I would like to begin by stating that I am crushing on the cover of this book. It's GORGEOUS. To be honest, when it was unpacked from our book order in February, I picked it up to read just because it was beautiful. Judge me for my shallowness if you must, but I'm just stating the facts. If you don't believe in the power of a good book cover, you're lying to yourself and everyone around you.
Here's the first piece of good news: Walk on Earth a Stranger was selected as one of the Tome Society's It List Books for 2016-2017. What's Tome Society & the It List? Please let my dear friends who created Tome Society explain it best themselves: "The goal for the Tome It Lists is to provide students with a list of recently published, well-written, engaging novels they and the adults in their lives can trust to be awesome reads without worrying about excessive strong language and descriptive sexual scenes. At Tome Society we believe in intellectual freedom and strive to protect it, but we also recognize a need for a student book award list that promotes high quality, clean books. The It List is meant to be another option in a large group of student book award lists. We want to give students the choice to read new, clean, encouraging books. We believe students should be encouraged through well-written, fun-to-read literature to rise above discouraging situations and cycles of destructive behavior; to make a difference in the world around them; and to look beyond themselves and reflect on how their personal decisions will impact present and future generations." So, if you're a parent and you're looking for clean reads for your students, then look no further than the It Lists! Now, let's get back to the task at hand--reviewing Walk on Earth a Stranger. Awesome cover? CHECK. Awesome story line? DOUBLE CHECK. Rae Carson introduces us to book one of the Gold Seer Trilogy by beginning the story in Dahlonega (hooray for North Georgia) just after the Gold Rush there that made a lot of people rich and instilled gold fever in the hearts of others. Lee Westfall, the main character, is a young woman with a big secret during this time of adventure, discovery, hopes, dreams, and greed: she can sense GOLD anywhere in the world around her. If someone is wearing a gold watch nearby, she can sense it. Is there a large vein of gold in a riverbed she's close to? She can barely function because the pull from the gold is so great. You can only imagine what Lee could do with her power during the Gold Rush, especially when gold is discovered in California in 1848. She could make a lot of money for someone else and she could provide for her family, but she and her family know that they have to keep her power a secret because other people would do anything to have Lee use her ability to help them get rich. Other people would even commit murder to get to Lee. When Lee's entire world is turned upside down, she flees for California, dodging thieves, sickness, wild animals, and other hardships of a westward bound wagon train all while trying to keep herself alive and her ability a secret. This combination of historic fiction and fantasy will keep you interested from beginning to end and you'll find yourself living and breathing right along with the Old West's pioneers. Book two of the Gold Seer Trilogy, Like a River Glorious, will be released on September 27, 2016. We will be ready when it's time to pre-order!
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Any innocent, non-suspecting person who has set foot in the Media Center this year asking for book recommendations has received an ear-full from me about this series. And I am not lying when I make the following statement: The Throne of Glass series is one of the BEST fantasy series that I have read. Ever. Let me preface this review by saying I'm a huge fan of Young Adult (YA) Literature (obviously, because I am a high school media specialist), but I am also a devoted and diehard fan of high fantasy series like The Lord of the Rings (of Tolkien, I am not worthy) and The Song of Fire and Ice (most commonly referred to as Game of Thrones--and please don't talk to me about the HBO series. I refuse to watch it--don't ruin my nice things). I love and appreciate both of these fantasy works because of the complexity of the stories, the intricacies of the characters, and the plot twists that come out of no where and leave you in the fetal position crying for your mother because "HOW COULD THE AUTHOR DO THIS!?!?!?". Or in my case, physically throwing my book across the room (this is why I don't read a book that is "new to me" on my Kindle). With all that being said, Throne of Glass is definitely going down as legendary in my mind and every student and adult that has followed my somewhat forceful recommendations of this series (sorry guys, I'm passionate) has not been disappointed. They love it ALMOST as much as I do--to the point where I ordered another set of the series at the end of the year because I could never keep it on the shelves long enough without having a hold list five people deep.
