The Gates of Zion by Bodie Thoene

Thoene, Bodie. The Gates of Zion.

Bethany House; 1986.

ISBN: 0871238705

Reader’s Annotation

In 1947, a young American photojournalist, Ellie Warne come to Jerusalem and gets caught up in a dangerous web of intrigue, even as thousands of misplaced Jews from all over Europe look for a place to call home.

Plot Summary

After World War II, thousands of displaced Jews across Europe had no place to call home.  Having endured the unspeakable horrors of the Holocaust, they looked toward Jerusalem.  Under the control of the British Mandate, Palestine was a powder keg of tension.  One young American woman, Ellie, is a photojournalist who recently arrived in Jerusalem to stay with her archeologist father.  When some Bedouins arrive one day at their house when Ellie’s father is out, they show her some scrolls they have found and want to sell to the doctor.  Ellie can’t make that decision, but she does photograph the scrolls.  She unwittingly just stepped into a web of conspiracy and intrigue that will threaten her life as “someone” tries to get those pictures.  Meanwhile, David, her American military pilot, sometimes boyfriend, comes to Jerusalem to pursue Ellie.  David claims to love Ellie, but she is torn between David and Moshe, a handsome Jewish archeologist who works with her father.  As the story goes on, the events connected with the scrolls become linked with the events surrounding the founding of the State of Israel. 

Critical Evaluation

Many people are unfamiliar with what happened after World War II and to all the Jews who survived the Holocaust.  Thoene’s remarkable talent for description brings the story alive so that the reader feels like an actual witness.  The Gates of Zion, which is book 1 in The Zion Chronicles, almost immediately captures the reader with the exciting intrigue around Ellie photographing the mysterious scrolls.  As the novel progresses, that is the main storyline.  However, the historical events and background themselves are just as compelling as the storyline. Descriptions of life under British Mandate are eye-opening, and they provide a little more understanding of current events in that region.  Told with an admittedly pro-Israel bent, The Zion Chronicles are an adventure in the purest historical fiction tradition.  A great follow-up read for The Zion Chronicles is Herman Wouk’s The Hope and The Glory.

Information about the Author

Bodie Thoene (pronounced “Tay-nee”) claims that she has always wanted to be a writer.  However, early in school it was discovered that she suffered from the learning disorder, dyslexia.  Thoene’s mother refused to take the diagnosis lying down, and instead retained a young teacher to work extensively with Thoene.  Born in Bakersfield, CA, Thoene was a political science/journalism major when she attended college in San Jose, CA.  She covered much of the unrest in the Bay Area during the turbulent Vietnam era for U.S. News and World Report.  After Bodie married Brock and settled in Waco, TX, where Bodie attended Baylor University, she kept writing.  Bodie describes how she had the opportunity to speak to John Wayne in 1978 about her interest in the event surrounding the rebirth of Israel, and that she’d someday like to write a novel about it.  He told her,  "That’s one you ought to do. It’s the story of the Jewish Alamo!"  For more information, go to Thoene Books. 

Genre

Adventure

Historical Fiction

Curriculum Tie-ins

History

Booktalk Ideas

1. Discuss how the Jewish people were treated by the British under the Mandate.  Do you think those laws were fair?
2. Moshe or David?
3. What did you learn about history that you had never heard before?

Reading level/Interest age

Adult Crossover

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

Relgion/Christian Fiction

Why I included this work

This series has a lot of little-known historical background describing what happened to the Jews after the Holocaust.  It also has an exciting plot of intrigue and danger, with a little romance thrown in!

ECPA Gold Medallion Award (Fiction,1987)

Great Quote from the Book:

"Hope" is knowing the truth and acting on it.”

Stormbreaker by Anthony Horowitz

Horowitz, Anthony. Stormbreaker. 

Philomel Books; 2006,

ISBN: 0142406112.

Reader’s Annotation

Alex knows that his Ian was a spy killed in the middle of a dangerous mission to stop a terror attack against Britain’s school children—now he finds out that he must take over where his uncle left off.

