S.A. Bodeen - The Raft - Book Review

   

                                                
After reading S.A. Bodeen's initial two books (The Compound and The Gardner), both of which I enjoyed immensely, I felt that it was time to read her third. As a result, I ordered this on the strength of thinking that this book would probably end up going in the same direction as the other books. Therefore I  never looked at the synopsis, but I did get an idea from the book cover and the title of what I may encounter. However it soon arrived and I got quickly around to reading it but with quite some surprise!

This is the synopsis that I never read.

Robie is an experienced traveler. She’s taken the flight from Honolulu to the Midway Atoll, a group of Pacific islands where her parents live, many times. When she has to get to Midway in a hurry after a visit with her aunt in Hawaii, she gets on the next cargo flight at the last minute. She knows the pilot, but on this flight, there’s a new co-pilot named Max. All systems are go until a storm hits during the flight. The only passenger, Robie doesn’t panic until the engine suddenly cuts out and Max shouts at her to put on a life jacket. They are over miles of Pacific Ocean. She sees Max struggle with a raft.

And then . . . she’s in the water. Fighting for her life. Max pulls her onto the raft, and that’s when the real terror begins. They have no water. Their only food is a bag of Skittles. There are sharks. There is an island. But there’s no sign of help on the way.

I can definitely state that if I had read the synopsis first then I would never have entertained reading this book. After all, where are the guns, blood, action and the secret underground base full of spies? I hear you asking me as to whether I have taken leave of my senses but . . . . I really did enjoy it.  I know that as a result of this admission, I may find that a few of my followers may disappear. However don't leave ME . . .  I probably need you more than ever now!

The first thing that I really noticed in this story was the lack of characters. The main character is Robie and the story is told from her point of view. I'm sure that this would be particularly engaging and meaningful from a female teenage reader's perspective, as I feel they'll be able to perhaps relate to the character on so many more levels than I did.

I did follow the journey, from the beginning to the end, knowing that it was going to be predictable. However that's the only negative  thing that I can say about this book. This was a very gripping read which was told in a very fast and engaging way. It managed to pull off the realism of the situation; being able to portray the right mind set of a person who unfortunately found themselves in such circumstances. It felt like the story was written by a survivor.

The book was eaten up in no time at all - about three hours in total to travel through the 220 pages or so.  

Whilst this is a great little read, I'm still looking forward to more books along the lines and style of The Gardener!

Publisher: Feiwel & Friends; 1 edition (21 Aug 2012) - Age: 12+

Paolo Bacigalupi - Ship Breaker - Book Review

Occasionally I cross into the realms of adult literature - not too long ago I had the rare opportunity to do just this. I managed to read a copy of "The Windup Girl" by Paolo Bacigalupi, which I really enjoyed. So when I found out that he was writing for a younger audience, I was very eager to get my hands on a copy, which I eventually did.

This book draws you into the dystopian future, which is set in a world of climate change and environmental disaster. It shows a grim picture of reality for some, who work and live in poverty. Nailer finds life tough; working for a salvage company and delivering the quota for each day. But fortunately the boy has dreams and a certain amount of luck on his side, as he encounters many a tough and testing time.

The more you read this book, the more you are drawn into the murkier reality, which leaves an unsettling feeling in your stomach. It is very gritty and has you on the edge of your seat - hoping for the good characters to overcome evil and survive the battles ahead.

The book encompasses a lot of feeling and many questions are asked about money - about it being the power and the driving force for everything. The significant relationships between society and friendship versus family life are also asked, which link to the plot very well.

The book is well written but I feel it has a slightly stilted start, perhaps due to a number of vague characters being introduced at the beginning of the book. However once you become acclimatised to the story and the characters, you find yourself immersed within the story world and find it hard to leave. 

