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Brief synopsis  (no spoilers): In the rest of the series, a great deal of effort goes into describing the Flare and its effects on people. But the solar flares are only mentioned in passing. This book talks much more about those, giving the history of how they affected humanity. Category : Young Adult Fiction Why I chose this book : Next in the series (prequel) My personal opinion  (the review): I liked this book as much as I liked the first one in the series, The Maze Runner. Death was far more abundant in this book (which is saying something), but the majority of it comes about through natural causes- the millions that were killed by the solar flares and the aftereffects. So those deaths feel... easier to stomach, I guess. Definitely a great book, but I'm not planning on purchasing it. Borrowing from the library is good enough for me. Warnings : Language - almost none Violence - fairly common, not very graphic, some "intense" (scary) situations "...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): Psychological torture of the Gladers continues- yay! Some have survived up to this point, and they're all exhausted. They're told, yet again, that the experiments are "almost done". No one believes that anymore. Category : Young Adult Fiction Why I chose this book : Next in the series My personal opinion (the review): Great ending (sorry, no spoilers)! Mostly. Loose ends are tied up, but the cost of the knotting is high. Warnings : Language - almost none Violence - fairly common, not very graphic, some "intense" (scary) situations "Adult" situations - none Death - fairly common, not many major characters Movie rating equivalent: PG-14 (might need that extra year) Protagonist description : Thomas is fed up with all this crap- ha! He's still the natural leader, still has to make the hard choices Point of view of story : Third, focused on Thomas Book length : Medium- a little les...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers)   Teenage Matty lives with his caregiver in the Village, a place of refuge, where those fleeing poverty and persecution are welcomed with kindness and find a home. But the Village people are changing, and many have voted to build a wall to keep the newcomers out.   Category - Young Adult Why I chose this book - Third in "The Giver" series My personal opinion (the review) Warnings (language, violence, "adult" situations, death, etc.) None Movie rating equivalent : PG Protagonist description : Matty, now grown into a teenager Point of view of story Book length - less than a week Story flow Grammar and spelling issues - N(one Character connection (no spoilers) - None For series: Independent or integral - Independent, though characters do carry over from Gatheri ng Blue Series review as a whole :  Through these novels Lowrey creates dystopian societies, each with their own unique, disturbing, ...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): The Killzone experiments continue, of course- they're never going end (despite being told otherwise). This time, the Gladers have to fight their way across a stretch of scorched earth Category : Young Adult Fiction Why I chose this book : Next in the series My personal opinion (the review): Major characters are dropping like flies- don't get attached! And the point to all of these experiments is getting harder to see. But I don't mean for this review to be all negative. The story is good, the love connection is still there (for those that need some romance in a good book), and Thomas is as unbeatable as ever. Hurry through this one so you can get to the next. In fact, be sure you have access to the third one around the time you start this one- you won't want to have any wait time. Warnings : Language - mostly mild euphemisms Violence - medium, and some of it graphic "Adult" situations - none Death - if you...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers): A teenage boy wakes up in the center of a giant maze, populated by a bunch of other teenage boys. They have no memories of their lives outside the maze. They are organized and they have tasks for keeping the group alive, with the help of some supplies sent from some outside organization. There are machines in the maze as well- some purposed with watching the group, others purposed with killing its members. No one ever survives outside the maze's center overnight. Category : Young adult fiction Why I chose this book : Recommended by family My personal opinion (the review): I like the back story, I like the author's writing style, I like the general story, and I like that it's being made into a movie. I don't like the fact that the underlying antagonist plot is deception and mind games. I don't like it when major characters are killed. But I do like it when someone is able to do something that's never been done before- ...

