www.flickr.com
This is a Flickr badge showing public photos and videos from bpl_teens. Make your own badge here.
Homework Help

Posts Tagged ‘adventure’

A Librarian Reads The Necromancer

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

necromancer1The Necromancer by Micheal Scott

In book 4 of The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, the twins, Sophie and Josh, continue their quest to learn the four elemental magics in order to stop the Dark Elders from taking over the Earth.

If you have read this far into the series you know what to expect: magic, action, and a colorful cast of characters from every age of human history.

This latest installment keeps true to the past books, but unfortunately at this point it feels like the story is just treading water and waiting for its conclusion. Unfortunately not much actually happens.

The cast has become so separated the book is broken into multiple storylines, and the author never stays with one plot long enough. By the end of the book, not much has changed. The Dark Elders are still a threat and a twin has learned a new elemental magic, but you get the feeling all the payoff will come in subsequent books.

Sure, I enjoyed this book, but I want a series that will continue to thrill me, and not just supply filler to delay the conclusion. Let us hope Micheal Scott picks up the pace with book 5 and takes us somewhere where we haven’t been before instead of retreading the ground of books 2 and 3.

Recommended for fantasy and action lovers, and appropriate for all ages.

A Librarian Reads The Enemy

Tuesday, July 27th, 2010

the-enemyThe Enemy by Charlie Higson

Life has changed. It has been a year since a mysterious disease has infected everyone older than 16. The adults have become hideously deformed and driven mad because of their illness. After awhile the boils and tumors that have taken over their bodies burst and the adults mercifully die.

But those adults who continue on as walking monsters follow their basest of desires, hunger and anger. The only ones not infected are the children; who have inherited London. But the children must watch out for there are new dangers in town. The adults are hungry and they will kidnap and eat whomever they can find.

The easiest prey are  the youngest and weakest of the children. But fortunately there are older kids around who have learned to survive by killing the monsters who would gobble them up. One such group has taken shelter in a small supermarket. They send out scavengers everyday to find canned goods, or to hunt animals for food.

Their leader, Arran, is the wisest, bravest, and fiercest fighter they have. Unfortunately he has been recently bitten in the latest skirmish with the adults and lost a fellow fighter. He is weary of eking out a meager existence by merely surviving. As the bite festers, he becomes feverish and his desire for peace and quiet increases.

When a young stranger shows up at their supermarket with the promise of a urban paradise Arran is unable to resist. Their new plan is to trek across London to Buckingham Palace, where another group of kids have settled and begin to reclaim civilization.

But London is a dangerous place and the adults are getting smarter. Will this young army of children be able to make it to the palace? And if they get there will life be any better? They will have to hope for the best, but it is doubtful that all of them, if any, will make it to the palace alive.

The Enemy is a grisly survival story. It presents a different take on traditional zombie tales, and is full of suspense. Recommended to horror fans who need an action-packed adrenaline rush. Appropriate for ages 14 and up due to the amount of gore.

A Librarian Reads Marsbound

Monday, June 28th, 2010

marsboundMarsbound by Joe Haldeman

Carmen Dula isn’t your typical high-schooler. Her family has been chosen to go to Mars and live underground in the human colony there. But the future isn’t so far off from life today. She still goes to school, but through VR (virtual reality), tries to be independent, and explores dating (which is hard to do on a space ship with very few people). After the 6 month trip to Mars, life is pretty much the same, except the colony leader really dislikes children and particularly Carmen. So whether you are on Earth or the frontier of Mars life is pretty humdrum.

That is until you go for a midnight stroll by yourself, fall into a hidden chasm, and are saved by Martians.

Now Carmen is at the center of the first contact with an aliens, and her life will never be humdrum again. So not only the colonists, but all of Earth, want to meet the potato shaped life-forms with four legs. And the Potato people of Mars want to meet the people of Earth too because they have a message. The Martians have been watching us for a long time, and they were on Mars first. Carmen will have to unravel the mystery of the Martians because the future of humanity may hang in the balance.

Marsbound is a great introduction to sci-fi adventure. It isn’t quite hard sci-fi, but has enough science behind it to help add depth to the adventure. This book is recommended for anyone who needs a good start in traditional space adventure stories. Appropriate for ages 16 and up due to some mature themes, such as sex and relationships.

Postscript:

Just finished the sequel book, Starbound. It is just as excellent as the first!

A Librarian Reads For The Win

Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010

for-the-winFor The Win by Cory Doctorow

It is the near future, online gaming has evolved into more than a mere hobby or fun distraction from real life. Massive multi-player online role playing games, such as World of Warcraft, have become a source for wealth not just for those who run the game but for those who play it.

