Green-Sky: Below the Root

by Zilpha Keatley Snyder

It was a little over a year ago when a classmate in an online class recommended this book to me. After a few months of searching, I finally found it and it's two sequels.

And then they sat on my shelf for months.

Finally, I'm trying to catch up on some old books and I pulled these out. I'm glad I did. While the book is from the 70s it could very well have been written much more recently. The themes and genres are ones that are recently seeing a resurgence in YA literature: dystopian, alternate worlds, and post-apocalyptic to name a few.

The story takes place in the world of Green-Sky - a planet similar to Earth except for the abundance of large trees where the Kindar people make their homes, and a gravity much less severe than Earth's. The Kindars are a peaceful people, who live in harmony high in the trees while the sinister Pash-shan live below the root on the forest floor. Kindars are taught from birth to fear the Pash-shan, so when young Raamo is Chosen to become one of the revered elders of their society who protect the people from the Pash-Shan, he is eager to learn. However, in his studies as an Ol-zhaan, Raamo begins to discover that things aren't what they seemed, and there is much more to the Pash-shan than the Kindars know. Together with his new friends Neric and Genaa, Raamo must discover the truth and save Green-Sky from the true evil they face.

Devastation

by Gloria Skursynski

It took me a while but I finally figured this book out. This book is the republished version of the first two books in a science-fiction series entitled The Virtual War Chronologs. Devastation contains books 1 (The Virtual War) and 2 (The Clones).

Since the books are so vastly different I will write about them separately first.

The Virtual War was the better of the two books. We start off by meeting Corgan, a 14-year-old boy who has lived his entire life in isolation, with his only company being a virtual world and computer program mother/father named Mendor. Corgan was created by the government to fight in the upcoming virtual war. The winning region will receive the Isles of Hiva - the last piece of land on Earth that humans can live on without the protection of giant domes. Corgan isn't fighting alone though - he's soon joined by his code-breaker Sharla and strategist Brig. While Corgan is used to obeying every command, Sharla is much more prone to breaking them, and it's not long before she starts telling Corgan things about the government he's never even dreamed.

In The Clones, Sharla is working on a new project - analyzing human DNA. Shortly into the novel we (and Corgan) learn that she has been working on making a clone of Brig. She started with 4, and 2 survived. The government only wants one and tells Sharla to destroy the other. She can't bring herself to do it, and so she brings the tiny baby Brig (named Seabrig) to Corgan and asks him to take care of it. Corgan is shocked to hear what Sharla's been up to, and even more shocked to learn that this version of Brig (as well as the Clone Sharla has kept, named Brigand) will mature at an incredible rate. Things get even more complicated when Sharla comes back a few months later with Brigand in tow, and the two clones (who now look about 12) will actually meet.

Like I said, The Virtual War was better than The Clones, despite having a rapid conclusion. The Clones doesn't seem to know what genre it is. It starts out much like the first book - as a sci-fi post-apocalyptic novel, but somewhere along the way it turns strange. Brigand can communicate with the boars? The cannibal kings have given him their power? It was strange and oddly reminiscent of The Lord of the Flies though this is supposed to be sci-fi, not fantasy fiction. I was confused. Some things got half-heartedly explained toward the end and it did improve from that point.

I might read the next book sometime.

Mockingjay

by Suzanne Collins

Sigh.

I don't quite know what to say about this book, or what to rate it. Realistic? Perhaps. Engrossing? Yes. Satisfying? Not really.

And with that I must warn you that *spoilers* will follow. I do not know how to discuss my feelings on this book without them.

I close the final chapter in the Hunger Games trilogy feeling depressed. I know it's a dystopian novel, but I still hoped that there would be hope at the end: hope for a better life, hope for freedom, hope for the future generations. And while there was a tiny glimpse of that, as a whole the book was filled with doom and despair and a tragic resignation to mankind's tendency towards hate.

Lots of characters die. Many that we care about. Many in gruesome ways. One in particular that left me shocked and nearly made me want to put the book down right then.

The sweet romance between Peeta and Katniss is absent. Katniss feels cold and detached throughout most of the novel. It's hard to read. And even harder to connect to her. The passionate, spirited girl we feel in love with in The Hunger Games is not to be found in this book.

I kept hoping that despite the despair and horror of the beginning of this novel, that by the end the characters would find reason to move on. They would pledge to make things better. To right their wrongs and not make their children suffer through the world they did. Instead we see the rebels squeak out a victory by becoming almost as villainous as the Capital, and proceed to contemplate another Hunger Games as punishment for the Capital. Have they learned nothing?

