Ready Player One

Wade Watts is a teenager that lives in a trailer. The only time he feels like his alive is when he is plugged into the Oasis, a virtually reality world where nearly everyone lives their lives. It's how he attends school and has social interactions. But like any virtual reality, there is a creator behind it. In this case the creator of the Oasis is ready to pass on the torch for maintaining and running the Oasis. The Oasis creator has hidden clues and puzzles in the Oasis and the new game master has to find all the keys. Wade Watts finds the first key and the race is on. Ready Player One.

The story is a throwback to many pop-culture gaming references including Pac-Man, Dungeons and Dragons, and more. I listened to most of the book which is read by Wil Wheaton. Wil is the perfect person to read this book. He does a very good job and as a listener, I know that Wil is a gamer at heart. He gets the story. I did return the audio book because it was taking me a long time to read it, so I finished up reading the print edition.

Overall, I found the story interesting and engaging. The author does a good job delving into the Oasis but also pulling out and seeing the real world. But, the story does start to drag about three-fourths of the way through. I simply got bored of the ongoing quest to find the next key. I did get most of the references mentioned in the story, but only because I lived through some of the things mentioned. I had to wonder if kids today would understand it. But as kids borrowed the book at the library, they did.

I was curious about the movie adaptation. I haven't seen it, but I have wondered how the movie would portray the Oasis. There is also the problem of all of the gaming references, which would require extra rights to mention or portray. From what I have read, the reviews were mixed and the movie over-all did not do as well as expected. Still, I'm curious and may watch it one day.

Book Rating: 4 stars

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog.

I am number four

I am number four is a young adult book by Pittacus Lore. The main character is John Smith, a teenager who is trying to keep a low profile. He and several other children escaped their planet to hide out on earth until they can develop their legacies (or powers). Each child has a guardian who protects and hides them. But the bad aliens from their home planet is hunting them down one by one. John Smith is number four, which means three others before him have been found and killed. This is John's story of survival.

I also read book 2 and 3 in the series, The power of six and The Rise of Nine. The books are great action reads. The story is interesting, though a bit predictable like others with similar storylines. (How many kids with special powers/abilities do we really need?). I probably would have finished the series out if the last book had not been checked out when I was ready for it. I kind of lost interest waiting. Still, these would be great stories for reluctant teen boys, and girls seem to like it just as well.

An I am number four movie was made based on the first book and I remember liking it. It didn't seem to get much traction and no other movies have been made.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog.

Steelheart

Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson is a different kind of superhero story. It would be easy to assume that Steelheart is the superhero but instead he is the bad guy.  David Charleston is a teen who want to avenge his father's death. His father was killed by Steelheart, a person with the ability to turn things into steel. Because of his ability, he has risen to power because no one can seem to overcome his super power. He reigns as a king in Chicago. David knows Steelheart's weakness, but will it be enough to avenge his father and free people of his tyranny?

Steelheart is book one of the Reckoner's series and Brandon Sanderson's first young adult story. I have not read any other of Brandon Sanderson's books, but he is a good writer. His take on superheros as villains is enough of a twist for people to pick up the story and read something new. But as a young adult story, you can expect to have the typical young adult story elements including romance.

Book Rating : 4 stars, worth a try

Maze Runner Series

The Maze Runner series. I picked up the first book, the Maze Runner, on audio to listen while on a road trip. A kid wakes up in an enclosed environment with other trapped boys and no memory of his previous life. Each day a wall opens up and selected kids run through a mysterious maze hoping to find a way out. Each day, the maze changes and includes dangers from monsters. Each day there are new challenges among the inmates. And then a girl enters the maze as well.

The first story in the series is a take off of the Lord of the Flies. The kids setup a pseudo government with rules and punishments. The maze challenge makes you think of Hunger Games because there are people watching the kids and manipulating them in a contest type situation. Still, the first book has excitement, adventure, and a bit of a mystery. Worth the time to read it.

The series begins to crumble with the second book, The Scorch Trials. The second book of the Hunger Games lacked in the story department too, so not really a surprise. The Scorch Trials is a bridge to the third book. The kids have to traverse a desert landscape in hopes of arriving at the last "safe" city where people who are immune to the plague live. It's not entirely clear why they must do this, but that is the power center of the remaining healthy humans. They lose a few companions and some become infected by the plague. I found the second book boring, tedious, and rather predictable.

The Death Cure is exactly that. The kids search for a cure for the plague to save one of their own in the city. There are underground movements of people trying to gain safety, others looking for revenge. In the midst of this, will the one person who can save the entire world do so or will he let the corrupt government implode on itself. The ending was better than I expected, though some readers will be disappointed.

