Word Out 2011

Blog down your fines posts! See what other teens are reading.

Earn $2 in library bucks towards your fines when you share your favourite reads.

Maleeha reviewed Catching Fire – By: Suzanne Collins

              In a country called Panem, there are annual games called ' The Hunger Games' in which two contestants from each of the twelve districts are placed in the woods with out food or shelter. The rules of the games are that in order to win, you must be the last one remaining so you must kill all your other opponents. Katniss, the protagonist, finds herself in a position where she must either kill her friend Peeta or be killed. However, she decides to fool the Capitol, the makers of The Hunger Games, by allowing herself and Peeta to eat poisonous berries at the same time to prevent Peeta or Katniss from killing each other. However, the Capitol stops them both and they are both considered victors.
            Katniss's strategy with the poisonous berries wins her fame all over Panem, and she is symbolized as the mocking, for changing the rules of The Hunger Games. After the games are done, Katniss believes that she will be able to return to her old life with her family, but when she and Peeta and chosen for the Quarter Quell, which is basically The Hunger Games expect the participants are the victors of the previous Hunger Games, then there are more uprisings.
              When Katniss and Peeta are on victory tour, Katniss makes a speech at one of the districts to show the people that, Rue, who was one of the opponents at the Hunger Games, was her friend and that watching her die was hard for her because she reminded her of her sister Prim. The people support her but when ever rebels support her, the Peacekeepers from the Capitol kill those people.
               Katniss believes that her main objective should be to keep Peeta alive in the Quarter Quell because he has a reason to be alive whereas, she believes that there's isn't any reason why she should be alive.
             One of her ally in the games stabs her in the arm to remove the tracker from her arm but Katniss believes that her alley is about to kill her. The reason she removes the tracker is because Katniss's coach had a plan that he told the other allies but not Katniss, so Katniss was oblivious to the fact that she was being helped.
              This is an amazing book.  I would recommend all three of the books from The Hunger Games Trilogy but this one was my favourite.

Maleeha reviewed I am Number Four – By: Pitacuss Lore

Have you ever believed that Aliens existed? That one day they would come and dominate Earth? Well, this is the perfect book for you.
         'I am Number Four' is a book about John Smith, the protagonist and an alien from planet Lorien, who has to constantly travel with his guardian, Henri, to avoid being caught by other terrible aliens called Magadorians, from the planet Magadore. Long ago when the Magadorians stripped Lorien from all its resources and destroyed the planet, 9 Garde,special citizens from Lorien, along with their guardians were sent to Earth to protect the planet as well as themselves. The Garde and their guardians, Cepean, look just like any other human but the Garde are much more powerful, stronger and they possess super powers.  In order for the Magadorians to kill the Garde, they must kill each of them in order from one to nine, otherwise the charm set upon the Garde can't be broken.
          John Smith is number four and just when number three died, Henri and John knew that they had to create knew identities and live somewhere else because John was next in line. When John and Henri settled in Paradise, Ohio John becomes attached to his surrounding because he finially has his first friends. Furthermore, John develops powers such as telekinesis and the fact that he is resistant to fire. The Magadorians try to create a scheme for John and Henri but they quickly escape.
          This is a great for all alien lovers and action lovers. Enjoy!

Maleeha reviewed April Raintree – By: Beatrice Culleton

This book probably has about less than 200 pages so it is really quickly to read. This story is about April Raintree, the protagonist, and her sister Cheryl Raintree. At a young age, the two sisters, half-Metis and half-white, were forcibly separated from their paren'ts by authority because their paren'ts had drinking problems. Therefore, these two girls had to live with foster families. Later on, the sisters also become separated and April Raintree's foster mother, Mrs.DeRosier, abuses her and insults her native culture. As the book goes, Cheryl lives a nice life and she becomes really proud of her native heritage, whereas April becomes ashamed of her identity as a native and would prefer being of white race. At school April's foster siblings bully her and the majority of the people insult her. On the other hand, Cheryl keeps on sending April essays she wrote about the struggles of natives and how proud she should be of her heritage but April refuses to read the essays.

When the April and Cheryl grow older, Cheryl stops sending April letters which causes the sisters to drift apart. Then one day, April receives a call from the hospital that Cheryl is injured. When April goes to meet Cheryl, Cheryl tells April that she had been in a dispute with her room-mate. Cheryl asks April to bring her luggage from her apartment  and when April arrives to Cheryl's old apartment to take Cheryl's luggage, she is raped on the way. At court the man's, who raped April, sister said that Cheryl was a prostitute and that her brother was trying to scare her so that she would not steal her clients. April was shocked to hear such a thing  and so she stopped talking to Cheryl. Weeks pass by and then one day Cheryl commits suicide. One of Cheryl's closest friends tells April that Cheryl also had a baby, who she took care of. Also, the day that Cheryl died, April received a letter in the mail from Cheryl. The letter basically concluded that April shouldn't be ashamed to be a half-breed. The theme of this book is 'Searching for one's identity.' It is a great book!

