Top Hits! Best books at Milan High School. Would you like to submit a book reveiw? email it to: hearna@milanssd.org
- Wounded Moon by Gary Cook
- Life of Pi by Yann Martel
- Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
- Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (MHS Library has all of the Potter books
- In My Hands: Memories or a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke
- Eldest by Christopher Palolini (We also have Eragon)
- Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (We have a good selection of Picouli books)
- The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
- The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner
- In An instant by lee & Bob Woodruff
- The Audacity of Hope by Barack Omama
- The Innocent Man by John Grisham (We have all of the Grisham books)
- Samurai Shortstop by Alan Gratz (Southern Author)
- I Heard That Song Before by Mary higgins Clark (We have many Clark books)
- High Heat by Carl Deuker
- Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
- Monster by Walter Dean Myers
- Maximum Ride : The Angel Experiment (Teen's Top 10 (Awards)) by James Patterso
- hearna@milanssd.org
Wounded Moon by Gary Cook
Bill Carney, North American Bear Foundation, Fall 2006
The author has spent a lifetime living and working with the people of
Tennessee. Cook knows well their beliefs, customs, religions, superstitions
and family values.
Outdoors Unlimited, January 2005
This novel is set in the Smokey Mountains of Tennessee, where legendary game
warden Adam Shaw searches for a lost child on the Appalachian Trail. Along
the way he encounters high-tech poachers, ethereal forces, a lost hill folk
called the Melungeons and a blood-thirsty grizzly. Cook has been in wildlife
law enforcement for years, and his first book draws from his experiences.
Diane Vogt, ForeWord Magazine, November/December 2004
Best known for writing about the land and those who value national heritage,
including two books of short stories, The Old Man and Oakseeds: Stories from
the Land, he [Gary Cook] has worked as a wildlife officer and wildlife
biologist, and currently holds the office of Regional Manager of the
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. This background provides the
authenticity necessary for Cook's engrossing, enigmatic tale of man against
nature in the world of spirit, written in lyric prose.
Book Description
Blending knowledge of the wilderness with the storyteller's art, the author
spins a dark, spirit-filled tale of fateful events in the remote forests of
the Appalachian Mountains. The fate of a lost child is linked with the
destiny of mankind and a gifted woodsman and a journalist must face dangers
both real and spiritual to rescue the lost girl from a deadly foe. Powerful
forces gather, all drawn together in one of the world's great wild places.
About the Author
Gary Cook is a writer, wildlife professional, and the author of two books of
short stories, "The Old Man" and "Oakseeds: Stories from the Land." He is
nationally recognized for his writings about the land and those who value
our natural heritage. He lives in Jackson, Tennessee where he has worked as
a wildlife officer, wildlife biologist and currently holds the office of
regional manager of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Life of Pi by Yann Martel
From Publishers Weekly
A fabulous romp through an imagination by turns ecstatic, cunning,
despairing and resilient, this novel is an impressive achievement "a story
that will make you believe in God," as one character says. The peripatetic
Pi (ne the much-taunted Piscine) Patel spends a beguiling boyhood in
Pondicherry, India, as the son of a zookeeper. Growing up beside the wild
beasts, Pi gathers an encyclopedic knowledge of the animal world. His
curious mind also makes the leap from his native Hinduism to Christianity
and Islam, all three of which he practices with joyous abandon. In his 16th
year, Pi sets sail with his family and some of their menagerie to start a
new life in Canada. Halfway to Midway Island, the ship sinks into the
Pacific, leaving Pi stranded on a life raft with a hyena, an orangutan, an
injured zebra and a 450-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. After the
beast dispatches the others, Pi is left to survive for 227 days with his
large feline companion on the 26-foot-long raft, using all his knowledge,
wits and faith to keep himself alive. The scenes flow together effortlessly,
and the sharp observations of the young narrator keep the tale brisk and
engaging. Martel's potentially unbelievable plot line soon demolishes the
reader's defenses, cleverly set up by events of young Pi's life that almost
naturally lead to his biggest ordeal. This richly patterned work, Martel's
second novel, won Canada's 2001 Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction. In it,
Martel displays the clever voice and tremendous storytelling skills of an
emerging master.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the
Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
Named for a swimming pool in Paris the Piscine Molitor "Pi" Patel begins
this extraordinary tale as a teenager in India, where his father is a zoo
keeper. Deciding to immigrate to Canada, his father sells off most of the
zoo animals, electing to bring a few along with the family on their voyage
to their new home. But after only a few days out at sea, their rickety
vessel encounters a storm. After crew members toss Pi overboard into one of
the lifeboats, the ship capsizes. Not long after, to his horror, Pi is
joined by Richard Parker, an acquaintance who manages to hoist himself onto
the lifeboat from the roiling sea. You would think anyone in Pi's dire
straits would welcome the company, but Richard Parker happens to be a 450-
pound Bengal tiger. It is hard to imagine a fate more desperate than
Pi's: "I was alone and orphaned, in the middle of the Pacific, hanging on to
an oar, an adult tiger in front of me, sharks beneath me, a storm raging
about me." At first Pi plots to kill Richard Parker. Then he becomes
convinced that the tiger's survival is absolutely essential to his own. In
this harrowing yet inspiring tale, Martel demonstrates skills so well honed
that the story appears to tell itself without drawing attention to the
writing. This second novel by the Spanish-born, award-winning author of
Self, who now lives in Canada, is highly recommended for all fiction as well
as animal and adventure collections. Edward Cone, New York
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the
Hardcover edition.
