The Death Cure

This is a great book, very addicting and hard to put down. This book by James Dashner is the final book of the maze runner trilogy. I would recommend this book to anybody. You would probably want to read the first two books, Maze Runner and Scorch Trials.

This book is about the flare, a horrible epidemic that makes people go insane. It was a man made disease, intended for biological warfare, that got released when sun flares hit the earth. That is why its called the flare.

To find the cure for the flare, all the nations of the earth united and formed WICKED (World In Catastrophe Killzone Experiment Department.) Then they took healthy young adults that were not infected and ran tests on them through different trials. Their brains were wiped out so they would think the trials are real. This helped them study how the brain reacts to different variables, or challenges that they were faced with. They need to research the brain because that is where the flare targets.

Thomas hates wicked, and so does all of his friends that went through the trials with him. He can't trust them with all of the lies they have told him, and the horrible things they have done to him. Though WICKED is trying to find a cure to help save the world, they will stop at nothing to get it, even if it means killing innocent people. Thomas and his friends, and many other people in society that disagree with WICKED are willing to do whatever it takes to stop WICKED.

This book shows that government, or authority isn't always perfect, even when it seems their intentions are good. They may have the right goals, but not the right steps to get there. WICKED wanted to save people with a cure, but killed innocent people to try and get it.

Another thing this book showed is that the people should have just as much authority as the government. WICKED was controlling the people, taking away there family to study them, wasting money to torture people. More money was clearly needed to prevent the disease, because it was spreading so fast, but WICKED was hogging it all. The money WICKED had could have been better spent if the people had a say in it.

This was a great book. There are some very sad parts throughout the book because of how corrupt WICKED is. It is one of my favorite books though. It is a very addicting book, you can't read a chapter and then put it down. If you are looking for a good book to read, this is the one.

The Scorch Trials

Thomas and his Glader friends were convinced after “The Maze” that they could back to there old lives. Little did they know that was not how it was going to work out. In the second book of the series "The Scorch Trials ," Thomas and his friends have a whole new challenge ahead of them that no one saw coming. As "WICKED" puts these boys and one girl into an all new scenario, it's almost impossible to stop reading. This is an amazing fictional book that shows how cruel the world can really be.

When Thomas and his Glader friends were saved at the end of "The Maze Runner," they were told that they were going somewhere safe after Teresa triggered “the end” and they managed to escape the maze. Thomas and Teresa are best friends. They can speak telepathically to each other. Oh, they’re kind of in love.

The Gladers find themselves in a structure almost like a dormitory. There's no food, just water. Teresa has disappeared and they can no longer speak telepathically, but Thomas did find another boy in Teresa’s room who can speak telepathically with him. The strangest part of what the new boy explains is that he came from a group B, an all girls group going through the same struggles. A rat faced man, as Thomas describes him, comes to them from WICKED and tells them they have one more trial. Another bomb the rat faced man drops is that everyone has a fatal disease called the "flare" and at the end of the trial the reward is the cure.

This book entire series is based on flares that consumed the Earth, changing its environment and baking the world. The sun flares also unleashed a lethal disease that is nicknamed “the flare.” The government has disintegrated and brought all order down with it. With the world having a dangerous disease and only the richest people in the world being to get a medicine that slows the disease, the world is in chaos. More than most of the population are "Cranks," as they call themselves. Cranks have the flare disease, which drives them insane, and to death. Hunting for their next meal is what matters most, and they will even eat each other.

As the boys battle all new troubles this series gets more interesting. Meeting new friends and new enemies makes this book thrilling all the way to the end. At the end the book has a twist I sure didn't see coming. It's packed full of adventure, suspense, and it's full of creative chaos that still somehow makes perfect sense.

I really enjoyed reading this book it kept me on edge the entire time. This book has some pretty extreme violence that was kind of scary at times. I suggest you read this book though if you like suspense and adventure.

The Maze Runner

The Maze Runner by James Dashner is an amazing book and it really sparked my creativity. Picture waking up in a strange place. How would you feel? Would you be scared? In James Dashner’s exciting fictional book it's going to keep you up until one in the morning with your eyes glued to the page. The maze runner is the first book in this thrilling series that has two sequels, The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure.

