Monthly Archives: September 2015

The Incredible Charlotte Sycamore by Kate Maddision

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incrediblecharlotte_katemaddisonThe sixteen-year-old daughter of Queen Victoria’s surgeon should be a mild-mannered and polite. That is what everyone in Her Majesty court’s thinks. Even so, Charlotte Sycamore has a price on her head and labeled the Robin Hood Surgeon for stealing medicine for the poor. One day, she is bitten by rabid dogs but not just any type of dogs. Mechanical dogs. Then starts the race against time to find a cure for this disease and the master of the dogs.

The Incredible Charlotte Sycamore is classified as an alternative history and steampunk story. It was this fact that instantly drew me to the story. There is a love story, which I think was not very well combined with the main conflict. The love story does take away some of the excitement presented in the book. One good thing is it does contain a very strong female main character, who goes beyond the norms of a “Victorian heroine”. This fact adds a lot to the story. Most of the story seems to have the theme of Charlotte trying to decide what she should do with her life. It is a choose between following her heart or conforming to the court. In her heart, she wants to be wild and free but the court expects her to marry who they choose and lead a quiet life. There are moments where Charlottes makes decisions that do not lead to great results and she learns from them.

To give this book a score, it would be 8/10. There could have been some changes that could have positively added to the story’s plot but overall it is still a very good read. I would recommend it to those trying to find a good steampunk novel.

– Sarah J.,

Made For You by Melissa Marr

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madeforyou_melissamarrMade For You is a book that grabbed my attention right away and didn’t let it go until the end. It wasn’t necessarily the best book I’ve ever read, but it one was of the better ones in a while. This being said I really don’t know how to describe it. Its components are similar to a lot of teen books; romance with a hint of mystery. The thing that really garbed my attention though, was the darker nature of the plot. At the end of the second chapter the main character, Eva, has already had an attempt made on her life by someone know only as Judge. It was this chapter that really made me want to continue reading, his motivation for the murder attempt is what I found really intriguing, in fact his thoughts throughout the book were what I found most inserting. In my opinion Judge is easily the stronger character in the book, and my personal favorite, not because I was rooting for him to succeed but because I thought he was extremely well written and one of the more interesting characters out of a lot of books I’ve read.

But enough about Judge for now, it’s what happens after Eva walks up from his murder attempt that things start to get weird. Eva wakes in the hospital with the ability to see people’s death’s when the touch her. It is because I of this plot point that I have a hard time describing this book. This power, if you want to call it that, is very interesting and a driving force behind the plot. I thought it was very well thought out with limitations and other flaws that made it more believable. Except for one thing, we never really find out were the power came from. We find out it’s flaws and how it works, but not once is the source of the power mentioned.. As much as I loved this book, and I really did, this was a huge problem for me. I loved the story, and as mentioned early Judge’s character was very interesting, but I really feel like this was an attempt to add fantasy twist to what was other wise a book that bordered on realistic fiction that fell a little short of the goal. Honesty for a while I thought that maybe the whole thing was just in Eva’s head, or that maybe the hit and run had activated some kind of dormant magical ability, but at the end of the book I still didn’t have an answer.

Now this doesn’t mean that Made For You isn’t worth the read, I really think it is, I just think it has some flaws that should have been addressed. As a whole though the plot is very interesting, the characters and unique and three-dimensional with interesting motivates driving their actions, and a very interesting reveal at the end of the book pertaining to Judge’s identity, all of which make this a very solid read. One thing to keep in mind is since one of the driving points of the plot is an attempted murder their is some violence that may make younger readers uncomfortable, but high-school aged readers (and mature middle-school readers) probably won’t have a problem with it, as their are only a few short scenes. If you are looking for something that isn’t quite like anything else then I highly recommend giving Made For You a read.

Made For You is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library.

