Book Title: TheNew Collected Short Stories

Book Review : The Maze Runner by James Dashner

Spoilers Alert!

Thomas wakes up in a box knowing nothing more than his first name. When the box opens he meets the Gladers, a bunch of boys living on their own in an inexplicable world. The Gladers are given deliveries of food and a new person once a month. The Maze surrounding the Glade is closed off at night to protect the kids from the Grievers, monstrosities of flesh and machine. Thomas is riddled with questions, but he knows he was meant to run the Maze. The day after Thomas arrives, a girl with a message is delivered to the Glade and then the doors no longer close. Nothing is the same. They must escape the horror being inflicted upon them. Thomas continues to ask questions. Questions that seem to have no answers.

Adult Point of View

The premise of The Maze Runner series is clearly stated in the third book, is it justified to hurt a few to save many. This novel is among the many young adult books in the dystopian genre that also raises questions of situational ethics.

The Maze Runner reminds me superficially of Ender’s Game by Orson Scott Card because the government is shamelessly manipulating children for their own purposes. In Dashner’s novel the agency, with the acronym WICKED, is searching for a cure to a deadly disease, the Flare, while in Card’s book the children are defeating an alien nation for homeland security. Another similarity between these two novel is the raw brutality. Order must be maintained and there is no room from deviation, not even for a humane response. Finally, the rough language seems similar, even though in The Maze Runner the cursing is primarily fictional colloquialisms, for example, shuck it, klunk and shank.

I found that I was intensely reading this book though I’m not sure enjoying it would be fully accurate. There were some flaws that I found annoying, such as, everyone always telling Thomas not to ask questions. Overall, the characters were weak and I didn’t develop empathy for them. The entire series is more action oriented than relationship oriented, written around the premise of a post-apocalyptic earth.

3.5 out of 5 stars

- the Mother

Teen Point of View

I thought this book was full of action. It was also brutal. Some things were utterly shocking and I couldn’t imagine ever happening if it was a real situation. The first book of this series was my favorite. In this book I loved the characters Minho, Teresa and Thomas. One thing that bugged me about this whole series is the language. Frankly I’d rather authors not make up their own pretend curse words. The people also used shank and klunk waaaaaay too much. I thought this book was brilliant, but wish it was less violent and brutal.

4 out of 5

- the Daughter

Book Review : The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Spoiler Alert!

The Maze was only the beginning. After a fake rescue, the Gladers have been lulled into a feeling of safety only to have that security ripped away from them with new horrors inflicted upon them by WICKED to test the Killzone through variables. While sleeping, each boy has been tattooed as the Property of WICKED. Thomas is labeled that he is to Be Killed by Group B and Minho is labeled as the Leader. Teresa, labeled the Betrayer, has been kidnapped and Arias, the single boy from Group B has replaced her. Group A is sent out to cross the Scorch, a desert with deadly electrical storms and a city filled with Cranks, to reach a Safe Haven where they will receive the cure for the Flare if they can survive. While Minho is leading the group they take on two Cranks, Jorge and Brenda, as guides with the promise that they may get the cure too.

Adult Point of View

I have learned a valuable writing tip, do NOT have characters spend 100′s of pages crossing a desert, even if there are occasional zombie-like diseased people or deadly lightning storms, because it is boring. As is often the case, middle books in a series are cursed to fall a little flat because they have lost the initial spark of being creatively fresh as found in the first book, and they are the set-up for the big finale coming in the last book.

I found in The Scorch Trials I lost any bit of empathy I might have had for Teresa as she continued to act out as directed by WICKED. We really didn’t get to know any of the girls from Group B and we are left with many questions that still need to be answered. In ways this novel was the most shockingly brutal, as an example, the Gladers wake up to find bloated bodies hanging from the ceiling. This was probably an illusion developed by WICKED to test the response of the Gladers, but still very disturbing.

2.75 out of 5 stars

- the Mother

Teen Point of View

The Scorch Trails was my least favorite of the series. It was still exciting but wasn’t as creative as the first. There was no huge problem to solve, they just had to run across a desert. My opinion changed of Teresa in this book. She was a total brat and used Thomas, just because WICKED said too. Instead, Brenda took her place. I love Brenda’s character. It was still harsh at times, but not as much as the first book.

