Holes

Title: Holes
Author: Louis Sachar
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Year of Publication: 1998
Reader's Rating: 4

In a Nutshell: Stanley Yelnats is a middle-school-aged boy who was accused and pronounced guilty of stealing a pair of shoes owned by a famous athlete. The truth was, the shoes actually fell from somewhere up above and hit Stanley on the head but, of course, no one really believed him. His punishment was to spend eighteen months at Camp Green Lake, a camp for troubled youth (specifically, male youth). After arriving, Stanley saw that there was nothing green at the camp nor was there a lake. It was a dry desert area, where the campers were made to dig a hole every day that was five feet wide and five feet deep each. Working in the hot sun would turn a bad boy into a good boy, the camp said. But Stanley realized that they're not just "being turned into good boys." The warden was using them to look for something hidden under the sand. But what could it be?

The Good Stuff: I loved that the author is teaching kids something as well as entertaining them. Friendship was the main theme of Holes but what I loved most about it was the optimism and perseverance shown by the Yelnats family. The book was also written in a way that was interesting yet it wasn't sloppy. The story ties up together nicely.

The Not-So-Good Stuff: I felt like this book was saying that everything is controlled by destiny or fate. Of course, this is not something I believe in. I don't believe in fate or luck. I believe in the orderly plan made by Someone who is all-knowing, the Master Creator (if it wasn't rather obvious already, I'm talking about God). It's alright, I guess, to read this book, provided that the reader knows what to believe and what not to.

Reader's Say: The story is very good. There's also a movie adaptation of the novel and I highly recommend watching it. It's the only movie I've watched that stays really close to the book, to the point that the characters in the book and movie have the exact same lines. My parents also watched it and they liked it so I take it it's not a "bad" book. :)

The City of Ember

Title: The City of Ember
Author: Jeanne DuPrau
Publisher: Yearling (Random House Books)
Year of Publication: 2003
Reader's Rating: 3.5 - I liked it.

Excerpt: “There is so much darkness in Ember, Lina. It's not just outside, it's inside us, too. Everyone has some darkness inside. It's like a hungry creature. It wants and wants and wants with a terrible power. And the more you give it, the bigger and hungrier it gets"

In a Nutshell: Ember is an underground city, created many years before by the Builders as a shelter to preserve the human race. Enveloped in darkness, its only light comes from bright electric lamps that hang overhead. Ember's inhabitants know nothing of the world above them and are perfectly content with how things run at Ember. Their small city, however, wasn't made to last forever. The once full storage houses of food and supplies are now running low.The lights are starting to flicker, causing blackouts wherein the people wonder whether the lights have breathed their last. Not one of them knows anything about what's beyond the darkness, but escape seems like the only option. Some of the citizens of Ember, though, are skeptical. Where would they go? Is there another world they could escape to? What is beyond the darkness?

The Good Stuff: The main characters of the story, Lina and Doon, are quite nice. DuPrau finds a way to make the friends heroes without them having to develop feelings for each other (a typical storyline among books and movies nowadays). Their relationship extends no more than best-friendship. I also liked how Lina was caring to her grandmother and sister, a trait that isn't as shown in today's books and movies.

The Not-so-Good Stuff: The only thing I didn't like about the book was the lack of vocabulary. It contained ordinary words, which isn't really a bad thing, but I particularly love books that have a wide vocabulary.

Reader's Say: The City of Ember was a fun and exciting read. Lina and Doon's lack of knowledge for common objects such as candles and boats amused me. I recommend reading this book along with the rest of the titles in the Books of Ember series. I also suggest watching the movie because it stays fairly close to the book.

The Hangman's Curse (the Veritas Project #1)

Title: The Hangman's Curse (the Veritas Project #1)
Author: Frank Peretti
Publisher: STL (?)
Year of Publication: 2001
Reader's Rating: 4

In a Nutshell: Basically, the Veritas team (Elijah and Elisha Springfield, teenage twins, and their parents, Sarah and Nate) is a special team, privately and secretly funded, and is called to take on those especially strange cases no one else has solved from a Christian perspective. On this book, they take on The Hangman's Curse, the mysterious ghost of Abel Frye. So far three kids from Baker High are in the hospital because of it and it's the team's job to find out why. Is it some sick practical joke done by human hands or are spirits really involved? And so the investigation begins. But they soon find that time is running out. More and more victims have been targeted, students and teachers alike, and two kids have been found dead. The Veritas team must find a way to stop this before things get out of control. Or have they already?