I miss J.K. Rowling with her sweeping, victorious ending that honored the sacrifices of the fallen with a solid, strong hope for the future. There was sadness, but it was tempered with moments of joy, and hope.

I miss Stephenie Meyer with her golden, perfect ending were everyone is loved and happy and left with the feeling that they can conquer whatever comes next.

This book was not the satisfying ending I'd hoped for. There is no joy here.

Dark Life

by Kat Falls

I am shamefully slow with this update, but here it is finally: my review!

And now I am remembering why I try to be good about writing this right after I finish the book...because now I don't remember as many details!

I will say I enjoyed Dark Life a lot. The world (or rather, ocean) it takes place in is unlike any other book I've read. Kat Falls creates many new technologies to enable the characters of Dark Life to live beneath the surface of the ocean. Things such as "liquigen", bubble fences, and underwater jellyfish-style houses may seem fanciful at times, but are a unique solution to the problem of how exactly a group of humans would live and farm under the sea.

The villains are creepy, and certainly surprising, while the main characters are varied and interesting. I'm not sure if this book is a series, but I wouldn't mind reading more about this underwater world.

The Line

by Teri Hall

This book would have been good.

The Line is the story of a girl named Rachel who lives on "The Property" with her mother and the owner of the property, among some other help. Rachel's mom serves as the housekeeper and Rachel has spent most of her growing up years by herself, with her mother as her teacher. The Property is situated right by The Line - an invisible border that separates the U.S. from Away - a place where it is rumored that frightening creatures and humans with alarming powers live. Rachel is curious about Away, so one day when she discovers a cryptic message that appears to have come from the other side, Rachel is eager to see what else she can discover.

Unfortunately, this book is a set-up for a series and it does not have an ending. What happened to each book in a series having a story complete unto itself and the ability to be read on it's own? I really don't like this new style of series, and unfortunately again, the only way to know if it's like that is to read it to the end. While I was a little irritated at the 'non-ending', the story is interesting (it's got a The Village mixed with The Hunger Games feel to it - mysterious creatures that exist beyond an non-traversable barrier and an oppressive government to keep it that way), so I will probably still keep my eyes peeled for the second entry.

Incarceron

by Catherine Fisher

At some point in the future, as a result of great world trauma, an incredibly advanced system is created for containing and reforming the criminals of society. It is meant to be a paradise, as well as completely self-sustaining. This prison is called Incarceron. No one goes in, no one comes out. Incarceron is reported as a success, however the prison has a mind of its own....

Meanwhile, on the Outside, citizens are forced to live in a fabricated past century. There is no time, no advancement, just a static predictability and strict control held by the ruling parties.

Finn lives in Incarceron. Claudia lives Outside. Both are trapped in their worlds, and both will need to other's help escape. With the discoveries of a crystal key by both, Claudia and Finn find they can use the objects to communicate. As they learn more about each other and life on the other side, they soon realize things are a lot more complicated than they seem.

This book has a fascinating premise. I really like the general plot and the main characters are interesting. People who seem like "bad guys" have moments where you can understand their point of view and even sympathize with them. In turn, some "good guys" have definite flaws and even moments where you're not sure if they will turn out working as a enemy. I love that complexity of character. It makes you think, read closely, all the while trying to determine if someone should be trusted, forgiven, or forgotten.

There were a few things I didn't like about this book though. There are a couple sequences when what's going on is a little unclear. And possibly this is just because I'm trying to read so fast, but the random appearance of a flying boat just seems a little random to me. Also, despite that I usually enjoyed the unpredictability of characters, on a few occasions the unpredictability of a character made them seem incredibly untrustworthy and I wished the main characters were more cautious.

Lastly, this book does not end! I knew it was a series, and that's fine - I love a good series, but I still feel like each component of the series needs to have it's own ending, not just leave us hanging. Granted, some story lines are going to be left unfinished because it's a series, but this book had virtually no wind-down from the climax. It was just the big moment we've been waiting for, then the end. A giant "To Be Continued" - white words on a black background - is floating in my mind. Like some horrid season finale for the tv show you really like and have to wait til September to see the continuation of it.

The Maze Runner

by James Dashner

Ah I'm having mixed feelings on this book too! I love the premise: mysterious maze, kids who've lost their memories, creepy creatures lurking in the dark, cryptic messages, etc. However, there were just a few things about it that I didn't love as much.

