Archive for the ‘Fiction’ Category
Friday, February 5th, 2010
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| Author: | Cory Doctorow |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups
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| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups
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| Genre: | fiction, cyberpunk |
| Year of publication: | 2009 |
Let me start by saying that I would like at least one of every invention described in Makers. I am particularly taken by the RFID/GPS/labeling/cataloging system that allows a person to locate any item they have tagged by typing in its name. But I would be happy to ride The Ride, or own any one or all of the tiny robots, the Super Marios, well, truly, any and all of them.
Doctorow also puts forward an interesting business model - the 6 months and you're out theory of manufacturing anything. Seems exhausting, but true to life. And may very well be the only viable model for hardware manufacturing in the future.
That said, Makers is the book that Ayn Rand would have written instead of The Fountainhead if she'd lived a few years later and chosen engineering rather than architecture as her metaphor.
In the Makers world, anyone with a moderate-to-high IQ is not only smart, but sensitive, creative, well-intentioned, and deep-down-to-the-core good (although sometimes that is not immediately apparent). Sure smart guys (and they are mostly guys, of course) may occasionally take actions that send others to the hospital for months at a time, but they do eventually realize the error(s) of their ways and take steps to correct them.
Women in the Makers world are very, very bright, attracted to Makers, attractive, moral, tolerant, thrifty, ... well, you know, they are pretty much not very reality-based.
Oh, and then there are the policemen. Seems that policemen (and lawyers) were pretty much put on this earth to physically and/or psychically destroy smart people. |
Anyway, the plot moves along at an involving pace. And you like and approve of and root for all the smart people who are constantly inventing all kinds of very cool things.
And then appears the very horrific random outburst of violence or kind of overly long sex scene (but then, I am probably not the target audience of this book; maybe the Powers That Be thought these were necessary).
So, anyway, I'm very glad I read this book. But I did feel that Death Waits was treated overly harshly. He is a very young smart person, no doubt, but he IS a smart person, if not an engineer. It's good that in some fictional universes, smart people are not the enemies. Now, in addition, I'd really like to visit a fictional universe in which smart women are people too.
-- Emily Berk |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Makers |
Posted in Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: Sophisticated reader | Comments Closed
Thursday, February 4th, 2010
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| Author: | A.S. Byatt |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups
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| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups
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| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2009 |
There are so many intertwining, involving stories in The Children's Book that it was sometimes hard to slow down and remember that great novels are not entirely about what they are about.
Set in the time leading up to World War I and before women's sufferage, the plot tells of a group of families and their associates and friends. There is a destitute young boy who is nurtured to become the artist he deserves to be. There are the young women who, lacking the vote and receiving conflicting messages about how to behave socially and politically, pay terrible prices. The subplots about how various characters resolve their needs to express themselves politically, even when expressing their opinions may adversely affect those they love should be required reading for anyone thinking of a career in politics. |
This is not an easy book to read, but it is also not an easy book to put down.
It's as if Byatt is leading us through a magical party. She continually blows up the most beautiful balloons and then, once you've become entranced by one, she wanders back to burst it.
-- Emily |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Children's Book, The |
Tags:book review, bullies, bullying, feminism, Parenting gifted children, suffering in war, war, world war I
Posted in Child-raising, Conceptual: for grown ups, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, History, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: Grown up | Comments Closed
Sunday, January 10th, 2010
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| Author: | M.T. Anderson |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction-dystopian |
This review seems like a spoiler, but it really gives nothing away, at all...
This book really got me worried about how horrible human beings are and what we're going to do to the world... It gave me a very depressing feeling while and after reading. It is set in the (near??) future, and most people are basically controlled by their "feeds" implanted directly in their brains, which are used mostly as an excuse to constantly show them thousands of advertisements. I guess the ending is supposed to be a little hopeful, in that the main character is considering fighting the feed, when he sees its awful power over humanity, but... I think hopeful is not a word that anyone can truthfully apply to this book. |
The writing style was very distracting at first, because it is VERY informal. I will explain with a quote: "I was like trying to sleep for the last few minutes of the flight, because... when we're goin hard i get real sleepy real easy, and I didn't want to be null for the unettes on the moon, at the hotel, if any of them were youch."
SO: Interesting. Very cool. Spooky. Makes you think. But definitely not cheerful. At all.
