Finally, EA seems to have figured out that the future of ebooks is integrating them into devices people already have. They are coming out with a line of books for the DS, including Artemis Fowl (I gotta buy that one!). These will apparently also include extra games and interactive aspects.
The iphone has kindle apps, and now the DS will get some books, so maybe ebooks will finally be a viable idea. With all the format wars going on right, it just doesn’t make sense to sink the money into a device thats only good for reading some books.
My only problem with that right now is that this might only be in the UK. Now, I think there shouldn’t be any problem playing a UK game, but buying it might be harder.
In an instant all the adults are gone. Everyone over fifteen vanishes. Leaving behind teens, children, and toddlers. A new society not able to deal with no bedtimes, no kisses for boo-boos, and especially not ready to deal with the ambitious teens and bullies who see this as their time to rule.
Sam never wanted to be a hero, but once before he took over when the school bus driver had a heart attack. He saved a bus full of kids that day, and now they expect him to be the hero once more. But all he wants to do is go surf.
But as things fall apart around him, as the true intentions of Cain, the teen ready to be their savior, are quickly revealed, and especially as his 15th birthday nears, Sam realizes that he has to step up, be the savior once more, if just to save his own life.
Wow. This book blew me away. And I had gone into it thinking I probably wouldn’t enjoy it that much. It’s a thick book, intimidatingly thick, and it’s one of those premises that sounds interesting, but you just know it could be done horribly by the wrong author. So I thought this might be the kind of book that I would read a few chapters, decide it wasn’t that good, and walk away from. Little did I know I wouldn’t be able to put it down until I finished it, only to immediately pick up the next book. For such a long book it has an amazing pace and I can’t recall anything I would say needed to be cut (though sometimes I wish something would have been cut, just because I don’t like bad things happening to characters I like, and Grant is not afraid to make bad things happen).
One aspect I really loved was how well Grant was able to make the teenagers/kids really act their ages. Sure, there were lots of moments I wished they would act older, that they wouldn’t be such *kids* but that was one of the best done elements of the book. No adult ideas on how kids should act, these were real kids dealing with a crisis. In general all the characters were well done and unique, I had very little trouble telling anyone apart or forgetting who a character was that hadn’t appeared for a while. Moral ambiguity and the problems of what’s "right" in a crisis also came across well, with might vs. democracy vs. charisma being an early element as the kids try to figure out how to govern their new home (something no one who should take the job really wants to do). These elements make me compare the book to Lord of the Flies, and it is similarly scary in those elements.
I did wonder though why 15 was the cut off for an "adult". Seems like 16 or 18 would have made more sense. I guess it was in part because that was how many years ago the meteor hit, but that only makes so much sense. I’d complain about how even by the end of the second book I didn’t really feel like I had any concrete idea why all of this happened and how, except that it never really mattered to me while reading. The books are so well done that I don’t really find myself caring what brought them to this situation, I’m just fascinated by watching them deal with it.
I’m very surprised I haven’t heard anything about this book. I’ve seen it around, but don’t remember any "You have to read this, it’ll stick with you" sorts of recommendations like Hunger Games got. Yet it deserves the same sort of praise. My personal theory is that because the main character is a boy, and most of the readers/reviewers I hear from are like me and tend towards girl narrators (girls its seems, consciously or unconsciously, tend to be drawn to strong female narrators), they are therefore less likely to give a book like this a chance.Yet, don’t despair lovers of strong females! There are plenty of great girls in these books, from the smart bookworm who is the brains behind the leader (though she’s happy not to be the one ultimately in charge) to the tough healer who just wants it to be over and to stop being so special.
Ratings Reasons: Action 5 – You’d think a book as long as this would drag, yet it moves at an incredible pace. I don’t recall ever setting it down and being hesistant to go back to it.
Romance 4 – The romance is decent, but for some reason, I just wasn’t quite feeling it. Maybe it was all the other things going on that were more important. Which isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy the ships.
Characters 5 – There were a lot of characters, yet they all came alive and I felt their pain, hope, and confusion.
