Half BROTHER -- ARINZE MGBEMENA

         

           Ben Tomlin is a 13 year old boy, growing up in Canada in 1973 and experiencing everything that life as a 13 year old boy would normally experience. Zan is an infant chimp, literally pulled away from his mother  just eight days of age. He is now being raised as part of Ben's family for a university experiment on primates and language, which Ben’s father is leading. This experiment was performed to discover if another species can be taught to understand and communicate the human language. From the very first day Zan is with their family, Ben’s parents tell him about what the experiment is for and why Zan is living with them. His father talks about the importance of Zan being brought up to believe that he is a human. Zan wears clothes, eats at the table with the Ben's family , and plays with Ben’s toys, just like a normal human child. The Tomlins teach Zan how to communicate using American Sign Language  so they can talk to him more and he can interact more with them. Ben understands the experiment, but he is kind of confused on how his father’s and his mother’s interacting with Zan. His father, opposed to even giving Zan a name. He never leaves the boundary of the experiment, and does not try to listen to anyone or anything that challenges his ideas of how the experiment should go. His mother is more nurturing. She recognizes that Zan’s need confronting and  tries to be a mother figure for Zan, while at the same time not messing with the experiment.
As Zan gets older , and the experiment becomes more difficult to work with, the Zan Project begins to spiral out of control. At this point, Ben finds an friend in Peter, an student research assistants working on the project. Like Ben, Peter sees Zan is a living being with real needs and emotions.  Peter and Ben attempt to find a way out of what has become a tragic trap for Zan.

         What was most interesting thing to me about the book is how they treated Zan as a human child and he acted like a one too. I also liked how Ben was trying to take Zan away from the experimentation and show that he is just a living being not an experiment . I enjoyed the book very much and i would recommend it to anyone.  

Feed by M.T. Anderson Reviewed by Paige Espinosa

     Titus lives in a world run by consumerism. He even has a chip, the feed, implanted in his brain that keeps him up-to-date on all the latest trends and sales at his favorite stores. All he has to do is look at something he might like and the feed automatically tells him things like it, where he can buy them, and all the great sales he could get if he buys them now! His life revolves around the feed until he goes to the moon for spring break with some friends and a hacker forces them to live without their feeds for a few days while doctors make sure they'll be safe to turn the feeds back on. During those few days, Titus becomes close with a girl named Violet, a girl who is less fortunate than he is and has a whole new take on the life they live. She got her feed later in life and neither of her parents ever got it so she is familiar with a world without it. Titus begins to question the world he lives in and even some of the things he does.
     I gave this book four out of five stars because certain passages were just insanely thought-provoking. Some of it was too unrealistic for me but other parts I could totally imagine happening in our world. Although it is another dystopian novel, it isn't just like everything else that has been popular and being turned into movies. One part I really liked was that it wasn't from the perspective of a teen girl who was head-over-heels for this new boy she met on the moon. Instead, it was from Titus's point of view and he's just your average teenage boy. He isn't looking for anything lasting or any type of commitment and overall it was a realistic teen relationship that didn't give the reader high expectations for romance in their real life outside the book. I would certainly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys dystopian or sci-fi and is looking for something a little more out-of-the-box than the average dictatorship-built-on-the-ruins-of-The-United-States-of-America-until-one-girl-brings-down-the-government-to-save-the-people-while-she-falls-in-love-at-the-same-time sort of series that everyone seems to love right now.

Inhuman- Reviewed by Paige Espinosa

     Delaney Park McEvoy is just your average teenager growing up after a plague that wiped out the Eastern half of The United States. The giant wall separating the West from the East is a regular sight for her, she attends classes online to prevent spreading germs among other students and she dresses up to impress boys with her best friend, Annapolis. That is, she was normal until biohazard agents crashed a party she was attending and seized her to test for possible contamination with the Ferae virus.
     Ferae is a virus that has evolved over the years after the initial epidemic of plague. Now, humans living on the East side of the wall who are infected with Ferae don't just die, they mutate into feral animals, intent on mauling every other human in its path- or so the government says.
     I gave this book four out of five stars because it was well-written, a quick-read, and interesting and engaging from the first page to the last. I enjoyed how one of the boys involved in a budding love triangle acknowledged this development and decided he was out of it, there would be no love triangle. (However, later on there is still a love triangle; I wish it would have ended there and then when Rafe declared we wouldn't be a part of it.) I also had a few moments where the Ferae virus seemed so ridiculous I wished they were just zombies instead. Tiger-men and men with tusks just pushed the envelope to the brink for me and "manimals" pushed it too far. ("Manimals" are people infected with Ferae who are mutating but aren't feral yet. It also makes me think of Pillow Pets and it sounds like something that would be advertised on late night television for "just $19.95 plus shipping and handling!" The term the author used was just too comical for me at points during the book.) Despite my dislike for the ridiculously far-fetched apocalyptic premise, by the end of the book I really loved the characters and even loved a "manimal" that I couldn't stand when it first debuted in the book. Overall, it was an amazing book that I would definitely tell others to read!