In America's Gulf Coast region, where grounded oil tankers are being broken down for parts, Nailer, a teenage boy, works the light crew, scavenging for copper wiring just to make quota--and hopefully live to see another day. But when, by luck or chance, he discovers an exquisite clipper ship beached during a recent hurricane, Nailer faces the most important decision of his life: Strip the ship for all it's worth or rescue its lone survivor, a beautiful and wealthy girl who could lead him to a better life. . . .

The adrenalin rush towards the end of the book is immense - a cup of tea is certainly required in order to calm down. The action packed end brings all the emotions to a climax, as the journey comes to an end with a bang. I hope the author ventures into another book for the Younger Adult audience in the future.

I am very interested to hear what others think about this book. 


Published by Little Brown Books - 1 May 2010

Pete Johnson - The TV Time Traveller

Mr Ripley's word of mouth book for June. Covers the subject of world war in a new concept for children and teachers.


This book really started in a primary school classroom, over thirty years ago.

My favourite teacher, Mr Karr, had the excellent habit of ending each day with a story. But one day, instead, he read aloud from diaries and letters of children who'd been evacuated during the
Second World War. At first I was a bit cross at not having a proper story - but soon I was absolutely riveted. I t stirred up an interest in World War II - and especially life on the home front - which has endured to this very day.

Then, a little while ago, I was chatting with a Year Five teacher who had to teach Evacuation as a topic. She was saying to me. 'It's hard to bring such a time alive to modern children because their lives are so very different with their mobile phones and wall to wall reality television.'

Now, when she said that I didn't exactly jump up and cry ' Eureka' but I tell you, I came pretty close.
And right then I began imagining a reality television show which sent modern children away to live life exactly as those evacuees did, with rationing and gas masks and very strict discipline. Yet, it would also be a 'Big Brother' style show with constant surveillance, evacuees being voted out - and a mysterious command to: 'always expect the unexpected.'

We watch the clash of two very different worlds through the eyes of five children including, Zac. Since the death of his mother, Zac has felt as if he is stuck in a horrible dark void. But his passionate interest in the war years though, has given him a secret door into another time. So the chance to live as an evacuee appears like a dream come true ...

But nothing on a reality television show is what it seems ...

Researching this book has been a special pleasure. I've loved, too, constructing a twisty plot, which asks questions about both life then and now - and I hope too, it shows the past isn't quite as faraway from us as we might think.

Book Synopsis

Zac and Izzy win a place on a new reality TV show, but they have no idea where they're going or what to expect ...They must live as if it's 1939, the start of World War Two. One by on they will be voted out by the viewing public. It's a hard life and, desperate to be the final winner, problems occur. When the live final arrives, the contestants and the audience will all be stunned by what occurs.

About the Author

PETE JOHNSON began work as a film critic for Radio One, then became a teacher. His experiences in the classroom led to his beginning to write and he still keeps contact with a panel of young readers to gain the viewpoint of the actual reader as he writes new titles. He is the author of several titles for the Corgi Yearling list.


Corgi Yearling Books (4 Jun 2009)

Neil Gaiman - The Graveyard The Newbery Medal Winner 2009

This is the story how you make some one very very happy. I would like to say it's well deserved. The following Writing is taken from Neil Gaiman's personal journal...............This morning.

The great thing about having a dead day in a hotel after a long junket, and this Monday was one of those, is you have nothing to get up for. So I had a very long late lazy bath in the small hours of the morning, and then stayed up talking to a friend on the phone, and then I read...

I drifted off to sleep with a Jack Benny show playing on the iPod around 3:30 am. I set the alarm for 11.00 am because I didn't have anything to get up early for, and planned to wake a little before the alarm, and start writing. I closed my eyes...

And then the phone was ringing. I think it may have been ringing for some time. In fact, I thought as I surfaced, it had already rung and then stopped ringing once, which meant someone was calling to tell me something. Probably the hotel was burning down. I picked up the phone. It was my assistant, Lorraine, sleeping over at my place with a convalescent dog.