The Good Stuff: This book is Christian fiction, by Christian author Frank Peretti. This series, I should say, talks about Truth and presents its case against what man has been taught about things like God and creation. I should also say that this book was definitely not "preach-y" just because it's Christian. There's actually not much in it about Christianity; it talks more about Truth (hence the name Veritas, Latin for truth). Also, the story was absolutely thrilling! It really had me in suspense.


The Bad Stuff: Like I said, there's not much about Christianity in the story. It was a good story but there wasn't as much information that I wanted, especially coming from Frank Peretti, one of my favorite authors. When I read this book, it felt like reading horror. It's not that scary, of course, but I'm not really used to reading horror so, for me, some parts were definitely creepy.


Reader's Say: I liked it, but there could have been more. The ending reminded me too much of a certain movie. The story was awesome but since this book is supposed to be about Truth, I think there should have been more about that.

Flipped

Title: Flipped
Author: Wendelin van Draanen
Publisher: Random House
Year of Publication: 2001
Reader's Rating: 2.5 [Please see my post on ratings because a 2.5 for me doesn't mean that I don't like it! :)]

In a Nutshell: Juli Baker has always thought of Bryce and his brilliant blue eyes as dazzling and dreamy, ever since the second grade, in fact. Meanwhile, Bryce Loski has always thought of Juli as weird and annoying, ever since the second grade. The story jumps back and forth between Juli and Bryce and tells things about their families, school, and each other from their point of view. Things get a little more complicated and change when Juli and Bryce reach their teen years. Bryce suddenly starts seeing Juli in a different light and finds that he's flipped for her once crazy, now cool ways. Juli, on the other hand, sees past Bryce's "brilliant blue eyes" and wonders if he's really as dreamy as she thought. What will happen to Bryce? What will happen to Juli? Will it work out in the end?

The Good Stuff: The story was okay. No kissing, but...(see below)..

The Not-So-Good-Stuff: Someone did try to kiss someone. :( I also don't like the way Bryce's sister acts. The story, like I said, was okay but I felt like it ended abruptly, and needed something more. I think there's a sequel but I'm still not so sure.

Reader's Say: I love how the title fits perfectly with the story. Juli feels one thing about Bryce, and he feels another about her. Towards the end, they flip and feel the opposite of what they first felt.The story isn't very deep, but it was okay (my mom loved it, though, and I have no idea why).

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Title: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Author: Roald Dahl
Publisher: Puffin
Year of Publication: 2005 (first published 1964)
Reader's Rating: 4.5 [Please see my post on ratings. :)]

In a Nutshell: Little Charlie Bucket has always loved chocolate. He passes by Willie Wonka's chocolate factory, the biggest in the world, on the way home from school every day, sniffing at the delicious aroma. But he only gets to taste chocolate once a year, on his birthday, because his family is very, very poor and every day their meals would always have to be cabbage soup. One day, Mr. Wonka randomly inserts five golden tickets in his chocolate bars, inviting the owner of the chocolate to his ginormous factory, with a free lifetime supply of chocolate. Charlie, as with the rest of the world, goes crazy with excitement, but his hopes soon fall as he remembers that he only gets one bar a year. Will he get a golden ticket? What surprises await him?

The Good Stuff: Charlie Bucket is a great character and so is his family. They are very poor, but they always share what they have (and a bit more) with each other. Though they wish they could have a better home and better meals, they are content and happy with what they have.

The Not-So-Good Stuff: There are other characters in the story that aren't so great (in fact, they're amazingly horrible), but don't worry. The author discourages them and contrasts them with Charlie and Mr. Wonka.

Reader's Say: Roald Dahl is an awesome author and this book is, by far, the best he's written. I loved reading the book so much. Willie Wonka made me laugh. He's awesome.