Savannah reviewed  Wake – By:  Lisa McMann

This book is the first book in the three part series by Lisa McMann. It is about a seventeen-year-old girl named Janie who gets sucked into other people's dreams, but not by her own choice. Every time someone around her falls asleep and begins to dream, she is pulled in and she has to witness everyone's worst nightmares and secrets. One day, she falls into a gruesome nightmare where she is not only a witness, but she is a participant. This book is the kind of novel that has you hooked on the first page. I read the entire book in a few hours because I couldn't put it down. I would rate it 5 stars out of 5, and I would recommend it to any fans of the 2010 movie Inception.

Gail reviewed Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

"A prison like no other.  It gives life.  It deals death.  It watches all."
Incarceron is a book about a prison named Incarceron, that was created to house all the criminals in the world and see if they can create a perfect society when given the materials.  The experiment turns out completely wrong and the prison comes to life.  There are two main characters, a boy named Finn who is apparen'tly born from the prison itself but has reoccuring visions of life "outside", because of that people call him the starseer.  He has an eagle shaped mark on his wrist.  The other main character is a girl called Caludia who is the Warden of Incarceron's daughter, and lives on the outside.  Claudia is currently engaged to the current prince but finds out that the first prince, her first betrothed that was declared dead in an accident, is actually hidden in Incarceron due to a conspiracy planned by the queen, who is the first prince's step mother, and the Warden himself.  On the other hand Finn found a crystal key with the same eagle shaped mark that he has and had a vision from Sapphique, the only prisoner to escape Incarceron, showing him the way to escape Incarceron using the key.  Thus Finn and his oathbrother, a slave girl that he saved and a Sapient (think very wise, all knowing men) embark on an adventure to escape Incarceron.  Claudia too finds a key and it is revealed that the two keys act as a sort of communicating device.  When Claudia sees Finn, the bearer of the other key, she immediately believes that he is the lost prince.  So starts the adventure of two people, one trying to escape from Incarceron and the other attempting to find Incarceron and save the lost prince.
Catherine Fisher is very ingenius.  The imagination it would have took to come up with this story is outstanding.  This book is completely fantasy and adventure.  There's action in every page and you can feel both character's determination to either escape or save.  Sadly, there isn't much character development although through their actions, it is clear that Claudia is a very stubbern and determined girl and Finn to is a determine boy believing that their is a way outside.  What I found intesting was that at the beginning of most chapters, there would be an excerpt, either a sniplet from the "legends of Sapphique" or from a private letter from the Queen to the Warden.  These excerpts explain some of the questions that arise and also helps in foreshadowing what is going to happen next.  This book is completely different  from the ones i usually read but i really liked it.  Fisher's writing is very powerful and i remember when i was half way through the book, it got so exciting that i even got scared to continue reading because i dind't want to know what would happen to them in the story, in the end i did of course and i must say the ending is a complete shocker.  So be prepared if you're going to read this book and i definitely recommend this to all fantasy and adventure readers (of course) or those that just want to read a good book this summer. Enjoy!

Lillie reviewed The Missing Girl – By: Norma Fox

I have never been the one to read books about real-life situations, and have been mostly drawn to fantasies but "The missing girl" by Norma Fox Mazer has completely changed my point of view. Norma focuses on different perspectives of each of the five sisters as well as the man who watches them as go through daily life. The bond between the sister's, regardless of their age difference, are so tight that when one of them cries, another can feel the pain. The description of how the man feels right before he abducts the youngest sister will chill your bones. Although Norma is no longer alive, this book, which is her last book, shows what a truly great author she is and no matter what kind of a book lover you are, this book deserves to be read.

Kevin reviewed The Last Olympian – By: Rick Riordan

This summer has been a boring summer for me. There were tonnes of books that I couldn't really fit into. But there was one book that probably saved my summer, and that is The Last Olympian By Rick Riordan. My friends all suggested me this book, but I couldn't get a hold of it. I waited one and a half years and it was defiantly worth the wait. Roirdan creates a funny, but adventurous book that is full of suspense. The Last Olympian revolves around the demigod Perseus Jackson as he leads his friends in a last stand to protect Mount Olympus. I have read 381 pages in approximately in 3 hours straight!!! This book is amazing.

