July 14th, 2009
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| Author: | Kathleen Duey |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2007 |
Okay, I picked this book off the shelf because I thought it was funny to name a book "skin hunger". You can't really judge a book by its name.
The book is not about people eating each other, but two separate story-lines. One is about a girl named Sadima who can hear the thoughts of animals. The other is about a boy named Hahp sent to a gruesome magical academy. The only thing the plots share in common is a man named Somas, who owns Sadima's kind-of boyfriend, and lets Hahp's friends die of starvation.
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Not exactly a happy book, (actually pretty gruesome at points), but interesting. The end is not very satisfying. I guess they're trying to get me to read the next one. But it does discuss what a friend is worth, and how to gain one when desperately needed.
Definitely for readers age 13 and older!!! People starve to death, some suggestive moments.
-- Fizzy, age 14 |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Skin Hunger (A Resurrection of Magic, Book 1) |
Tags: book review, Gifted
Posted in Conceptual level, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Death is a central theme, Dickensian, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
July 12th, 2009
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| Author: | Jeanne Duprau |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
This is a story about a city of people who escaped underground while humans basically destroyed themselves with war... In the prequel the people from the underground city of Ember emerge into what seems like an empty world of sunlight.
But in this book, they find a village that attempts to adopt them. In the end there is almost another war, because some of the people are just cruel. |
The book is a little bit preachy (the author tells us what is right and wrong), but i agree with her, and she understands people well.
--Fizzy, age 14 |
| Similar books |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: People of Sparks, The (Books of Ember) |
Tags: book review, Holocaust, war
Posted in Conceptual level, Conceptual: 8 and up, Fiction, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
July 11th, 2009
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| Author: | Jane Lindskold |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2003 |
My daughter will read nearly any book that is put in front of her, and she knows just about intuitively when one is "good" or not. In other words, we are entirely in sympathy with, for example, The Seven Basic Plots: Why We Tell Stories by Christopher Booker, in which he explains that there are really only a few stories to be told and the important thing is to tell the tale creatively and well.
On the other hand, my daughter and I have noticed that in many young adult book series, nearly every book in the series uses, not only the same basic plot, but also the exact same plot elements in the exact same order. This is truly frustrating, because, once we've caught on to this failing, basically, not only do we know exactly how each book will end, but we also know pretty much what the twists and turns will be before the end. This is even more frustrating when the characters are as interesting and unique as they are in Jane Lindskold's Wolf Series. And, even worse, Lindskold's plot twists seem to always include a planned rape, described, not too graphically, but at length, and then a protracted and bloody battle.
So, what can we now say about Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart, the sequel to Through Wolf's Eyes, which we raced through just a while ago?
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Well, this book is pretty much the same as the first one. The wolf-girl's early sufferings have gifted her with nearly superhuman hearing, smell, strategic sense, and strength. But she still lacks social skills. Each of those who ends up on this Quest (and yes, the Booker plot of this one is probably not the same as the Booker plot of the first book in the series), has certain special gifts and limitations, very nicely described by the author.
Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart certainly keeps you turning the pages. And the many loose ends left at the end of the book ensure that, assuming that the really nasty rape planning session didn't turn you off too badly, you will want to read the next book in the series.
I am hopeful, but not optimistic, that perhaps by the third book, the author might have found alternative plot elements to put in service of her story.
-- Emily |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Wolf's Head, Wolf's Heart (Wolf, Book 2) |
Tags: book review, falcons, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, wolf, wolves
Posted in Animals, Child-raising, Conceptual level, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
July 7th, 2009
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| Author: | Lynne Ewing |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | Science fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2000 |
This is the second in a series. This "goddess" can read people's minds. She is chosen by the evil shadow king to become evil, but fights it off.
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Classic good vs. evil and a bit cheesy.
--Fizzy, age 14 |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Into the Dark Fire, (Daughters of the Moon, Book 2)
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Tags: book review, Gifted
Posted in Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up | Comments Closed
July 6th, 2009
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| Author: | Lynne Ewing |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | Science fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2000 |
Very quick.
Unrealistic and puts the "high-school-girls-should-just-go-around-trying-to-get-a-boyfriend" spin on life. It's about this girl named Jennifer who discovers that she can turn invisible because she is a goddess.
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Not deep, but kinda fun and cute... maybe took me two or three hours to read.
--Fizzy, age 14 |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Goddess of The Night (Daughters of the Moon, Book 1) |
Tags: book review, Gifted, high school
Posted in Conceptual: age 12 and up, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
July 5th, 2009
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| Author: | Terry Pratchett |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 12 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
As usual with Pratchett, this book is witty, often downright, funny, but it also has to do with real life problems.
The plot follows a girl who wants (and is destined) to be a wizard, but is not allowed to be because she is a girl. Wizarding is OBVIOUSLY only for boys. But as little kids do, she doesn't really understand the situation and so proves that she CAN be whatever she wants. |
Loved it.
-- Fizzy, age 14
Note: This novel is in Pratchett's Discworld series, which is not calibrated for young adult readers. |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Equal Rites (Discworld #3) |
Tags: academia, book review, feminism, feminist literature, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, women in academia
Posted in Child-raising, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: age 12 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
July 4th, 2009
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Many of the most gifted people I know have a tendency to get obsessed by things. Some suffer from serial obsessions. (See, for an extreme example, The Orchid Thief.) Others are less extreme.
But none of us/them seems to be able to say WHY/HOW their thing came to obsess them.