Plot Summary

When Alex rider gets word that his Uncle Ian had been killed in a car accident, and that he hadn’t been wearing his seatbelt, Alex is immediately suspicious.  His uncle/adopted parent always wore his seat belt.  After a little investigating, Alex discovers that Ian Rider was murdered.  Alex gets a visit from Alan Blunt and Mrs. Jones form Mi6, who proceeds to explain that not only was Ian Rider a spy, but he was killed in the middle of an assignment.  They want Alex to pick up where his uncle left off.  Alex’ uncle has trained him for years in skills that would serve a spy—Alex can speak five languages and is a black belt in karate.  Alex agrees, and finds himself investigating Herod Sayle, an Egyptian billionaire who is donating, supposedly out of the goodness of his heart, Stormbreaker Computers to school children all over England.  Sayle is set to give the computers in a ceremony with the Prime Minister, who will then activate the computers.  Mi6 creates a ruse to get Alex into Sayle’s home in Cornwall.  There, using clues left by his uncle, Alex finds a secreat computer manufacturing facility where computers are being tainted with the small pox virus, which will be spread when the PM presses the button to activate the computers.  When Alex is discovered, Sayle leaves him in a giant tank with his deadly, pet Portuguese man-o-war.  Alex manages to escape, and makes his way (via a stolen airplane) to the ceremony.  But will Alex be in time to stop the virus from being released?

Critical Evaluation

A little bit like James Bond meets Harry Potter, Alex Rider makes for a fun, adventurous character.  Definitely larger than life, the story is really character driven and fortified with cool escape maneuvers and high-tech gadgetry.  Still, the use of a network of donated computers as a means of terrorist attack is cleverly done, and brings the action to a personal level for teen readers.  Stormbreaker is book 1 in the Alex Rider series.

Information about the Author

From the time he was eight, Anthony Horowitz knew that he wanted to be a writer.  Born in England in 1956, Horowitz was part of a wealthy family.  When Anthony’s father faced bankruptcy, however, he put the family wealth in an account under a pseudonym.  He died before he told anyone, and the family was never able to find the money.  Horowitz, overweight and lonely as a child, loved to read.  When he was sent to boarding school, he would entertain he schoolmates by telling them his favorite stories, especially Frankenstein and Dracula.  He graduated from the Univeristy of York with a B.A. in literature in 1977, and he now lives in London with his wife Jill, and two sons.  For more information go to: Anthony Horowitz.  

Action/Adventure

Curriculum Tie-ins

Booktalk Ideas

1. Discuss the significance of Yassin’s appearance at the end.  What do you think will happen next?
2. Do you think an agency such as the CIA or Mi6 would ever really employ teens?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult (ages 12+)

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

Some violence

• Present the library’s selection policy
• Refer to ALA Intellectual Freedom resources

Why I included this work

• New York Times #1 Children's Bestseller
• School Library Journal Best Books
• YALSA Best Book
• ALA Notable Book

Great Quote from the Book:

The assassin Yassin: "Believe me, It would be better if we didn't meet again. Go back to school. Go back to your life. And next time they ask you, say no. Killing is for grown-ups and your still a child."

I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You by Ally Carter

Carter, Ally.  I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You.

Hyperion Paperbacks, 2006.

ISBN 978-1423100041

Reader’s Annotation

Cammie Morgan, daughter of the headmistress of the top-secret Gallagher Academy for Girls, is already trained in the art of espionage, but what will she do now that she has fallen for a boy who has no clue of her secret identity?

Plot Summary

At the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Girls, students learn the fine arts--such as how to speak in 14 languages, or how to kill a man in seven different ways with her bare hands, and these elite girls even get extra credit for breaking CIA codes in computer class.  Cammie Morgan is the daughter of the top secret boarding school’s head mistress and a spy father who recently died while on a mission.  Now Cammie faces one of her most challenging (and funny) lessons--what to do when she falls for a Josh, a local boy who has no idea about Cammie’s secret life.  The ensuing maneuvers are filled with laugh-out-loud humor, cool gadgets, and interesting characters.

Critical Evaluation

In a time when too many books for teens have female protagonists who are needy and vulnerable, Ally Carter creates female characters who are strong, smart and highly capable.  Her characters don’t push others away though.  In fact, like Cammie Morgan for example, they are leaders.  In I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You, Carter brings 21^st century feeling into her stories with the high-tech gadgetry and technology.  On the more sensitive side, Cammie, who has earned the nickname “the Chameleon”, finds that the local boy, Josh, seems to really see her, the real Cammie, like no one else ever has.  Cammie is unnerved by this, because outside of the Gallagher Academy, no one can know her identity—even while she longs to come clean and tell Josh everything.  This book is part of the Gallagher Girls series.

