The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken
There's something wrong with children. When they reach the age of 10, they either drop dead or develop strange powers. As a result, those with powers are picked up and taken to camps. In these camps, they are sorted into colors based upon these powers. Blue and green are desirable because they are fairly complacent. Red, yellow and orange, not so much. Most of the children sorted into those colors have been killed. Ruby, our protagonist, is an orange, but has been masquerading as a green.
Somehow, members of The League find out that Ruby is an orange and help her get out of the camp, but it is so she can help them with their nefarious purposes. She escapes from them at an abandoned gas station, and takes up with some other fugitive kids from another camp: Chubs, Liam, and Zu. They are trying to find the Slip Kid, another escaped kid who helps escapees get back to their families. They finally find the Slip Kid, but he isn't what he appears to be either.
Apparently, this is the first book in a new trilogy or series, and since it is on the TAYSHAS list, I most likely won't read the next one.
This book was ok. There were parts where I couldn't wait to see what happened next, and others where I felt like I had to force myself to move on.
Thursday, January 2, 2014
Thursday, December 26, 2013
T List #6
Eleanor & Park by Rainbow Rowell
This book was ok. It is described as a book about two star crossed lovers, and I guess this is true. They don't die at the end, so it's not like another pair of star crossed lovers we all are familiar with.
Eleanor and Park meet on the school bus. Eleanor is the new girl, and no one wants her to sit in their seat, but in the end, Park lets her into his. Park thinks she is weird, to put it mildly. For weeks, they don't talk, but Park notices that she reads his comic books while he is reading them. They become friends, but soon become much more.
Eleanor's home life sucks. The reason she is a new student is because she is finally home. She has been staying with friends for a year because her asshole stepfather kicked her out. She has four younger siblings, and all five of them have to share a room. The one bathroom in the house doesn't have a door, so there is no privacy for anyone, and her stepfather is abusive to her mother. Everyone has to walk on eggshells.
Eleanor and Park start to become closer. She lies to be able to spend time with Park at his house. Eleanor is tormented at school. Horrible notes are left on Eleanor's school books. Once she figures out who is doing it, she knows she must leave. Park helps her, then all communication is cut off.
My main problem with this book is that Park and Eleanor barely know each other, but, Park especially, act like they are each other's one true love forever. Maybe they are, but they are only sixteen.
This book was ok. It is described as a book about two star crossed lovers, and I guess this is true. They don't die at the end, so it's not like another pair of star crossed lovers we all are familiar with.
Eleanor and Park meet on the school bus. Eleanor is the new girl, and no one wants her to sit in their seat, but in the end, Park lets her into his. Park thinks she is weird, to put it mildly. For weeks, they don't talk, but Park notices that she reads his comic books while he is reading them. They become friends, but soon become much more.
Eleanor's home life sucks. The reason she is a new student is because she is finally home. She has been staying with friends for a year because her asshole stepfather kicked her out. She has four younger siblings, and all five of them have to share a room. The one bathroom in the house doesn't have a door, so there is no privacy for anyone, and her stepfather is abusive to her mother. Everyone has to walk on eggshells.
Eleanor and Park start to become closer. She lies to be able to spend time with Park at his house. Eleanor is tormented at school. Horrible notes are left on Eleanor's school books. Once she figures out who is doing it, she knows she must leave. Park helps her, then all communication is cut off.
My main problem with this book is that Park and Eleanor barely know each other, but, Park especially, act like they are each other's one true love forever. Maybe they are, but they are only sixteen.
Tuesday, December 17, 2013
T list #5
Scowler by Daniel Kraus
I. Hated. This. Book.
I can do creepy, and I can do weird, but I can't do this book.
First of all, roughly fifty pages in, I had to read about an @$$h0le sewing his wife to a mattress. Very graphic, and it made me physically ill.
Then, the book jumps around from time to time. Typically, this is ok, but it would flashback then come to the present and chronicle every single hour. Aggravating.
At its core, this book is about a teenager named Ry. He lives on a farm with his little sister and his mother. His father is in jail, presumably, for sewing his wife to the mattress and nearly killing Ry. A meteorite his the prison where he is housed, and the dad, Marvin, escapes. He makes his way back to his family's farm just as they are preparing to move away. Another meteorite hits the farm, and all Marvin can see are dollar signs. He thinks he can make money off of the meteorite, and live in obscurity.
