Teen Book Reviews: The Unwanteds and Lord of the Flies

February 1, 2022February 19, 2022 / cheshirelib / 1 Comment

Teens: did you know that you can earn community service credit for writing a book review and submitting it to us? Today, we’ll hear from two teens who did just that. Find out more about how to earn community service hours from home at cheshirelibrary.org/teens/.

The Unwanteds by Lisa McMann, reviewed by Claire J.

Upon being asked what book she is most thankful for, my cousin responded with the book The Unwanteds. She said the book appealed to her, as she related to many of the Unwanteds. The book allows people who couldn’t embrace their creativity an environment to thrive. When I read it, I liked how people did not have to suppress their hobbies. They had no rush to become serious and become an adult. I like the childish aspect of the book. Most of all, I really liked that the book gave people who felt out of place for the entirety of their lives a place to embrace their identities. I also just wish I had a place where I could also escape from reality and embrace my own creativity as the main characters did.

When asked about who my cousin’s favorite character was, she said her favorite character was Mr. Today, the man that saves everyone from death. I would have to agree. I want to be like him in the sense that I also really wanted to help others. Since I feel that my passion and dream is to provide whatever I can to help other people thrive, Mr. Today is an important factor that contributed to this dream. I also liked his wacky sense of fashion, as I also like to experiment with my own clothing. When he was killed in the series, I was so upset. I don’t approve of the main character taking Mr. Today’s position. Before anything else, the book had simply just brought me a lot of joy while reading it. I am the type of person who becomes immersed in their book, so I enjoyed days I spent reading on my bed, enjoying the contents of the book. Overall, I really enjoyed this read.

5 stars.

Lord of the Flies by William Golding, reviewed by Ali A.

In my opinion, Lord of the Flies by William Golding is the greatest classic book written. The book is about a group of schoolboys who get stranded on a desert island during a world war. However, all of them are scattered around the island. The main character, Ralph, finally finds another chubby boy named Piggy. Together they find a conch shell and blow it to summon all the boys to them. They hold a meeting and make rules for the island, assign jobs, start a fire, and elect a chief. Ralph ends up winning the role of chief, but makes Jack, another important character, a co-leader. At first the community is peaceful and law-abiding to the rules, but soon problems occur.

One of the problems was that the people assigned to keep the fire going on the mountain weren’t doing their job, and neither were the hunters. It is vital that the fire burns at all times, because the fire sends smoke into the air for ships to see them. The hunters were also not able to catch any meat, so Ralph thought they should give up hunting and instead help with other tasks, such as building shelters. However, Jack and the hunters continued to hunt and come empty-handed. Although it was frustrating for Ralph, he kept his cool and decided to just call more and more meetings. Then a little boy with a mulberry birthmark says that he sees a vicious monster on the island, and soon he goes missing. This injects terror into the community and more and more people say they saw the “beastie”. Finally one day a ship goes by the island. Ralph is excited for a potential rescue, but it turns out the signal fire on the mountain wasn’t burning! Ralph quickly went to light it again but the ship had already passed. All the people who were supposed to keep the fire going were out hunting and they finally killed a pig. Ralph and Jack got really mad at each other and Jack ended up slapping Piggy. Then one night military planes fought in the air and a dead parachutist falls onto the island. When two twins wake up to help light the signal fire, they notice the dead parachutist tangled in rocks. From far, the twins think the parachutist is the beast and they run to warn the community. Jack and his hunters decide to hunt the beast but can’t find it so Jack, Ralph, and Simon decide to try again and they too spot the dead parachutist. Just like Sam and Eric, they think that the dead parachutist is the beast so they confirm to the community that the beast is real.

Tension starts building between Jack and Ralph, so Jack decides to make his own “tribe”. Jack gathers his hunters and makes his own tribe where he’s the chief. Ralph’s group was based on peace, survival, and rules whereas Jack’s was based on hunting, violence, and dictatorship. The events following this cause mass destruction, corruption, and killing. This is my favorite classic book because the actions on the island resemble the actions in society. Countries usually start at peace with each other, but after a few wrong and cruel actions, they can cause hatred and warfare between them, just as Jack’s tribe did to Ralph’s community. Although this book did end with a cliffhanger, you can read a book called The Second Flight: A Sequel to Lord of the Flies by Elizabeth Blackwell to continue the story.

5 stars.

The Legacy of MLK

January 18, 2022January 14, 2022 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

It’s hard to live in America and not know who Martin Luther King Jr. was. If you’re reading this from out of the country, MLK was a black Baptist minister who became the driving force in the 1960’s fight for civil rights, and for the equal treatment of black citizens in America. His call was for peaceful protest and non-violence – always non-violence – and he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. For his outstanding efforts, Mr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968. James Earl Ray was charged with the murder, a white troublemaker with a 7th grade education and a long rap sheet. Ray admitted to the crime, had a strong timeline leading up to the crime, had fingerprints on the weapon, but because he lied numerous times and changed pleas and facts all over the place, conspiracy theories abound.

