Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld: Review

Leviathan

By: Scott Westerfeld

Description (From Goodreads):Prince Aleksander, would-be heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, is on the run. His own people have turned on him. His title is worthless. All he has is a battletorn war machine and a loyal crew of men.

Deryn Sharp is a commoner, disguised as a boy in the British Air Service. She's a brilliant airman. But her secret is in constant danger of being discovered.

With World War I brewing, Alek and Deryn's paths cross in the most unexpected way…taking them on a fantastical, around-the-world adventure that will change both their lives forever.

Review: I didn't even know that the genre of steampunk existed until about a month ago. I must have been living under a rock or something. But, I've noticed it has become an increasingly popular genre, and this book is a good indication of why.

The illustrations in this book were really neat and one of my favorite parts. There was a new illustration every 5 pages or so, and they really added a depth to the story without being overly "cartoonish." (A reason why I could never really get into Manga). Here is an example of this awesome art:
I really liked the character and story of Deryn. I'm also up for a good story about a girl pretending to be a boy and kicking some trash. Deryn certainly did so. She had a lot of spunk and spirit, but also a good dose of compassion, especially at the end of the book.

Aleksander's story went in a little different direction than I had originally thought. While Deryn's story was pretty predictable, I was never quite sure where Aleksander was going to end up.

Sometimes telling a book from two perspectives really doesn't work for me. However, in this case, Westerfeld handled it beautifully. I wasn't as impressed with "The Uglies" series as I wanted to be, so it was nice to have a book by Westerfeld that I really enjoyed. I think this series is going to do really well. This book got a lot of buzz at the end of last year, and I can definitely see why.

Book-A-Likes:
Alanna by Tamora Pierce (For the "girl pretending to be a boy" story)
City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau (For the machinery aspect, and the boy working with girl story)
If you like other books in the Steam Punk genre, you'll like this one.

Rating:
I gave this book 4 stars.


Profanity: Like all steampunk, the slang evolves into something different from our culture. So, nothing you'd recognize
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Sexuality: None
Violence: Moderate. This is WWI (or an alternate version), so there is a battle that is described.

The Hunt for the Dark Infinity by James Dashner: Review

The Hunt for the Dark Infinity

(The Thirteenth Reality Part 2)

By: James Dashner

 Description: It's been a quiet summer for Tick, Paul, and Sofia, but the latest message from Master George changes everything. The Realities are in danger and from something more terrible than Mistress Jane and the mutated Chi karda of the Thirteenth Reality. People from all Realities are unexplainably going insane. Worse, some Realities are fragmenting, disintegrating into nothingness. Master George has learned that Mr. Chu from the Fourth Reality is working on a mysterious new weapon called Dark Infinity. But no one has any idea how to stop the weapon or even if it can be stopped. To make matters worse, Tick and his friends have been kidnapped, forced to wink from Reality to Reality, solving impossible riddles in order to survive the deadly traps surrounding them. Mistress Jane and Tick find themselves in a race to reach the weapon first but who will destroy it and who will become its master?

Review: I really liked the first book in this series. And, many of the things I loved about book one continued into book two. It's really refreshing to have active parental involvement in a middle reader/YA book. Often, the parents seem totally out of the picture. In this series, the parents are aware of Tick's role in the realities and support him in his mission, even though it is difficult for them. (Frankly, if they knew half the stuff he had to do, they might be less supportive).

Atticus is a great character. I think a lot of kids (especially boys) can relate to his character. He's a good student, struggles with bullies and self-image. I really liked seeing his character evolve more in this book. He is a loyal friend, and does a good job of keeping the peace between his two friends.

The only complaint I have about the book is that sometimes it's a little technical and long winded. By technical, I mean that James Dashner has obviously put in a lot of effort to make a very complex world/reality. Sometimes the jargon (made up) is a little hard to follow. But, it doesn't take away significantly from the story.

Rating:

I gave this book 4 out of 5 stars.

Book-A-Likes: This book would be great for boys 9-12 that like fantasy. It's similar to Fablehaven by Brandon Mull, Harry Potter by JK Rowling, and other books where a group of kids learn their true identities and attempt to save the world.

