The second book in "The Maze Runner" series - "The Scorch Trials", by James Dashner - picks up right where the first one left off. I actually started reading the second book within minutes of finishing the first one and they tie together so seamlessly that I had to go back and check to see where the first one actually ended and the second began.
Thomas and the other gladers have finally reached safety. They have been put in a safe bunkhouse and have been told that answers will be theirs in the morning. Morning comes, but instead of bringing answers it only brings more questions. Crazy people are trying to break into their room, all of the guards that rescued them are dead, and Theresa has been replaced by a boy who claims to have gone through the same maze experience as them. The safety they thought they had reached is jerked out from under them and replaced by another set of trials. More tests to go through and more people to get hurt or killed. The boys have no choice but to go on another race for their lives through a place called "The Scorch" and hope to make it to the other side alive.
This book is definitely just as heart-pounding as the first one - "The Maze Runner". James Dashner has an incredible imagination and he brings that imagination to life through his writing. You will be right there fighting for your life and getting chased by cranks along with the characters. Without the actual danger of course, which is why books are so magical. I would suggest reading the first book before picking this one up, but you should probably have this one on hand because you will want to start it right away. I would say high school age and older, it might scare younger kids. I rate this book as a 5 out of 5. Definitely worth your time and is coming out as a movie this fall! Let me know what you think!
I cannot believe that it took me so long to read these books. It only took me a week and a half to read through the entire series because I could not put it down. I will put them on here one at a time starting with the first one: "The Maze Runner", by James Dashner.
"The Maze Runner" is about, well, a kid (Thomas) that runs through a maze. But first he wakes up in a box in the middle of the maze without any memory. There are a bunch of other kids in the maze, all boys, and none of them know why they are there or who put them there. Thomas, the last boy to arrive, is special because even though he doesn't remember anything he gets feelings about what seems right or familiar, and that helps guide him. The day after Thomas arrives the most unusual thing happens - a girl shows up in the maze. Her arrival changes everything and is the beginning of the end for the boys in the maze. The grievers (horrible man-made monsters that live in the maze) start acting differently, the sun disappears, and then the doors stop closing at night which gives the grievers full access to attack the kids. After two years of unsuccessfully trying to get out of the maze, the rules have changed and one boy will die every night until they find a way to escape.
This book got my heart racing and it didn't slow down until the last page. My heart didn't get much of a break though because I started the second book, "The Scorch Trials", right away. This is the type of series that will leave you feeling empty when your done. It took me a couple of days before I could start another book because I was still living in this story. This is a whole other level of "dystopian". The world has crumbled and the "good" guys are only making things worse. This book is definitely a 4 out of 5. It's an amazing book, but there are some pieces of the story that don't have enough detail for the reader to really visualize. Which leaves some holes in the story. I'd say age appropriate for high school and older. Let me know what you think!
"Luther and Katharina", by Jody Hedlund, was an unexpected delight. I love when I pick up a book, not really knowing what it is about, and get swept off my feet by a wonderful story. This story is about Martin Luther and Katharina von Bora and the unlikely love between them. Katharina is a nun of noble birth who risks everything to escape the Abbey with a group of other nuns. Her life is turned upside in a changing world and, with the help of Martin, she finds herself serving in a home that is a lower social class than herself.
Her pride prevents her from accepting these changes and she is continually looking to marry and raise herself back to the noble class she was born into. She wants a life of riches, not necessarily love. Luther, on the other hand, would only be convinced to marry by the deepest kind of love and he has absolutly no riches. He lives on what others are willing to donate and his life is in constant danger. Throughout the book the attraction and chemistry between the two is obvious, they are both just too stubborn to acknowledge it. They go through some life threatening challenges and are finally worn down enough to let go and act on the budding love between them.