Information about the Author

Ally Carter doesn’t like to release too much information about herself because as she admits, “Well, I’m paranoid that way!”  However, she was born and raised in Oklahoma, graduated from both Oklahoma State University and Cornell University.  Her first book, Cheating at Solitaire was published in 2005, and was then closely followed by her first book for young adults in 2006, I’d Tell You I Love You, But Then I’d Have to Kill You. For more information, go to Ally Carter.

Genre

Adventure

Romance

Chick Lit
Humor

Curriculum Tie-ins

None

Booktalk Ideas

1. The girls in Cammie's friend group are pretty archetypical: There's gutsy Bex, bad girl Macey, and intellectual Liz... Can you think of other books or movies that have these same types?
2. Rumors have been rampant that this book will be made into a movie.  Although that's not true at this time, who would you cast as Cammie and Josh?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult  (ages 12+)

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

None likely, but always be prepared with:

• The library's selection policy
• Knowledge of other similar works in the in the collection
• ALA's Intellectual Freedom resources 

Why I included this work

This and Carter’s other novel, The Heist Society made me appreciate her characterizations, especially of the female protagonists.

Great Quote from the Book

"Number of empty Ben & Jerry's containers:3-two mint chocolate cookie, one plain vanilla (Who buys plain vanilla ice cream from Ben & Jerry's, anyway? Is there a greater waste?)"

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Lewis, C.S. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

HarperCollins; 2000 (originally published in 1950),

ISBN: 0006716873.

Reader’s Annotation

Whet e four Pevensies stumble through a wardrobe and into the land of Narnia, they find that they are the catalyst of a rebellion to cast out a witch who has cruelly ruled Narnia for a hundred years.

Plot Summary

Bombs are falling in London during World War II, and when Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy get sent to the country for their safety, they find themselves staying in a huge old house belonging to a reclusive professor.  One day during a game of hide and seek, Lucy, the youngest, hides in a wardrobe, and discovers that she’s in a snowy wood, in another world.  She meets the most unlikely person—a faun walking through the snow.  When she agrees to have tea with Mr. Tumnus, he finally confesses that he has been ordered by the White Witch to kidnap any human child he finds, and bring them to her.  But instead, he helps Lucy get back home.  Later, Edmund follows Lucy in and all by himself encounters the Witch herself, and falls into her power.  When all the children come back together, Edmund betrays them to the Witch, forcing them to flee.  They’ve been told about Aslan, the great Lion of Narnia, and that he’s gathered an army, and they race to meet him.  Edmund is now a prisoner of the White Witch.  When they meet Aslan, he sends forces to rescue Edmund, and the country braces itself for war.  Before the war breaks out, the Witch approaches Aslan, claiming that according to the “Deep Magic”, any traitor belongs to her, for her to kill—she means Edmund.  After speaking privately to the Witch, Aslan announces that she has renounced her claim.  That night, Lucy and Susan awaken as Aslan quietly leaves the camp.  They follow him, and in the most heartrending sequence, witness him dying in Edmund’s place at the hands of the Witch.  When they are left alone, they grieve, until with a cracking sound like thunder, Aslan appears to them, alive!  Aslan eventually joins the dramatic battle to overthrow the witch and restore Narnia.

Critical Evaluation

Originally written for children, The Chronicles of Narnia, of which The Lion the Witch and Wardrobe is the first, was immediately enjoyed by young and old alike.  The allegorical nature of the story is unmistakable, and yet the story stands on its own merits enough to be enjoyed by readers of any faith.  Lewis combines elements of fairy tales (the Witch and dwarves) and mythology (fauns, centaurs, naiads and dryads), with a healthy dose of adventure.  Some of these aspects get lost in the movie adaptation, which makes reading the book even more beneficial.