Kings death no doubt played a major role in the passage of the 1968 Civil Rights Act, just a week later, in an effort to help quell the riots that followed his death. His examples reached into South Africa and Northern Ireland, areas of long hostilities, and a statue of him stands in Westminster Abbey in London.

King’s beliefs and activities created as many conflicts as they tried to solve. While the racially charged South saw him as too progressive, so far as to call him a communist, many in the black community, such as Malcolm X, thought he didn’t go far enough and demanded radical action, not peaceful protests. King alienated himself from the US government by opposing the war in Vietnam. Herbert Hoover, head of the FBI, considered King a radical and sent him threatening letters. It wasn’t until 1986 that Ronald Reagan enacted Martin Luther King Day as a Federally recognized holiday.

Biographies will give the standard information on Martin Luther King, and while White Trash (warning: FaceBook will jail you for discussing this book) and Caste are excellent books which will open your eyes to issues you never considered, they’re heavy on sociology and can be difficult to slog through at times. If you’d rather read about the issues he fought against, and where we stand today on Civil Rights in an easier fashion, check out these non-fiction books that will give you a good perspective of the issues. If non-fiction isn’t your thing, try these novels about modern issues as well, and realize we still have a long way to go.

The Hate U Give

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

The Autobiography of Martin Luther King Jr.

Dear Martin

My Life With Martin Luther King Jr

Survival Math

How We Fight for Our Lives

Shifting Dunes

December 7, 2021November 3, 2021 / Susan O. / 1 Comment

When it comes to epic book series impossible to film, first came Lord of the Rings, (which was done marvelously at last but needed more than 10 hours of screen time).

Then came Dune.

Dune, by Frank Herbert, is considered the best-selling Science-Fiction novel of all time (though it’s far more Game of Thrones than space ships), with more than 12 million copies sold in 14 languages. It tied for the 1966 Hugo Award. And like Lord of the Rings, getting it to film is a Holy Grail of filmmakers.

Dune tells the far-distant-future story of Duke Leto Atreides, who is given the stewardship of the desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Dune is the only place in the universe where the spice Melange exists – a spice that not only can alter your mind, in some species it lets them fold time and space, creating almost instant space travel. “He who controls the spice, controls the universe.” Thus, Dune is a hotbed of politics and backstabbing. When the Duke is murdered, his son Paul, deemed an abomination by a powerful religious group, is seen as a prophesied savior by the natives of Dune. So begins the battle for control of Dune. The book is an immersive, detailed, visionary epic of grand scope (there’s a dictionary in the back). When you read the book, you are on Dune. This is a book that sticks with you for years to come.

Herbert wrote five books to the series; his son Brian added another twelve after his death. Dune – even just the first installment – is a novel of such grand scope (like GOT and LOTR) that putting it to film has been almost laughable – think of Rankin Bass’s 90-minute adaption of The Hobbit. Game of Thrones took 8 years and more than 73 hours to tell – can you imagine it as a three-hour theater film and have it make sense? It was tried in the 70’s, but after 3 years of attempts, the budget just couldn’t be managed. In 1984, David Lynch did make it, condensing much of the book to ethereal voiceovers, changing major points to condense action, and adding some now-cheesy early computer effects (the blue contacts of the Fremen didn’t work, and every frame of the film had to be colored by hand). It’s a film you either love or hate, with musician Sting as Feyd Rautha famously flexing in a winged bikini.

In 2000, SyFy channel did two Dune mini-series, which were much better received, won several awards, yet seemed to fade into obscurity faster than Lynch’s version, with the chief complaint it stuck too close to the source material, and dragged. Now, thanks to Warner Bros and HBO, we have a $165 million dollar spectacle by Denis Villeneuve that covers – only half the book, with a sequel (hopefully the second half) due in 2023.

While the film has been viewed favorably, the scenery and cinematography spectacular, Villeneuve took many liberties with the material that once again changes the focus and depth of the story. To modernize it, he gender-swapped characters (which goes against the society Herbert wrote) and changed the roles of other women (no, the Bene Gesserit. He left out much of the religious aspect, the mysticism, even avoided the word jihad, used by the Fremen. It gives a sanitized, whitewashed view of the story, afraid of offending anyone. Herbert believed that modern societies will always decay back to a feudalistic society, and that the desert cultures, especially those of the Middle East, were more prone to messianic complexes and religious wars (remember, he’s writing in 1964 or so, when the Middle East was still rather bland politically. Think Star Wars and Tatooine, or The Great Humongous in Road Warrior, etc. There’s a lot to be said for that theory). To remove the root of the story – is it still the same story? Can anyone ever make a decent, book-abiding video version of Dune?

If you can’t wait for the new film to come out on DVD (or, rather, the first half of the book), check out the book series itself. Few things are better than the source material.

I can give up Sting in his bikini (though I thought he was a perfect Feyd), but there is no better Gurney Halleck than pre-Captain Picard Patrick Stewart. That’s my opinion, and I’m sticking to it!

