Book Reviews

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

 in Book Reviews / Books / Hot Off The Press / Young Adult by

“For fans of The Hunger Games.”
– Publishers Weekly

Imagine a world where New York City does not exist. Where Freaks roam around town. Where people live underground and have not seen the sunlight for many generations.  That is what the world is like in Enclave. The cause of the human inhalation is never explicitly revealed but it is suggested that it was some type of plague. New York City is over run with these creatures called Freaks. Freaks are a human/wolf hybrids. They have the human type of look but they have fangs and really sharp claws. They prey on humans and they take quite a punch to kill one of them. In the beginning of the book Deuce was named Huntress of her college. A college in the book is like a community. There are many hunters and huntresses and they protect and collect the food for the college. This book is about how she lives in the college and how she forfeits the life she knew so she can save her best friends. She is exiled with her partner named Fade. Fade was not part of the college but a Topsider, a person who lives where the natural light shines, who was accepted into the community for surviving outside. A person who is exiled or lives outside of the enclave does not make it. Or that is what is believed. The elders say that the air topside is unbreathable and it rains acid. Fade says otherwise. So the two of them are exiled and head to the Topside. This is where they meet new people and start a new life in a new world. This is where what Deuce knows is proven wrong.

This was an interesting book. It was showing kind of what the world could be with a twist of horror/sci-fi/action. There was quite a lot of blood mentioned as fighting the Freaks ends up with either a limb lost, a deadly scratch, or death. While fighting with these creatures, the fighting is described in great detail so when there is a crunch of bone or a complete crushed in skull, you know about it. The story kept you entertained and kept you turning pages. I would recommend that 13-year-olds and over read this because of the violence and blood but otherwise it was an amazing book. The characters were described well and the setting (environment, surroundings, etc) were also described well. I would definitely recommend this book. It poses what the world could be like over time but this is really an entertaining read book. So enjoy!

If you have read the book, tell me what you think of it. What are your opinions?

Al Capone Does My Shirts by Gennifer Choldenko

 in Book Reviews / Books by

From The Vault

Summary

Moose Flanagan has just moved to one of the most secure places in the world. Alcatraz. His dad had just got a job there as an electrician. His mother is hoping to send her autistic daughter Natalie to a special school there. But when Natalie is rejected from the school, Moose has to look after her so his mom can work and this means he cannot play baseball with his new friends. Family troubles are the main topic in this book. But friend issues and trying to see or hear something from the most famous prisoner there, Al Capone. This story is told with humor and shows what life is like on an island with some of the most dangerous men in the world.

Review

When my mom recommend this book for me to read I immediately thought “NO.” Why, you ask? Well, it was because I thought the book was too child-ish. (you know – not cool) I though the topic would be too baby-ish,  the book was small and I like reading big books (Harry Potter, War and Peace, Encyclopedia Britannica….you get the idea.) But my mom said that since it was for grades 5-8, it was a good read for me. So I reluctantly read it. But I was surprised to find out that I actually liked it. This book was funny, cute and had emotion. Gennifer Choldenko described the feelings that each character had and portrayed Natalie very well. She got the emotions perfectly and made the book real. Natalie was written very well. She is autistic and would throw fits and not move for hours on end. She could not live without her buttons. If you took them from her she would throw a fit and not stop screaming. She had emotions and she was also really smart. Moose was very unhappy to have to look after Natalie but managed with it very well.

Despite my first impression I though that this was a really good book, a good read and I would recommend others to read it.

Who Was Ben Franklin? By Dennis Brindell Fradin Illustrated by John O’Brien

 in Book Reviews / Books / Reluctant Readers / Younger Readers by

Who Was Ben Franklin? By Dennis Brindell Fradin Illustrated by John O’Brien

Late winter and spring is the time in school when many students read biographies of famous people. Starting in the lower grades youngsters scramble trying to find someone who is interesting enough to read about and write an assignment on and maybe even present it in character. Athletes, pop stars and others compete with famous historical characters. Here they learn about their lives, discover what their accomplishments were, what hardships and challenges they faced and hopefully they will see them as role models. (Maybe better they choose someone from times past than now as some of the more famous make poor role models) The range of biographies available for the younger to middle school readers is quite vast and there are many to choose from. The authors of these books manage to pack a lot of information into them, while making the person seem real and authentic.

