This is probably a little young for the "young adult literature" genre, but I still think many would still enjoy it. It's a quick read (only 81 pages, with illustrations) and probably took me less time to read than the film would talk to watch.
It's a very cute story about a family of foxes that are being hunted by three farmers. These farmers shoot at Mr. Fox, attempt to dig up his home and stalk his fox hole. But Mr. Fox is very smart and, with a little help, he tunnels to the three farms. Mr. Fox plans on feeding his family and the other underground families by these secret tunnels.
The illustrations are really an enjoyment as well. Like I said, it's a very fast read and if you plan on seeing the film (or have seen it already), it is probably worth the time investment.
Enjoy!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins
Once again, Collins has written a book that I just could not put down! This book picks up where The Hunger Games left off: Katniss, Peeta and Haymitch have returned to district 12 from the games. Things are strained between Katniss and Gale, who has been sent to work in the coal mines. This year is the 75th anniversary of the Hunger Games, and so there is a Quarterly Quell, where the rules for the games can be changed. The Capitol announces that the tributes to the 75th games will be selected from the existing pool of previous victors. We know that means Katniss is going back to the arena with either Peeta or Haymitch. I don't want to spoil the book for those who have not read it. I'll say that Katniss vows to protect Peeta's life, no matter the cost. The tributes form a much different relationship that we saw previously.
In this book, some of the districts are bordering on revolt against the Capitol. The announcement of the Quell means that Katniss and Peeta's romance cannot pan out, which even the people at the Capitol disapprove of. During the course of this second book, Katniss has to propagate the romance with Peeta. President Snow even suggests that the Capitol throw the couple a wedding. Peeta develops as a lovable character that I would be happy to see Katniss marry, but then there is her relationship with Gale to consider....
The last chapter of Catching Fire is so surprising. Again, I'm trying to not give too much away, but we see history repeat itself in a very frightening way by the end of the book. I absolutely cannot wait until the final book, Mockingjay, comes out in August.
Visit Collins' website for more information on her books:
http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/catching_fire_88086.htm
Get Catching Fire at your library, Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
This trilogy is really very excellent so far and I do hope you will read it!
In this book, some of the districts are bordering on revolt against the Capitol. The announcement of the Quell means that Katniss and Peeta's romance cannot pan out, which even the people at the Capitol disapprove of. During the course of this second book, Katniss has to propagate the romance with Peeta. President Snow even suggests that the Capitol throw the couple a wedding. Peeta develops as a lovable character that I would be happy to see Katniss marry, but then there is her relationship with Gale to consider....
The last chapter of Catching Fire is so surprising. Again, I'm trying to not give too much away, but we see history repeat itself in a very frightening way by the end of the book. I absolutely cannot wait until the final book, Mockingjay, comes out in August.
Visit Collins' website for more information on her books:
http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/catching_fire_88086.htm
Get Catching Fire at your library, Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
This trilogy is really very excellent so far and I do hope you will read it!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim by David Sedaris
I don't know if American teens read Sedaris, but I believe they should. Sedaris is described as a playwright and NPR commentator. His writing style is hilarious, sarcastic and insightful. The book jacket for Dress Your Family says
David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters.
He goes on vacation with his family.
He gets a job selling drinks.
He attends his brother's wedding.
He mops his sister's floor.
He gives directions to a lost traveler.
He eats a hamburger.
He has his blood sugar tested.
Oh, but there is so much more. When Sedaris "plays in the snow with his sisters", it is because their mother locked them out of the house to protect her own sanity. When he "has his blood sugar tested", it's because a man pricks his finger in a guerrilla-type manner when the man thought he requested an erotic maid instead of the more common variety, which Sedaris was working as at the time.
Each chapter is a story that somehow ties together with the others. They are not chronological, but explore different times in Sedaris's life. The stories are of everyday events, but Sedaris has the gift of peeling back the surface of everyday life to reveal the hilarious and absurd. There is a comparison by The New Yorker between Sedaris and Twain or Nathanael West. I would not be surprised if Sedaris indeed becomes a new American classic author.
Please read this collection of stories. It is hilarious.
Get it from Amazon (where you can get it for your kindle) or Barnes & Noble (where it is also available in digital edition).
David Sedaris plays in the snow with his sisters.
He goes on vacation with his family.
He gets a job selling drinks.
He attends his brother's wedding.
He mops his sister's floor.
He gives directions to a lost traveler.
He eats a hamburger.
He has his blood sugar tested.
Oh, but there is so much more. When Sedaris "plays in the snow with his sisters", it is because their mother locked them out of the house to protect her own sanity. When he "has his blood sugar tested", it's because a man pricks his finger in a guerrilla-type manner when the man thought he requested an erotic maid instead of the more common variety, which Sedaris was working as at the time.