--Fizzy |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Feed |
Tags:book review, dystopia
Posted in Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Death is a central theme, Fiction, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Saturday, January 2nd, 2010
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| Author: | An Na |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2003 |
I'm not sure how to rate this book, because the narration ranges from a five-year-old's perspective to that of an 18-year-old one. This is really interesting, but leaves most of the book as a very easy, lower-level read. However, this story about abuse and immigration is intense and scary. |
Yung and her family emigrated from Korea when she was five to find a better life. But her dad ended up drinking and life got very hard trying to keep their heritage while living in America...
--Fizzy |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Step From Heaven, A |
Tags:alcoholism, book review, immigration
Posted in Child-raising, Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Death is a central theme, Female protagonist, Fiction, History, Reading level: age 12 and up, School | Comments Closed
Friday, January 1st, 2010
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| Author: | Kristin Cashore |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2009 |
This is a super fast-paced, easy read, which was great since that was what I had expected. The book is about a girl, Katsa, who is "graced", gifted with a special talent that no-one else has... She basically has to save the world, and on the way lots of other exciting things happen too. |
I was very satisfied by this book, it was a fun read, and best of all, it's a stand-alone book, so I don't HAVE to go finish the series.
Note: There are some very explicit sex scenes in this book, even though the book is labeled "young readers".
-- Fizzy |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Graceling |
Posted in Conceptual: for grown ups, Culture, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up | Comments Closed
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
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| Author: | Jodi Picoult |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2004 |
I am not very satisfied with the ending to this book. The whole thing is very sad, and Picoult just HAD to add one more horrible twist... ANYway, this book is good, but as I said, horribly depressing, as you may expect from a book about cancer. The idea is that 13-year-old Anna has always been just a vessel of bodyparts to contribute to her leukemic sister for various surgeries, and she decides to sue her parents so she doesn't have to donate a kidney. |
The book is narrated by different people, including Anna and her parents, so it gives the reader a nice mix of perspectives. It gets a little bit mushy at times, and is full of tears and yelling and stress, but I really couldn't put it down to finish my math homework til I was done.
Note: Definitely a "mature" book, couple brief sex scenes, swearing...
-- Fizzy |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: My Sister's Keeper |
Posted in Child-raising, Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Female protagonist, Fiction, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Wednesday, November 18th, 2009
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| Author: | Wendelin Van Draanen |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
This is a cool book because we get to see the same turn of events from two very different perspectives. It is about two neighbors, a girl and a boy, who switch off hating each other and being in love.
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Definitely an easy (maybe elementary school) read, but still fun, and cute (I know that word is in all my reviews...) Very conversational, a nicely told story. I love the chicken on the front.
--Fizzy |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Flipped |
Posted in Animals, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Female protagonist, Fiction, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
Friday, November 13th, 2009
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| Author: | Suzanne Collins |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2009 |
I am not a fan of cliffhangers. I knew this one would be, and went to order the next one from the library and discovered that it will not be published for a WHOLE YEAR!
Anyway, I liked this one more than the first one. It had less scene by scene explanations of the horrible deaths of contestants entered in The Hunger Games.
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The main character is attempting to start a rebellion against the evil Capitol, and gain freedom for the various districts. I could guess pretty early what was happening, but this is still a quick, fun, (if still going along with a very creepy idea) book.
I'd rate it at like a 3.5 or 3.75, or, maybe even a 4, out of 5.
-- Fizzy |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Catching Fire |
Posted in Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Fiction, Reading level: age 12 and up | Comments Closed
Thursday, November 12th, 2009
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| Author: | Suzanne Collins |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Sophisticated readers |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2008 |
This sounds kinda negative, and I did enjoy it, but I do have a bit of a sour aftertaste after reading this:
I'm not sure how to rate this book. It was very disturbing: The whole point is that 24 teenagers all fight to the death. Yay. But it was also very gripping and exciting, and talked about the price of freedom. It definitely kept me up with vivid images in my head...
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My biggest problem, though was the cliff-hanger ending. I ordered the second book before I had finished the first one because you can't just stop the story where the author does. A word of advice: the third one is not out yet, and the second one DOES NOT have a satisfying ending. If you like excitement, a bit of gore, and a little bit of mushy romance, this book is great.
-- Fizzy |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Hunger Games, The |
Tags:book review
Posted in Conceptual: highly sophisticated, Culture, Female protagonist, Fiction, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction, Sports | Comments Closed
