Red Riding Hood

Title: Red Riding Hood
Author: Sarah Blakley-Cartwright
Publisher: New York : Poppy (2011)
ISBN: 0316176044 9780316176040 9780316190855 0316190853
Pages: 329
Characters: Valerie, Peter, Henry, Lucie
Bookmarks: 3 1/2

Daggerhorn is a village cursed with a werewolf. Villagers give the wolf monthly animal offerings at the full moon in return for their safety from the animal. One day, a villager Lucie, is found dead in a wheat field, apparently attacked by a wolf. When more villagers are attacked, a professional werewolf hunter is called in. When the professional arrives, the villagers discover that the werewolf is one of them. While being courted by both Henry and Peter, Valerie, discovers that she can hear the wolf speak but does not recognize the voice. Will she and the villagers be able to figure out who the wolf is before the village is wiped out? And if the do find out, will they be able to kill one of their own?

This was actually a really interesting book. It was hard at first to accept the idea of the Big Bad Wolf of my childhood as a werewolf, but it actually makes a lot of sense once you get further into the book. The only real complaint I have about this book is that it was written really simply. There were times that I got bored with the author's writing style. The story however was interesting enough that it kept me reading until the end.

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing: Traitor to the Nation

Title: The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation
Author: M. T. Anderson
Publisher: Cambridge, Mass. : Candlewick Press, (2006)
ISBN: 0763624020 9780763624026
Pages: 351
Characters: 03-01, Octavian, Casseopeia,
Bookmarks: 4

The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing tells the story of Octavian, a slave boy, as he grows up in the years leading up to and during the American Revolution. Unlike most slaves, he is treated incredibly well as he is serving as a science experiment. After his mother, also a slave, has a failed affair with a wealthy investor for the Lucidity Society Octavian's owner 03-01 works for, his life is irrevocably changed. No longer is he treated well, instead, he lives his life as a house slave. One day, he escapes only to be captured and brought back. With the help of one of the Society's scientists, Octavian escapes. Will the two make it back to freedom or be caught?

Up until about page 200, I was really into this book. I loved when Octavian was narrating and it abruptly and unexpectedly switched to a different narrator who was not as interesting. This was really disappointing, going from a very insightful narrator to one that was very limited. I really liked that Anderson used language, spelling, and grammar that was authentic to the Revolutionary War period. While not Anderson's best work, it is definitely a good but difficult read.

The Mysterious Benedict Society

Title: Mysterious Benedict Society
Author: Trenton Lee Stewart
Publisher: New York : Little, Brown (2007)
ISBN: 9780316057776 0316057770 9781439512050 1439512051
Pages: 485
Characters: Reynie Muldoon, Sticky Washington, Kate Wetherall, Constance Contraire, Mr. Benedict
Bookmarks: 3

Through a series of test, 4 unlikely children are united by the mysterious Mr. Benedict. The 4 children- Reynie, Sticky, Kate, and Constance enroll at the Learning Institute for the Very Enlightened. There, they work to try to solve the myster that Mr. Benedict has presented them with. If they do not solve it in time, the fate of the world may be at stake.

Onced again, I had heard great reviews about this book and was disappointed. Maybe I should stop listening to the reviews. While the storyline was good, I felt that hte book dragged on a lot. It would have been better if it has been shorter by 50 or 60 pages at least. These pages could have come from early on in the book because it was slow to start. Once the kids got to the Institute, the book picked up pace fairly quickly. As an adult reader, I thought the ending a bit contrived and predictable, but younger readers may find it enjoyabl.e

Born to Run

Title: Born to Run
Author: Christopher McDougall
Publisher: New York : Alfred A. Knopf (2009)
ISBN: 9780307266309 0307266303
Pages: 287
Characters: Christopher, Caballo Blanco, Taramahura
Bookmarks: 3 1/2

Christopher McDougall is a runner who has hurt his foot. He has heard about the Taramahura, a group of Mexican runners who are among the most elite, an (up until now) least known in the world. Through the book, McDougall relates how he has learned about the Taramahura and the world of ultra-running in his quest to discover why his foot hurts and how to fix it.

I really did not enjoy this book very much until about the halfway point. In fact, the first hundred or so pages had a tendency to put me to sleep. The second half of the book is a lot better. While the chapters tend to skip around, focusing on different characters and different times, I feel that it actually adds to the story by giving background information. If the book had started out better, it would be enjoyable, but it takes a bit too much time to build up interest.

I am Number 4 - book versus movie

I find that I generally do no like movies that are based on books for the simple fact that the movie typically differs significantly from the book. I am Number 4 follows that rule, but the movie is still enjoyable. It is really hard for me to say which I liked better overall because each had certain parts that were better. If forced, I would have to say that I liked the book only slightly better, because the story line was a bit more engaging and realistic (yes, I am saying a fantasy book can be realistic).

