Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Science Fic COL

The United States no longer exists. Panem has taken its place. Panem is a country made up of the Capital and twelve districts. The districts exist to serve the Capital and the Capital makes sure the districts stay in line by reminding them each year of their failed revolution. The reminder is called the Hunger Games. Each district selects two children, a boy and a girl, to come to the capital and participate in a competition to the death, where there is only one survivor. The winning district gets some extra attention and supplies for the year. This competion is a brutal spectacle that each person in the country is required to watch on television. District Twelve is a particularly poor district and when young Prim is selected as the female combatant, her sister, Katniss steps up to take her place. Her counter-part for District Twelve is the son of a baker, Peeta, a nice boy but a partner who lacks any fighting ability. These two must journey to the Capital where they will be wined and dined, pampered and adorned, for the week leading up to the Games. Their abilities will be judged during this week and they will have the opportunity to pick up sponsors who can donate needed supplies to them during the Games. They must team up for this week but after that, the games begin and only one will survive. Make no mistake, this is a violent game that tests the boundaries of each participant's humanity. It is a powerful book.

Book Reviews

Please stop by the Library during Homeroom on Wednesday or after school and preview our new books. We are looking for some dedicated readers to read our newest books and post reviews. Check with the library staff or your English teacher for details.

Bone by Bone by Bone

Since the day David was born, his constant companion was a skeleton hanging near his crib. This may seem creepy to you but to David's Dad, it was the perfect way to have his young son start to learn all of the bones in the body. David was going to be a doctor or so his determined Dad decided. David's Dad will let nothing get in the way of this, especially not David's best friend, Malcolm a young African American boy. Imagine if your own father has told you that he will shoot your best friend if he takes one step into your house. Would you believe him? Could you still respect him? Love him? Experience what life was like for two young boys growing up in a small, racist Tennessee town in the fifties. This is a powerful book. Beware of the terrible language used by characters in this book. It is typical of the time and place but offensive to us all today.

Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy

And he is the good guy! I really had fun with this book. Horror story meets detective story meets fantasy.

 

12-year-old Stephanie's weird uncle dies and leaves her most of the family's money and a spooky mansion. Steph hasn't a clue why she was chosen for this inheritance over other family members. Then, on her first visit to her new mansion, Stephanie is attacked by some shady characters and is barely rescued by a well dressed, fast-talking Skeleton. Who is this Skulduggery guy and what is his connection to Stephanie’s inheritance? Steph is not one to sit back and wait for things to happen. She jumps into the case full force. Stephanie and Skulduggery team up to solve this attack and to save, among other things, the world. Get ready for some real action: deadly combat, car chases, magic, and lots of sarcasm. Two thumbs up for this one!

Gatekeeper's Series

All you action junkies out there get ready for an exciting new series. Part mystery (with lot's of action), part horror story, and part science fiction/fantasy. The adventure starts when 14-year-old Matt gets into serious trouble with the law. He is sent into foster care in a small English village called Lesser Malling. Something sinister is going on in this town and his guardian, Mrs. Deverill, definitely is not the kind, caring woman she presented herself to be at Matt's judicial hearing. Matt is put to work on the farm and he tries to keep a low profile but something is not right. He stumbles on a murdered body that disappears when he brings the police, he finds an old, disserted nuclear power plant that hums and glows at night, and the villagers......something isn't right with them. What is going on? Find out in Raven's Gate and then continue the action-packed series with Evil Star and Nightrise.

In the Cards - Love by Mariah Fredericks

What's in these cards besides Ana's hopes and dreams?

Girls at Ana's school check a website, Zoe's World, daily to figure out who's in or out. Ana and her friends are definitely out. Can a mysterious gift of cards from a dead neighbor change Ana's life? The cards are cast but does this mean Ana's life will change for better or worse? And does Anna have any say in her future? Check this book out of the library to find out and be on the look out for the sequel: In the Cards: Life by Mariah Fredericks.

The Wednesday Wars by Gary Schmidt

"Love and hate in seventh grade are not far apart, let me tell you." Think 1967 and life is not what it is today. Holling Hoodhood is stuck alone every Wednesday afternoon with his teacher while the rest of the class attends either Catholic catechism or Hebrew school. Holling is convinced his teacher hates him and Mrs. Baker, if truth were told, isn't too pleased with his company. She tries tormenting him with cleaning chores but this approach solves nothing. Holling and Mrs. Baker are still stuck together every Wednesday. So she decides to make the most of their time together and assigns Holling to read the great works of Shakespeare. Holling is not happy as you can imagine. Well, what starts as a really awful assignment becomes, if not fun, at least handy. Holling learns to curse like Caliban in The Tempest, get a girlfriend like Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, and try out revenge like the King's sons in Hamlet. Add to all of this: bullies, bus crashes, two rats (the rodent kind), Mickey Mantle, Bobby Kennedy and a whole lot more.

"Toads, beetles, bats' check out this book from the library or may a "southwest blow on ye and blister you all o'er."

They Poured Fire on Us From the Sky by Benson Deng, Alephonsion Deng and Benjamin Ajak

The True story of three Lost Boys from Sudan.

We were fortunate to have an assembly on this very topic last month in the Middle School. I probably would never have ordered this book for the library or worse, I may never have read about the Lost Boys without that assembly. Thanks to Sara, Samantha and Mr. Silver.

I learned alot about the problems and suffering in the Sudan from the assembly but I learned so much more from reading the book. The book tells the stories of three boys, one five-year-old and two seven-year-olds, as they flee the sercurity of their homes and village and are forced to walk over a thousand miles without the assistance of family, parents or any adults in search of safety. It gives a child's eye view of the terror of trying to survive in the wilds of Africa.