The Line

The Line by Teri Hall


Summary:  Rachel lives with her mother on Ms. Moore's property near the Line.  The Line is an impenetrable U.S. boundary that was put in place after an attack.  It was placed so quickly that those outside of the boundary were left to die...or worse.  While exploring one day, Rachel receives a message from some one on the other side.  A request for help.

Thoughts:  I thought this book was pretty good.  Although, at times, the political aspects of the book were overwhelming for me.  I thought the characters developed quite nicely.  There was a cliff-hanger ending that leads into book two.  That's always frustrating for me as a reader.  Overall its recommended.

Uglies, Pretties, Specials

I read two more books in the Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld.  They were great!  I really identified with the main characters.  There was humor, sadness, struggles, and action in all three of these books.  I decided not to read the 4th book, Extras, because the main character is different and the reviews of the book were "Meh" at best.  I would definitely recommend this series to anyone coming down off of a Hunger Games, Maze Runner, or Divergent binge.

Ranger's Apprentice: Ruins of Gorlan (#1)

Ranger's Apprentice: Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

Summary (from GoodReads)
He had always wanted to be a warrior. The Rangers, with their dark cloaks and shadowy ways, made him nervous. The villagers believe the Rangers practice magic that makes them invisible to ordinary people. And now fifteen year-old Will, always small for his age, has been chosen as a Ranger's apprentice. What he doesn't realize yet is that the Rangers are the protectors of the kingdom. Highly trained in the skills of battle and surveillance, they fight the battles before the battles reach the people. And as Will is about to learn, there is a large battle brewing. The exiled Morgarath, Lord of the Mountains of Rain and Night, is gathering his forces for an attack on the kingdom. This time, he will not be denied .

Personal Thoughts
This series is super popular in my library.  I couldn't quite figure out why.  A students would turn one in and immediately check out the next one.  After I asked a fellow librarian, she said that they're good and I should read them.  WOW!  I loved it!  I couldn't wait to see what happened on the next page.  I really connected with the characters and could sense their personalities and how likable (or not) some of them are.  The only thing I didn't love about the book was that I had a hard time visualizing the kingdom.  I'm currently reading the second book and will post a review as soon as possible.  So far, it's as good as the first.  By the way, this is a rather long series, so the next several posts will probably relate to these books!

Ship Breaker

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

Summary (from book jacket)
In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota-and hopefully live to see another day.  But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life.

Personal Thoughts
This was a good read that went pretty fast.  Despite the sometimes awkward and new terminology, it was easy to read and understandable.  The characters were well-fleshed out and the plot interesting and fast-moving, too.  Overall,  I liked this book.  I'm curious to know if there will be a sequel...Aha!  According to sixboxesofbooks.blogspot.com, Bacigalupi is planning a sequel called The Drowned Cities due out in 2011.

The Lost Hero

The Lost Hero by Rick Riordan
Summary
This book is a spin-off of the Percy Jackson series.  His name is mentioned, but he is no longer the main character.  The main character, Jason, has just been found and given a quest to save the world.  The only problem is he has absolutely no memory of anything before he woke up on a bus at a camp for "bad kids."

Personal Thoughts
I liked this book just like I liked the Percy Jackson series.  (That was a lot of "likes" in one sentence!)  This one required more thinking, though.  The gods are now being presented in both their Greek and Roman forms...sometimes it's a little overwhelming to keep track of.  All-in-all, I found this to be an enjoyable read.

I, Q: The White House

I, Q: The White House by Roland Smith

Summary (from book jacket)
In Book Two: The White House, readers are taken on another thrilling caper.  But it's going to be even more difficult for Q and Angela to sort out the "good guys" from the "bad guys" when the new playing field is 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Personal Thoughts
I enjoyed this book.  It has a few twists I didn't see coming.  It was a little predictable at times, but I was still guessing at who the moles in the White House were and if they would actually succeed in whatever terrorist attempt they would be making.  It was a great follow up to Book One.  My one complaint is that this felt very much like it was written only as set-up for the third novel.  The ending, while complete for the book, requires a conclusion, which I'm assuming we'll see in the third installment.

Mockingjay

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

Summary (taken from Amazon.com)
Against all odds, Katniss Everdeen has survived the Hunger Games twice. But now that she's made it out of the bloody arena alive, she's still not safe. The Capitol is angry. The Capitol wants revenge. Who do they think should pay for the unrest? Katniss. And what's worse, President Snow has made it clear that no one else is safe either. Not Katniss's family, not her friends, not the people of District 12. Powerful and haunting, this thrilling final installment of Suzanne Collins's groundbreaking The Hunger Games trilogy promises to be one of the most talked about books of the year.

Personal Thoughts
Wow, oh, wow, oh, wow.  I know the library doesn't yet have a copy of this book so I borrowed it from a friend.  (It's on its way, I promise!!)  Several of the people who have already read this and/or reviewed it, said they didn't take away as much from it as the first two books.  Not my opinion.  I really really liked this book.  I thought it wrapped up the trilogy nicely and gave a lot of finality to the series.  It had me cheering, tearing up, and waking up at 1:00 a.m. thinking about it.  At times, Katniss's melancholy bugged me, but it was still a GREAT book.  I'm glad I'm done with it though.  Perhaps now I can get some work done!