The Girl with the Iron Touch is the third book in Kady Cross's Steampunk Chronicles. It is sci-f-/fantasy, my favorite genre, and a little less than 400 pages.
Emily is abducted by the evil Machinist's remaining automatons and meets an astounding robot girl with traits from herself and her friends. A breathtaking finale to a great series.
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Tuesday, March 18, 2014
Book of the Week 3/10/14
Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver
Before I Fall is semi-realistic fiction. Everything is realistic except for the fact that the main character is dead and keeps coming back to life periodically throughout the book. I'd classify it as fantasy, but it really isn't fantasy.
The protagonist, Sam (as in Samantha, not Samuel), is very believable and is usually fairly easy to relate to. Be warned it's more of a girly book, but I wouldn't discourage guys from reading it. It's mature in the sense that the main character talk about sex a lot and several characters do drugs, but it's not horribly mature.
In a sense, Before I Fall is similar to Groundhog Day. The protagonist re-lives the same day several times, and it plays out differently each time.
Before I Fall is semi-realistic fiction. Everything is realistic except for the fact that the main character is dead and keeps coming back to life periodically throughout the book. I'd classify it as fantasy, but it really isn't fantasy.
The protagonist, Sam (as in Samantha, not Samuel), is very believable and is usually fairly easy to relate to. Be warned it's more of a girly book, but I wouldn't discourage guys from reading it. It's mature in the sense that the main character talk about sex a lot and several characters do drugs, but it's not horribly mature.
In a sense, Before I Fall is similar to Groundhog Day. The protagonist re-lives the same day several times, and it plays out differently each time.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Book of the Week 3/3/14
The Girl in the Clockwork Collar is the sequel to The Girl in the Steel Corset, which I read last week. Both are part of the Steampunk Chronicles by Kady Cross (who by the way is awesome).
Continuing almost directly from where the first book left off, The Girl in the Clockwork Collar once again focuses on English Finley Jayne and her friends, Duke of Greythorne Griffin King, brilliant teenage inventor Emily, cyborg giant Sam, and Jasper, the American cowboy. Jasper has gotten himself into trouble with a gang in New York and Finley, Griffin, Emily, and Sam have to fly to America to save him and his girlfriend from the wrath of an unsatisfied gang leader, Dalton. Jasper's girlfriend Mei has a clockwork collar on her neck, hence the title. The purpose of this nasty bit of jewelry? To keep Jasper in line. If he crosses Dalton, the collar on Mei's neck tightens and chokes her to death.
So, still I think it's sci-fi/fantasy. Once again, there's cursing, violence, and sexual implications (specifically a few references to prostitution), but probably nothing most 6th/7th/8th graders can't handle.
Go for it; it's a really fun series.
Continuing almost directly from where the first book left off, The Girl in the Clockwork Collar once again focuses on English Finley Jayne and her friends, Duke of Greythorne Griffin King, brilliant teenage inventor Emily, cyborg giant Sam, and Jasper, the American cowboy. Jasper has gotten himself into trouble with a gang in New York and Finley, Griffin, Emily, and Sam have to fly to America to save him and his girlfriend from the wrath of an unsatisfied gang leader, Dalton. Jasper's girlfriend Mei has a clockwork collar on her neck, hence the title. The purpose of this nasty bit of jewelry? To keep Jasper in line. If he crosses Dalton, the collar on Mei's neck tightens and chokes her to death.
So, still I think it's sci-fi/fantasy. Once again, there's cursing, violence, and sexual implications (specifically a few references to prostitution), but probably nothing most 6th/7th/8th graders can't handle.
Go for it; it's a really fun series.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Book of the Week 2/24/14
The Girl in the Steel Corset is takes place in the late eighteen-hundreds, focusing on sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne. Finley doesn't have much money, but what she does have is very unusual, powerful, and dark. Sound cliche? Get over it; it's not. Despite the story taking place over a century ago, automatons roam the streets, and technology is abundant. Many modern luxuries are made possible by the red-haired genius Emily, a young Irish inventor and friend of Griffin King, the teenage duke of Greythorne.