“Who Was Ben Franklin” is in the series Who Was…? which includes famous names such are Albert Einstein, Ferdinand Magellan, John Kennedy to name a few. The books are literally crammed full of information with interesting and amusing illustrations to highlight points of the person’s life, or to visually present something that was discussed. The series is aimed at the lower grade students (grades 2-5) and is presented in an interesting and engaging style with comic book style illustrations. The books are small with a large font, well spaced so that the page isn’t overwhelming for beginner or early independent readers.

“Who Was Ben Franklin” is packed full of information on the founding father. From his youth Ben Franklin’s life is described in reasonable detail (spoiler alert – he did ‘t really come from a loving home) and his thirst for adventure, his curiosity and great mind is obvious. Each of his contributions is covered and at times they are mesmerizing. How could one man accomplish so much in his life? As the opening section states he was “a man of many talents” and  “did so much that people claimed he had magical powers.” Inventor, statesman, scientist and quite a young rogue Ben’s many accomplishments and life story are presented in a very readable manner.

I quite liked this book and certainly learned a lot about Ben Franklin. I thought I knew about his life, but was I wrong. Dennis Brindell Fradin has done a wonderful job of packing so much information into this really slim book.

The Shadow Project by Herbie Brennan

 in Adventure / Book Reviews / Books / Fiction / Otherworldly / Young Adult by

Summary

Danny knew not to open that door. He knew that this house was deserted, but something inside was telling him what was beyond that door might be a vault and a vault with lots of money.

Danny is a common thief. But one day he decides to rob the wrong house. The house he decides to rob is actually a secret entrance to an area where the MI6 and the CIA are working on the Project and Danny by accident enters and is captured. In this novel, it describes how Danny is caught up in a world of the MI6 and the CIA and the world of the supernatural, and the Sword of Wrath. Its time to start to accept that there is another world. One that Danny is about to be introduced to and one that Danny will have to get to know really well if he hope to save himself. Oh and the rest of the world too.

Review

This book was O.K. The storyline was interesting and it kept you reading but it was a little too out there for me. I know that I have reviewed book about vampires but when you pick up that book you know what it was about. This book was a bit of the natural and a bit of the supernatural.

It was interesting. It was really a book about OOBE’s – Out-Of-Body-Experiences – and the supernatural. That was really all the book was about. Herbie Brennan has written quite a few books about OOBE’s because he “claims” to have experienced one once. Some of the things in this book are real and he tells which of them are in the back of the book but almost all of this is based on what is believed to be real – OOBE’s, astral planes, and demons. This book was interesting because it kept you into the story, but it was definitely a one time read. This was because what was going on was really easy to understand and the storyline was OK. It was just another book.

Click here to see Herbie Brennan’s website.

Also if you want to read up on OOBE’s click here and read some more on Wikipedia. Not completely reliable but you will get the idea.

Anyway, enjoy the book.

George Washington, Spymaster by Thomas B. Allen

 in Book Reviews / Books by
April 30: George Washington becomes the first ...

Image via Wikipedia

“How the Americans outspied the British and won The Revolutionary War.”

In school we are studying The American Revolution and our teacher assigned us a project to research an aspect of the Revolutionary War (tactics, a person, weapons, etc.) and write a 4 page paper on it. I was originally going to do Spies Techniques for Communication during the Revolutionary War but when I went to my local library and met with my lovely reference librarian, I had a change in heart. She brought out this book, which she knew instantly off the top of her head (did I mention that she is amazing at being a reference library, no?, well she is), and she found it for me. Then I went on a hunt for more books and could not find anything. So she had the heart to go onto the librarians system and gave me quite a few pages worth of information on The Revolutionary War and Espionage. So I took it all home and I started reading this book. As soon as I got about 10 pages in, I knew that I wanted to change my topic from what I originally had to George Washington, Spymaster. I originally did not think the Revolutionary War was interesting but this book changed my views. This book has wonderful illustrations so it is not full of only text and the illustrations enhance the reading experience.

This book taught me a lot about George Washington. I knew that he was the first President, and I knew that he was a well-known and a well-respected General. I also knew that he had to do with spying. But what I did not know was that he was a Spymaster. I just thought he was a spy. Not a spymaster. This book did not only teach you about Washington, but it also taught you about the Revolutionary War. So if you are struggling to understand espionage, or even if you just want to learn, this was a very good book. Exciting and interesting and I guarantee, if you pay attention, you will come away from with book with learing something.