The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson

Jenna has been in an accident that put her into a coma for an entire year. Finally, when she wakes up, she finds that she has no memory of her life. She doesn't even know her own middle name! She doesn't remember her first ballet recital, but most importantly she doesn't remember the accident.


Jenna struggles to put her life in order by watching home videos that her parents had compiled. When she starts to remember things, they don't add up. Why is she a walking history book all of a sudden? How can she remember being baptised in her infancy? Why does she hear the voices of her best friends, Locke and Kara, in her head?


Something is different about her, but she can't put her finger on it. Why can't she remember? What is her middle name? Why does her grandmother treat her like an outcast? All will be revealed in  The Adoration of Jenna Fox.


This book is incredible. I could hardly manage to put it down, but, at the same time, it's a heavy book to carry. It has a lot of deep thinking to it. It questions modern medical theories and asks where the line is to be drawn.


The characters are fantastic, but at the same time a little thin. Jenna and Lily are the two characters that will stand out. Jenna is the focus of the book, so you spend a lot of time in her head. Lily, on the other hand, becomes a brilliant character because she questions things just as you do. She honestly doesn't know what to think about her granddaughter.


My rating is:

For more of my thoughts, check out my Reading Log

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, A Graphic Novel (in original text)

The classic tale of Doctor Frankenstein and his abhorred creation rebirthed in graphic detail.


Doctor Frankenstein, or more familiarly Victor, is obsessed with the thought of ridding the human body ( and race for that matter) of any type of disease. His studies take him to Ingolstadt, where he is able to finally put his sharp mind to task and bring forth his dream of an undying human race. But, tragically, his bright dream turns into the darkest of nightmares when his studies turn him to sparking life into a monstrous patchwork of long dead body parts. Then, in his darkest hour, the Frankenstein monster is born...or reborn... or revived depending on your view.


This monstrosity. NO! This abomination wants only to be accepted and treasured as a creation, much as the human raced is treasured by it's one Creator. However, when this wicked spirit finds that no matter where it turns it will always be turned away...things could get nasty. And, in truth, they do. Watch your back Doctor Victor Frankenstein. Your monster has turned it's yellow eyes on you.


I've read both, the original and the graphic novel version, and I must say that this really enhances my understanding of what was being said in th book. I loved this Graphic version of Mary Shelley's classic. I have not read the Quick Text verison, so I can't say much for it, but I think this will really make a high school class really get into what is being said. Some of the language and phrasing is a bit out dated (at least by some standards) and they think that kids reading a Shelley novel is ridiculous, but this book really bridges the gap. Not to mention that reading a graphic novel is introducing a student to a different mode of expression and creation.


The colors are dark and menacing for the most part, but at times there are bright and exciting pictures. The frames really bring the characters to life without distracting too much from what is being said.


My opinion...Though it lacks all the words of Shelley's novel, it proves to be a very, very close second.

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

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The Book Thief is about a little girl, Liesel Meminger, and her life through World War II and the Holocaust. Liesel, as far as we know, is not a Jew, but her family is accused of having Communist ties. Her mother took measures into her own and ran with Liesel and Liesel's little brother. Liesel's little brother contracted an illness and died on the way to Molching, a town not far from Munich. There, in Molching, Liesel is given over to a new family and left.


The little girl, now haunted with nightmares of her brother, is shoved into school where she struggled because she cannot read. She had to cope with a new family, new friends, and new enemies. What she didn't know, since she was only a little girl, was that her list of enemies was going to grow from a few schoolyard bullies to Adolf Hitler and his armies.


She also didn't know the kind of trouble she was going to attract. She becomes a book thief, a Jew harborer, a "Jew Lover", and so much more. Liesel was the epitome of Adolf's nightmare (a free thinking, individual, unstoppable person). But will Liesel escape the ravages of war, or will Death (the narrator of her story) finally catch up to her?


I, personally, am not a fan of this book. The author, Markus Zusak, gave too much away for me to really enjoy it. I like books that keep me in suspense. This book didn't. It told you everything significant that was going to happen before you ever discovered it on your own.


Now, there were good points to this book. The writing style, besides his lack of suspense, was very interesting. He really took a child-like manner in describing the weather and the events that happened. It made the world seem both magical and frightening at the same time. Zusak also created some amazing ideas about Death. Some of them are far-fetched, but at least he tried something new.


