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librarybonanza
Age: 8-12 years
Between 1941 and 1945, Nazis turned the town of Terezin, Czechoslovakia, into a ghetto for thousands of displaced Czech Jewish people. Ruth Thomson provides a brief summary leading up to ghetto life, followed by the intensely dismal living conditions that demoralized and deteriorated the prisoner's health. With an ever growing population that cramped living conditions and expedited disease and living quarters that separated families, combined with sudden transports away from the city in the middle of the night, life in Teresienstadt was stressful on the mind, body, and soul, leading up to a terrifying transport to a concentration death camp.
Informative text accompanied with direct quotes give this book an authoritative and real quality necessary for documentation (and for a child's research project). Thomson place particular emphasis on the artists, the children, and the Nazi deception to outside groups such as the Red Cross. Thomson's interest in the Czech ghetto arose during research on Holocaust art (she also has an MA in museum and gallery learning), which doesn't show a strong specialty on the Holocaust but the existence of culture and art during historical time periods. The organization is easy to follow, filled with artwork, artifacts,and some photos--not trying to disturb the young audience but informing them on a tragic period in history. Timeline, glossary, sources, and index provided.
Between 1941 and 1945, Nazis turned the town of Terezin, Czechoslovakia, into a ghetto for thousands of displaced Czech Jewish people. Ruth Thomson provides a brief summary leading up to ghetto life, followed by the intensely dismal living conditions that demoralized and deteriorated the prisoner's health. With an ever growing population that cramped living conditions and expedited disease and living quarters that separated families, combined with sudden transports away from the city in the middle of the night, life in Teresienstadt was stressful on the mind, body, and soul, leading up to a terrifying transport to a concentration death camp.
Informative text accompanied with direct quotes give this book an authoritative and real quality necessary for documentation (and for a child's research project). Thomson place particular emphasis on the artists, the children, and the Nazi deception to outside groups such as the Red Cross. Thomson's interest in the Czech ghetto arose during research on Holocaust art (she also has an MA in museum and gallery learning), which doesn't show a strong specialty on the Holocaust but the existence of culture and art during historical time periods. The organization is easy to follow, filled with artwork, artifacts,and some photos--not trying to disturb the young audience but informing them on a tragic period in history. Timeline, glossary, sources, and index provided.
Age: 5th-8th grade
Goodreads synopsis: "Being a hefty, deaf newcomer almost makes Will Halpin the least popular guy at Coaler High. But when he befriends the only guy less popular than him, the dork-namic duo play off each others' smarts and guts to figure out who killed the star quarterback."
Will Halpin reminds me of Greg Heffley (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) in that he can't help wanting to be popular and he can't help being attracted to the popular girl. Both try to cast off a dorky kid's attempts at friendship but realize that the guy isn't so bad. Will also has a keen eye for the absurdity and he offers a wiseguy approach to this unfolding mystery.
This book does a respectful job representing deaf culture by providing two somewhat contrasting personalities. Will knows he should accept his deafness but is going through typical teenage insecurities. His ex-girlfriend, Ebony, is fully accepting of her deafness as part of her identity. She is comfortable enough to speak out when needed without feeling ashamed of her voice.
This is a great story that incorporates deaf culture without it being the sole purpose and plot focus--Will's deafness amplifies and flavors the plot.
Goodreads synopsis: "Being a hefty, deaf newcomer almost makes Will Halpin the least popular guy at Coaler High. But when he befriends the only guy less popular than him, the dork-namic duo play off each others' smarts and guts to figure out who killed the star quarterback."
Will Halpin reminds me of Greg Heffley (Diary of a Wimpy Kid) in that he can't help wanting to be popular and he can't help being attracted to the popular girl. Both try to cast off a dorky kid's attempts at friendship but realize that the guy isn't so bad. Will also has a keen eye for the absurdity and he offers a wiseguy approach to this unfolding mystery.
This book does a respectful job representing deaf culture by providing two somewhat contrasting personalities. Will knows he should accept his deafness but is going through typical teenage insecurities. His ex-girlfriend, Ebony, is fully accepting of her deafness as part of her identity. She is comfortable enough to speak out when needed without feeling ashamed of her voice.
This is a great story that incorporates deaf culture without it being the sole purpose and plot focus--Will's deafness amplifies and flavors the plot.
Age: 7th-10th grade
4 stars for action, world-building, writing style, plot
2 stars for characterization, plot
I'll be reviewing the series as a whole because I feel like the action and writing was pretty consistent throughout the series.
Tally Youngblood was slated to enter New Pretty Town just the same as all sixteen-year-olds, where she could live a carefree, fun-filled life. The best part of it? She would no longer have to be ugly. In this distopian world, society has been tamed and perceivably perfected. Formed to avoid mistakes of the past, Tally's society believes they have eliminated past discrimination based on appearance by surgically altering everyone to the same beautified standards. Without this discrimination, there are no reasons to fight and no reasons for war.