Wither (Chemical Garden) Book 1-- reviewed by Alexandra Lopez

                                     Wither (Chemical Garden) Book 1

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Reviewed: Alexandra Lopez

  The cure for cancer is discovered and is distributed to everyone, the world is cured, life is perfect. At least that's what they believed, until their children started to die young. Scientists discovered that the 'cure', it gave the children a genetic virus that causes men to live longer than women, however both shared the same fate of a short life span. 

  Even though scientists and  doctors work endlessly to find the cure to this virus, the people have turned to a different solution. Many believe there is no cure and in hopes to keep the human race alive, they try to have many children.  Many young girls are kidnapped and sold to wealthy men, who already own several wives. 

  The story begins with a young girl named Rhine who was kidnapped and was forced to marry a man named Linden who claims to love her. Rhine does not feel the same way and wants to escape her prison to find her twin brother. However she needs to gain the trust of Linden and her father in law to appear as good wife to gain certain freedoms. Then she can escape from their clutches and return home.

  I enjoyed reading Wither, it left me wanting more. The story was well paced except when Rhine kept telling herself she would escape. She has many chances to run but never does. If she was so dead set on trying to get home to her brother, who was her only family, why put it off?

  I believe she was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome at the time. She stayed with them long enough to understand their way of life and she started to grown to care for her sister wives Rhine didn't want to leave them behind. The ending was a bit of surprise to me, though. The book was great overall, except about Rhine not having the guts to escape, but I can't really blame her.

   If you too fall for this book it is located in the O'Hara Library. Check out the book in the library, read and enjoy.

Cinder--reviewed by Nallely S.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

**** Stars

reviewed by Nallely S.

"A girl. A machine. A freak."- Cinder

After a terrible accident....sixteen-year old Cinder's life changes drastically. Being 36.28% non-human, Cinder is the stepdaughter of Adri Linh, living a cruel life...Cinder has lived through it all, after the death of her stepfather. Cinder is 36.28% cyborg. Knowing people don't accept her for what she is, Cinder tries to live a peaceful life by following everything Adri Linh says. One day while going to the junkyard, Cinder's stepsister Peony insists on going with Cinder and Iko. Earth isn't what it use to be. Filled with a plague that has killed off half the worlds population, Cinder experiences the horror of seeing what the plague does to people. During their trip to the junkyard, unexpected horrors happen....Peony catches the plague.....and Cinder is sold by her stepmother to a crazy scientist.

Cinder gets caught up in two worlds. The world of a cyborg and the world she always dreamed of living in...a girls dream. Meeting Prince Kai only makes matters worse. If only those were her only worries....a terrible secret is discovered....and it seems that Cinder is at the center of everything.......in this new series, Lunar Chronicles, we will see the life of a girl and a cyborg. A life where a girl only struggles to be accepted and to find love, and answers. Cinder let's us see the horror that human society has come to. Set in a futuristic world, we follow the story of a teenage girl and her struggles.

I rated Cinder * * * * stars because although I like Meyer, I felt that in this story she tried to delay a lot of things. I enjoyed reading it and I like Cinder. She's brave and doesn't let anything stop her. She has big dreams and she'll try to get there. This book caught my attention because it's set in Beijing, China, which you don't usually see. I thought that was interesting and the tale of Cinderella turned into Cyborg Cinderella was a interesting idea ^ ^. Hopefully the next installment is a little better and moves a little faster. ^ ^ I didn't like the ending~!! X< Cliff hangers are the worst!! X<

Ship Breaker - a review by George Morejon

Ship Breaker
by Paolo Gacigalupi
**** stars

Ship Breaker is set in the future, somewhere along the Gulf coast. Thanks to things like giant sea storms, among other things, it's a harsh life in the day of someone on light team, what the scavengers who strip light materials from the old ships call themselves. Nailer's the main character, and around 15 and scrawny with a mother who's not there and a father who doesn't care. Perfect for a light crew worker. Life's hard in the crew though, always having to get enough goods like copper to survive. Miss your quota and you're done. There's no other work.