A little about Ry... After his father tried to kill him, he went a little nutzo. He had three toys that were real to him. As in, they talked and had personalities. Ry had been living without them for some time, but with his crazy father coming back and threatening them (and killing at least two men), these toys come back to life. In fact, one attacks the father and tries to kill him.
Again, I hated this book. I forced myself to give it a chance, and it had no redeeming qualities, in my opinion.
I. Hated. This. Book.
I can do creepy, and I can do weird, but I can't do this book.
First of all, roughly fifty pages in, I had to read about an @$$h0le sewing his wife to a mattress. Very graphic, and it made me physically ill.
Then, the book jumps around from time to time. Typically, this is ok, but it would flashback then come to the present and chronicle every single hour. Aggravating.
At its core, this book is about a teenager named Ry. He lives on a farm with his little sister and his mother. His father is in jail, presumably, for sewing his wife to the mattress and nearly killing Ry. A meteorite his the prison where he is housed, and the dad, Marvin, escapes. He makes his way back to his family's farm just as they are preparing to move away. Another meteorite hits the farm, and all Marvin can see are dollar signs. He thinks he can make money off of the meteorite, and live in obscurity.
A little about Ry... After his father tried to kill him, he went a little nutzo. He had three toys that were real to him. As in, they talked and had personalities. Ry had been living without them for some time, but with his crazy father coming back and threatening them (and killing at least two men), these toys come back to life. In fact, one attacks the father and tries to kill him.
Again, I hated this book. I forced myself to give it a chance, and it had no redeeming qualities, in my opinion.
Saturday, December 7, 2013
T List #4
Reality Boy by A.S. King
I didn't really know what I was getting into when I selected this book this week. Gerald, the protagonist, was on a reality show, but I assumed that it was something he wanted to do, like Real World. Instead, we find out that he was on a show, the first time, when he was five. It was one of those Supernanny type shows, where someone comes to make the children and parents behave like civilized members of society. Gerald had no choice in this, but his mother made sure that he knew he was the reason they were selected for the show.
They were selected because Gerald was acting out: punching holes in walls, and defecating in various places (in shoes, on the dining room table, etc). It takes a while, but we find out that Gerald acts out because his oldest sister, Tasha, is a psychopath who tries to smother and drown Gerald and his other sister, Lisi, on multiple occasions. Gerald's mother dotes on Tasha, even though Tasha is abusive to her too. Gerald is even put in special education classes because Tasha and his mother think he is "retarded," even though he isn't.
The book takes place right around the time Gerald turns seventeen. Lisi has moved to Scotland to get away from the crazy sister and their mother who does nothing about it. Gerald's father is unhappy because he feels stuck in a marriage with a crazy woman, and in a house with his overly promiscuous oldest daughter. There are some flashbacks where the reader can see what was going on at the time of the filming for the tv show.
Gerald has a job. He works the concession stand at a sports and entertainment arena. This is where he meets Hannah. He has had a crush on her from afar because he believes that no one will ever, can ever love him. Ultimately, Hannah shows him that he is wrong.
There is so much more going on in this book, I can't cover it all here without it becoming a book itself. I enjoyed this one a great deal.
I didn't really know what I was getting into when I selected this book this week. Gerald, the protagonist, was on a reality show, but I assumed that it was something he wanted to do, like Real World. Instead, we find out that he was on a show, the first time, when he was five. It was one of those Supernanny type shows, where someone comes to make the children and parents behave like civilized members of society. Gerald had no choice in this, but his mother made sure that he knew he was the reason they were selected for the show.
They were selected because Gerald was acting out: punching holes in walls, and defecating in various places (in shoes, on the dining room table, etc). It takes a while, but we find out that Gerald acts out because his oldest sister, Tasha, is a psychopath who tries to smother and drown Gerald and his other sister, Lisi, on multiple occasions. Gerald's mother dotes on Tasha, even though Tasha is abusive to her too. Gerald is even put in special education classes because Tasha and his mother think he is "retarded," even though he isn't.