"Merrilee called, and she thinks someone is trying to get hold of you," she told me. I told her what time it was (viz. five thirty in the bloody morning here is she out of her mind some of us are trying to sleep here you know.) She said she knew what time it was in LA, and that Merrilee, who is my literary agent, sounded really definite that this was important.

I got out of bed. Checked voicemail. No, no-one was trying to get hold of me. I called home, to tell Lorraine that it was all nonsense -- "It's okay," she said. "They called here. They're on the other line. I'm giving them your cellphone number."

I was not yet sure what was going on or who was trying to do what. It was 5:45 in the morning. No-one had died, though, I was fairly certain of that. My cell-phone rang.

"Hello. This is Rose Trevino. I'm chair of the ALA Newbery Committee..." Oh. Newbery. Right. Cool. I may be an honors book or something. That would be nice, "and I have the voting members of the Newbery Committee here, and we want to tell you that your book..."

"THE GRAVEYARD BOOK," said fourteen loud voices, and I thought, I may be still asleep right now, but they probably don't do this, probably don't call people and sound so amazingly excited, for Honors books....

"...just won..."

"THE NEWBERY MEDAL" they chorused. They sounded really happy. I checked the hotel room because it seemed very likely that I was still fast asleep. It all looked reassuringly solid.

You are on a speakerphone with at least 14 teachers and librarians and suchlike great, wise and good people, I thought. Do not start swearing like you did when you got the Hugo. This was a wise thing to think because otherwise huge, mighty and fourletter swears were gathering. I mean, that's what they're for. I think I said, You mean it's Monday?

"You can tell your agent and your publisher, but no-one else," said Rose. "And it will be announced in about an hour."

And I fumfed and mumbled and said something of a thankyouthankyouthankyouokaythiswasworthbeingwokenupfor nature.

Then I phoned my agent and my publisher, both of whom seemed to have intuited my news already through secret methods, but it may have just been that I was calling them on this particular Monday morning (and, in retrospect, someone must have phoned someone to get my home phone number). (Merrilee-my-agent: "You didn't start swearing, did you?" Me: "No." Her: "Oh good.")

I called Maddy, spoke to her, and she was beyond delighted, and I told her to try not to tell anybody about it, and told her lovely mum, who was thrilled for me.

Then I got a phone call from Elyse, Harperchildren publicist, wanting to know if I could fly in from LA to New York to be on the Today Show tomorrow morning.

Gayle Forman - If I stay

I have been asked to let you know about a very special book called "If I Stay" because it's the kind of book which is personal, which found a place in ever readers heart and we hope it might have the same effect on you.

If I Stay is written by American author, Gayle Forman, and will be published in hardback in May this year. It is a very powerful book which opens on a cold, winter day in mid-town America and follows 17-year-old Mia's life. One tragic and devastating event turns her world upside down, and in that instant, nothing will ever be the same. Poignant, heartrending, magnificent, If I Stay, reads like an gripping page turner and will make you appreciate all that you have - as well as all that might be.This book dose contain adult content.

This is a real word-of-mouth book, the kind of book you want to talk about after you're read it, that stays with you for weeks.Thank you in anticipation.

The Synopsis

'Just listen,' Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel. I open my eyes wide now. I sit up as much as I can. And I listen. 'Stay,' he says. Everybody has to make choices. Some might break you. For seventeen-year-old Mia, surrounded by a wonderful family, friends and a gorgeous boyfriend decisions might seem tough, but they're all about a future full of music and love, a future that's brimming with hope. But life can change in an instant. A cold February morning ...a snowy road ...and suddenly all of Mia's choices are gone. Except one. As alone as she'll ever be, Mia must make the most difficult choice of all. Gripping, heartrending and ultimately life-affirming, "If I Stay" will make you appreciate all that you have, all that you've lost - and all that might be.

About the Author
GAYLE FORMAN is an award-winning author and journalist whose articles have appeared in numerous publications, including Seventeen, Cosmopolitan and Elle in the US. She lives in Brooklyn with her family.