Violet has a gift/curse thing going on. When something or someone is killed violently, it leaves a trace that only she can sense. When a serial killer starts operating in her small Washington town, Violet tries to help by using her abilities to aid her uncle, the police chief. Meanwhile, she's also trying to figure out the dynamic between her and her best friend, the boy next door who, during the summer blossomed into a hottie.
The romance is cute but not out of control. The idea of imprints of the dead is new and interesting. Not exactly life-altering, but a good fun read.
Showing posts with label science fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label science fiction. Show all posts
Exodus by Bertagna
The year is 2099. The polar ice caps have melted and the world is flooded. Mara Bell lives with her family on one of the few remaining islands. But even their land isn't safe. The sea continues to rise and soon the people of the island must make a choice: move or die. Mara does some research and discovers that before the great flood, huge "New World" cities were built like trees into the bedrock of the earth below. In their synthetic branches, civilization continues. Mara convinces her people to seek out the New World, but finding it turns out to be the easy part. The challenges that follow their arrival test everything Mara knows about herself and the world around her.
I was expecting a horrible rehash of Waterworld. I was very pleasantly surprised. The book is thoughtful and brings up some interesting issues about immigration, prejudice, and what it means to stay human.
I was expecting a horrible rehash of Waterworld. I was very pleasantly surprised. The book is thoughtful and brings up some interesting issues about immigration, prejudice, and what it means to stay human.
Peeps by Westerfeld
Before there was the ruckus over Twilight and all other things vampire, there was Peeps. The book offers a fresh and interesting view of vampires. According to Westerfeld, vampirism is a fluid-borne disease with interesting side-effects, like an aversion to anything or anyone you used to love. (Hence, why vampires hate crosses and garlic - some of them used to be good Italian Catholics).
Because these monsters are a product of science rather than evil, there's a good deal of cool information about diseases, parasites, and other biology. The story follows Cal, a kid who is positive for the disease but doesn't have any of the unpleasant, people-eating symptoms. He works with a secret branch of the government to track down active vampires, contain them, and treat them.
The book is a bit mature (the parasite is passed through *ahem* sexual contact) but it never gets too lurid. Due to the cannibalism and sensuality, it's probably not a book for the squeemish, but it's still a good story. This book has a sequel, called The Last Days. Please do not read it, as it is horrible.
Because these monsters are a product of science rather than evil, there's a good deal of cool information about diseases, parasites, and other biology. The story follows Cal, a kid who is positive for the disease but doesn't have any of the unpleasant, people-eating symptoms. He works with a secret branch of the government to track down active vampires, contain them, and treat them.
The book is a bit mature (the parasite is passed through *ahem* sexual contact) but it never gets too lurid. Due to the cannibalism and sensuality, it's probably not a book for the squeemish, but it's still a good story. This book has a sequel, called The Last Days. Please do not read it, as it is horrible.
How I Live Now by Rosoff
This book is an interesting mixture of parts. In the beginning, it reads like a cross between Cinderella and Jane Austen's Mansfield Park. Daisy, a native New Yorker, is sent to England to live with her cousins because of issues with her evil stepmother. When Daisy arrives, she's greeted by Edmund, one of her cousins, who takes her to the family farm to meet her other three cousins: two boys and a girl. Daisy's aunt is off at a peace summit trying to use diplomacy to stop an impending war.
Shortly after the aunt leaves, London is bombed and the country is occupied by unnamed invaders. England quickly falls to pieces and the farm becomes more and more isolated. When soldiers come to camp there, however, the family is separated and the girls must find a way to return home. From that point on, the book takes a much more somber tone. In fact, it almost sounds like McCarthy's The Road, only better.
The relationship that develops between Daisy and Edmund is complicated to say the least, but Rosoff manages to make her tale incredibly personal and convincing. Rosoff's characterizations are honest and the emotions are totally believable. It's a great read.
Shortly after the aunt leaves, London is bombed and the country is occupied by unnamed invaders. England quickly falls to pieces and the farm becomes more and more isolated. When soldiers come to camp there, however, the family is separated and the girls must find a way to return home. From that point on, the book takes a much more somber tone. In fact, it almost sounds like McCarthy's The Road, only better.
The relationship that develops between Daisy and Edmund is complicated to say the least, but Rosoff manages to make her tale incredibly personal and convincing. Rosoff's characterizations are honest and the emotions are totally believable. It's a great read.
Uglies series by Westerfeld
Imagine a world where everyone is beautiful. Everyone is the perfect weight, wears amazing clothes, and has everything they need. This is the world that Westerfeld creates in his Uglies series.
Tally is an ugly waiting for her 16th birthday when she will receive plastic surgery and move across the river to Prettytown. She makes friends with fellow ugly Shay, who has connections with a rebel group who thinks the surgery is evil. When Shay disappears to find her outlaw friends, Tally is given an ultimatum: find the rebel camp and turn them in or spend the rest of her life as an ugly. In the following books, there are rescues, escapes, a love triangle, and betrayal, as well as some really fabulous chase scenes.
