All These Things I've Done (Birthright Series #1) by Gabrielle Zevin

All These Things I've Done by Gabrielle (Birthright Series #1) by Gabrielle Zevin



Summary:
In a dystopian future where chocolate and caffeine are contraband, teenage cellphone use is illegal, and water and paper are carefully rationed, sixteen-year-old Anya Balanchine finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight as heir apparent to an important New York City crime family.

Review: A dystopic novel about crime families fighting for control of the illegal chocolate and caffeine trade? I had to check this one out!!  Anya has had to grow up quickly. Both her parents were murdered in separate mob hits. Although she's only 16, she primarily cares for her dying grandmother, disabled brother and younger sister. She's keeps her precarious situation away from the attention of Family Services by following the wise business advise of her late father.  Anya Ballanchine's character has both a confident, practical understanding of the "family" and the vulnerability of a teen. Although some of the characters are a bit shallow and cliché, especially the Ballanchine crime family members and Anya Ballanchine, chocolate mafia princess', growing relationship with the city's District Attorney's son. I found the overall story.... fun! Perhaps it's because I listened to the book via an audio CD. Narrator Ilyana Kadushin's calm, practical voice perfectly captured Anya's character. Book 2, '"Because It's in My Blood", is already in my car's CD player.

Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass by Meg Medina

Summary:
One morning before school, some girl tells Piddy Sanchez that Yaqui Delgado hates her and wants to kick her ass. Piddy doesn’t even know who Yaqui is, never mind what she’s done to piss her off. Word is that Yaqui thinks Piddy is stuck-up, shakes her stuff when she walks, and isn’t Latin enough with her white skin, good grades, and no accent. And Yaqui isn’t kidding around, so Piddy better watch her back. At first Piddy is more concerned with trying to find out more about the father she’s never met and how to balance honors courses with her weekend job at the neighborhood hair salon. But as the harassment escalates, avoiding Yaqui and her gang starts to take over Piddy’s life. Is there any way for Piddy to survive without closing herself off or running away? In an all-too-realistic novel, Meg Medina portrays a sympathetic heroine who is forced to decide who she really is.

Review:
Moving to a new apartment and enrolling in a new school is the last thing Piedad "Piddy" Sanchez wants to do. She's leaving her neighbors, her friends and the school where she was a strong, well-liked student to start a new life in Queens, New York. Little did she realize that from the first day of school her expectations would change from trying to fit in to trying to survive. She receives a note from someone she hasn't even met, Yaqui Delgado, who wants to kick her ass. From that moment we see Piddy's personality start to change to protect herself from her tormentors as she is repeatedly threatened then videotaped getting savagely attacked.

Author, Meg Medina, writes a poignant story of the emotional trauma and isolation that occurs in extreme bullying situations. With her inner strength and the support of her family and friends she finds the courage to face her bully on her own terms. I can definitely see young adults relating to Piddy's story and would highly recommend this book to upper middle school to high school students.

The 100 (The Hundred) by Kass Morgan

Target audience - Grades 9 - 12

Summary:

No one has set foot on Earth in centuries -- until now.

Ever since a devastating nuclear war, humanity has lived on spaceships far above Earth's radioactive surface. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents -- considered expendable by society -- are being sent on a dangerous mission: to recolonize the planet. It could be their second chance at life...or it could be a suicide mission.

CLARKE was arrested for treason, though she's haunted by the memory of what she really did. WELLS, the chancellor's son, came to Earth for the girl he loves -- but will she ever forgive him? Reckless BELLAMY fought his way onto the transport pod to protect his sister, the other half of the only pair of siblings in the universe. And GLASS managed to escape back onto the ship, only to find that life there is just as dangerous as she feared it would be on Earth.

Confronted with a savage land and haunted by secrets from their pasts, the hundred must fight to survive. They were never meant to be heroes, but they may be mankind's last hope.

Review:

I liked the storyline for this novel and can see readers of dystopic societies and science fiction enjoying the multiple plot twists. The chapters are short and the pages are easy to read; the characters deal with realistic situations in an unrealistic back drop, living on a space station, which make them easily relatable. I also appreciated the authors reflections on how a person who never lived on Earth might interpret some of its natural wonders like sunsets or rain storms. The story flips between the different characters who have unconventional names which can be confusing and at times reads like a television series. Perhaps that’s why its already been picked up by the CW station as part of their Spring lineup (March 2014).  Overall, “The Hundred” was a book worth recommending to high school students.

