Word Out 2011

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

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Bill reviewed I am Nujood, Age 10 and Divorced by Nujood Ali

This book is a very fast read, and rather like a report, than an in-depth book. For me, it was unputdownable – I read it without stopping until I finished it.
This book was the story of Nujood, aged 10, married and living in Yemen, a Muslim country, who was brave enough to go to the courts in the capital and ask the judges to grant her a divorce. That is such an amazing feat, as divorces were unheard of in Yemen. I am sure I can barely imagine the courage Nujood had. As a result of her marriage, her family, friends, childhood and education was taken from her, among other things.
Nujood, who had just one year of schooling, lived in a very poor family that sometimes had to beg for food, and was sold for $750 to a man in his thirties who promised, so the father said, that he wouldn't touch her until she reached puberty. But he did, he raped and beat her repeatedly, and his own mother encouraged him. In Islam, because Mohammed, aged 52, married a child of 9, this early marriage and sex is considered perfectly normal.
Eventually, she found sympathetic judges and a lawyer. In Yemen, since women are essentially possessions, a contract signed between the father and the husband transferring the 'property' wasn't so easy to break, but Nujood remained strong through the long legal arguments.  Through their combined efforts, her father and husband were thrown in prison. Thus, she got her divorce and world-wide attention.
Along with Hillary Clinton, who called her 'the bravest woman I've ever met' and Nicole Kidman she was Glamor's 2008 Woman of the Year. She's 13 now, and going to school. She wears jeans and t-shirts and barettes in her hair, the black robes and niqab (veil) she found so stifling cast off.
Inspired by her, several little girls, forcibly married at 9, have come forward to get divorces themselves. Its a beginning. And she has made a real difference: the age for marriage is now 17 in Yemen, one hopes it is enforced, but I don't have major faith in that. As long as women are possessions, the contract – the bill of sale – between father and husband will remain more important that the actual marriage where there is no real contract as the girl is neither old enough in law to give her consent, nor is even required to do so.
I recommend this book for everybody in the whole wide world to rejoice in her courage and tell ourselves that we will probably never face anything so daunting in our lives, if she could face her fears and do it, so could we.

Sabryna reviewed Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Beauty Queens had me laughing and having a good time! The book is about beauty pageant contestants competing in the 41st annual Teen Dream Pageant. As the 50 contestants are flying to a beach for the competition their plane crashes. The girls are left on the deserted island; all the adults have perished along with some of the contestants. The immediate question is if they should start looking for food or practice for the competition.  And what will the girls do when reality star pirates get stranded on the island as well? Unexpected secrets are revelled through out the book which leads up to an unforgettable ending. This book is written like no other book I have read. Between every few chapters there is a commercial or a classified, and for the first half of the book there are Miss Team Dream Fun Facts Pages (as they're called in the book).  My favourite part in the book was when Jennifer and Sosie are in the jungle and a snake surprises them. The snake might even eat one of them, but I won't say, because that's for you to find out when you read this book.

Gail reviewed The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

The Demon King is the first book in the Seven Realms Series.
In The Demon King, there are two narrators, Hans Alister (named "Hunts Alone") who is a thief trying to make a living for himself, his mother and sister, and  Raisa ana'Marianna, the princess heir of the Fells.  Although poor, Hans has two silver cuffs on his arms that will not come off. They grow when he grows and engraved with runes, clearly an indication that they're magicked.  This leads to his nickname of Cuffs Alister.  Hans life gets even harder when he steals a powerful amulet from the Bayers, the most powerful wizard family, nad now his life is in danger but what he finds while trying to stay alive changes his entire life forever.  Raisa is a very stubbern girl who would much rather live life like Hanalea – the legendary warrier queen who killed the Demon King and saved the world – then attend princess lessons or getting married in fact.  You see, when a child turns 16, they are seen as an adult and are eligable for marriage.  Although Raisa does not want to get married, her mother has other plans, plans that may involve picking a suitier who goes against everything the queendom stands for.  Both Raisa's and Han's fate collide and soon they find themselves both running to the same place and running from the same people.
This book was surprisingly good. Not just good, but really good.At first, i was quite confused with all the locations and names, but soon it became clear to me.  The main characters are both have very strong personalities and act in surprising ways.   I will admit that the descriptions weren't enough that i could picture myself there at that moment feeling what that character was feeling or seeing what they were doing but nonetheless, it was enough for me to enjoy the book.  The author combines magic, ancient legends and warriers together perfectly.  The wizards in this book are in dispute with the "clan" people. The clan people are essentially people who use green magic, thing healing magic, magic not intended to hurt others. After the Dark King (a wizard who attempts to destroy the world) is beaten, the clan people restricted the wizards which led to the animosty between them.  Another thing i really liked about this book was that nothing was what you thought it would be.  For example, in one chapter, Hans is acting all nice and concerned and the next, he's holding a knife to someone's throat taking them as hostage.  It is unexpected and completely different.  The plot of this book is subtly mentioned throughout.  I didn't really know what it was until i got to the end of this book, and then the plot of the series was clear.  Overall, this is an amazing book and i would recommand it to anyone in to adventure, fantasy and action.  Maybe a little romance in it but i'm not really sure how big of an influence it will be later on.  Enjoy!

Anusha reviewed If You Could See Me Now by Cecelia Ahern

This book takes place in Ireland. The main character in this book , Elizabeth Egan, is a woman whose life has become a routine devoid of colour, laughter, fun, and enjoyment. While her free loving sister leaves her son Luke with Elizabeth, he makes a friend in Ivan, a man who cannot be seen by most. As Elizabeth starts to lose control over herself and finds herself in need of a friend, Ivan becomes visible to her. With his help Elizabeth recovers dreams and pieces of herself that she had thrown away a long time ago. In touch with the child she never got to be, Elizabeth begins to open up and colour her life. After reading this book you an truly see how special friends are and what doors they can help you see.

Adithya reviewed Stolen Children by Peg Kehret

Stolen children is a book about a babysitting job going terribly wrong. Amy Norlund is a 14 year old teen who babysits to earn money to support herself and her mother. With her father gone in a car accident, Amy is forced to work money since her mother is not making enough to buy food itself. One day, Amy was by asked by a lady to babysit her child Kendra because she had an emergency to take care off.  Amy happily agreed. Being a well trained babysitter, Amy took care of Kendra like she was supposed to. But she did forget to lock the house door since she rushed to make a personal connection with Kendra. After putting Kendra to sleep at the night, Amy also took a nap. Amy woke up hearing the front door close. She was confused because Kendra's mother wasn't supposed to come for another few hours. Amy went to look for Kendra but found herself kidnapped by the kidnappers who also took Kendra. The girls are taken to a cabin in the woods where the kidnappers film videos of the girls asking for a huge ransom. Amy decides to hide clues in the videos so she can help the police find her quicker. Can Amy's quick thinking save herself and Kendra before its too late. Read this amazing cliffhanging book to find out!