Divergent by Veronica Roth [book]

Divergent by Veronica Roth [book]

Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books, 2011
Language: English
Paperback: 576 pages
ISBN-10: 0062024035

Plot Summary:
In a world where everyone is split into categories of people there are five factions that a person can belong to: Candor, Erudite, Amity, Dauntless, and Abnegation. Beatrice has grown up with her family in Abnegation, which is the faction of the selfless. They are not able to think of themselves more than others, they cannot look into mirrors, they all must look and dress alike- they are selfless. During the ceremony that everyone must participate when they come of age, the young adults must go through a series of tests that tells them what faction they will be best suited for. They do not have to choose the faction that they test the highest at, but they may face challenges in being accepted into the faction if they do not have an affinity for it. When Beatrice goes through her tests, she finds that she is able to manipulate them and is marked as Divergent (having an aptitude for many factions), however it is very dangerous to be labelled Divergent and her tester hides her results to protect her. Beatrice ends up choosing Dauntless (the brave, and action leaders of the factions) and her brother shocks everyone by choosing to be a part of Erudite (the intelligence).
 The story follows Beatrice chose to change her name to Tris and become part of the Dauntless, get a tattoo, and be one of the people that actually makes it into the Dauntless faction (they must pass initiation to get into the faction or they are cast away to become faction less). Tris meets a boy leader named Four with whom she starts a relationship and eventually, through many experiences, finds out that he too is Divergent. There are a lot of twists and turns in initiation with the leaders of the Dauntless and the initiates but after Tris is part of Dauntless a war is beginning between the factions and in the end all of Dauntless is given a serum by select members of Dauntless and the Erudite leadership that makes them unknowingly become soldiers sent to kill. Because Tris and Four are Divergent they are not put into a trance and they team up with Tris' family to make the trance simulation stop. In the process Tris' parents are killed and Tris must face her enemies and Four in a brutal attack to save the factions and the people that she loves.

Critical Evaluation:
This book was well written and well crafted. I felt that it was an original story with characters that you felt for and wanted to succeed. The only problem that I had with this book was with keeping the factions separated and remembering all of their intricacies- I think that it might have been better to have more in depth story lines with the different factions, or characters that were more involved with the story from their faction. The faction less characters are also intriguing but I felt that it might be better if there was a map included with the book to show where all of the boundaries and factions lie. The themes of belonging and being who you are I felt were very well done and it made the audience want to understand the characters more, and see them all come together.

Reader's Annotation:
In a world split into five factions, everyone must choose their destiny. But when it is Beatrice's turn to choose, she runs into complications that may change the person that she is forever.

Websites to look Into:
http://veronicarothbooks.blogspot.com/

The Author:
Roth has said that the third book in the series will be out in Fall of 2013.

Awards:
Publisher's Weekly, Best Book of 2011
Amazon.com, Best Book of 2011
Goodreads, Best Book of 2011, Best Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction

Similar Books:
"Insurgent" by Veronica Roth
"The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins

Booktalking Ideas:
Comparisons to dystopian literature novels
A look into segregation and the idea of warfare

Genre:
Fiction, Action

Interest Age:
13+

Challenge Issues:
Violence
This book contains a large amount of war and death. I would say that it can be a challenge issue because it can be hard to read about the violence and corruption in the novel, but I would combat it with the fact that it is a fantasy novel about defying corruption and attempting to make things right in the world.

Why this Book?
This book is very engaging and popular. I think that it is fun and action packed- it is an entertaining read that looks into societies that are segregated by types of people.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner [book]

The Maze Runner by James Dashner [book]

400 pages
Publisher: Delacorte Press; 2009, Reprint edition, August 24, 2010
Language: English
ISBN: 0385737955