I thought the story developed a little too slowly over the pages of the book. The author revels very little of what's actually going on until the end, and even then many things are left unanswered (since this will be a series). However, I felt like the story developed too quickly over the time span of the novel. The entire book only encompasses a little over a week for the characters and it just seemed a little rushed.

My other complaint has to do with all the made-up words of the Gladers. They use a lot of words almost as if they are swear words, and some of them sound very close to actual swear words, with just the first letter different.

However, the ending was just chilling enough to make me really want to see where the next book goes. So I'll probably stick around for at least the next entry to this series.

The Maze Runner is the story of Thomas. He wakes up to find himself in an elevator going up, and that he remembers nothing of his past. All he can remember is his name. When the elevator stops, the top opens and Thomas is greeted by the faces of dozens of young boys, none much older than himself. He is in the Glade - a mysterious open area surrounded by giant stone walls. Outside the walls lies the maze, and as far as any of the Glades know, there is no way out.

Catching Fire

by Suzanne Collins

Despite this book annoying the heck out of me - it still must receive 5 stars. Why you ask? Well, the book is amazing. (We'll get to that in a bit.) However, the end is a total cliff-hanger (seems that's been a common problem for me lately.) We are left with a few characters in mortal peril by the book's end. And that's just annoying, because I now have to wait another year to read the conclusion to this amazing story!

In The Hunger Games - the first book of the trilogy - Katniss Everdeen finds herself competing in the Capital's annual Hunger Games. Katniss lives in a country called Panem - which used to be the United States. After a destructive war the country was restructured int0 13 districts surrounding the controlling government stationed in The Capital. Years ago, district 13 revolted, but The Capital prevailed. District 13 is no more, and as punishment for the district's uprising, The Capital has set in place an annual games as a reminder that all are under The Capital's power. Each year, a set of teenagers (one boy and one girl) from each of the districts are selected, and sent to compete - to the death - in the Hunger Games. One will prevail and win fame and fortune. The rest will never come home.

Katniss's sister is chosen, but Katniss takes her place. The boy selected from her district is the baker's son - Peeta. The two form a tenuous friendship as they are prepped for the game despite fearing the other may simply be planning a way to kill the other. However, partially as a plot to survive the games and partially due to Peeta's true feelings, the two develop a romantic relationship. And, against all odds, survive the games together. Both refuse to kill the other, and when the gamemakers attempt to force their hand, they threaten to both kill themselves - thus leaving no winner. And so, for the first time ever there are two winners.

However, in Catching Fire, Katniss's troubles are not over. Her desperate act in the arena is viewed by the President as an act of defiance against the capital, and her life and the lives of all she holds dear are threatened by the powerful government. Katniss must try to quell the rebellion she has inadvertently started before it's too late. The question is, does she really want to stop the rebellion? And if she doesn't, where will she hide?

This book is so absorbing it is incredibly difficult to put it down. The characters are endearing. The government is frightening and believable. The descriptions of the outfits and accessories of those in the Capital are outrageous, but funny. And despite the terrible make-me-wait-forever ending, I just adore this series and will keep recommending it to anyone who will listen!

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

by Carrie Ryan

Sigh. This book had such potential, and I was so primed to love it after the first 3 chapters and then it was just sort of a victim of itself.

The biggest problem was that it seemed the author couldn't quite decide what kind of book she was writing. Is it horror? Romance? Mystery? Suspense? It tried to be all of these things and then failed to be any of them well.

Initially, this book reminded me of The Village - a group of people live in a pioneer style village surrounded by an intimidating forest filled with disturbing creatures. In The Forest of Hands and Teeth those creatures are basically zombies: a horde of the undead - mindless and hungry for flesh. They are called "The Unconsecrated". Young Mary has recently lost her father to the forest (we never actually find out how he got into the forest in the first place). Then, at the very beginning of the book, she loses her mother as well. Mary is orphaned, and her older brother kicks her out of the house. Mary is then forced to join the Sisterhood - a type of nunnery.

At this point the story becomes a mix of romance and mystery. Mary tends to the sick Travis and begins to develop feelings for him. At the same time, she uncovers mysterious happenings at the church that begin to suggest that there is life outside the Forest and that the Sisters are trying to hide it. Honestly, this is the kind of story I was hoping for. Soon though, our genre shifts.

The Unconsecrated breach the village and Mary manages to escape with her friends Travis, Harry and Cass, as well as her brother Jed, his wife Beth, and a small boy named Jacob. The group has no choice but to set off down the narrow fenced-in path through the forest in hopes of finding civilization on the other side. Now our book becomes more of a horror/suspense novel and mostly stays that way til the end. I'm disappointed.