3.75 out of 5

Book Review : The Death Cure by James Dashner

Spoiler Alert!

Teresa believes that WICKED is good. Thomas knows WICKED has lied and he cannot trust them. When the survivors of the Scorch are escorted back to the main WICKED facility they are treated with respect and told the time for lies is over, and in fact most of them are immune to the deadly disease, the Flare. Unfortunately, Newt is not immune and he will go crazy and eventually die.

WICKED has collected their data and would like to return each person’s memory so that each individual can choose to help them finish finding the cure for the Flare. Only Thomas, Minho and Newt refuse. Thomas and the other boys decide they must escape because WICKED has turned on them for their refusal and they know they are in danger. While escaping they find that all the other boys and girls have already escaped leaving them behind. They fly off to Denver with Jorge and Brenda to search for their own answers. They are discovered by Gally, who has joined The Right Arm, a group resisting WICKED and are recruited to help in the downfall of their former tormentors. Thomas has to return to WICKED voluntarily to implement their destruction. Who can you trust in a wicked world?

Adult Point of View

The introduction of The Right Arm provided another element to the plot that made The Death Cure more interesting and provided a vehicle for the ultimate destruction of WICKED.

In this final book in the series on the final page Chancellor Paige states,

“It is my hope that over the years our organization has in some part paid the price for the unspeakable act committed against humanity by our predecessors in government. Though I am fully aware that it was an act of desperation after the sun flares, releasing the Flare virus as a means of population control was an abhorrent and irreversible crime. And the disastrous results could never have been predicted. WICKED has worked ever since that act was committed to right that wrong, to find a cure. And though we have failed in that effort, we can at least say we’ve planted the seed for mankind’s future.”

I felt this explanation was too little and without moral feeling to justify the actions of WICKED. The final consequence is that the earth’s population will die with only the select immune individuals left to make a new start for humanity.

There were several short comings in this series. One of the short comings was that by the end the reader doesn’t even care that some of the main characters are dying. Another problem is with some of the scientific explanation, I never believed that the variables, such as fear, betrayal and anger could provide data to finding a cure for the disease. I also had a hard time believing that the government or WICKED would have had any moral dilemna over killing those infected with the Flare when they were so willing to torture and kill the selected immune children to find a cure to save mankind.

After all the hype around The Maze Runner series I was disappointed in the final result and wanted to have a better feeling that the people who had made such poor choices felt regret, but they did not.

3 out of 5 stars (and perhaps that is too high of a rating.)

- the Mother

Teen Point of View

I loved how the author added in the new issue of The Right Arm. I thought it was great that Thomas didn’t instantly jump in and work for them. He never fully agreed with them and realized that they weren’t perfect either. They were still kind of wicked. I think Thomas is still a wonderful character but he didn’t grow much through the books. This book was defiantly a step up from the 2nd book but left a few loose ends. It was also a tad bit confusing. I couldn’t understand why people would release a virus without knowing a cure. What were they thinking?

4 out of 5

- the Daughter

As a post note, though my daughter has given this quite a good rating even she said she was shocked over the brutality and we both agree that no one under the age of 14 should read this particular young adult series.

Book Review : Midnight in Austenland by Shannon Hale

Spoiler Alert!

Charlotte Kinder is nice. She always has been nice, it’s just what she does. Charlotte’s husband has not been so nice, having had an affair and left his wife and children. After several blind dates Charlotte decides it is time to get away, not just from the country, but to a different time. She comes to Pembrook Park playing the part of Mrs. Charlotte Cordial. Mr. Mallery is brooding, Mr. Grey is fun-loving, Colonel Andrews is theatrical, Miss Gardenside is recovering from consumption and Miss Charming still has her youthful exuberance. The line between reality and play become blurred as Pembrook’s guests try to solve an ancient mystery, discover that a couple of their companions are missing, a secret room and a floating ghost. Finally, Charlotte questions, is love still possible?

