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!

The Great Fire

Murphy, Jim. 1995. The great fire. New York: Scholastic.

(booktalk)

You may have heard the story of how Mrs. O’Leary’s cow started the great Chicago fire of 1871, but did you know that no one really knows what started the fire? The fire was first spotted by a friend of Patrick and Catherine O’Leary. “Peg Leg” Sullivan stopped to rest on a wooden sidewalk after he stopped to visit the O’Leary’s and found that the they had already retired for the night. “Peg Leg” was nearly the first casualty of the night. When the fire broke out, he rushed to the barn to save the O’Leary’s livestock. Ironically, when his wooden leg became stuck in the floor boards, it was the O’Leary’s calf that saved him. What followed was a series of truly unfortunate events that led to one of the greatest US disasters. Jim Murphy’s book details the horror of the thirty-one hour fire and its aftermath that left 100,000 people homeless. With temperatures up to 1500 degrees, the fire consumed 17,500 buildings and 73 miles of street. One survivor remembered,

All the mansions were being emptied with the greatest disorder and the greatest excitement. Nobody endeavored to stay the flames now. A mob of men and women, al screaming and shouting, ran about wildly, crossing each other’s paths, and intercepting each other as if deranged. We tried to force our way along the avenue, which was already littered with costly furniture, some of it burning in the streets under the falling sparks, but it was next to impossible…I saw a woman kneeling in the street with a crucifix help up before her and the skirt of her dress burning while she prayed. We had barely passed before a runaway truck dashed her to the ground.

Why didn’t someone pull the firebox? Why were the firefighters sent to the wrong street? Why didn’t the O’Leary’s house burn? What really happened that October night in 1871? Suspense, intrigue, history – the true story of The Great Fire has it all!

Boy Meets Boy

Levithan, David. 2003. Boy meets boy. New York: Knopf.

(booktalk)

Imagine a town and a high school where everyone, and I mean everyone, fits in. Start with Paul who has known he was gay since his kindergarten teacher wrote on his report card, “Paul is definitely gay and has very good sense of self.” Paul’s best friends are the on again-off again couple, Joni and Ted; Kyle, the ex-boyfriend; the quiet and closeted Tony; and the unforgettable Infinite Darlene, who used to be Daryl, and now is the school’s star quarterback and the homecoming queen. The cast of characters is rounded out by loving families; Chuck, the not-so-star quarterback; teachers; the Club Kids, over-achievers spread “thinner than Saran Wrap;” a Harley Davidson-riding cheerleading squad; the French Cuisine Club; Rip, the school bookie; and the newly arrived Noah, an odds-maker’s dream.

Paul has lived in this town all his life.

As we cross back through the park we see more people, mostly regulars. The Old Queen sits at his bench, reminiscing about Broadway in the 1920s. Two benches away, the Young Punk shouts loudly about Sid and Nancy and the birth of revolt. They rarely find themselves without a willing audience, but when the foot traffic slows, the Old Queen and the Young Punk sit together and share memories of events that happened long before they were born.

I explain all this to Noah, and I love the wonder that shows in his eyes. We continue to tour through the town, and everything is new to him: the I Scream Parlor, which shows horror movies as you wait for your double dip; the elementary school playground, where I used to tell the jungle gym all my secrets; the Pink Floyd shrine in our locals barber’s backyard. I know people always talk about living in the middle of nowhere – there’s always another place (some city, some foreign country) they’d rather be. But it’s moments like this that I feel live I live in the middle of somewhere. My somewhere.

He loves his town, his school, his friends and his family, and you will too as the not-so-classic story of Boy Meets Boy works its way into your heart.

The Trap

Nixon, Joan Lowery. 2002. The Trap. New York: Dell Yearling.

(booktalk)

In Joan Lowery Nixon’s, The Trap, it’s Julie Hollister who is looking forward to a miserable summer. Her Great Uncle Gabe has broken his ankle in a fall and Great Aunt Glenda needs help taking care of him. Julie’s family has decided that she is the one for the job. Her friends and teammates on the Santa Monica swim team will just have to make do without her this summer.
Aunt Glenda and Uncle Gabe live on a remote Texas ranch, Rancho del Oro; and as soon as Julie arrives, she realizes that things are not as tranquil as they appear. Uncle Gabe’s fall may not have been an accident, valuable items are disappearing, and now … well, now, there’s been a suspicious death. Julie is determined to find out what’s going on at Ranch del Oro, but the isolation of the ranch, the absolute darkness at night, and the peculiar occurrences have left her spooked.

I didn’t like being alone in the darkness, so I hurried to the kitchen door and reached for the handle. I tugged, expecting it to open, and was shocked when it didn’t budge. The door was locked.

I hadn’t locked it. I knew I hadn’t. It was the kind of knob with a center button you had to push in and turn. They were so easy for intruders to open with a credit card that everyone in Santa Monica had installed dead bolts for better protection. If I just had a credit card to push the lock back…but I didn’t.

Behind me, I heard the rustle of bushes. Whirling, I pressed my back against the door. Opposite me, at the edge of the clearing, I could sense movement. Shadowy movement I was barely able to make out. Whatever was there was well hidden by the dark night.

But I was out here with it.

Turning, I pounded on the door, yelling in panic, “Aunt Glenda! Help me! Let me in!”

You won’t want to put this mystery thriller down until you figure out The Trap.

Gregor the Overlander

Collins, Suzanne. 2003. Gregor the Overlander. New York: Scholastic.

(booktalk)

Gregor’s dad disappeared two years ago, and his life has never been the same. In the summer, it’s the worst. His mom works. His sister Lizzie is allowed to attend summer camp. But 11-year-old Gregor, the man of the house, must spend the long, hot summer at home – looking after his baby sister Margaret, better known as Boots. Worse yet, he’s got laundry to do.

As he hurried across the laundry room, Gregor heard a metallic klunk and then a giggle from Boots. “Great, now she’s dismantling the dryer,” thought Gregor, picking up speed. As he reached the far wall, a strange scene confronted him.

The metal grate to an old air duct was wide open, secured by two rusty hinges at the top. Boss was squinting into the opening, about two feet by two feet, which led into the wall of the building. From where he stood, Gregor could see nothing but blackness. Then a wisp of … what was it? Steam? Smoke? It didn’t really look lie either. Some strange vapor drifted out of the hole and curled around Boots. She held out her arms curiously and leaned forward.

“No!” yelled Gregor as he lunged for her, but Boot’s tiny frame seemed to be sucked into the air duct. Without thinking, Gregor thrust his head and shoulders into the hole. The metal grate smacked into his back. The next thing he knew, he was falling down, down, down into empty space.

So begins the epic journey of Gregor, a poor 11-year old boy from New York City, and his baby sister, Boots. They hurtle through the mysterious portal and arrive in the Underland, where they are received as the “princess”, and Gregor the Overlander, warrior of prophecy. In a world inhabited by pale humans with violet eyes and translucent skin; murderous rats of man-sized proportions; and cockroaches, bats, and spiders of gargantuan size, who can Gregor trust? Their only way back to the Overland is to fulfill the ancient prophesy, a strange quest with an uncertain outcome. With his baby sister in tow, Gregor sets off to find his destiny in Gregor the Overlander, by Suzanne Collins.