Behind the Gates (Guest review by Kaitlyn)

In a terrifying future world, four girls must depend on each other if they want to survive.
Louisa is nervous about being sent away to a boarding school -- but she’s excited, too. And she has her best friend, Maddie, to keep her company. The girls have to pretend to be twin sisters, which Louisa thinks just adds to the adventure!
Country Manor School isn’t all excitement, though. Louisa isn’t sure how she feels about her new roommates: athletic but snobby Rosie and everything’s-a-conspiracy Evelyn. Even Maddie seems different away from home, quiet and worried all the time.
Still, Louisa loves CMS -- the survival skills classes, the fresh air. She doesn’t even miss not having a TV, or the internet, or any contact with home. It’s for their own safety, after all.
Or is it?

My Review

I think that the plot was pretty good, there were some parts where it just seemed kind of slow but then others where it was fast paced but a lot of the time it was just in between slow and fast so I guess you could say it had an average paced plot.

I liked how when the author described the characters then it was more than just what they looked like and how they feel and think and stuff like that. I think some of the characters were a little annoying at times but most of the time I thought they were good.

 I think that the setting was pretty good. Although sometimes the author made the setting a little confusing but other than that the setting went well with the plot.

 I think the people that should read this would be fans of young adult dystopia literature.

Final Thoughts: Over all I think that the book was good but I would have liked to see some of the slower parts taken out and maybe faster ones in their place. Sometimes it felt like it didn't get intense until the very end, but to sum it up, I enjoyed reading this book, it was something I didn't want to put down.

Book Details

Title: Tomorrow Girls: Behind the Gates

Author: Eva Gray

Genre: Dystopia

Page Count: 240

Publishing Info: Scholastic

Why I Read It: ARC

Grade: B+ (liked it a lot)

Cover Thoughts: The cover doesn't exactly match the story but it is a cool cover.

Review: Alcatraz vs. the Shattered Lens

Book Details

Title: Alcatraz Versus The Shattered Lens

Author: Brandon Sanderson

Genre: YA Fantasy

Page Count: 304

Publishing Info: December 1st 2010 by Scholastic Press

My Review

Why I read it: 4th in a series

The Plot: The boy with all the wrong Talents has a lot to prove and, as always, little time in which to do it.  In this final adventure, Alcatraz faces an army of librarians--and their giant librarian robots--as they battle to win the kingdom of Mokia.

The Characters: Alcatraz seems to grow up a bit in this book, and as a narrator he is very likable and fun.  Throughout the series, though, I've never really been able to connect with any of the characters to the point where I really cared what happened to them.

The Setting: In this book, we are mostly in the fantasy land of Mokia.  The setting is fine, and Sanderson is capable of doing incredible world-building, but I think he saves that for his adult fantasy, and this is more about being clever and punny.

A Sample of the Writing:
Change.
It's important to change.  I, for instance, change my underwear every day.  Hopefully you do too.  If you don't, please stay downwind. 

Who Should Read This? People who have already read the first three books in the Alcatraz series--this series is for those looking for really, really light YA fantasy.

Final Thoughts: I've commented before on the humor in these books, and how some people might find it over the top.  Well, in this fourth book, it got to me.  There were some funny parts still, but a lot of the time it felt forced, and I actually got bored.  This is the first time I've felt like skimming while reading a book by Brandon Sanderson. 

Grade: C

Cover Thoughts: The covers in these are always fun.  And what's even more fun is that Alcatraz (as the narrator) refers to a cover from a previous book during the story.

 

Alcatraz Versus the Scrivener's Bones

Book Details:
Genre: YA Fantasy
Page Count: 322
Publication Date: Nov. 1, 2008
Why I read it: 2nd in series
Grade: B

The plot:
In this second Alcatraz adventure, Alcatraz finds himself on a mission to meet Grandpa Smedry when he gets swept up by a flying glass dragon filled with his unusual and mouthy Smedry cohorts.

Their mission? A dangerous, library-filled one, of course!

They are on their way to the ancient and mysterious Library of Alexandria (which some silly people think was long ago destroyed!) where they must find Grandpa Smedry, look for clues leading to Alcatraz's potentially undead dead father, and battle the creepy, dangerous soul-sucking curators who await them.

My review:
I think that my sense of humor meshes pretty well with Brandon Sandersons. It would have to, otherwise I'd find this book incredibly annoying. There is humor throughout, and sometimes I think it's almost trying too hard to be funny. But at the same time, I think that's part of the charm of this book.

There isn't a ton that happens here--it's really just one adventure, but I didn't feel like the book lacked plot at all. It was actually really interesting, and not at all predictable, which is nice. The story always seems to be going in one crazy direction after another. I honestly think it might be a bit much for some people. I can easily see how people could find the writing over the top, especially the humor. But it was right up my alley, and it was a quick fun read, especially for someone in a book slump.