From The New Yorker
An impassioned defense of zoos, a death-defying trans-Pacific sea adventure
� la "Kon-Tiki," and a hilarious shaggy-dog story starring a four-hundred-
and-fifty-pound Bengal tiger named Richard Parker: this audacious novel
manages to be all of these as it tells the improbable survivor's tale of Pi
Patel, a young Indian fellow named for a swimming pool (his full first name
is Piscine) who endures seven months in a lifeboat with only a hungry,
outsized feline for company. This breezily aphoristic, unapologetically twee
saga of man and cat is a convincing hands-on, how-to guide for dealing with
what Pi calls, with typically understated brio, "major lifeboat pests."
Copyright � 2005 The New Yorker
Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold
When we first meet Susie Salmon, she is already in heaven. As she looks down
from this strange new place, she tells us, in the fresh and spirited voice
of a fourteen-year-old girl, a tale that is both haunting and full of hope.
In the weeks following her death, Susie watches life on Earth continuing
without her-her school friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her
family holding out hope that she'll be found, her killer trying to cover his
tracks. As months pass without leads, Susie sees her parents' marriage being
contorted by loss, her sister hardening herself in an effort to stay strong,
and her little brother trying to grasp the meaning of the word gone. And she
explores the place called heaven. It looks a lot like her school playground,
with the good kind of swing sets. There are counselors to help newcomers
adjust and friends to room with. Everything she ever wanted appears as soon
as she thinks of it-except the thing she most wants: to be back with the
people she loved on Earth. With compassion, longing, and a growing
understanding, Susie sees her loved ones pass through grief and begin to
mend. Her father embarks on a risky quest to ensnare her killer. Her sister
undertakes a feat of remarkable daring. And the boy Susie cared for moves
on, only to find himself at the center of a miraculous event. The Lovely
Bones is luminous and astonishing, a novel that builds out of grief the most
hopeful of stories. In the hands of a brilliant new writer, this story of
the worst thing a family can face is transformed into a suspenseful and even
funny novel about love, memory, joy, heaven, and healing.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (MHS Library has all of the Potter books
Readers beware. The brilliant, breathtaking conclusion to J.K. Rowling's
spellbinding series is not for the faint of heart--such revelations,
battles, and betrayals await in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows that no
fan will make it to the end unscathed. Luckily, Rowling has prepped loyal
readers for the end of her series by doling out increasingly dark and
dangerous tales of magic and mystery, shot through with lessons about honor
and contempt, love and loss, and right and wrong. Fear not, you will find no
spoilers in our review--to tell the plot would ruin the journey, and Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows is an odyssey the likes of which Rowling's
fans have not yet seen, and are not likely to forget. But we would be remiss
if we did not offer one small suggestion before you embark on your final
adventure with Harry--bring plenty of tissues.
In My Hands: Memories or a Holocaust Rescuer by Irene Gut Opdyke
From Publishers Weekly
Even among WWII memoirsAa genre studded with extraordinary storiesAthis
autobiography looms large, a work of exceptional substance and style.
