Beatrice has grown up in post-apocalyptic Chicago, where the community is divided into 5 factions, each focused on a different value. Candor values honest, Amity values happiness, Erudite values information, Dauntless values courage and Beatrice's faction, Abnegation values selflessness. But Beatrice isn't a very good member of Abnegation, selflessness doesn't seem to come naturally to her like it does for her brother Caleb or her mother. At 16, every member of the community undergoes the test to find out what faction they will choose to live in as an adult.
What is it about the tale of Snow White that keeps coming back? The story is hundreds of years old, but 2012 will bring two new (and drastically different) movie adaptations of the tale. In preparation, you might want to check out these novel adaptations of the story.
In a land where beauty and singing are valued above all else, Aza eventually comes to reconcile her unconventional appearance and her magical voice, and learns to accept herself for who she truly is.
Cullen Witter's summer break begins with a trip to the Lily, Arkansas morgue. With this aunt and mother too distraught to get out of the car and his father on another long haul delivery, Cullen is left to identify the body. And his summer only gets better when an ornithologist from Washington shows up in town claiming he has seen a species of woodpecker previously thought to be extinct.
I know that you are supposed to start your road trip at the beginning of summer, but sometimes things don't always work out according to plans. As I get ready for my road trip I thought I would share some of my favorite road trip books with you!
I have been thinking a lot about writing lately. Sometimes it can be easy to get caught up in a story, so much that you don't even know notice if it is well or badly written. I was talking to a friend about Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins yesterday, and I admitted that the first time through, I probably only read about 1/3 of the words. I was flipping pages at a frantic rate to find out what happened, who would live, and who wouldn't make it to the last page.
Earlier this week, readers everywhere were saddened to hear about the death of author William Sleator.
The Harvard graduate, and classical pianist, was well known for writing macabre and scary stories for kids and teens. His book House of Stairs was widely read and critically acclaimed book about a group of teens who are trapped in a house containing nothing but endless flights of stairs. Sleator described his books as "gleefully icky", and that they were, creepy and gross and fantastic!
There really isn't anything better than a good zombie story. I can't tell you how many times I have lost myself in the story of the undead plague. I think of this as research for the future. It preparation for the inevitable. I have my escape all planned out (and no I won't tell you my plans!), have you throught about packing your outbreak bag and figuring out where you will go? Maybe you should read some of these books and figure it out!
Some authors are like home, you know that they are always going to be there for you. When you are sad, or happy, or nostalgic, you can always pick them up and enjoy them. I am pretty picky about what books get space on my bookshelves. To get on the shelf they have to meet one of two criteria: 1. I know I will reread them. 2. I want to be able to loan them out to friends. So you know if it is on my shelf, it has got to be good. I have a few authors who's entire compendium is on there, and I want to share them with you today.
So yesterday I was reading at the gym, and I am just about to the end of my book and something horrible happens. It starts with a little catch in my throat, then I can feel my eyes starting to fill up...and I realize that I am about to cry over a book in public. And not just anywhere, at the gym, in front of all the ladies going to zumba and the body builders lifting weights.
