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.

Happy Halloween!

So, today at work I'm dressed as Annabeth Chase from the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan. So much fun. I think I hit it pretty well on the nose. 

*And for those of you sticklers, yes, I know that in the series it is a Yankees cap that Athena gives Annabeth, but...the Red Sox won the World Series last night, so I had to support them, LOL! 

Is anyone else rocking a character-based costume today??

Review: The Turning

The Turning
by Francine Prose

Book Description:
A dark house.
An isolated island.
Strange dreams
and even stranger visions . . .

Jack is spending the summer on a private island far from modern conveniences. No Wi-Fi, no cell service, no one else on the island but a housekeeper and the two very peculiar children in his care. The first time Jack sees the huge black mansion atop a windswept hill, he senses something cold, something more sinister than even the dark house itself.

Soon, he feels terribly isolated and alone. Yet he is not alone. The house has visitors—peering in the windows, staring from across the shore. But why doesn't anyone else see them . . . and what do they want? As secrets are revealed and darker truths surface, Jack desperately struggles to maintain a grip on reality. He knows what he sees, and he isn't crazy. . . . Or is he?

I have to be honest. I wanted to like this one a lot more than I did. The idea was spooky and I liked the beginning, but I got bored reading. I actually found myself trying to skip to the end just to see what happened, because I was too impatient to wait until I naturally got there.

I didn't really connect to any of the characters and though I found the house to be cool and liked the remote setting, I don't think it was enough for me. Sadly, I just didn't enjoy it overmuch.