Adult Point of View

Midnight in Austenland has gothic elements and some of the characters mimic Jane Austen’s people. Gothic elements include the weather reflecting the mood, the Abby ruins, a ghost, Mr. Mallery has Byronic hero characteristics and a mystery that the pure heroine, Charlotte needs to resolve. Even though there are many Gothic elements, Midnight in Austenland does not have the foreboding nature of the true Gothic novel, rather it is light and it seems these elements are used a bit more tongue in cheek. As was seen in the first book, Austenland, there are characters that specifically are drawn after the character of Mr. Darcy as Mr. Mallery, and to a degree Miss Elizabeth as Charlotte, though she feels she is not witty she is insightful. Miss Charming’s character is filled out more making her more interesting and the foibles of mankind are present in many of the characters, such as Mrs. Wattlesbrook and her husband.

Overall, this was a fun, light read that had me laughing out-loud. These quirky throw-away sentences are among my favorite, such as, “It’s just a hobby, she told herself. Nothing serious. She had to adjust that opinion after she made here first million.” (p.61) Even though I guessed who had been murdered and the murderer (which you notice I am resisting revealing) I had fun watching Charlotte, who is clever, to figure it all out in her own time. In the first Austenland it felt creepy that one of the characters was going through the farce of falling in love at Pembrook Park when she was married, this time around all the girls were legitimately single and it lost that slightly weird feeling. If I was to grade this book on nothing other than pure enjoyment I would give it a big 4+ stars.

As a literary work Midnight in Austenland does not explore themes to make this a classic novel. I was surprised at some of the more adult comments that were peppered throughout the text. There were also a few curse words and sketchy situations which surprised me knowing that Hale comes from a religious background that does not condone such behavior. Perhaps I am putting Hale up against an unfair standard because there really is nothing explicit. Though this is written for adults, older teens could read it and enjoy it if they are familiar with Austen’s novels or characters like Heathcliff and Rochester.

I wonder if Hale’s moral to the story is choose a nice man who makes you laugh over the tall, dark and mysterious man?

3.5 stars out of 5

-Michelle

Book Review : The Help by Kathryn Stockett

Spoiler Alert!

It is 1962 and Aibileen is a black maid, and raising her seventeenth white child. She has loved everyone of the children she has raised. She is trying to find her way through mourning for the loss of her son due to a senseless accident at his job. At times it seems it is only her own dignity that can keep her going through her trials.

Eugenia “Skeeter” Phelan has graduated from Ole Miss and returns home with dreams of being a writer. Skeeter’s mother won’t be happy until her daughter is married, because no woman could ever be happy without a husband. Constantine, Skeeter’s former confident and caregiver, has fled her position without explanation and Skeeter is left feeling all alone.

Minny is short, fat and sassy! She has such a bad reputation that no one who knows anything will hire her even though she is one of the best cooks. She finds a position with Celia Foote, who is ostracized from the rest of white society, and who desperately wants a friend.

These three brave women come together in a secret project to tell what life is like living as a black maid in Mississippi. The project could jeopardize their positions, standing in the community and their livelihoods. It is time for their voices to be heard.

Adult Point of View

I was drawn into Stockett’s novel The Help immediately through the language. Though there has been criticism of the use of ebonics in the book, I felt it helped me to put myself in the time and place. My husband tried reading this book and couldn’t understand the meaning of the sentences because of the African American vernacular. I felt the vernacular english set the tone and rhythm making this novel stand out.

I didn’t know that African Americans were treated as second-class citizens within my lifetime because I was raised to love and respect others. Growing up I heard the story of my Great-Grandfather, who was racist, growing up in Georgia in the late 1800′s, that he would sit up on his mammy’s lap and kiss her shiny black cheeks. He loved his mammy more than his own mother and yet still harbored prejudice. It is completely logical that Aibileen would love the little white girl that she is raising, and that she would be loved in return.

In The Help I was truly shocked that human beings could be so filled with an unreasonable and ridiculous hatred. The thought of putting in an extra bathroom for “the help” is a prime example of the ridiculous. Hilly is a stereotype of the white, privileged socialite who believes that she is not prejudiced, but rather that she is justified in ALL her actions. Hilly is exactly the kind of woman that I avoid. I was also glad that not all of the employers were characterized as being heartless, as demonstrated when one maid’s employer brought her casseroles when she was suffering through a personal crisis. I particularly liked how the situations were mundane everyday occurrences because life for women is in the details. If Stockett’s novel had just been about the big picture I feel the humanity of the story and my ability to identify would have been compromised. There were moments reading The Help when I was crying, laughing and truly horrified.