But more than just the author switching genres partway through - she also drops multiple story lines! At the Cathedral, Mary finds mysterious rooms, overhears whispered conversations, finds a girl from outside the village, and NONE of that gets explained. Ever. Mary doesn't even seem to speculate or wonder about it again.

Also, the romance falls flat because you're not ever quite sure who you should wish she ends up with. She loves Travis, but then she likes Harry after all and is mad at Travis, then she loves Travis again. Then Travis makes her mad, and she misses Harry. I think we were ultimately supposed to like Travis the best, but I liked Harry!

(*SPOILERS*) And then, the end! The end of this book was just terrible! I refuse to call it and end. It felt as if surely the last 10 chapters of the book had been misplaced! We find out the outcome for 3 of the 7 characters (2 because they die). The rest are either just assumed dead or left sitting helplessly in the forest with virtually no food, water or hope for making it out. What is up with that?!

This is how it should have ended - Travis doesn't get bitten. Jed sacrifices himself to the Unconsecrated to help them escape instead of Travis. Travis, Mary, Harry, Cass and Jacob find the path out of the forest and to the ocean. (And the path actually goes all the way to the coast - none of this lame running through the forest and down the cliffs aimlessly in the dark to escape the Unconsecrated). The village has better defences against the Unconsecrated, or perhaps they find that the Unconsecrated are confined to the forest by some ancient spell, or maybe the village has found a cure for the Unconsecrated. Any of those would be better than the non-ending the author came up with. (*END SPOILERS*)

Disappointing. It could have been great. As is, it's just mediocre.

Hunger

by Michael Grant

After reading Gone I was upset by the cliff-hanger ending - then I realized that it was not a stand-alone book as I'd thought, but rather the start to a series. Hunger in the second book.

There were a lot of things that happened in Gone, and at the start of Hunger I was afraid I'd forgotten too many of them. And while the author used practically the whole length of the book in reminding readers of the back story, I did feel it was pretty effective, without feeling like I was reading something redundant.

One of the reviews on the back of this book states, "If Stephen King had written Lord of the Flies, it might have been a little like this." (VOYA (starred review)). I think this is actually a pretty good way to describe the feel of the series. It has a dark, menacing creature that taunts its victims mercilessly - all set into the back story of an entire town of kids who suddenly find themselves living in a world without adults. Everyone over 15 has simply vanished. The kids who are left have to find a way to survive and coexist. Food is scarce, arguments erupt, and soon they are the brink of war with each other.

My biggest complaint for this book was that you were never quite sure who was dead and who was alive. Sometimes a kid would die and it would almost be glossed over as if the author was afraid to say it. Pages later I'd find myself thinking, "Wait. They're dead?" On the opposite side of the problem though was that many characters were pronounced dead in the narration, and then only pages later it's proclaimed that they were not QUITE dead after all. Cue Lana: magic healer girl who can fix all sorts of mortal injuries! I half expected Magical Max from the Princess Bride to pop out and tell us that they were "not all dead, only mostly dead". Not that I wish for lots of deaths, but don't tell me they're dead if they're not!

I do love the concept of this book though. I'm excited to see how the creation of the FAYZ will be explained. I also am looking forward to reading how the kids create order in their town. Will Sam continue to lead? Will they finally set up some sort of monetary system? Can they ever find a way to work with each other? I'm looking forward to seeing where the rest of this story leads!

Gone

by Michael Grant

I love it when new books hit the shelves at Borders or Barnes and Noble and they get put on that special "Newly Released" shelf! Everything is so shiny and new! I've seen this book on said shelf frequently in the last couple months. I finally remembered to put it on hold at the library so I could read it!

Gone is the story of a bunch of teenagers who suddenly find themselves in a world without parents. One day, all people in their town over the age of 15 simply vanish (or "poof" as many of the kids call it). I eagerly dove in to this book waiting to find out the reason for the disappearances. Was it going to be an alien invasion? Parallel universes? Some spiritual disturbance? Bizarre natural disaster?

The book is fairly well paced, and interesting. There is a LOT of flip-flopping of the balance of power though. Part way in the kids and teens start to fall into two groups - for the sake of this entry I'm going to call them the "good kids" and the "bad kids". Clever aren't I? It seems that every 1-3 chapters the power would transfer from one group to another. The bad kids took over the town. The good kids fight back and surprise the bad kids. The bad kids are sneaky and gain back control. The bad kids are going to kill some good kids. The good kids escape. The bad kids catch them again. They're trapped. Then they escape. Etc. Etc. I like not knowing what's coming next, but after a while I started to feel a little tossed about by this pattern of events.

