The People of Sparks, Jeanne DuPrau

I absolutely LOVED this Second book of Ember. Doon and Lina's adventure continues above ground when they come upon the City of Sparks. Of course, the people of Sparks feel obligated to help, even though the people of Ember more than double their population and they are some of the few survivors of the Disaster (which had both a war aspect and natural disaster aspect, reminiscent for me of The Testing and it's '7 stages of war, 4 wars and 3 huge Earth calamities, I think that was the book with that).

It's interesting how almost immediately, the two groups begin to compare ways of life....much technology has been lost and there is no electricity in Sparks, but they had electricity in Ember, different foods are available above than below, there are animals and weather conditions (Ember's climate was always the same) and much plant life that Emberites never knew. It's also interesting to note how quickly one person's unhappiness and wanting to blame someone else (scapegoat), and another's quest for power/control can escalate into an all out war. Misunderstandings get outrageous and no one seems to be willing to listen to another. Of course, innocent children are able to help.

There is one really quiet, wise adult figure who is not from either group. She explains to Lina about conflict and war. It's very matter of fact and not in a condemning sort of way, but in a "this is human nature" way, I felt.

There is also an emotionally charged scene in which Lina wants to make the right choice, but no one else is making the right choice and she is afraid to do it on her own, but as soon as she does, pretty much the entire community follows suit. Often it only takes one person to be courageous enough to do the right thing. We can't always wait for someone else to do it. Even children can be examples for adults. Sometimes as adults we are even more hindered in our minds than we would be as children.

Can't say enough good about this book!!!

**I have to say that I am partially into Book 3 which is actually a prequel, and I am honestly not quite sure what to think of it, as I am not sure of the author's intent on the way she is treating religion in Book 3. I will withhold final judgement on it until I finish and hopefully see what her point is, but just know that if you are religious, you may feel put out with her treatment of her characters and how they view faith, religion, God and love of God and what it will "do" for you.

City of Ember, Jeanne DuPrau

This book I picked up because my 4th grader's teacher is reading it aloud to the class. As my daughter was describing this book, it seemed like some sort of futuristic dystopian or alternate universe type of society. Naturally, I was curious, and naturally, I was slightly concerned having read an abundance in this genre and worried about the content and it's appropriateness for her age group. Her current teacher is an exchange teacher from Australia, but the regular classroom teacher (who will return after the Christmas break) had copies of The Hunger Games in his room, which I do NOT feel are appropriate for 4th graders! That was the whole reason I was a bit cautious.

But I was pleasantly surprised! The main characters are 12, getting their job assignments as they join the adults in the workforce of society. (Seriously, WHAT is with the age of 12 that is SO significant that MANY dystopian societies have some sort of ritual at the age of 12. If it's not 12 it's 16). The jobs are chosen by pulling out a strip of paper out of a bag. So the technology isn't very great. It's also very dark where they live. There is no natural source of light. Their civilization has been in existence for over 200 years but somehow the storehouses are running low. They were supposed to never run out. The Builders built their city. At the very beginning you learn that the builders also included a box with a timed lock that was to open on its own when the time was right. It was to be passed down from mayor to mayor. However, an epidemic sweeps through the population, a coughing sickness, and one mayor, desperate for relief from the sickness thinks the box might contain the answers, but try as he might, he couldn't get it open. Then instead of passing it down to the next mayor, it gets put in a closet and forgotten.....to open on its own when the time came.

Lina is the protagonist along with her friend Doon. They each draw a job the other wants, so they trade (I kept waiting for them to get in trouble for trading, but it never happens; I guess they don't care WHO is doing each job just so long as the jobs get done). They together find things that no one else is looking for, and are concerned with finding solutions for the increasing black outs their city experiences. They are becoming more frequent and more lengthy.

Another topic this book approaches is when adults make wrong decisions. Lina and Doon are trusting of adults, and when they have vital information, their first thought is to take it to the adults in charge. They assume that the adults will do the right thing. But of course, this current mayor is corrupt (that isn't a giveaway, you get that idea from the first chapter), but the idea that it never occurred to the children I think is identifiable in most kids who would be reading this book. There ARE times when adults don't make the right decisions. And it's important not for kids to be wary of the adults in their lives, but to learn how to read a person's character and listen to their inner voice that will warn them of shady people who would do them harm. I think this is a topic that could be discussed in broader terms to relate to life experiences that might occur in our world today.