The book takes place right around the time Gerald turns seventeen. Lisi has moved to Scotland to get away from the crazy sister and their mother who does nothing about it. Gerald's father is unhappy because he feels stuck in a marriage with a crazy woman, and in a house with his overly promiscuous oldest daughter. There are some flashbacks where the reader can see what was going on at the time of the filming for the tv show.
Gerald has a job. He works the concession stand at a sports and entertainment arena. This is where he meets Hannah. He has had a crush on her from afar because he believes that no one will ever, can ever love him. Ultimately, Hannah shows him that he is wrong.
There is so much more going on in this book, I can't cover it all here without it becoming a book itself. I enjoyed this one a great deal.
Friday, November 29, 2013
TAYSHAS 2014 Book 3
Butter by Erin Jade Lange
Butter is a sixteen year old, 423 pound, Scottsdale high school student. Butter likes a girl named Anna, who doesn't know he exists. Not really anyway; she knows JP, her online boyfriend, who is actually Butter. Butter is a badass saxophone player, but keeps that mostly to himself. His mother shows her love through food, which is part of the problem, and his father ignores him because of the weight. Butter is unhappy, so he decides he's going to kill himself by eating himself to death. Some of the "mean" kids at school see his website, and "befriend" him. Of course, they aren't his real friends; they just want to see if Butter is going to go through with it. On some level, Butter knows they aren't really his friends, but he puts up with it because they are finally paying attention to him.
As the day draws near, Butter starts to wonder if he will be able to follow through with his plans. He likes the attention, and, strangely, he has started to lose weight. He just wants to belong.
Will he eat himself to death, or not?
Butter is a sixteen year old, 423 pound, Scottsdale high school student. Butter likes a girl named Anna, who doesn't know he exists. Not really anyway; she knows JP, her online boyfriend, who is actually Butter. Butter is a badass saxophone player, but keeps that mostly to himself. His mother shows her love through food, which is part of the problem, and his father ignores him because of the weight. Butter is unhappy, so he decides he's going to kill himself by eating himself to death. Some of the "mean" kids at school see his website, and "befriend" him. Of course, they aren't his real friends; they just want to see if Butter is going to go through with it. On some level, Butter knows they aren't really his friends, but he puts up with it because they are finally paying attention to him.
As the day draws near, Butter starts to wonder if he will be able to follow through with his plans. He likes the attention, and, strangely, he has started to lose weight. He just wants to belong.
Will he eat himself to death, or not?
Sunday, November 24, 2013
The TAYSHAS List Has Been Released....
and this book wasn't on it. Grrr.
Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan
As I was perusing the stack of potential TAYSHAS books last Tuesday (the list was released to me on Thursday), I came across a familiar name: David Levithan. He wrote Every Day, which was on last year's list. I loved that book, so I thought I'd give this one a shot.
Let's just say the guy has a penchant for weird, impossible situations.
Stephen is a sixteen year old boy living alone in New York City. Alone because his mother is dead, and his father bailed on him when he was younger. He bailed because he couldn't deal with the fact that Stephen is invisible. Like, really invisible, as in NO ONE CAN SEE HIM. It was too hard for Stephen's dad, so he went and made a life for himself elsewhere. He still takes care of Stephen, from afar.
One day, Stephen comes home from a walk around Central Park, and sees a girl. Miraculously, she can see him too. This is such a shock to Stephen's system that he is not sure how to act. Never fear, though, he figures it out. The girl, by the way, is Elizabeth. She has moved to New York with her brother, Laurie, and her mother from Minnesota, where Laurie was brutally beaten for being gay. Elizabeth and Stephen spend a lot of time together and fall in love. They also find out that Stephen is invisible because his mother was cursed by her father before he was born.
Stephen's grandfather, apparently, has been looking for him a long time. The grandfather is a cursemaker, and derives great joy at what he does. Stephen's grandfather ends up in New York, and we learn that Elizabeth is a spellseeker, meaning she can see, and sometimes remove, curses placed on people. Unfortunately, the curse Stephen's grandfather placed on him is too much for her to remove. Stephen's grandfather finds Stephen, and all hell breaks loose.
Will the curse be broken so Stephen will no longer be invisible?