When Tally's friend, Shay runs away to a rebellion camp outside the city, Tally is forced to find her friend and reveal the camp's whereabouts. Here, Tally finds out the real reason for passive contentment: tiny lesions fitted on the brain, without consent, that prohibit free-thought and malcontent while encouraging placidness and conformity.
The series has a continuous battle with freedom of speech while condoning the actions of the past (or current era). Perhaps this is where my biggest confusion with the novels exists. The distopian world is not exaggerated in its ineffectiveness but in its *effectiveness.* Fighting does not exist. Discrimination does not exist. Happiness is rampant. The environment is not torn asunder. But freedom and creative expression are also nonexistent. And when these are reintroduced, society leads its course back to total annihilation. Which one is better?
I suppose in the end we are supposed to cheer for our protagonist, Tally, for rewiring her brain without outside aid, only sheer willpower. But her character is constantly manipulated and constantly reworked that its hard to distinguish what are her true emotions. Who are we rooting for?
Further Synopsis: After a cure is found for the lesions, Tally offers herself up to be turned Pretty (end of book 1), then reluctantly tests the cure with her boyfriend, Zane, based on their desire for mental clarity. With a new perspective on the world, they soon escape only to find that Zane took the active, brain eating pill that could only have been stopped with the pill Tally took. They are captured and Tally is turned into a Special, a human who is physically and mentally converted into a killing machine (end of book 2). Tally is physically revolted by Zane's unspecialness and needs him to be converted into a Special. Zane must prove he is mentally agile enough to become a Special, so Tally and Shay (part of an ultra-Special team called Cutters) help him escape to go find the new rebel camp. The Cutters discover that the rebel camp is another city which is soon attacked by Tally's long-suspecting city. In the attack Zane is killed and Tally must put an end to the warfare. She travels back to her hometown and injects the Special leader with a cure for her aggressive alterations. After having rewired her brain again, Tally decides that city life is not for her and she remains a symbolic barrier for future generations to not breach beyond their limits into the wild.
4 stars for action, world-building, writing style, plot
2 stars for characterization, plot
I'll be reviewing the series as a whole because I feel like the action and writing was pretty consistent throughout the series.
Tally Youngblood was slated to enter New Pretty Town just the same as all sixteen-year-olds, where she could live a carefree, fun-filled life. The best part of it? She would no longer have to be ugly. In this distopian world, society has been tamed and perceivably perfected. Formed to avoid mistakes of the past, Tally's society believes they have eliminated past discrimination based on appearance by surgically altering everyone to the same beautified standards. Without this discrimination, there are no reasons to fight and no reasons for war.
When Tally's friend, Shay runs away to a rebellion camp outside the city, Tally is forced to find her friend and reveal the camp's whereabouts. Here, Tally finds out the real reason for passive contentment: tiny lesions fitted on the brain, without consent, that prohibit free-thought and malcontent while encouraging placidness and conformity.
The series has a continuous battle with freedom of speech while condoning the actions of the past (or current era). Perhaps this is where my biggest confusion with the novels exists. The distopian world is not exaggerated in its ineffectiveness but in its *effectiveness.* Fighting does not exist. Discrimination does not exist. Happiness is rampant. The environment is not torn asunder. But freedom and creative expression are also nonexistent. And when these are reintroduced, society leads its course back to total annihilation. Which one is better?
I suppose in the end we are supposed to cheer for our protagonist, Tally, for rewiring her brain without outside aid, only sheer willpower. But her character is constantly manipulated and constantly reworked that its hard to distinguish what are her true emotions. Who are we rooting for?
Further Synopsis: After a cure is found for the lesions, Tally offers herself up to be turned Pretty (end of book 1), then reluctantly tests the cure with her boyfriend, Zane, based on their desire for mental clarity. With a new perspective on the world, they soon escape only to find that Zane took the active, brain eating pill that could only have been stopped with the pill Tally took. They are captured and Tally is turned into a Special, a human who is physically and mentally converted into a killing machine (end of book 2). Tally is physically revolted by Zane's unspecialness and needs him to be converted into a Special. Zane must prove he is mentally agile enough to become a Special, so Tally and Shay (part of an ultra-Special team called Cutters) help him escape to go find the new rebel camp. The Cutters discover that the rebel camp is another city which is soon attacked by Tally's long-suspecting city. In the attack Zane is killed and Tally must put an end to the warfare. She travels back to her hometown and injects the Special leader with a cure for her aggressive alterations. After having rewired her brain again, Tally decides that city life is not for her and she remains a symbolic barrier for future generations to not breach beyond their limits into the wild.
