Born to Read - Erica S

All the Bright Places by Jennifer Niven

All the Bright Places is an extremely well-written young adult novel. The book follows two high school seniors named Theodore Finch and Violet Markey. They meet when both of them are standing on top of a school building. Theodore helps Violet get down, saving her and himself. Theo is known at the school for being strange. Violet is trying to cope with the loss of her older sister.

This book is one of my favorite books of all time. It deals with issues such as depression and the pressure of living in an older sibling's shadow. I have read this book multiple times and the impact the book has on me is always the same. All the Bright Places is a book I would highly recommend.


      
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Born to Read - Tori H-M.

Why Books Are Still Important

Hey! It's me, Tori again!  Let's get started.  Over the course of this camp, my class has visited several of Springfield's libraries.  As we talked to the librarians, I realized a pattern.  A lot of people are telling librarians that books are obsolete! All of my fellow book-lovers are probably shaking their heads in disbelief, while others are agreeing. The reason for the disappearing love of tangible books is explained in two words...the Internet.  More and more people are starting to like audio or electronic books.  I understand that these alternatives may be more convenient, but there is a problem with these sweeping the nation.  Books simply aren't getting online quick enough.  Companies that offer books are too busy trying to put out the newer books, and skip over some old favorites.  These books are disappearing before they have a chance to be remembered!!  I have another point to make.  This is about actually owning/borrowing a book.  Do you not enjoy the weight of a book in your hands? Feeling the cover and turning each page and holding this almost sacred thing as you dive into another world. These are the extraordinary feelings that I know lift me up.  That is why I believe that we shouldn't rid the world of paper books.  I don't know what I would do without them.

Born to Read - Ben W.

For a brilliant mix of science fiction and dystopian literature, I recommend Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff. Illuminae is about the invasion and destruction of a minor planet. The destruction is due to two corporations fighting over it. Luckily, before the planet is destroyed, many citizens are able to escape on space ships. They are still knee-high in troubles and peril. The ships are being chased by other ships, that want no witnesses of the destruction of the planet, alive. To exasperate the current dilemma, a deadly disease breaks out on several of the ships.

Illuminae is unlike anything that you will probably ever read. The story is completely told through journal entries, emails, online chats, medical reports, maps, interviews, other reports, and several other forms of media. I absolutely loved that the authors didn't use the traditional format and styles of writing, but instead used forms of writing, that you would never suspect to make up a whole entire book.

Illuminae has a stupendous, page-turning plot, full of twists and turns. This book never lost my attention. The character development is also amazing. I don't know how the authors were able to accomplish it by just using the forms of writing that they did, but they did. I would say that the character development in Illuminae is better, than a good amount of books (I have read) that use the traditional writing format. Some themes shown in Illuminae are romance, resilience/perseverance, selflessness, and hope. All of these themes are interwoven beautifully and executed wonderfully. 

I would highly recommend Illuminae to science fiction lovers, dystopian fans, and to those who want to add variety to their reading repertoire.

If you like Illuminae, don't miss the sequel Gemina (releasing October 18th, 2016).

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Born to Read - Grace A.

               The book If I Stay by Gayle Forman is a young adult book based on the life of seventeen year old Mia. The book begins talking about a snow day. When the family car gets struck by a semi-truck and her parents are both DOA, will Mia choose to stay or go? The book is her reliving all of her memories of the past two years with her boyfriend, Adam, and her family while she is in a coma. She is aware of what is going on around her and it is up to her, is she strong enough to stay and fight, or would it be easier to just go? It is an amazing book and a quick read. Gayle reaches to all of the depths of human emotion and then some, leaving you in a constant state of awe.

Born To Read - Matthew S.

    I'll Give You the Sun by Jandy Nelson is a YA novel and is my favorite book ever, which is why I saved it for last. The book follows the twins Noah, a gay artist who is an outsider and is considered weird, and Jude, a daredevil and is almost scared of nothing. The book is from two different perspectives, Noah's from three years before when they were both 13 which has the bubbly and quirky attitude he does, and Jude's, which is in the present when they're both 16 after... "it." In Jude's chapters the way everything is different is flabbergasting. They act like opposites of their past selves, and it really gets to you.

    I'll Give You the Sun makes you want to continue reading to find out what exactly happened to tear up this family and how Jude'll fix it, and Jandy Nelson really hit home with her writing skills. Her writing really pushes the attitude and greatness out of this book in the casual remarks and little things that they'll think in their head, making you feel like you're directly in the minds of Jude and Noah. It's also part of how Noah will mention something in his chapters that really affects them 3 years later and that Jude will explain what happened in the three year gap and what's with the present. I've never read something with so much power and greatness as IGYTS.