Okay, so what's the series about? I'll give you the run down of the first book because if I give you more, there will be spoilers. Throne of Glass follows the story of 18 year old Celaena Sardothien, an assassin, who is released from this terrible hard labor camp for her crimes. She is released by the Prince who says that she can earn her freedom if she acts as his champion during a brutal competition to name the next royal assassin. During this competition, she will have to take on professional assassins, murderers, thieves, and brutes who will surely make her quest for freedom one that could end her life. Celaena is more comfortable with knives and weapons meant to maim than the niceties of court life, but she's forced to deal with both if she wants to avoid going back to the labor camp again. There's a little bit of romance (don't roll your eyes, I promise it stays interesting), adventure, suspense, magic, mystery, violent escapades, and plenty of unexpected twists and turns. A heads up for our younger readers: the content can be mature at times (i.e. don't come up in here expecting a "clean" read). Read the entire series--Maas only gets better as a writer as the series develops in the later books. There is also a bound set of the prequels (The Assassins Blade--but don't read it until you've read what's out in the series so far) and those fill in the gaps for the back story, because in the fashion of a good epic, Throne of Glass begins in media res. The series is not yet completed; Book 5: Empire of Storms has an expected release date of September 6, 2016 (PRAISE HANDS. My calendar is marked.) and Book 6 should be the final installment in the series. Take a chance on chance on this one, regardless if you are a fan of fantasy or not, because you will thank me profusely. I take payment in the form of Almond Joys or coconut cupcakes from Truelove's Bakery. Happy Reading! Jenn Gibson, Media Specialist Science Fiction. It's not my traditional genre that I will devour in a few hours/days, however Red Rising by Pierce Brown was an exception. I was pleasantly surprised by this one, especially when I was initially skeptical about the line on the front of the book cover that says: "Ender, Katniss, and now Darrow." Right... However, I am a HUGE fan of Ender's Game and The Hunger Games, so I felt like I needed to give it a shot. I always do my ratings research on Goodreads too before I read, so I was shocked when I saw the 4.23 star rating on this book and I was even more surprised when I realized that was the average after almost 75,000 reviews. I am definitely glad that I started off my summer reading with this book and the subsequent books in the trilogy. It follows the story of 16 year old Darrow, a young man who is a "Helldiver" and mans the one of the drills on Mars. He, along with other Red "pioneers," is responsible for harvesting gas from below the surface of the Red Planet in hopes of one day making it inhabitable for others. These Reds are on the lowest rung of this futuristic society and within the first few pages of the book, you discover they have been betrayed by their leaders and Mars has been inhabited by their people for hundreds of years. The story follows Darrow's attempt to thwart the government's leadership and the upper class, all while seeking revenge, power, and glory. The thin line between what's right and wrong blurs quickly, and the subsequent challenges and strife will keep you on the edge of your seat to the very end. If you are a fan of Ender's Game, The Hunger Games, Lord of the Flies, City of Ember, and the classic The Man with the Iron Mask, this is definitely a book to pick up. If you refuse to read a series until it's complete, the final book of this trilogy was released earlier this year so IT IS FINISHED! I promise you will not be disappointed and I highly recommend this novel for upper level high school and adults (there is some mature content so I would not readily hand this over to a 14 year old).
**Side note: a movie is in the works and I am telling you this will be better than The Hunger Games film series ever thought about being. I cannot wait to see how they translate this story to the big screen and from what I have heard, Pierce Brown is writing the screenplay so it will stay true to the author's intent. "Kneel or Bleed." That's the tagline for Victoria Aveyard's newest release in the Red Queen series, Glass Sword. While I enjoyed Red Queen, this second novel has me hooked and waiting anxiously for the release of books three and four in this series. If you enjoy fantasy, action, and adventure, this is definitely a series for you! The premise of the Red Queen series and this book follows the struggle between two factions in a society: the Silvers and the Reds. The Silvers (identified by their silver blood) rule and govern the society because of their special powers and abilities. The Reds (identified by their red blood) do not possess powers or abilities that make them special so they are relegated to the "common" working class. Glass Sword and Red Queen have it all--betrayal, action, rebellion, suspense, and the unexpected. The characters are excellent, the plot is thorough and twisted and it will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last word. Glass Sword is one of the top YA books released in 2016 and based on my experience and the reaction of other students and teachers who have read it, it is a MUST READ! Jenn Gibson Media Specialist |
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This book blog is maintained by Gibson, but our CHS students and staff will also blog occasionally on this site! Archives
August 2018
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