The Maze Runner (James Dashner)

Initially, I had only stopped at Chapters to look for the November/December edition of the National Geographic Traveler.  One of my friends will have a photo featured after being a merit winner in the National Geographic Traveler Photo Contest.  My friends are just so awesome!

Being too early for the magazine (guess they really do mean that it will be out in November), I was wandering around during a 20% off sale.  I wasn't going to buy anything until I walked by the Young Adults table in the middle of the aisle. 

Usually, I notice and kind of smile at how the Young Adults table is covered in vampire books.  I read the Twilight books and, while I liked getting caught up in the vampire craze at the time, I think I'm done with the vampire world (except for maybe the last two Twilight movies, of course).  This time, I also noticed The Maze Runner by James Dashner on the table.  Not being like all the other vampire books on the table, I picked it up and read the back.  I just had a feeling that it could be another book, like The Hunger Games, that would surprise me and bring me to another world.

Let's start with a short description.  Thomas wakes up in a giant box that has brought him to a place called the Glade.  Around the Glade are large stone walls that open each morning and close each night, leading to a huge maze.  This place has a population that is make up entirely of kids - and they're all boys.  No one really knows why they are there or how to get out.  They only know that every month, a new boy shows up in the box, and that whoever sent them there is watching them and is providing them with the food and supplies they need to survive.  A day after Thomas arrives, there's an unexpected arrival in the box - a girl.  Things start to change in the Glade and everyone works hard to find the answers they need to survive and get out of the weird world they are in. 

I'm not entirely sure where to start with my thoughts on this book.  I liked it - just not as much as I liked The Hunger Games.  I found that it took me a little while to get used to the language used in the book.  And, because of "how they do things" when someone first arrives at the Glade, there were lots of conversations at the beginning of the book that I found confusing - I understand that they have a system for how they introduce people to the environment, but there was almost too much running around in my head for the first few chapters.  Once I got some answers, I found that it all made a lot more sense to me. 

I was intrigued throughout the book, really trying to come up with solutions for the problems these kids were facing in the Glade.  (And I feel uber smart because I came up what they tried in Chapter 42 before the author said it.)

You realize that they're all just kids and that they've been forced to grow up because of the situation they were put in.  I think there could be some great discussions around this theme, especially if this book was used in a classroom setting.

I am somewhat satisfied with the ending.  You feel a little relief for the tension you were feeling, but it does leave you with a twist in the Epilogue...  You kind of want more answers - answers which you hope will be answered in the next book, The Scorch Trials.  I'll probably reserve the next book from the library even though I'll have to wait a month or so before it's in (which is good news for the book - there is a wait list for it!). 

If you're in the mood for something a little different - a book that has some real life themes mixed with a lot of imagination - then I'd recommend this.

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire AND Mockingjay (Suzanne Collins)

 I read The Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins after hearing so many good things about these books.  One recommendation was from my friend Amanda's blog. 

These books were read by me during the summer in record time.  I could attempt to write a blog post about each individual book, but they were read right after one another so quickly that I probably couldn't even get my thoughts right about what happened in which book.  What I do know is how much I loved these books. 

The first novel, The Hunger Games, introduces you to a different world, a place you couldn't even imagine.  Each  year, one boy and one girl from each district is chosen to fight in a battle to the death on live TV. 

Sounds strange, right?  I thought so, too, but there was something about this book that just kept me so captivated.  You fall in love with the characters and their stories, and the descriptions that Collins includes in the book make you feel like you are right there in the action.  There's always something about these books that take place in an exciting and different world that make me feel like I'm a kid again (um, Harry Potter anyone?).  They also make me wonder how someone could come up with these crazy and awesome ideas. 

The story continues in Catching Fire and Mockingjay.  Both books have equally exciting plots (I don't really want to give anything away, if you haven't read the first book...).  If you read and like the first book, I don't think it's possible to go without following up with Catching Fire and Mockingjay! 


This Young Adults trilogy is highly recommended by me.  Although I was a wee bit embarrassed to be buying this book from the "Teen" section (since I can't even count the number of times I'm asked whether I'm still in high school), I'm so glad I did. 

