Archive for the ‘Science Fiction’ Category
Saturday, March 3rd, 2007
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| Author: | Gabrielle Zevin |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2005 |
Poor Liz Hall, she is killed in a hit-and-run car crash when she is only 15, and when she wakes up,
she's on a ship traveling to Elsewhere, the world after death.
On the ship she meets the 6 year old captain who explains that once you die you go to Elsewhere and
live backwards until you're a baby, then you sail back to Earth to begin a new life.
Also on the ship, Liz meets a dead superstar and another girl named Thandi who's around Liz's age, with
whom she becomes friends. Everyone else on the ship is an old person.
At first in Elsewhere, Liz is angry and upset that her life had to end when she wasn't even 16 yet.
She never got to fall in love or learn to drive, or anything!
But as her backwards life progresses, Liz meets a boy named Owen Welles, and she starts to feel like she
could enjoy her not-life.
This book is not adventure-packed like some books, but it is in the mind of a girl, and with her you go through all her problems, like a boyfriend, a dog, sadness, happiness, and other things that a teenager girl would go through.
I enjoyed this book very much, because you really get to know the characters and the thoughts of Liz sound
like what she'd actually think. This is a new version of what happens after life that I've never heard before, and I think that it's very interesting.
Before my parents let me read this they were worried that it would be too scary for me, Liz being dead and all,
but it isn't like that at all. The book is somewhat sad and dreary in the beginning but it's not
like it would give nightmares or something bad like that. This book really put new thoughts in my mind,
new thoughts that weren't bad.
I recommend this book for maybe 6th or 7th graders and up, even though I read it at a somewhat younger age.
--Fizzy, age 12 |
Parent's note:
Yes, it is somewhat maudlin. The point is that even a life lived backward and without fear of death can be lived badly or well. The choice is up to every living person. |
| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: elsewhere |
Posted in Animals, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Death is a central theme, Fiction, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Monday, February 26th, 2007
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| Author: | Diana Wynne Jones |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1975 |
There are just a few authors that my 12 year old and I trust implicitly.
After having raced through umpteen of her novels, we may have placed Diana Wynne Jones in that category. Sure, The Magicians of Caprona was kind of stupid.... But if you locked us in a library, with a short deadline in which to emerge with a book we were willing to read, it might very well be one by Diana Wynne Jones.
Dogsbody pre-dates the Chrestomanci stories; it's a bit more science fiction than Jones' usual fantasy. The characters and plot -- Cinderella meets Puss (or, in this case, Dog) in Boots -- are very appealing.
The story is told mostly from the point of view of a high Illuminancy, Sirius, who, because he lost his temper and (apparently) killed someone, is exiled to Earth in the body of a new-born puppy. As Sirius learns how to survive as a dog, while solving the mystery of how he was framed, we also learn a bit about the Troubles in Northern Ireland and about how controling our impulses can help us get what we need/want. |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Dogsbody |
Posted in Animals, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, History, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Tuesday, January 23rd, 2007
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| Author: | Diana Wynne Jones |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2006 |
In this, the latest episode in the life of Cat Chant, Cat has truly settled in to preparing for his future. The story reveals that he has come far in his apprenticeship to Christopher Chant, (the current Chrestomanci -- Chief Enchanter) and his family.
Cat has learned how to learn from a very gifted nine-lived enchanter who is (obviously) very talented, but possibly not as talented as Cat is. Throughout the book, Cat works on identifying skills Chrestomanci has that Cat still needs to learn, on when to solve problems on his own and when to call for help, and on how and when to intervene in the lives of the less gifted inhabitants of the universes he is destined to govern.
Like the plots of many other stories in the Chrestomanci series, the plot of this novel explores the problems of a gifted child (in this case a girl) who is made to feel inferior because she is special. |
There are many thrilling touches in this tale, which started out "less slowly" (as my 12 year old says) than other Chrestomanci books and then -- got better and better.
Two of our favorite were when:
- Cat just comes out and tells Marianne (the talented girl enchantress with low self-esteem who is being utterly abused by her family) that she has great power, but needs to be brave and stick up for herself.
- The entire sub-plot that concerns Klarch, the griffin. SO cute! Will definitely make you want a puppy.
Highly recommended, but you probably want to read at least Charmed Life first. |
| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Pinhoe Egg, The: A Chrestomanci Book |
Posted in Animals, Child-raising, Conceptual: 8 and up, Dealing with bullies, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Homeschool, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Tuesday, January 2nd, 2007
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| Author: | Diane Duane |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
Fourteen year-old wizard Nita's parents are worried about her "relationship" with her wizarding partner (a boy), so they ship her off to Ireland, where she gets into much more harrowing situations (and a romantic one as well) than those she might have experienced if she'd just stayed put in the USA.
