This week we read books from the following categories:
Fantasy - both Upper Elementary/Middle School & High School
Science Fiction
I will be enticing you to read these two: Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner and The Adoration of Jenna Fox by Mary E. Pearson.
Simner, J.L. (2009). Bones of Faerie. New York, NY: Random House.
This is one of those books you have trouble putting down once you start reading. Magic, faeries, shape-shifting - all things that can happen in Liza's world, but not without consequence. This is a post-apocalyptic fantasy that leaves you with as many questions as it answers. Liza and Matthew set off from their village to find Liza's mother in what used to be St. Louis. It's scary, but not frightening; keeps you wondering what will happen next as you turn each page. What happened to Liza's mother? What happened to St. Louis? What happened to magic? What is good and what is evil?
I picked this up at a middle school book fair, but I think it'd be better for high school age kids. It's just scary enough to warrant the older-age group suggestion. Readers that enjoy dystopian societies and solving mysteries as the story unfolds will really enjoy this.
Here's an excerpt from a review on School Library Journal:
Bones of Faerie by Janni Lee Simner
......I want to ask you why you haven’t read this yet......
I’m glad I did snatch up Bones of Faerie because this book hooked me with it’s opening, shocked me with it’s twists, frustrated me with it’s racing through the magical knowledge transformation, satisfied me with interweaving locales I’d recognize like St. Louis’ arch, and most of all because this book left me hanging and wanting more.
Jannie Lee Simner has created characters that intrigued me, left me wondering how they did that and what motivated them. I think we are seeing a new world here with the opportunity for many voices to tell their stories. While many reviewers commented on the quickness of the read, I enjoyed it. I like books that leave me wondering about the details and that enable me to create my own suppositions on the past and predictions for the future.
Bones of Faerie is complicated and daring. It has horrifying and appalling moments, yet the overall book is not as dark as I predicted. I think this title will fit nicely on my list of "after the disaster" titles. I like the interweaving of fantasy and ecothriller. Any novel where you fear the plants is deliciously scary.
And here's one from Kirkus:
BONES OF FAERIE (reviewed on December 1, 2008)
Magic in Liza’s barren town is verboten due to a disastrous war with Faerie, and those who are magical are thought to be evil. When Liza realizes she can no longer deny her own magic and becomes plagued by visions of her runaway mother, she leaves town accompanied by her shape-shifting friend, Matthew. The two find their way to a community where magic is the norm. There, Liza is encouraged to follow her visions and find her mother in a place that used to be called St. Louis. The setting, characters and plot are ones every fantasy and science-fiction reader has seen before: the dystopian world, evil faeries, a protagonist with extra-strong, extra-special magic, a hunt for a lost mother. Simner keeps things interesting with a fair amount of action and the constant introduction of new characters. The postapocalyptic environment is haunting but not downright scary—the most frightening things are the people, not the magic. With its dark, sharply imagined world, this will appeal to readers of Holly Black and Cassandra Clare. (Science fiction/fantasy. 12-16)
Pub Date: Jan. 27th, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-375-84563-5
Page count: 256pp
Publisher: Random
Pearson, M. (2008). The Adoration of Jenna Fox. New York, NY: Henry Holt.
Another one of those "can't put it down" books! Jenna has just awoken from a comma and can't remember anything about her life. Her mother has given her a set of CDs that chronicle the first sixteen years of her life so she watches them sequentially to try to piece together what happened and try to stimulate some memories. Jenna's grandmother suggests that she watch the last CD first if she really wants some answers, but Jenna doesn't take her advice....at least not right away. As she starts to make friends and find out things about who she was before she woke up, Jenna comes to learn that she may not actually be a "person" anymore - her father has developed a type of gel that clones body parts, organs, even parts of the brain, and an accident reveals that she has more gel than blood in her body. Set in the future, the story raises question about how much is too much in regard to technology and scientific processes. Jenna has lots more questions than she does answers.
I'd recommend this for upper middle/high school readers. The story is fascinating and really makes you think about what our world will be like if we keep chemically enhancing food, creating/growing body parts to replace those that are lost through accidents or disease. It also addresses issues of environmental responsibility and what could happen after natural disasters. Great conversation starter!
Following are reviews from School Library Journal and Kirkus:
The Adoration of Jenna Fox
Jessica Miller, New Britain Public Library, CT -- School Library Journal, 09/02/2008
Gr 9 Up–Mary Pearson’s novel (Holt, 2008) provides a thought-provoking and intriguing examination of what really makes us human and where to draw the line with fast developing technological and medical advances. Jenna Fox wakes from a coma more than a year after having an “accident.” With no memory, she slowly learns to function physically, but she can’t seem to connect emotionally. Written in a beautiful symphony of revealed memories, Jenna slowly begins to recognize that a secret is being kept from her and something complex and dangerous is going on. When she realizes that she essentially died in the infamous “accident” and was reborn through her father’s controversial discovery, Jenna begins to question biomedical ethics and human nature. Narrator Jenna Lamia excels at evoking the haunting, yet detached way that Jenna begins to connect the events in her life. Combining science fiction, medical mystery, and teen relationships into an excellent package that is satisfying from beginning to end, this is a must-have for all collections.
THE ADORATION OF JENNA FOX (reviewed on March 15, 2008)
Outstanding examination of identity, science and ethics. “I used to be someone. / Someone named Jenna Fox. / That’s what they tell me,” begins the hypnotic first-person narration. She woke from an 18-month coma two weeks ago, but she doesn’t know how to smile or who her parents are. She watches recordings of each childhood year but they ring no bells. Why has her family brought her to a hidden cottage in California, distant from home and doctors? Mental flashes reveal a void of paralysis where “darkness and silence go on forever.” Was that her coma? Voices call Jenna, hurry! into her ears—are those from the night of the accident, which she can’t remember? Jenna recognizes that her gait is awkward and her memory peculiar (spotty about childhood while disturbingly perfect about academics), but asking questions provokes only furtive glances between her parents. Pearson reveals the truth layer by layer, maintaining taut suspense and psychological realism as she probes philosophical notions of personhood. A deeply humane and gripping descendent of Peter Dickinson’s classic Eva. (Science fiction. YA)
So many ideas for library/classroom lessons.......both are set in the future in societies where the "rules" have changed...Bones of Faerie includes magic while Adoration of Jenna Fox is more "real".....either would be great discussion starters for what students think the future will look like. They could tell/write about what they think their hometown/state will be like in the future - how would people live?, would there still be a central government?, has science/technology helped or hurt the future society? They could create alternate endings for the stories or add characters that would change the way the story is told......and, the old fall back, the books could be used as part of a display of futuristic/dystopian societies to get kids interested in the genre.
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