Flyte by Angie Sage

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flyte_angiesageThis sequel to the first book in the Septimus Heap series begins with a new foe that seems strangely familiar… ***SPOILER ALERT IF YOU HAVEN’T READ THE FIRST BOOK***  Boy 412, or Septimus Heap, as Aunt Zelda helped him to discover, is living a normal life as Marcia’s apprentice, or as normal as a wizard can get. Then one day, on a day that Marcia gives him to spend as he likes, he decides to visit Jenna in the Palace. Then suddenly Simon Heap appears and kidnaps Jenna! And, nobody will believe Septimus that Simon has kidnapped Jenna, making it difficult for him to do anything. How will he be able to get Jenna back? What does Simon want with her? That, until you read the book, is a secret that only the readers know.

I loved Flyte just as much as I loved Magyk. The escapades of Septimus and Jenna always are able to make me laugh, and those of a new(ish) character too, Beetle. Beetle is a worker at the Manuscriptorium, a place where they keep books and other things. He became friends with Septimus after they discovered their common interest in Magyk. Beetle is a bit weird, but that’s another reason that I like him. And, he has more in store for him in the five books to come (currently available in the library).

New character aside, there’s lots of other things that I like about Flyte. It has a lot more Magyk than in the first book, a big plus for me. It also links a lot of new stuff back to the first book, like a hidden room in the castle that might have something to do with Aunt Zelda’s cottage (hint, hint). I would give this book a 10 out of 10 because it’s an awesome book and because Angie Sage did a great job of bringing her characters back for a brand new adventure.

Flyte is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library. 

Spintered by A. G. Howard

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splintered_aghowardIt all started with the rabbit hole.

Of course, Alice falls down it and finds herself in the bizarre world of Wonderland. But what would happened if when she came back, something wasn’t the same?

Skip two centuries to Alyssa Gardner, the descendant of Alice Liddell and inspiration for Lewis Carroll. She just wants to live a normal life with school, artistic desires, and Jeb, a cute artist. But the curse of the Liddell family that causes their girls to go crazy (including her mom) and the strange power to hear the voices of plants and insects keeps Alyssa’s life anything but normal.

That’s when she gets a call from the boy of her dreams (literally) to help save Wonderland and fix everything her ancestor messed up. If she does, she’ll be from her family’s curse, and her mother could be saved. But Wonderland is not how it seems through Lewis Carroll’s innocent perspective.

This book, along with the other two of its series, is amazing. It’s full of humor, including the comical fights between the two edges of the love triangle Alyssa somehow gets sucked into, a sarcastic characters, and the events Alyssa has to face in Wonderland.

I actually didn’t personally like Alice in Wonderland. However, when I read this book, I liked it way better than the original. And for those of you who like horror, all I’m going to say is that one of the author’s inspirations was Tim Burton. Additionally, there are small details that lead to very interesting and well thought out plans, which made the book even cooler. And of course, the classic secret keeping, in which secrets blew my mind and were ones I didn’t figure out before. Finally, the author puts the classic story into her own words, with characters the reader will recognize by name and be intrigued with.

All in all, this is one book that should be read!

-Megan V.

Taking Flight by Michaela and Elaina DePrince

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takingflight_michaeladeprince“There’s not a mother in this world who would watch her child,
Cry in the street stand and watch her weep
There’s not a mother in this world who wouldn’t give
Up her own life for the life of her child”

-Abdulla Rolle, an established international nasheed writer and artist

The story of Michaela DePrince is one that I will never forget. Between its heartfelt message, its bittersweet moments, and its heart wrenching beginning, the hope of this little war orphan could keep an entire country motivated in such crisis.

A little girl by the name of Mabinty lived a pretty joyous life in a small, poor town in South Africa. Her father worked in the diamond mines while her mother stayed home to help educate Mabinty, for it was unlikely that this tiny girl would get married because of her appearance of white spots covering her neck, arms, and legs. She was considered a devil’s child because of this condition, for only the devil would give birth to such a wretched creature. Under her parents’ tutelage, by the age of 3 Mabinty could read Arabic and speak 5 languages. However, one day news came from the diamond mines that the rebels attacked and Mabinty’s father had been shot. To make matters worse, her uncle, who lived next door, deceivingly took over the girls along with all of Mabinty’s college savings. Then, afflicted by sickness and mistreatment, Mabinty’s mother died. Mabinty was promptly taken to an orphanage because her uncle, believing her to be the devil’s child, knew he wouldn’t get a good deal in marrying her off.