I also watched the movie trilogy. Like the books, the second movie was boring and a bit annoying and a bridge to the third. In some scenes you can tell when the director said action and the actors start to run. The first move was great. The third was better than I expected.

Divergent series

I admit that I read this book series three years ago and I am just now writing my review. Divergent is a dystopian young adult series by Veronica Roth. Beatrice Prior attends a ceremony with her family that will select which faction she will be assigned. This ceremony is supposed to help keep a stable society. Should she stay with her family's faction or choose something different. Tris chooses differently. Tris endures initiation into her new faction, but she has a secret that could unravel society.

I can't remember all the details of the books. I can think of several other young adult series that follow the same formula. In that sense, the plot twists are almost predictable and I became bored with the overall story. Endless struggle, violence, and politics overshadows character development and that happens a bit here. It is nice to see a strong female character, but Tris started to become annoying by the third book.

I did see the first movie. It was entertaining, but I have not seen the rest. I admit, I am starting to become tired of young adult dystopian stories. They are all the same. Perhaps, if I had written this review three years ago, I would have had a different reaction. I did finish out the series and I was rather "meh" about the ending. I didn't find it adding much to the story.

Book Rating: 4 stars - it is entertaining, but not all that unique.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Graceling, Bitterblue

Katsa, the daughter of the king, was born with an extreme skill. She has the ability to kill with her bear hands, called a Grace. Instead of living in luxury, she is forced to kill for the king. She escapes and falls in love with Prince Po, though she does not want to marry. In the first book of the series, Katsa learns the secret of her Grace that could potentially destroy her kingdom and all other kingdoms in the realm.

I read the first two books in the series, Graceling and Bitterblue. This is a girl as superhero story in the same vein as Hunger Games except the setting is quasi-Medieval. It's the setting that frustrated me because it didn't seem to fit with the idea of a powerful girl with modern sensibilities. It is fantasy, so the author can create whatever world she wants. There are plenty of reviewers that seem to love it, not to mention the 5 star reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. I felt the story fell flat and I became bored. I never could muster the motivation to finish the series with book three.

Book Rating: 3 stars

This series is for younger teen readers, but it does contain violence and some adult situations.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

River of time series

Confession time.  I devoured a young adult romance series in about a week. Well, at least the first three books in the series. The River of Time series is written by Lisa T. Bergren, which includes Waterfall (book 1), Cascade (book 2), and Torrent (book 3). The author has since added Bourne and Tributary (book 4) and DELUGE (book 5). I have not yet read Deluge because I did not know about it till now. It is going on my to-read list now!

So what is it about? In Waterfall, Gabi and Lia are sisters stuck at an archeological dig over the summer with their mother. Gabi decides to explore a part of the dig in a cave and places her hand a top a hand print on the cave wall. Suddenly she finds herself in 14th century Italy complete with warring knights and castles. Lia somehow is transported back in time but is separated from Gabi. Gabi and Lia must find a way home to their own time, but adventure and love are in the past.

In Cascade, Gabi, Lia, and their mother return again to the past only to discover that months have passed since they last left. In that time tensions between the Florentines and Sienese have reached a breaking point and war is on the horizon. Gabi and Lia, both known as "she-wolves", rise to the occasion to help win the battle. Meanwhile Gabi falls more deeply in love with Marcello and must make a decision about whether to stay.

In Torrent, the girls decide to save their father from an untimely demise and bring him into the past. Meanwhile, there is more adventure and romance for Gabi and Marcello. Gabi must make the decision whether to marry Marcello or not. Can she forever give up the future? There are lots of twists and turns in the story and it moves pretty fast. And yes, Lia also finds some romance. This was supposed to be the final book of a trilogy, but the author has added two more books.

Bourne and Tributary are two novellas the author added to help tie up loose ends. Parts of Bourne are told from Lia's point of view and the rest by Gabi. We get to see Lia and Luca come closer together. In Tributary, we get Lia and Luca's point of view. Lia, who is younger than Gabi, also must deal with all the experiences she has had that would traumatize anyone. Both stories have more action and adventure.

If you can ignore the silly time traveling device and the fact that Gabi and Lia seem to be able to understand medieval Italian, the stories are very good. There is just the right mix of adventure, medieval warfare, and romance (nothing too naughty here because it is classified as a teen Christian romance). I would finish one book, close the cover and state, "I need the next book now!" I would call these books a guilty pleasure.

Book Rating: 5 stars

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

The future of us

It's 1996 and you install AOL on your computer, dial up the internet and find yourself looking at Facebook. Facebook, of course, has not been invented yet. This is what happens when Emma logs onto the internet through AOL for the first time. What she finds is her future self on Facebook and she is not entirely happy with what she finds there. She pulls in Josh, her next door neighbour and potential boyfriend and they both stare at themselves in the future.