Thomas (the main character) arrives in this strange new environment in a metal box in which they all arrived in, to a group of boys, that call themselves the Gladers, who teach him to survive in the giant maze where they live. One of the many things Thomas learns is the Glader language with weird words like shuck, and shank. The most important rule the boys explain is to Not go into the maze at night.

Weird creatures called Grievers come out at night in the maze and inflict an extremely painful sting to anyone who is unfortunate enough to get left out in the maze at night. If the inflicted does not get the cure, nicknamed “the grief serum” then death is inevitable. For the people that do get this special cure, they start going through “the changing.” " The changing," is a side affect to the grief serum and it happens to be the only way to get some of your memories back.

One problem the boys understand is that they need to quickly solve the maze. In effect to that they have special group of boys called runners that run through the maze all day trying to figure it out. The runners have only two problems grievers and they can't make any progress because the maze changes every night.

When two important leaders go to check on a dead Griever and don’t come back, the Gladers become even more suspicious of Thomas because they think he's involved somehow. As the gates to the maze start to close that night Thomas see’s the missing leaders, Minho and Alby. The problem is that Minho is carrying what looks to a be a injured Alby. Thomas of course runs into the maze as the doors are closing to try and help save his new friends. When the Grievers come, Minho takes off while Thomas climbs the ivy covered walls with an unconscious Alby.

There happens to be a major twist to the ending that makes it perfect for leading up to book number two. This is one of the most interesting books I've ever read I mean the ideas in this book are a little out there which makes it actually really good. One interesting thought this book gave me was what if something like that could really happen in our future world? I also think the author may have done that purposely to show what could eventually be in store for us.

I thought this book was maybe a little creepy at times but over all it was really good. I'm not sure if I would want my nine year old brother reading this book but if you're more mature than a nine year old you should be golden.

Fever Crumb

The book that I read for my book review is called Fever Crumb by Phillip Reeve. Mr. Reeve did an excellent job in this book with making it fast-paced and exciting. This book was hard to put down and some nights I would be able to read it forever if I didn't get tired.

Fever Crumb is about a girl named Fever Crumb, who lives in London in the future. She was apprentice of an engineer that had adopted her. She never knew much about her parents and would have never believed that her dad was a Scriven leader. Scriven once was a race that had ruled London until they where overtaken by a violent defianace. One day she was approached by an archeologist named Kit Solent asking her to come on a top secret exploration. She abandoned her aspirations of becoming an engineer and left with Kit to embark on what will be a life-threatening adventure. Right when she got to the city that the exploration was taking place, she had to hide because a brutal Scriven killer was on the hunt for her named Bagman Creech . She then finds out about her parents and also that she was saved as a baby from death but left with her dad's memories. Kit tells Fever about "The Movement" which are groups of Scriven that had survived and who are planning to take over London once again and then they decided that that's where Fever has to go to survive. On the way, Kit dies but Fever makes it and finds out that her parents are still alive. You will have to read it to find out if the Scriven take over London or if they are once again defeated.

This was a good book and I would grade an A because of the action and amazing story line.

Leviathan

WWI with a creative twist. This is Leviathan, a science fiction fantasy novel with a great story. This takes place in the 1910's where German and Austro-Hungarian Empires control large, steam powered machines while the British and the Russians control monstrous beasts bred for war. It all begins with an Austro-Hungarian prince named Alek. Alek is a 16 year old on the run from his own country and all he has is a couple of men, and a robot with machine guns. Another player in this game is Deryn. She is a 15 year old who was born to fly. She had to dress up like a boy so she could join the air force in the UK. On her first day, she was lost on one of the beasts and was rescued by a massive ship called The Leviathan. Her job is to make sure a boffin and their special cargo make it safely to Constantinopole These two will soon meet and will have to work together though they are on opposing sides. This book was absolutely great. Unlike the Red Pyramid series where it switches narrators at random, this book focuses on each character for two chapters so you know when you will find out about teh next character. I think this book emphasizes that a war can change your whole life. Sometimes, you need as much help as you can get, ally or enemy. After chapter 10, I read the whole book in two hours, and there's about 41 chapters! I just couldn't put the book down!!! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. A+

Recently, I read the book, Far North, by Will Hobbs. If you are a fan of survival stories similar to books like "Hatchet" by Gary Paulsen, then you will enjoy this book. Far North is the story of Gabe Rogers, a 15-year old boy from Texas.