The series was originally a trilogy, but Westerfeld added the superfluous and utterly disappointing Extras at the end for reasons I don't understand. (If you value your time, please don't read this book). The first two and a half books are utterly wonderful, though. Westerfeld, no stranger to writing trilogies, has an unfortunate habit of running out of gas in the last book. Toward the end, Specials follows this sad trend.
Read Uglies and Pretties. If you feel so inclined, read Specials, too, though it's not as good. But Extras is, sadly, a horrible book.
Tally is an ugly waiting for her 16th birthday when she will receive plastic surgery and move across the river to Prettytown. She makes friends with fellow ugly Shay, who has connections with a rebel group who thinks the surgery is evil. When Shay disappears to find her outlaw friends, Tally is given an ultimatum: find the rebel camp and turn them in or spend the rest of her life as an ugly. In the following books, there are rescues, escapes, a love triangle, and betrayal, as well as some really fabulous chase scenes.
The series was originally a trilogy, but Westerfeld added the superfluous and utterly disappointing Extras at the end for reasons I don't understand. (If you value your time, please don't read this book). The first two and a half books are utterly wonderful, though. Westerfeld, no stranger to writing trilogies, has an unfortunate habit of running out of gas in the last book. Toward the end, Specials follows this sad trend.
Read Uglies and Pretties. If you feel so inclined, read Specials, too, though it's not as good. But Extras is, sadly, a horrible book.
The Supernaturalist by Colfer
Cosmo lives in a futuristic orphanage. Since the state no longer pays for the care of the "parentally challenged," the supervisors of the orphanage conduct product testing on their charges. The boys of the Clarissa Frayne Institute are burned, poisoned, and tortured. As a result, the life expectancy at Clarissa Frayne is 15 years old. Cosmo is 14 and is determined not to die as a lab rat. He escapes and is attacked by his keepers.
As Cosmo nears death, he sees blue creatures that land on him and begin to glow. Before Cosmo dies, the creatures are blasted into oblivion by the Supernaturalists, a team of teens who narrowly escaped death and therefore can see the creatures. The team saves Cosmo and nurses him back to health. He becomes part of the team, hunting down and shooting the Parasites, as they're called. However, parts of their mission don't seem to add up and soon the Supernaturalists question everything they know about their world.
The book is unique and action-packed. The drag racing scenes are particularly cool and the themes of identity, truth, and commercialism are always pertinent.
As Cosmo nears death, he sees blue creatures that land on him and begin to glow. Before Cosmo dies, the creatures are blasted into oblivion by the Supernaturalists, a team of teens who narrowly escaped death and therefore can see the creatures. The team saves Cosmo and nurses him back to health. He becomes part of the team, hunting down and shooting the Parasites, as they're called. However, parts of their mission don't seem to add up and soon the Supernaturalists question everything they know about their world.
The book is unique and action-packed. The drag racing scenes are particularly cool and the themes of identity, truth, and commercialism are always pertinent.
Phineas Gage by Fleischman
This book is a work of non-fiction, but it's still very captivating. Phineas Gage was a railroad construction manager during the 1800s. In a freak accident, a 6 foot tamping iron was shot through Phineas's cheek and out the top of his head. He survived the accident, but his personality was altered for the rest of his life.
The best thing about the book is all the pictures and diagrams. It's a very user-friendly book with lots of good information about the brain and medicine as it was in the 19th century. Readers who are easily grossed out by blood and gore probably would not enjoy this book.
Shade's Children by Nix
It's the future. One morning, all the people on earth over 16 disappeared and in their place were the Overlords, generals of armies of creatures manufactured out of the remaining children. The armies play for fun and entertainment. At fourteen, children have their "sad birthday" and are shipped off to the meat factory to be used for spare parts. Children who manage to escape the dorms and meat factory often take up with Shade, a holographic version of a human who organizes a resistance to the Overlords. However, Shade has his own agenda, which is not always in the best interests of his children.
I understand Nix's forte is really fantasy, which I haven't read yet. From what I've seen of his science fiction, I'm not terribly impressed thus far. Shade's Children is a mix of promising parts, but the parts are better than the whole and have been done better in other people's books. The spare parts idea is better used in Unwind by Shusterman and the bloody games concept works more convincingly in Hunger Games.
There are a few other things that are troubling about this work. First, some of the sections of the novel are written in computer code, which is off-putting to just about everyone. Second, Nix's female characters are flat stereotypes: either sex-crazed flakes or battle-hardened ice queens. However, the male characters are more complex and convincing. Third, the book includes some pretty serious cussing, which just doesn't seem to fit. Nix skips lesser swear words and goes for the F-bomb straight out of the gate. The lack of other profanity made the f-word seem out of place and arbitrary. In summary, I don't think I'd waste my time on this one. It isn't worth the effort.
I understand Nix's forte is really fantasy, which I haven't read yet. From what I've seen of his science fiction, I'm not terribly impressed thus far. Shade's Children is a mix of promising parts, but the parts are better than the whole and have been done better in other people's books. The spare parts idea is better used in Unwind by Shusterman and the bloody games concept works more convincingly in Hunger Games.