"People die, I think, but your relationship with them doesn't. It continues and is ever-changing." - Jandy Nelson, I'll Give You the Sun

Born to Read - Emily B.

      Throughout my life, I have read many great books that I would recommend to anyone who shares my passion for reading. My favorite book of all time, however, is The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. A well renowned classic, the book follows the adventures of a man named Nick Carraway as he faces his new life in New York City during the 1920s. He meets up with his cousin Daisy Buchanan, her overbearing husband Tom, and a potential love interest that goes by the name Jordan Baker. Nick's neighbor, Jay Gatsby (the titular character), uses his immense wealth to change Nick's life permanently. This thrilling novel uses drama and romance to keep you interested and your eyes glued to every page. Even though it is not that long of a read, it leaves a lasting impact on you that may even impact the way you feel about certain situations. The Great Gatsby has influenced a few of my decisions for the better, and for that I am forever grateful that I decided to pick the book up.

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Born to Read - Rebecca R.

July 19th, 2016 Post

Title: The Only Thing to Fear
Author: Caroline Tung Richmond
Genre: Dystopian
No Series

Zara St. James is a Japanese-American mischling in Nazi ruled America.  After World War II, in which Adolf Hitler and the Axis Powers deployed super powered soldiers know as Anomalies and carved up the rest of the world between them.  Now, the Nazis are being challenged by an American resistance known as the Revolutionary Alliance.

Zara knows she can help the Alliance.  But after she and her uncle have lost loved ones under the Nazis rule, he won't let her join up and fight against their oppressors.  Soon, though, with the unexpected help of a German boy, Zara will give all that she can offer to the resistance, even though what she has will give her a death sentence . . .

Richmond twists our American history into a new story riddled with the past and the future, creating a new story line in her debut novel The Only Thing to Fear. 











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Born To Read - Tori H-M.

Hello! My name is Tori.  Happy Fourth Day of Camp!  As you have probably figured out, I am in the Born To Read class. Today, I just wanted to share my favorite book with y'all. (Yes, y'all. I'm an Okie.)

 My favorite book is called Uglies written by Scott Westerfeld.  It is part of the four-book series also called Uglies. The other three books are Pretties, Specials, and Extras.  Uglies is about a young girl named Tally Youngblood who lives in, well, the future.  In this future, your life is set out before you.  When you are young, you live with your parents and go to school, which sounds normal.  As you turn about 12, you are sent to live in dorms and still go to school.   As in most utopian/dystopian books, technology is a very significant part of life.  Everything comes from the walls and is disposable. Magnetic-levitation is used to run cars, hold up buildings, and float hoverboards. (AWESOME right?)  At sixteen, everyone goes through an intense operation where you are turned "pretty".  Your bones are shaped, your teeth made perfect, and your skin all rubbed off you you can grow new, perfect skin.  Tally's best friend had already gone through the operation, and she was anxious for hers because after the operation, you move away.  And then Tally meets Shay.  Shay doesn't want to be turned pretty.  She tells Tally that she is going to run away.   After Shay runs away, the authorities give Tally two options.  Find Shay, or never be turned pretty.  This series is comparable to the Matched trilogy by Ally Condie, and somewhat to the Giver quartet by Lois Lowry.  If you like any utopian/dystopian books, I highly recommend this book and series. Thanks for reading my post!

Born To Read- Davis G.

     The second book I have started to read in the Born to Read class is Red Rising by Peirce Brown. It takes place in a dystopian world where people have colonized Mars after Earth has become uninhabitable. The citizens are ranked by colors with "Golds" being the leaders and "Reds" being the enslaved miners who live underground
     Something I have enjoyed so far in the book was the idea of making the setting a different planet without seeming fake. You do have to suspend your beliefs a little at the mention of the genetically modified animals who roam the planet. I'm also enjoying the large amount of plot twists that i have found in the first third of the book alone.
     Nonetheless, I did have some problems with the book. First off, it follows the template of the new dystopian books exactly: a hero is living a fairly uncomfortable life as a grunt in a society that has replaced our own, something bad happens to the hero or their family because of the cruel leadership of the society, so they start a rebellion. Also, some of the characters are mentioned briefly enough to remember them, but seldomly enough they can be confused with other secondary characters.
     So far, I am overall enjoying Red Rising. The setting is unique but still believable, and the plot leaves you wondering when you put the book down. I hope it stays as intriguing as it is now.

Born to Read - Ben W.