My daughter and I loved the way the tiny Bard Cat interacts with her less gifted human allies. The seeming contradiction between the way wizards look -- ordinary -- and what they have to do -- extraordinary -- might be heartening to a child who feels that his or her specialness is not reflected in appearance or circumstances. And, the cameo appearances by Celtic mythological beings are fun.
The discussions of Nita's romantic thoughts (nothing graphic, but probably not of great interest to younger children) and the responsibilities that go along with great power, and the excitement, mayhem, and death that inextricably mix with battle might make this book appealing to adolescent readers, rather than to younger readers. |
My 12 year-old and I enjoyed reading this not very challenging, but plot-intensive story. We did feel that we might have liked it even more if we'd at least read the first book in this series first.
One of my cynical thoughts on reading this book was that Duane almost certainly was able to deduct a summer's vacation or maybe even a home in Ireland and use this book to prove that it was business-related. Must be nice to be a successful author.
-- Emily Berk |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Wizard Abroad, A |
Posted in Animals, Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Death is a central theme, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, History, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Monday, December 18th, 2006
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| Author: | Nancy Farmer |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1994 |
In this Newbery Honor Book set in Zimbabwe in the year 2194, three siblings hurdle through a science fiction-y Africa and learn that even the most magical humans are not always honorable and even the most wicked exploiters can sometimes come through for you, but that family is family. |
The story gets a bit long sometimes, but because nearly every one of the many characters is blessed by Farmer with a complicated mixture of strengths and weaknesses, humanity and human frailties, readers will find themselves barely able to put the book down. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Ear, The Eye, And The Arm, The |
Posted in Conceptual: 8 and up, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Fairy tales, Fiction, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Saturday, November 18th, 2006
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| Author: | Diana Wynne Jones |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2005 |
Either Diana Wynne Jones must have had a truly rocky relationship with her uncle, and found that her mother did not protect her from him, or else she's just got a thing against uncles. In any case, evil uncles are major drivers of plots in Jones' intriguing set of worlds, as Conrad Tesdinic, the 12 yr. old narrator of this book, learns. Conrad's uncle is every bit as evil in his own ways as Christopher Chant's (who becomes the Chrestomanci in Diana Wynne Jones' universe) was to him.
A 16 yr. old Christopher Chant and his future wife, Millie, play supporting roles in this, the eventful, but not frenetic story of how Conrad avoids the terrible fate his uncle attempts to foist upon him and instead finds himself a mentor. |
My now-11 year old and I really enjoy our glimpses into Diana Wynne Jones' multiple alternative universes, in which the outcomes of historical events led to the preeminence of technology in some universes and the preeminence of magic in others.
Although Conrad's Fate stands well on its own, we recommend that readers enter this interesting and complicated universe by reading at least A Charmed Life and then The Lives of Christopher Chant before reading this one. |
| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Chronicles of Chrestomanci, Volume 6: Conrad's Fate |
Posted in Conceptual: 8 and up, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Wednesday, September 27th, 2006
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| Author: | Georgia Byng |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2005 |
We had not read the first two books of this series when we read this one, and that was not a problem. Apparently, earlier in the series, Molly Moon escapes from the dreary orphanage in which she is confined by becoming a master hypnotist and defeating her uncle, who is an evil madman.
In this episode, Molly must learn to travel through time so she can rescue her beloved dog, Petula, her friends Forest and Rocky, and her earlier selves, all of whom have been kidnapped from the present to India in the 1870s.
The plot is twisty and interesting and Molly is a wonderful role model for gifted children. She has obviously had to work hard to learn to be a great hypnotist in previous books. Now that Molly is possibly the best hypnotist in the world, there are still other challenging skills she needs to work hard to learn. Skills that some adults around her have mastered and other adults are just adequate at doing. Time-travel for one.
Another endearing trait that Molly has is that she is very aware both of her great abilities and of her shortcomings. The all-knowing narrator of the book takes especial care to let us know what Molly is thinking when she masters her self-doubts, carefully thinks through her options, and then puts her all into implementing whatever solution she thinks will work best. |
-- Emily Berk |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Molly Moon's Hypnotic Time Travel Adventure (Book 3) |
Posted in Animals, Conceptual: 8 and up, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Dickensian, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, History, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Tuesday, August 8th, 2006
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| Author: | William Pene du Bois |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | Science fiction |
| Year of publication: | 1947 |
Technologist/balloonist discovers an island on which a group of very special folks have isolated themselves.