Plot Summary:
Thomas is a young man that wakes up in an elevator with no memory at all before he is transported into a world that he does not understand and a language that is foreign to him. In the new world that is called the Glade, Thomas learns that every month a boy has arrived as he has and that they are in a confined area surrounded by walls that close at night. When the walls are open there is a maze that is outside of the entrapment that stretches forever and the walls shift every night, and they welcome the Grievers. The Grievers are hideous monsters that kill any boy that they can capture- they do not come out during the day, but instead stalk the maze by night preventing anyone from staying in the maze over night. If anyone is stuck by a Griever they must take an antidote that changes them but only gives them partial memory of their past life.
The boys have created a society in which everyone has a role and Thomas believes that his is to figure out the maze and become one of the runners. The day after Thomas arrives, Teresa arrives (the first girl) and falls into a coma. In the events that follow Thomas spends a night in the maze and is able to make it back alive and with a plan. He becomes a runner and they start to make maps of the maze in order to figure it out, but they are running out of time. Grievers start to visit the Gladers every night and take one as they go, so they are in a battle against time to escape. Eventually they are able to decipher the maze and make a mad dash to the exit in which they must battle a number of Grievers. Once they escape they are confronted with the operators and one of them attempts to kill Thomas but fails when one of the boys jumps to save Thomas' life. In the end you are left with the idea that it is not the end for the boys, it is just the beginning.
Critical Evaluation:
I really enjoyed the language that was used in this book, it was fresh and new and really gravitated towards how all of the boys thought and felt. It shows that they are still boys even though they have to act like adults in order to get out of their situation. The characters relationships are interesting because the boys have created a society in which they must assign tasks and be organized- they even have a council. It shows the power struggle between trusting Thomas and Teresa and trying to get by the Grievers. They all have a tenuous hold on reality and in this you can see that some of them are not aware of what their real thoughts are. I liked the action filled plot and I thought that the book moved at a good pace, although it did drive me a little crazy to constantly be questioning every characters move. It was a nice touch to give the reader the same point of view of Thomas in being introduced to the new world with him (because of his amnesia).

Reader's Annotation:
Thomas arrives in a world of nightly horror in which he cannot remember his past life. He must try to unfold the story of how to get out of this new life, and the appearance of the first girl to the new world has now changed everything.

Websites to look Into:
http://www.jamesdashner.com/

Awards:
New Hampshire Isinglass Teen Read Award (2010-2011)
Missouri Truman Readers Award (2011-2012)
New Jersey Garden State Teen Book Award (2012)
Arizona Grand Canyon Reader Award (2012)
Georgia Peach Book Award for Teens (2012)
NYSRA Charlotte Award (2012)
Florida Teens Read! Award (2011-2012)

Similar Books:
"The Scorch Trials" by James Dashner
"The Death Cure" by James Dashner
"The Kill Order" by James Dashner

Booktalking Ideas:
A comparison between the classic Lord of the Flies novel
A discussion about how the trilogy evolves

Genre:
Science Fiction

Interest Age:
13-19 yrs.

Challenge Issues:
Violence
This book does contain a lot of violent themes, both within the group of boys and with the outside world. I would combat this with the fact that they are trying to escape oppression in the novel and doing everything that they can do to survive.

Why this Book?
When I read this book, it really reminded me of Lord of the Flies meets Hunger Games. I thought that it was interesting and that the characters and plot very edgy, and that young adults would take interest in this book.

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card [book]

Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card [book]

New York : Tor, 1985, 1994, c1991
xxvi, 324 p. ; 18 cm

ISBN: 9780812550702 : 0812550706

Plot Summary:
Ender (Andrew) Wiggin is the youngest in his family and in a world where children are bred for the military and their mental prowess. Ender is inevitably chosen for Battle School because of fight that he gets in with a boy at school that is more powerful (he kills him, but it unaware that he had done so) and beats him with his stimulator removed. Battle School is situated in space around earth's orbit and is meant to train cadets in battle with simulations and mental ability games. Ender is recruited by Graff, and immediately Graff begins to seclude and isolate Ender from his peers by setting him apart. Ender is confused, he is young made to stand out amongst people he would like to get along with. Eventually Ender does make friends when he is put into battle formations and simulations with a squad, in which he starts to win the games and develop tactics that have never been seen before. Ender has many tribulations with other leaders of squads because of his ability and one of the fights ends in another death by Ender's hand.
Not wanting to allow Ender too much comfort, Ender is soon transferred to command school many years before he actually should have been. Throughout the story you learn that they are battling Formic aliens for earth in order to keep their world (or so they tell the cadets). When Ender is transferred he begins tutelage under a former battler of the aliens and is again isolated and put to more demanding game simulations. In the end Ender is put into one more game simulation as his final test, and in it he breaks the rules that the commanders have given him and wins the battle, effectively destroying the entire race of aliens. After the game Ender is told that it was no game and that everything that happened was real, and the battle was over and won by Ender. Back on earth Ender's siblings have started a political uprising through a myriad of essays on politics and although all Ender wants is to return to his family, they cannot allow him to do so because of his new found glory and power and what that would do to the political unrest of earth. Ender is sent to another planet in which he finds traces of the alien race that he killed, and attempts to gather what is left and send it to another place to repopulate because he thinks that that is what is right in the end.

Critical Evaluation:
This book is very well written and carries themes of being an outsider, genocide, and what the military can really mean for our population. Ender is such a good character to follow because he wants to do what is right but cannot figure out what the right choice is amongst people that are trying to control him. He is never fully aware of his power, but always attempts to do what is right. I thought it was such a good twist in the end of the novel that Ender attempts to save the aliens after he has destroyed them unknowingly. It showed that even though he did the wrong thing, he attempted to make it right. I also thought the dual story line between Peter and earth was a good touch to the story showing that even though Ender was going through such turmoil in space, there was a war going on on earth with political figure heads and children encouraging the hierarchy of war.

