Adoration of Jenna Fox

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

Mary Pearson (2008)

A techno-mystery thriller with questions of medical (and parental) ethics. Good supporting characters, quick paced, futuristic, and a little family drama. A girl awakes from a terrible car accident and must put together the mysterious pieces of her life. Friendship and a bit of teen romance, plus her strong courage, help her start figuring things out.

And now for our Guest Reviewer, Son #3:

I liked the book because it is suspenseful. Jenna Fox is a 17 year old girl that just woke up from a coma and is dealing with amnesia. She slowly finds out the danger of the whole truth about her survival of a deadly accident. The Adoration of Jenna Fox is a good story of the future of illegal medicine.

WondLa

The Search for WondLa
by Tony DiTerlizzi  (2010)

Good mix of the tried and true and new twists.  Fresh characters, interesting and creative settings, action and thought, with an ending that recalls Planet of the Apes. (Not a real "ending" of course, there must be a minimum of 3 books due to the Children's Lit Stretch It Into a Series Law, right?)

A little futuristic, a child raised by a robot with an iPad-like device, and a little medieval with dragons, beasts, and questing adventure, with a nod to Oz/Yoda as the hero gathers friends as she seeks her home. Great illustrations and interactive maps when you use your webcam to view certain images. A hint at the future of books, if we want books to have a future. Would be a good read aloud book, and I'm looking forward to the next books in the series keeping up the standard.

The Last Book In The Universe

by Rodman Philbrick (2010)



I read about this book skimming through The Book Whisperer, which is next on my I Read, Therefore I'll Get Hired list, and had to grab it off the shelf.  A little dreary and depressing, but well worth it.  A bit freaky to read during our recent rash of earthquakes, but it's just fiction, right?



The world is separated into the protected, advanced, "ideal" people and the struggling, dying, "left overs" fending for themselves in apocalyptic conditions. Of course there is contact, and our narrator/(anti-)hero becomes part of a bridge that might just save everyone.  Discussions on family, personal and societal responsibility, the effect of decisions.  Lots of cool invented vocabulary, some tough to decipher but a good challenge for students, and a timely story with the year 2012 coming soon...

Among the Hidden

Among the Hidden
by Margaret Peterson Haddix (2000)
The beginning of a series (7? 8 books?) dealing with a government limiting families to 2 children and controlling the food supply... what happens when the extra/illegal children revolt? Adventure plus discussions of personal freedom...
connections: The Giver, Anne Frank

Specials

Specials

Scott Westerfeld (2006)

The conclusion (?) to Uglies, and very similar... not as much new and different, same characters, issues, conflicts for the heroine, just with new technology/power... some drama, a death, even a 9/11 reference and Pres. Bush/Iraq allusion, but a happy ending...
connections: Gathering Blue, ecology vs technology, government control vs right to choose

The Giver

The Giver by Lois Lowry

Newbery Medal 1994

Yes, I am man enough to admit tears did flow. I am man enough to confess to my emotional weakness, but only due to the blessed anonymity of the internet -- I doubt I will crash into any of you at Vons tomorrow and need to hide behind the banana and mango display when you announce to all "Hey, you're the guy bawling your eyes out when reading a children's book!"

Seriously, I have to rank this as a great book; the ending was not my favorite style of conclusion (the lady or the tiger?) but overall I was very impressed. I cared about the characters, the writing was clear not heavy, even during the serious parts. It does get serious, and disturbing, so 6th grade and up...

{note from an astute LTer : " I think it was the most appropriate way for The Giver to wrap up, especially because it's a YA novel--in other words, geared toward younger readers who are still learning to think and question information. A concrete ending with a single interpretation would have adversely affected their options to do so.In fact, I like the ambiguous ending so much that I have no plans to read the companion books, because of their potential to limit some of the many (often incompatible) conclusions I've drawn about The Giver's world." -- "Trismegistus" } 1/26/08

Uglies

No, not a family photo album, although a picture of my boys on the cover might have sold some copies this time of year...

Uglies  

by Scott Westerfeld

I liked this one a lot... moved quick, believable dialogue, action and suspense... didn't realize it was a series so I have to read another book to find out what happens, but the story stands alone well. 10 - 13, girls especially, but "e" for everyone.