As a soccer mom, the injury I fear the most for the girls on the field is a concussion. Broken bones are painful and can lead to long recoveries, but an injury that messes with your brain is terrifying. As Cat, Ben, Sarah, and Quentin discover, their concussions are only the beginning of the fear they will face in the Florida Everglades.
Kate Messner delivers fast-paced adventure and action combined with cutting edge science in this thriller of a good read. Wake Up Missing is my favorite kind of science fiction. It starts out perfectly believable. Concussions frequently make the news, and I’ve seen students struggle through the effects of them. Many of the treatments given at I-CAN clinic (thanks for the author’s note at the end!) are cutting edge treatments being used successfully today. The science twist (provided by an evil scientist running an experiment gone amok) is introduced so gradually that it seems perfectly possible.
I love Cat, the bird watcher. She wants so badly to become herself again, but she doesn’t quite trust Dr. Ames or the I-CAN clinic. The questions keep nagging at her even when she can’t quite force her brain to connect the dots. As she and the other patients–hockey player Sarah, football star Quentin, and horse-lover Ben–start to figure out what is wrong, they don’t want to trust their healing brains. How could they possibly be right? But if they are right, time is running out for their escape.
Then the excitement ramps up as they navigate through the deadly Florida Everglades. If they don’t get lost, if they don’t get eaten by alligators, if they don’t run across drug smugglers, they just might have a slim chance to survive–if they can convince any one to believe their story.
Thanks to one of my students, Olivia–who donated the copies–, the second and third installments of the Michael Vey series by Richard Paul Evans have been among the most in demand books in my classroom library. I was fortunate enough to snag Rise of the Elgen (in a combo book with the first–Prisoner of Cell 25) before being home for three snow days and a weekend. Needless to say, I devoured book 2 as quickly as I did book 1.
Michael and his friends have escaped the Elgen facility in California and are headed home to Idaho. But when they get there, they find it is not safe to go home. Houses have been burned and parents have been kidnapped. The Elgen are hunting them down and seem to know their every move. Then a mysterious cell phone connected to an unknown voice offers to help Michael and his friends track down and rescue his mother who is still being held by the Elgen. Meanwhile, Dr. Hatch is leading the Elgen (or at least his faithful children and guards) in an attempt for world power and domination. Will Michael and his friends be able to stop them in time?
Just like the first book, this one is packed with non-stop action. Is it believable? No, but that’s not the point. Michael and the electric children are a new breed of superheroes–or villains–depending on their allegiance. Throughout this installment, all of their powers grow stronger as they practice and use them. The power surge is even more dramatic for Michael, who just might be the strongest of them all.
One of the things I liked most about this book is how all members of the Electroclan must learn to trust each other and work together. It is easier for the electric children to accept Ostin with his superior brain power, but even Jack and Wade have the chance to be heroes on their journey across North and South America. Before their journey is done, those who were most at odds with each other (I’m looking at you Jack and Zeus and Ostin) must learn to respect each other before they bring the whole group down.
Now who is reading book 3? After the surprising ending, I don’t know how long I can wait.
I suspect that Micheal Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans will be among the more popular of the Young Hoosier Books with my students this year. It has just enough science fiction to give it quite the cool factor. Who wouldn’t dream of being able to electrically shock the school bullies when they have you down? It’s not so far out that the science fiction will turn off readers who don’t think they like science fiction. Other than having cool powers, Michael Vey and his new friend cheerleader Taylor Ridley seem like perfectly normal high school kids. Even though Michael’s best friend Ostin Liss has no super powers, his brains help them out more than once on their mission to rescue Michael’s mom from kidnappers. Even the bullies come around to help fight the evil scientist.
Since my students are creating book trailers on Animoto this week, I decided to give it a try tonight. Here is my trailer for the book. Enjoy!
I’m taking part in the weekly Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by Ruth and Stacey over at Two Writing Teachers, where teachers write and share each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slicers. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.
Like I have for the past couple of summers, I’m taking part in Donalyn Miller’s #bookaday challenge over on Twitter. So far, I am keeping up and making a dent in the huge stacks of books I brought home for summer reading. I’m not doing so well with sharing my daily books on Twitter, and I’m struggling to keep up with the reviews, but boy, am I reading some good books!