Opdyke, born in 1922 to a Polish Catholic family, was a 17-year-old nursing
student when Germany invaded her country in 1939. She spent a year tending
to the ragtag remnants of a Polish military unit, hiding out in the forest
with them; was captured and raped by Russians; was forced to work in a
Russian military hospital; escaped and lived under a false identity in a
village near Kiev; and was recaptured by the Russians. But her most
remarkable adventures were still to come. Back in her homeland, she, like so
many Poles, was made to serve the German army, and she eventually became a
waitress in an officers' dining hall. She made good use of her
positionArisking her life, she helped Jews in the ghetto by passing along
vital information, smuggling in food and helping them escape to the forest.
When she was made the housekeeper of a German major, she used his villa to
hide 12 JewsAand, at enormous personal cost, kept them safe throughout the
war. In translating Opdyke's experiences to memoir (see Children's Books,
June 14), Armstrong and Opdyke demonstrate an almost uncanny power to place
readers in the young Irene's shoes. Even as the authors handily distill the
complexities of the military and political conditions of wartime Poland,
they present Irene as simultaneously strong and vulnerableAa likable flesh-
and-blood woman rather than a saint. Telling details, eloquent in their
understatement, render Irene's shock at German atrocities and the gradually
built foundation of her heroic resistance. Metaphors weave in and out,
simultaneously providing a narrative structure and offering insight into
Irene's experiences. Readers will be rivetedAand no one can fail to be
inspired by Opdyke's courage. Ages 10-up. (Aug.)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the
Hardcover edition.
Eldest by Christopher Palolini (We also have Eragon)
Amazon.com
Surpassing its popular prequel Eragon, this second volume in the Inheritance
trilogy shows growing maturity and skill on the part of its very young
author, who was only seventeen when the first volume was published in 2003.
The story is solidly in the tradition (some might say derivative) of the
classic heroic quest fantasy, with the predictable cast of dwarves, elves,
and dragons--but also including some imaginatively creepy creatures of evil.
Meet Author Christopher Paolini
Christopher Paolini�s abiding love of fantasy and science fiction inspired
him to begin writing his debut novel, Eragon, when he graduated from high
school at age 15.
"Writing is the heart and soul of my being. It is the means through which I
bring my stories to life. There is nothing like putting words on a page and
knowing that they will summon certain emotions and reactions from the
reader. In my writing, I strive for a lyrical beauty somewhere between
Tolkien at his best and Seamus Heaney�s translation of Beowulf." --
Christopher Paolini
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (We have a good selection of Picouli books)
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Bestseller Picoult (My Sister's Keeper) takes on another
contemporary hot-button issue in her brilliantly told new thriller, about a
high school shooting. Peter Houghton, an alienated teen who has been bullied
for years by the popular crowd, brings weapons to his high school in
Sterling, N.H., one day and opens fire, killing 10 people. Flashbacks reveal
how bullying caused Peter to retreat into a world of violent computer games.
Alex Cormier, the judge assigned to Peter's case, tries to maintain her
objectivity as she struggles to understand her daughter, Josie, one of the
surviving witnesses of the shooting. The author's insights into her
characters' deep-seated emotions brings this ripped-from-the-headlines read
chillingly alive. (Mar.)
The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Some of Picoult's best storytelling distinguishes her
twisting, metaphor-rich 13th novel (after Vanishing Acts) about parental
vigilance gone haywire, inner demons and the emotional risks of
relationships. Comic book artist Daniel Stone is like the character in his
graphic novel with the same title as this book�once a violent youth and the
only white boy in an Alaskan Inuit village, now a loving, stay-at-home dad
in Bethel, Maine�traveling figuratively through Dante's circles of hell to
save his 14-year-old teenage daughter, Trixie. After she accuses her ex-
boyfriend of rape, Trixie�and Daniel, whose fierce father-love morphs to
murderous rage toward her assailant�unravel in the aftermath of the
allegation. At the same time, wife and mother Laura, a Dante scholar, tries
to mend her and Daniel's marriage after ending her affair with one of her
students. Picoult has collaborated with graphic artist Dustin Weaver to
illustrate her deft, complex exploration of Daniel and his beast within, but
the drawings, though well-done, distract from the powerful picture she has
drawn with words. Laura and Daniel follow their runaway daughter to Alaska,
at which point Picoult drives the story with the heavy-handed Dante metaphor�
not the characters. Still, this story of a flawed family on the brink of
destruction grips from start to finish.
