Matched

The Book:  Matched by Ally Condie

Summary (taken from Matched Series website): 

In the Society, Officials decide.  Who you love.  Where you work.  When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices.  It's hardly any price to pay for a long life, perfect job, the ideal math.  So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one...until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black.  Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she's known and a path no one else has ever dared to follow - between perfection and passion.

What I Thought: 

I found this book al little hard to get into at first, but I was hooked by the end.  I read it because a lot of kids at school were reading this, but I'm not too much of a sci-fy, futuristic reader, so I wasn't expecting much.  I really think when Cassia starts to rebel against the Society is where it starts to get interesting.  She's matched with her best friend, Xander, but all of a sudden she's not sure the Match is right for her and of course this leads her to doubt all of the Society's choices for her.  I enjoyed this idea and the way the author carried the story, but I felt some pieces where left hanging for me.  Why did the Society take the artifacts?  Why did they cut the trees?  What happened with the last "red tablet" incident?  And the obvious, does she get to Ky?  Hopefully all of these will be answered in the next books in the series!

Rating:  7/10

Empty

The Book:  Empty by Suzanne Weyn

Summary (taken from GoodReads): 


It's the near future - the very near future - and the fossil fuels are running out. No gas. No oil. Which means no driving. No heat. Supermarkets are empty. Malls have shut down. Life has just become more local than we ever knew it could be.

Nobody expected the end to come this fast. And in the small town of Spring Valley, decisions that once seemed easy are quickly becoming matters of life and death. There is hope - there has to be hope - just there are also sacrifices that need to be made, and a whole society that needs to be rethought.

Teens like Niki, Tom, and Gwen may find what they need to survive. But their lives are never going to be the same again.

What I Thought: 

Weyn's concept for this book was such a great idea that I was thrilled to find a copy and start reading.  This book hits on so many hot topic themes that worry and concern today's family:  rising oil prices, global warming concerns, wars over oil, affects of running out of non-renewable resources.  The book just doesn't quite cut it though.  The dialogue of the teens is unrealistic and forced due to the author's attempt to convey news and political information through the characters conversations.  The love triangle seems so shallow alone and particularly in compassion to the suffering surrounding the families of the three teens.  The ending also seems too tidy and forced.  I was hoping for better from this book, but it least it does bring up real issues that gas guzzling countries will need to face in the near future.

Rating:  4/10

The Fox Inheritance

The Book:  The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson

Summary (taken from author's website):

Once there were three. Three friends who loved each other—Jenna, Locke, and Kara. After a terrible accident destroyed their bodies, their three minds were kept alive, spinning in a digital netherworld. Even in that disembodied nightmare, they were still together. At least at first. When Jenna disappeared, Locke and Kara had to go on without her. Decades passed, and then centuries.

Two-hundred-and-sixty years later, they have been released at last. Given new, perfect bodies, Locke and Kara awaken to a world they know nothing about, where everyone they once knew and loved is long dead.

Everyone except Jenna Fox.


What I Thought: 
I read the first book, The Adoration of Jenna Fox, for a YA Lit class for my masters several years ago and was very surprised at how much in enjoyed it.  When I saw the sequel, I enjoyed re-reading the first book again and was very excited to jump into the new addition to the story.  Perhaps my higher expectations is what made this book less enjoyable for me.  I found this book very different from the first and couldn't really get into the story line until well into the book.  While the we are building our impression of Jenna along with the character as she pieces everything together in the first book, I felt that Locke and Kara, the main characters in this book, were more difficult to support. Locke seemed weak and whiny and hard to place as a character while Kara was "empty" and rather unlikeable thoughout.  This one was much more involved with the sci-fi aspect of the story as well, not my favorite genre, being set in the future and involving a mad scientist.  I still like the first, despite the sci-fi aspect, but wonder if it should have just been left alone with a hopeful Jenna setting out for her unlimited future and Locke and Kara's suffering at an end at the bottom of the pond.

Rating:  4/10

100 Cupboards

The Book:  100 Cupboards by N.D. Wilson

Summary (taken from author's website):
Twelve-year-old Henry York wakes up one night to find bits of plaster in his hair. Two knobs have broken through the wall above his bed and one of them is slowly turning . . .Henry scrapes the plaster off the wall and discovers cupboards of all different sizes and shapes. Through one he can hear the sound of falling rain. Through another he sees a glowing room–with a man pacing back and forth! Henry soon understands that these are not just cupboards, but portals to other worlds.