One day Nailer's out and about in the ship getting some copper like usual when the floor breaks and he's dumped in a room flooded with oil. After being betrayed by one of his fellow crew mates, he makes it out alive. Next time he goes down after a big storm, he finds a girl in an untouched ship. Would he return the favour of not saving someone in trouble, or would he save the girl?

Ship Breaker's an interesting book. It's also big, at around nine hours of reading. Everything's all super poverty, which is something I don't usually read. It's amazing how bad everything can seem, how cut throat. Nailer's personality made me feel on his side throughout the book, and the girl was interesting. For a rich girl, she was very street smart.

Across the Universe -- review by Hope Austin

Across the Universe
by Beth Revis
**** stars

When Amy is cryogenically frozen she leaves behind her boyfriend, her friends, and the rest of Earth for an unknown planet 300 years away. The only thing that comforts her is the fact that her parents will be there when she wakes up. So, when she is woken up 5o years before she was supposed to, she is understandably angry. She finds herself aboard Godspeed, which now has its own government and society, and is in direct opposition with the leader, something people didn't know was possible. Her whole is once again shaken when she learns her un-freezing wasn't an accident; someone tried to kill her.

At the same time, Elder, a boy about Amy's age, is learning how to become the leader of the ship after his superior, Eldest, passes. While he's always been rebellious and somewhat of a free-thinker, Amy's arrival prompts some serious questions from Elder to Eldest. The answers are more haunting than he could ever imagine.

This book was great read. It had good pacing and multiple layers. On the surface it seems like the setup for a romance, with a murder mystery thrown in. Once you dig a little deeper, the book is all about asking questions, thinking outside the box, being your own person. Nearly all of it is impossible under the rule of a tyrannical dictator. People who like sci-fi, mysteries, or dyspotian societies will love this one.

Matched by Ally Condie

Another "fight against the establishment" teen dystopian novel..., January 15, 2011

3 stars

This was a fast read but a very predictable dystopian novel. Other reviewers have remarked upon the similarities between the premise in MATCHED and The Giver by Lois Lowry as well as Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (to name two). The societies in each are quite similar as the people are completely controlled and their lives dictated to include the clothes they wear, the jobs they are assigned, the food they eat, and the way their mates are assigned to them. Men, women and children are not allowed to make choices or to think for themselves for the good of the Society. They have no concerns or worries, no fear of illness or accidental death -- everything is taken care of. In return, they are to ask no questions and are to obey the Officials. They carry 3 pills to be taken exactly as directed, they work and they play according to the plan, and they don't look beyond their own lives to wonder if there is anything else out there.

The book starts out well -- Cassia is going to her Match Banquet and her world seems full of happy possibilities. During this enchanted evening she is matched to her childhood friend, Xander, which is unusual since it's rare that matches know each other. In some type of computer glitch the next day, another boy's face flashes on the screen and it's someone else she knows -- a boy named Ky, an Aberration and someone who is unsuitable for match. It's after this that the story slides into cliche -- a love triangle, secrets, festering rebellion, etc. Cassia is fascinated with the words illegal poems that were given to her by her grandfather before he dies, and since the society has eradicated everything from the past except for the 100 best of everything, she commits them to memory. The words of one poem, "Do not go gentle..." fuel her dissatisfaction and stir the seeds of restlessness that lead her to defy convention and take chances that result in calamity and big changes in her life and in the lives of those she loves.

This is the first of a planned trilogy with the next book, Crossed, due out in November, 2011. I will likely want to read the second novel to see if the author will come up with a unique approach in this dystopia or if she will continue to borrow heavily from other novels in this genre. I hope it will be refreshingly original.

Ms C.

