Divergent by Veronica Roth

I received this book as a birthday gift, and it was a super fast read.  It is a dystopian novel about the former Chicago, which is now broken up into different factions (a la The Hunger Games). Beatrice, or Tris, like all others her age, has to take a test to determine which faction she will join.  Her test results are inconclusive, and she learns that this rare thing makes her a Divergent.  This status is kept secret for her safety, though she does not yet know why it puts her at risk.  At the choosing ceremony, she chooses a faction called Dauntless, which is the complete opposite of her birth faction, Abignation.  As a Dauntless initiate, she is put through grueling tests and challenges.  She meets all sorts of people at the Dauntless compound, one of whom is Four.  She and Four have an interesting dynamic...and that's just about the first third of the book. 

If you loved The Hunger Games trilogy, you will love this (and its sequels).  It's coming out as a film in 2014, too!






Roth, Veronica.  Divergent.  New York: Katherine Tegan Books, 2011.

The Future of Us by Jay Asher & Carolyn Mackler

I just picked this book up at Schuler's this weekend, and I couldn't put it down!  I really loved Jay Asher's first novel, 13 Reasons Why, and while I didn't like this one as much as the first, it was still a great read.  It's about Emma and Josh and their friendship.  Emma receives an AOL CD-ROM (the book is set in 1996), and when she logs in, she sees this site called Facebook.  When she and Josh click on it, they get a look at their future selves (and are happy/unhappy with the results).  It's a quick, fun read :)

Ashey, Jay and Carolyn Mackler. The Future of Us. New York: Razor Bill, 2011.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card

This is my husband's favorite book, and I can't believe I haven't read it until now.  What's not to love?  It's a young adult sci-fi book!  To me, it's like The Hunger Games, but without the oppressive government and with aliens.

The book's protagonist is Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, who is about 7 years old when the book begins.  He is sent to Battle School where he is challenged on many levels as the fate of the human race depends on his success.  The world is expecting another Bugger (or alien) invasion, and they only barely defeated them the last time.  Ender's abilities are unmatched by any other.  Will he be strong enough to defeat them again?

What was CRAZY to me was all of the technology in the book.  All of the Battle School students have their own "desks" that seem exactly like iPads or other tablets.  Remember, this was written in the 1970's when a computer took up an entire room!  Bananas.

There are many other books in the Ender's series, and there is even a parallel series that follows another important character from this book, Bean (see Ender's Shadow, the first book).  I am beginning to read Ender's Shadow right now based upon my husband's recommendation.  The second book in the Ender's series is Speaker for the Dead.  I love that I have a new series to keep me busy (and these are all in the FC LMC, too) :)


Card, Orson Scott. Ender's Game. New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 1977.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer

This was the second book I read this summer (the first was Everfound), and I hate to say that it was my least favorite.  The book takes place during and post 9/11, which is why I felt compelled to read it.  Oskar Schell, the protagonist, is a child whose father died in one of the towers.  He and his father had a special relationship, and they used to play games.  After 9/11, Oscar comes across a key in an envelope that says "Black" on it that he believes belonged to his father.  He goes on a quest to figure out what this key belongs to, believing it to be a final game from his father.

The problem I had with this book was that it was very dense, and I didn't feel connected to Oskar or his quest.  The side plot about Oskar's grandmother and her husband was okay, but it was underdeveloped.  I have yet to see the film based on this book.  Perhaps that is better than the book (which would be rare).

Foer, Jonathan Safran. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005.

Everwild and Everfound by Neal Shusterman

I already blogged about book one of the Skinjacker Trilogy, Everlost.  Everwild and Everfound are the last two books in the trilogy.  Each book follows Allie, Nick, and Mikey as they try and take down Mary Hightower, the Sky Witch who is planning to destroy the living world.  Allie is captured, Mary dies (again), and Allie continues to hone her skinjacking skills.  This trilogy was a good read, and the ending of Everfound was just as it should be.


Shusterman, Neal. Everwild.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 2009.

Shusterman, Neal. Everfound.  New York: Simon and Schuster, 2011.

The Rook by Daniel O'Malley

I LOVED this book!  I actually read it back in February when it debuted, but I forgot to blog about it.  The author, Dan, and I went to MSU together, so this was an especially fun read for me--he's done an amazing job, and I can't wait to read more from him.

The Rook is a first person sci-fi/fantasy novel told from Myfanwy Thomas' point of view.  The first chapter begins with Myfanwy waking up outside with several dead glove-wearing bodies around her, and she has no memory of who she is or how she got there.  Inside her jacket is a letter from the body's former owner; this letter contains instructions for how to go about living as Myfanwy and how to solve the mystery of the person trying to kill her.  What a fantastic way to hook a reader!

It is a fast read, and there is a lot of humor in it as well.  It'd make a great movie too, just sayin' :) 

O'Malley, Daniel.  The Rook. New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2012.