Brief synopsis: Conner returns to the Land of Stories. Alex is in Fairy Godmother training. War breaks out in the Land of Stories. Why I chose this book – It is the third in a series of fairy tale character/fairy tale world books. See other reviews from the same series.    My personal opinion (the review) – Classic story of everyone coming together (overcoming many and varied obstacles) to fight the villain. Also a coming of age story. Young love.  While I liked the characters and the set up of this story it was a bit more of a letdown than the previous two. I could tell the author had run out of his “original story” material and was kind of searching for a direction to take the story. It also left lots of loose ends (again, more than the previous two) so that it could lead into the next book, but too many loose ends frustrate me as a reader. With all of that said, the way that Colfer weaves so many characters together is ingenious. Warnings None....

Book name and author Gathering Blue, by Lois Lowry Brief synopsis  (no spoilers) A young teenaged girl with a deformed leg is left alone in the world. Her father was taken by beasts years ago, and her mother died days ago. She has no siblings. And extended family is not really a supported concept among the people of this time and place. It's set in the future. All but one building has been completely destroyed. The people are basically hunter-gatherers. They retain records of the past and hope for the future through an epic song. The name of the book comes from the lack of the color blue to use for dyeing threads for Kira to weave Why I chose this book Second book in the series My personal opinion  (the review) Kira can weave amazing patterns, without having been taught. Thomas can carve amazing pieces of art in wood, with no training. Jo has an incredible vocal range- as a toddler. They are all valued in society for their gifts, but there's also an element of...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Having suffered numerous unnamed disasters (aka, the Ruin), civilization has regressed to a primitive, technology-free state... Kira, a crippled young weaver, has been raised and taught her craft by her mother, after her father was allegedly killed by "beasts." When her mother dies, Kira fears that she will be cast out of the village. Instead, the society's Council of Guardians installs her as caretaker of the Singer's robe, a precious ceremonial garment depicting the history of the world and used at the annual Gathering. From the Publisher's Weekly Review Category - Young adult - Dystopia Why I chose this book -  Second in the series My personal opinion (the review) Honestly I felt like this book was nothing special and were I not been interested in the series as a whole I probably would not having finished it. The disappearance of Kira's, Thomas's, and Jo's parents does create a questions in the background, but ...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Alex and Conner Bailey have not been back to the magical Land of Stories since their adventures in The Wishing Spell ended. But one night, they learn the famed Enchantress has kidnapped their mother! Against the will of their grandmother, the twins must find their own way into the Land of Stories to rescue their mother and save the fairy tale world from the greatest threat it's ever faced. Category: Children / Early Teen  Why I chose this  book -  Fairy tales are some of my favorite stories and I enjoy modern retellings and spin-offs. My personal opinion (the review) Things I enjoyed: Now that the basic story has been set up in the first book, this second book has more ability to expand both in learning more about The Land of Stories itself, the people who live there, and about the heroine and hero, Alex and Conner, as well. Just like in the first book we are able to follow Conner and Alex on their journey to collect items...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Gray Weathersby has escaped Claysoot and uncovered the truth behind the Laicos Project and the Order's twisted plans. Determined to fight back, his small group of rebels is on the hunt for more answers and more allies. (From the Amazon book description) Category Science Fiction - Dystopia Why I chose this book Next in the series My personal opinion (the review) The story continues- rebels trying to take down the Order. They plan a massive mission and it's constantly in peril. The one thing that surprised me a great deal was the convincing use of Forgeries (copies of humans). Their use was believable and I didn't even see some of the tricks coming. Warnings Language: mild Violence: frequent, some of it mildly graphic Adult situations: not really; some emotion, but no physical situations Death: frequent, some of it mildly graphic Movie rating equivalent PG-13 Protagonist description Gray is strong, driven, and become...