I'd say The Girl in the Steel Corset is Sci-Fi/Fantasy. There's some cursing, sexual implications, and a fair amount of violence. I'm not going to put an age range on it, but read it if you can handle it, don't if you can't.
By the way, there's two sequels: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar and The Girl with the Iron Touch.
I'd say The Girl in the Steel Corset is Sci-Fi/Fantasy. There's some cursing, sexual implications, and a fair amount of violence. I'm not going to put an age range on it, but read it if you can handle it, don't if you can't.
By the way, there's two sequels: The Girl in the Clockwork Collar and The Girl with the Iron Touch.
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| I think that's Finley, but the book describes her as blonde. |
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| That's Mei, who you don't meet until the second book. |
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| Unless I'm mistaken, that's Emily. |
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
Book of the Week 1/20/14
1. The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien
2. Eve & Adam by Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate
Alright, first of all, I'm apologizing for not liking Lord of the Rings. I'm sure it was good in your world. Unfortunately, I must regretfully announce that my world has an excess of homework and a lack of time, so therefore Lord of the Rings does not exist where I live. I'll try again during the summer. Second of all, holy-shit-that-book-is-good! I just finished Eve and Adam and, despite the god-awful cliche-sounding name, it's not actually that bad. Also, to add to the not-cliche-ness, the characters Adam and Eve don't end up as a couple. Thank god. The story actually has a really cool plot that's rather less non-romantic and more awesome sci-fi.
So, the book follows our protagonist Eve Spiker, the daughter of infamous millionaire scientist Terra Spiker. Right at the beginning, when Eve is hit by a car, she is completely smashed up and all but loses a leg. However, once in the hospital, she is rushed to Spiker Biopharms, the giant lab building where her mother works.
There, she meets the rebellious boxer Solo, saves her best friend's boyfriend from being beaten up by drug dealers, and sets out on a project to "play God" by creating a simulated human via incredible science and technology. In the midst of this, she inadvertently stumbles upon secrets about her criminal mother that disturb and dumbfound even her.
Read it; it's cool. There's some cussing and a lot of sexual references, but nothing horrible. Also, there's some really nasty descriptions of deformed animals, but I think you all can handle it.
Tuesday, January 21, 2014
Book of the Week 1/13/14
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring by JRR Tolkien (Oh, come on, I know you all knew that)
Yes, I finally got around to reading Lord of the Rings. And let me tell you: it is really, really long. Then again, so is Narnia, Harry Potter, and a bunch of other good stories, so who cares. It's just a little - more than a little - daunting in one volume. Yeah, I have the Lord of the Rings series in one book, which is pretty cool and I like to brag about it. Fun fact: the Lord of the Rings series was actually one 'novel' with many parts, but when it was being published, they decided it would be cheaper to publish it in three volumes. Cool, huh? However, the point of this isn't for me to ramble on and be boring, so on to the book!
The Fellowship starts out with a long prologue explaining everything ever (or almost everything) but it's worth reading. Also, it's helpful to have read The Hobbit, which, in case you don't know, takes place about fifty -no, sixty years before.
I'd call it fantasy or adventure fiction with an engaging, clearly well-developed writing style. It's fairly easy to read, but Tolkien uses interesting words. I'm not really sure what the target audience or age group would be, but I certainly think anyone would enjoy it.
However, this is kind of silly because my guess is most of you have already read Lord of the Rings.
Yes, I finally got around to reading Lord of the Rings. And let me tell you: it is really, really long. Then again, so is Narnia, Harry Potter, and a bunch of other good stories, so who cares. It's just a little - more than a little - daunting in one volume. Yeah, I have the Lord of the Rings series in one book, which is pretty cool and I like to brag about it. Fun fact: the Lord of the Rings series was actually one 'novel' with many parts, but when it was being published, they decided it would be cheaper to publish it in three volumes. Cool, huh? However, the point of this isn't for me to ramble on and be boring, so on to the book!