There has been criticism that The Help depicted black men as cruel or absent, however, I never felt that I was seeing the full picture of these women’s lives, but rather a slice. Surely each of these women had good men in their lives too, such as a preacher, a son or their father. I have known women who have been abused regardless of race, and did not see the fact that Minny’s husband was abusive as being indicative of black men, rather abuse would be indicative of bad men. There are also men who abandon their families, and it is an indication of their personal selfishness, certainly not their race.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Help because I felt it gave me insight into prejudice. I know it did not convey the depth of the humiliations and indignities suffered, but it still gave me a feeling of what it would have been like to be a black woman in the 1960′s in the South. I also felt that it was suffocating to be a white woman at that time being so narrowly defined by society. I would hope that a novel like this would inspire us to be better.

The Help is written for adults, however, some older teens could read it and enjoy it.

4 out of 5 stars

- Michelle

Book Review : The Host by Stephenie Meyers

Spoiler Alert!

Earth has been taken over by aliens, and it all happened before the humans could do anything to stop it. The aliens, known as Souls, have inserted themselves into humans’ brains suppressing the consciousness of the former occupant of the body. Wanderer has been given the body of a wild human as her host to discover the location of other renegade humans. However, there is an unexpected problem, Melanie refuses to relinqish her mind to Wanderer. In a test of wills Melanie feeds Wanderer images of Jared, the man she loves, to disuade the alien from hunting down her family. Melanie’s plan works too well when Wanderer falls in love with Jared. Ultimately the love that drives both Melanie and Wanderer help them form an alliance as Wanderer leaves everything she knows in the search for the wild humans. Finding Uncle Jeb and the other humans opens a new set of problems for Wanderer and Melanie because they might be killed out of fear or prejudice. Jared poses the greatest threat because he doesn’t believe Melanie could still exist even though Jamie, Melanie’s brother, can see the truth.

Adult Point of View

I was quite leery to read The Host fearing that it would be Twilight bundled up in an alien package. Thankfully The Host is not an exact copy, though there are some personality traits shared by Wanderer/Wanda and Bella that I would describe as a sense of helplessness. Jared and Edward also share superficial characteristics, they are both described as being exquisite in a masculine sense and are also both very controlling. However, Melanie is sassy and strong. Ian is initially prejudice to the parasitic host, but is able to grow and change from violence to becoming a defender. I really disliked Wanderers name being morphed into Wanda for short, it’s just not a good name for a romantic lead. I also don’t like it when characters names start with the same letter or rhyme, for example, Jared and Jamie, Jodi, Sunny, Lacey, Mandy and Candy. The first 50 pages had me wondering if I could read this book, but it became more interesting by about page 100.

I felt like Meyers used a better style of writing in this novel for adults. Even so, her writing style is not really about action moving forward and the reader gets caught in lots of insignificant details. It has slightly more adult content, with some cursing (and there would probably be a lot more cursing if the earth really was taken over by aliens) and situational ethics. For example, when is a young woman old enough to have an intimate relationship with a man if the world as we have known it has ended? The characters are obviously sleeping together without being married, but nothing is explicit. I find it disturbing that Melanie can compartmentalize Jared being abusive to the body housing the parasite, and still continue to love him. The level of brutality and inhumanity that Jared shows, even when he suspects that Melanie could be present, is unconscionable. I get so discouraged over images that promote women staying with abusive men. Though The Host is written for adults, it is more innocent than a lot of the books written for young adults, and so I have included it in both categories knowing that many older teen girls will enjoy it too.

The Host is a lot less about science fiction than it is about a relationship festival. Relationships explored include, how humans have treated the earth, how humans relate to other humans with violence, the love of a mother and child, love between species, love of a man and woman, love grown old, the relationships of friends, relations of enemies and even the relationship we have with ourselves. I cannot imagine a man would enjoy this book because it intentionally pulls out heartfelt scene after poignant scene to string along the reader’s emotions. Meyers also throws in a few good twists and turns in the plot which kept me turning the pages, and since I am a woman I like love stories and relationships.

