Book Review for "Illuminae" {by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff}

Book Title: Illuminae

Authors: Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff
Number of Pages: 599
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Publication Year: 2015
Genre: Science Fiction

Summary: 

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she'd have to do.

This afternoon, her planet was invaded.

The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that's little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra--who are barely even talking to each other--are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit.

But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what's really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents--including emails, schematics, military files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more--Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping, high-octane trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes.

Our star rating:

Book Review for "Shutter" {by Courtney Alameda}

TITLE: Shutter
AUTHOR: Courtney Alameda
PUBLISHER: Feiwel and Friends/Macmillion
NUMBER OF PAGES: 384
YEAR PUBLISHED: 20
READING LEVEL:Young Adult
GENRE: Young Adult Horror!!

SUMMARY: Micheline Helsing is a tetrachromat- a girl who sees the auras of the undead in a prismatic spectrum. As one of the last descendants of the Van Helsing lineage, she has trained to destroy corporal and spiritual monsters. She uses her SLR camera to exorcize ghosts by capturing their spiritual energy on film. When a routine ghost hung goes awry, Micheline and her team (including Ryder, the guy she's loved forever) are infected with a curse known as a soulchain. She has seven days or less to exorcise an entity of she and her friends will die.

Shutter Book Bash: We were completely spoiled to have the amazing author, Courtney Alameda join us for the evening! Kelly was our moderator and she did an incredible job bringing Shutter to life! Be sure to check out our Photo Recap of the evening too! (coming soon)

(image source)

Book Review for Wonder (R.J. Palacio)

TITLE OF THE BOOK: Wonder 

AUTHOR: R.J. Palacio

PUBLISHER: Knopf Books for Young Readers

NUMBER OF PAGES: 320

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2012

READING LEVEL: ages 8 and up

GENRE: middle grade

SUMMARY: August Pullman was born with a facial difference that, up until now, has prevented him from going to a mainstream school. Starting 5th grade at Beecher Prep, he wants nothing more than to be treated as an ordinary kid—but his new classmates can’t get past Auggie’s extraordinary face. WONDER, now a #1 New York Times bestseller and included on the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list, begins from Auggie’s point of view, but soon switches to include his classmates, his sister, her boyfriend, and others. These perspectives converge in a portrait of one community’s struggle with empathy, compassion, and acceptance. 

OUR STAR RATING:

"I am the Messenger" {by Markus Zusak} Book Review

TITLE OF THE BOOK: I Am the Messenger

AUTHOR: Markus Zusak

NUMBER OF PAGES: 360

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2002
PUBLISHER: Alfred A. Knopf Borzoi Books

READING LEVEL: Young Adult to Adult

GENRE: Fiction

BOOK SUMMARY:

“Maybe everyone can live beyond what they’re capable of.”  Ed Kennedy

Ed Kennedy is an underage cabdriver without much of a future. He's pathetic at playing cards, hopelessly in love with his best friend, Audrey, and utterly devoted to his coffee-drinking dog, the Doorman. His life is one of peaceful routine and incompetence until he inadvertently stops a bank robbery.

That's when the first ace arrives in the mail.
That's when Ed becomes the messenger.
Chosen to care, he makes his way through town helping and hurting (when necessary) until only one question remains: Who's behind Ed's mission?

4 out of 5 stars

OUR GROUP REVIEW: Overall we gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.  We found this book to be an interesting, charming and heartwarming read. We felt it was a perfect time of year to read it as a group since it was around the holidays. It helped us each to focus on how we can help those around us.

1. What did you enjoy the most about this book?

We loved the idea of an ordinary person becoming a superhero without powers. Through a series of letters and instructions, Ed is given a glimpse into people’s lives and has to figure out how to help them, becoming 'the messenger'. We loved getting to know these people – all very different, to see what made them act the way the did and what they cared about.

2. Did we have any thoughts as to the authors writing style?

Yes, there is a very specific writing mechanism Markus Zusak used that caused a few double-takes and more than a few questions. It made for a funny and confusing topic of discussion. We won’t go into details on this because it would be a big spoiler, but this was one of the most interesting parts of this book.