I can't say much more without giving away too much, but it was very clever, very age appropriate, good paced, entertaining and though provoking. It is part of a series of books, referred to as The Books of Ember. There are 4 books, and a review says The conclusion is everything a series closer should be, satisfying but provocative. —Horn Book Magazine 

The first book has been made into a movie as well. My daughter read the Graphic Novel, but I'm going to make her wait till her class finishes the book before checking the movie out from the library. Purist that I am :-)

Michael Vey Battle of the Ampere, Richard Paul Evans

Book 3 in the series. Did NOT disappoint! New twists, new people, first death in the Electroclan.....many victories.

Same fast pace you're used to from the first two books. I'm starting to wish for a few slower parts to allow for more character development because I feel like they are always so busy with the next plan or the next step or defending themselves again that they aren't truly sure of who they are and what they're made of. You get really, REALLY awesome glimpses, but nothing concrete. However, they ARE just teenagers, and what teenager knows what they're made of, right?

Even though predicaments come up often, it doesn't seem abrupt, the flow is very good, and it wasn't melodramatic either (as in, I didn't think "seriously, not AGAIN", but maybe that's because you EXPECT things to keep happening to them).

I still get VERY uncomfortable with the level of evil Dr. Hatch is capable of-with not even a smidgen of a hint of remorse for his actions. He is truly a sociopath of the WORST kind....maybe like Hitler? Or whoever was the leader in Japan at the time of WWII?

Now to wait for the library to get me #4......

Michael Vey, the Prisoner of Cell 25 and Michael Vey Rise of the Elgan, Richard Paul Evans

I read both of these SO fast that I'm just going to review them together.

Wow. SO INCREDIBLY fast paced. It's a real page turner. It's nice, because some of the chapters are pretty short, so you can read it in whatever bits and pieces you can steal throughout the day (which is how I sometimes have to read being a mom and all).

After the first one, I was tempted to have my 9 year old read them....but after the 2nd, I have decided to wait. You see, the evil guy, Dr. Hatch, is REALLY evil. Remember Unbroken, the story of Louis Zamperini who was a Japanese POW and all the horrible, degrading, sadistic things that happened to him? Yeah. What Dr. Hatch does gives me flashbacks of THAT. He is a mastermind at brainwashing and a mastermind of torture, both psychological and physical. He is the epitome of a mad scientist.

Of course, Michael Vey and his friends always come out on top against all odds-totally reminding me of Percy Jackson. But hopefully the eventual ban of evil in the name of good will come about at the end...I have no idea how many books this series will have. I know there's 4, but I don't know it well enough to know if #4 is the final one. I also just started book 3 and have 4 "In transit" from my hold request at the library :-)

Anyhow, Michael has electric powers. He's always thought he's the only one, but turns out, he's not. And when he meets and joins up with some of them who are likeminded and not brainwashed by Hatch along with a couple of unexpected bullies-turned best allies-and his super smart best friend Ostin (ironically named after the city in TX, Austen) who seems to know EVERYTHING-except how to be socially normal around girls :-) All of the best qualities of everyone together creates kind of a club, the Electroclan, and when the bad guys kidnap Michael's mom-that's when the Electroclan starts to show its power.

I'm a big fan of these books now, although like I said, the level of dark evil that Dr. Hatch is, is pretty gruesome, and made me a little squeamish at times. I think at times I had less trouble stomaching The Hunger Games. I'm really, really looking forward to the eventual downfall of Dr. Hatch and I hope it's big! These books also open up a big potential discussion about brainwashing and what it is and how it happens. It might help kids be aware of what people do to try to manipulate them to do certain things, not to extent of what Dr. Hatch does, but there are similarities. For instance, Dr. Hatch gives the electric kids on his side anything they want, but in return asks them to do things for him "displays of loyalty" he calls them. This book also explores the complex that permeated Japanese culture for a LONG time, and also in Nazi Germany, that there are races of people who are superior to others. Dr. Hatch convinces the electric kids (or Glows) that they are eagles among chickens, that they are worth infinitely more than regular people. When Taylor (a girl Michael knew from high school) was asked to give a display of loyalty that could have had a negative impact on a person, she refused. Another Glow couldn't understand her hesitation saying "They're only people, Taylor!" Which could lead to a great conversation of how so many people could have been convinced that killing 6 million Jews was somehow OK. Obviously, not EVERYONE was brainwashed, but some were probably simply too afraid of what would happen to THEM if they showed loyalties anywhere else. It could also be the start of a discussion of how the Japanese tried various times to overrule the Koreans because of their belief of superiority (which also fueled their interest in WWII). So as you can see, it's not just a sci-fi action adventure novel, but also a starting point for very serious, non-fiction discussions.

