The Beast of Cretacea - a review

The Beast of Cretacea by Todd Strasser 
(Candlewick, 2015)

Seventeen-year-old Ishmael has volunteered for a dangerous assignment - a vaguely outlined stint on Cretacea, where he will work with other adventurers in an untamed environment, harvesting resources bound for Earth. Only the dismal outlook on Earth makes this option seem appealing. Stripped of its natural resources, covered in a perpetual shroud, and dangerously low on breathable air, Earth holds few attractions for Ishmael. His foster family is his only concern, but his foster brother is now headed for assignment, too, and Ishmael hopes to earn enough money on Cretacea to pay for passage from Earth for his foster parents. 

On Cretacea, a prophetic warning from an old neighbor haunts Ishmael as he works onboard the Pequod under the command of the mad Captain Ahab who has set the ship's course to capture the Great Terrafin, a deadly sea creature of near mythical proportions. For Ishmael and his onboard companions, adventures abound in this cleverly crafted homage to Moby Dick. References to Moby Dick (for those familiar with them) are plentiful; however, despite its similarities to Melville's classic, The Beast of Cretacea is a sci-fi book for the modern age. The Beast of Cretacea confronts modern issues of environmental degradation, resource depletion, wealth and privilege, scientific possibility, and of course, the transcendent coming-of-age issue. Breathtaking excitement is measured with thought-provoking ideas, a rich plotline, and occasional flashbacks. At least one great twist awaits. 

For ponderers, sci-fi enthusiasts, and adventure fans seeking a little something extra. Best for ages 12 and up.

On a shelf near you 10/13/15

Note:

 

Members of my monthly book club recently Skyped with Todd Strasser.  They were impressed by his perseverance (only a summer's worth of reading kept him from repeating the 3rd grade!) and the sheer volume of his work (more than 140 books!). They appreciated his affability and willingness to delay an afternoon of surfing to accommodate us.  As an added bonus, when his daughter (who created the beast on the book's cover) accidentally passed in camera view, he introduced us and gave us a short lesson in the evolution of a book's cover art.

I have two copies of The Beast of Cretacea.  One was provided at my request from Todd Strasser, and the other was subsequently provided by LibraryThing Early Reviewers.  Both will given to members of my book club who cannot wait to read it!!

 More fun Beast of Cretacea content:

A Beast of Cretacea Quiz created by the author:https://www.goodreads.com/quizzes/1115313-do-you-know-the-beast 

A humorous video trailer:

The Beast of Cretacea from todd strasser on Vimeo.

The Last Wild - an audiobook review

Torday, Piers. 2014. The Last Wild. Penguin Audio.  Narrated by Oliver Hembrough.

Like Eva Nine, in the WondLa series, Kester Jaynes finds that he can communicate with creatures of the wild - an ability that is particularly intriguing in a dystopian world where all animals are presumed dead - killed by the incurable red-eye virus.  Kester finds himself the leader of his own "wild," the ragtag remnants of the animal world.  Flora and fauna are pitted against commercial efficiency and industrialism in this first book of a planned trilogy.

The plot is occasionally predictable, but slow patches are often brightened by the humorous antics of The General (a likable but militaristic cockroach) and a befuddled white pigeon who speaks nonsense that is also somehow prophetic.

The author and narrator hail from the UK, so the reader or listener should be prepared for numerous British words that are uncommon here in the US (wellies, trainers, boot, windscreen, plaits, etc.).

My review of The Last Wild for Audiofile Magazine appears here.

• Listen to an audio excerpt of The Last Wild here.

Sneak - an audiobook review

I don't read much young adult dystopian nonfiction, but I listened to the second book in the Swipe series by Evan Angler.  Here is my review as it appeared in the March, 2013 edition of School Library Journal.