Each chapter is a story that somehow ties together with the others. They are not chronological, but explore different times in Sedaris's life. The stories are of everyday events, but Sedaris has the gift of peeling back the surface of everyday life to reveal the hilarious and absurd. There is a comparison by The New Yorker between Sedaris and Twain or Nathanael West. I would not be surprised if Sedaris indeed becomes a new American classic author.
Please read this collection of stories. It is hilarious.
Get it from Amazon (where you can get it for your kindle) or Barnes & Noble (where it is also available in digital edition).
Chinese Handcuffs by Chris Crutcher
After reading Whale Talk, I became a huge Crutcher fan. Chinese Handcuffs, however, was more difficult to read than anything I have picked up by Crutcher. In the first 100 pages or so, there is rape, incest, suicide, child and animal abuse, drug and alcohol abuse. I talked about this with a friend of mine that is also interested in young adult literature. She let me know that it's a common trend of the genre and some teens seek out this content and even enjoy it.
That said, Chinese Handcuffs is written in the enthralling style that makes me enjoy Crutcher's books so much. There are a couple of main characters: Dillion Hemingway, an aspiring Ironman tri-athelete whose older brother, Preston, committed suicide before the time period of the novel, and Jennifer Lawless, a high school basketball star who has to deal with memories of a sexually abusive father and her current step-father with the same problem. Dillion often reminds me of the character T.J. Jones from Whale Talk: both are sensitive, self-driven teens and athletes. Some of the chapters are written in the form of a letter from Dillion to a posthumous Preston. Other chapters are flashbacks of Jennifer's where we are introduced to her little sister, Dawn, who Jennifer struggles to protect from her father and step-father. Dillion and Jennifer are able to bond over not only their athletic abilities, but the pain they have both endured. It is the story of their courage and bravery in the face of this pain.
I enjoyed this book and its character development, but it was a very difficult read. Crutcher's writing is often fairly graphic and I found myself wincing away at parts. I would somehow like to think that the intended audience, presumably high school teens, should know nothing about the horrors encountered in Chinese Handcuffs. I realize, however, that many know it far too well. If you choose to read this book, I wish you luck, since it was very difficult for me personally.
I strongly recommend Kelly Milner Halls' review of the book on TeenReads.com.
Buy it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
That said, Chinese Handcuffs is written in the enthralling style that makes me enjoy Crutcher's books so much. There are a couple of main characters: Dillion Hemingway, an aspiring Ironman tri-athelete whose older brother, Preston, committed suicide before the time period of the novel, and Jennifer Lawless, a high school basketball star who has to deal with memories of a sexually abusive father and her current step-father with the same problem. Dillion often reminds me of the character T.J. Jones from Whale Talk: both are sensitive, self-driven teens and athletes. Some of the chapters are written in the form of a letter from Dillion to a posthumous Preston. Other chapters are flashbacks of Jennifer's where we are introduced to her little sister, Dawn, who Jennifer struggles to protect from her father and step-father. Dillion and Jennifer are able to bond over not only their athletic abilities, but the pain they have both endured. It is the story of their courage and bravery in the face of this pain.
I enjoyed this book and its character development, but it was a very difficult read. Crutcher's writing is often fairly graphic and I found myself wincing away at parts. I would somehow like to think that the intended audience, presumably high school teens, should know nothing about the horrors encountered in Chinese Handcuffs. I realize, however, that many know it far too well. If you choose to read this book, I wish you luck, since it was very difficult for me personally.
I strongly recommend Kelly Milner Halls' review of the book on TeenReads.com.
Buy it from Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Sold by Patricia McCormick
This is one of the most difficult books to read. It was really very fast since it is written as a sort of journal or even as poetry, at times.
Sold is the story of Lakshmi, a Nepalese girl. She struggles with hunger and poverty in her tiny village until she has the opportunity to work in the city as a maid. She is sold to a woman who sells her to another man who takes her across the boarder into India. There she is sold to Mumtaz, the owner of the Happiness House. Lakshmi does not become a maid, but is locked up in a brothel, drugged and raped of her virginity at the age of 13.
The languge is heartbreaking. There is, however, a hopeful light. Lakshmi makes friend with some of the other girls in the house, with the boy that sells tea at the back door and even the son of one of the women. The last even teaches Lakshmi some English.
The book is overall horrifying and distrubing. What's worse is that it's largely true. McCormick researched this sexual slavery and found that some 12,000 Nepalese girls are sold to brothels in India every year. Whether the ending is a happy one or not, is up for you to determine.