This is how it works. When you have a robust virtual character with high stats and rare items you gain a certain social status. But it takes hard work to level up your character. Sometimes people will take shortcuts and pay gold farmers to level their character up for them. Gold farmers are gamers who play in order to accumulate in-game wealth and items that they can sell to other gamers for real world cash. Who wouldn’t want to make some cash by playing video games?

But in some places, like the developing world, not everyone has access to the technology. So when a well-to-do man comes to you and tells you that you and your friends can play all day and he will pay you, you are ecstatic. But after awhile you find out he wants you to literally play all day with no breaks, and more of the in-game wealth goes to him and you gain little. Now you find yourself in a 21st century sweatshop, toiling away in front of a computer, fearful that if you speak out you will lose your job, or worse you will be beaten, and possibly killed.

So what are industrious gamers all around the world to do? As the tagline on the cover says: Online or offline you’ve got to organize to survive.

For The Win is an exciting and gripping novel of how ordinary teens, who are gamers just like you, stand up for their rights. I enjoyed this book a lot, but just to warn you it has a lot of exposition explaining how economies, unions, and video games work. So at times these educational moments can distract you from the narrative. But if you are into gaming or tech culture you will love this book and it is highly recommended. Lastly, For The Win is appropriate for ages 16 and up.

Summer Recommendations by Ali

Saturday, June 12th, 2010

Getting Air by Dan Gutman
4 Stars

Getting Air by Dan Gutman is an adventurous book about skateboarding and surviving. The book starts with a couple of skateboarding kids known as the Woodpushers. they are normal kids trying to make it big in the skateboarding world. When they get to go and watch the X Games it’s an opportunity they will not pass up. While on the plane Jimmy, one of the Woodpushers, is nervous and then hears a scream. Now a murder has occurred on their plane. This story has now turned into a life or death adventure. Henry, David, Jimmy, and Jessie now have to fight hijackers in order to save the plane. Everyone helps to defeat the hijackers and they come out victorious, but it’s too late for the dead pilots. In an attempt to save the passengers Henry steps in to take the place of the pilot. Even though he tries his best, the plane crashes, and Jimmy is knocked out. When he awoke he found his two friends , his sister Jessie, a flight attendant Arcadia, and an old lady named Mrs. Herschel. They lost many people from the crash and now have to work together to survive in the woods. They go through food and water challenges and troubles getting along. This book is a fun and exciting read. I enjoyed Getting Air, and would recommend it, and give it 4 out of 5 stars.

Gimme a call by Sarah Mlynowski
5 Stars

Gimme a call written by Sarah Mlynowski is a great look at a what if story. Devi banks is a senior who thinks her life is falling apart and her life is over. She has broken up with her boyfriend and lost all of her friends when her phone falls into a fountain. After retrieving it, it seems to be broken and only calls her own number. Even though she knows she is calling her own number someone is picking up. After freaking out about this weird exchange, the person picking up also claims to be Devi Banks. She realizes she has been talking to herself a s a freshman. Now that Senior Devi has explained this whole confusing situation to Freshmen Devi she has an idea. She decides to fix her mistakes by guiding herself to do the right things this time around. Even though Senior Devi or Ivy is happy with the changes, Freshman Devi or Frosh is overwhelmed with all the new found work Ivy is heaping upon her. With all the interactions between each other Ivy’s phone is dying. With time running out they must move ti extreme measures and it leads to cheating. this book is a good quick read for children of all ages. I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars.

The Lemonade War by Jacqueline Davies
5 Stars

The Lemonade War written by Jacqueline Davies is a sweet book about sibling rivalry. Evan and Jessie are brother and sister and they are going head to head to sell the most lemonade. Anything goes in this fight to be number one. The winner will not only keep all profits, but they will also get the others profits. It’s winner takes all and a big deal, especially Evan who has never been able to keep or manage money. Jessie and Evan have never been ones to fight, but when Evan realizes his sister may be skipping a grade and in his class he is furious. His anger is scaring Jessie because her brother is his only friend. These mixed feelings cause their bet to see who sells the most lemonade will be the winner and get all the money. The war starts out slow, but hey each develop strategies like partners or their location. The money really starts coming in then it gets competitive the resort to sabotage and stealing. This becomes a bigger deal then ever. Neither Evan nor Jessie has had so much money or been committed to something so strongly. This book is a good book for boys and girls and a must read. I would give this book 5 out of 5 stars.