Sneak: Swipe Series. By Evan Angler. 7 CDs. 8:25 hrs. Oasis Audio. 2012. ISBN 978-1-61375-636-0. $48.99


Gr 6–9— With a vote nearing on the Global Union, the American Union has begun a crackdown on its Markless society in a show of solidarity with the larger worldwide community. The Markless are individuals who have refused to be permanently identified with a "swipe-able" Mark. In this second book (Thomas Nelson, 2012) in Angler's dystopian series, Logan Langley, having escaped from his marking or "pledge ceremony," is on the run from agents of the Department of Marked Emergencies (DOME), and determined to rescue his sister, who failed her own pledge some years earlier. A folk hero among the Markless and somewhat of a loner, Logan is nevertheless aided by a group of Markless known as The Dust. His former girlfriend, a marked girl whose father works for DOME, is also trying to assist. The fate of the Markless and the outcome of a late plot twist will be determined in a future installment. The very strong Christian theme, including Bible verses and songs, may be appealing to some and off-putting to others, so make purchase decisions accordingly. The lack of character depth and dialogue often unsuited to teen protagonists makes Barrie Buckner's job of narrator difficult. Jo, a member of The Dust, sounds perpetually petulant, and a British boy sounds decidedly Aussie. A halting delivery and occasional mispronunciations add to an overall lackluster delivery.

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Copyright © 2013 Library Journals, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. Reprinted with permission.

Listen to an excerpt here:



Looking for more audiobook reviews?
All of mine are here, and there's a monthly roundup of audiobook reviews.

The Limit

This is the final cover
art.  Advance Review
Copies differ.

Landon, Kristen. 2010. The Limit. New York: Aladdin.
(Advance Reader Copy)

from The Limit

...I heard a sharp gasp from Mom’s checkout worker.  My eyes shot up.  Checkout Lady had her hand over her mouth.  Mom seemed unflustered.  Checkout Lady must have made a mistake.  I kept reading. ... The usual noise and confusion of the megastore around me dimmed.  It was like it faded to almost nothing, leaving only the voices of my mom and Checkout Lady  Even Abbie put a lid on her usual nonstop chatter and stuck her thumb in her mouth.  I thought she’d stopped sucking her thumb a long time ago. 

   “I’m sure it’s a mistake,” Mom said.  “A computer glitch somewhere.”

    Checkout Lady punched a few buttons on her computer while her front teeth gnawed her lower lip like a beaver working a tree.  “I’m sorry.   It’s not a mistake. You’re over your limit.”

   An electric current zapped through me.  No. Wait. Stuff like this didn’t happen to our family.

But 13-year-old Matt was mistaken.  It did happen to his family, and now he was the one chosen by the Federal Debt Rehabilitation Agency (FDRA) to repay his family’s debt under Federal Debt Ordinance 169, Option D which decrees compulsory service in an FDRA workhouse.  Whisked away from his family by a burly guard and smooth-talking, Miss Smoot, Matt is taken to a workhouse without so much as a change of clothes.  Likely based on his above average intelligence, Matt is designated a “Top Floor,” and receives a challenging job, a rigorous school curriculum, and plush accommodations.  Unable to contact the outside world, he learns to live with his fellow “top floors,” Coop, Jeffrey, Isaac, Paige, Neela, Kia, Madeline, and the unseen and mysterious Reginald.  At first glance, all appears in order at the workhouse, but Matt and his friends begin to discover something more threatening than unpaid debts at the Midwest Federal  Debt Rehabilitation Agency workhouse.

Matt narrates this thriller about a high-tech society in which the government assigns every family a spending limit based on its income - not just any limit - the limit, the limit that cannot be exceeded without the direst of consequences. Eye scans and Big Brother-style monitoring are commonplace in this society that readers will find much like our own, where advertising and consumerism reign supreme. Although The Limit’s premise is the consequence of negligent overspending, the heart of the story is the high-tech, cat-and-mouse game between the brilliant “top floors” and the outwardly beautiful but sinister Miss Smoot, as Matt and his fellow inmates make increasingly shocking revelations as they attempt to discover the story of the other workhouse floor assignments and the headaches plaguing some inhabitants. Cautionary, but not didactic, The Limit is sure to hit a nerve with readers old enough to understand even the most basic aspects of family finances. The financially illiterate have even greater reason to read The Limit. Highly recommended.

Ms. Landon’s site offers Lesson Plans and other resources for educators.

On shelves in September.

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Tunnels

Gordon, Roderick and Brian Williams. 2008. Tunnels. New York: Chicken House (Scholastic).
ISBN: 9780439871778.

