I've Got My Own Dystopia, Thanks

     Back in 2009 I picked up a copy of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins for a class I was taking, and I think it only took me two days to read it. This was the first book of a trilogy set in a dystopian, futuristic society, and it was a riveting page-turner. Most people probably know that this book - and subsequently the entire trilogy - became a major sensation.  And, just like the Harry Potter and Twilight books, The Hunger Games trilogy has spawned movie versions.

     Since reading The Hunger Games trilogy, I've read many other dystopian novels, including Ally Condie's Matched, Lauren Oliver's Delirium, and Veronica Roth's Divergent. I've noticed that these titles have a good deal in common:

1. The protagonist is always a young female, usually small for her age and underestimated as a result.

2. The protagonist has a love interest and often becomes involved in a love triangle.

3. The dystopian story is told in a trilogy.

4. The society in which the protagonist lives is oppressive, causing her to aid in the fight for freedom.

5. The protagonist loses at least one family member and/or a close friend.

     But I've decided that it is time for me to put the dystopia aside for a while. The similarities I see in these books have made me grow tired of the genre. I feel as if I am reading the same story over and over again. Additionally, I have been disappointed in the two trilogies I have read. The Hunger Games was great and the sequel, Catching Fire, was quite good, but I struggled to get through the last one, Mockingjay. Similarly, while Matched was quite good, the second book in the series, Crossed, was a stinker. I still read Reached, the third book, because I hoped that the trilogy would at least end strongly, but that one was pretty lousy too. I have not read the sequels to Delirium or Divergent because I am nervous that the other books in the trilogy will be disappointing, and I am not sure I want to devote that much time reading mediocre books.

     So that's it! I'm done with dystopia. The current society in which we live has enough malfunction and heartache anyway!

I Finished My Second Batch of Books!

     Here are the books I have recently read:

     Here is how I rank them, going from the one I liked the least to the one I liked the best:

5. Divergent by Veronica Roth.  In a dystopian world, a young girl named Beatrice makes a life decision, all the while hiding a secret that could get her killed.  I will say more about this book in a future posting. 3 1/2 stars.

4. The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey.  I have already talked about this book in a previous posting. In this book, three young people struggle to survive after an alien invasion. 4 stars.

3. Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman.  I have already posted about this book too, in which a young Indian girl must move in with her traditional family after an accident. Treated as a servant, she is forced to take care of the men in the household and fears that she may not get the chance to pursue a higher education. 4 1/2 stars.

2. House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer.  A young boy grows up on the estate of a powerful man called El Patrón. He is treated like an animal because he is a clone, and it is only as he gets older and El Patrón's health declines that the boy realizes why he was born in the first place. 5 stars.

1. Countdown by Deborah Wiles.  This is part fiction, part documentary. The fiction part tells the story of a young girl and her family growing up outside Washington, DC during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The narrative is interspersed with photos and text about the history of America at the beginning of the 1960s. 5 stars.

     I must confess that I had a really hard time deciding which book - Countdown or House of the Scorpion - to put in the Number One spot. Both were very well written and exciting to read. Ultimately I chose Countdown because of its originality. Calling this book "historical fiction" barely describes the fresh and visually pleasing way that it conveys information about the era. Although the narrative takes place during the Cuban Missile Crisis, it also includes additional historical information about the era, discussing topics such as the Civil Rights Movement and the election of John F. Kennedy. The author plans to turn Countdown into a trilogy, and I for one can't wait for the next installment!

Climbing the Stairs

     As I mentioned in my last post, I have taken a break from the science fiction for a little while and have turned to historical fiction. For a complete change of pace, I chose a book set in colonial India written about which I know very little. The book I read is Padma Venkatraman's Climbing the Stairs, and it tells the story of a young girl named Vidya growing up in India during World War II. At the time, Indians were beginning to protest against the British colonial government, which treated the Indians like second class citizens and exploited the county's resources. During one of these protests, Vidya's father is horribly injured and unable to work, thus forcing the family to move in with his very traditional family in the coastal town of Madras. In Madras Vidya's life is completely different. Instead of the relatively carefree lifestyle she enjoyed in Bombay, Vidya, like the other women, must assume a very traditional role. She and the other women must care for the men, do all the household cooking and cleaning, and have very little freedom. Vidya fears that she will be forced to marry instead of being able to go to college, and as the threat of a Japanese attack grows more and more real, she worries about her family and the fate of her country. 