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Sold is the story of Lakshmi, a Nepalese girl. She struggles with hunger and poverty in her tiny village until she has the opportunity to work in the city as a maid. She is sold to a woman who sells her to another man who takes her across the boarder into India. There she is sold to Mumtaz, the owner of the Happiness House. Lakshmi does not become a maid, but is locked up in a brothel, drugged and raped of her virginity at the age of 13.
The languge is heartbreaking. There is, however, a hopeful light. Lakshmi makes friend with some of the other girls in the house, with the boy that sells tea at the back door and even the son of one of the women. The last even teaches Lakshmi some English.
The book is overall horrifying and distrubing. What's worse is that it's largely true. McCormick researched this sexual slavery and found that some 12,000 Nepalese girls are sold to brothels in India every year. Whether the ending is a happy one or not, is up for you to determine.
Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Sunday, February 28, 2010
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
This book is amazing. Once I started I could not stop until I finished it and now I need to get the second book in the series.
The Hunger Games takes place in North America in the future. There were 13 Districts, who held an uprising against the Capitol. The Capitol destroyed District 13 and as a reminder of the weakness in the remaining districts, they forced each of the other 12 Districts to send two tributes, one boy and one girl, to fight to the death in the Hunger Games. These 24 individuals are between ages of 12 and 18.
Katniss, the main character, lives in District 12, current Appalachia. District 12 is the coal mining area and Katniss and her family are pretty poor. When names are drawn for tributes to the Games, Katniss' little sister, Prim is called for the girls. Katniss volunteers to take her place. The male tribute is the son of a baker, Peeta. The two are sent to the Capitol to prepare for the Games. They meet their prep team and designers (who create the multiple costumes they need for interviews and such), as well as the fellow tributes.
In the second part, the Games begin. The 24 triutes are send to an area that seems like a forrest with a nearby lake. Alliances are formed and tributes are killed from the first minute. I don't want to give too much away, but there were numerous surprises in this text for me, up until the last page.
One of the biggest questions in The Hunger Games is that of government involvement. The Capitol rules over the Districts in a dictatorship-type manner. They even get involved in the Games when things may have become boring for the views (all the citizens throughout the 12 Districts). The tributes sometimes form their actions to manipulate the Capitol. I hope in future books of the series, Suzanne Collins lets the characters take down the Capitol.
Available in hard copy and digital edition from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
The Hunger Games takes place in North America in the future. There were 13 Districts, who held an uprising against the Capitol. The Capitol destroyed District 13 and as a reminder of the weakness in the remaining districts, they forced each of the other 12 Districts to send two tributes, one boy and one girl, to fight to the death in the Hunger Games. These 24 individuals are between ages of 12 and 18.
Katniss, the main character, lives in District 12, current Appalachia. District 12 is the coal mining area and Katniss and her family are pretty poor. When names are drawn for tributes to the Games, Katniss' little sister, Prim is called for the girls. Katniss volunteers to take her place. The male tribute is the son of a baker, Peeta. The two are sent to the Capitol to prepare for the Games. They meet their prep team and designers (who create the multiple costumes they need for interviews and such), as well as the fellow tributes.
In the second part, the Games begin. The 24 triutes are send to an area that seems like a forrest with a nearby lake. Alliances are formed and tributes are killed from the first minute. I don't want to give too much away, but there were numerous surprises in this text for me, up until the last page.
One of the biggest questions in The Hunger Games is that of government involvement. The Capitol rules over the Districts in a dictatorship-type manner. They even get involved in the Games when things may have become boring for the views (all the citizens throughout the 12 Districts). The tributes sometimes form their actions to manipulate the Capitol. I hope in future books of the series, Suzanne Collins lets the characters take down the Capitol.
Available in hard copy and digital edition from Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
The Graceling by Kristin Cashore
The story was very interesting but took me a while to really get into. It's the story of Katsa, a girl "Graced" in killing. In the world of the Seven Kingdoms, some people (whose eyes are two different colors) have a special ability or Grace. Katsa meets Prince Po from the island state of Leneid and finds that he is also Graced. He originally tells Katsa that his Grace is fighting, but it turns out to be more complicated. Po can actually sense his surroundings and read minds in regards to himself. He is especially good as reading Katsa's thoughts of him or toward him.
The two Gracelings start out to the southern state of Monsea, where they investigate the King, Leck, his wife and their daughter, Po's cousin. As it turns out, Leck is also Graced, but he uses his in a despicable manner. I'm afraid I may have given too much away already, so I'll have to leave the summary at that.
The Graceling raises many relevant questions for young adults: What is your own special ability? How do you use it for personal gain and/or public service? What are your views of relationships, marriage and children? Do these views align with Katsa's?
I have heard there is a second book in the Graceling series. I'm excited to see what happens next, but I also have a full shelf of books to work on for now. Enjoy!
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