Information about the Author

Clive Staples (C.S.) Lewis, who was known as “Jack” to friends was a noted Irish-born British novelist, academic, medievalist, literary critic, essayist, lay theologian and Christian apologist. He is well known for his fictional work, especially The Screwtape Letters, The Chronicles of Narnia and The Space Trilogy. One interesting note is that he was good friends with J.R.R. Tolkien—they were both noted professors at Oxford together.  The two of them, along with some other friends, formed a small literary group called the “Inklings”.  Lewis had abandoned his faith, but owing to the influence of Tolkien and other friends, at the age of 32 Lewis returned to Christianity.  His conversion had a significant effect on his work, and his wartime radio broadcasts on the subject of Christianity brought him wide acclaim.  Lewis’ death passed nearly unreported since he died on November 22, 1963—the same day JFK was assassinated.

Genre

Fantasy

Adventure

Curriculum Tie-ins

Mythology

Booktalk Ideas

1. Why do you think that witch did not know about the "Deeper Magic"?
2. Why to you think Lewis included the scene with Father Christmas?

Reading level/Interest age

Ages 12+ (Barnes & Noble)

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

None

Why I included this work

This is a personal favorite, and also the recent movie adaptations makes it a logical addition.

Best Young Adult Books on GoodReads.com.

Great Quote from the Book:

"He's not a tame lion."

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

Golding, William.  Lord of the Flies.

Penguin Books; 1999 (originally published in 1954).

ISBN: 0140283331 (pbk.).

Reader’s Annotation

When a plane crashes on an island, leaving a group of British schoolboys as survivors, they must decide how they will live and how their “society” will be defined—with deadly consequences.

Plot Summary

A group of British schoolchildren, being evacuated during wartime, crash on a deserted island and must organize themselves in order to survive.  Ralph, the protagonist, finds a conch shell, and blows it in order to gather the other survivors.  He and Jack, the leader of a choir group, are the natural candidates to guide them, but the overall group chooses Ralph to be their leader.  An intelligent and overweight boy, unhappily nicknamed “Piggy”, is Ralph’s first friend on the island and acts as a sort of advisor to Ralph.  Another boy, Simon, proves to be another trusted friend.  Ralph makes lighting and maintaining a signal fire the number one priority, and they use Piggy’s glasses to start the fire.  Jack, in turn, organizes his choir into hunters to find meat.  For a while, all the boys are united in a common purpose, but then things start to go downhill.  Some of the boys become convinced that there is a monster (“the Beast”), on the island.  Jack exploits that belief, and uses their fear to gain more power and control over the group.  Now there are two tribes—Jack’s and Ralph’s. When Simon reaches an emotional breakdown point, he stumbles across the fly-covered head of a pig, mounted on a stake.  It is the hunters’ first kill, offered up to the Beast.  To Simon, it appears that the “Lord of the Flies” talks to him, telling him the real beast is instead them all.  Before the story’s end, the boys have become utterly savage, and the hunt is on.

Critical Evaluation

This classic novel is so multifaceted that it has become required reading in countless high schools and colleges.  Ripe with symbolism, the story progresses slowly at first, and then steadily faster and faster—you can almost hear the drum beat.  Lord of the Flies has been identified by the ALA as one of the most frequently challenged books.  For some, they cite the violence or profanity.  Others claim that it is racist, or defamatory to disabled, God and women.  One of the more telling reasons cited, however, is that the book is “demoralizing inasmuch as it implies that man is little more than an animal." Ironically, they actually hit on one of the central themes—man’s struggle between civilized and primitive behavior.  For that idea, Golding’s work is likely to remain a classic.  When Golding received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983, the Nobel Foundation cited: "...his novels which, with the perspicuity of realistic narrative art and the diversity and universality of myth, illuminate the human condition in the world of today".

Information about the Author

Born to a socialist teacher who supported scientific rationalism (his father), and a supporter of women’s suffrage (his mother), Sir William Gerald Golding seemed destined to become a scientist at his father’s request.  However, he later developed a love of literature—first Anglo-Saxon texts and then poetry, which he wrote fervently.  Lord of the Flies was Golding’s first published novel.  For more information, go to:  http://www.william-golding.co.uk/

Genre

Adventure

Horror

Curriculum Tie-ins

Sociology

Booktalk Ideas

1. What do you think the Lord of the Flies represents?
2. Why do you think that Piggy was so obsessed with the conch shell?  What do you think the shell represents?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult (age 13-adult)

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

Violence

Language

Racism

Defamation of the disabled, God, and women

• Be ready with a copy of the library’s selection policy.
• Understand the history of challenges for this particular work.
• Be familiar with similar works in the collection.
• Refer to Golding’s Nobel Prize in Literature for Lord of the Flies.