Overall 5 – Read it. Please, I want someone to talk to about it! I definitely think this book, and the sequel Hunger, should be getting more buzz.
Extras:
First off, immediatly upon finishing reading this book, read Hunger. Its just as good and interesting, and makes everything even more complex and fascinating.
This seems to be Michael Grant’s first book, but at least his website has a few cool features. First, there is a story on the front page, from the point of view of a character I can’t quite place. Plus, you can find out tips about how to survive in the FAYZ (Fallout Alley Youth Zone) and take a quiz that will tell you your likelihood of survival. Not counting that I’m over 15 to start with, I scored a 10, so I’d probably survive. Maybe. If I chose the right side.
If you haven’t already read it, another book I’d highly recommend along these lines is Hunger Games. It’s an amazing book and has a similar theme of children/teens surviving in a harsh world, without grownups. Of course, in their world, the grownups are watching them fight to the death.
Lord of the Flies is of course the other book that comes to mind, and now I’m rather sad I haven’t read it in years. Perhaps I’ll have to pick up a copy sometime soon, as most of what I remember of it is actually from the Simpson’s episode.
Parents: 13 + This can be a harsh book, in fact, depending on the kid I might even go higher to saying 16+. There isn’t any sex (though some typical teenage longings), but the characters are in a bad situation that only gets worse. There is violence, death, and teens being as cruel to each other as some of the worst dictators have been. But, it’s also an amazing study of human nature and society, much along the lines of Lord of the Flies.
I have to admit, I don’t really like love triangles. Sure, I can admire a well constructed one, but in general, I like my romance to have a little more certainty. I hate spending a book unsure who she is really going to end up with, because the author is doing too good of a job of making both guys likeable. Granted though, you can usually tell who the “winner” will be, which also irks me when I like the other one better. Or even if I like who I’m sure the main pair will be, I feel so sorry for the leftover that I can’t help but be a little angry at the author and character for leaving the other one out.
And the thing I hate most about love triangles is that there seem to be only three ways to end them. (Here I’m only talking about love triangles where all three characters are real parts of the story, and this doesn’t count for unrequited love usually either.)
1. One of the competitors turns out to be evil/bad/too self-involved, some characteristic that makes it perfectly reasonable for the girl to say goodbye to him. Now, this can be well done where the main character has to make a decision about killing a former friend/lover, but in general it’s pretty obvious from the get-go to at least the audience that the love interest is going to turn out bad.
2. Another character is added into a mix who the leftover member of the love triangle can fall in love with. I like this option best, especially if I’ve grown to like the leftover person.
3. Leftover has to die. Typically saving main character’s life/allowing them to live. I hate this option. And now I’ve run into two books in the last month where I could tell pretty early on that that was where the book was headed. One of those books I put down, figuring I’ll pick it up later, the other was one I’m already invested in, so I have to finish it. But I’m almost happier to be prepared that he is going to die. Took me about half the book to figure it out, and I’m a little disappointed in myself that I didn’t realize it earlier. If you want to know what book it is, well, just think about what I’m all excited about just being released. Yeah. I’m invested, but I’ll probably cry when I get there. I did flip to the back of the book to make sure that what I thought was going to happen does happen. I’m mean to myself like that.
So, in general I don’t like love triangles. Every once in awhile one will come along that I think is so well written, so tragic, that I fall in love with it anyways. Wicked (musical) is like that for me, with Glinda, Fiyero, and Elphaba… but even that one has a somewhat tragic ending.
Love triangles just don’t seem to end well. -_-
**Edit -
So I must of misread something at the end of that book I was reading and second guy didn’t die. Though, there is one more book and I wouldn’t be suprised if he didn’t make it to the end. At least the girl finally seemed to have made her choice. Whidh is a little surprising cause I think the author likes the other guy better. So who knows, maybe the “winner” will die instead. Books sometimes pull that as well.