The book I finished yesterday, Epitaph Road (Scholastic 2010) by David Patneaude, is one that sticks with me. It’s in one of my favorite genres–dystopian. The world in this book seems to be much improved over our current state of affairs. Poverty, hunger, war, and crime have almost entirely disappeared. How did this come about? A deadly virus nearly wiped out the world’s population of men. Now that women rule the world (and tight restrictions keep the remaining males in their place), it is a much better place. Or is it? As much as I might like to think that women would do a much better job running the world, I’m not sure it would happen. I’m afraid that once women got into power, that power might corrupt them, too. Indeed, there are hints of that corruption even in the world of Epitaph Road.
Kellen Dent is used to the restrictions, but he chafes at the limitations placed on his future. Then when rumors of another deadly outbreak threaten the area where his outcast father lives, Kellen will take any chance to warn him before it is too late. Two new friends, TIa and Sunday (both girls), offer to go with him. Before they return from their mission, they uncover an even deadlier secret that will change their lives and their world. Even as they rush blindly into the future, Patneaude weaves echoes of the past throughout the story. Each chapter begins with an epitaph for one of the males who died. Some are related to characters in the story. Others reveal just how much the world has changed, and at what cost.
Kellen is a pretty cool fourteen-year-old boy. He wishes he had more freedom, but having studied history before the virus, he can see that the world is better off in many ways. When his dad is in danger, he doesn’t hesitate to take off to warn him in spite of the danger to himmself. He’s also willing to accept help from others–Tia, Sunday, Gunny, even Dr. Nuyenn. I love Tia and Sunday. These girls are smart, musical, funny, and brave. They insist on going with Kellen because it’s the right thing to do. Together, this trio can take on the world. Some of the other characters are quite memorable as well. One of my favorites is Ms. Anderson, the rebel history teacher. She wants her students to think for themselves and in her homework gives them just enough information to piece together the truth behind those in power. I hope I can do as much for my students.
Fans of David Lubar’s Weenie series won’t be disappointed with this installment. Beware the Ninja Weenies is packed full of stories with bizarre twists, gross deaths, and just plain weird characters. I played around with iMovie to create this trailer. Believe it or not, all the images have a connection with one or more stories.
I’m taking part in the Slice of Life Challenge sponsored by Ruth and Stacey over at Two Writing Teachers. I hope to write every day for the month of March and then continue weekly each Tuesday. Join in yourself or head over to check out what’s happening with other slices. If you’re taking part in the SOL, leave a link to your post. I’d love to read it.
I’m sure my classes have noticed that I have a new current favorite book. My mission right now is to convince as many students as I can to read Legend by Marie Lu. My second mission is to sneak another book order past my husband so I can read the second book, Prodigy, as soon as possible.
I also nominated Day for our March Madness brackets, and I’m doing everything in my power to convince my students to vote for him. I don’t even promise to set up the brackets fairly. Now June is awesome in her own right (and I usually go for strong female lead characters), but something about Day just blew me away. Here’s why I think Day should win it all:
He’s the Republic’s most wanted criminal, and they don’t even know what he looks like. He has been sabotaging the war effort for years, and the police don’t have a picture or even a fingerprint.
The Republic supposedly killed him when he failed his Trials, but Day escaped and has been living on the streets every since. He has street smarts you wouldn’t believe that allows him to find food, clothing, and shelter without leaving a trace.
Day is brilliant both mentally and physically. He broke into a heavily guarded bank vault in under 10 seconds. He escaped with the money and without harming any of the guards. Once again, he left no trace behind. He can scale the outside of skyscrapers and leap from rooftop to rooftop.
Day’s biggest heist was breaking into a military hospital–the heavily guarded, no windows medical lab floor–to steal plague medicine. He got away without killing anyone, but he did have to injure one soldier to escape. Why did he even attempt such a daring and dangerous break-in? He had to save his little brother who lay dying from the plague.
Day is not a cold-hearted criminal. Both the bank theft and the hospital theft were to help his family. He can’t let any of them (except his older brother John) even know that he is alive, but he keeps an eye on them and helps out when he can by slipping John extra food, money, and clothes.
Day also is willing to help out a stranger in need. That’s why he teamed up with Tess, a street urchin he found abandoned in an alleyway. He also reached out to help June because she had helped Tess.
I didn’t think any character could ever top Katniss for all around toughness, stubbornness, and goodness (I even named my orange car after the Girl on Fire), but I think Day deserves to win. I can’t wait to see what happens in Prodigy now that Day and June are on the same side.