I think if you had teen boys who wanted to find something to read, they would love this series. It would also be a fun bedtime story to read with your kids, if you like to do that kind of thing. This is nothing like Brandon Sanderson's other fantasy novels. It seems like whatever he writes is good, so as long as he keeps writing, I'll keep reading.

Alcatraz vs. the Evil Librarians

Book Details:
Genre: Juvenile Fantasy
Page Count: 308
Publication Date: Oct. 1, 2007
Why I read it: I like the author
Grade: B

The plot:
A hero with an incredible talent...for breaking things. A life-or-death mission...to rescue a bag of sand. A fearsome threat from a powerful secret network...the evil Librarians.

Alcatraz Smedry doesn't seem destined for anything but disaster. On his 13th birthday he receives a bag of sand, which is quickly stolen by the cult of evil Librarians plotting to take over the world. The sand will give the Librarians the edge they need to achieve world domination. Alcatraz must stop them!...by infiltrating the local library, armed with nothing but eyeglasses and a talent for klutziness.

My review:
Brandon Sanderson is one of my favorite authors. So I was curious to see what this childrens fantasy series would be like. I can't say I like it as well as his adult fantasy, but it was highly enjoyable for sure. It's written in the style as if the main character is writing his story, and there are a lot of instances of the character (as the author, or is it the author as the character?) talking to the reader. This type of thing can be done well or it can be incredibly annoying. Fortunately, it was done well and was very fun.

Alcatraz is a great character, and I think one that older children especially will love. The whole book is very clever and creative. Here's a quote that I particularly liked:

Now, actual torture is frowned upon in civilized society. Fortunately, the authorial community has discovered in storytelling an even more powerful--and more fulfilling--means of causing agony in others. We write stories. And by doing so, we engage in a perfectly legal method of doing all kinds of mean and terrible things to our readers.
Take, for instance, the word I used above. Propondity. There is no such word--I made it up. Why? Because it amused me to think of thousands of readers looking up a nonsense word in their dictionaries.

This is the writing style of the book, so if the above quote sound fun to you, you'll probably like it. If it seems annoying, steer clear. This is not a book for everyone. I would say that just because you enjoy Sanderson's adult fantasy does not mean you will like this. It's completely different in style. But if you like silly, fun children's fantasy, or you're looking for something fun for your kids to read, this is a great choice.

Mockingjay

Book Details:
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Page Count: 390
Publication Date: August 24, 2010
Why I read it: 3rd in series
Grade: A+

Cover thoughts:
I love this cover. The colors are great, I love the picture of the mockingjay. The only thing is, why do publishers or authors or whoever does the cover design think that Stephenie Meyer's opinion is a good thing to put on there? I mean, really.

About the author:
Suzanne Collins is the author of the Hunger Games trilogy and The Underland Chronicles. She is amazing, and you can check out her website here.

The plot:
I don't want to give away spoilers for this book or the previous two, so I'll just say here that this is the third and final book in the Hunger Games trilogy, and it blew me away. If you've not yet read The Hunger Games, get off the computer immediately and go buy the whole trilogy. And then read it. I'm not kidding around here.

Characters:
Oh, Katniss, I really love you, but you break my heart. How you are not a puddle of goo on the floor by the end of the series, I'll never know. I love the characters in these books. I must admit that I've always been Team Gale, but this book for me was really all about Katniss. And Finnick a little bit. Okay, a lot. I loved Finnick. But so many of the characters in this book were broken down and at the end of their rope. It was hard to read at times. There were times when I had to put the book down so I could cry for a little bit. And there were times when I was literally sobbing.

Setting:
This series is set in the future in what used to be the United States. Collins has created an amazing world here, although definitely not one that I'd like to visit anytime soon. Or ever.

Notable quotes:
"You're still trying to protect me. Real or not real," he whispers.
"Real," I answer. - "Because that's what you and I do, protect each other."

"Is that why you hate me?" I ask.
"Partly," She admits. "Jealousy is certainly involved. I also think you're a little hard to swallow. With your tacky romantic drama and your defender-of-the-helpless act. Only it isn't an act, which makes you more unbearable. Please feel free to take this personally."

Read this if you're in the mood for: the best book you've read in a long time. But first read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire.

Continue or part ways? In case I haven't made it clear, I loved this book. No, it wasn't perfect, but after waiting for this book all year, I wasn't disappointed at all. I'm only disappointed that I read it so fast and now I'm done. I don't want to read anything else right now because I'm afraid nothing will measure up. I haven't read the Underland Chronicles yet, so I'll be getting to those when I get a chance, and I'll definitely be reading anything else Collins writes.