          Currently, I am reading the fantasy novel Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card (Author of Ender's Game). I am currently 150 pages into the book, but I am very eager to read on. This book is about a 13 year old boy named Rigg. He has a secret that only he and his father know. Rigg has the ability to see paths of people and animals pasts. This helps Rigg and his father make their living by trapping them and selling their fur. Then an event occurs that will change Rigg's live forever. As Rigg and his father are hunting, a tree falls on Rigg's father. Rigg gets to his father quick enough, that he can give Rigg several instructions, but then he dies. Rigg is pushed into a new life and journey, to learn more about himself and his father. His journey is not easy or predictable, with twists and turns around every corner.

          Pathfinder is very captivating and intriguing. The character development and imagery is stunning. I feel like I am right next to Rigg throughout the novel.So far, every other chapter is part of another plot line. This other plot line is completely different than the main plot line previously discussed. It has been very vague and not prevalent through my current location in the novel. I am very fascinated to see how the two storyline tie together. A technical element that I really appreciate is that the two separate plot lines have different fonts. I highly appreciate this aid to help me separate the plot lines and not get confused. Out of what I have read, I would highly recommend Pathfinder by Orson Scott Card.

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Born To Read -Taylor Brooks

     My favorite book at the moment is The Perfectionists By: Sara Shepard. It is about five "perfect" girls that each have hidden flaws that they keep secret from the rest of the world. But the each have one thing in common they all hate Nolan.... One day in class they are talking about if they could pick one person they would want to get rid of who would it be and how. The girls say that they would kill Nolan by overdosing him on oxy. One night at Nolan's party they decide to prank him by slipping oxy into his drink just like he has done to them many times before. No big deal right just a harmless prank until the next day when he is found dead from a drug overdose.

     This book was so interesting I couldn't put it down. When the girls are the main suspects in his murder they set out to find who really killed Nolan. Their perfect lives turn upside down and they don't know what to think until Mr. Granger. The girls think that Mr. Granger heard them talking about killing Nolan in class and may have just done it and framed them for it. The girls find oxy in Mr. Grangers medicine cabinet and also discover that Nolan was black mailing him. They think they have the murderer and can finally go back to their perfect lives until Mr.Granger ends up dead and they have to start all over again. 

     This book showed that you don't have to be good to be perfect.....

-I would highly suggest this book and the sequel The Good Girls 

 

Born to Read - Rebecca R.

July 14th, 2016 Post

Title: Red Queen
Author: Victoria Aveyard
Genre: Fantasy/Sci-Fi
Series: 2 Books (includes Glass Sword)

          Mare Barrow's world is divided into two categories: Reds and Silvers.  Silverbloods have supernatural powers and they rule over the Reds with a super-powered fist.  When she is summoned to the palace to work as a Red servant, Mare discovers she has a power of her own, an anomaly due to her Red lineage.
          As she's pulled deeper into the beautiful and dangerous world that the Silver nobles live in, filled with treachery and riches beyond anything she has ever seen, Mare is given the Alias Mareena Titanos, playing as a lost Silver princess and betrothed to one of the princes in her kingdom.  Yet her hatred towards the Silvers runs deep; she joins an organized rebellion and plots against the royals that keep her trapped and hiding behind silk and secrets. As Mare works to kill off the nobles beside her, her heart is torn for the two princes, one forbidden, the other hiding a deadly secret.

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Born to Read - Matthew S.

    Extraordinary Means by Robyn Schneider is another young adult, romance novel that I am currently rereading. It is about Lane, a seventeen year-old senior in high school who gets caught by a drug-resistant new strand of tuberculosis. After he gets the disease, his parents send him off to a sanatorium named Latham House. There he is faced with being lost to the rest of the world, loneliness, and heartbreak. That is, until he meets Sadie, who he already met years before.
It's a great read by a brilliant author and if you have the opportunity to read this book, please do, as you won't regret it.

-"Where I once was, there was now an active case of TB. Everything of who I was and who I wanted to be had been evicted to make room for the disease."

Born to Read - Erica S

How to Ruin Everything by George Watsky

This book is a series of essays written by the writer and musician George Watsky, telling different stories about his childhood and his experiences while trying to get involved in show business. He tells stories of how he free-styled at his middle school dance or the time he smuggled a narwhal tusk over the Canadian border for his friend's grandmother.

The book gives an insight into the life of a musician that has a lot to say in his music. It tells how he "ruins everything" and how you can, too! Though, as Watsky says himself, the only good way to ruin everything is by accident.

How to Ruin Everything is entertaining, funny, and all around a great book. I would highly recommend anyone that wants to read it should. 

Born to Read - Emily B.