Ebtihal reviewed Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

Hey, y'all

I've been reading about book that claims a certain jail that IS alive, a lost prince rediscoverd that he was so- called "alived" after a… You know what? I'm not going to spoiled it for you. In fact read the book. I know, I know, I have to give my opinon on the book.  So here it goes: it was… interesting, very intersting, At first I had know idea, where the story was going but it happen to form itself and I immediately took up intresting in it. I read it over and over again until I could get my hands on the squel. Apparen'tly, my mother thought that I was obssed with this book, and that the fact that I didn't do my chores ( What can I say? I'm a book addict!). Let alone my obsessiveness with books, this has gone up the list and has become fourth on by favourite books to read (I read alot, and if you can't tell my taste for books is adventure. ^_^ ) Aw, snap! I forgot to tell you guys/gals what book I was reading! Its call Incaceron and its by the wonderful, and cleverest Catherine Fisher!  Dear, tpl teens if you guys have any taste for adventures like I do, read this book, and by the way, with those who did agree with me on the book here it is called Sapphique.
Enjoyy!!
P.S.  TTYGYS/GLS
P.S.S. READ THE BOOK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!READ IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Maleeha reviewed The Maze Runner – By: James Dashner

'The Maze Runner' is a novel filled with 373 pages of complete goodness. Well..lets make that 350 pages. When I began reading this book, I had a sudden urge to put this book down because the first 30 pages don't show much excitement but as I read on, it got better and better. This story is about young teenagers, mostly boys, who have been sent, one by one, to live in an unfamiliar place called Glade. They have no memories of their pasts. They don't know what happened to them. They only know their names, or at least that's what they think.The Glade is surrounded by massive walls of a maze  that are probably reaches 30ft. The is a very peculiar maze because the walls shift their positions at night so that everyday the maze changes. Not only this, but these horrible monsters, called Grievers, also roam the maze just as night falls and a prick from the Grievers can mean sudden death if a person is not treated. Also, if a person is stung by a Griever, he/she will experience some sort of memories from their past not to mention terrible pain.

When Thomas, the central character, enters this mysteries place, known as the Glade, things begin to change. Usually a 'Newbie' is sent every month but the day after Thomas arrives, a girl arrives.  Shortly after,their weekly supplies also stop arriving which cause the Gladers to panic. Additionally, three Gladers, that have been stung by the Grievers, all claim that they have had terrible memories of Thomas and when one of the Gladers attacks Thomas, he realizes just how much more he needs to get away from Glade. Thomas goes through many adventures, that eventually lead to a happy ending. I would certainly recommend this book it is full of a wonderful story that lead to unexpected turns and nail-biting moments! Truly remarkable!

David reviewed  The Penderwicks on Gardam Street – By: Jeanne Birdsall

This book is a book about 4 sisters living together with thier dad. The oldest sister Rosalind, grade 7, is your kind, caring(but not a control freak), and responsible sister that everyone wants to have. She is also on her school basketball team. The second child is Skye who's in grade 6. She is the only one that has inherited her mom's golden blond hair, which you will find out about later. She is very organized and always keeps her room clean, she is very athletic and despite her temper tantrums, is the Captain of a local soccer team called Antonio's Pizza. The third kid, Jane,is in grade 5. She is also on Skye's soccer team but her dream is to become an author. She has written a whole series of books already about a hero called Sabrina Starr. All of her sisters are annoyed at Skye for always randomly blurting out Sabrina Starr ideas and constantly asking them about their opinion. Skye even suggested that Sabrina Starr should die in the next volume. The only member of their household to disagree with this is, other than Jane, is Mr. Penderwick, their dad. Mr. Penderwick is a Botanist at the University of Cameron. He is always very kind to all of his children and never gets mad. Now you might be wondering about the mother. Mrs. Penderwick died when she was giving birth to Batty, the youngest Penderwick. She is in pre-school and claims that she can'talk to animals, including Hound, the family dog. Hound follows Batty around to almost everywhere except to daycare because no dogs are allowed in the pre-school.
          In this book, the second in the series, they are back from their vacation(the first book), and their Aunt decides its time for Mr. Penderwick to start dating again. It was their Mom's wish that Mr. Penderwick could live the rest of his life happy and get over her death. She didn't want him to be lonely for the rest of his life so defore she died she wrote a letter telling Aunt Claire to give it to Mr. Penderwick a few years after he dies. His dad refuses to date but promises to try a few dates for Mrs. Penderwick.  All the children are horrified at the idea of getting a stepmother so they come up with and ingenious Save-daddy-plan. Although their plan sound brilliant, its easier said than done.
          Although I feel this books is intended for girls in grade school,  I would recommend this book to younger teens or every elementary school kids as soon as they can read novels. However if you like children's books, you can read this no matter how old you are. The book that this most reminds me of is Little House. It is an entertaining read with many funny inside jokes. Batty, my favourite character, always gets herself into the wierdest situations and has even more of an imagination than other toddlers her age. It has 300 pages but it is a fairly easy read.