3. What did we think of the main characters? Did we love or loath any characters in particular? Why?

Ed is presented as sort of ordinary in the beginning, which made it a little harder for some members to identify with him. But after discussion, we decided that Ed’s vanilla personality highlights the theme of someone ordinary doing amazing things. We fell in love with most of the characters on each of Ed’s missions, some of our favorites being the “ice cream mission,” “the old lady,” “Sophie the runner” and the “priest.” We especially loved Ed’s relationship with The Doorman, who is his smelly dog. Ed always puts words into The Doorman’s actions, which was hilarious.

4. Some of our Observations:

One thing this book really brought out is the idea that if you’re really focusing on it, you can figure out ways you can help people by observing their daily actions. We all agree that we would have to be less ‘stalker-ish’ than Ed, but we like the focus of kindness. We also discussed being on the receiving end of a kind deed and how much that can mean.

5. A Few Quotes We Loved:

 

“That was when the world wasn't so big and I could see everywhere.

It was when my father was a hero and not a human."

This prompted discussion of the moment in life when you realize your parents don’t have all the answers and they are just doing the best they can – a splintering and sobering life moment.

“She soon says, "You're my best friend, Ed."

You can kill a man with those words.

No gun.

No bullets.

Just words and a girl.”

So profound because we’ve all felt this way.

 “Big things are often just the little things that people notice.”

“We both laugh and run and the moment is so thick around me that i feel like dropping into it to let it carry me.”

Markus Zusak has a profoundly beautiful way with words. We chose to read this book after reading and loving his other book, The Book Thief last year.

To read an in depth review and analysis of this book and the ending, you can read more HERE because its hard to say much about this book without saying SPOILERS!

AUTHOR Q&A: Markus Zusak was born in Australia, and if you purchase the audio-version, the person that reads it has a charming Aussie accent. I am the Messenger actually came out years before The Book Thief, but it was the latter that made him one of the most famous Australian authors.

The Book Thief has been adapted into a major motion picture. You can watch the trailer HERE.

Markus Zusak still resides in Sidney, Australia with his wife and two children.

 

To see our photo recap complete with recipes, printables and other goodies, click HERE!

CONTENT:  PG-13 There are some tough topic matters in this book. Some of the situations are surrounded by lighthearted comments, which dulls the sharpness a little. But there are a few very intense moral dilemmas and quite a bit of swearing. Since this is a YA book, some of the members were surprised by the amount of swearing, but since Markus Zusak is from Australia, it was suggested that the weight of certain words may be different between our cultures.

*CONTENT CATEGORIES*	*RATING*
LANGUAGE/PROFANITY	Heavy
SEXUALITY	Mild
VIOLENCE	Heavy
DRUG/ALCOHOL USE	Medium
INTENSE/SCARY SCENES	Heavy

"The Diviners" {by Libba Bray} Book Review

TITLE OF THE BOOK: The Diviners

AUTHOR: Libba Bray

NUMBER OF PAGES: 592

YEAR PUBLISHED: 2012

READING LEVEL: Young Adult

GENRE: Historical Fiction

SUMMARY: Seventeen-year-old Evie O’Neill is sent to live with her bachelor uncle in New York, after her secret gift of reading information from objects gets her in trouble in Ohio. She helps her uncle in running his Museum of American Folklore, Superstition, and the Occult – also known around town as the Museum of the Creepy Crawlies, and enjoys the city party-scene. When a series of grisly, occult-themed murders begins occurring around the city, Evie’s uncle is consulted to help the police figure out what is going on, and Evie begs to be allowed to come along and help, too. Set in the “roaring twenties”, the story gives a glimpse into the time period, including flappers, funny slang, speakeasies, great music, and booze.

Star Rating: 3.2 Stars

OUR GROUP REVIEW: Kellie Hall did a great job on the book presentation and moderating the discussion. She showed us the website for the series, http://thedivinersseries.com, which has many fun features including a trailer, descriptions of all the characters, information about the author, videos, and “diviners radio” – the music playlist Libba listened to while writing the book. We watched an episode of “Supernatural Travels with Libba Bray”, which was a video she made where she shows places in New York that inspired certain locations in the book. A few of the book club members had met Libba Bray, and said she was a hoot. 

The Things we Discussed:

1. Was this book scary to you? We decided this was the creepiest book club book so far, and would have been perfect for an October pick if we had known! Many people said they couldn't read this one at night before bed. The creepiness/scariness of the book was an interesting juxtaposition to Evie's bubbly personality.