Which brings us to The Ramen Girl, a fascinating movie about a young American woman who is abandoned in Japan by her boyfriend and becomes obsessed with cooking ramen noodles.
One of the wonderful things about this movie is that the Japanese actors in it speak Japanese (there are subtitles) and the American actors speak English and very often they simply don’t understand each other and we don’t HAVE to read the subtitles, so we can put ourselves in their shoes.
Another thing that is simply wonderful about the movie is that it allows us to kind of understand how magical ramen is to Abby, our stranded American heroine, who is obviously a bit flighty otherwise. We see her realize that eating excellent ramen makes people cry, and makes them laugh, makes them share their emotions in ways they would otherwise never do. We see that this is silly, but we know that, to Abby, this is compelling.
This movie reminded me of the movie Tampopo, in that it is about a woman obsessed with cooking heavenly ramen. However, this film includes less sexual content and instead focuses on the cultural differences and similarities between Americans and Japanese.
We watched this movie with our 14 yr. old. There were some scenes we might have skipped over if we’d been on our toes, including an unnecessary few seconds of Abby in bed with her boyfriend when the movie begins. Also, one of Abby’s American friends claims to work as a call girl (she says \”geisha\”), but it’s not clear that she actually does.
Not a fast-paced adventure, but an adventure none-the-less. Highly recommended for mature teens and grown-ups.
— Emily
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this move: The Ramen Girl
Tags: American in Japan, cooking, film review, Japanese culture, Japanese/American cultural differences, movie review, obsession, ramen
Posted in Conceptual: age 12 and up, Culture, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 12 and up | Comments Closed
June 30th, 2009
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| Author: | Joe Meno |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | For grown-ups
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| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | For grown-ups
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| Genre: | Fiction, parenting |
| Year of publication: | 2009 |
This novel is a deeply Confucian, metaphorical attempt to explain the outcome of the US Presidential Election of 2004. And the explanation is that many societies and ecological niches require a bully to be in charge of them in order to function well enough to survive. The bully may well shed some blood, and may often be wrong, but at least he (and it would always, pretty much, be a he), causes stuff to happen.
The metaphors here come fast and heavy-handed. The husband, Jonathan Casper, is a nerdy scientist who forgets his promises to his family as he quests after a "prehistoric" giant squid. In her off-hours, the wife, Madeline, chases a giant man-shaped cloud. At work, Madeline investigates the pecking order of pigeons by disrupting their power structures and witnessing the devastating results. (Perhaps like many academics, Madeline neglected, before she started her experiment, to understand what a pecking order is. How lucky she is to have an adviser to explicitly explain that pigeons NEED to be dominated by moderately violent males in order to avoid rampant rape and murder by the underclasses in their society.)
One of the two Casper daughters copes with her problems with excessive piety. The other responds to the chaos at home by building a bomb and ignorantly attempting to apply the Communist Manifesto to the running of her school. |
Luckily, in the end, each of these characters acquires a male mentor who explicitly tells him or her what to do to solve all the problems. Just like the US got four more years of George W. Bush. Difficult problems; easy answers.
Neat. Overly neat. Well written. Psychotic.
Not for young readers, which is a shame. The book would be great for a beginner's game of "spot the metaphor".
-- Emily |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Great Perhaps, The |
Tags: book about raising gifted daughters, book review, election 2004, George W. Bush, internment camps
Posted in Animals, Child-raising, Conceptual: for grown ups, Culture, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, History, Parenting gifted children, Reading level: Grown up | Comments Closed
June 30th, 2009
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| Author: | Rick Riordan |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 8 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2009 |
A great ending to a great series, which is about a kid named Percy who discovers he's the son of Poseidon (the ancient Greek sea god) and that all of the "mythology" he learned in school is real.
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In this book, Percy must fulfill a prophecy and save the world... no big deal. Anyway, very fun. Definitely a stay up to finish the last page book (I actually stayed up late to start it, then stayed up even later to finish it.)
I like how in the end, the world goes on: it's not just "and they all lived happily ..."
--Fizzy, age 14
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If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Last Olympian, The (Percy Jackson & the Olympians, Book 5) |
Tags: book review, Greek mythology, Percy Jackson
Posted in Conceptual: 8 and up, Culture, Dealing with bullies, Dragons and/or mythological beasts, Fairy tales, Fiction, Gifted, History, Reading level: age 8 and up, Science Fiction | Comments Closed
June 27th, 2009
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| Author: | Jane Lindskold |
| Reading Level (Conceptual): | Children 12 and up |
| Reading Level (Vocabulary): | Children 8 and up |
| Genre: | fiction |
| Year of publication: | 2002 |
This is a book about a girl who was brought up by wolves, before being "rescued" by "civilized" people. The catch is that they think she is next in line to the throne of an ailing king. As her new friends try to teach her manners and human customs, a war is breaking out, and traitors work against everyone but themselves.
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Interesting book, although not well written. It is cool to be in the mind of a wolf looking in on the silliness of human politics.
Note: I would not recommend this for people under 12 or 13. The story includes a couple of Very Intense scenes. In one, a rape is planned and then attempted. There are also lengthy descriptions of bloody, deadly battles.
-- Fizzy, age 14 |
If you found this review helpful and/or interesting, consider supporting our book habit: Buy this book!: Through Wolf's Eyes |
Tags: politics, raised by wolves, wolf, wolves
Posted in Animals, Conceptual: age 12 and up, Death is a central theme, Fairy tales, Female protagonist, Fiction, Gifted, Reading level: age 8 and up | Comments Closed