Copyright � Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All
rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
The Pursuit of Happyness by Chris Gardner
From Publishers Weekly
Gardner chronicles his long, painful, ultimately rewarding journey from
inner-city Milwaukee to the pinnacle of Wall Street. Born in 1954, he grew
up like too many young blacks: poor and fatherless, with a mother strong on
children and church, yet soft on men. His violent, hateful stepfather
refused to accept Gardner as a stepson and thwarted him at every turn. By
his own account, Gardner was a good kid who got into trouble occasionally,
but stayed on a steady, upward track. After a stint in the navy, he set his
sights on a medical career, but a foray into sales led him to the stock and
bond market. Gardner's own weakness was women, and when one of them left him
with a son, it led to a period of homelessness on the San Francisco streets.
Determination and resourcefulness brought father and son not merely to
safety but to the top. Gardner is honest and thorough as he solidly depicts
growing up black and male in late 20th-century urban America. His story
isn't especially fresh, but his voice is likable, resulting in a quality
African-American/business memoir deserving a wider audience than its niche-
market elements might suggest. Photos. Ad/promo to coincide with the major
motion picture starring Will Smith.(On sale May 23)
Copyright � Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All
rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
In An instant by lee & Bob Woodruff
Book Description
In one of the most anticipated books of the year, Lee Woodruff, along with
her husband, Bob Woodruff, share their never-before-told story of romance,
resilience, and survival following the tragedy that transformed their lives
and gripped a nation.
In January 2006, the Woodruffs seemed to have it all�a happy marriage and
four beautiful children. Lee was a public relations executive and Bob had
just been named co-anchor of ABC�s World News Tonight. Then, while Bob was
embedded with the military in Iraq, an improvised explosive device went off
near the tank he was riding in. He and his cameraman, Doug Vogt, were hit,
and Bob suffered a traumatic brain injury that nearly killed him.
In an Instant is the frank and compelling account of how Bob and Lee�s lives
came together, were blown apart, and then were miraculously put together
again�and how they persevered, with grit but also with humor, through
intense trauma and fear. Here are Lee�s heartfelt memories of their
courtship, their travels as Bob left a law practice behind and pursued his
news career and Lee her freelance business, the glorious births of her
children and the challenges of motherhood.
The Audacity of Hope by Barack Omama
From Publishers Weekly
Ilinois's Democratic senator illuminates the constraints of mainstream
politics all too well in this sonorous manifesto. Obama (Dreams from My
Father) castigates divisive partisanship (especially the Republican brand)
and calls for a centrist politics based on broad American values. His own
cautious liberalism is a model: he's skeptical of big government and of
Republican tax cuts for the rich and Social Security privatization; he's
prochoice, but respectful of prolifers; supportive of religion, but not of
imposing it. The policy result is a tepid Clintonism, featuring tax credits
for the poor, a host of small-bore programs to address everything from
worker retraining to teen pregnancy, and a health-care program that
resembles Clinton's Hillary-care proposals. On Iraq, he floats a phased but
open-ended troop withdrawal. His triangulated positions can seem conflicted:
he supports free trade, while deploring its effects on American workers (he
opposed the Central American Free Trade Agreement), in the end hoping
halfheartedly that more support for education, science and renewable energy
will see the economy through the dilemmas of globalization. Obama writes
insightfully, with vivid firsthand observations, about politics and the
compromises forced on politicians by fund-raising, interest groups, the
media and legislative horse-trading. Alas, his muddled, uninspiring
proposals bear the stamp of those compromises. (Oct. 17)
The Innocent Man by John Grisham (We have all of the Grisham books)
Grisham's first work of nonfiction focuses on the tragedy of Ron Williamson,
a baseball hero from a small town in Oklahoma who winds up a dissolute,
mentally unstable Major League washout railroaded onto death row for a
hometown rape and murder he did not commit. Judging by this author-approved
abridgment, Grisham has chosen to present Williamson's painful story (and
that of his equally innocent "co-conspirator," Dennis Fritz) as
straightforward journalism, eschewing the more familiar "nonfiction novel"
approach with its reconstructed dialogues and other adjustments for dramatic
purpose. This has resulted in a book that, while it includes such intriguing
elements as murder, rape, detection and judicial injustice, consists
primarily of objective reportage, albeit shaded by the now-proven fact of
Williamson's innocence. The absence of dialogue or character point of view
could make for a rather bland audio. Boutsikaris avoids that by reverting to
what might be called old-fashioned round-the-campfire storytelling, treating
the lengthy exposition to vocal interpretations, subtle and substantial. He
narrates the events leading up to the 1982 rape and murder of a young
cocktail waitress with a mixture of suspicion and curiosity, moving on to
astonishment at the prosecution's use of deceit and false testimony to
convict Williamson and Fritz and, eventually, elation at the exoneration of
the two innocent men. Throughout, he maintains an appealing conversational
tone, an effect made all the more remarkable by the book's nearly total
absence of conversation.