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

This is the second book in the Leviathan trilogy.  Deryn and Alek are still trying to keep the peace amidst the impending war.  The tension between the two is growing, too, as Deryn gets close to revealing her identity (there are some creatures who know she's a she).  There are more machines, Clankers, as it were, too.  It's a good read, but is a bit anti-climactic.  I'm hoping the third book in the series, Goliath, is better. 

Westerfeld, Scott. Behemoth. New York: Simon Pulse, 2010.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett

My mom lent me her copy of this book a while back, and I kept putting off reading it because I was worried it wouldn't live up to the hype.  I finally broke down and brought this along as reading material during my spring break travels.  I must say, it definitely lived up to the hype.  I could not put this book down.  For those who have been living media-free, this book takes place in Jackson, Mississippi during the 1960's. It is about a white woman, Skeeter, and her desire to give African-American women help an outlet and voice to share their stories as the hired help to wealthy white women.  The central characters are Skeeter, Aibileen, and Minnie.  Boy, do Aibileen and Minnie have a lot of patience to deal with their employers, let me tell you.  These women are awful and are an unfortunate reminder of this nation's horrible treatment of African-Americans and the evil segregation laws that were in place during this time.  This book will have you running through all sorts of emotions.  One moment, you'll be laughing out loud, the next you will be mad, and then later, you'll cry.  It is a fantastic read.

There is a movie about this book, of course.  I did see it after having read the book, and it was pretty good!  I am not one to praise movie versions of books, but this film stayed true to the text. 

Stockett, Kathryn.  The Help. New York: Amy Einhorn Books, 2010.

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

My awesome husband got me this book for Christmas, and it did not disappoint. This book is about a boy name Jacob. His grandfather has quite the collection of strange photographs (see levitating girl on the front cover) that he shares with Jacob (though he doesn't believe them to be real). When his grandfather dies mysteriously, Jacob decides to go learn more about the island where his grandpa spent much of his childhood.

On this island, Jacob finds a portal to the past, and he is transported to Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Here, he meets the various people from his grandpa's photographs.

I won't say anything else as I don't want to spoil it for you. It's another great read with a great ending!

Riggs, Ransom. Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. Philadelphia, PA: Quirk Books, 2011.

Everlost by Neal Shusterman

Everlost is book one of Shusterman's Skinjacker Trilogy. I'd never heard of this series before, but a few students said that if I liked the Hunger Games (who doesn't?), I'd like this. They were right.

This book opens with a tragic car accident that ends the lives of two teenagers. Instead of dying, they find themselves in Everlost, a purgatory sort of in-between world. Allie and Nick are not alive, but they haven't "gone towards the light" either. They find that this world has its challenges and antagonists, too, as they discover more about the Sky Witch and The McGill.

This is a fun, fast read, and I couldn't wait to buy book two.

Shusterman, Neal. Everlost. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2006.

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

This book falls under the steampunk genre; it's a little bit science fiction mixed in with some historical fiction. I was already a fan of Westerfeld's work (see: Uglies, Pretties, Specials, and Extras), and I thought I've give this one a try. It is set right around the time of World War I and follows Alex, a now-orphan prince as his parents were just murdered by the Germans. Alex and his advisors and trying to escape while remaining anonymous. Meanwhile, there is a side plot that follows Deryn, a tom-boy who wants to be in the British Air Service; however, she must disguise herself as a boy since girls were not allowed in the military. These two stories combine into a great tale of war and friendship. There is a sequel to this book as well (look for that post later!).

ps: There are some EXCELLENT illustrations in this book, too.

Westerfeld, Scott. Leviathan. New York: Simon Pulse, 2009.

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

This memoir is a tough read due to its content. Jeannette had a really hard upbringing--and that's putting it lightly. She and her family were homeless for most of her childhood and moved around a lot. Her parents did not hold down full-time jobs with benefits not because they couldn't find work, but because they did not want to; they were happy moving from small job, to small job. At one point, Jeannette's mom gets a job as a teacher; however, that does not last long either. A lot happens to poor Jeannette, but she finally graduates high school and college (moving away was a tough, but important choice for her to make). She lives in New York and her mother is still homeless--the book begins with Jeannette seeing her mother rummaging through a garbage dumpster :/ If you like the Dave Pelzer books, you'll like this one.

Walls, Jeannette. The Glass Castle. New York: Scribner, 2005.

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

I finally got around to finishing the third book in the Uglies series, Specials. It did not disappoint! In this book, Tally-Wa, now a Special/Crumbly, faces many new challenges. She has new responsibilities from Dr. Cable, love issues with Zane and David, and conflicts of interest with Shay-La. As with the other books in the series, it's full of action and drama (and hoverboard antics).

Westerfeld, Scott. Specials. New York: Simon Pulse, 2006.