Most frustrating - the ending was completely ambiguous and did not give a clear explanation of what caused the disappearance or even what was happening with certain characters! I was completely shocked by this non-ending. I thought this was a stand-alone book! Then I got online. Somehow I had missed the fact that this book is the first in a series - a series that will likely end up having 6 volumes! So now I can forgive the cliff-hanger ending. Unfortunately I'll have to wait awhile to read more of what happens.

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

Today's book of discussion is The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. I found this book while looking at Stephenie Meyer's website. Meyer is the author of the Twilight series - which I love. Come to think of it, I need to write a blog about those books! Anyways, on her site she mentions how much she loved this book, so I decided I needed to read it. I put it on hold at the library and waited patiently. Meanwhile, I told Dani about it. She says she showed it to me once at a bookstore and I barely looked at it and said it sounded weird. I still have no memory of this at all, but I probably said it. The book does sound sort of weird when you just read the basic plot. But Twilight sounds totally dorky too when you describe it to some one and they are some of the most absorbing books I've ever read. Anyways, back to Hunger Games again. Dani got the book, read it, and told me how awesome it was. I'm still waiting for my turn at the library. Well, Saturday I finished the book I was reading and I was impatient for this one, so I gave up and went to Borders Sunday after church and just bought the dang thing! I read about 2 chapters that day because I was busy with other projects. However, the next day I spent all day reading the silly thing! And this morning I got up at 6am just so I could finish it! It was amazing, as I was told!

First off, I was intrigued by the grim future world the book is set in. It's outrageous and yet almost believable at the same time. The main character, Katniss volunteers herself to take her sister's place in a yearly event called "The Hunger Games". The games are staged in a giant outdoor area. Twenty-four kids between the ages of 12 and 18 are chosen by lottery to compete - one boy and one girl from each of the 12 districts that surround The Capital. The "tributes" are left there to fight to the death. The last one standing wins fame and fortune. The whole games reminded me off "Survivor" in ways - except in this reality show, your fellow competitors really will stab you in the back. The citizens of The Capital watch the games for entertainment, eagerly betting on who will come out on top. The Gamemakers like to see gruesome, bloody deaths, because they know this will entertain the viewers more. At first I'm thinking, how could there ever be so many people who would enjoy watching 23 teenagers die every year? And then I'm reminded of the prevalence of gory horror movies of our current time and how it seems that no matter how many they make, people still flock to see them. Perhaps it's not as far-fetched as it seems.

The characters are endearing, the plot is fast paced, and as Dani and I would say - "It has everything!!" - action, danger, suspense, mystery, romance, etc. I also think it has a powerful message about what we view as entertainment - but it doesn't get bogged down in trying to preach to it's readers. Love it. Love it! Love it!! Now go read it people.

The Diamond of Darkhold

by Jeanne DuPrau

Before reading Graceling I read the forth (and final?) book of Ember: The Diamond of Darkhold by Jeanne DuPrau.

I was apprehensive when starting the book because the previous book in the series was so un-fun! The series begins with the book The City of Ember, continues with The People of Sparks and then with The Prophet of Yonwood. Ember was refreshingly fun and mysterious and a quick read. Sparks began were Ember left off, but did lose a little of the magic of the first. The third book was a prequel to the first two, but the story seemed irrelevant and forced. I didn't like the characters and thought the whole story was a bit hokey. So when I heard there was to be a forth book that returned to the original story I was hopeful the series would be redeemed, but also worried that it might ruin it.

Thankfully, this book captures much of the flavor of the original. It starts up right where Sparks left off, and there is a much more interesting adventure than in the previous two.

One thing missing (as is missing in all the books) is a romance. I can forgive this since the books are for younger readers, but I was still hoping that in this book we would find the characters grown up a few years and perhaps our main two would be paired up. No such luck though, they are only about 6 months older than at the start of the series, and an eventual romance is only hinted at at the end.

Speaking of the end: the last 6 paragraphs are unnecessary. It felt like the author was trying too hard to wrap everything up and make is sound very lyrical or poetic. It also referenced the third book in a rather corny way. So I just went back a few pages and re-read, and then stopped at what I determined the "proper" point. Much better that way. I'd recommend it to all who read it. Other than that a quick and entertaining read. Not quite as good as Ember, but worthy to sit on the shelf beside it.