Skip to main content

The End and Other Beginnings by Veronica Roth

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): This is a collection of six short stories, each very different and taking place in their own worlds. 


Category: YA 


Why I chose this book: Liked the Divergent Series, also by Roth 


My personal opinion: I definitely liked some of these stories better than others. Hearkeners was my favorite. The last two stories are part of another series that Roth has written (Carve the Mark), which I have not read. I think these stories may have made more sense if I knew the other series better. Overall, I probably don't recommend because of the language and homosexuality. But the technology and the way Roth creates each world is cool.  


Warnings
Language: Several, spread throughout 
Violence: Some, spread throughout 
"Adult" situations: There is a homosexual couple that kiss in one story. 
Death: Not to main characters

Movie rating equivalent: Pg-13 / R 


Protagonist description:  Each story has different characters.  


Point of view of story:  Mostly 3rd person


Book length: Medium, some stories are faster than others. 


Story flow: Mostly fluid within each story. A few of them ended before I wanted them to.  


Grammar and spelling issues: None


Character connection (no spoilers): None 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Happily Ever After Kiera Cass

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Short novellas and after stories from the perspective of other main characters from The Selection Series. Includes: -The Prince (with the two bonus chapters), Maxon’s novella -The Guard, Aspen’s novella -The Queen, Amberly’s novella -The Favorite, Marlee’s novella -Three scenes from Celeste’s POV -Lucy’s scene (bonus scene from The One) -The bonus epilogue -Where are they now? Category: YA Why I chose this book: Selection of novellas filling in gaps in The Selection series.  My personal opinion (the review): Of the entire series this was by far and away my favorite. I loved getting to hear parts of the stories from other perspectives. There was also additional details not found in the original story. All my questions or things I wondered about where answered through these stories.  Warnings Language: None  Violence: None "Adult" situations: As with the other novels, a few scenes with more description than I would have liked. ...

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

Summary: Every book needs you to turn the pages. But not every book needs you to tap it, shake it, jiggle it, or even blow it a kiss. Innovative and timeless, Tap the Magic Tree asks you to help one lonely tree change with the seasons. It begins with a bare brown tree. But tap that tree, turn the page, and one bright green leaf has sprouted! Tap again—one, two, three, four—and four more leaves have grown on the next page. Pat, clap, wiggle, jiggle, and see blossoms bloom, apples grow, and the leaves swirl away with the autumn breeze. (Amazon) Attention Span/reading level: Perfect for my three year old. I would say that ages 2-10 would really enjoy something like this. It really keeps kids engaged and makes them feel like part of the story. There is one word to one sentence per page. Good uses for book in teaching: Interaction, that the reader takes part in making the story, what a tree can do (leaves, blossoms, fruit) Favorite part:      Child: The fact that ...

Balancing Act by Ellen Stoll Walsh

Summary: Two mice make a teeter totter. Soon a frog comes along and wants to join. Can the mice balance all the friends who want to play with them? Attention Span/reading level: 3-6 years old, usually 5 or less words on a page Good uses for book in teaching: Balance, science Favorite part:      Child: When the frog joins in     Mine: That the mice keep playing at the end  Least favorite part: None:   W arnings/negative feedback: None.  Review: This is a really simple but fun way to introduce the idea of balancing and weight to kids. It's fun to show them how it must be equal on each side to balance. Showing that size can affect weight is shown on the page where all the animals are on one side with the big bird on the other. This could be a fun activity to replicate with toys if doing a science lesson at home.