Article 5 Book Review

 Author: Kristen Simmons. Release date: 2012. Publisher:  Tor Teen. ISBN: 9780765329585.

Annotation: In the not-too-distant future, the United States is governed by the Moral Statutes: laws created following a catastrophic world war. One of the newest laws is Article 5 which states that only children conceived by a married man and woman are valid citizens. Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller has always tried to abide by the Moral Statutes, but after Article 5 is enacted, she and her single mother can no longer hide.      

Personal thoughts: I am really a big fan of dystopian novels, but it seems like after you’ve read 20+ titles in the genre, the ones that don’t do something completely different kind of blend together. I enjoyed reading Article 5, but I’m worried that it might not be unusual enough to really stick out in the crowd. I kind of already knew what was going to happen when the story began, just because it is what usually happens in dystopian novels. I do think it is a good book, however, and would easily recommend it to someone who wanted a Hunger Games read-alike. I will also definitely be picking up the sequel when it’s released, and I hope that the author can take the story in a unique direction that will really make the series a standout.

Plot summary: After a brutal war destroyed most of the United States’ major cities, the country is now under control by the Federal Bureau of Reformation (FBR). The Moral Statutes govern what citizens can and cannot do, and compliance is mandatory. The newest of the Moral Statutes is Article 5, which states that only children conceived by a married man and woman are valid citizens. Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller has tried to live her life in compliance with the Statutes. She attends high school, behaves appropriately, and tries to discourage her free-spirit mother from acting immorally. After the FBR initiates a crackdown on Article 5 violators, however, Ember and her mother, who has never been married, find themselves under arrest. Ember is sent to a reform school for girls, and her mother is sent to prison to await trial. The reform school is operated by a cruel woman named Ms. Brock and guarded by dozens of FBR soldiers. Ember wants nothing more than to escape the school and rescue her mother, but she cannot forget the face of one of the men who arrested her: Chase Jennings, the only boy she has ever loved.

Review: From debut author Kristen Simmons comes Article 5, the first novel in a new dystopian series for teens. Dystopian novels seem to be the bread and butter of the young adult genre in recent years, and, although it is well-written and has originality, Article 5 does have a lot in common with other recently published dystopian novels. The government rules with an absolute iron fist, people who disobey aren’t heard from again, the main character finds herself thrust into a situation that causes her to be at odds with the government, there is a romance that is threatened by the aforementioned situation. These are all plot points that Article 5 shares with other novels in the genre (in fact, Katniss Everdeen, the Godmother of dystopia herself, has these in common with Kristen Simmons’ Ember Miller.) The fact that Article 5 is a lot like other recently published dystopian novels, however, doesn’t make it any less entertaining. The author does a great job of creating tension in the story: the reader is never sure who to trust, what the truth about various situations is, and what will happen next for Ember Miller and Chase Jennings. There are also several plot twists that keep the book flowing very smoothly from start to finish, leaving the reader at a satisfying point to anticipate the sequel. Ember is a very likable if slightly underdeveloped character (the reader doesn’t really get a sense for who she is prior to the events of the story because the action starts within the first pages of the novel.) Hopefully, the author will be able to expand on Ember, Chase and their relationship in the sequel, Breaking Point, which is set to be released on February 5, 2013.

Genre:  Science-Fiction

Reading level: Grade 8+

Similar titles: Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins, Awaken by Katie Kacvinsky, Cinder by Marissa Meyer, Divergent series by Veronica Roth, Eve by Anna Carey, The Pledge by Kimberly Derting, The Selection by Kiera Cass, Starters by Lissa Price, Partials by Dan Wells, Legend by Marie Lu, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, What Happened to Serenity? by PJ Sarah Collins.

Themes:  Dystopian, post-apocalyptic, oppression, romance, duty, mother/daughter relationships.

Awards/Reviews:  Positive reviews from School Library Journal and Huffington Post.

Series Information: Sequel, Breaking Point, set to be released February 5, 2013.  

Discussion questions:

-        What do you think of the Moral Statutes? Do you think it’s possible that something like the Statutes could ever be enacted in the United States? Why or why not?

-      What would you have done if you were taken to reform school? Would you have acted like Rebecca? Rosa? Ember? Why?

-       What do you think was the reasoning behind Chase’s actions throughout the novel? Was it love? Loyalty? Duty?

-       Why do you think Tucker had such a grudge against Chase?

-    What would you like to see happen in the sequel to Article 5?

 

 

 

Lightbringer Book Review

 Author: K.D. McEntire. Release date: 2011. Publisher:  Pyr. ISBN: 9781616145392.