2. Who was your favorite character? Most people replied Theta and Henry right away - they liked their personalities, and their friendship. Sam and Evie were also fun characters.

3. Did you like the multiple narratives? Yes, it was fun to get the multiple back stories, and learn different characters' secrets, which wouldn't have worked as well with a single-view narrative. These tangents broke up the action a little bit, and made the flow seem "haulty" to some.

4. Who do you think Evie will end up with? Most people thought Sam, but that she will be with Jericho for a while because she feels bad for him, and that he is a ticking time bomb and may malfunction at any time.

5. Do you think it was too satanic? Most said no.

6. Did you like how she incorporated Memphis and Isaiah into the story? It felt a little segregated, they had more of a separate story line, but it was tied in a little to the others at the very end. Many people said that they expected all of the Diviners to get together before the end of the book, but they didn't. This is probably something that will take place in future books in the series.

7. "The Second Great Awakening" which happened from 1800-1830, in which there was a fever of spiritualism. The LDS Church, and other churches that were formed in that time period were mentioned in the book. 

8. "Fitter Families for Future Firesides" -(Eugenics) were encountered when Evie was at the fair. Only 4% of all Americans fit into their category to be fit for leadership. In the book, were these people also looking for Diviners?

9. Many superstitions were featured in the book: Isaiah holding his breath while passing the cemetery, voodoo, tarot, ouija boards, etc.

10. What do you think James is trying to tell Evie in her dreams? Maybe something to do with "Project Buffalo", was he an automaton? John Hobbes tells Evie that there is something she doesn't know about her brother. Was he bluffing to taunt her, or did he know? She had seen John playing checkers with James in her dream/fever state. Do the diviner gifts run in families?

11. Will says love is equally as dangerous as hate. Do you believe that? We talked about people that stay around and haunt - that may push people to do things that they otherwise wouldn't do to help them. It is easier to justify doing something awful if it is to help someone you love. Those that love someone have a harder time letting go and moving on.

12. What do you think Project Buffalo is? Do you think Sam's mother is still alive? Will, Will's fiance, Sister Walker and Marlow the billionaire guy were in on a secret thing from the government. What does Will know that he is not sharing? Sam saw papers on Will's desk. We think that Sam's mother is still alive somewhere. 

13. Who is the gray man in the stovepipe hat? He appears in the dream-landscape. He seems like he is the guy in charge, and is always there. Naughty John's father killed himself years earlier, could it be him? When John is being sucked into the pendant, he tells Evie that she doesn't know what she has released. Evil is often started by people thinking they are doing the right thing, and it morphs over time. 

14. Blind Bill - How is he involved? Maybe he was part of Project Buffalo? What power did he used to have? Was he able to see the future? He was able to take energy/power from Isaiah.

15. When the old ladies talk about Evie - "What a terrible choice to have to make", what are they talking about? This doesn't seem clear right now, and will probably play into future books.

16. Dreams - people can go to the same "dreamscape". Do the diviners feel a "pull" toward one another?

CONTENT RATINGS:

LANGUAGE/PROFANITY: Mild/Moderate

SEXUALITY: Mild/Moderate – nothing explicit, issues of rape and abortion are touched on
DRUG/ALCOHOL USE: Heavy (mostly alcohol and smoking)

INTENSE/SCARY SCENES: Heavy 

VIOLENCE: Heavy - This is a book about occult murders. Most of the violent acts take place "off screen", but the aftermath is described in detail.

"Everneath" {by Brodi Ashton} Book Review

EVERNEATH

Author: Brodi Ashton

# of Pages: 370

Year Published: January 24, 2012

Publisher: Balzer + Bray

Genre: Young Adult

Book Summery: Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath, where immortals Feed on the emotions of despairing humans. Now she's returned- to her old life, her family, her friends- before being banished back to the underworld... this time forever.

She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her. Nikki longs to spend these months reconnecting with her boyfriend, Jack, the one person she loves more than anything. But there's a problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who first enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki to the mortal world. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back- this time as his queen.

This months book club was a very special and unique experience, the author Brodi Ashton joined in on our discussion.  It was so fun to have Brodi there, she is such an enthusiastic and happy person who has a passion for writing.  It was very interesting to learn about the writing process of the book as well as to hear her insights on our thoughts, ideas and discussion questions, she also seemed intrigued by some of our interpretations of some of the themes and events in the book.