I liked the perspective of how a parasitic host, which was so peace-loving, could persuade themselves that taking over other sentient beings was morally acceptable. I enjoyed seeing the morals that Wanda lived by play out, and that she was even willing to die to live her principles. I enjoyed The Host because of Meyer’s ideas and fresh perspective.

3.5 out of 5 stars

- the Mother

Teen Point of View

I thought this book was very unique.

I didn’t like the name Wanda for the soul Wanderer. It didn’t seem fitting and I didn’t like the feel of it. I liked the twist at the end, but thought some things were a little too predictable. I really liked Ian’s character even though he wanted to kill Wanderer at first, but he changed his perspective quickly. I think this book could be enjoyed by teen girls and maybe guys too if you push it.

I thought it seemed ironic that Wanderer seemed so weak when her race described her as so strong. I thought Wanderer needed more of a backbone. I liked Melanie’s character and wished we had more input on her thoughts. I didn’t like Jared except when he was in Melanie’s memories. Out of them he seemed totally different and brutal and harsh.

4 out of 5 stars

- the Teen

Book Review : Bloody Jack by L.A. Meyer

Spoiler Alert!

Mary Faber is thrust on the streets as an orphan when her parents and sister die. Her clothes are stolen and then she is taken in by the Charlie the Rooster, the leader of one of the gangs of orphans, where she is taught to beg and steal to survive. After Charlie is murdered, Mary finds a new gang leader for the remaining children, and leaves to seek her fortune as a boy, Jack. Mary finds it is a lot easier to be a boy. The officers of the HMS Dolphin are looking for a few boys to join their crew and Mary, now known as Jack, is selected when she demonstrates that she can read. The HMS Dolphin is in search of pirates, to relieve them of their treasure and stop their thievery. While sailing Jacky becomes tight mates with the other ships boys, but she also acquires enemies among the crew. Everything depends upon her secret.

Adult Point of View

I felt nervous through the entire novel for fear of what atrocities could happen to the protagonist. As an orphan there was the danger of being killed or captured to work in a brothel. On board the ship Jacky was in fear of being raped by a lascivious crew member, who didn’t even care if she was a boy or a girl. When Mary/Jacky starts her period she thinks she is dying, which I find hard to believe that a girl growing up on the streets wouldn’t know about menstruation or reproduction. When she finally reveals her secret to Jaime, the boy she has been doting over she has to use all of her powers of persuasion to keep them away from having sex because of the danger of pregnancy. Mary comments that a skirt is inconvenient for a girl to wear and is disturbed thinking perhaps that is the point of a skirt, to more easily compromise a girl. Bloody Jack felt trite and one dimensional, it offered nothing new with a girl pretending to be a boy.

There are fun moments in this novel and probably has a lot of historical accuracies, however, I didn’t really enjoy it. I felt alarmed when I read this was for kids over the age of 12 because of the constant references to sexuality. I am not comfortable having that young of teens reading this book. I don’t have a good answer for what level of sexual content is appropriate in a young adult novel. Generally, I feel that kids need to receive a balanced perspective about sexuality and need their parents to help define the boundaries for morality. Bloody Jack seems to talk about sex, sexuality and gives a nuance that abuse is wrong, but there is not a sense of balance. Though this is a popular series I cannot recommend it.

2 out of 5 stars

- the Mother

Teen Point of View

She has not read this book because of the level of sexuality.

Book Review : The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer

Spoiler Alert!

One clone has survived. The doctor wonders if he will be thanked or cursed because he has left the clone’s intelligence intact as directed.

Matt has lived with Celia, and she has warned Matt to never go outside. One day Matt is seen by two children and he is drawn to them wanting to play. The next time Matt breaks a window and jumps out of the house to play, but his foot is deeply cut. The children carry him to the Big House where the maid discovers the tattoo that reads Property of the Alacrán Estate. In horror the creature is thrown out of the house onto the grass.

