For those of you who loved The Hunger Games, author Suzanne Collins has written a sequel, Catching Fire (Scholastic, 2009). The story picks up where Hunger Games left off, with Katniss awkwardly trying to choose between Peeta and Gale and living a life of ease as a Hunger Games champion. But things start to fall apart when Katniss discovers that her and Peeta’s dual survival was seen as an act of rebellion and has encouraged uprisings...
The Amazing Race, American Idol, Project Runway, The Biggest Loser, Man vs. Wild, Dancing with the Stars–reality shows are all over television. But what if winning Survivor meant being the last one left alive? What if the bloody battles of the Roman gladiators had been broadcast as reality TV? Reality TV meets Lord of the Flies in the gripping new YA thriller The Hunger Games (Scholastic, 2008) by Suzanne Collins. The Hunger Games takes place in a brutal and...
If your middle schooler loves adventure books, they’ll love just about anything by Anthony Horowitz. Last week I listened to a lively discussion by a group of middle-schoolers sitting around my kitchen table. General consensus: Anthony Horowitz books are AWESOME! Two days later, I heard another group of teens debating which of Horowitz’s books was best. In Stormbreaker, Alex Rider isn’t your average fourteen year old. An orphan living with his uncle, Alex suspects foul play when...
Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson (Tor 2006). I just finished this fantasy novel at the recommendation of a reader comment (see comments for the November post ”Luke Skywalker vs. Edward Cullen”). Mistborn is Book 2 of Brandon Sanderson’s epic fantasy series, and it’s a great read. The main character Kelsier combines the brash devil-may-care adventurism of Indiana Jones with the roguery of Robin Hood and the fighting talents of a ninja as he battles against the...
I thought long and hard about the topic for my very first blog. Something special. Relevant. A fascinating topic with mass appeal. So it had to be Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight. The just-released blockbuster movie is raking in major bucks ($70.5 million in the first week alone). Meanwhile Robert Pattison (vampire boyfriend Edward Cullen) has been attacked by rabid female fans, crazed-Beatle-mania style. Not sure he realized what he got himself into when he...