Copyright � Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All
rights reserved. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.
Samurai Shortstop by Alan Gratz (Southern Author)
It is 1890, and 16-year-old Toyo Shimada is uniquely poised to witness the
clash of old and new ways in his native Tokyo. Emperor Meiji has instituted
a series of radical reforms; one of them requires that all samurai hang up
their swords. In the hypnotic opening scene, Toyo and his father assist as
his Uncle Koji commits ritual suicide or seppuku. Toyo's father, Sotaro, is
a scholarly samurai whose weapon has always been his ink brush, but he too
has decided that he cannot live in this new Japan. He tells Toyo that once
he has taught him the ways of bushido, or the warrior's code, he, too, will
take his own life. Meanwhile, Toyo begins his studies at an elite high
school where the hazing by the senior students makes the first-year students
miserable. Eventually, the teen and his friends are able to stand up for
themselves, and Toyo wins a place on the school's besuboro or baseball team.
His lessons in bushido include meditation, balance, and swordplay, and Toyo
finds in baseball a way to make the connection between both modern and
ancient, mental and physical. Gratz's concluding notes offer more on the
period as well as sources for more information. This well-written tale
offers plenty of fascinating detail, a fast-paced story, and a fresh
perspective on America's pastime. It should delight baseball fans and win a
wide audience.�Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA
From School Library Journal
I Heard That Song Before by Mary higgins Clark (We have many Clark books)
From Publishers Weekly
At the start of bestseller Clark's riveting new novel of suspense, Kay
Lansing recalls her first visit as a six-year-old to the Carrington estate
in Englewood, N.J., where her father worked as a landscaper. Twenty-two
years later, she returns to ask the present owner, Peter Carrington, if she
can use the mansion for a fund-raiser. The two fall madly in love, and after
a whirlwind courtship, they marry despite the shadow of suspicion that hangs
over Peter regarding the death of a neighbor's daughter two decades earlier
and the drowning of his first wife four years before. After an idyllic
honeymoon, the couple return to New Jersey, where a magazine article has
caused the police to reopen the cases. The subsequent discovery of two
bodies buried on the estate causes even Kay to doubt her husband's
innocence. Clark (Two Little Girls in Blue) deftly keeps the finger of guilt
pointed in many directions until the surprising conclusion. (Apr.)
Copyright � Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All
rights reserved.
High Heat by Carl Deuker
Time and baseball work to ease a teenager's hurt in this intense, narrowly
focused novel. Shane attends exclusive Shorelake High and enjoys his role as
fireballing short reliever on the school's championship baseball team. All
of that is swept away when his father commits suicide. Suddenly, Shane is
living in public housing, and he takes a brief hiatus from baseball before
trying out for his new school's ragtag team. Then, facing Shorelake, Shane
throws a vicious beanball that puts star player Reese in the hospital. Shane
insists (until almost the end) that it was accidental but is dismayed to
discover that he's lost his fastball. Reese, too, has lost his prowess, and
the two become wary allies, dedicated to helping each other come back.
Shane's inner recovery is mirrored in his gradual return to form on the
mound amid a welter of blowouts, close games, and sudden reversals of
fortune that propel his team into the state playoffs. Readers who prefer
their Hollywood endings unalloyed may be disappointed that Reese experiences
no parallel recovery, but there's enough taut sports action here to satisfy
the most avid fan. John Peters
From Booklist
Secret Life of Bees by Sue Monk Kidd
From Publishers Weekly
Honey-sweet but never cloying, this debut by nonfiction author Kidd (The
Dance of the Dissident Daughter) features a hive's worth of appealing female
characters, an offbeat plot and a lovely style. It's 1964, the year of the
Civil Rights Act, in Sylvan, S.C. Fourteen-year-old Lily is on the lam with
motherly servant Rosaleen, fleeing both Lily's abusive father T. Ray and the
police who battered Rosaleen for defending her new right to vote. Lily is
also fleeing memories, particularly her jumbled recollection of how, as a
frightened four-year-old, she accidentally shot and killed her mother during
a fight with T. Ray. Among her mother's possessions, Lily finds a picture of
a black Virgin Mary with "Tiburon, S.C." on the back so, blindly, she and
Rosaleen head there. It turns out that the town is headquarters of Black
Madonna Honey, produced by three middle-aged black sisters, August, June and
May Boatwright. The "Calendar sisters" take in the fugitives, putting Lily
to work in the honey house, where for the first time in years she's happy.