Of course, the present Emma and Josh have crushes on each other, but the future selves make choices that take them far apart. What should Emma and Josh do with the knowledge of their future selves? Can they change the future? Emma and Josh begin to make life altering decisions and they watch their futures change. Sometimes it is for the better and sometimes not.

The story starts with a lot of promise for a fun and interesting story. But as it is a young adult novel, you can expect the usual young adult teen soap. It was fun to look back at 1990's pop culture and computer tech and see how far we've come. The story itself was rather lacking and predictable. How much do we really want to know about our futures? Probably not that much. Life is more enjoyable in the journey and not arriving at a destination. Sure we all need life goals that guide our choices, but we also need to look at life in the present too.

I read this book quite a while ago and I had to go back to Amazon to read the synopsis. Easy read, but also forgettable.

Book Rating: 3 stars, it's ok.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Time Riders

Imagine facing death and then being snatched out of time at the last second. This is exactly what happens to 16 year old Liam who is on board the sinking Titanic. Foster is a mysterious time traveller who snatches teens before dying and brings them into the Time Rider team. Maddy and Sal are also recruited. Their jobs are to help maintain the time line against those who wish to alter time for their own purposes. Their base of operations is in New York City protected by a time bubble that acts as a barrier against possible time incursions.

It is not long before the team is hurled into Nazi Germany to only find later that the present has been seriously altered. A group seeks a different outcome of World War II with devastating consequences. The team works both in the present and the past to restore the true timeline.

This book by Alex Scarrow is an exciting and fun read for young adults. For me, there were a few eye-rolling moments only because there were a number of time paradoxes that would make the story impossible. If you can ignore that, then it is fun. I have not read anymore of the series only because I have had other things to read. The series is on my radar to pick up again. It has been well received by teens at the library.

Book rating: 4 stars

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

The Missing series

I previously enjoyed reading Margaret Peterson Haddix's Shadow Children series so I picked up this series to try. The first book, Found, starts off rather exciting. An unnoticed plane shows up with 36 passengers on board. Each of those passengers are infants. There are no pilots or flight crew. Each of those children were placed for adoption.

Eventually, those children began to wonder of their origins. Some knew they were adopted. Others did not, but wondered about striking differences between themselves and the rest of their family. Friends Jonah and Chip begin to receive anonymous messages that declare someone is looking for them. Through a series of events, the boys attend a group intended to help adoptees only to discover all the children in the group experienced similar things. There is an evil arch nemesis and time travel.

The first story is exciting and fun. The second story picks up rather quickly after the first but throws the kids into the past. I found the second story rather boring, so I did not continue with the series. There are at least two more books in the series now. Despite that, the kids at the library that have started the series have enjoyed it and asked for more.

Book Rating: 3 1/2 stars

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

The notorious Benedict Arnold

Benedict Arnold, a historical figure whose name is used to describe traitors. Why did a patriot reverse loyalties in the midst of a war? Steve Sheinkin skillfully tells Arnold's story from his earliest beginnings to his tragic end. The story does not get bogged down in extreme detail. You are given enough of the big picture to understand Arnold's historical context and how his actions influenced the outcome of the Revolutionary War.

There are very few biographies that are appealing or fun to read for young adults or younger readers. This book fills a niche that is very much needed. This book also appeals to adult readers. I feel that I learned a lot about a historical figure that gets only a passing mention in history books. It is true this a fictionalized account but the author did his homework.

Book Rating: 5 stars - a quick and enjoyable read.

The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.

Shadow Children series

 

The Shadow Children series, written by Margaret Peterson Haddix, is a dystopian young adult series. The titles include:

Among the hidden
Among the imposters
Among the betrayed
Among the brave
Among the enemy
Among the free

The series starts with Among the Hidden. Luke is an illegal second child. His parents have kept him hidden since he was born. He is not allowed to go outside or to school. He must stay home alone while his older brother goes to school and his parents work. He views his world carefully through window blinds, until he notices something he shouldn't at a neighbors house. Soon he learns there are many illegal second children and an underground resistance.

The following books in the series follow the stories of Luke and other second children as they fight for their freedom. I liked this story and read through it pretty quickly. There was one standout paragraph that made me think. I can't remember which book it was in, but Luke asks an adult character why they let things get so bad and why they don't fight back. He tells Luke that the adults gradually let things change for the worse and are now afraid to fight. They have messed things up so badly that it is up to the children to save them.

Book ratings: 4 stars


The books I select for review are books which I personally select from my local library. I do not receive any reimbursement from authors or publishers or free books. I do provide links to Amazon as a convenience to the readers of this blog. I do earn a small referral pittance which is not even enough to buy a soda.