Age: 9th-12th grade
Based on the Greek story of Psyche, goddess of the soul, and Eros, god of love. This provides a contemporary spin without losing the complexity and elegance of the original tale. The story is mixed with fantastical elements, enriched by the poetic form, and filled with imagery and metaphors. This is a great example of long form poetry mixing dense images with dialogue and plot progression.
Excellent book for the "intellectual" teens.
Based on the Greek story of Psyche, goddess of the soul, and Eros, god of love. This provides a contemporary spin without losing the complexity and elegance of the original tale. The story is mixed with fantastical elements, enriched by the poetic form, and filled with imagery and metaphors. This is a great example of long form poetry mixing dense images with dialogue and plot progression.
Excellent book for the "intellectual" teens.
Age: 8th-11th grade
Cronn-Mills has been unfortunately undetected for this witty, fresh novel. We're provided with an oftentimes ignored setting in the boonies of Nebraska. Morgan desires nothing more than to escape the boring small town life and be whisked away to New York to pursue her passion for writing. But she is still a junior in high school so, in the meantime, she whiles away her time working at the local grocery store, visiting her beloved grandma, and checking out the hot butt of her coworker.
This story examines the confusing choices we make regarding love and the things that test love. Morgan questions her sexuality when her next-door neighbor and childhood friend begins flirting with her and gives her an unexpected, albeit enjoyable, kiss. At the same time, she notices her charming, hot coworker. Amidst this sexual turmoil, Morgan must deal with a drunken father and a disinterested step-mother. She finds a recluse in her grandmother but the tables are turned when she discovers a terrifying secret that challenges their love.
A perfect story for those that loved the witty wordplay of Juno. This story provides a unique relationship not often explored in young adult novels, that of the grandmother/granddaughter. It also explores lesbianism but it is not the driving force of the novel. Finally, it provides a look into the perspective of the person that cheats on their boyfriend--a perspective often met with negativity and distaste.
Cronn-Mills has been unfortunately undetected for this witty, fresh novel. We're provided with an oftentimes ignored setting in the boonies of Nebraska. Morgan desires nothing more than to escape the boring small town life and be whisked away to New York to pursue her passion for writing. But she is still a junior in high school so, in the meantime, she whiles away her time working at the local grocery store, visiting her beloved grandma, and checking out the hot butt of her coworker.
This story examines the confusing choices we make regarding love and the things that test love. Morgan questions her sexuality when her next-door neighbor and childhood friend begins flirting with her and gives her an unexpected, albeit enjoyable, kiss. At the same time, she notices her charming, hot coworker. Amidst this sexual turmoil, Morgan must deal with a drunken father and a disinterested step-mother. She finds a recluse in her grandmother but the tables are turned when she discovers a terrifying secret that challenges their love.
A perfect story for those that loved the witty wordplay of Juno. This story provides a unique relationship not often explored in young adult novels, that of the grandmother/granddaughter. It also explores lesbianism but it is not the driving force of the novel. Finally, it provides a look into the perspective of the person that cheats on their boyfriend--a perspective often met with negativity and distaste.
Age: 2nd-4th grade
"Is Nick Allen a troublemaker?
He just really likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever...the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny thing is frindle doesn't belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there's nothing Nick can do to stop it." Goodreads feature review
A funny, fast-paced book for emergent readers with a satisfying ending for students and teachers.
"Is Nick Allen a troublemaker?
He just really likes to liven things up at school -- and he's always had plenty of great ideas. When Nick learns some interesting information about how words are created, suddenly he's got the inspiration for his best plan ever...the frindle. Who says a pen has to be called a pen? Why not call it a frindle? Things begin innocently enough as Nick gets his friends to use the new word. Then other people in town start saying frindle. Soon the school is in an uproar, and Nick has become a local hero. His teacher wants Nick to put an end to all this nonsense, but the funny thing is frindle doesn't belong to Nick anymore. The new word is spreading across the country, and there's nothing Nick can do to stop it." Goodreads feature review
A funny, fast-paced book for emergent readers with a satisfying ending for students and teachers.
Age: 7th grade-12th grade
Art: Japanese manga-esque (set in Canada, doncha know)
O'Malley has an excellent way with the dialects of our generation. Scott Pilgrim is full of sarcasm, fake arrogance, and--ohmigod what's happening?! Why is he? I don't even? You know what, I'm going to go along with this because it's hilarious and this fight scene is turning out to be pretty amazing.
P.S. The movie is an exact replica of the comic.
Art: Japanese manga-esque (set in Canada, doncha know)
O'Malley has an excellent way with the dialects of our generation. Scott Pilgrim is full of sarcasm, fake arrogance, and--ohmigod what's happening?! Why is he? I don't even? You know what, I'm going to go along with this because it's hilarious and this fight scene is turning out to be pretty amazing.
P.S. The movie is an exact replica of the comic.