At the refugee orphanage, there were nannies, but not the Mary Poppins type. This type worked only to earn money for their household. They played favorites out of the 27 little war orphans. The beloved number one child would receive the best meals and first choice clothing. However, number 27 would get the smallest portion to eat and the last picked clothing. Mabinty was number 27. Her time at the orphanage was awful, but she still tried to bring her own light to it. She made a friend though with Number 26, whose name was also Mabinty. Number 26 cared for her much like a mother would. She would read to Mabinty when Mabinty couldn’t sleep. Number 26 would sing to her when it was raining or if Mabinty was sad. One day a wind pushed a magazine against the orphanage gates. On the front cover was the picture of a woman in a beautiful costume standing on her tippy toes. But what intrigued Mabinty was the fact that the woman looked overjoyed to be in this position. She ripped off the cover and stuck it inside the only thing that was hers, her underpants. Mabinty later learned from Teacher Sara(h) that the woman was a ballerina. So Mabinty would stretch and flex every day, mimicking the positions of the ballerina, hoping that someday she would become a ballerina.

Time passed and the children of the orphanage learned they would be adopted by American families. Twenty-six of the children had assigned families, but nobody wanted a spotted child. Incredibly, Mabinty and her best friend, number 26, were adopted together. Upon meeting her new mama, 4-year old Mabinty searched the hotel room for pointed shoes or a pink dress or tiara but found nothing. Since she spoke very little English at that point, she pulled out of her underwear the picture of the ballerina and showed it to her new mama. Her mom smiled and said she would dance. Mabinty and Number 26 wanted new American names. Mabinty became Michaela DePrince and number 26, Mia DePrince. Michaela and Mia, once settled in their new homes, both started ballet and dance classes. And, by age ten Michaela was in an upper class, dancing five times a week. Michaela DePrince is an inspiration, and this book follows her fight against all odds. The song at the beginning of this post really describes the whole book, and to me, the meaning of life. This was an amazing book, and I really encourage others to explore more about Michaela DePrince through this book, her movie, TED talks, and inspirational videos.

“Oh people of the world
Can we spare a little justice can we spare a little peace
For the children of war
Oh people of the world
Can we spare a little love can we spare a little prayer
For the children of war”

-Abdullah Rolle

 

-Maya S., 8th grade

Taking Flight is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library.

Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

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bravenewworld_aldoushuxleyDo you sometimes wish you did not have parents? Would you like to have free time to do whatever you wish? Would you rather not choose a favorite color?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, maybe you should move to the utopian society pictured in Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World.

But on the other hand, maybe not…

The setting of this novel is a society where all people are decanted rather than born. Before they are ‘born,’ they are predestined to their position in society. For the Epsilon Semi-Morons, this means having their intelligence and growth stunted or even being part of a Bokanovsky Group, where one will have at least 50 identical twins. For an Alpha Plus, this means becoming an individual, because these are the people who will grow up to be World Controllers.

The people in the novel are encouraged to take part in whatever activities bring them pleasure, including erotic play. Additionally, there is soma, the drug that brings the person away from the problems of the world, in something called a soma-holiday. There is no such thing as God in this world; they worship Henry Ford. Their calendar system is based off the invention of the Model-T Ford.

One day, however, in this seemingly perfect world, Bernard Marx and his girlfriend for the week go to a savage reservation in New Mexico, where life is still going on as it was before this civilization developed. His girlfriend, Lenina, is revolted by the fact that people here have their own children, that they can grow fat, and that people get married and stay dedicated to one person their whole life! Here, Lenina and Bernard meet John and Linda, two people with surprising ties to civilization. The decision to bring them back to their society, as expected, causes conflict.

