YA Challenge - Finished! July 2009
Place holder post for 2009 YA Challenge. Not going to list any - am just going to get them throughout the year :)
1. Schooled by Gordon Korman - A commune-raised teenager gets thrust out into society when his grandmother is hospitalized and he's placed in a foster home. Totally unprepared for the outside world, Cap is elected 8th grade class president as a joke, but ends up having a profound effect on the students of C Average Middle School. (also A-Z author, 100 books)
2. Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix - Jonah, who's always known he was adopted, and his friend Chip, who finds out suddenly, are both receiving the same messages in the mail - "You are one of the missing" and "Beware! They're coming back to get you!" The two boys and Jonah's sister, Katherine are determined to figure out what's going on, especially after a note appears on Jonah's records at the adoption agency, which leads them to the FBI and a mysterious aircraft. Pretty good (not unusual for a Haddix book), total setup for next book in series. This one is mostly a mystery/thriller with some SF/fantasy aspects - it'll be interesting to see how those aspects are played in the second book. (100 books)
3. Stolen by Vivian Vande Velde - Six years after a child went missing, a girl of around 12 years is found wandering in the woods just after an old witch, who was accused of stealing children, is possibly burned to death in her cottage. Is the girl the missing Isabelle? Did the witch's death free her from a spell? Why can't she remember anything? Figured out the girl's identity early on, the real reason behind the disappearances took a bit longer. Satisfying ending. Not VVV's best, but still a good read. (100 books)
4. Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale - graphic novel. Interesting idea twist on Rapunzel - and other fairy tales. Just didn't thrill me. (100 books)
5. The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeiffer - set at the same time as Life As We Knew It, when a asteroid knocks the moon closer to the earth and sets of a chain of climate changes, this book details the experiences of 17 year old Alex Morales, the son of a building superintendent in Manhattan. His father was at a funeral in Puerto Rico in an area hard hit by tsunamis and his mother, a nurse, never came home from the hospital - he suspects she died in subway floods. Alex must now take responsibility for his two younger sisters in a city rapidly turning into a deadly wasteland. Liked the first one better, but still a good read. Alex is a very real, conflicted character and Pfeffer uses Manhattan very well to show the claustrophia and vastness of a city disintegrating. (100 books)
6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Postapocalyptic - the remains of the US are divided into a capitol city and 12 districts - a 13th district revolted and was annihilated - and to drive the point of being subservient home to the districts, a yearly lottery picks one teen boy and one teen girl for the Hunger Games. These 24 are prettied up, trained, and paraded on TV and then cast into the arena to fight for their lives, with only one survivor. Katniss, who volunteers to take her younger sister's place, is our heroine and is a fairly tough, yet kind of bland character. Lots of violence and death, this is a fast-paced and absorbing read. First in a projected trilogy - I'm looking forward to the next one. Funnily enough, one of the Amazon editorial reviews is by Stephen King, who notes its similarities to "The Running Man" and "The Long Walk" by some guy named Bachman :) (A to Z title, 100 books)
7. Nation by Terry Pratchett - Mau is the only one left after a giant wave destroys his island village - the only one until he finds Daphne, the lone survivor of a wrecked ship. Other refugees come to the island looking for help and hope and they begin to rebuild a society. I... didn't really like this - I understand why people do - it's a thought-provoking novel, very well-written, with interesting characters. And I did read the whole thing :) but I found it kind of tedious. I like my Pratchett with more humor :) (A to Z title, 100 books)
8. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness - Young Todd Hewitt is the last boy in his town, a few days from the birthday which will mark him as a man. In a town where all thoughts can be heard and all the women died from a germ made by the natives of the planet, he and his dog are suddenly on the run after he finds a place of absolute quiet. And then Todd meets a girl from a crashed spaceship, an advance ship for a colony. He worries that the germ that killed all the other women will kill her too - and then the three of them cross over a river and Todd discovers that everything he believed is a lie and he's in more danger than he ever believed. Wow! Excellent. Found it a bit hard to get into but well worth it. (A to Z author, 100 books)
