The City of Ember: Review

The City of Ember By: Jeanne DuPrau Young-Adult Fiction A small metal box made by the Builders not to be opened for 200 years was passed down from mayor to mayor until the chain was broken. Now, almost 300 years later, the City of Ember is running low on supplies, and the lights flicker on and off frequently. Is there a way out of the city? This book was a fantastic allegorical fiction like the “Giver” by Lois Lowry. Most of Ember is oblivious to the fact that their supplies are running low. Soon, that fact becomes more and more evident as the lights flicker on and off, and some precious commodities can no longer be bought. Many people in the city use different methods of coping. Some hoard supplies, […]

Posted June 2, 2009
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Austenland: Review

AustenlandBy: Shannon HaleAdult Fiction In Jane Haye’s mind, no man could live up to Mr. Darcy, especially not Colin Firth’s Mr. Darcy in the BBC adaptation. So, when her Great-Aunt leaves her a vacation to Pembrook, sort of an Austen-Disneyland for wealthy vacationers, she is forced to confront her obsession. At first she looks at the experience as a last hurray before getting on with her life. But, it’s harder to separate reality from fiction than Jane had anticipated. This book is very different from Shannon Hale’s other books. This is definitely meant for adults. Adult females. Adult females who love Jane Austen. Adult females who love Jane Austen and Mr. Darcy. It’s really a charming book. (If I can use that word). I know that at times in my […]

Posted June 2, 2009
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Tunnels: Review

TunnelsBy: Roderick Gordon and Brian WilliamsChildren’s Fiction Will, a digging maniac, and his father, Dr. Burrows, the curator of the local museum, often go on digs together to find artifacts in their home near London. Will is bullied by kids at school and befriends another student, Chester, who accompanies him on digs. After finding a suspicious elevator shaft and the strange disappearance of his father, Will and Chester find a hidden city underneath the city. What follows is an attempt to escape the city alive as well as find Dr. Burrows. This book had a very slow start and lacked purpose. I never could figure out why Chester was friends with Will after all the crap he put him through. The friendship didn’t seem quite developed enough. There were several […]

Posted June 2, 2009
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The House of the Scorpion: R..

The House of the Scorpion (Matteo Alacran, #1) by Nancy Farmer Published by Atheneum Books for Young Readers on January 1st 1970 Pages: 380 Format: Hardcover Source: Purchased Buy on Amazon Goodreads Matteo Alacran was not born; he was harvested with the DNA from El Patron, lord of a country called Opium. Can a boy who was bred to guarantee another’s survival find his own purpose in life? And can he ever be free? The book is set in Opium, a country between the United States and Atzlan, formerly Mexico. Matt discovers that he is the clone of El Patron, the dictator of Opium. All menial labor is done by eejits, humans whose brains and ability to reason and think has been replaced by a microchip. Matt learns as he […]

Posted June 2, 2009
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Beauty by Robin McKinley: Bo..

Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley Published by HarperTeen on June 30th 1993 Genres: Fairy Tales & Folklore, Fantasy, Fantasy & Magic, Girls & Women Pages: 256 Format: Paperback Source: Purchased Buy on Amazon Goodreads A strange imprisonment… Beauty has never liked her nickname. She is thin and awkward; it is her two sisters who are the beautiful ones. But what she lacks in looks, she can perhaps make up for in courage. When her father comes home with the tale of an enchanted castle in the forest and the terrible promise he had to make to the Beast who lives there, Beauty knows she must go to the castle, a prisoner of her own free will. Her father protests that he […]

Posted June 2, 2009
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