The Fellowship starts out with a long prologue explaining everything ever (or almost everything) but it's worth reading. Also, it's helpful to have read The Hobbit, which, in case you don't know, takes place about fifty -no, sixty years before.
I'd call it fantasy or adventure fiction with an engaging, clearly well-developed writing style. It's fairly easy to read, but Tolkien uses interesting words. I'm not really sure what the target audience or age group would be, but I certainly think anyone would enjoy it.
However, this is kind of silly because my guess is most of you have already read Lord of the Rings.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014
Book of the Week - Break (Dec 19 - Jan 5)
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline (If you just want info about the reading level, genre, etc, scroll to the bottom paragraph)
Sooo... I planned on reading the entire Lord of the Rings series over break - I have the entire story in one book - but as it turned out, I did a lot of sleeping, watching movies, and sitting in front of my laptop instead.
I did, however, get around to reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I bought it at Barnes & Noble after getting my ears pierced, and started it that night. By three in the morning, I was halfway through. Needless to say, the plot moves pretty quickly.
We start out with Wade Watts, the main character, wedged between a clothes washer and a wall in his Aunt Alice's trailer in the stacks - meaning a trailer park with several trailers stacked on top of each other to save space. Yeah. That's how awful the future is. Oh, did I mention it's the future?
In this awful new future, reality is pretty horrible, so people prefer to spend a lot of their time in the OASIS, an incredibly realistic video game world created by James Halliday and his friend Ogden Morrow. When Halliday died, he sent out a video announcing the start of the Easter Egg Hunt, where all OASIS users, or avatars, could search for the three keys to the three gates. The first avatar to make it through the third gate would inherit Halliday's enormous fortune.
Now it's all set up: a race to find the first key, get through the first gate, find the second key, go through the second gate, then find the third and final key and make it through the last gate to inherit Halliday's wealth.
I'd say the reading level wasn't incredibly hard, but it is interesting and easy to understand. WARNING: For those of you that care, there's a few fairly mature scenes and a moderate level of cussing. Overall, the plot moves pretty fast, and the story is interesting and engaging. I think it's Sci-fi/Fantasy, but even if you're not into Sci-Fi/Fantasy, the story is very enjoyable. I certainly liked it a lot.
Sooo... I planned on reading the entire Lord of the Rings series over break - I have the entire story in one book - but as it turned out, I did a lot of sleeping, watching movies, and sitting in front of my laptop instead.
I did, however, get around to reading Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. I bought it at Barnes & Noble after getting my ears pierced, and started it that night. By three in the morning, I was halfway through. Needless to say, the plot moves pretty quickly.
We start out with Wade Watts, the main character, wedged between a clothes washer and a wall in his Aunt Alice's trailer in the stacks - meaning a trailer park with several trailers stacked on top of each other to save space. Yeah. That's how awful the future is. Oh, did I mention it's the future?
In this awful new future, reality is pretty horrible, so people prefer to spend a lot of their time in the OASIS, an incredibly realistic video game world created by James Halliday and his friend Ogden Morrow. When Halliday died, he sent out a video announcing the start of the Easter Egg Hunt, where all OASIS users, or avatars, could search for the three keys to the three gates. The first avatar to make it through the third gate would inherit Halliday's enormous fortune.
Now it's all set up: a race to find the first key, get through the first gate, find the second key, go through the second gate, then find the third and final key and make it through the last gate to inherit Halliday's wealth.
I'd say the reading level wasn't incredibly hard, but it is interesting and easy to understand. WARNING: For those of you that care, there's a few fairly mature scenes and a moderate level of cussing. Overall, the plot moves pretty fast, and the story is interesting and engaging. I think it's Sci-fi/Fantasy, but even if you're not into Sci-Fi/Fantasy, the story is very enjoyable. I certainly liked it a lot.
| The cover! |
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| The other cover! |
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| Wade, climbing down from his aunt's trailer in the stacks. |
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