Well, Catching Fire, sequel to Hunger Games just came out today. Of course it has to come out when I’m in the middle of nowhere (yes, I checked the town’s one bookstore…) and in one of my busiest weeks of the year. Still, I will hopefully get a copy tomorrow and start reading as soon as humanly possible.
Kitty Pride has an annoying tendency of falling through the floor. This mutant power marks her as different from those around her, and when a mysterious "old friend of the family" offers her a place at a school filled with students just like her, she decides it’s better than constant teasing and hatred. Now she is the newest student at Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters and the first girl this school full of boys has seen in a while.
Immediately the boys of the intimidating Hellfire Club invite her into their inner circle. Kitty, shocked at having so many boys suddenly noticing her, eagerly accepts. But she soon realizes that this group of elite boys are only out for their own interests and their interests include making sure humans know that mutants are far superior. How could this end but in disaster?
I’ve been dubious about this title since its first press release. In concept, I liked the idea, a manga/shojo reimagining of the X-Men. In practice, I have some issues with the manga. One thing though before I start sounding all negative is that the art is absolutely beautiful! Some American mangas can come off as looking very American, but this one could easily be mistaken for coming from Japan. The plot also feels very manga-y. From the beginning, I knew the art was going to be amazing, because I’d talked to one of the authors at Stumptown Comic Fest a year ago. I’d asked her about Jean Grey (one of my favorite characters) and I saw the sketches, and she will be appearing in the next volume (she’s a teacher). I tried asking if there would be any romance with Scott (who is a student in this), but she didn’t give a spoiler response, just a shrug of "it’s manga." So I’ll have to see next volume!
And, as if we needed more types of Twilight, I don’t think I remembered to post on the Twilight Manga from Yen Press.
Seriously, I enjoyed the first three books, the fourth creeped me out, but I just don’t get it… Except, I do get it. Because if I was 13, I would have been absolutely obsessed with these books.
Though I’ve gotta say, I think Robert Pattinson is more creepy looking than sexy.
Jakkin and Akki are back, and their troubles are far from over. Previously they’ve been branded as rebels and chased to the hills, but now they are back in civilization and old "friends" are drawing them back into danger. They can’t trust anyone but each other, though their own insecurities help to prevent even that. Heart’s Blood’s brood is following them closely, but not even dragons have the power to get them out of this mess.
I’ve been waiting for this book for years. My copy of the third book in this series, A Sending of Dragons, contains a blurb about this one along with a sample chapter, yet that book came out in 1987 (though I believe my edition is from early 2000). This was beginning to feel like one of those books that would never get published! I highly recommend going back and reading the first three books before you get to this one (whether you’re rereading or starting fresh) as they work better as parts of a whole. This book though has a pretty definite ending, so I’m not sure if any more are planned. Obviously more takes place in this world after the ending, but she does a little bit of fast-forwarding via an encyclopedia article at the end of the book, showing us some of the fate of the characters. Despite the long time period between books, the books still fit nicely together, though you can tell that Yolen has improved and changed her writing craft a bit since the third one was published. In addition to Jakkin’s narrative, we now have get the story from Akki’s point of view as well, necessary as they are separated for much of the book.
Nadya is a mischievous kitchen girl in a Russian tavern. Having nearly drowned in the Iset River during the turmoil of the Revolution, she has no memory of her past and longs for the life she cannot remember.
Then two young men arrive at the tavern and announce that Nadya’s long-lost grandmother has sent them to find her. Yearning for family and friendship, she agrees to accompany them to Paris for the joyful reunion. Nadya eagerly embarks on her journey, never dreaming it will be one of laughter, love — and betrayal. (summary from Amazon)
For good and bad, this book reminded me a lot of the movie Anastasia. Little details were different, and the magic was removed, but it was still extremely similar and followed the same basic plot. But, I loved that movie. It’s probably still one of my all time favorites, and this book appealed to me for the same reasons I loved the movie. So, I still enjoyed the book a lot despite strong similarities (I wouldn’t call it a knock-off/rip-off, but I would understand if someone else said that).
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