The characters are okay. None of them really stood out to me. I had some problems remembering that Liesel was a young girl. I kept thinking she was in her upper teens, which she most definitely is not. You learned too much about each character to really need to get to know them. You have no desire to want to see them more if you already know everything about them.




My rating is:

For more of my thoughts, check out my Reading Log

Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson

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"The first ten lies they tell you in high school

1. We are here to help you.

2.You will have enough time to get to your class before the bell rings.

3. The dress code will be enforced.

4. No smoking is allowed on school grounds.

5. Our football team will win the championship this year.

6. We expect more of you here.

7. Guidance counselors are always available to listen.

8. Your schedule was created with your needs in mind.

9. Your locker combination is private.

10. These will be the years you look back on fondly. (Speak, pgs. 5-6)"

Mel's first day of high school is terrible. On her way to school, none of her old friends talk to her. All of the other students eye her like she is a freak. She wants to explain it to them all, but something stops her. She can't speak about it. Everytime she tries, her throat closes up and she chokes on her words.

After school she goes home, eats pizza, and runs upstairs to hide from her parents. They don't want to hear from her. They don't even want to see her. Things aren't looking good for her first year of high school.

Things get worse when IT keeps popping up in her life. He talks to her, tries to get her attention. Why is she being punished? Will she ever be able to tell her secret? Will she ever get her old life back?

Anderson created an awesome character that deals with extremely hard topics. One of the major themes is identity and finding your place in the world. It also deals with growth and communication. Laurie Halse Anderson pulled the most difficult struggles a teen faces and then explores them with sarcasm, wit and sincerity.

For more of my thoughts check out my Reading Log.

American Born Chinese by Gene Luen Yang

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The Monkey King is just that, a monkey that is a king of monkeys. However, this monkey knows different forms of kung fu and considers himself to be a deity. One night, he smells food from a heavenly dinner party and decides that he wants to attend, even without an invitation. Once he arrives in heaven and tries to enter the party, the other gods mock him. They call him a simple monkey and say that he will never be anything more than that. The Monkey King's reaction? He pummels them all and sets out to prove himself as a deity equal of all of those in heaven.


Jin was born in the United States to Asian parents, but he still faces the difficulty of stereotypes and the sting of racial discrimination. It is clear that the color of his skin and the slant of his eyes is enough to separate him from the rest of the class. When Jin meets another boy named Wei-Chen Sun, he struggles to "fix" the other boy's broken English so that he will not be embarrassed. And, as you see him grow up, Jin struggles with his heritage limiting not only his friends, but also the girls that he is interested in.


Danny is a normal teen with a terrifying secret: his cousin Chin-kee. Danny is embarrassed by his cousin's broken English and odd mannerisms. Danny has to take Chin-kee to school with him and it is devastating. Danny says it messes with his life and claims that he has to switch schools after every visit his cousin makes. This time Danny refuses to let his cousin mess up his life. But how will he stop his strange cousin?


These three tales are woven together to create a strange and unique tale. It's full of hilarious inuendos and hidden meanings and the art is amazing. Yang uses this story to explore the problems of racism and stereotypes. His characters express his feelings and thoughts about growing up. His book begs the question of: what would you do to fit in?

For more of my thoughts check out my Reading Log

The Scarlet Letter (Graphic Novel) by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Hester Prynne, after being found out of adultry, must wear the scarlet letter "A" upon her chest. She must suffer the insults and attacks of her Puritan neighbors. The judges plead with her to name the man that she committed adultry with, but she refuses them. There is nothing left for her except to take care of her baby girl, Pearl, and to hide the identity of her lover (even from her husband).


I know that there is much more to this story than what this thin graphic novel version is telling us. I am really wanting to read the whole thing now.


There are a few things that I didn't understand. Did her she marry her husband because it was arranged? Or was she, at one time, in love with him? I think that is a critical piece of information that was left out! Were there any other stipulations placed on her by the judges? Or was wearing the A punishment enough? And why did she embroider her letter in that way? It really didn't answer these questions.


It did deal with some interesting issues and this book might spark some religious questions. I think I would really like the full version and, at my earliest convenience, I plan to buy it.