My favorite part of the novel was how thought out this futuristic society is. Though to me, it is very disgusting, and I would definitely not want to live there. It seems very realistic that it might occur even today, thought the novel was written in 1932. Also, though sad, the very end of the novel was poetic and very eloquently written.

I would definitely recommend this book to older teens. Some of the ideas and descriptions in the novel are certainly for older audiences. Additionally, I found that there was a lot of vocabulary that was new to me, and I had to keep looking up new words, so that is something to consider. But if you do decide to read this book, you should enjoy it. It is a very fascinating novel.

-Leila S.

Brave New World is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library and Overdrive.

Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison

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invisibleman_ralphellisonInvisible Man by Ralph Ellison is an amazing novel that takes you through the experience of being an African American man in Ellison’s day. The theme of invisibility is key throughout the novel. For example, in the beginning of the novel the narrator gets his own electric power for his underground home. The electrical company is confused because they do not know the source of the electricity loss in their company. The narrator is thus invisible to the company but is still getting away with taking electricity for his home. Therefore, we can see that invisibility allows an individual to perform actions that may not be caught, since no one suspects them.

Also shown extensively throughout the novel is the imagery of sight and blindness. For example, Reverend Homer A. Barbee in the novel is blind. Brother Jack gets a glass eye and the narrator is overcome with blindness through many instances in the novel when he is giving a speech and he is blinded by either the thick wall of the white men’s smoke or the stage lights. This novel is a great insight for readers to really witness what types of struggles that African American individuals had to go through in Ralph Ellison’s days. Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is a must-read novel for one to be informed about how African Americans felt while living in America.

-Nirmeet B.

Invisible Man is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Public Library and Axis360.

Greenglass House by Kate Milford

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greenglasshouse_katemilfordWinter vacation. An inn for criminals. Two maps.  One massive adventure. Milo and Meddy, together.  This story begins with a young boy named Milo, returning from his last day of school before Christmas break.  It has started to snow, and he has finished his homework so he can have some fun, but some strange things start to happen.  He and his family, the Pines, live and work at an inn called the Greenglass House.  For a long, long time, it has been the temporary home of several harmless thieves, smugglers, and other suspicious criminals.  Winter is a slow time for the hotel, and customers are rare near the holidays.  However, this year it’s different.  Just as Milo shuts his math book, he hears the distant ring of the bell.  He and his mother, Mrs. Pine, rush outside to see a man trudging up the snow covered front steps.  The man introduces himself, and throughout the course of the afternoon, so do ten other guests, as he is the first of many to stop by this night.  Eleven in total arrive at the Greenglass House, while Milo is thinking this could quite possibly be the worst Christmas vacation ever.  Milo was miserable until a certain girl named Meddy comes to stay as well.

After just one day, Meddy and Milo seem to become the best of friends. Milo shows Meddy a map he found suspiciously left in a rail car.  It is quite a unique map. The two aren’t sure what it is showing, but they believe it is some kind of waterway.  This creates a curiosity in young Meddy.  In her attempt to cheer Milo up, she has an idea for a fun game they could play together.  The basic objective is to find out what the map is and whether treasure exists.  And you have to play while adopting fake characters.  They decide Milo will be a blackjack, the leader, clever and athletic, while Meddy will be incognito.  Milo’s new name is Negret and Meddy’s, Sirin.

They begin their quest in the attic where they find materials such as clothes for Sirin and necessities for Negret.  The game gets pretty fun until one morning, some of the inn’s inhabitants wake up to find they have been robbed.  The two friends put aside the game to search for the missing items.  At this point in the book, I thought of the song, Smooth Criminal, by Michael Jackson.  The tune and lyrics struck me as the smooth criminal in the story left no leading clues from his theft.  As the storyline develops, things start to get intense, violent, and secrets are out in the open.  At this point, I’m questioning whether the situations will be resolved and whether I would be able to hum Happy by Pharell Williams by the last page.

This story twists and twists into a whole new plot.  It changed so much that I vaguely remembered the beginning!  Kudos to Kate Milford on Greenglass House.  This well-written and heartwarming novel deserves 10/10 stars.

-Maya S.