Found- Review by Aspen Gates

Found

Margaret Peterson

**** stars

Found is about this thirteen year old kid named Jonah who has known he's been adopted since he was little, but has never questioned why. That is until he receives a letter in the mail saying, "You are one of the missing." At first Jonah believes it's just some prank and ignores it until his new friend Chip is sent a letter saying the exact same thing. However, Chip didn't know he was adopted and now is more paranoid than ever to find out who sent the letters. Jonah on the other hand wants to forget about the hold thing and almost does until another letter is sent to him and Chip saying, "Beware! They're coming for you." Now Jonah is wondering where he, Chip, and thirty-four other kids really came from and why their cases are involved with the FBI. So Jonah, Chip and Jonah's little sister Katherine set out to solve a mystery that not only involves the FBI, but time travel, and people reappearing and disappearing. Will Jonah, Chip, and Katherine solve the mystery? And if they do will Jonah have to make a decision that will affect the lives not only of himself, but his sister Katherine and the rest of the 'Missing' kids? Read this novel to find out.

I thought this book was pretty good considering the age group. Plus I wasn't quite sure what the plot would be and that really gets my attention when the summary doesn't give hardly any real insight to what the story could be about. I gave this book four stars because although I was impressed with the story, I kind of felt that it was dragging in some areas, but I cannot wait to read Sent and Sabotaged which are the next two in The Missing series.

The House of the Scorpion -- Review by Adam Bryant

The House of the Scorpion
By: Nancy Farmer
Rated: ****

When I picked up the book The House of the Scorpion in the library, I was a bit skeptical about reading it. Normally, I dive deep into the adult sections at library and don't even bother with the young adult. This time, I went to check out an adult book and for the first time, got rejected. So to my disappointment, I went to find one from the young adult section. Not really caring at this point, I grabbed The House of the Scorpion because it had an interesting cover. Immediately as soon as I opened it, I was hooked. The story is very addictive and I finished it easily within a few days.
The story takes place in an area between the United States and Aztlan. In this area, all of the drug farmers have created farms. The whole society revolves around artificial people. The Farm Patrol captures people and places microchips inside of them to create slaves that have no consciousness of their own. And clones are created and used for transplants of organs to the original. In this abusive society, Matt is born a clone. He is abused at first then gradually begins to become more important. Matt faces many struggles, mainly being a clone and being lower in society than anyone else. He makes friends with a little girl named Maria and they have many adventures. Matt also discovers and creates, in his mind, his new family of bodyguard Tam Lin, servant Celia, and his shared identity El Patron.
This book is an amazing book and I highly recommend it for anyone in search of a quick, but complicated, novel. This book is not part of a series and you don't have to worry about reading anything previous. That being said, anyone who enjoyed Fahrenheit 451 would definitely enjoy The House of the Scorpion.
The ending is also very well wrapped up, leaving me without questions. It easily earns four stars on my scale.

Mockingjay -- review by Halea Coulter

Mockingjay

by Suzanne Collins

3 and a half out of 5 stars

The book Mockingjay was the most predictable way that the Hunger Games series could have ended. It had plenty of twist and turns, and there were some plot even that shocked, and scared me, but it was predictable, right up to the very end. Mockingjay comes in not too long after the last one left off, Peeta has been taken by the Capitol, and Katniss by the rebels, and that creates conflict throughout the book. It opens with Katniss left with the ashes of her home, and the book focuses mainly on the battle between the Capitol and the Rebels.

Overall I liked the book, but its was extremely dark and depressing, even worse than the previous two, and even though reading it put me in a depressed mood, i would read it again, because I think Elizabeth Collins is a brilliant write, and i cant wait to see what she comes up with next.

Book review by Chance Norton

Mortal Engines By Philip Reeve

3 ½ of 5 Stars

This book is an interesting version of what the future might include for the cities of the world several thousand years from now. Cities that are on wheels and eat each other which can be good and can also be very bad. For one, in this futuristic world there are no real wars because no city can trust the other not to turn on it so “wars” are limited to games of cat and mouse between stronger and weaker cities. This is also very bad because there is no way for the smaller towns and villages to survive. The book mentions Darwinism as the main reason for the way the world is at this time, except that Darwinism was for species, not entire cities.

This book was well written with interesting plotlines and an even more interesting setting, and so while I did not enjoy it enough to read the rest of the series, I did enjoy it enough to think about the idea even after the book was done with.