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| Photo Credit: Goodreads |
Flinn, A. (2007). Beastly. London: Harperteen.
This fairy tale retelling is a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It is set in New York in the present time. The main character is a boy who used to be Kyle Kingsbury before the witch in his English class cast a spell on him turning him into a beast who has to hide during the day. Before he was turned into a beast he had everything anyone would want, he had the popularity and the good looks. While his father has made tons of money as a news anchor, he doesn't have any relationship with Kyle. This makes Kyle into a cruel boy who doesn't care much about anything and relies on his good looks and money. The girl in his English class casts the spell on him because he had played a cruel joke on her. He asked her to a dance never actually intending to go with her and goes with the the "hottest" girl in school. His maid buys the wrong flower for her and she gets really upset. When he gets into the dance he is still upset and sees the ugly girl that he had invited earlier and tells her that no one would ever want to dance with her. The curse gives him two years to find true love or he will have to stay a beast forever. He is sent to neighbourhood far away and given a blind tutor. When a he is almost robbed he trades the mans life for his daughter, to save her from being traded to someone much worse than him. They grow to be friends and he realizes he loves her when she runs away and gets into trouble.
The appeal of this story is that it is set in the present time and if there was magic in the world it could potentially happen. The people that would read this would be the higher end of the Jr High level (grades 8-9) and the High school (grades 10-12) and potentially some younger adults. It is different enough from the original that you don't feel like you are reading a childish story.
Rating: 4/5
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| Photo Credit: Goodreads |
Collins, S. (2008) The Hunger Games. Scholastic Press.
The story starts out with you being introduced to Katnis who is living in a post-apocalyptic nation called Panem. It doesn't say where exactly you are in the world but the nation consists of 13 districts, one is the wealthy Capitol and the much poorer 12 other districts. These districts provide supplies for the Capitol. In the early stages of the nation there was a rebellion with the 12 poorer districts attacking the Capitol. This rebellion was squashed by the Capitol and this led to them needing something to show that they are in control of the districts. They decided on a televised event called the Hunger Games, each district must put forth one boy and one girl as tribute. These tributes are between the age of 12 and 18, and are picked at random. Katnis's sisters name is in for the first time this year and she gets chosen. Katnis volunteers to be taken instead to protect her younger sister. She goes to the capitol with the boy tribute a boy around her age to compete in the games. She must survive the games in order to get home again to see her sister and her mother. She goes through many terrible things throughout the games and eventually it is just her and Peeta left as the game makers said that two tributes could win if the were from the same district. However they take it back so they decide to trick the game makers and each berries that would poison them both and there would be no victors at all. This however would not give the districts the small amount of hope that the games are supposed to provide. The game makers decide to let them both win. However they do need to pretend to be in love as they had throughout the game. It ends with them pulling into district 12 ready to play act for the cameras. In the second book in the series "Catching Fire" Katnis and Peeta are doing the victors tour and the districts are starting to act like they did in the rebellion. The capitol is still angry that they were tricked by the two tributes and decide to show them that they are the ones in charge. During the next reaping for the Hunger Games the tributes are only chosen out of the previous victors (meaning for district 12 it would have to be Katnis). Her and Peeta are going to go back into the arena. Unbeknownst to Katnis there is a plan to break her and the other tributes and take them to join the rebellion in district 13 (a district that was supposed to have been destroyed). However when they are rescued Peeta gets left behind and gets taken by the Capitol.
This book would be appealing to a large audience, ranging from the entire YA group all the way to adults. The fact that they never say exactly where they are allows you to think that it could be where you are living now and could be you. This allows the reader to relate more to the story and be sucked in. However you almost know from the very beginning that Katnis will win or come close to winning or do something to trick the game makers. It is a predictable plot line, however you find yourself being invested in the characters and really wanting them to make it.
Rating: 3.5/5
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| Photo Credit: Goodreads |
Rowling, J.K. (1997). Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. New York: Bloomsbury.
Harry Potter thinks that he is just a normal boy who is destined to live under the stairs at his Aunt and Uncles house avoiding his cousin and his group of terrible friends. The story opens with Mr. Dursley noticing really strange things happening on his way to work, people wearing weird clothes and owls out during the day. That night the headmaster of Hogwarts Albus Dumbledore meets up with other professor outside of the Dursley home waiting for Hagrid (the game keeper) to bring little Harry. You find out that Harry's parents were killed by an evil wizard by Voldemort and he will be left with his Aunt and Uncle. After this you fast forward to Harry and his family getting ready for his cousins birthday party, Harry still has no idea that he is special though he has noticed that strange things happen around him. Letters start to arrive for Harry which his Uncle won't let him read or even look at. The letters start to arrive even on days that the mail isn't delivered and Mr. Dursley starts to panic trying to keep the secret from Harry. Eventually they are on an island where Mr. Dursley thinks that they won't be able to be bothered. However Hagrid finds them and Harry learns that he is a Wizard and he will be going to Hogwarts for school. The school year is full of events that would only happen to someone who wasn't normal, there were trolls in the dungeon, secret passage ways and crazy creatures. They find out that there is the philosopher's stone hidden in the castle and decide to try to find it before Voledemort does. With the help of his two best friends they do get to the stone however a Professor has gotten their first. Harry out wits the Professor, who has Voldemort in the back of his head and saves the day.
This book would appeal to all ages in the YA group. The fact that we like to pretend that there is magic in the world and there could be another world of people living amongst us. This book does allow the reader to enter another world which would be part of the books appeal. The only limitation that might make it more difficult for someone to have access to the book would be that the book was challenged at different points and it might not be in their library.
Rating: 5/5
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| Photo Credit: Goodreads |
Westfield, S. (2005). Uglies. New York: Simon & Schuster.
Tally is about to turn sixteen, she can't wait because once she does she will be able to finally get the operation to become pretty and move to the city. Her best friend has already turned sixteen and has had the operation and is having the time of her life in the city. However she makes a new friend who isn't sure that she wants to become pretty and is thinking that maybe it would be better to spend life on the run, on the outside. After her new friend runs away Tally is put on the spot by Dr Cable to find her new friend (Shay) or she will not be able to get the operation and join her best friend in the city. She agrees to this and sets off to find the town of uglies and turn Shay in. However in her travels she meets a boy who was born in the wilderness and thinks that Tally is beautiful the way that she is. While living in the Smoke she finds out things about the operation, the brain surgery that makes the people more "manageable" and decides that maybe she doesn't want the operation and decides to not call Dr. Cable. However the Special Circumstances storms into Smoke and arrests everyone. David and Tally escape somehow and watch everyone being carted off to the city. They decide to try to rescue everyone who was captured, they rescue his mom but are too late for his dad and Shay (she has been turned pretty). The ending leaves the reader wondering what is going to happen next as Tally volunteers to get the operation so Davids mother can try out the cure for the brain surgery part of the operation.
This book would appeal to both the Jr High (grade 7-9) and High School grades. It has a high interest level I think. The fact that it is dealing with what other people perceive as beautiful and what society tells you that you have to do in order to be beautiful. It is good that the main character realizes that she doesn't need the operation to be pretty. However it is still someone else telling her that she is pretty ( the boy she meets tells her that he thinks she is beautiful the way she is). It would be better if she realized this on her own, as it is right now the girl is still relying on an outside opinion.
Rating: 2.5/5