Dune: House Harkonnen

Dune: House Corrino

Dune: The Machine Crusade

Dune: The Lady of Caladan

The Winds of Dune

The Sist erhood of Dune

Paul of Dune

Mentats of Dune

Navigators of Dune

Teen Book Reviews: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and Holes

November 23, 2021February 19, 2022 / cheshirelib / Leave a comment

Teens: did you know that you can earn community service credit for writing a book review and submitting it to us? Today, we’ll hear from a teen who did just that. Find out more about how to earn community service hours from home at cheshirelibrary.org/teens/.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, reviewed by Ali A.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a book about a Native-American boy named Arnold Spirit. Arnold was born with “water in his brain” and lives in the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington. His reservation is full of drunk and violent people who often die to alcohol overdose. In fact, Arnold said he had been to 42 funerals by the age of 14. Everyone in the reservation has accepted the fact that they are poor and that there’s no hope for them, except Arnold. Arnold realizes that the only way to make it out of his sad life is to go to a predominantly white school in Rearden.

However, things aren’t easy when Arnold begins his high school life in Rearden. Rearden High School is 22 miles away from Arnold’s home, so his dad can only afford to drive Arnold only once or twice a week due to gasoline prices, so Arnold has to dangerously hitchhike with strangers to get to his school. Occasionally, Arnold can’t find anyone to drive him so he has to walk the full 22 miles! And once Arnold gets to school, he has no friends and everyone mocks him. After Arnold finally starts sticking up for himself and fights Roger, the school’s football star, Arnold feels more respected at Rearden and Arnold thinks that he can put his reservation days behind him. He quickly starts making friends with the school brainiac, Gordy, and even Roger becomes friendly with him. Arnold then tries out for the basketball team and actually becomes a starter for the varsity team and their best shooter.

Everything seems to be going well, until the reservation turns on him. People from the Spokane Indian Reservation label him as a traitor and his former best friend, Rowdy, starts hating him. Arnold’s grandmother and sister both die, and Arnold begins to feel depressed. Finally the reservation starts to accept Arnold after he had to endure those tragic losses. Humorous, heart-breaking and amazingly written, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian reflects the life of an teen attempting to break away from the hopeless life he was destined to live.

4 Stars.

Holes by Louis Sachar, reviewed by Ali A.

Holes one of my favorite books and I’d recommend it to readers who enjoy adventure books. Holes is about a kid named Stanley Yelnats who is wrongfully accused of stealing a pair of shoes from a famous baseball player named Clyde “Sweet Feet” Livingston. Clyde Livingston’s shoes were supposed to be donated to charity, but instead Stanley found the old shoes on his way home from school. Stanley was unaware that those shoes belonged to the baseball player so he instead brought them home for an experiment his father was conducting. Once the police found out that Stanley was in possession of the shoes, they arrested him and sent him to Camp Green Lake, which is actually a dessert where the prisoners dig holes from dawn to dusk.

Stanley starts making friends, and one of them is Hector “Zero” Zeroni. Stanley is finds it strange that Zero keeps trying to excessively help him dig holes, until he finds out that Zero was the one who stole Clyde Livingston’s shoes and dumped them on the sidewalk to avoid getting caught. Stanley forgives Zero and they both decide to escape the harsh conditions on Camp Green Lake. As Stanley and Zero make their journey, they make discoveries about Camp Green Lake and why the counselors force the prisoners to dig holes all day long in the desert heat.

I’d rate this novel a 5/5 because of all the details Louis Sachar incorporates into Holes. This book also makes me think about all the people around the world that are wrongfully accused and jailed for things they didn’t do, except that they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. If you enjoy Holes, I’d also recommend Small Steps, which is a book about what happens to some of the boys after they leave Camp Green Lake.

5 Stars.

Bundle Up With a Good Book

November 2, 2021September 30, 2021 / Susan O. / Leave a comment

Do you like certain types of books – stories about dogs, or maybe vacations in Italy? Perhaps you like adventure stories, or space opera, or a good forensic mystery, but don’t know what to read next. Do you like binge-reading a good series?

Have you noticed the case of bound books in the middle of the lobby?

Take a closer look at our Book Bundles.

Book bundles are three books of a common theme bound together, so you can binge-read on a topic you enjoy. It might be outdoors, kidnappings, or WWII stories. It could be autism, award winners, westerns, Book Club Favorites, art heists, robots, or gothic horror. There’s always something new on the shelf, so check it frequently. Intrigued by a category? Check out the bundle and explore!

But not all of the titles seem interesting to me – what if I only want to check out one or two?

You can check out one or all three, whatever you’d like. Just return the unwanted ones to the desk and we’ll find them new partners.

Don’t see anything to your liking? Prefer existentialist graphic novels? Right now you’re only reading novels that have cats in them? Trying to catch up on real-life medical stories? Let us know! We’d be happy to take requests!

There’s nothing like finding a good book, and it’s even better when you find three new favorites at once. A whole new world of reading adventures awaits!