I can't rate this higher because it left so much unsaid, but I can't give it lower because it did a great job getting some of the major themes across. So, I will give it a temporary three, until I can better judge it.

By the Time You Read This, I'll Be Dead by Julie Anne Peters

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Daelyn has been ridiculed and mocked her entire life. She's been made fun of for her weight, for her looks and she's nearly been raped. She tried to kill herself, but she had timed it wrong; her parents had found her and managed to get her to a hospital. Now, she wears a neckbrace and can no longer speak. She suffers in silence.


However, she hasn't given up her plans to kill herself. The story picks up with Daelyn as she is planning her next attempt at killing herself. She realizes that now she has to plan more carefully, she has to make things just right. She also realizes that she would have left a large mess for her parents to clean up. So, this time, she is going to do it right. She gets on a website that sets up a twenty-three day program for her. All she has to do is wait twenty three days and she can kill herself. She's suffered for 15 years; what's another few days?


What she doesn't plan on is Santana. He is a boy that tries to talk to her after school. She refuses to acknowledge his existence, but he cannot be dissuaded. Nor does she consider Emily. Emily is a "fat" girl at school that tries to open up to her. Daelyn is going crazy! She has finally found a way to kill herself, and everyone decides to start paying attention to her.


When the final day comes will she be prepared to die or will she second guess herself.


This novel deals with the touchy subject of bullycide or suicide because someone has bullied you to the point where you break. In class, this book brought up amazing conversations and opinions. This book does have some very dangerous material and must be presented in the right ways.

For more of my thoughts check out my Reading Log

City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Clary Fray walked into a backroom of a club to find a boy with blue hair tied up to a post surrounded by three shadowhunters. The shadowhunters, better known as the half-humans half-angels or Nephilim, claim the boy is a demon, but Clary knows that demons aren't real. So, when the boy breaks loose of his bindings, attacks one of the Nephilim with taloned hands, ends up with a knife in his heart, and then disappears as if he had never existed, Clary finds herself doubting everything she ever knew about the world; especially when no one else can see the shadowhunters.


The next day, Clary ends up in an argument with her mom. She storms out of the house with her best friend Simon and go to a poetry reading. There, she sees Jace, one of the Nephilim from the night before. Apparently, he had been following her because she intrigued him. Then, Clary recieves a disturbing call from her mom. She races home to find the house trashed and empty, or almost empty. She comes face to face with a demon. She manages to kill the little beast, but not before getting poisoned by it. Jace, who followed her again, saves her by taking her to the Institute.


Clary, then, begins the hunt for her mother. Along the way, she learns amazing secrets about herself and about her mom.


Clare did a fantastic job on this novel. It left me wanting to go directly out and get the next part in the series. Once more she goes along the theme of finding one's self and learning to be comfortable with who you are. The cast is set up amazingly. Each character, in their own way, makes the scenes they are in. Jace, Simon, Alec and Isabelle help create complex social issues that Clary has to go through.


However, once more, Clary seems to be underdeveloped. At times you like, at other times she's your worst enemy. You can never tell exactly how you feel. Maybe, as the series goes on, you can learn to like her.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Tessa Gray took a boat to London to be with her brother, Nate, after her Aunt Harriet's sudden death. On her arrival, she finds herself kidnapped by two strange women, named the "Black sisters," that tell her that her brother is imprisoned until Tessa can prove her worth. While the older women hold her captive, Tessa is taught how to use a strange talent that she never suspected she had. When the Black sisters are satisfied with her training, they tell Miss Gray that she is to be married to the mysterious "Magister". Then, on the night before her wedding, she is freed by a blond haired boy with strange tattoo-like marks all over his body.


Tessa finds herself in a new world. Warlocks, Vampires, Werewolves and Demons are real. The Nephilim, half-angels half-men, hunt demons and keep the human populace ignorant of their "Downworlder" neighbors, and Tessa is staying in the Nephilim's Institute. Here she gets to know Will and Jem, a pair of shadowhunters (a more familiar name for the Nephilim) and together they start the search for Nate, Tess' brother. This search leads them ever closer to the dangerous "Magister" and his clockwork army.