Why I included this work

I read it in high school, and it made an impact on me—especially the last page.

Winner of the 1983 Nobel Prize for Literature

Great Quote from the Book:

"Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy."

Ingo by Helen Dunmore

Dunmore, Helen. Ingo.

HarperCollins; 2006,

ISBN: 031609899X.

Reader’s Annotation

It is said that their father was lost at sea, but Sapphy and Conor don’t buy that, and when they spend by the sea and meet mysterious strangers there, they are more convinced than ever that their dad is still alive.

Plot Summary

In the church where they lived by the sea in Cornwall, was a carved figure of a mermaid.  The legend went that the vicar of that church long ago met and fell in love with a mermaid.  Their dad was a fisherman who “just happened” to have the same name as the vicar.  Their father used to talk dreamily of the sea, and the underwater world, so when he mysteriously disappears, Sapphire and Conor refuse to believe it.  As much as their mother tries to get them to move on with their lives, Sapphy and Conor spend more and more time in their cove by the sea.  Their mom seems very upset and warns them to stay away from the shoreline, but to no avail.  Then the two encounter Faro and Elvira, a mermaid and merman who introduce Conor and Sapphy to Ingo—the beautiful, dangerous world beneath the waves.  As Sapphy is draw repeatedly and irresistibly back to the sea, she realizes the truth—she has Mer blood running through her veins, and now she must choose to what world she belongs.

Critical Evaluation

Dunmore’s poetic tone, especially in her descriptions of Ingo, seems almost mystical.  The novel portrays not just the legends and folklore about mermaids, but a poignant story of a girl whose world is changing and who is trying to figure out where she belongs.  Sapphire’s relationship with her mother, and the conflicted feelings they have for one another is a theme teens in particular can relate to.  The mother begins to date, much to Sapphy and Conor’s dismay.  But when that man’s life is in danger of the people of Ingo, Sapphire’s true test is at hand.  The book is the first in a trilogy, but it works well as a stand-alone novel.

Information about the Author

Helen Dunmore was born in 1952, and is best known for her award winning adult novels, short stories, and her works of poetry.  The Tide Knot, the sequel to Ingo, earn Dunmore the UK NestlÉ Children’s Book Prize Silver Medal.  She lives in Bristol, England, with her husband and children.  For more information, go to: http://www.helendunmore.com/index.asp

Genre

Fantasy

Mystery

Adventure

Curriculum Tie-ins

None

Booktalk Ideas

1. What do you think was the dad’s real story?
2. What is it about the idea of Mer people that fascinate us so much?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

None likely

Why I included this work

The prospect of reading about mermaids was too hard to resist!  Also, Ingo is rated 4½ stars on Amazon.com!

Great Quote from the Book:

"I wish I was away in Ingo
far across the briny sea
sailing over deepest waters
where neither care nor worry trouble me"

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

Collins, Suzanne. The Hunger Games.

Scholastic; 2008,

ISBN: 0439023521.

Reader’s Annotation

Katniss voluntarily takes her sister’s place in the Hunger Games—a violent fight to the death imposed by the Capitol of Panem for the entertainment of the viewing public, on the children from the outlying districts, as a punishment for past rebellion and to discourage future uprisings.

Plot Summary

Katniss Everdeen is a survivor, and in her country of Panem (in what used to be the United States), she also works tirelessly to help her family (her mother and sister Prim) survive.  Katniss enjoys her illegal hunting time because she can get out into the wild and also spend time with Gale, her handsome, close friend.  Panem consists of twelve outlaying districts (and a rumored thirteenth), surrounding the all-controlling Capitol.  Because the Districts once rebelled against the Capitol, the government now forces the Districts to participate in gladiator-style Hunger Games—each district must select by lottery one boy and one girl.  When 12-year-old Prim’s name is chosen, Katniss doesn’t hesitate to take her place in the Hunger Games.  What follows is Katniss’ journey with fellow District 12 contestant Peeta, the baker’s son, to the Games which are nationally televised for the Capitol’s amusement, and the Districts’ punishment.  Throughout the Games, Katniss must make choices—who to trust for now, who to kill, and how to survive until the end.