     Currently, I am about 80 pages into the book It's Kind of a Funny Story, a young adult novel written by Ned Vizzini. Although it is too soon to form a solid opinion about the book, I think the portion I have read of it is pretty good. It is about a teenager named Craig Gilner who is suffering from depression and eventually gets admitted to a psychiatric hospital after the stress of attending an elite Manhattan high school gets to him, leading to a suicide attempt. The book is very well written, and it is very interesting that the author wrote the book after spending five days in a psychiatric hospital himself. While I wouldn't quite recommend it yet due to not being far enough along in the book, I do not think the book is terrible by any means. It's Kind of a Funny Story draws you in with its interesting choice of words and keeps you turning page after page. In conclusion, the book It's Kind of a Funny Story is a decent book.                                                                                 

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Born to Read- Davis G.

     The first book I have started reading for the Born to Read class is Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century by Dennis Showalter. It is a duel biography that compares the lives and strategies of the American general George S. Patton, and the Nazi officer Erwin Rommel, who both played pivotal roles in the Second World War.  Admittedly, I have only read about 40 pages, but from what I have read, I believe I can give a fair opinion on the beginning and make some inferences on the content further ahead.
     I find the idea to compare two contemporary, genius tacticians in this way was a brilliant idea. It is fascinating to read about where these people came from and how they were trained. I expect to be able to compare their strategies better as the book progresses.
    Despite the qualities listed above, I do have one thing I dislike about the book. The author intended for it to be read by a more mature audience, so the albeit eloquent language is difficult to understand at times. Also, I think Mr. Showalter is a little too heavy-handed with the use of German in Patton and Rommel while writing about Rommel's life.
     Overall, I am enjoying reading Patton and Rommel: Men of War in the Twentieth Century despite its complex language and I hope to read more soon
     

Born to Read - Rebecca R.

July 12th, 2016 Post

Title: Need
Author: Carrie Jones
Genre: Fantasy
Series: 4 Books - includes Captivate, Entice, & Endure

          Zara, a Charleston girl who's grieving the loss of her dad, is sent by her mother to a small town in Maine where her grandmother lives in order to cope.  Once there, she makes new friends but finds that she is being stalked by a man her friends call a pixie king.  When students go missing from her new school after disappearing into the woods, she discovers that she and her stalker have something in common and who - or what - she really is.  She and her new friend Nick, who has a secret of his own, work together to uncover the cause of the disappearances and help the students.

          As the series progresses, Carrie Jones combines elements of pixie lore, shapeshifter legends, and Norse mythology for a one-of-a-kind faerie plot line you would never guess of.  I myself enjoyed the story because Carrie Jones combined elements of different stories that I regularly read about in a new and fantastic way.

Born to Read- Grace A.

                 The book Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare is a about the life of the residents of the Los Angeles Institute. Including an in depth view on the parabatai relationship. It is written within the Shadow hunters universe created in Clare's best selling series of books The Mortal Instruments and  The Infernal Devices. It is a parallel story line written five years after The Mortal Instruments stops. It deals in the after effects of "The Dark War" which is a war that occurred five years before and had claimed all of their parents in a raid on the Institute. Julian ,18, has been raising his four younger siblings, ranging from 15-7, since he was twelve. His parabatai is Emma, 18, she is an only child living with Julian and his family. She is haunted by the deaths of her parents who she suspects were not murdered in the attack on the Institute, because they were found in the ocean severely mutilated. This book captures your attention from beginning to end. It is a great story about human relationships with a little bit of action thrown in. I highly recommend this book along with the other books in the Shadow Hunters universe.
 

Born to Read - Matthew S.

      Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda is a young adult, romance novel by Becky Albertalli. It's about Simon, a closeted 16 year-old who emails with the name Jacques to another closeted peer from his school named Blue. Their emails are kept private, until Simon leaves the emails open on a school computer, where another student named Martin uses them as blackmail. Simon is then used by Martin for Martin's social needs. At the same time, tension is high in Simon's friend group of two childhood friends and a new(er) comer, where everything is ready to fall apart.

      The book is very well written and keeps the reader interested and deeply emotionally invested in the characters, which makes the reader yearn for some things to happen in different ways. If you pick this book up, you won't be able to put it down until everything goes right.

Born to Read - Erica Sawyer

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

The Book Thief is one of my favorite books of all time. It is set in Germany during World War II and follows a young girl called Liesel Meminger. She has been adopted by Hans and Rosa Hubermann
because her mother could no longer afford to keep her and her brother alive.
What makes this book my favorite is how different it is. The narrator of the story is an embodiment of death and I had never seen something like that before I read The Book Thief. Death isn't afraid of spoilers either. He jumps around in the story throughout the book. You could know a character was dead before they did in the story.
The Book Thief is unique and extremely well-written. If you ever get the chance to read it, you should.

Born To Read

Mrs. Gilpin's Born To Read class will be blogging about books and reading during Summerscape 2016.  Please visit us again to read their thoughts.