Profanity: None

Drugs and Alcohol: None

Sexuality: None

Violence: Mild. There is a little fighting.

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix: Review

Found

By: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Description: Thirteen-year-old Jonah has always known that he was adopted, and he's never thought it was any big deal. Then he and a new friend, Chip, who's also adoped, begin receiving mysterious letters. The first one says, "You are one of the missing." The second one says, "Beware! They're coming back to get you."

Jonah, Chip, and Jonah's sister, Katherine, are plunged into a mystery that involves the FBI, a vast smuggling operation, an airplane that appeared out of nowhere -- and people who seem to appear and disappear at will. The kids discover they are caught in a battle between two opposing forces that want very different things for Jonah and Chip's lives.

Do Jonah and Chip have any choice in the matter? And what should they choose when both alternatives are horrifying?

Review: Man, can Margaret Peterson Haddix write a YA thriller or what? I have no idea where she comes up with these ideas for stories, but they are phenomenal.

Jonah is a great character. He's very much a teenage boy. His parents have worked very hard to make his adoption a normal thing for him. Chip on the other hand has never been told that he's adopted. Frankly, it seems like his parents are pretty disconnected in a lot of aspects of Chip's life.  I was really interested in the two totally different ways these families handled the adoption situation.

The book was incredibly suspenseful. Haddix does a wonderful job of giving just enough information to be clear, but not enough to guess what is going to happen next. This book, like many of her others, is pretty short. I read this book in about two hours.

I wish I could go more into the details of the story, but any further information would really ruin the story. Basically, I loved this book.

Book-A-Likes: This book is good for readers that enjoy modern-day fiction, and science fiction. Frankly, I can't think of another book similar to it.

Rating:
I gave this book 5 stars.

Profanity: None that I can remember
Drugs and Alcohol: None
Sexuality: None
Violence: Mild. At most, there is a fistfight.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner: Review

The Maze Runner

By: James Dashner

Blurb from back:

When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers.

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

Review:

This book definitely kept me on my toes. Similar to Jason Borne in The Bourne Identity and other amnesia-plagued characters, you find yourself trying so hard to piece together the little information given to you by the author into a back story for the character.

Post-apocalyptic fiction is some of my favorite to read, because I really enjoy the aspect of human survival. Every book has its own flavor of how people survive when situations aren't ideal. What I liked about The Maze Runner was the many different conflicts that contributed to the story. Thomas is conflicted about his past, he wants to know who he is and where he came from. But, once the truth begins to come out, he is rightly conflicted about wanting to know more. Thomas is also conflicted about the information that he gives to the leaders of the group, and the information he's holding in his thoughts. There are of course environmental conflicts as would be expected with a group of boys governing themselves. This is increased with the addition of a girl to the Glade.

I liked the characters in the books. Even though there were quite a few to keep track of, I felt like they were all easily distinguishable from each other. Each contributed to the story in an important way. I especially felt a connection to Thomas' first roommate Chuck. It gives a little bit of a softer edge to the otherwise hardened life at the Glade.

I only had a couple things I didn't like about the book, and they definitely weren't deal breakers. The first was the made up slang. I also didn't like it in Ender's Game.  I felt like it really clogged up the dialogue sometimes, and regular slang words would do.

Also, I felt like not enough was done with the female character in the story. This can be easily remedied in the sequel; however, and I'm sure she'll make a bigger impact.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. I highly recommend this book for boys, especially ones that don't especially like to read. It's a fast-paced, easy read that will leave you thinking about it for days. I gave it four stars.

Rating:

Profanity: Mild, and it's not actual swear words used in every-day English, but made up slang

Drugs and Alcohol: None

Sexuality: Mildly hinted at when the girl first arrives

Violence: Mild. People do die in the book, but it's not overly graphic.

Books similar to this one: Ender's Game, Lord of the Flies

In accordance with FTC guidelines please note that I received a review copy from Delacorte Press for Young Readers. I was not compensated for this review.