Critical Evaluation

Once the names are drawn, the plot takes off, and you can’t put the book down.  Collins has created a dystopian society where the children are made to bear the punishment for previous generations.  The psychological agony of being forced to watch children fight for their lives, being presented as a form of entertainment is unimaginable. Katniss is at first bewildered as the events surrounding the Hunger Games, but with their advisor Haymitch, a drunken, cynical older man, Katniss and Peeta begin to talk strategy.  Katniss doesn’t want to work with Peeta—she doesn’t want to know him or care about him because she knows that ultimately she will have to kill him or be killed by him.  Her resolution falters though, when Peeta admits in a pre-game, televised interview that he loves Katniss.  As the games progress, Katniss and Peeta are drawn together, and eventually find a way to rebel.

About the Author

As a successful writer for several children’s television shows including Clarissa Explains It All and The Mystery Files of Shelby Woo, Suzanne Collins has established a range of writing experience.  It was with her writing of the bestselling Underland Chronicles, however, that Collins really made her mark in children’s literature.  In the award-winning The Hunger Games trilogy, Collins explores the effects of war and violence on young people. Collins lives with her family in Connecticut. For more information, go to: http://www.suzannecollinsbooks.com/index.htm

Genre

Science fiction

Fantasy

Action

Horror

Curriculum Tie-ins

None

Booktalk Ideas

1. Peeta or Gale?
2. Describe Katniss’ relationship with Haymitch.
3. Are there any parallels to the Hunger Games in our society? Have there ever been?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult (grades 9-Adult)

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

Violence

• Present the library’s selection policy
• Be familiar with similar works in the collection

Why I included this work

Collins wons innumerable awards and honors for The Hunger Games including:

• An American Library Association Top Ten Best Books For Young Adults Selection
• 2008 CYBIL AWARD--Fantasy & Science Fiction

Great Quote from the Book:

Katniss Everdeen: “It’s not a fair comparison really. Gale and I were thrown together by a mutual need to survive. Peeta and I know the other’s survival means our own death.”

Heist Society by Ally Carter

Carter, Ally. Heist Society.

Disney Hyperion Books; 2010,

ISBN: 0439785960.

Reader’s Annotation

Kat has two weeks to find the five paintings that her father is accused of having stolen, so with the help of her friends, Kat has arranged a heist of her own.

Plot Summary

You can take girl out of the family, but you can’t take the family out of the girl—at least that’s what Katarina Bishop finds out after she gets fed up with years of her family’s illicit activities and forges her way into a prestigious New England boarding school.  So she is seriously irritated when her 16-year-old millionaire friend Hale arranges for her to be kicked out.  Five priceless paintings have been stolen from the frightening Arturo Taccone, and Kat’s father is his prime suspect.  To prove her dad’s innocence, Kat decides to find the paintings and arrange her biggest heist ever with the help of her teenage friends.  Taccone gives Kat a two-week deadline.  Her plans become complicated though, when Kat finds out that the paintings are not really Taccone’s, but were Nazi plunder.  Kat comes to understand and appreciate her family and her place in it, as well as bounding with her friends (Hale in particular).

Critical Evaluation

A little like The Italian Job meets a Nancy Drew, The Heist Society brings the fun elements of a great action/adventure with light-heartedness of teen romance.  Kat’s character develops throughout the story as she progresses from being a rebellious girl, determined to distance herself from her family, to a smart, resolute, and brave young woman coming to the rescue of her father.  Kat’s capacity for planning and coordinating the heist makes for an entertaining read, and the romantic tension between her and Hale adds the excitement.  The gritty strength and determination of Kat’s character was a refreshing antidote to some teenage girl heroines who wait around to be rescued.

Information about the Author

Ally Carter doesn’t like to release too much information about herself because as she admits, “Well, I’m paranoid that way!”  However, she was born and raised in Oklahoma, graduated from both Oklahoma State University and Cornell University.  Her first book, Cheating at Solataire was published in 2005, and was then closely followed by her first book for young adults in 2006, I’d Tell You But I’d Have to Kill You. For more information, go to http://www.allycarter.com/

Genre

Action, Mystery, Adventure

Curriculum Tie-ins

None

Booktalk Ideas

1. How do our families influence who we become?
2. What should museums or private owners do if they discover that their pieces were stolen from their rightful owners?