Annotation: Sixteen-year-old Wendy and her mother are both Lightbringers: humans with the ability to see Earthbound souls and send them into the Light. After Wendy’s mother mysteriously falls into a coma, however, she will do anything to find her soul and help restore her to life. When Wendy meets Piotr, a teenage ghost who dedicates his afterlife to protecting the souls of children, the two work together to search for Wendy’s mother and to try and find out why the children Piotr watches over have begun to disappear.

Personal thoughts: This was one of those novels that, after I finished reading it, I wasn’t really sure what to think. Since I live in Silicon Valley, I naturally enjoyed the setting and references to things like Great America, the Great Mall, etc. I also thought that the minor characters in the novel were interesting, especially Piotr’s fellow Riders. I just couldn’t wrap my head around what exactly was going on with Wendy, the White Lady, and Piotr’s missing children. I was struggling to understand what was happening, and it seemed to get more and more confusing with each chapter. I also found the relationship between Wendy and Piotr to be unsettling, even though I’ve read novels with human/ghost romances before. I’m interested to see what happens in the sequel, but I don’t know if I would recommend this title readily.  

Plot summary: After she witnessed the death of her best friend Eddie’s father in a tragic car accident when she was twelve, Wendy, now sixteen, has been able to see Earthbound spirits: those who have died but continue to exist in the Never, a world similar to that of the living, but visible only to a select few. Wendy, like her mother, is a Lightbringer and has the ability to call forth the Light that sends souls into the world beyond the Never, setting them free and bringing them peace. Wendy can’t discuss her abilities with anyone but Eddie, and spends of her spare time training with her mom, trying to perfect her skills and learning about the intricacies of the afterlife. Everything changes, however, when Wendy’s mom inexplicably falls into a coma, her soul nowhere to be found. Wendy gives up reaping lost souls in order to search for her mother in the Never, hoping to find her and reunite her with her body, bringing her back to life. One day, Wendy encounters Piotr, the ghost of a Russian teenager who has spent his afterlife as a Rider: someone who protects the souls of children caught in the Never. Piotr is on a hunt of his own, trying to find out why some of the children he and the other riders in San Francisco watch over have begun to disappear. Piotr and Wendy decide to work together, and begin to form a relationship that seems to be more than just business. Can Wendy find her mother and help Piotr save the children he has sworn to protect?

Review: From debut author K.D. McEntire comes this interesting if somewhat strange new series that creates an afterlife that is much more than ghosts simply haunting graveyards and rattling chains. Set in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, Lightbringer is the story of Wendy, a goth-girl who actually has something to be morose about. Unlike other stories with similar concepts, Wendy begins the story knowing about her powers and being familiar with how to send ghosts into the Light. Many novels that have had a protagonist discovering that they have some kind of supernatural ability tend to spend a lot of chapters focusing on said person learning how to do whatever it is they can do. That is not the case in Lightbringer. Instead, Wendy is more comfortable with her powers, and uses them to help solve the mystery of her mother’s condition and Piotr’s missing children. Although the storyline does have some interesting portions, however, much of the novel is, simply put, odd. The relationship between Eddie and Wendy is confusing, as are the details of her inevitable romance with the very-much-dead Piotr. There is also quite a bit of cussing, but it doesn’t always seem to fit in the moment. The end of the novel does pick up quite a bit and become exciting, but, overall, the story is a mixed-bag. The next installment in the series, Reaper, is set to be released on August 24, 2012.

Genre: Science-fiction

Reading level: Grade 8+

Similar titles: Dearly, Departed by Lia Habel, Hereafter by Tara Hudson, Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay, Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey, Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent, Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake.  

Themes:  Ghosts, lost souls, reapers, death, the afterlife, mother/daughter relationships, sibling relationships, romance, San Francisco.

Awards/Reviews:  Positive reviews from authors Kristoper Reisz and Robin Wasserman.

Series Information: First installment in Lightbringer series. Second installment, Reaper, set to be released August 24, 2012.

Discussion questions:

-       Why do you think Wendy didn’t want a relationship with Eddie? Do you think it’s common for long time friends to develop romantic feelings for each other?

-      Why do you think Wendy didn’t tell Piotr about being the Lightbringer? Do you think it was the right thing to do?

-     Which of the Riders did you like the best? Why?

-     How did you feel about Wendy and Piotr forming a romantic relationship? How would you feel about a friendship with a ghost?

-      Were you surprised to learn the truth about the White Lady? Why or why not?

