, a happy middle-aged soul and the Morales siblings: Alex and Julie. These are the same Morales who were in The Dead & The Gone. That book ended with Alex obtaining tickets to a safe community - a town where the government provides protection and food for a select few.

This was a good book, but not great. However, this book develops a level of maturity greater than the others. It is in this book where the real gravity of their situation forces the main character to make very adult decisions that few will ever have to make in their lives. I wouldn't recommend this to a sixth grader because the decision at the end are so ... heavy. I'm not sure an 11 year old would get that. This book definitely feels more high school (lower high school) than middle-school.

Grade: B

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.

Code Orange

Code Orange by Caroline Cooney

Mitchell, or Mitty, Blake is a likable high school boy who works hard to avoid academics. Forced, finally, to do some research for a term paper on an infectious disease, Mitty turns to some of his mother's antique books for information. In her collection, he finds a book on smallpox and an envelope marked "Smallpox Scabs." Mitty opens the envelope, handles the "scabs," and puts them back without much thought.

As Mitty digs deeper into the world of smallpox, he begins to understand that 1) viruses have a long shelf life and 2) small pox is baaaaad. I loved this section of the book: the growing paranoia teamed up with medical information. In fact, I love learning about viruses and disease. I don't really know why.

The book does eventually turn from the etiology of small pox into an action book, and this is where my interest dropped. However, this is exactly where one of my acquaintance's interest finally grew.

This is a quick and suspenseful read that includes a highly likable protagonist, some good medical mystery, and suspense and action.

Grade: B-

Eaters of the Dead

Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton

A great take on Beowulf. Once again, Crichton uses a "pseudo-documentary" style to help "authenticate" his works. The entire book takes the form of a scholarly compilation and translation of ancient copies of Ibn Fadlan's journey from the Middle East to the north. While journeying north, he is forced to join a group of men who are returning to their homeland to battle mist creatures that attack and savagely kill their countrymen.

This was a fun read. I would write more, but I'm working on the BEST.

Grade: C+

Andromeda Strain

Andromeda Strain by Michael Crichton

This is a good book... probably one of the first Crichton books that I ever read. My roommate Rosa got me into Crichton at Rutgers.

Andromeda Strain is the story of what happens when an extra-terrestrial organism enters Earth and has the ability to quickly kill humans. A satellite aircraft/probe was due to reenter the atmosphere, and when it did everyone in the town died quickly. The blood immediately coagulated with the exception of two survivors: an old man and an infant. A team of scientists assemble at a top secret government compound that was specifically built to analyze any extra-terrestrial microorganisms.

This book is just great science fiction fun. Fun because it feels so real - the emergency and the scientific data. Crichton was a great researcher! (Well, he was a doctor.) Anyway, many of his novels take on a pseudo-documentary, nonfiction reporting style. Studies are referred to, charts are displayed, etc. Crichton also spends quality time explaining how things work. And I love that! I loved the scene in Spiderman where the docent explains the genetically altered spider to the high school students. These scenes mirror my same love for makeover montages. I don't know if there's a connection, but I love them equally.

Grade: B+

Eager

Eager (YA) by Helen Fox.


I got this sci-fi book at a school book fair. I was intrigued by what seemed to be a story about robotics and ethics. The stuff of Asimov and Bradbury (but more Asimov). I was so intrigued that I bought it, put it on my shelf, and promptly found many other books to occupy me. Last week, however, I had the kids voting for the Nutmeg Awards (Connecticut's YA and Children's Book awards, which are chosen by the kids themselves). Eager was one of the nominations. I was shamed by the fact that I had only read two of the many choices, and yet I owned most of them! And so I set to work...

Eager is set in a world about 100 years into the future. Robots help run everything - from construction to egg scrambling. Life Corp is the primary robotics corporations, and they have just begun distributing their latest product, the BDC4. These robots are efficient and exceptionally life-like. They are only for the most wealthy and privileged - the technocrats.

Young Fleur Bell and her family have an old antiquated robot named Grumps. Grumps' timing mechanism is off - causing all sorts of mishaps like tomato soup for breakfast. The Bells know they need a new robot, but they are reluctant to part with Grumps or deal with the high cost. Fleur's best friend has her own BDC4. While the Bell children dream of the newest and latest, Mr. Bell acquires an experimental prototype named EGR3. EGR3 is able to learn from his own experiences. The children, especially Fleur, are not so eager to accept EGR3 but as EGR3 becomes more life-like they come to rely upon him - especially when the BDC4s of the world begin malfunctioning!

This was a fun read. I enjoyed the descriptions of life in the future, but I felt that the conflict of the plot was rather subdued. The terrifying takeover of a group of BDSC4s wasn't depicted as being really that terrifying. It feels as though the author had a great time writing until right before the start of the climax (which I will state is the moment in which Marcia announces that the BDC4s have taken over her neighborhood), and then just got tired. The details after this point seem muted and more like a summary.

Grade: C+

More Reads

Night Shift by Stephen King.
Excellent, excellent book of short stories. In particular, "Night Surf" was unbelievable. One of the best endings to a short story that I have read in ages.

Bone (YA) by Jeff Smith.
After a few years of recommending this graphic novel to kids, I finally took my own advice. Now, I am not a fan of comics or graphic novels. Although my kid sister went through an exceptionally long, intense animae/manga phase, I couldn't bear to read one. I really did enjoy the Maus series, and I have read City of Light, City of Dark by Avi. But that's about it.

It didn't take me long to get into this; it only took me the will power to get over my stubborn reluctance to go comic book. The illustrations are charming (I think that probably sounds like an insult, but it's not meant to be), and easy on the eye. The three characters from Bone, when together, got on my nerves immensely. However, when alone were bearable. Soon after the first few pages, Fone Bone, the protagonist, is separated from the others. He meets up with several fantastical characters: a talking preying mantis-type creature and its giant cousin, man-sized rats, and a dragon. All of whom can talk. He is then helped by the beautiful Thorn, a human girl, and her wily grandma.

This is high fantasy. But it works. I'm eager to get the second edition.

Grade: A