Gabe is attending private school in Canada when his father offers him the grand opportunity of going on a private plane ride with his roommate over the Mackenzie Mountain range. As the plane heads toward the most exciting part of the tour, the Virginia falls, it loses all radio contact. The pilot forges on not knowing the danger ahead. After the plane lands on the top of the falls, the boys exit the plane for a better view. For some unknown reason, the plane engine dies and then plummets over the falls with the pilot still inside. The boys are left to survive on their own. They must find the courage to work together to figure out how to not only survive, but also to discover a way back home. The mountain range is daunting with sharp cliffs and turns and they encounter many wild animals posing great dangers.

This book is fast-paced and draws you in so that you want to keep reading to find how they survive. It was filled with action and breath-taking moments. This book is great for anyone who loves an adventure story.

The beautiful between

The Beautiful Between

This book is realistic, that doesn't make everything seems so happy. Its not a depressing book but it doesn't make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

Connelly is the girl that everyone always forgets about. She tries her best to go unnoticed and is very good at it. That is until golden boy Jeremy Cole comes into your life. He is the most popular most loves boy around. Every girl is dying for his attention, that’s why Connelly has no idea why the great Jeremy Cole would ever befriend her. They are from totally different worlds, but Connelly and Jeremy have more in common than anyone would have ever though. Jeremy and Connelly are there for each other in a way that no one else could ever understand. Soon after they become friends, Jeremy and Connelly are inseparable, they are so close they are like family. Like most families they have their problems, but in the end they are always there for each other. They go through happiness and tragedy together and they keep each other strong.

This is a great book about friendship and overcoming problems. This is first teen book I have read in a long time that is not a romance novel. It was so refreshing and awesome. This book totally changed the way I perceive high school. This book showed me that things that happen in high school don’t always revolve around relationships. High school is about friendship, and having new experiences. This book will keep you turning the pages.

Just FYI this book does have some swearing.

~Abandon~ By Meg Cabot

   Abandon is an amazing book by Meg Cabot.  She retells the Persephone myth in a modern teenage version.   This book is a fun mixture of fiction and non-fiction.  Bringing facts from mythology into the book.  This book is young-adult, so there  are a few kisses.

 

   The story of Persephone is a story in Greek mythology.  This book is mainly about love, obsession, death.  Hades fell in love with the Goddess of Springtime's teenage daughter, Persephone.  Hades then kidnapped her and took her to the Underworld.  He thought that if he did this, she would love him forever.  Persephone's mom went and made an offer with Hades to let her go. 

   How would you feel if you died, then came back to life?  In Abandon, Pierce Oliviera knows exactly what it's like.  She dies and finds herself in between heaven and hell. This is the place where her fate will be decided. In this place she meets a handsome god of the Underworld and his name is John. When her body is finally revived, she can only think about him. 

   Pierce moves to a new town and finds herself having problems fitting in. The really weird thing about this new place is that she keep seeing John all over the place. Things are bound to get interesting.  

  

   This book is very interesting.  The in-between world sounds really interesting. This book really gives me a different look at what could happen when you die.  Coming back to life once you are dead might make me a little crazy, just like Pierce. I liked the character. She seemed to keep her feelings to herself, just like me.  

   Even though this book changes the way most people have been taught about death, I couldn't put this book down.  I give this book an A+. I have always been a fan of Meg Cabot and after reading this book, I have to say this was her best!

The Emerald Atlas

       The Emerald Atlas was an okay book. It has a good plot and story, but the writing was kind of crappy. Anyway, this book is about three kids everyone calls orphans, even though they're not orphans. These kids, Kate, Michael and Emma, have been shuffled from orphanage to orphanage for a decade. When they were young, their parents had left them at a mysterious orphanage and vanished without a trace.
       When Kate, Michael and Emma mess up at another orphanage, they are sent to a strange island called Cambridge Falls. The orphanage is a huge mansion and they are the only children at Cambridge Falls. When Kate, Michael, and Emma go exploring in the mansion, they find a hidden room where everything seems to shift around. In this room, they find a largish book that is completely empty and has a green cover, hence the name The Emerald Atlas. This green book is obviously magic. If you put a picture into it, the book will transport you to that specific instant. The children discover this book's power when it transports them to a horrible time that they have to fix.
       The Emerald Atlas is a book about family ties, strong bonds, the importance of a promise, and how powerful family love is. I would recommended The Emerald Atlas to anyone. It's intense and strong. It also has a good message behind it. Grade B+