Unlike many books turned into movies, for the whole first half of the movie, I was really excited- they were being pretty much the same. John didn't get picked on quite as much and the romantic aspect of his relationship is emphasized a bit more in the movie than the book, but otherwise pretty close. I did really like that we saw Number 6 earlier in the movie than in the book. While Sam in the movie is great, I liked how geeky he was in the book and wished that this would have been played up a little more.After about the halfway point in the movie, things started to go really off course from the movie. It bothered me that Sam didn't get his girlfriend like in the book. I also really didn't like that Sam didn't introduce John and Henri to the alien newsletter. It seemed a little more believable that geeky, space obsessed Sam would have been subscribing to it than that Henri just found it. I also didn't really like that Mark James and John didn't become friends until the end of the book. I like seeing their relationship change from that of enemies, to acquaintances, and finally to friends. It made for some very interesting scenes in the book that were left out of the movie. My biggest complain about the movie though is that the battle between the Loriens and the Mogadorians was not nearly as impressive as it could have been. Yes, it was interesting, but with some of John's legacies lacking, little involvement from Mark and Sarah, and Henri dying so early, it changed the feel of the battle. It made it seem as though it were really just the Loriens against the Mogarodians instead of the Loriens and their Earth friends against the Mogardians. While I can understand that this was done because it was a Disney movie and the kids have to do all the brave cool stuff in Disney movies, it was a let down. I also didn't like that there was not a lot of the backstory about how the Loriens wound up on Earth that was mentioned in the book. It would have made things a bit easier to understand for people who hadn't read the book. I understand why it was omitted though, because you can only cram so much into a movie and still expect people to watch the entire thing and not get bored.

There were some things that I did like better about the movie than the book though. I loved being introduced to Number 6 early on. If I hadn't already read the book, I would have really been wondering who she was. While she was cool in the book, she was absolutely bad-ass in the movie. Loved her whole attitude of can't mess with me. I also really liked how the Mogadorians looked in the movie. I'd had a lot of trouble imagining how they looked while reading the book since it never really had good descriptions. I also liked that the movie made it a little easier to figure out that John's pet dog was also the lizard that he had while he was living in the Keys. While it was a puzzle that I enjoyed figuring out while reading the book, it was neat to see the lizard change into a dog and know that it was going to play some kind of special role at some point.

The Burn Journals

Title: The Burn Journals
Author: Brent Runyon
Publisher: New York : Vintage (2004)
ISBN: 1400096421 9781400096428
Pages: 374
Characters: Brent Runyon, Mom, Dad, Craig, various doctors and nurses
Bookmarks: 5

One day after an incident at school Brent Runyon comes home and attempts to light himself on fire. He immediately regrets it and puts himself out. Brent spends the next several months in the burn unit recovering. Some parts of his recovery are pretty normal- watching TV, fantasizing about sex, talking about movies. Other parts are more harrowing- having to see psychologists, get skin grafts, physical therapy. Once out of the unit, he must adjust back to being in the real world and having his scars. He must recover both physically and emotionally. Yes, some of what Runyon does during recovery like listening to tapes, watching movies on a VCR, playing Nintendo (especially Mario Brothers) may be a bit dated to teen readers, but it doesn't take away from his story.

I had heard a lot of great review about this book and was excited to Runyon has done an amazing job. The detail and emotional involvement of the book sucked me in immediately. Runyon's descriptions of how he felt through the whole experience, physically and emotionally are incredible. The book is completely gripping. One of the few books emotionally powerful enough to make me have to put it down at times because I couldn't handle what was going on. I can't imagine putting into writing for anyone to read hardly any of the experience of my life, especially not something as traumatic and life-changing as a suicide attempt. While I would love for any teen to read this book, I am afraid that some parts of it may glamorize Runyon's experiences- getting free stuff from Magic Johnson and meeting celebrities. Overall though, it is a great book.

I.D. Stuff that Happes to Define Us

Title: I.D. Stuff that Happens to Define Us
Author: Kate Scowen and Peter Mitchell
Publisher: Toronto : Annick Press (2010)
ISBN: 9781554512249 1554512247 9781554512256 1554512255
Pages: 160
Characters: N/A
Bookmarks: 4

We all have moments in our lives that help to define us, to make us who we are. Many of these happen during adolescence. I.D. Stuff that Defines us is a compilation of 12 episodes from the lives of real teens. Each of the stories is about a defining moment in their life- getting hit by a father, getting in a street fight, pretending to be an orphan, a youth camping trip. Each story is presented along with wistful illustrations.

I loved this book. It was really interesting to read about defining moments for real people and how they coped with them. It would be an excellent book for teens to read and I can see it being especially useful for guidance to use. Teens today have to deal with a lot of tough things- this book has stories of real people living through many of the same things that teens today have to live through. It can give teens insights into how to cope themselves. I especially loved that at the end was a listing of phone numbers and website for teens to call if they need help.