Tunnels, first published in the UK in 2007 is an international best-seller. Its 2009 sequel, Deeper, released in February, is already a New York Times Bestseller. The website http://www.tunnelsthebook.com/ is extensive and interactive.

Tunnels is a dystopian sci-fi thriller that takes place in an alternate world beneath the streets of London. Will Burrows, a fourteen-year-old loner, and his dad, Dr. Burrows, the curator of a run-down, second-rate museum share a passion for amateur archaeological digs. They spend their free time digging tunnels, uncovering Georgian artifacts, and even an old rail tunnel. Will’s sister and mother lead peculiar and mutually enabling lifestyles – Mrs. Burrows - listless and helpless, Rebecca – calm, cool and efficient. Will’s father becomes secretive when he discovers a strange group of men stalking the nearby neighborhoods and spends much time in his subterranean office. When Dr. Burrows mysteriously disappears, Will teams up with Chester, another teenage outsider, to discover what happened.

Will and Chester find themselves in grave danger when they stumble upon an eerie, dark, repressive and often violent underworld.

Tunnels is an omnipresent narrative, though most of the action is told from Will’s perspective. Its chapters are divided into three parts, Breaking Ground, The Colony, and The Eternal City. Tunnels gets off to a great start in Breaking Ground, fast-paced and intriguing. The Colony, a dark and depressing interlude, bogs down a bit, but the story picks up with plenty of danger and adventure in The Eternal City.

This is a long book, and although its dust jacket claims it to be “Potteresque,” Gordon and Williams do not have J.K. Rowling’s gift for writing a book in a series that can stand perfectly well on its own. Sci-fi and adventure fans should love Tunnels, but after 472 pages, I found myself wanting a bit more closure, however, the British flair of the book is a refreshing change. William’s black and white sketches add an appropriate eeriness to the tale.

The Giver

Lowry, Lois. 1993. The Giver. New York: Random House Audio. ISBN 0807286095.

Plot Summary:
Jonas is about to turn twelve years old - an age of importance and responsibility. At a special ceremony, he will receive his role for life in this futuristic community where discomfort, want, and uncertainty are unknown. But Jonas does not receive the duty that he expected. He is apprenticed to "The Giver," and his life and that of his community's may never be the same.

Critical Analysis:
This unabridged audio book version of The Giver consists of four CDs that run for a total of 4 hours and 47 minutes. The reader is Broadway actor, movie star, and television actor Ron Rifkin. Rifkin is the only reader, although background instrumental music is played to underscore important scenes. The packaging claims the book to be appropriate for ages 10 and up.

Rifkin did a wonderful job of giving voice to Lois Lowry's story narration and the male characters of the story. His portrayal of female dialogue, however, was not believable, particulary his impersonation of Jonas's younger sister, Lily. In spite of this shortcoming, the audio version of the book was engaging and moved along quickly enough to keep a listener interested. The use of orchestral music to highlight pivotal events was overkill, however, younger listeners might possibly need such a clue.

The Giver is a futuristic fiction tale that is suitable for classification as a YA or juvenile novel. It takes place in what initially appears to be a future utopian community, free of want, need, and uncertainty. It is a community where "preciseness of speech is required" ("starving" is not acceptable because "hungry" is more precise), a community where children are rationed and assigned to households (no more than fifty new children per year and no more than two per household), a community where each person has an assigned duty (food-bringer, nurturer, birth mother), a community where a faceless voice from a speaker issues orders and public chastisement. Finally, it is a community where those who do not conform are "released." The sterility of the setting and the preciseness and blandness of the characters' dialogue add realism to the stark world of "the community." Rifkin employs a calm and almost monotonous tone to add to the colorless world of the community.

The protagonist is Jonas, a young boy about to "come of age" at twelve. Until the age of twelve, birthdays of those in the community are celebrated "en masse," every December "ones" become "twos," "threes become fours," etc. At the significant "twelve" ceremony, children are given their assignment, their life's duty for the benefit of the community. In a world where there should be no fear, no uncertaintly, no individuality, Jonas is nonetheless uneasy. What will his duty be? Why does he notice things that others do not? Readers will relate to Jonas as his innermost thoughts are revealed through narration. The contrast between Jonas and the rest of the community will unnerve the listener as well. Listeners will identify with Jonas and feel his unease in the sterility of his world.