Invisibility by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan
As I was perusing the stack of potential TAYSHAS books last Tuesday (the list was released to me on Thursday), I came across a familiar name: David Levithan. He wrote Every Day, which was on last year's list. I loved that book, so I thought I'd give this one a shot.
Let's just say the guy has a penchant for weird, impossible situations.
Stephen is a sixteen year old boy living alone in New York City. Alone because his mother is dead, and his father bailed on him when he was younger. He bailed because he couldn't deal with the fact that Stephen is invisible. Like, really invisible, as in NO ONE CAN SEE HIM. It was too hard for Stephen's dad, so he went and made a life for himself elsewhere. He still takes care of Stephen, from afar.
One day, Stephen comes home from a walk around Central Park, and sees a girl. Miraculously, she can see him too. This is such a shock to Stephen's system that he is not sure how to act. Never fear, though, he figures it out. The girl, by the way, is Elizabeth. She has moved to New York with her brother, Laurie, and her mother from Minnesota, where Laurie was brutally beaten for being gay. Elizabeth and Stephen spend a lot of time together and fall in love. They also find out that Stephen is invisible because his mother was cursed by her father before he was born.
Stephen's grandfather, apparently, has been looking for him a long time. The grandfather is a cursemaker, and derives great joy at what he does. Stephen's grandfather ends up in New York, and we learn that Elizabeth is a spellseeker, meaning she can see, and sometimes remove, curses placed on people. Unfortunately, the curse Stephen's grandfather placed on him is too much for her to remove. Stephen's grandfather finds Stephen, and all hell breaks loose.
Will the curse be broken so Stephen will no longer be invisible?
Saturday, November 16, 2013
A Cinderella Story, Sort Of
Skinny by Donna Cooner
I read the blurb, and it sounded good. This is another possible TAYSHAS book.
Ever is fifteen and weighs a little over three hundred pounds. She has a voice in her head that puts her down at every turn. Ever has a stepmother and two stepsisters. She has tried every diet under the sun, but nothing seems to work. Ultimately, she decides to have gastric bypass done. Her best friend, Rat, is by her side through the whole ordeal.
When school starts, Ever finds herself mixing with the popular crowd. Finally, the boy she "loves" notices her, and hopes that the new Ever can win him over. Also, all Ever wants is to be the lead in the school musical. She takes drama class so she can do this.
Will the boy of her dreams be hers?
On a side note, I enjoyed the fact that this book takes place in Huntsville, Texas. Huntsville is about forty-five minutes from where I live, and it is where I went to college, where my son goes to college now. I loved the attention to detail about Huntsville. She mentioned Mackenzie's Barbecue and Tinsley's Chicken, the Sam Houston Statue and Old Sparky. She talked about going to Lake Conroe and the Galleria. It was awesome, until she discussed the "Fall Ball." This is where you know the author is not from around here. We don't have "Fall Balls" in Texas. We have Homecoming, and it's a big deal. A little more research would've helped with that, but it doesn't really take away from the book.
I read the blurb, and it sounded good. This is another possible TAYSHAS book.
Ever is fifteen and weighs a little over three hundred pounds. She has a voice in her head that puts her down at every turn. Ever has a stepmother and two stepsisters. She has tried every diet under the sun, but nothing seems to work. Ultimately, she decides to have gastric bypass done. Her best friend, Rat, is by her side through the whole ordeal.
When school starts, Ever finds herself mixing with the popular crowd. Finally, the boy she "loves" notices her, and hopes that the new Ever can win him over. Also, all Ever wants is to be the lead in the school musical. She takes drama class so she can do this.
Will the boy of her dreams be hers?
On a side note, I enjoyed the fact that this book takes place in Huntsville, Texas. Huntsville is about forty-five minutes from where I live, and it is where I went to college, where my son goes to college now. I loved the attention to detail about Huntsville. She mentioned Mackenzie's Barbecue and Tinsley's Chicken, the Sam Houston Statue and Old Sparky. She talked about going to Lake Conroe and the Galleria. It was awesome, until she discussed the "Fall Ball." This is where you know the author is not from around here. We don't have "Fall Balls" in Texas. We have Homecoming, and it's a big deal. A little more research would've helped with that, but it doesn't really take away from the book.
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