Reading level/Interest age

Young Adult (ages 12+)

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

No significant challenge issues likely.

Refer to the following awards:

2011 Texas Lone Star Reasing List (Heist Society)

2010 YALSA Teens Top Ten Book (Heist Society)

North Carolina Book Award Booklist, 2010-2011 (Heist Society)

Teens Top 10 Finalist, 2010 (Heist Society)

Why I included this work

I was ready for something fun!

YALSA’s Teens' Top Ten 2010

Great Quote from the Book:

“He seemed impossibly close as he whispered, ‘And I didn't choose it, Kat. I chose you.’”

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

 

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring: Being the First Part of the Lord of the Rings.

Mariner Books; 2005 (originally published in 1954),

ISBN: 0618574948.

Reader’s Annotation

Frodo and his companions set off on a dangerous quest to destroy the One Ring—the only way to defeat the evil Lord Sauron, and save all of Middle Earth.

Plot Summary

Sauron, the evil, dark power in Middle Earth long ago created rings of power—for men, dwarves, and elves—and one for himself—“one ring to rule them all, and in the darkness bind them.”  In a battle long ago, Sauron was defeated, and that very ring was taken from him.  The ring has a will of its own, however, and it now senses that Sauron is gaining strength, and is returning to power.  The ring wants to be found.  The only problem is that the ring is in the keeping of the most unlikely of heroes—a Hobbit of The Shire, Frodo Baggins.  Frodo inherited the ring from his Uncle Bilbo who found it on a long ago adventure (in The Hobbit).  But Sauron has discovered the whereabouts of the ring and is coming for it.  With the help of the wizard Gandalf, his servant/friend Sam, and an assortment of other companions, Frodo sets off on a quest to destroy the ring, which will destroy Sauron, which will save all of Middle Earth from Sauron’s evil control.  The key question is, will Frodo be able to destroy the ring before the ring destroys Frodo?

Critical Evaluation

When J.R.R. Tolkien set out to write his epic, The Lord of the Rings, one then he was certain of, was that he did not intend to write an allegory.  His background in linguistics enabled Tolkien to create a world with a level of detail and intricacy that is unparalleled.  Not only does Tolkien develop individual races, but he gives them their own language, culture and history.  The Fellowship of the Ring is probably the strongest stand-alone work of the trilogy (which Tolkien intended to be a single epic, but which the publisher insisted was too long).  Besides the extensive detail already mentioned, the character development in this book, sets the stage for the rest of the trilogy.  Frodo, Gandalf, Aragorn, Sam, Merry and Pippin, Gollum and the rest all truly come to life as the story unfolds.  The absence, or I should say scarcity of female characters is the only thing I find wanting in The Lord of the Rings.  While the stories seems to be beloved equally by men and women (from my perspective), the books are loaded with testosterone.  The book ends with a cliffhanger, but it also closes at a perfect break in the action. 

About the Author

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in South Africa in 1892, but grew up in England.  He was orphaned at the age of twelve, and the parish priest cared for young Ronald and his younger brother, seeing that they were taken in by a relative, and then overseeing their spiritual and academic growth.  Tolkien went on to excel in linguistics, especially old- and middle-English, and he served as a professor at Oxford.  After the success of the Lord of the Rings, Tolkien and his wife Edith had to move from their house and change their telephone number, due to the number of overzealous fans.  For more information, go to: http://www.tolkiensociety.org/tolkien/biography.html

Genre

Fantasy

Adventure

Curriculum Tie-ins

Language Arts (linguistics)

Booktalk  Ideas

1. If Frodo offered you the ring, would you take it?
2. What do you think the ring might symbolize?
3. Why do you think Boromir is so tempted by the Ring?

Reading level/Interest age

Ages 12+

Challenge Issues/Challenge Response Ideas

No likely challenge issues.

Why I included this work

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of my absolute, all-time favorite works of literature.

Recommended for young adult fantasy at: http://www.nbfpl.org/docs/teendocs/TeenReadsFantasy.pdf

Great Quote from the Book:

“All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost.”