     This book was both a quick and informative read. Told in the first person, the author effectively captures Vidya's fears, joys, and sorrows. The book is peppered with references to Indian history and culture, but done so in a way that is informative and nonthreatening instead of being intimidating. She also weaves historical references throughout the story, mentioning Gandhi's nonviolent protest movement and India's involvement in World War Two, which is frequently omitted from most Western textbooks.

     This is an empowering book for any young woman and I highly recommend it!

My Current Reads

     Here are the books I am currently in the process of reading:

     I have already posted about Rick Yancey's The Fifth Wave, which I recently finished for the second time. Yesterday I finished The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer, which was quite good. I had wanted to read Veronica Roth's Divergent next but my teenage daughter is currently reading it. Besides, the last two books I read were both science fiction, so I'm looking to change genres. Climbing the Stairs by Padma Venkatraman and Countdown by Deborah Wiles are both historical fiction. So now the question is if I want to read about colonial India or the USA in the 1960s. Decisions, decisions!

I Finished The Fifth Wave!

     I finished Rick Yancey's The Fifth Wave yesterday. It was just as good the second time and freaked me out just as much as it did the first time.

     Let me correct a statement I made in my last post about this book. Originally I said that the narrator was a young girl named Cassie. In actuality she is one of three narrators. Cassie and Ben Parrish, another narrator, tell their story in the first person. The third narrator tells the story in the third person from the point of view of Cassie's younger brother Sammy. Cassie describes the alien invasion, the death of her parents, how she is separated from her brother, and surviving on her own after the separation. Ben Parrish describes his ordeal after the alien invasion and Sammy describes what happens to him after being separated from his sister.  

     The first 85 percent of the book is very good, although I think the author didn't really adequately explain why Cassie is rescued after being shot. What is it about her that made Evan want to take care of her? I'm not sure.  Also, the ending was a bit of a disappointment for me.  The last 15 percent of the book is Cassie's attempt to locate and rescue her brother and it is action packed. I would love to see this ending in film. But then when I finished the book I was left questioning whether the author will have a sequel. Is the story over for good or just for now? I honestly don't know.

     Have you read this book? If so, what did you think?

The Fifth Wave

     As a teacher, I am often too busy or tired to do that much reading for pleasure, but I forced myself to find the time this past spring after I picked up this book:

      This is The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey. This book sucked me in almost immediately. It is the story of the Earth after aliens have invaded and have begun to exterminate the human inhabitants of the planet.  The young narrator of this story, Cassie, believes that the only way she can stay alive is to be alone and trust nobody, but this idea begins to change when she meets a handsome stranger named Evan Walker.
     I read this book as quickly as possible.  Now that I know what happens at the end I have started reading it a second time, going much more slowly so I don't miss anything. I'll post again when I have finished it and will fill you in on my thoughts about this title.

Hey there

     Happy summer everybody! As a teacher, I love having the summer off, because it is a great time to catch up on my reading. My birthday is this Friday and I am going to be 44, but I read books for young adults and children almost exclusively. I'm keeping this blog so you can see what I've been readIng and my thoughts on those titles I've consumed recently.  I'll give each title a score ranging from 0 to 5 stars with 5 starts being the highest possible score.

     Here are the five books I read this week:

     They've certainly kept me busy! Here they are in order from the one I liked the least to the one I liked the best.

5. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler and illustrated by Maira Kalman. In this book, a girl returns her relationship souvenirs to her boyfriend after they break up and reminisces about their time together. It's well written but too dramatic, and the reason for the actual breakup is disappointing. 2 1/2 stars.

4. A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz.    A retelling of the story of Hansel and Gretel as it was first presented in its original form, which is much darker, more violent, and bloodier than the whitewashed version of today. 3 1/2 stars.

3. Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins.  A girl spends her senior year of high school at a school for Americans in Paris, where she meets and pines for a bilingual American with an English accent.  The title is rather stupid and the book is essentially the story of how two young people get together, but it is well written and surpirisingly complex, with subplots like dealing with the illness of a parent and maintaining long-distance relationships with family and friends. 3 1/2 stars.

2. Holes by Louis Sachar. This book won the Newbery and is totally deserving of it. In this story a boy named Stanley is sent to a work camp after being wrongly convicted of stealing a pair of running shoes belonging to a famous athlete. At this camp boys are required to dig a 5-foot hole everyday. The question is, why? Finding out the answer will keep you reading. 5 stars.

1. The Running Dream by Wendelion Van Draanen.  A track star's life is forever changed after she loses a leg in a bus accident. Wonderfully well-written and poignant, I found myself tearing up as I finished this fantastic, feel-good story. 5 stars.

     That's it for today! I'm off to the library for my next batch of books!