Edenbrooke, Julianne Donaldson

"A proper romance"

This was a fun, clean Regency Period (think Pride and Prejudice) novel. I loved it! So fun to read. The poor 17 year old protagonist, Marianne Daventry is hopelessly naive, but that is TOTALLY expected from this period of time. There were things that I personally caught on to the second it happened and it took nearly half the book for Marianne to put two and two together. But like I said, it wasn't annoying because it fit with the time period. There was a prolonged tense situation with a rescuer that seemed a bit far fetched (and waaaay too much of a happy coincidence) but this too seemed to fit with the time period.

But oh, how it brought back memories of my own dating experience when I met my husband and while we were dating. Of course, we didn't have such societal rules about if and when we could declare feelings for one another, but just the flirting, the easy friendship, the worry about sincerity, the self-consciousness and the boldness that all come with a new relationship. And especially with a relationship when you choose to wait until you are married to give your whole self. Because of what was proper there in that time (although you do get the idea that not EVERYONE lived quite so strictly by those rules, even back then), it made it relate-able to me.

It's one of those books that makes you nostalgic for those times when a simple look or touch could cause you to get light headed. But it's just like a fire-it starts with a spark, but the fire cannot continue to burn as if it's just sparked. It would be wrong for us to think that just because we don't have huge, wild flames in our relationship that it is not a true fire. If you've ever cooked on a fire or sat by one to get warm, you know that fires are at their greatest potential when the flames die down and there are insanely hot coals. It's different, but it's still a fire. I think this misconception is at least part of why some relationships fail-they lose the excitement and people mistake this transformation as "falling out of love" when really it's just transitioning into a different stage that has a different feel. So when you read this, which I can whole-heartedly recommend!-don't just wish that you could have that again or go back to it, (especially if you've been in a relationship for a long time *like being married for 11+ years*), enjoy what your love has turned into and see if you can't just use your memory to get those heart beats to skip a few times again. :-)

The Handmaid's Tale, Margaret Atwood

Ok, so this book I learned about when I was perusing the internet to see if anyone had posted an essay on similarities in dystopian society books. I know I've listed some common themes I've seen, but it's no academic essay by any means. Another similarity I've found is that something is never quite right about the family unit. The most "normal" of family units (as in not interfered with by government in any obvious or overt way) was in the Hunger Games. So I read about this book and was curious, so I put it on hold. I was wary of this book because of the premise. And the movie adaptation is rated R (but then, so is Lord of the Flies). So I wasn't sure what I was getting into. It was published in 1985.

The story is told in present tense with flashbacks to life before. Apparently (you don't find out until the end) there were numerous environmental/chemical exposures as well as biological weaponry unleashed onto society that rendered many men sterile and the population dropped severely. Our government was completely taken over (the protagonist says the rumors were Islamist's, but it is never confirmed nor hinted at since, but the new government system is decidedly of some Christian origins since there are "Aunts" which are reminiscient of Catholic "Sisters" and they use the Bible-Old Testament mostly-in order to justify their positions). They did so using deadly force by killing the entire US government, presidency, senate and house, obliterated them all, and with the use of technology that was already in place: instead of money in the bank and a card, you had a number (it reminded me of kids at school with lunch numbers) and it was withdrawn that way. Everyone had their information attached to this number and they froze all the female accounts. This was the beginning of female oppression and the loss of freedoms and rights for women in general. Women were not allowed to read or write or be educated. Girls were married by around 14 because they needed to start early to attempt to repopulate the society and unions were assigned and girls given away by their mothers (as opposed to the current tradition of the fathers). Women were taken from their families. Then you add this infertility thing and the new government touting the Bible for things. Many religions are persecuted, Jews are the only ones who are allowed a choice-convert or deport (which some deportations you find out are thwarted). The book is VERY sacrilegious in nature because of how the Government uses-I'd say abuses the Bible. I'm not sure what the author's intent is with this. Maybe to make the reader beware that people will distort anything to their means? That religion is a joke?

