Nancy Farmer
A sequel to The House of the Scorpion, we pick up immediately. Mateo is now the sole heir to El Patrón, who committed suicide and murdered his entire retinue with a massive dose of the proverbial kool-aid. And the border is locked down, so no supplied in, and no drugs out. The remainder of the story does a few of things: 1) documents the growing into power and solidifying of power by Mateo, 2) explores trust and friendship amidst explicit and massive power differentials, 3) explores human rights and 'the greater good', and 4) imagines a world of environmental care (be it accidental) and paints a picture of environmental value. In all, a fabulous book in its own right. I would say tells a better story and forces the reader into a more essential thinking process than the first. Highly recommend this series.
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Friday, April 7, 2017
Monday, April 3, 2017
A World Without You
Beth Revis
This is actually pretty amazing. Some weird cross in tone between Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children (of which I only saw the film) and The Fault in Our Stars. The story is a deep look into normalcy and mental illness from the perspective of both the afflicted and the family around them. Maybe because I loved her Across the Universe trilogy, I stepped into this expecting full Revis Sci-fi. And as the story developed, it unfolded for me in a way that seemed consistent with the unfolding for Bo, the protagonist. Excellent writing.
The story follows Bo, a student at Berkshire School for Students with Exceptional Needs. We are introduced to him and the fellow students in his unit immediately after a tragedy has struck the school. Bo spends most of the book exploring this tragedy, investigating it, and developing his powers to be able to remedy it. At the same time, we jump to the perspective of his sister Phoebe, who is attending local public school, is 'normal' and nearly invisible to her parents.
I take this as a particularly poignant view of families and relationships who are dealing with any variety of 'exceptional needs'. Not a happy book, per se, but hopeful in many ways. Definitely worth reading.
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This is actually pretty amazing. Some weird cross in tone between Miss Peregrine's School for Peculiar Children (of which I only saw the film) and The Fault in Our Stars. The story is a deep look into normalcy and mental illness from the perspective of both the afflicted and the family around them. Maybe because I loved her Across the Universe trilogy, I stepped into this expecting full Revis Sci-fi. And as the story developed, it unfolded for me in a way that seemed consistent with the unfolding for Bo, the protagonist. Excellent writing.
The story follows Bo, a student at Berkshire School for Students with Exceptional Needs. We are introduced to him and the fellow students in his unit immediately after a tragedy has struck the school. Bo spends most of the book exploring this tragedy, investigating it, and developing his powers to be able to remedy it. At the same time, we jump to the perspective of his sister Phoebe, who is attending local public school, is 'normal' and nearly invisible to her parents.
I take this as a particularly poignant view of families and relationships who are dealing with any variety of 'exceptional needs'. Not a happy book, per se, but hopeful in many ways. Definitely worth reading.
Read
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