This book is extremely entertaining! It took me three days to read this book, only because I had to stop myself to read for my classes. She uses a ton of sarcasm and witty comments to make her characters more enjoyable and familiar to us, the reader. Though Tessa is the main character, she isn't the character that you fall in love with. Will and Jem, the shadowhunters, are the ones that steal the show. Will is the sarcastic character that never lets you more than skin deep. He uses his wit to hide away his true thoughts and emotions. Jem is the opposite. He is all accepting. He doesn't judge, he doesn't turn away. I can't wait to find out more about these two in the next installment of the trilogy.


Clare takes an interesting look at stereotypes and racism. She uses the shadowhunters, the downworlders, the mundanes and the demons and shows the hatred and prejudices that each group holds for the other. She uses Tessa to question the views of the Nephilim and through this, show the folly of our views against others that are not like us. There are also themes such as identity and good and evil that are prevalant throughout the novel.

Mexican Whiteboy by Matt de la Pena

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Danny, as the title says, is half-Mexican half-white. Danny's father, whom he loves, is Mexican and his mom is white. Danny's dad has disappeared to Mexico and his mom is left to take care of Danny and his little sister. When Danny's mom announces that he has one of two choices, (either go with her to live with her boyfriend Randy or to go to visit his cousins) he chooses to visit his family.


While living with his cousins, Danny runs into Uno. Uno is a half-black half-Mexican boy. He and Danny have much in common, but there first meeting is filled with conflict. Danny shows Uno up at playing baseball and Uno retaliates. Later, Uno realizes that Danny (and Danny's baseball skills) is his best bet to make the money he needs to go and live with his dad. So, Uno sets out to make things right and make a business deal with Danny. This business deal involves a little shady business, but they both really want to live with their dads. Is it worth the effort or will they get into big trouble?


Mexican Whiteboy covers a range of topics. He discusses the importance of a father-son relationship and how Danny deals with that. Pena also brings up important issues like: multi-culturalism and how that can affect identity, self-mutilation, violence, crime, reality v.s. imagination, the stark reality of sterotypes and rascism. This book reveals a world where everyone views everyone else as the lucky ones and sheds light on the fact that we all can be who we want to be.


Pena has an amazing touch with creating characters and letting you in on their thoughts and personal lives. I have a tie on my favorite characters. Raul and Lolo are best friends but also rivals. They are so much fun when they pick on each other. The way Lolo speaks, with his broken English, makes his statements so much funnier.

For more of my thoughts, check out my Reading Log

Mississippi Trial, 1955 by Chris Crowe

Mississippi Trial, 1955 Book Trailer


Hiram Hillburn, one of the youngest from the stubborn Hillburn family, lived with his grandparents for most of his adolescent years. He would wake up early in the morning to the smell of bacon cooking in the kitchen. He would spend lazy mornings with his grandpa, visiting the fields or fishing on the Yazoo river. Then, while his grandpa would visit with friends, Hiram would buy a 5 cent Coke and visit with a blind, local vendor.


Hiram's grandma passes away in the middle of the night and Hiram's world is turned topsy-turvy. His father and mother come in for the funeral and decide to take Hiram back with them. Though he doesn't want to leave his grandpa, he cannot fight his dad. At least, not out right. The young boy does argue with and pesters his dad for the chance to go back to Mississippi and visit his grandpa. Then, in the summer of 1955, Hiram's grandpa has a stroke and he is sent down to his grandpa get back on his feet.


When young mister Hillburn gets off the train in Greenwood, he meets a black youth from Chicago. Everyone calls this black boy "Bobo," but his real name is Emmett Till. Emmett is not used to the south and thier ways. He is used to being treated as an equal to white men, but in Mississippi he is no better than a common slave. Hiram briefly befriends the black youth and that is where things turn bad.


Some time later Emmett goes missing. He was rumored to have whistled at a white woman and then he was kidnapped. It turns out that he was actually tortured and murdered. His body was fished out of the river. As the news of Emmett's kidnapping and death races across the country, Hiram is faced with a terrible dilemma. He might have information that could help convict one of Emmett's killings. But he must decide whether it is worth turning against his fellow white men and standing up for a black youth. But, in a little town where everyone has secrets, you never know what you might find out.