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is a fictional novel set in the future of what used to be North America, but is now split up into the 12 districts of Panem. The Capitol of the country thrives off of authority, and after the districts rebelled, wanted to do anything in their power to make them suffer. For example, food shortages and barriers around the districts make it almost impossible to live, and impossible to escape. To prove their power over the districts they create The Hunger Games. In the games, each district is forced to send two tributes, a boy and a girl (between the ages of 12-18) to a Capitol-run arena in which they will participate in a most epic fight to the death. Outside of the arena, people see the Hunger Games not only as a sporting event, but also an opportunity for receiving food should the tribute from their district survive. Every moment of the games is broad casted to all of Panem.

Katniss Everdeen, from district 12, volunteers for battle as a substitute for her younger sister Primrose, after she is chosen to compete in the games. Throughout her experience in the arena, she fights against starvation, dehydration, wildlife, wounds, and most of all, the other tributes. One by one the competitors succumb to death. Last standing is Katniss and her district partner, Peeta Millark. Forced into killing each other, the two decide upon a strategy that forces the producers to make a decision which may change the tradition of the games forever.

It seems ridiculous that people would send their children out to fight to the death merely for entertainment. But Suzanne Collins brings up an interesting point. Could things ever get so bad that making that type of sacrifice would seem worth it? For instance, could hunger and lack of freedom ever sway us into making those types of decisions? The willingness to sacrifice our own family members for the slightest possibility of getting something to eat? It sounds crazy, but it is definitely not impossible.

The Hunger Games was one of the best books I've ever read. Since it is written in present tense, throughout the whole book I was unaware of what would happen, and who would survive. From the title page, to the last words, I was kept in suspense and didn't want to set the book down. I absolutely LOVED the intensity of the games. There are some scenes of the book that are gory, but they are totally worth it. A+

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan

I probably need to begin by saying that this book is totally based on Greek and Roman mythology. Also, this is the first book in The Heroes of Olympus series, the next big adventure in the Percy Jackson universe. This book is suspenseful, action-packed and keeps you turning page after page. If you have read the Percy Jackson books, you know that things aren’t always as they seem.

This book begins with Jason, a fifteen year-old boy, waking up on a bus on his way to the Grand Canyon: and he can’t remember a single thing, not even himself. He finds out that his best friends are Leo Valdez, who was orphaned as a child and is good at building things, and Piper Mclean, whose father is a famous actor. He apparently goes to Wilderness School, a school for “bad kids”. Then a freak storm hits them and they get attacked by an evil creature called a venti, a storm monster.

The three are then rescued by an unhappy Annabeth, who is one of the main characters in the Percy Jackson series. When she rescued them, she was actually looking for someone named Percy Jackson, the mighty son of Poseidon. Then she tells them a shocking secret: they are demigods, half human, and half god. She takes them to a strange place called Camp Half-Blood, a safe place for demigods, and so they can be claimed by their godly parents.

The three friends are placed into a world of monsters, legends and gods. A god stole Jason’s memory and his friends discover some of what role they are suppose to play in saving the world. This is a very fast-paced book and is packed full of action. The friends fight monsters, meet legends from Greek mythology, and talk to gods. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone.

This story is very well written and kept me turning page after page every night I would pick up the book. One thing that I thought was interesting in comparison to the Percy Jackson books is this book was written in third person instead of first and focuses on one of the three main characters, each one taking two chapters at a time. Rick Riordan is a fantastic author. He did a great job portraying the characters by making them easily likable. I also really enjoyed how he incorporated some of the characters from the series before (Chiron, Annabeth, the Hunters, etc.).

As I said before, this book is full of action and defiantly worth the read, even though it is 552 pages long. One suggestion I have is if you don’t know much about Greek and Roman mythology, you might want to get some background on that so it will make more sense. Also, you might want to read the Percy Jackson series first so you can pick up on some of the jokes and slang they use. This book is a good one and I give it an A+!