The Six by Mark Alpert

PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: Adam, crippled by muscular dystrophy, and five other terminally ill teenagers sacrifice their bodies and upload their minds into weaponized robots to battle a dangerously advanced artificial intelligence program bent on destroying humanity.

REVIEW: Two questions…

1.  If you were terminally ill but were given the chance to live forever as a robot – would you take it?  

2. What if we developed a super computer programed to learn from their mistakes who decided humans were expendable?

Both of these premises come together in Mark Alpert’s thrilling novel, “The Six”. Adam and five other teenagers are given the opportunity to cheat death by having their brain functions transferred into an android. The kids and their families have a massive decision to make. Will they lose their personality? What part of us truly makes us human?  

Adam’s father is also the computer expert who had developed the super computer who learns from its mistakes. Ahh, if only us human’s would too… The computer deducts that humans; infallible and emotional creatures that we are, can shut it down permanently. The computer’s self-preservation tells it that it needs to eliminate us as a potential risk. Thus we become its prime target. The government, who has funded both products, sees the teens as an unknown equation for the computer. Perhaps they are the only way to save humanity from the super-computer we’ve created.

I was intrigued by both plot scenarios and how the author was able to meld them into a thought-provoking, high-action story. The reader is kept on the edge of their seats as the teenagers struggle to adapt to their new forms and their mission. The teens acted like teens, sometimes rebellious, sometimes cooperative, and never predictable. The computer scenario reminded me of an updated version of the 1980’s hit movie called “WarGames”. I can tell that the author, Mark Alpert, who is the editor for “Scientific American” has done his homework! This is a great book I could easily recommend to anyone from middle school to adult. The story had a satisfying conclusion but left the door open for future adventures. I can’t wait to see if there are sequels! 

FULL DISCLOSURE: copy obtained through Sourcebook publishing. 

Review: I Represent Sean Rosen

I Represent Sean Rosen
by Jeff Baron

Book Description:
Sean Rosen knows what he wants. A ten-million-dollar deal with a big Hollywood studio. The only problem is, he's a kid. And he's busy with school. And he lives far from Los Angeles or New York City. But Sean does have a laptop and a phone, and he's smart. He's about to have the ride of a lifetime as he discovers the ins and outs—and dos and don'ts—of becoming one of the youngest movie moguls the world's ever known.

Review: 

Funny at times, but ultimately not as good as I'd expected.  This book was a fairly quick read, but I didn't really feel enthusiastic at all once I'd read it.  Sean never really learns not to lie and doesn't have to face any real consequences for all of his deceptions... I kind of found that disappointing and unrealistic.  If you love books where you really see inside the character's head, you might like this one, but I don't think it'll be a hit with everyone. 

Review: Model Spy



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Model Spy

by Shannon Greenland

The Specialists, book one

Book Description:

Teen genius Kelly James is in a lot of hot water. A whiz with computers, she agreed to help her college RA, David, uncover some top-secret information. After all, she doesn’t have many friends and David has always been nice to her. it doesn’t hurt that he’s supercute and irresistible, too. All she has to do is hack into the government’s main computer system. but a few hours later, her whole life changes. she is caught and taken in for questioning, only this isn’t your run-of-the-mill arrest. rather than serve a juvenile detention sentence, she accepts the option to change her name and enlist in a secret government spy agency that trains teen agents to go undercover. As if that wasn’t overwhelming enough, she discovers that David works for this agency as well! And before she even begins to understand what is going on, she’s sent on her first mission as an undercover model. And who better to partner with than David himself!

 

Review:

This was the "fun" book I've been dying to read lately. This book had adventure, romance, and a smart chick who also just happens to be somewhat klutzy...right up my alley, LOL!

I love the concept of a bunch of teen criminals, I mean geniuses, in different fields being recruited to form an elite squad of spies. Kelly, who has gone to college early and is generally beyond super-smart, was a fun character to follow. Sheis not only a whiz in school, but she's funny, loyal, warmhearted, and well...I kinda want to be her! I laughed my way through her adventure, turning the pages as fast as I possibly could!

...and the romance? I immediately hunted down book two in the series after finishing Model Spy because I cannot WAIT to see how the romance develops as the series goes on... *fans self* I want to see what the whole gang gets up to of course, and the spy mission in book two, Down to the Wire, recovering a stolen neurotoxin, sounds exciting, but I am so ready to jump right back into Kelly a.k.a. GiGi's life!!

Anyone on the lookout for a fun, fast-paced read with action, smarts, romance, and more, check out Model Spy. I guarantee you'll enjoy it

Review: Mindblind

Mindblind
by Jennifer Roy

Book Description:
Fourteen-year-old Nathaniel Clark lives in two worlds—the outside world of his family and friends and his own, special, inside Aspie world, where he’s not forced to interact with people or worry about wearing his clothes right-side out. The world where he can solve mathematical problems that elude even the brightest graduate students. The world where he feels he can find his own inner truth. People say he’s a genius, but Nathaniel thinks differently. According to a book he once read, a true genius uses his talent to make a contribution to the world. Nathaniel takes the definition literally, and begins his quest for genius status.

Review:
I really enjoyed this book. I thought that it was a really accessible glimpse into the mind of someone with Asperger's Syndrome. Nathaniel's mind worked very differently from say, mine, but the author took pains to write so that it was not so foreign that it would be off-putting as a reader to try to understand.

Nathaniel was interesting and driven. I love that he truly strived to become a positive addition to society. He longed for nothing more than to become the true definition of a "genius" - someone who produced something incredible. I loved that Nathaniel also had "normal" friends and that he was so high functioning. Being in a band and going bowling or playing video games with friends seem to be things that a lot of autistic/Aspie kids can't do and it was heartwarming to see a character that was inspired to participate so much by his family. I loved the relationship he and his mother had...and while I didn't like his relationship with his father, I understood how it could have developed and thought it was very realistic. It was nice to see his loving stepmother, too.

All in all, I thought this book was very well done and I recommend it anytime you are looking for something a little bit different!

Review: The Future of Us

The Future of Us
by Jay Asher and Carolyn Mackler

Book Description:
Josh and Emma are about to discover themselves--fifteen years in the future

It's 1996, and Josh and Emma have been neighbors their whole lives. They've been best friends almost as long--at least, up until last November, when everything changed. Things have been awkward ever since, but when Josh's family gets a free AOL CD-ROM in the mail, his mom makes him bring it over so that Emma can install it on her new computer. When they sign on, they're automatically logged onto Facebook . . . but Facebook hasn't been invented yet. Josh and Emma are looking at themselves fifteen years in the future.

Their spouses, careers, homes, and status updates--it's all there. And every time they refresh their pages, their futures change. As they grapple with the ups and downs of what their lives hold, they're forced to confront what they're doing right--and wrong--in the present.

Review:
To be totally honest, I did not really like this book. I had expected to love it, but it just never really worked for me. In the first couple of chapters I was totally into the whole nostalgia thing...I loved flashing back to my high school self...but as the story moved on, it just never grabbed me.

I thought the concept was really cool, but I didn't really connect to either character. The plot didn't seem to move enough for me. I liked the ending, but knew exactly where it was going almost from the start.

I just felt, eh, about most of this book. :/
Did any of you love it?