Matteo Alacrán, or El Patrón as he became known, developed a strip of land between Aztlán (formerly known as Mexico) and the United States filled with poppy fields for opium. Patrolling the boarder for illegals provided El Patrón with an enslaved workforce. He installed a computer chip in the illegals’ brains that caused all self-will to be disrupted, these workers became known as eejits. El Patrón who is now 140 years old, rules his family and his land, Opium, and personal estate with an iron fist. He discovers the mistreatment of his clone, Matt, and provides him with a body guard, Tam Lin. Matt’s only associates who do not despise him are Tam Lin, Celia and Maria the youngest daughter of Senator Mendoza. Eventually, Matt is helped in his escape and finds himself embroiled in the problems of Aztlán as an orphan. Matt must rescue himself and his new found friends which ironically leads him back to Opium, the original land of his enslavement.

Adult Point of View

The House of the Scorpion is one of the most interesting young adult novels that I have read. Farmer has created a complicated, realistic future with alarming ethics. The one downfall in this novel is that it should have been broken into two novels, the first ending with Matt escaping Opium. The second novel could then have been developed into a full length book, rather than wrapping up all of the problems too quickly. As it stands, the ending is unfortunately weak compared to the first two thirds.

I really enjoyed each character because each was distinct. Though she only has a cameo role, the mother of Tom is particularly fascinating because she seemed insipid and yet harbored such a depth of evil.

Farmer’s novel The House of the Scorpion raises wonderful questions that could easily be explored in a classroom setting.

Questions I would ask for a discussion could include:

What does it mean to be human?

Is it ethical to harvest organs?

Why do we want to prolong human life beyond what is natural?

Why are many people concerned about cloning?

In what way does society support modern slavery? Is is intentional or unintentional?

How does drug trafficking change our society?

What does it mean to live in a drug culture?

How can we love someone when they don’t deserve our love?

How do we define who are our parents?

Does forgiveness always accompany love?

What role should government play in our personal lives?

How do people escape poverty?

What are the benefits of socialism?

I highly recommend The House of the Scorpion to all readers over the age of 12.

4 out of 5 stars

- the Mother

Teen Point of View

I thought this book was very unique and interesting. It really made me think and I suggest it to people looking for a good book. I liked the characters most of the time, but I wished the language was more proper. I didn’t like the nicknames and the Spanish threw me off the boat into the raging waters of the nile river!!!

3.5 out of 5

- the Daughter

Book Review : Looking for Alaska by John Green

Spoiler Alert!

Miles Halter is tall and skinny, has no friends and loves to memorize people’s famous last words. Miles latches onto Francois Rabelais’ last words, “I go to seek a Great Perhaps.” Miles decides to move from Florida to attend the same boarding school his father attended in Alabama in seeking his own Great Perhaps.

Miles, who is now known as Pudge, is thrown into a friendship with his roommate, the Colonel, Takumi and Alaska, the sexy girl that leaves all boys slobbering in her wake. Together these friends explore what it means to live life and how to survive. Not only will they figure out how to survive, but they have planned the greatest prank ever.

Adult Point of View

Spoiler Alert!

My first question is what point is John Green trying to make in Looking for Alaska amidst the prolific smoking, drinking, sexual references, drugs and cursing? There are two key quotes in the book which serves as the foundation for the entire book. 1 – “I go to seek a Great Perhaps.” from Francois Rabelais. The Great Perhaps becomes a symbol for hope. All of us need to have hope while we go through life and teenagers in particular while they go through a time of exploration. 2 – “How will I ever get out of this labyrinth!” from Simon Bolivar. The Labyrinth moves away from the idea of being life and death to symbolizing suffering for Pudge and Alaska. Again, everyone needs to learn how to move through suffering. With such universal themes Looking for Alaska could be seen as a classic.

My angst over calling this novel a classic comes from the pervasive amount of trash I had to wade through to get to the core message. I was particularly bothered in the scene when Alaska and Pudge have stayed at the school through Thanksgiving, and snooped in all the students rooms finding that EVERY single person had contraband substances, such as, porn, booze, drugs, ect. How does it influence the teens reading this book when shown that deviant behavior is universal and normal? All teens have to figure out who they are and some will resort to alcohol and these other behaviors, but not all teens go to such an extreme. I did not like it when the boys refer to how Alaska loves sex. Statistically the majority of teenage girls who have sex don’t like it and feel pressured into having sex and are using sex as a substitute for feeling loved in their lives. I don’t like seeing books misrepresent the psychological effects of sex on teenagers.

