Books 1 and 2
For the first books in my RC08 (Reading Challenge 2008) I read "Ender's Game" by Orson Scott Card, and the "Uglies" series (which is actually three seperate books called "Uglies," "Pretties," and "Specials") by Scott Westerfeld.
Here's a great description of "Ender's Game" from the NY Times: Intense is the word for Ender's Game. Aliens have attacked Earth twice and almost destroyed the human species. To make sure humans win the next encounter, the world government has taken to breeding military geniuses -- and then training them in the arts of war... The early training, not surprisingly, takes the form of 'games'... Ender Wiggin is a genius among geniuses; he wins all the games... He is smart enough to know that time is running out. But is he smart enough to save the planet?
My friend Sean recommended this book to me. I am not a super sci-fi fan, but I had been wanting to read Orson Scott Card for some time, and I knew this is his most famous work. I'm glad I tried it, because Ender Wiggin is now one of my favorite literary characters of all time.
My personal interest, as a girl who doesn't like many battle scenes- especially set in a futuristic environment- was challenged slightly during parts of the book, since a good majority of it is set in a war training school. but Ender is written so beautifully that it was easy to stay focused and interested in the story. Card really captured Ender's child-like innocence, despite the fact that he is a genius among geniuses. And I didn't see the double-whammy coming at the end, which surprised me! I'd count this as a definite read if it sounds even the least bit interesting.
Here's Scott Westerfeld's description of his "Uglies" series: Uglies is the first book of the trilogy. The second book is Pretties and the third is Specials. It's about a world in which everyone has an operation when they turn sixteen, making them supermodel beautiful. Big eyes, full lips, no one fat or skinny. This seems like a good thing, but it's not. Especially if you're one of the uglies, a bunch of radical teens who've decided they want to keep their own faces. (How anti-social of them.)
A little over a month ago I heard from my editor after having submitted my manuscript for the first round of comments. In one of her emails she was trying to understand the direction I wanted to take the book, and kept referencing this series as an example. I hadn't read it, so I got them as soon as I could.
YA (Young Adult) is my favorite genre to read, particularly because it is the genre I am attempting to get into. And these books represent, in my opinion, all the best that YA has to offer. The series is incredibly fast-paced, only stopping long enough to get in some essential character development, which is delivered seamlessly. Each book takes the characters into something that goes from bad to worse, and when you don't think it can twist any more, the next book starts and you're like, "WHAT?!"
Tally Youngblood, the protagonist, is a wonderfully complex and human character, and the myriad of others introduced balance out the range of personalities. I thoroughly enjoyed this series and would definitely read it again in the future.
I'm off to a good start! Now let's hope I can get this week's two read, as it is already Wednesday and I'm only a few chapters in to the first one!
Here's a great description of "Ender's Game" from the NY Times: Intense is the word for Ender's Game. Aliens have attacked Earth twice and almost destroyed the human species. To make sure humans win the next encounter, the world government has taken to breeding military geniuses -- and then training them in the arts of war... The early training, not surprisingly, takes the form of 'games'... Ender Wiggin is a genius among geniuses; he wins all the games... He is smart enough to know that time is running out. But is he smart enough to save the planet?
My friend Sean recommended this book to me. I am not a super sci-fi fan, but I had been wanting to read Orson Scott Card for some time, and I knew this is his most famous work. I'm glad I tried it, because Ender Wiggin is now one of my favorite literary characters of all time.
My personal interest, as a girl who doesn't like many battle scenes- especially set in a futuristic environment- was challenged slightly during parts of the book, since a good majority of it is set in a war training school. but Ender is written so beautifully that it was easy to stay focused and interested in the story. Card really captured Ender's child-like innocence, despite the fact that he is a genius among geniuses. And I didn't see the double-whammy coming at the end, which surprised me! I'd count this as a definite read if it sounds even the least bit interesting.
Here's Scott Westerfeld's description of his "Uglies" series: Uglies is the first book of the trilogy. The second book is Pretties and the third is Specials. It's about a world in which everyone has an operation when they turn sixteen, making them supermodel beautiful. Big eyes, full lips, no one fat or skinny. This seems like a good thing, but it's not. Especially if you're one of the uglies, a bunch of radical teens who've decided they want to keep their own faces. (How anti-social of them.)
A little over a month ago I heard from my editor after having submitted my manuscript for the first round of comments. In one of her emails she was trying to understand the direction I wanted to take the book, and kept referencing this series as an example. I hadn't read it, so I got them as soon as I could.
YA (Young Adult) is my favorite genre to read, particularly because it is the genre I am attempting to get into. And these books represent, in my opinion, all the best that YA has to offer. The series is incredibly fast-paced, only stopping long enough to get in some essential character development, which is delivered seamlessly. Each book takes the characters into something that goes from bad to worse, and when you don't think it can twist any more, the next book starts and you're like, "WHAT?!"
Tally Youngblood, the protagonist, is a wonderfully complex and human character, and the myriad of others introduced balance out the range of personalities. I thoroughly enjoyed this series and would definitely read it again in the future.
I'm off to a good start! Now let's hope I can get this week's two read, as it is already Wednesday and I'm only a few chapters in to the first one!