Review: The Fault in Our Stars

The Fault in Our Stars 
by John Green

Book Description:
Despite the tumor-shrinking medical miracle that has bought her a few years, Hazel has never been anything but terminal, her final chapter inscribed upon diagnosis. But when a gorgeous plot twist named Augustus Waters suddenly appears at Cancer Kid Support Group, Hazel's story is about to be completely rewritten.

Review:

Wow.  

I have to be honest here and admit that I was afraid to read this book.  Though it's gotten rave reviews from just about anyone who has ever read it, I was terrified of how "sad" this book would be... I tend to shy away from books dealing with death, cancer, war, etc.  

Am I glad I read this book finally? YES.  It was amazing.  This book is going to be known as John Green's masterpiece someday.  This book deals with teens with cancer in the perfect way.  They are not children, they are not adults, they are real teenagers.  They play video games, they question life, they fall in love.  They egg cars, they meet their favorite author...they die.  

While this book deals with the gritty realism of terminal illness, not shying away from the horrific realization that everyone's time comes eventually, it also deals with the subject with the perfect balance of love and hope.  Even as I cried through parts of the book, when I turned the last page I was left smiling.  

A wonderful book that all older readers (including the adults in our lives!) should really read.  

Movie Review: Ender's Game

Ender's Game
2013
Summit
Rated: PG-13
114 minutes

Movie Description: 

The International Military seek out a leader who can save the human race from an alien attack. Ender Wiggin, a brilliant young mind, is recruited and trained to lead his fellow soldiers into a battle that will determine the future of Earth. (description from IMDB.com)

Review:
So, I may have mentioned once, or twice, or hmmm...numerous times that Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card is one of my top five favorite novels of all-time. As such, I have to admit that I was *extremely* nervous when they first announced they were going to attempt a movie adaptation. As casting was announced and stills were released, though, and then finally the trailer came out, my anticipation grew until I could NOT WAIT for November 1st.

I am not a midnight release movie-goer, and yet, I seriously considered it for this movie. Happily, I had Friday off from work, so I did end up seeing it on it's first day in the theater!

I am pleased to report that I really, truly enjoyed the movie. Now, it was not as good as the book, but I'd expected that, so the movie lived up perfectly to the expectations I had for it. First off, the casting choices were STELLAR. Asa Butterfield gave an amazing performance as Ender, as didHarrison Ford playing Colonel Graff. I could not have asked for a better actor for either role. Without those two performances having the nuances and depths that Butterfield and Ford brought to them, the whole movie could have tanked. Then add in the excellent supporting cast and the movie becomes a blockbuster just from that respect!

While Sir Ben Kingsley, Nonso Anozie, and Viola Davis played their parts as the other mentors and role models in Ender's life very, very well, this movie is truly about the children who train to become the military heroes of tomorrow. Again, any of these casting choices failing could have been a crucial mistake and thankfully, these people knew what they were doing. Hailee Steinfeldwas *excellent* as Petra Arkanian. I can see why she'd previously been nominated for an Oscar!

Petra, Bean (played by Aramis Knight) and Alai (played by Suraj Partha) all hit just the right notes, first as competitors that distrust Ender, then as staunch supporters that will follow Ender all the way to the end. Watching these actors interact was a pleasure. Even the choice ofMoises Arias as Bonzo Madrid was spot-on. And though we didn't see a lot of her, Abigail Breslindid a great job as Ender's compassionate sister, Valentine.

In fact, that was one of the things that left me just a hair disappointed as I came out of the theater. Though I know how difficult it can be to pick and choose which aspects of a story are tackled in a movie adaptation, the complete absence of any reference to Peter and Valentine's subplot as influences on Earth's political government, leading to Peter Wiggin becoming the Hegemon (ultimate head of politics on Earth) I felt was glaring. Without this being mentioned at all in this movie, I don't understand how a sequel, if one is ever made, would be tackled as each story following this first one touches on Earth's politics fairly heavily...

I also understand that the timeline had to be tightened up and as such, the focus on the battle school virtual battles became a visually stunning and continuous plot for this movie, but I worry that viewers who have not read the book will not understand the emotional devastation that Ender faces as he becomes more and more isolated and feels more and more empathetic to the race that Earth is trying to destroy. In fact, the movie is restructured in such a way that Ender's isolation is hardly apparent and the empathy that Ender feels for the "buggers" is not apparent until after the culminating events of the movie.

However as a purely visual medium for a shortened/less layered version of the classic story, this movie was pretty epic. The battle room scenes were everything I hoped for, the blend of technologies and Earth and space vistas were breathtaking and I left eager for more.

My friends know that I'm pretty cheap frugal when it comes to seeing movies in the theater...and I liked this one enough that I'm considering going again... let that sink in, people. I may PAY to see this movie a second time. That's the highest endorsement I can give it.