Winner, 1948 Newbery Medal |
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Twenty-One Balloons, The |
Posted in Conceptual: 8 and up, Culture, Fiction, Gifted, History, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
Sunday, August 6th, 2006
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| Author: | Jonathan Stroud |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2005 |
Sardonic musings of a demon summoned by a very young, but now, successful, wizard.
Book review: Part 1
Spoiler alert
I hate spoilers. However, I wish I had known more about the third volume in this trilogy before my daughter and I started reading the first one. (This would not have been possible when we started the first volume, because the third volume had not yet been released.)
That being said, I highly recommend all the books in the trilogy and I am glad that my daughter and I read them together.
This review is being presented in multiple parts; each part may provide additional information that, taken together, might give away some of the plot twists of Volume 3.
On the other hand, those helping highly sensitive readers select books might want to read through all the parts of this review before recommending books in this trilogy to them ...
Book review: Part 2
My 11 year old really loved these books. But they are a bit of a departure for her -- there's real murder and mayhem in them, which, until recently, she would not have tolerated.
As in previous volumes in the Trilogy, this book switches perspective between three very different characters:
- Feisty Kitty is one of the commoners who are mistreated by the ruling elites and the demons they employ and are devastated by the economy and grief that result from the incessant wars the elites wage on foreign shores. She realizes that she must do something. But how much can one person do and can she live with the devastating consequences of her actions on her friends and colleagues?
- Bartimaeus the sardonic djinni, who stands back and makes sarcastic comments about the other characters and the plot, even when he's right in the middle of it all, and
- Nathaniel (John Mandrake) the gifted but annoying magician who has been co-opted by an Evil government because of his great intellectual abilities. Most of the time, the djinni has to obey the boy's commands, and a lot of the humor/sarcasm comes in when the djinni explains to the reader how morally compromised the boy is becoming. (And, to his credit, the djinni doesn't hesitate to tell the boy either, not that the boy listens most of the time.)
There is a complex relationship between these books and slavery too. The djinni is a slave, and even though he respects the good qualities of his boy master, he also hates having to obey his commands. Most of the time, the djinni makes this clear. But he's sometimes more supportive of his master than I think an average slave might actually be.
In Ptolemy's Gate, Bartimaeus also develops a touching relationship with Kitty and an awareness of kinship with the commoners whom most djinn scorn if they consider them at all. So much for cooperation between oppressed masses. |
Book review: Part 3
My 11 year old daughter -- a very sensitive reader who has fallen in love with many of the characters in the Bartimaeus Trilogy and who "trusts" Bartimaeus' author implicitly -- and I read books to each other, usually alternating chapters. So, here we are, alternating chapters. My daughter reads Bartimaeus' words:
There are times when even a near omnipotent djinni knows to keep his mouth shut, and this was one of them. ... Trouble was, neither of them was in a mood to listen to my doubts. ... Pride has a part to play in it, and other emotions too. Neither wishes to fail; each redoubles their efforts to impress. Things get done -- but not always the right things, or not always the things expected. .. Farqual's phrase rang uneasily in my mind: He would welcome your attack and feed off it. And, call me pessimistic, but that struck me as a mite ominous. But it was too late to worry about that now.
I interrupt her and ask, gently as I can, "So what is the author telling us here?" My daughter pauses reluctantly. It's been an exciting, interesting, scary story so far, a story that persuasively argues that war can harm the invading country as well as the country that was invaded, that slavery compromises the humanity of the slave-owner as well as the slave, that torture is likewise devastating to both the torturer and the victim, and that a country in which the ruling classes blithely assume that what is in their interest is also in the interest of commoners who have no say is a country heading for destructive violence. I persist -- "What is the author telling us right now?" She replies, "I HATE foreshadowing." She gets it, I'm pretty sure she does. I persist, "So what's being foreshadowed?" (It's almost always better when she gets the opportunity to face unpleasantness gradually.) She says, "Bad things are going to happen. But he CAN'T kill off -- ?"
Book review: Part 4
So, what are the options for an author who obviously is wanting to make a case for the horrors of war, horrors he thinks may perhaps be discounted by the young and foolish? If no one but the unnamed masses or unimportant minor characters in the book are affected by the violence, what does that say about war?
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Ptolemy's Gate (The Bartimaeus Trilogy, Book 3) |
Posted in Conceptual: age 12 and up, Death is a central theme, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