This book had some good points and some bad points. The story was very good and it discussed some real issues such as: racism, tradition and education. The book is actually based on a true story. It is one of the only historical fiction novels that I have read, and I did enjoy it. However, the writing was basic and flat. It had the potential to be an amazing story, but it fell short on holding my attention. I also didn't like that you didn't know fact from fiction until the very end.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

North America is no longer the thriving nation it once was. Now, there are twelve districts that surround the Capitol. Each district has one city and normally one trade.What the Capitol demands, goes. No questions asked. And the Capitol demands blood.

 District Twelve, where Katniss Everdeen lives,  has the luck of being the coal miners. Katniss, or Kat, hates living there.Why does she hate living there? Her father died during a mining incident. So now, she lives with her mother and little sister.  She also hates living there because everything has a thin covering of black dust. Nothing is ever clean. She doesn't feel at home in the run-down building she calls a house. She feels more comfortable out in the woods past the perimeter fence. In the woods where her father taught her to hunt. In the woods, where most townfolk believe there are evil beasts and monsters, she hunts to feed her family. In the woods, she's free.


Each year the Capitol requires two adolescents, from the ages of 12 to 18 , to be selected at random to participate in what is known as the Hunger Games. In these games, the competitors must fight each other to the death. The winner recieves glory for their district and, more importantly, they win food. The losers get nothing. Kat is thrown into this all-important battle for food and life. With only her hunting skills to help her, she struggles to outlast 23 other competitors; including the other one from her district.


This compelling and fast paced novel will keep you guessing and wanting more. I've read through Hunger Games twice now. I loved it the first time and I was enthralled with it the second time. It will definitely be one of those books that you don't want to put down. Collins does an amazing job with crafting the main female characters, but some of her male characters don't get the same treatment. You don't get a good feel Kat's best friend Gale, but she makes Peeta, the guy that goes to the games with Kat, a little too transparent.


At times, the book can be a little frustrating. It drags on some of the parts that don't really seem necessary, but the action scenes tend to pick up the pace. And, there are lots of action scenes.


This book will capture your heart, run it through the wringer, and leave you wanting to come back.

Mockingbird by Kathryn Erskine

Mockingbird Book Trailer

When it comes to Caitlin Smith, most people don't "Get" her. She is a 5th grader with Asperger's Syndrome (the highest functioning form of Autism). She has regular visits with a school counselor and even a second recess time, so that she might be able to "Deal" with her condition. The only person that really understands her, is her older brother Devon. However, Devon died during a school shooting. This... is where the book starts.

Caitlin is left with her grieving father, since her mother had died several years before. Her father can not function after the death of his son. He slams the door to Devon's room shut and tries to pretend that nothing is wrong. But, in his attempt to ignore his son's death, he tends to overlook Caitlin. He was used to Devon taking care of her.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Brook, the school counselor, is working with Caitlin on trying to build relationships. Mrs. Brook is now the only person that addresses Caitlin's aspergers. The counselor believes that Caitlin has the potential to overcome some of the social boundries that stand between her and having a friend. Caitlin, however, is not sure that she really needs someone to talk with. She thinks that the other students are too loud or messy or colorful. In the midst of her search for a friend, Caitlin discovers something that she and her father desperately need. She sets out to find a way to help her father and, ultimately, herself find this elusive thing called: Closure.

Mockingbird is a fascinating book. It brings several, major social issues into the lime-light. First, it discusses Asperger's Syndrome. The story is told from Caitlin's view in a first person format. Normally, I'm not a big fan of first person Point of View (P.O.V.); it's always driven me a little crazy. However, I thought that Erskine did an amazing job at crafting the grammar and language to fit that of a person with Asperger's. It was so insightful as to why people with Asperger's (and other forms of Autism) act in certain ways. Second, it discusses closure and how some people grieve in different ways. There are some people that shut down and there are others that put up a good front, but, in the end, they are all still suffering.

Also, the characters are funny. Several hilarious conversations center around miscommunications, where Caitlin's literal interpretation causes her to miss the point. One of the most interesting characters, besides Caitlin, is Michael. He is one of those amiable characters that you just can't help but like. I want to mention that there are one or two points where I thought that Erskine went a little overboard with the actions that Caitlin describes. They were pivitol to the book, but they might make you wince.