....Octavian Nothing....

This story was written with YA readers in mind. It tells the story of a young boy, Octavian. Not much is known about him at the beginning of the novel. We know he lives with his mother in a house with a lot of men. These men, unlike him and his mother, do not have names they go by numbers. We find out that the men are philosophers and they are training Octavian. He is used as an experiment to see if the African race and the European race is equal, or is one better than the other.

Upon first reading this novel I did not feel it was for YA readers. After a class discussion I feel like that would be underestimating all young adult readers. The writing style in this book is very different from all the other books discussed in this blog. It is more sophisticated. It takes a while, maybe 50 or 60 pages, to become accustomed to the writing style of MT Anderson. The issues raised in this book are somewhat different than other YA books. This book tackles issues like race. It may get YA readers thinking about how they feel about their own race.

I feel like the only reason this book is classified as YA is because the main character is a young man. If it had been an adult this book could have easily gone with adult literature. The most important thing in this novel is to make sure you discuss it in your class.

If I had to recommend this book to a particular group, it would be seniors in an AP literature class. This book could be easy to get into if you are able to discuss why things are happening, and the significance of some events that take place in the book.

! ! ! ! THE HUNGER GAMES ! ! ! ! !

This well written novel by Suzanne Collins is definitely a page turner. It has been so long since I read a book and got the feeling that I got after reading this book. It takes place in a sort of futuristic society. After much rebellion and a some natural disaster the new world, Panem, is all that is left. Panem is divided into 12 districts and some are better off then others in terms of wealth. Our protagonist lives in one of the worst districts, district 12. She is the sole provider for her family which consist of her mother who did not take the death of her husband well and her little sister Prim. Katniss is all these two people have. She goes out and hunts every day and sells and cooks everything she catches.

The Capitol, or government, has set up a reality show for all of Panem to watch called the hunger games. This is where two people from each district are picked to fight it out in an arena to the death. There can only be one winner. After a very dramatic drawing in district 12 the two contestants are chosen...Katniss and Peeta.

When the games begin Katniss realizes there is no point in teaming up with anyone because when its all said and done they will have to fight to the death anyway. This is hard for Peeta accept, especially considering he is madly in love with her.

This book is filled with stories of survival, love, trust, and betrayal. Because of this book I am an OFFICIAL fan of Suzanne Collins. I bought the book and plan on re-reading it many times because I know there are things that I missed in reading it. There is a sequel to this book, Catching Fire, that I am DYING to read. I have already ordered it online and I am IMpatiently waiting by the mailbox everyday for it to come. This book reminds me of why I love to read. When you can get so wrapped in a book, you feel like you know the characters, the author as accomplished what they should have. This book will have you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. If your anything like me it will have you laughing, crying, and cheering out loud! I am surprised at how much this book invoked emotions in me that no YA book has yet to do.

This book is an amazing read and I would suggest it to anyone who wants to take a journey outside of their own reality.

The Rag and Bone Shop

This book written by Robert Cormier is a mystery/suspense story. It tells the story of a 12-year old boy, Jason. He is somewhat of an outsider. He does manage to make friends with a little girl named Alicia. The fact that she is only 7 does not seem to bother Jason. They spend time together doing things like jigsaw puzzles, which Alicia absolutely loves. When Alicia turns up dead the police have no physical evidence pointing to anyone as the culprit, so they rely on a "gut feeling" that Jason has committed this horrible crime. They call in an expert interrogator who is known for getting confessions to come in and try to get Jason to confess this crime. As Trent, the interrogator, is questioning young Jason we get mixed signals. He seems innocent but some of his actions may indicate otherwise.

Basically this story goes through the interrogation of a seemingly innocent child and the pressures of the police to satisfy the town with a confession so they can sleep at night knowing the killer has been caught. The reader gets taken on a journey through the life of this little boy and his relationship with the victim. We see how being alone in this small, dark, and clustered room with Trent leads Jason to discover something about himself no one ever could have suspected.

I think this book was a good read. It was really slow in the beginning especially with the character development. A book can always get on my good side if I can imagine the characters in my head. If i can see them outside of the book I feel like the author did a good job of giving me a sense of who the character is. I feel like Cormier could have done a better job with going more into the characters lives. Also, I would have liked him to go into more detail about the murder. For example the scene where Alicia was found was very descriptive; the way she was placed on the ground, how she was covered, and even her facial expression. I would have liked to know why all these things happened the way they did.

The book was also presented from multiple point of views. At times students may find this confusing, but after analyzing why the author would have done this, I feel like it was important. We get a sense of how the other characters in the story feel about Jason's innocence. Some characters refer to him as the young man, while others call him the culprit.

I liked this book for its suspenseful aspect as well as its amazing use of descriptive words. (Used GREAT vocabulary.) I would recommend it for sophomore level students.