One More Book

Because Brave New World ended up not being Young Adult, I have thirty one books on this blog. My last eleven are on this page and the first two on the next.

Cherry Ames Dude Ranch Nurse by Julie Tatham

This was pretty much most ridiculous book I have ever read. Cherry Ames is this perfect, pretty, spunky nurse living a charmed life. Of course, this is a book, so Cherry must face "real problems" like not knowing what to wear. All of the men in this book at very stereotyped - if they are good they are overwhelmingly handsome (and, of course, in love with her). And if they are bad they are ugly beyond degree. But the bad guys don't bother Cherry. She is tough! She is brave! She is a woman of the mid 50's gosh dang it! And she can handle anything. Including solving a mystery and getting everyone to like her. You know, just a day in the life of Cherry Ames.

Would not recommend.

Page Three

On this page are the third ten books I read during the semester.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

The Giver is possibly one of the greatest books ever written. I read it a long time ago when I was in sixth grade. I believe it was the beginning of my love for reading (although I withstood it for years after that because I didn't like feeling forced to read, but it was an early start.) It is about a society in which everything is perfect and everything is the same. Everything is decided for its citizens and nothing is ever out of place. What begins as a Utopian society becomes a Dystopian society after the author reveals the society's truths. The story follows one young boy in the city who is different from the rest. He is chosen to learn from The Giver. He learns everything that is real - everything that is not their society. He learns about snow, something his society never has. He learns about color too. He learns about all different sensations we take for granted daily that he has never known before.

The novel really helps you appreciate what you have and know. It is well-written and very engaging. I would recommend it to anyone.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

This book is incredible! I am not the "Sci- Fi" type, but I couldn't put this book down. Ender is a young boy enlisted in the Battle School. He quickly excels and becomes the top in his class. The praise and acknowledgment turn him into a recluse, excluded by others from everything. He continues to succeed at Battle School instead of going home. The reason he left and the reason he stays away from home is because of his extremely oppressive brother. He eventually is promoted to Command School. The longer he stays in Command School, the harder his tasks become. He gets so tired his wake life and his sleep life begin to blur. His final task becomes more than a simple challenge. I highly recommend this book, especially to reluctant science fiction readers.

Trouble by Gary D. Schmidt

When Henry's brother is hit by a truck his world is turned upside down. His family pretty much all goes into seclusion individually. Although his brother is still alive, it's not very hopeful. Eventually Henry himself decides to remove himself. However, the way he does so also seems to draw him nearer to his brother. He decides to go to Maine and climb a mountain he and his brother had planned on climbing. He brings his newly adopted dog, Black Dog, and his friend. They have no other way to get there but to ride with the very person who hit his brother in the first place. The story is amazing. Everything ties together in beautiful connections I never could have thought of. Gary D. Schmidt is a great author and this is a great book.

The First Part Last by Angela Johnson

This is a beautiful story about teenage pregnancy. Yeah, I said beautiful. Some might worry that by saying that I am promoting teen pregnancy, but it doesn alomst the exact opposite. Told from perspectives of "Then" and "Now"this novel portrays the difficulties of teen pregnancy, but it also portrays the joys of parenthood. Bobby is a sweet young man with a loving successful family and a bright future. He has a girlfriend, Nia, whom he loves deeply at only fifteen. On his sixteenth birthday his girlfriend tells him she is pregnant. Complications during their daughters birth result in Nia's death. Bobby is left to take care of her alone. The novel goes through the struggles he faces and all of the love he has for his daughter in a beautiful, almost poetic way. I would recommend this book to anyone, especially those young adults who are sexually active.

Inexcusable by Chris Lynch

The way things look are not always the way things are. This book simply plays off the idea of perspectives. Told from the perspective of Keir Sarafian, a young high school student. He tells about his life and about how everything in it exemplifies that he is a "good guy." However, accusation made by a fellow classmate, Gigi Boudakain, make him and the reader wonder if he is as good as he says he is. Sort of the opposite story of Speak, this story is about the raper in a date rape. You'll wonder what the truth is yourself.

I would recommend this book, but only to certain people. I know some people who couldn't handle the content. But I liked it and I think it was very well written.

The Great God Pan by Donna Jo Napoli

I had a really hard time reading The Great God Pan for a few of reason. First of all, I thought it was about Peter Pan when I picked it up and I was sorely disappointed to discover that it was not. Second, Pan was fully of hormones. He really liked women... of any variety. And he described it in a good amount of detail. It was just a little to sexual for my taste. Lastly, I had a hard time getting into the style of writing. It's written much like a man thinks - in short choppy sentences and paragraphs, most of which there is little to no transition for. It is about the God of Nature, Pan, who's mother cursed him to be half goat, half human for the rest of his life. He can transform into anything in nature, but never whole human or whole goat. He doesn't care much and he lives his life carefree, until one day when he meets a human girl unlike most human girls. She is bold and intelligent, and she is not afraid of him. This girl is so different from most, he begins to fall in love.

Although I will not give away what happens after that, I wouldn't recommend it to most people.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

This graphic novel contains three separate stories inside of it. The stories have seemingly nothing to do with each other, but tie together nicely in the end. I had actually never read a graphic novel before this one and I was pleasantly surprised. I thought I would hate having someone depict what something looks like for me, removing all imagination from reading, but I actually enjoyed it. It wasn't much like reading, I'll admit, it was almost more like watching a television show. It was really easy to follow and some of the picture made the story so much better. The faces they made were so important (and funny sometimes). I really enjoyed the graphic part of this graphic novel. However, I really disliked the novel part of it. The stories kind of bothered me. They were a little gruesome and disturbing at points. A lot of them were just simply crude. Although they tied together nicely, I didn't like the ending. I wouldn't recommend this book to many people.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

This is one of the best Young Adult novels I have ever read. It was very long, but every page was worth it. The story is about a young girl right before and during the Holocaust. She is forced to live with a foster family when her mother, a communist, is forced into concentration camp. Her foster father is a kind and loving man, however, her foster mother is the exact opposite. This foster father teaches her to read. She begins to love reading so much she starts to steal books - thus the title, The Book Thief. The story is written from the perspective of Death. He gives her that title after watching her steal books. The best part of this novel is Death's commentary. He is not the typical "Death" we know, a skeleton with a hood and scythe. He is kind and gentle; just a hardworking guy trying to do his job. He is actually afraid of human because they are so destructive. However, his fear does not keep him from watching The Book Thief.