But August, clearly the queen bee of the Boatwrights, keeps asking Lily
searching questions. Faced with so ideally maternal a figure as August, most
girls would babble uncontrollably. But Lily is a budding writer, desperate
to connect yet fiercely protective of her secret interior life. Kidd's
success at capturing the moody adolescent girl's voice makes her ambivalence
comprehensible and charming. And it's deeply satisfying when August teaches
Lily to "find the mother in (herself)" a soothing lesson that should charm
female readers of all ages. (Jan. 28)Forecast: Blurbs from an impressive
lineup of women writers Anita Shreve, Susan Isaacs, Ursula Hegi pitch this
book straight at its intended readership. It's hard to say whether confusion
with the similarly titled Bee Season will hurt or help sales, but a 10-city
author tour should help distinguish Kidd. Film rights have been optioned and
foreign rights sold in England and France.
Monster by Walter Dean Myers
Steve Harmon, 16, is accused of serving as a lookout for a robbery of a
Harlem drugstore. The owner was shot and killed, and now Steve is in prison
awaiting trial for murder. From there, he tells about his case and his
incarceration. Many elements of this story are familiar, but Myers keeps it
fresh and alive by telling it from an unusual perspective. Steve, an amateur
filmmaker, recounts his experiences in the form of a movie screenplay. His
striking scene-by-scene narrative of how his life has dramatically changed
is riveting. Interspersed within the script are diary entries in which the
teen vividly describes the nightmarish conditions of his confinement. Myers
expertly presents the many facets of his protagonist's character and readers
will find themselves feeling both sympathy and repugnance for him. Steve
searches deep within his soul to prove to himself that he is not
the "monster" the prosecutor presented him as to the jury. Ultimately, he
reconnects with his humanity and regains a moral awareness that he had lost.
Christopher Myers's superfluous black-and-white drawings are less
successful. Their grainy, unfocused look complements the cinematic quality
of the text, but they do little to enhance the story. Monster will challenge
readers with difficult questions, to which there are no definitive answers.
In some respects, the novel is reminiscent of Virginia Walter's Making Up
Megaboy (DK Ink, 1998), another book enriched by its ambiguity. Like it,
Monster lends itself well to classroom or group discussion. It's an
emotionally charged story that readers will find compelling and disturbing.
Maximum Ride : The Angel Experiment (Teen's Top 10 (Awards)) by James Patterso
A group of genetically enhanced kids who can fly and have other unique
talents are on the run from part-human, part-wolf predators called Erasers
in this exciting SF thriller that's not wholly original but is still a
compelling read. Max, 14, and her adopted family�Fang and Iggy, both 13,
Nudge, 11, Gazzy, 8, and Angel, 6�were all created as experiments in a lab
called the School. Jeb, a sympathetic scientist, helped them escape and,
since then, they've been living on their own. The Erasers have orders to
kill them so the world will never find out they exist. Max's old childhood
friend, Ari, now an Eraser leader, tracks them down, kidnaps Angel, and
transports her back to the School to live like a lab rat again. The
youngsters are forced to use their special talents to rescue her as they
attempt to learn about their pasts and their destinies. The novel ends with
the promise that this journey will continue in the sequel. As with
Patterson's adult mystery thrillers, in-depth characterization is secondary
to the fast-moving plot. The narrative alternates between Max's first-person
point-of-view and that of the others in the third person, but readers don't
get to know Max very well. The only major flaw is that the children sound
like adults most of the time. This novel is reminiscent of David Lubar's
Hidden Talents (Tor, 1999) and Ann Halam's Dr. Franklin's Island (Random,
2002).�Sharon Rawlins, Piscataway Public Library, NJ
hearna@milanssd.org
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