9. Graceling by Kristin Cashore - Katsa thinks her Grace, her gift, is the ability to kill and she is forced to use it in the service of her King. Then she meets Po, a young foreign prince with a mysterious Grace, who comes in search of the old man she secretly rescued. After rebelling against her King (and cousin), she and Po set off to find out why the old man had been kidnapped. Along the way, the two fall in love and discover that Graces aren't always what they seem and neither are the people who weild them. Excellent. Wonderful world-building and characters. Can't wait for the next one. (100 books)
10. The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce - first entry in the 3rd series featuring Sandry, Tris, Daja, Briar, and the other mages from the Circle of Magic and the Circle Opens series. The quartet are back together after two or so years apart, but their travels have put mental distance between them. Sandry's beloved uncle asks the other three to accompany her on a semi-forced visit to her homeland to see her cousin the Empress and to check on the family lands. But the empress has less than honorable reasons for getting Sandry and her friends there and she has no intentions of letting them leave. The quartet must reunite their magics to thwart the will of the empress. Very good. Would love to see books of the the stories between the Circle Opens and this set.(100 books)
11. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau - Ember's only light comes from floodlights spread around the city - floodlights that are having increasing blackouts. 12 year olds Lina, a messenger, and Doon, a pipeworker, seem to be the only ones looking for a solution to Ember's worsening problems. Lina has found what seems to be an old official document that might lead the people out of the city and into a better world, and Doon helps her find the path down in the the underground near the river. But when they discover that Ember's mayor is corrupt, he sets people after them, and they are forced into following the path unprepared for everything. Good story, looking forward to the sequel.
12. The Last Thing I Remember by Andrew Klavan - Thriller author Klavan delves into the YA world with this novel, the beginning of the Homelanders series. Biggest quibbles are why Charlie can't remember anything of the past year - nothing really hints at why other than knowing he was tortured - and the obvious 'not a complete story' since it's a cliffhanger start to the series - that one's not a serious problem :) As one Amazon reviewer noted, it's interesting to read also because of the center-right perspective, which is a bit heavy at times, but not too bad. Klavan has definitely crafted an action-packed story (as he usually does). Excellent draw for teen boys - and just about anyone who enjoys a good thriller. Looking forward to the next entry.
1. Schooled by Gordon Korman - A commune-raised teenager gets thrust out into society when his grandmother is hospitalized and he's placed in a foster home. Totally unprepared for the outside world, Cap is elected 8th grade class president as a joke, but ends up having a profound effect on the students of C Average Middle School. (also A-Z author, 100 books)
2. Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix - Jonah, who's always known he was adopted, and his friend Chip, who finds out suddenly, are both receiving the same messages in the mail - "You are one of the missing" and "Beware! They're coming back to get you!" The two boys and Jonah's sister, Katherine are determined to figure out what's going on, especially after a note appears on Jonah's records at the adoption agency, which leads them to the FBI and a mysterious aircraft. Pretty good (not unusual for a Haddix book), total setup for next book in series. This one is mostly a mystery/thriller with some SF/fantasy aspects - it'll be interesting to see how those aspects are played in the second book. (100 books)
3. Stolen by Vivian Vande Velde - Six years after a child went missing, a girl of around 12 years is found wandering in the woods just after an old witch, who was accused of stealing children, is possibly burned to death in her cottage. Is the girl the missing Isabelle? Did the witch's death free her from a spell? Why can't she remember anything? Figured out the girl's identity early on, the real reason behind the disappearances took a bit longer. Satisfying ending. Not VVV's best, but still a good read. (100 books)
4. Rapunzel's Revenge by Shannon Hale - graphic novel. Interesting idea twist on Rapunzel - and other fairy tales. Just didn't thrill me. (100 books)
5. The Dead and the Gone by Susan Beth Pfeiffer - set at the same time as Life As We Knew It, when a asteroid knocks the moon closer to the earth and sets of a chain of climate changes, this book details the experiences of 17 year old Alex Morales, the son of a building superintendent in Manhattan. His father was at a funeral in Puerto Rico in an area hard hit by tsunamis and his mother, a nurse, never came home from the hospital - he suspects she died in subway floods. Alex must now take responsibility for his two younger sisters in a city rapidly turning into a deadly wasteland. Liked the first one better, but still a good read. Alex is a very real, conflicted character and Pfeffer uses Manhattan very well to show the claustrophia and vastness of a city disintegrating. (100 books)
6. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - Postapocalyptic - the remains of the US are divided into a capitol city and 12 districts - a 13th district revolted and was annihilated - and to drive the point of being subservient home to the districts, a yearly lottery picks one teen boy and one teen girl for the Hunger Games. These 24 are prettied up, trained, and paraded on TV and then cast into the arena to fight for their lives, with only one survivor. Katniss, who volunteers to take her younger sister's place, is our heroine and is a fairly tough, yet kind of bland character. Lots of violence and death, this is a fast-paced and absorbing read. First in a projected trilogy - I'm looking forward to the next one. Funnily enough, one of the Amazon editorial reviews is by Stephen King, who notes its similarities to "The Running Man" and "The Long Walk" by some guy named Bachman :) (A to Z title, 100 books)
7. Nation by Terry Pratchett - Mau is the only one left after a giant wave destroys his island village - the only one until he finds Daphne, the lone survivor of a wrecked ship. Other refugees come to the island looking for help and hope and they begin to rebuild a society. I... didn't really like this - I understand why people do - it's a thought-provoking novel, very well-written, with interesting characters. And I did read the whole thing :) but I found it kind of tedious. I like my Pratchett with more humor :) (A to Z title, 100 books)
8. The Knife of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness - Young Todd Hewitt is the last boy in his town, a few days from the birthday which will mark him as a man. In a town where all thoughts can be heard and all the women died from a germ made by the natives of the planet, he and his dog are suddenly on the run after he finds a place of absolute quiet. And then Todd meets a girl from a crashed spaceship, an advance ship for a colony. He worries that the germ that killed all the other women will kill her too - and then the three of them cross over a river and Todd discovers that everything he believed is a lie and he's in more danger than he ever believed. Wow! Excellent. Found it a bit hard to get into but well worth it. (A to Z author, 100 books)
9. Graceling by Kristin Cashore - Katsa thinks her Grace, her gift, is the ability to kill and she is forced to use it in the service of her King. Then she meets Po, a young foreign prince with a mysterious Grace, who comes in search of the old man she secretly rescued. After rebelling against her King (and cousin), she and Po set off to find out why the old man had been kidnapped. Along the way, the two fall in love and discover that Graces aren't always what they seem and neither are the people who weild them. Excellent. Wonderful world-building and characters. Can't wait for the next one. (100 books)
10. The Will of the Empress by Tamora Pierce - first entry in the 3rd series featuring Sandry, Tris, Daja, Briar, and the other mages from the Circle of Magic and the Circle Opens series. The quartet are back together after two or so years apart, but their travels have put mental distance between them. Sandry's beloved uncle asks the other three to accompany her on a semi-forced visit to her homeland to see her cousin the Empress and to check on the family lands. But the empress has less than honorable reasons for getting Sandry and her friends there and she has no intentions of letting them leave. The quartet must reunite their magics to thwart the will of the empress. Very good. Would love to see books of the the stories between the Circle Opens and this set.(100 books)
11. The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau - Ember's only light comes from floodlights spread around the city - floodlights that are having increasing blackouts. 12 year olds Lina, a messenger, and Doon, a pipeworker, seem to be the only ones looking for a solution to Ember's worsening problems. Lina has found what seems to be an old official document that might lead the people out of the city and into a better world, and Doon helps her find the path down in the the underground near the river. But when they discover that Ember's mayor is corrupt, he sets people after them, and they are forced into following the path unprepared for everything. Good story, looking forward to the sequel.
12. The Last Thing I Remember by Andrew Klavan - Thriller author Klavan delves into the YA world with this novel, the beginning of the Homelanders series. Biggest quibbles are why Charlie can't remember anything of the past year - nothing really hints at why other than knowing he was tortured - and the obvious 'not a complete story' since it's a cliffhanger start to the series - that one's not a serious problem :) As one Amazon reviewer noted, it's interesting to read also because of the center-right perspective, which is a bit heavy at times, but not too bad. Klavan has definitely crafted an action-packed story (as he usually does). Excellent draw for teen boys - and just about anyone who enjoys a good thriller. Looking forward to the next entry.