Book name and author Taken, by Erin Bowman Brief synopsis  (no spoilers) Gray is a young man, but is already one of the oldest of his community. When men hit 18 years old, they are taken from the walled town, never to be seen again. If they climb over the wall, their charred bodies are thrown back over the wall. Gray discovers secret after secret, each one driving him to greater and greater risks. Why I chose this book Simply, the cover looks cool. Secondary to that, the library recommended it from my reading history. My personal opinion  (the review) Excellent story, kept my attention well. The sacrifices made were not hard to accept, because they felt like "the only way" to resolve the conflicts. It wasn't totally predictable, but there were no major surprises. Definitely one of the best books I've read this year. Warnings  Language: mild Violence: some, but not graphic Adult situations: making out, nothing graphic; strong romantic feelings a...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers)  When the twins’ grandmother gives them a treasured fairy tale book, they have no idea they’re about to enter a land beyond all imagining: the Land of Stories, where fairy tales are real. But as Alex and Conner soon discover, the stories they know so well haven’t ended in this magical land—Goldilocks is a wanted fugitive, Red Riding Hood has her own kingdom, and Queen Cinderella is about to become a mother! The twins want to get back home. But with the legendary Evil Queen hot on their trail, will they ever find the way? Why I chose this  book  - I'm a sucker for fairy tales and I enjoy modern retellings and spin-offs.  My personal opinion (the review) This is a typical "two kids find out they have magical blood and get sucked into the magical land" mixed with the "quest to find the magical items to complete the spell to get home" books. It's very Narnia/Harry Potter-esc. What I really like is how the auth...

Book name and author The Giver, by Lois Lowry Brief synopsis  (no spoilers) "The society has eliminated pain and strife by converting to 'Sameness,' a plan that has also eradicated emotional depth from their lives. Jonas is selected to inherit the position of Receiver of Memory, the person who stores all the past memories of the time before Sameness, in case they are ever needed to aid in decisions that others lack the experience to make. Jonas learns the truth about his dystopian society and struggles with its weight." (From Wikipedia) Why I chose this book It was recommended, on the library site My personal opinion  (the review) The premise is profound, the story flows well, the writing is gripping, and the content is controversial. There are no old or feeble people anywhere. There are only a certain number of babies born each year. The people don't fear death- or anything, for that matter. But their relationship with death starts out "interestin...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Jonas is a looking forward to turning 12-years-old and getting his work assignment, but when he is singled out to be the new Receiver of Memory for the community he comes to see that that everything is not as perfect as it appears.  Why I chose this book The upcoming movie, memories of reading it in middle school, Newberry Award Winner status.  My personal opinion (the review) As most dysutopian books do, The Giver first makes you very comfortable with the way society runs in their community. Everything is in it's place and everything has it's time. For example, at 9 children can get their first bike, and at 12, after careful consideration by the Elders, each child get their work assignments in the community. But just as we are begin to get comfortable things change when Jonas becomes the new Receiver of Memory for the community. From his experiences with the Giver he comes to see that all emotion, pain, and even the ability to see col...

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) 12 Year old Kyle gets to stay overnight in the new town library, designed by his hero (the famous gamemaker Luigi Lemoncello, with other 11 other students. However, when they wake up in the morning they find out they must work to solve puzzles to escape the locked library.  Why I chose this  book  I love anything to do with libraries, so the subject was of interest. Knowing that it had something to do with an escape made it seem like a good adventure/puzzle book.  My personal opinion (the review) I absolutely loved this book. It has become one of my favorite "fun" books. I appreciate that this book focuses on what resources are available in a library and how to use them, but does it in a fun, game-like manner. T he author also sneaks in a lot of references to both classic and current children's and young adult books, which I found entertaining.  The only negative I found was that I did not like how the story ended....

Book name and author Perfect Lies, by Kiersten White Brief synopsis  (no spoilers) The story continues: one organization is trying to take over the world, exploiting the powers of gifted women. Another group is trying to thwart those plans, but is also using women with powers- possibly exploiting them as well. Which side is the "good guys"? Why I chose this book Second book in the series My personal opinion  (the review) I like the whole "special powers" concept, so I really liked this book. Fia has perfect instincts, Annie is a Seer. Fia is the younger sister, but Annie is blind, so they each have to take care of each other in different situations. Warnings  (language, violence, "adult" situations, death, etc.) Language: medium- nothing too strong, but frequency is a little higher than I like Violence: fairly frequent, but not graphic Adult situations: some emotionally charged situations, but no details given Death: several, but not described ...