His assignment does not answer his questions. It merely poses more. Jonas is assigned to be "The Receiver." He must work with the elderly "Giver" to receive all of the memories and experiences outside the realm of the here and now. He may share his knowledge and experiences with no one. From "The Giver" he learns of color,of music, of cold, of hot, of sunshine and of snow. He also experiences the memories of sickness, of pain, of war, and of death. And he learns what it means to be "released" from the community. Jonas must reconcile the knowledge of what is possible in a free society with the consequences of those freedoms. Is it better to live in peace, safety, and health than to experience love, music, color, and freedom along with pain, sickness, war, and misery?

Jonas makes his choice, and the listener is left to wonder what the final consequences will be.

The ending is unresolved and somewhat symbolic. Jonas, carrying "newchild" Gabriel before him, arrives in a place outside the community on a snowy December day. He can hear music. He sees colored lights and a decorated tree. Is Gabriel symbolic of Jesus? Is Gabriel carried in front because he is like the biblical herald, heralding the arrival of the savior? Will Jonas be the savior of the community? Or has Jonas simply escaped with Gabriel? The listener is left with a hopeful, yet undetermined ending.

From ages ten to adult, this book will not leave the listener unaffected. It is sure to provoke discussion about the consequences of free choice and the very nature of society. This Newbery winner is a perennial favorite for all ages.


Review Excerpts:
"The story is skillfully written; the air of disquiet is delicately insinuated. And the theme of balancing the values of freedom and security is beautifully presented," writes Ann A. Flowers in the Jul/Aug 1993 Horn Book Magazine.

Amy Kellman writes, "This tightly plotted story and its believable characters will stay with readers for a long time." (School Library Journal May 1993)


Connections:
Lois Lowry has a website for children that is a wonderful resource. It contains a bibliography of Lowry's books, FAQs, biographical information and more.
http://www.loislowry.com/index.html

Read Lowry's two later books, Gathering Blue and The Messenger. Together with The Giver, they create a futuristic trilogy. The character of Jonas returns in The Messenger.

Before reading the sequel, have students resolve The Giver's ending.

For another thought-provoking futuristic tale, suggest
Z for Zachariah by Robert O'Brien

City of Ember

Duprau, Jeanne. 2004. The City of Ember. New York: Random House.

GR 5-9. At age twelve, all inhabitants of the perpetually dark City of Ember receive their assignments. Doon Harrow, a grave and quiet youth, gladly trades his messenger job for ebullient Lina Mayfleet’s Pipeworks laborer assignment. Although older residents recall times of plenty, the city is now plagued by power outages, shortages and deprivation. Bent nails, broken china, even old can labels are saved for reuse. Stores offer pieces of string, scraps of wood, and shreds of clothing. Doon is convinced that he will find an answer to the city’s problems underground in the Pipeworks, where the generator is kept; but not everyone is willing to admit there is a problem, especially the mayor. As the city’s power source falters and light bulbs become scarce, Lina finds a mysterious message from the past. Together, Lina and Doon seek to discover the mystery and possibly the salvation of the City of Ember.
Reminiscent of Lowry’s The Giver with a darker edge, DuPrau’s tale of dystopian survival and friendship transcends genres, mixing science fiction, mystery, and suspense while posing a question even deeper than the Pipeworks – in matters of life and death, which, if any, innately human protocols may be abandoned? In The City of Ember, Doon and Lina must choose. The palpable fear of utter darkness and the “unknown regions” add urgency to their mission. The behavior and dialogue of Doon and Lina and the other Ember inhabitants is believable and relevant to today’s youth. The action is swift and suspenseful; and readers will enjoy deciphering the cryptic message that may hold the key to the City of Ember’s future. The only disappointment in this debut novel is the cliffhanger ending. Readers may be left wishing for a more satisfying conclusion.

The movis is due out in November. I'm looking forward to it, but can't believe that the trailer gives away a key element of the novel! Read the book first!