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Book Review: The Young World, by Chris Weitz

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young_world_coverFamous Hollywood screenwriter/director Chris Weitz has written his first novel, The Young World.   It is set in a world two years in the future and teens are the only ones alive and they are in control.  All of this was started by a sickness that killed everyone not experiencing puberty.  This is because of the special fibers created during puberty that keep the sickness at bay.  A group of teens living in Washington Square in New York have created a sort of community.  However, when the leader Wash dies from “the sickness” after turning 18, his younger brother Jefferson and four other teens, venture out of their community on a journey that may lead them to a cure.  This brings them on a wild adventure in which they face murderers, mole people, wild dogs, a bear, and cannibals.

Sci-Fi fans will love this book due to the post apocalyptic setting and show stopping action.  The cliffhanger will almost definitely lead to an intriguing sequel.

The book is written in first person but in the form of a movie script, which is no surprise because of the author’s twenty years writing and directing films such as Twilight: New Moon, American Pie, Antz, The Golden Compass, A Better Life, and the upcoming Disney movie, Cinderella.  I read my signed copy of this book in one day because I could not put it down.   I was lucky to hear him speak about his book last month in Mission Viejo where he told of his life in Hollywood and how this book came to be.

All in all, this is an excellent book and I highly recommend it to people who don’t mind violence, mild romance, and major cussing.  I recommend looking beyond the cussing to see the story for how great it is.

-Evan G., 6th grade

Event Recap: Chris Weitz Author Visit

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On July 30th, director and now author, Chris Weitz debuted his brand new novel, The Young World, at the Mission Viejo Library.  He is the director of the Twillight Saga: New Moon and The Golden Compass.  Chris Weitz kicked off the event by letting us know how action-packed his book is.

young_world_coverThe Young World is a story about a post-apocalyptic world that is now being ruled by teenagers.  A strange sickness wiped out all of the population but left the teen survivors to fend for themselves and to possibly save all humanity.

Chris Weitz wrote this story for the YA audience.  He tried to keep his novel as original as possible and not to make it yet another dystopian themed book. The Young World, features a diverse set of characters– diverse in race and sexual orientation.  The story takes place in New York because Weitz knows this place very well.

At the event, we had a Q&A session and he told us that he found that it was particularly hard to get his thoughts down on the paper, especially during the tragic or sadder situations.  He also gave the audience very helpful advice on directing and acting.  Weitz read a small passage from his new book.  During this reading of the book listeners were already captivated  by deaths and emotional issues that will surely evolve in later chapters.   We got a glimpse of the narrators and were told of the teens’ favorite movie, Star Wars.  Most interestingly, Weitz made a very strong argument on how the word ‘like’ is actually a very necessary part of our speech. This book will for sure be an interesting read!

After he was done, we were able to get a copy of The Young World and I got it signed by Chris Weitz himself.  I am looking forward to reading this new book because it sounds very fun, witty, and interesting.

-Erika T., 8th grade