Seriously, go out and find these books now if you haven't already.  Start reading and let your imagination go to The Hunger Games. 

The Beach House (Jane Green)

At the end of the summer, I was looking for an "end of summer" book and I found The Beach House by Jane Green. 

This was the first Jane Green book that I'd read.  In fact, I ran across her book at Chapters when I was looking for a 4th book for my "Buy 3, Get 1 Free" deal. 

This book is about a house in Nantucket, owned by Nan.  She's an "eccentric" lady who suddenly realizes that her funds are decreasing and she needs to do something about it.  Since the last thing she wants to do is sell her beach house, she decides she's going to rent out rooms in her home. 

Meet the characters:  Daff is a single mother who just needs to get away, Daniel is a father with a deep secret he's been hiding his whole life, and Michael (Nan's son) is back home for the summer after a failed relationship or two. 

This book reminded me of:  Maeve Binchy's "Nights of Rain and Stars" because it's the story of how some strangers meet and end up changing each others lives. (Blog post about this one to come, I guess!)

The Beach House was an easy read and was fairly entertaining.  While you can predict some of the outcomes, there are a few surprising events to keep you interested.  It was a slice of life since the characters in the novel were all dealing with real issues.  I found myself glued to this book at times, needing to know what was going to happen.  I would definitely read another Jane Green novel in the future. 

Some memorable quotes:

"'But if I can impart some wisdom, a little of which I seem to have learned at my ripe old age, I do think,' she says gently, 'that nothing in this world happens without a reason.  That we are all exactly where we are supposed to be, and that the pieces of the puzzle have a tendency to come together when you least expect it.'" (p. 181)

"She wants to say: you will find your way through this, you will find a way forward because you are all good.  You are goodness and kindness and perhaps the best man I have ever met.  You can trust me because I trust you.  Because even though I barely know you I would place my life in your hands.  I know you would look after it."  (p. 311)

The Last Song (Nicholas Sparks)

Yes, I know... I read this.  There were three reasons why The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks was on my book shelf and on my reading list this past spring. 

1. I'm a fan of romantic comedies and those "fall head over heels" movies so yes, I have seen the movie.  And I liked it.  (Fun fact from Nicholas Sparks' website: He wrote the screenplay before he wrote the novel.  Miley Cyrus, who plays Ronnie in the movie, loved the movie A Walk to Remember and wanted to do a similar movie.  The Last Song was created.)

2. I found this book at HomeSense for $1.80.  After liking the movie, how could I leave that cheap-o book at the store?

3. Last year, I was living in the middle of nowhere (where I knew almost no one) on a teaching job.  I needed stuff to do, so I had started to read a lot more.  Since it was report card time, I needed a book that wouldn't consume every minute of my time.  I figured that a book based on a movie that I'd already seen would be a good idea! 

The plot? Ronnie and her brother go visit their father one summer in North Carolina. Ronnie isn't impressed because, since the divorce of her parents, she hasn't been able to look at her father the same. Ronnie makes some unexpected friends in North Carolina and then secrets start unfolding that make Ronnie question her current relationships with her friends and her family.

What's my verdict on the book?  It was so similar to the movie that I felt like I was re-watching it as I read the book.  I liked that the book was easy to read and, because of the timing, it was the perfect book for me. If you're in the mood for a love story and a bit of family drama, find a copy of this book. 

Little Princes (Conor Grennan)

I was hesitant to start this book, mainly because I'm not usually a non fiction reader.  However, because this book came highly recommended by various family members, I decided to give it a go this summer.  I'm glad I did.

Little Princes is the true story of Conor Grennan, a twenty-nine-year-old who decides he's going to go volunteer in an orphanage in Nepal (mainly because he thought it would sound good when he told others!).  Although his initial visit to Nepal was just the first stop on his "one-year, solo round-the-world trip," the experiences he had with the many children in the orphanage changed him.