Who do you think is the toughest, baddest character from YA literature? I think Day can take him or her any day.
True confession: I haven’t actually read The Always War by Margaret Peterson Haddix yet. But yesterday, and again today, Austin M told me that I need to read it right now. It’s that good. I promise, I moved it to the top of my TBR pile. If I’m lucky, I’ll get it read before this post shows up. It certainly looks good.
Sometimes sequels let me know, but not in this case. If it is even possible, I loved Scarlet (Feiwel and Friends 2013) even more than I did Cinder. I introduce Cinder as my all-time favorite Cinderella story. Marissa Meyer takes the sci-fi cyborg and stirs in elements from yet another fairy tale, this time Little Red Riding Hood.
Scarlet is tough and stubborn enough to walk blindly into danger to rescue her grandmother. When the police won’t help her, she turns to the mysterious (and possibly dangerous) Wolf to track down what happened. Scarlet discovers much more than she bargained for, including desperate secrets kept by Wolf and her grandmother.
Don’t worry. We still get to follow the adventures of Cinder (and her new sidekick Thorne) as she escapes from prison and comes to terms with her real identity and growing Lunar power. When Cinder’s path collides with Scarlet’s quest, things really get interesting. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until the release of Cress in 2014 to find out any more.
Tony DiTerlizzi has created a vividly imagined world filled with fantastical beasts, outrageous danger, and unbelievable choices. Not only do you get all of this packed into the pages of this book, but you can find more adventure on the WondLa website. It comes complete with games, extras, and the brand new technology of Wondla Vision. All you need is a copy of the book, a computer with Internet access, and a webcam. Then you, too, can visit this world of never-ending wonder.
What will you find? Who will you meet? Start with Eva Nine, a girl who has lived her entire life in an underground bunker. Muthr, a robot, has trained her to one day survive on the surface. Now that day has come. When a marauder attacks the bunker, Eva Nine must flee to the surface alone to escape and survive. All she has to guide her is a scrap of cardboard with the words “Wond La” on them. On her journey she encounters both dangers and friends, but no one like her.
I loved the blend of fairy tale and science fiction in this book. I loved not knowing what kind of fascinating creature I might meet next. Rovender and Otto are both fantastical, but in totally different ways. Besteel is one of the nastiest villains I’ve encountered in quite a while. My favorite, though, is the indomitable Eva Nine. She is thrust into situations that would send most of us into utter despair, yet she always manages to find a way out, not just for herself, but also for her new friends.
I don’t know where Neal Shusterman comes up with the vividly imagined (and warped and twisted) worlds in his novels, but I am glad he does. The world of Unwind scared the bejeebies out of me with the aftermath of the Heartland War and the brave new world of unwinding. The second book in the trilogy, UnWholly (Simon and Schuster 2012), delivers even more danger, intrigue, and betrayal.
Connor now leads the rescued AWOLs who are living at the Graveyard, but he’s not sure he’s up to the task even with the help of the Holy of Whollies, his closest advisors. His leadership is tested by the daily complaints from those who look up to him and by the useless help from the ADR. Risa refused to accept a new spine from unwinding, so she fears she is more of a burden than a help–and why does Connor keep pushing her away? Lev has been defused–literally and figuratively–as everyone in his family but his brother Marcus rejects him and the terms of his punishment keep him from speaking about unwinding.
Three more unforgettable characters join the rest. Starkey cannot get over his anger at being storked and then sent for unwinding. He is determined to make his name into a legend even bigger than that of the Akron AWOL. Miracolina is more than pleased to be a tithe for her family, but she cannot forgive being rescued by people who treat Lev (the former tithe and the clapper who didn’t clap) as a godlike figure. Finally, Cam is a creation unlike anything the world has ever seen before. How will these new characters fit in with those from before? The answers may surprise you as some are worshipped, some are feared, some are tested, some rebel, and some betray.
The action is fast and the characters are tested and twisted with choices that have no good answers. Hang on for a wild ride through a future I hope we never see.
As a soccer mom, the injury I fear the most for the girls on the field is a concussion. Broken bones are painful and can lead to long recoveries, but an injury that messes with your brain is terrifying. As Cat, Ben, Sarah, and Quentin discover, their concussions are only the beginning of the fear they will face in the Florida Everglades.