Haunting Violet Book Review

Author: Alyxandra Harvey. Release date: 2011. Publisher:  Walker Childrens. ISBN: 9780802798398.

Annotation: Sixteen-year-old Violet Willoughby has spent her life assisting her mother, a fraudulent spiritual medium, in tricking wealthy widowers and grieving mothers out of their gold and silver. After arriving in the lavish country manner of Rosefield, home to the powerful Lord Jasper, Violet begins to see the ghosts of the recently departed, including that of Rowena, a girl her age who mysteriously drown a year earlier.

Personal thoughts: I’ve never read one of Alyxandra Harvey’s books before, but after finishing Haunting Violet, I think I can safely call myself a fan! Harvey lists Jane Eyre and Pride and Prejudice as amongst her favorite novels, and their influence is clearly felt in Haunting Violet. I am also very fond of the Regency and Victorian eras, and really enjoyed how well she portrayed life in Victorian England. The characters, setting and plot were all well-developed in Haunting Violet, and the story was expertly paced. I look forward to picking up Harvey’s next novel, and highly recommend this one to fellow Austen/Bronte enthusiasts!

Plot summary: Sixteen-year-old Violet Willoughby has spent her life assisting her mother, Celeste, a fraudulent spiritual medium, in tricking wealthy widowers and grieving mothers out of their gold and silver. Life in Victorian England for a former housemaid left expecting a child after an affair with her wealthy employer was not easy for Mary Morgan. After Violet’s birth, Mary adopted the pseudonym Celeste Willoughby, posing as a grieving widow with the ability to speak with the dead. Now “Mrs. Willoughby” and Violet live a life of fraud: pickpocketing, scamming and conning the wealthy into paying them for any solace after the death of a loved one. Violet hates tricking people. Her only consolation is in the comfort of her friend Colin: her mother’s longtime assistant who has grown up alongside Violet and helps Mrs. Willoughby perform her “séances”. One summer, the family is invited to Rosefield, a lavish country estate owned by the very wealthy and powerful Lord Jasper. If they can pull it off, the grand séance they will perform at Rosefield will ensure their place in society, as many members of Lord Jasper’s esteemed acquaintance have been invited especially for the event. Upon arriving at the scene of their next scam, however, Violet makes a startling discovery: she has begun to see the spirits of the deceased, not in the fraudulent way her mother claims to, but for real. Unsure of what to do with her newfound power, Violet is faced with the stubborn and troubled ghost of Rowena Wentworth, a fifteen-year-old girl and former neighbor of Lord Jasper’s who mysteriously drowned the previous year. Rowena seems intent on Violet discovering the truth about her death, but as Violet learns more and more about the secrets floating through the halls of Rosefield, she also discovers that her own life may be in danger.

Review:  This charming novel from veteran author, Alyxandra Harvey, is certain to delight both fans of historical fiction, particularly the Victorian era, and ghost stories alike. The main plot of the story is simple: Violet must help the ghost of the murdered Rowena to reveal who killed her, resulting in an always popular whodunit mystery. Below the surface, however, there is quite a bit more to Haunting Violet than just figuring out who the bad guy is. The relationship between Violet and her con-artist mother plays an important role in the story. Life for women of low social status in Victorian society was grim at best, and the reader can almost sympathize with the devious ways of Mrs. Willoughby, a former housemaid, who wants a better place in the world. The abuse enacted upon Violet by her mother is one of the more thought-provoking aspects of the book, particularly since one can imagine that similar circumstances between parents who live dishonest lives and their children occur on a daily basis in today’s society as well. In actuality, the novel provides just as much of a social commentary on the Victorian era as it does a ghost story, making it an interesting read for teens who are not as familiar with this period in time. Overall, Haunting Violet is an entertaining and well-paced ghost-story that readers of all ages can easily enjoy.

Genre: Mystery/Historical Fiction

Reading level: Grade 7+

Similar titles: The Poisoned House by Michael Ford, Wrapped by Jennifer Bradbury, Darker Still by Leanna Renee Hieber.   

Themes:  Psychic abilities, spiritualism, ghosts, fraud/dishonesty, Victorian era, class warfare, mother/daughter relationships.

Awards/Reviews:  Positive reviews from Publishers Weekly and Kirkus.  

Series Information: N/A

Discussion questions: 

-  Why do you think Violet disliked tricking her mother’s clients so much?

-  Do you think that, in helping her mother to perform “séances,” Violet was just as guilty as Mrs. Willoughby in tricking people? Why or why not?

- Why do you think Violet wanted to keep her psychic abilities secret from her mother?

- Were you surprised by the ending of the novel? Why or why not?

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