What I Thought: 
I think the kids in the school book club will love this book.  I, however, am not a huge fan of fantasy novels and this is obviously a fantasy.  I love the original idea- a wall of cupboards that lead to other worlds!  However, the other worlds couldn't quite keep my interest.  I felt that the whole book could have easily revolved around the already odd Henry since the other left several story lines barely touched on, let alone finished.  What happened to his parents?  Who are his real parents?  Why did he not seem to get a normal life (full of baseball and other "boy" things)?  Why did he not seem to worry about his parents?  I felt like we didn't get to know Henry himself very well since hints about him were dropped but never explored.  Perhaps the author answer all of these questions in the sequels, though, I guess I'll just have to keep reading and find out!

Rating:  5/10

The Hunger Games

The Book:  The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Summary (from this website for the book):
Twenty-four are forced to enter. Only the winner survives. In the ruins of a place once known as North America lies the nation of Panem, a shining Capitol surrounded by twelve outlying districts. Each year, the districts are forced by the Capitol to send one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen to participate in the Hunger Games, a brutal and terrifying fight to the death - televised for all of Panem to see.

Survival is second nature for sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen, who struggles to feed her mother and younger sister by secretly hunting and gathering beyond the fences of District 12. When Katniss steps in to take the place of her sister in the Hunger Games, she knows it may be her death sentence. If she is to survive, she must weigh survival against humanity and life against love.


What I Thought: 
I must say that even after close to 400 pages, I'm not sure how I feel about this book.  I do know that it kept my attention - this is a credit to the awesome writing.  I also know, though, that it was an unsettling experience because of the actual setting and storyline.  Each time I found myself really relating to the stories and characters, the barbaric setting snapped me back to the reality of the book:  these children, most of who are already starving, are basically being selected to serve as gladiators or sorts on reality television.  Reading the book as an adult, I can appreciate that the world of Panem - the North America of the future - is very likely a sarcastic approach to the authors political opinions.  As a young adult reader - the intended audience - I would likely take the book more at face value.  Either way, the setting of the book left me uneasy and not wanting to stay long in the world of the characters.  Although I would say I'm not a huge fan, I would like to read the second book.  I find that, while I'm not a fan of the setting and what happened in the first book, I am interested to see the reactions of the people of District 12 (like Gayle and Prim) after what happened in Book 1. 


Rating:  7/10

Secrets, Lies & Algebra

The Book: Secrets, Lies & Algebra by Wendy Lichtmen

Summary from the Harper Collins website:
(Visit the Lichtmen site, too: http://www.wendylichtman.com/ )

In the eighth grade, 1 math whiz < 1 popular boy, according to Tess's calculations. That is, until she has to factor in a few more variables, like:
1 stolen test (x),
3 cheaters (y),
and 2 best friends (z) who can't keep a secret.

Oh, and she can't forget the winter dance (d)!

Then there's the suspicious guy Tess's parents know, but that's a whole different problem.

Can Tess find the solutions?

What I Thought: 
Being a math teacher and future librarian, I absolutely loved the combination Lichtman comes up with in this book.  I was really surprised how much math was accurately and relevantly incorporated into Tess's story.  I also really enjoyed the layers to Tess's life - everything relates.  Her problems with the cheaters lends itself to the problem with her mother's friend.  The things she learns in math class, tie in to her life and allow her to try to organize and make sense of the turmoil in her relationships.  I would very much recommend this book to lower level readers and those hoping to brush up on their math skills!


Rating:  7/10

Shiver

The Book:
Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater

Summary from the author's website:
(http://www.maggiestiefvater.com/)

For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf—her wolf—is a chilling presence she can't seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human... until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It's her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human—or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

What I Thought:
I thought this would be another Twilight-ish book, but I was pleasantly surprised. Unlike Stephine Meyer's werewolves, Stiefvater's werewolves change because of the weather - more specifically the cold. I enjoyed the twist on the traditional werewolf story and the main character's troublesome romance seemed to fit very well in the dark YA tale. Though I felt the book dragged a bit in some parts, the desire to find out what happens to the characters kept me reading. I found the last few chapters left me heartbroken, surprised and eager for the next installment, Linger.

Rating: 9/10