There are a few other things that are troubling about this work. First, some of the sections of the novel are written in computer code, which is off-putting to just about everyone. Second, Nix's female characters are flat stereotypes: either sex-crazed flakes or battle-hardened ice queens. However, the male characters are more complex and convincing. Third, the book includes some pretty serious cussing, which just doesn't seem to fit. Nix skips lesser swear words and goes for the F-bomb straight out of the gate. The lack of other profanity made the f-word seem out of place and arbitrary. In summary, I don't think I'd waste my time on this one. It isn't worth the effort.
Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Collins
This is the first book I've ever read by Suzanne Collins, though it's not the first she's written. I must say, I'm totally impressed. The woman is the master of the cliffhanger ending. So if you're looking for a book series with closure, Hunger Games and Catching Fire are really not for you.
The book is set in a futuristic vision of the US, where states have disappeared and been replaced by 12 districts, which are ruled over by the vicious capitol. There were 13 districts originally, but district 13 was supposedly destroyed after a rebellion. To remind the remaining districts that revolution is unwise, the capitol holds an annual Hunger Games. Two children are chosen from each district to compete in the most horrific reality show ever. The objective of the games: stay alive by killing everyone else. The course itself is plagued with deadly obstacles, making survival nearly impossible.
The story follows the tributes of district 12, Katniss and Peeta. Though both are skilled at surviving, Peeta has a problem. He's loved Katniss since he was a little boy. Which will triumph: love or survival? Both of the books start a little slow. It takes a good 100 pages to enter the games, where the action really picks up. If you can hang in there that long, it's worth the wait. The story is riveting and the characters are intelligent and likable. Can't wait for the third in the series to come out.
The book is set in a futuristic vision of the US, where states have disappeared and been replaced by 12 districts, which are ruled over by the vicious capitol. There were 13 districts originally, but district 13 was supposedly destroyed after a rebellion. To remind the remaining districts that revolution is unwise, the capitol holds an annual Hunger Games. Two children are chosen from each district to compete in the most horrific reality show ever. The objective of the games: stay alive by killing everyone else. The course itself is plagued with deadly obstacles, making survival nearly impossible.
The story follows the tributes of district 12, Katniss and Peeta. Though both are skilled at surviving, Peeta has a problem. He's loved Katniss since he was a little boy. Which will triumph: love or survival? Both of the books start a little slow. It takes a good 100 pages to enter the games, where the action really picks up. If you can hang in there that long, it's worth the wait. The story is riveting and the characters are intelligent and likable. Can't wait for the third in the series to come out.
Unwind by Shusterman
I know I've raved about Shusterman's abilities in other blogs, but I really can't over-emphasize just how talented the man is. Unwind is, so far, Shusterman's masterpiece. It's a gripping, intelligent portrayal of a future where the US has gone to war over abortion issues and reached a compromise. However, the resulting law is more brutal than either alternative. First, all babies conceived must be born. If the mother doesn't want the baby, it can be "storked," or left on someone else's porch. A storked baby must either be raised by the family or turned over to the state. Second, when a child reaches 13, his or her parents can decide to abort the child retroactively. This usually happens because the kid is a trouble-maker or the parents can't afford the kid anymore. They send the child to an "unwind" center, where the kid's body is totally disassembled. Every little piece is donated to another person, so technically, all the parts are still alive, just not together. This solution would supposedly satisfy right-to-life advocates as well as those who are pro-choice.
The story follows three "Unwinds" as they try to escape the system. Connor is a rebel whose parents have given up. Risa is a ward of the state who just isn't worth the investment anymore. And Lev is a tithe, the child of parents who believe it is an act of religious devotion to give up one of their children to be unwound. The trio encounter an underground system that tries to help runaways reach their 18 birthday, the age when unwinding becomes illegal.
The book definitely deserves a PG-13 rating due to violence, language, and mature themes. Heck, my husband got the heebie jeebies just listening to me describe the plot. The chapter that describes an unwinding is unforgettably haunting and the questions the book raises about the nature of life are poignant no matter how old you are. There's only one feature of the novel that could be distracting to readers. While the chapters are short, each is told from the perspective of a different character. By the end of the book, there are quite a few characters, so some readers might want to keep a log of who's who. Other than that, it's the best book I've read in a long time. Unwind deserves all the praise I can give it.
The story follows three "Unwinds" as they try to escape the system. Connor is a rebel whose parents have given up. Risa is a ward of the state who just isn't worth the investment anymore. And Lev is a tithe, the child of parents who believe it is an act of religious devotion to give up one of their children to be unwound. The trio encounter an underground system that tries to help runaways reach their 18 birthday, the age when unwinding becomes illegal.
The book definitely deserves a PG-13 rating due to violence, language, and mature themes. Heck, my husband got the heebie jeebies just listening to me describe the plot. The chapter that describes an unwinding is unforgettably haunting and the questions the book raises about the nature of life are poignant no matter how old you are. There's only one feature of the novel that could be distracting to readers. While the chapters are short, each is told from the perspective of a different character. By the end of the book, there are quite a few characters, so some readers might want to keep a log of who's who. Other than that, it's the best book I've read in a long time. Unwind deserves all the praise I can give it.
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