Alaska dies about two thirds of the way through the novel in a senseless car wreck when she is driving drunk. Usually I feel sorrowful when a main character in the book dies, however, I was not surprised and felt rather callous to the entire situation. Alaska’s character acted as the catalyst for her friends in drinking, pranks and sexual exploration. She was described as sexy and beautiful which seemed to be the most important aspect of her though she was also a great tutor for precal. She also mocked her friends, was selfish, self-absorbed and dangerous and I didn’t like her as a human being. Miles/Pudge caved into peer pressure by drinking and smoking when he actually didn’t want to participate. He was weak and very lackluster as a character. I’ve questioned why Pudge even became friends with this group of people except through pure accident. The Colonel had a lot of charisma as the engineer that organized the pranks, he was prejudiced against the rich kids because he came from such a poor background. Takumi’s claim to fame was that he could rap on the spot, but his character was not developed. There are flirtations with deep thinking with random quotes and snippets of theological lectures thrown in, but it is not enough because there is so much thrown in that does not have a purpose except to show that kids rebel in an expression of exploration of their identity. Soul searching is a lot more than getting drunk.

The last third of the novel pulls together the pieces exploring hope and suffering as the Colonel and Pudge try to discover why Alaska died, as an accident or as a suicide. In the end they realize they will never really know the answer, but they understand Alaska’s motivation for leaving that night a bit more as they realize she was upset having missed the anniversary of her mother’s death.

Looking for Alaska becomes a novel about living through suffering, having hope and finally having forgiveness. For me Looking for Alaska was about 95% trash and 5% soul searching and worthwhile. I will not pass this novel on to my teens. If you let your teens read this book you should also know that there is a rather explicit oral sex-scene in addition to other sexual references, and their is cursing on every page.

I can see why others have found it riviting, but sensationalism isn’t realism, and isn’t enough to make a good novel. I wanted more depth and a truer picture for teenagers.

2 out 5 stars

- the Mother

Teen Point of View

She was not allowed to read this novel.

The Asocial Networking by Dhiraj Kumar is nothing but a BIG over-reaction on the impact of social networking (specifically Facebook) on our lives. It does make some pertinent points about the facade people put by showing an alternate ‘online’ life to others but goes overboard in the analysis and infuses a spirit of outlandishness that in the end harms the book far more you can think off.

It is interesting and ironical to see ourselves socializing with the help of gadgets when we could actually step forward and socialize with the person standing next to us. For the benefit of those who exhibit their social lives online, this book offers little tricks of the trade to master the art of networking and garner tangible gains in the real world. On the other hand, the author discusses our vulnerabilities and weaknesses, which are often reflected in the way we socialize on the web.

However, the extreme or negative side of the social networking is written with heavy-hand and does not presents a balanced approach to counter the positives. For instance, the author constantly harps about the fact that putting a status message of ‘DND’ on Gtalk reeks of hypocrisy and double standards. Because if you are so busy, why would you be online? But at the same time, author does not take into account that being online have also to do with professional work or an emergency issue.

I was particularly offended at various points in the book where the author judges people around him with disdain and contempt. At one point in the narrative, he even classify bisexuals as extreme perverts and voyeurs who venture out in night on social networking and prey on people. Such kind of factually incorrect, close-thinking and morally reprehensible thoughts should have been censored in the first place if there was a good editor working on this book.

Even the extremely implausible clause of Facebook getting extinct or less exciting in few years in nothing but a statement made without any solid evidence. Anyone who follows these social networking websites knows that these companies earn revenues through advertising and marketing of various companies, brands and products. To view them mere as dating or sex-mating sites is doing a grave injustice to their whole existence and as a tool of usefulness in our daily lives.

Having said that, the author does make some key observations about Facebook in our existence – people wasting time playing Zynga games, low productivity and less concentration at workplaces, too many diversions in the name of updating status and answering wall posts and my personal favourite – sexual discrimination against men on these websites. These are well thought off points which shows depth with which things are researched. I particularly liked the concept about FIPRA – Facebook International People Rating Agency, something which you may think in the future coming into action to compare people. The clause of displaying your Facebook profile at the time of an interview for a psychoanalysis assessment is a possibility which may not be far off.