Greenglass House is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library. 

Book Review: Wonder by R.J. Palacio (Special Edition)

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wonder_rjpalacioInspiration comes from everyday things. Imagine walking into a restaurant and having everybody look at you with a horrified expression. You turn around, and expect to see something terrifying . . . and then you realize that they’re looking at you. Now what if this happens every time you meet someone new? Each and every time a stranger sees your face. Each and every single time, until they get used to you.

This is what it’s like for 10-year-old Auggie Pullman. Born with severe facial differences, he’s had to live his whole life like that. So he’s gotten sort of used to it, or so he thought. Twenty strangers in a grocery store now seems like a grain of sand when Auggie’s parents tell him he’s been enrolled into an actual school for the first time. (Because of his many surgeries, Auggie had been homeschooled until now). An actual school, with actual hundreds of kids, who are worse at hiding their reactions than adults are, named Beecher Prep.

I’d be less than honest if I said this book didn’t change my point of view on people who are different from me. Even though the main characters are younger than me, this book really opened my eyes. Even my mom thought it should be required reading. It doesn’t matter who you are, we can all learn something life changing from this book. Even from the bully. Which brings me to . . .

What’s the special edition? Well, Wonder was originally written in six different points of view, but due to curiosity from the fans, the author wrote a bonus chapter, written from Julian’s (the book’s antagonist) view. The bonus chapter is actually 100 additional pages, and consists of more than one chapter, but all the same, it adds more to the primary theme of empathy – understanding those who are different, whether on the outside or inside. Empathy is necessary for each of us to grow as human beings.

This book is great for all ages because it shares so many typical events that touch our lives, from losing best friends to starting over fresh, to embracing your differences, to standing up for what you believe in. The greatest (in size and in goodness) takeaway from this book is to always choose kind. It’s a wonder that this is not always the automatic choice.

-Danielle L., 7th Grade

Wonder (Standard Edition) is available for check out from the Mission Viejo Public Library, Overdrive, and Axis360.

My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult

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mysisterskeeper_jodipicoultIn The Fault in Our Stars, John Green says his novel is not a “cancer book.” Well, neither is My Sister’s Keeper. Bound to bring the reader to tears on more than one occasion, this novel faces tough issues of today.

When Kate Fitzgerald was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) at age two, the doctors realized she was going to need a matched donor for stem cells in the near future. So Kate’s parents selectively chose a sperm and an egg to make Anna, in order to use the stem cells in the umbilical cord to save Kate. But Anna’s donations did not stop there. Blood transplants, bone marrow. Basically every time Kate was hospitalized, Anna was there too, donating something else to her sister.

Now Anna is thirteen. Kate is beginning to die of kidney failure, and the Fitzgeralds have asked Anna to donate one of her kidneys. But Anna is fed up, and she sues her parents for the rights to her own body. Needless to say, this causes major conflicts among the family.

This novel discusses the moral effects of having a designer baby, as well as how far one should push for their child to donate for another child. Do the Fitzgeralds love Kate more, so much so that they had a second baby just to save the first? What is it like to live in a family with a child dying of cancer?

Seems straight forward, right? Anna sues for the rights to her own body, and she either wins or loses. But, if she wins and does not donate a kidney, her sister dies. If she loses and donates a kidney, she and her sister have to go through a complicated transplant that doctors think Kate may not be able to withstand.

No matter what happens, both outcomes prove to be a loss for Anna. What do you think? Is it right to have a baby just to save another child’s life? Is it right to be forced to donate parts of your body, without making the decision yourself? Is it right to stop being a donor for someone when they are sure to die without your help?

Combined with drama between the lawyers, the delinquent son of the Fitzgerald family, and some pretty major plot twists, this is a fantastic read. The novel is so captivating, especially because it’s told in the perspective of each character. I think anyone 13 and older can handle the heavy concepts, as long as you accept the fact that you will likely cry. But isn’t that what makes a book so captivating?

Leila Salem., 9th grade

My Sister’s Keeper is available for checkout from the Mission Viejo Public Library.