As I said at the beginning of this post, this book was an unexpected delight. I was in the mood for a little romance, so I picked this book out and got way more than I expected. The fact that the characters are real just makes the story that much more rich. I was sucked into the book and found myself smiling when Katharina and Luther were inadvertently flirting and then groaning when they would pull away from each other and act like nothing was going on. I couldn't put the book down. You'll find yourself being ripped back in time and feeling like you're washing clothes in the river right there next to the characters. It's a good easy read, plus it's completely clean. I can't think of a single reason for you to not read this book. It is coming out on October 6th. I recieved this book from "Blogging for Books" for this review. You can pre-order your copy here. Or click here to check out the author. And of course, don't forget to let me know what you think!
This book completely blew me away. My mom lent it to me a long time ago and I kept putting off reading it because it just didn't sound that good. Well I was in the mood for something different, so I decided to give "Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide", by Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn, a try. Simply based off of the title I assumed that this book would be a 'call to arms' to try to get readers to join a certain group. Boy was I wrong.
"Half the Sky" is comprised of a lot of true stories from around the world that share what life is like for a particular girl or community. It shows pictures and tells you (usually from the girl's point of view) what her life is like. Most of the stories are hard to get through because of how gruesome they are, and some made me cry. I knew that women were treated differently in other countries, I just didn't know how differently. This book opened my eyes and has truly humbled me. You need to read this book. I'm not saying read this book so that you can feel bad and donate money to some charity group. No, I'm saying read this book so that you can realize how good you really have it.
This isn't the type of book that you will pick up and read in one sitting. You might read it for a few days and then not read it again for a couple of weeks, but then pick it up and read it for a few days again. It's hard to get through because you don't really want to know about this stuff. The phrase "ignorance is bliss" applies here. Why read about a girl that was kidnapped and forced to become a prostitute? That will just make me sad. No. I think we need more books like this so that people can see what life is like in the world's poorer countries. I think that it is important for everyone to be educated on this matter. Even if all that comes of it is that we are more grateful for what we have. This is a perfect book for a reading group because I promise that you will want someone to talk with about what you are reading. Go pick up a copy and then share it. :)
If you have seen the movie "Warm Bodies", then you don't really need to read the book. I was surprised by how close the two are. "Warm Bodies", by Isaac Marion, is a most unusual love story. Zombies are usually the monsters in books, not the leading male role. However, Marion takes a normally gross and terrifying character and personalizes him. Now all of a sudden the reader is relating to this zombie and wondering what it would really be like to be in his shoes.
'R' is all that the (the zombie) can remember of his name, so that's what he goes by. He is living in an abandoned airport with a bunch of other zombies, but R is different from the rest because he is not content with being a zombie. On a run into the city to get some food, R sees Julie and he has the sudden urge to protect her instead of eat her. He sneaks her back to his home and tries to keep her like a pet. Being around a human starts to bring out some human qualities in himself that have been suppressed for a long time. Julie is slowly making him human again. The rest of the zombies can see the change and it sparks something in them too. Julie and R break the bounds set by society (what's left of it anyways) and start an uprising while almost getting themselves killed in the process.
Like I said, this book is almost exactly like the movie. The two biggest differences are that the book definitely gives the reader a closer look at R and what is really going through his head, and the book has way more swear words than the movie. If I had to choose, this is one of the rare instances where I would pick the movie over the book. I didn't feel like the language really added anything to the story, so the movie gives you everything that you really need. I LOVE this story though because it is one of the most unusual love stories that I have come across. I love unlikely love stories. If you want to read this love story though, I would suggest renting the movie. :)
Thomas and the other gladers have finally reached safety. They have been put in a safe bunkhouse and have been told that answers will be theirs in the morning. Morning comes, but instead of bringing answers it only brings more questions. Crazy people are trying to break into their room, all of the guards that rescued them are dead, and Theresa has been replaced by a boy who claims to have gone through the same maze experience as them. The safety they thought they had reached is jerked out from under them and replaced by another set of trials. More tests to go through and more people to get hurt or killed. The boys have no choice but to go on another race for their lives through a place called "The Scorch" and hope to make it to the other side alive. 