Reader's Annotation:
In the future Ender, a young boy, is chosen by the military to train for an upcoming war against invading aliens on the planet. He is put through rigorous training through video games and secluded with a group of almost equally gifted peers, but not everything is at it seems in the fight for the future.

Websites to look Into:
http://www.hatrack.com/

Awards:
Nebula Award, 1985: Best Novel
Hugo Award, 1896: Best Novel
SF Chronicle Award, 1986: Best Novel
Hamilton-Brakett Award, 1986

Similar Books:
"Ender's Shadow" by Orson Scott Card
"Speaker for the Dead" by Orson Scott Card
"Harry Potter" by J.K. Rowling

Booktalking Ideas:
Discussion of video games and how the novel is still pertinent to these landscapes

Genre:
Science Fiction/ Fantasy

Interest Age:
13-19 yrs.

Challenge Issues:
Violence
This book does deal with bullying and violence in the war games and tactics that Ender must endure, but I would combat this with the fact that he is playing video games and that war is a very real thing in our world and our culture. Ender also deals with jealousy issues from his classmates and bullying, but he stays true to himself and in the end saves all of them, so I think that it shows young adults that they are stronger than they may think in maintaining who they are through struggle.
Why this Book?
I love this book, and I feel that it has a strong following. Even though it was written in the 80's it is still very relevant to the way that people play video games and it was extremely intuitive for Card to have written this unaware of what the future would hold.

Glow (Sky Chasers) by Amy Kathleen Ryan [book]

Glow (Sky Chasers) by Amy Kathleen Ryan [book]

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin, September 13, 2011
Language: English
Hardcover: 320 pages
ISBN: 0312590563

Plot Summary:
There are 2 ships that have been sent into space to find and inhabit another planet. The first ship (New Horizon) was sent a year before the last and has had little to no contact with the ship (Empyrean) that the main character lives on. Waverly is the main character who is 15 years old and is the oldest of the generation that has been born in deep space; she is expected to get married and start to procreate because conception has been difficult in deep space. Waverly and Kieren are the couple on the ship, but there is another boy that Waverly has a connection with- Seth. Kieren is a charismatic handsome leader, while Seth is darker and more cynical.
The New Horizon is slowing down to catch up with the Empyrean and no one on the ship is aware of why it is happening; the only thing that they know is that the New Horizon has had trouble with conception on their ship. When the ships meet, all of the girls are taken to the New Horizon, the parents are either killed or trapped in the ship, and the boys are left to man the Empyrean alone. On the New Horizon you realize that the ships were separated before they were sent into space by religious factions, and the world that the Empyrean knew may not have been the truth.

Critical Evaluation:
This book is easy to read and it is in the language of a young adult. The plot is interesting and the characters are well formed, as well as multi- faceted. This book could be compared to other science fiction novels in which there is a heroin with 2 love prospects, but Waverly constantly has an inner struggle about being too young which is a good point of view for unsure teenagers. The themes of religion and moral obligation are strong and leave the reader to wonder about what the right thing to do is.

Reader's Annotation:
Waverly is a 15 year old girl that is the first generation to be born in deep space, she is expected to start the new generation for the new planet but the sister ship in space is slowing down in order to catch up with them and everyone is in the dark about what is to come.

Websites to Look Into:
http://amykathleenryan.com/
http://amykathleenryan.blogspot.com/

The Author:
A fun fact about this author is that she always liked writing stories, but didn't become a serious reader until she discovered A Wrinkle in Time, by Madeleine L'Engle.

Awards:
School Library Journal, 2011: Best Books of 2011
Publishers Weekly, 2011: Best Audiobooks of 2011

Similar Books:
"Spark (Sky Chasers)" by Amy Kathleen Ryan
"Legend" by Marie Lu
"Daughter of Smoke and Bone" by Laini Taylor

Booktalking Ideas:
Science Fiction/ Fantasy novels that fit in with this type of book (Twilight, Hunger Games)
Compare the book to other books about space and books about religion/ totalitarian regimes

Genre:
Science Fiction

Interest Age:
13+

Challenge Issues:
Sexuality
The book refers to the main character (who is 15) needing to procreate in order to maintain the human population in space. I would combat this with the fact it is in an alternate world and young adults at this time in their life are starting to come into their sexuality at this time as well; this character also does not heed the pressure to get married and procreate in the novel.

Why this Book?
This book deals with complex issues of religion, moral values, being true to yourself, and trust. It is a fun book that really struck me as being interesting and compelling because I have not read anything like it previously.