In the end, the book is articulated with some well-researched points and keenly observed thoughts. I just wished it was more balanced to enjoy it even further. If you can deal or be comfortable reading ONLY negative impact of Facebook, this book may be a treat for you.

I blog at Love is always new..

Rabindranath Tagore(1861-1941) – ‘Gurudev’ of the whole India, who bestowed the title of ‘Mahatma’ on the father of our nation, who gifted us our identity and whose verses are sung every day at every nook and corner of our country in the form of our National Anthem – is not called the ‘Complete Institute of Literature’ for nothing. Tagore is one of the greatest poets and thinkers India has ever produced.

I know my words will miserably fall short of the kind of paeans the person of his stature deserve. However, I feel extremely glad to be reviewing a few of his works here.

Title : The Little Big Man

Publisher : Katha

Age : 3-6 years

I think every kid grows up hearing this – you are in the best phase of your life – Childhood and you are not realizing it. I did, when I was in my childhood years and now being a mother of two, I find myself telling the same to my kids. But then I realize perhaps that is the best part of this phase – kids do not consciously live or not live a day and their small world and its issues are big enough for them.

In fact, when the kids watch adults getting to exercise so much control over all the significant issues, decisions and also on them, they can’t wait to grow up.

This is the essence of ‘The Little Big Man’ who wants to be as old as his father because then nobody would tell him to learn his lessons, he could leave his books, he would go wherever he likes, he would buy his own clothes when he likes and he would give money to whoever he wishes to. Through ‘The Little Big Man’ Tagore peeks into the mind of a little boy who is looking forward to growing up and to assume adult responsibilities.

The art work by Rajiv Eipe perfectly compliments the text. The little boy with front tooth missing looks absolutely endearing in his expression of – all grown up and responsible.

Rajiv is involved in doing animation and graphics for Television.

Title : Clouds and Waves

Publisher : Katha

Age : 3-6 years

A charming tale of a little girl who is tempted time and again by the clouds and the waves to join them in the games that they play in their magical world. The world where they play with silver moon and golden dawn. For a child this surely is an irresistible temptation but she simply declines their invite every time because what she likes the most is to be with her mother. She does not need to go to any enchanting world when she has nicer and better games that she can play with her favourite playmate. A sweet little tale conveying the tender love between a mother and her little one.

The illustrations that spread across both the pages are beautiful art work. The inquisitiveness of the little girl, her full-of-life twinkling eyes and the tender affectionate bond that she shares with her mother are brilliantly captured by the illustrator Sunaina Coelho.

Title : The Land of Cards

Publisher : Puffin Classics

Age : 8 to 12

‘The Land of Cards’ is a potpourri of some of his best works – poems, short stories and plays, translated from Bengali to English by Radha Chakravarty. A wonderful assortment to give children a little glimpse of the beautiful world created by Tagore’s pen.

Poems – which offer different flavors in each piece – ranging from hilarious odd rhymes like the one in which a cat is trying to convince the fish to be its meal, to the ones which are brimming with sensitive emotions. The entertaining ‘The Invention of Shoes’ tells the story of the birth of shoes while the ‘Hero’ reveals the inner desire of a son to be by her mother’s side and to protect her always. Through the poems like ‘Two Bighas of Land’, Rabindranath Tagore took up the social issues which were suffocating our country in ancient times.

The title play ‘The Land of Cards’ brings out the conventional restrictions of the society and in another play ‘The Post Office’, a boy being restrained to closed confines tries to live his life through the people who are busy in seemingly mundane activities in the free outside world and unknowingly teaches them the lesson to take pleasure in whatever they are doing.

‘Kabuliwala’ – a simple story bringing out the yearning of a father for his daughter, is one of the great classics which are lustrous ageless gems. I remember having enjoyed reading this story as part of course book during school years. Such are the pieces of writings which defy all barriers of age and time.

‘The Land of Cards’ is a book which can be read, enjoyed and appreciated by children and adults alike, offering them a peep into the world of literary genius.