Living in Nepal exposed him to many things.  He discovered that many of the children in these orphanages were the victims of child trafficking; that is, when times were hard, these children were sold by their parents, who had been promised that their children would grow up in a safer environment with food, shelter, and education.  This was hardly the case for many of these children. Conor takes it upon himself to find family members and reunite them with their children. 

Conor Grennan's descriptions of the children really make you feel like you are experiencing what he is - many of his interactions with the children made me laugh out loud, whereas others made me really feel for them.  The story of his trek across the country really makes you understand how difficult this journey was and how much he was risking to help the orphans.

This book really shows how much impact one person can have - He did some pretty amazing things. 

If you purchase this book, a portion of the proceeds are donated to Next Generation Nepal.

LEFT neglected (Lisa Genova)

I most recently finished reading "LEFT neglected" by Lisa Genova.  Recognize the author?  She also wrote Still Alice, which I also read and enjoyed!

LEFT neglected is a novel about Sarah Nickerson, an extremely busy mom who must deal with a brain injury called Left Neglect.  Basically, her brain no longer let's her body recognize that she has a left side.  Or that anything has a left side.

Imagine you only apply makeup to the right half of your face.  Imagine you can only read the right half of a page.  Imagine you can't tell your body to move your left limbs.  This is what Sarah is dealing with. 

Maybe it's the science communicator in me, but I loved learning about Left Neglect through this novel.  Lisa Genova does a great job explaining what it must be like to live with this type of brain injury.

Here's an example from the book (though kind of lengthy, it's very interesting!):

"The first step in my recovery is to become aware of my unawareness, to constantly and repeatedly remind myself that my brain thinks it's paying attention to all of everything, but in fact, it's only paying attention to the right half of everything and nothing on the left.  Every second of the day, it seems, I forget that this is so.  While the part of my brain normally responsible for this awareness has taken a leave of absence, I have to recruit another part of my brain to be my own babysitter, to monitor my every move and to chime in whenever I need prompting.  Hey there, Sarah, you think you're seeing your whole face, but you're actually only paying attention to the right side.  There's another half there.  It's called the left.  Honest to God. 
The second step, once I become aware of my unawareness, is to expand this knowledge over to the left, to stretch my focus and imagination past what seems like the edge of the earth, and find the other half.  What used to be automatic and entirely behind the scenes - seeing the world as a whole and seamless - is now a painstaking and deliberate process of trying to reel a disconnected left into consciousness.  Look left.  Scan left.  Go left.  It sounds simple enough, but how do I look, scan, or go to a place that doesn't exist in my mind?"  (p. 127-128)

 Another part that stood out to me was when she was talking about how difficult it is for her to walk:

"But walking with a left leg that fades in and out of existence is enormously frustrating and complicated.  Even stepping forward with my right foot requires a conscious and continued faith in the existence of my left side, because when that right foot is in the space between here and there, I'm standing only on my left leg.  My left leg and foot have to be appropriately activated, compromising between flexion and extension, responsible for balancing me and holding all of my weight upright - a tall order for an appendage that feels no loyalty toward me whatsoever.
I sometimes think it would be easiest to hop on my right foot to get from place to place, but I haven't yet had the courage to try it.  Logically, hopping should work, but somehow I just know I'll end up sprawled out on the floor.  Anticipating this outcome really shouldn't deter me from giving it a shot, as I end up sprawled out on the floor most of the time anyway.  I have big, colorful bruises all over me.  I can't believe I haven't fractured a hip or dislocated my knee.  Thank God I have strong bones and loose joints.  I guess I realize that hopping isn't a practical long-term solution for mobility."  (p. 157)

While these quotes from the book help to share some of the challenges of dealing with Left Neglect, they don't even begin to touch the thoughts that go through Sarah's head as she's dealing with this brain injury and trying to keep up with her busy family.

I really enjoyed this novel and would definitely recommend it!

The Awkward First Post

Let's try to make this first blog post the least amount of awkward possible. 

I read books.  Then I lose track of which books I've read.  My right now solution: Create a blog and write about it! 

Enjoy!