Anyhow, there is some bad language. But not all of it is in the form of swearing. And there are some scenes that are fairly explicit (I wouldn't recommend this to anyone under 18 for sure), but they were described in a very sterile manner. The use of the "f" word was used several times, but in such a way as similar to when the "b" word is used at a dog show because that is the technical term for a female dog. So it wasn't quite as offensive as it could have been. It may have been used a couple times as a swear word, but I don't remember. The Bible story that the entire society (named Gilead) is based upon is the story of Jacob and his wife Rachel and her handmaid. How Rachel could not bear children so she gave him her handmaid that she "might have children by her". So the affluent men of society are given a "handmaid" via government issue-the women who have been found to have viable ovaries proven by one or more successful births-and once a month-as determined by ovulation cycle-there is a "ceremony" involving the wife and handmaid (to symbolize that the wife would have children by the handmaid) and the husband. By law there is to be no pleasure or romance or anything enjoyable. It is strictly procreation they are after. Nearly full clothing is used. Which the clothing is another thing....there is a caste system, wives wear blue, handmaids wear red, Martha's (working maid/cooks-the women who can't have kids I guess) have another uniform (green? I can't remember) and econowives get stripes. It's very full coverage type clothing. The handmaid only has so much time to conceive before she is cast out to the "colonies" or put out with the "unwomen" (those who supported abortions or had their tubes tied or something like that) and their jobs are dangerous and often lead to quick death. Because of course, if you take that one Bible story as a cue, women are the ones at fault for infertility. And taking Rachel saying "Give me children or I die" literally. The handmaids are stripped of their former names-you never even know the protagonists real name-you know her as Offred (Of Fred), their name being Of and whichever man they currently belonged to. There are also nearly daily hangings for various crimes.

It's a whacked out society for sure. But of course, there's an underground Female Road, not unlike the Underground Railroad for the black slaves of the US History past. At the very end, you read a narrative of an educational seminary whose setting is over 100 years into our future studying the text that you have completed reading which has come from some hidden cassette recordings dictated by a female voice found in an old locker of some sort. So you know the protagonist got out. You don't know anything about the quality of her life post escape, but the fact that there is a society that happens after them does not oppress women.

So I'm not entirely sure I'd recommend this book......definitely not wholeheartedly.....I probably could have gone without reading it, but once I got started (and it wasn't nearly as offensive as "A Casual Vacancy") I grew so concerned with Offred that I just needed to know if she got out, so I finished it. It won awards, but I don't see any real reason to read this book unless you want to have a college level academic discussion of things in this dystopian society.

Where She Went, Gayle Forman

Super fast, easy read. Still a bit more swearing than I'm usually comfortable with. I still don't care how "authentic" it made it or not, it's just not my taste.

This one is entirely from Adam's perspective. It took me awhile to get into it, since I had JUST read Mia's voice, I didn't feel like Adam's voice was completely distinct. It was interesting to have a guy protagonist who was completely torn apart by the fact that his girlfriend almost dies, stays by her side every step of the way to rehab to get to Juilliard on time, to be completely dropped without rhyme or reason. What gives? You spend most of the book incredibly angry at Mia, but feeling like you have no right to be angry at her given her circumstance. Which is exactly how Adam feels. So there's a good authentic emotional vibe going on.

Luckily, Forman likes to give you answers. Even though you have to wait, you DO get answers. And you DO get closure. I like how she explored the seriousness and the benefits of closure. Sometimes when things don't end up as we hoped or planned, we can come to accept them if we have a little understanding of what went wrong. It's all that "what if" and not being able to wrap your mind around things. If you know what went wrong, maybe you could fix it! But if no one explains, you don't get that chance. And it's frustrating. She also explores the pressure of being famous. The ugly side of being the one showing up in tabloids. Kinda makes you feel a little more sympathetic. And yeah, they chose that life and they knew that their life and a bunch of lies about it were going to get smeared all over. But we should remember that underneath it all, they ARE still people. And people, generally speaking, still have feelings. Even if I had everything I could ever need or want, I doubt it'd make up for being mocked or made fun of all the time.

Anyway, I personally appreciated the fact that this BOOK had good closure to it. And it was definitely entertaining. 3.5 out of 5 stars.