Red Queen By Victoria Aveyard

       Mare Borrow has lived with Reds her entire life. She is a Red herself. Until she finds herself swept up in the chaos of the Silver market. While she is there the market is attacked by rebellious Reds and her sister ends up getting injured before they can flee and escape back to their home. The next day Silver guards knock on their door and Mare is swept back to the Silver capitol to become a servant for the royals. When Queenstrial comes and she falls into the lightning field she discovers powers she never knew she had.
       I've really enjoyed the beginning of Red Queen. There has been a lot of action which has helped the story remain interesting and fast paced. The characters are well developed with few gaps in their stories. The plot is a bit confusing because of how much has happened in such a short amount of time, but otherwise the story makes sense. I would definitely recommend this book to people who like dystopian novels.

Currently Reading: Red Queen

SOL - Dear Math And Other Annoyances

Dear Math and Other Annoyances,

       All of you only add problems to my life. Math, you add extra assignments and tests and studying. Though you are one of the less annoying topics and I do enjoy your company, you are still not the most fun thing in the world.

       Español, también no son lo peor, aunque me obligan a levantarse temprano dos veces por semana. A veces me siento tan cansado que no puedo concentrarme en lo que estoy haciendo, y eso hace que la tarea increíblemente difícil.

       (Spanish, you are also not the worst, though force me to wake up early twice a week. Sometimes I am so tired I can't focus on what I'm doing, and that makes the homework incredibly difficult.)

       And lastly, sports. You are perhaps the least annoying of all, though you exhaust me and make homework difficult. In the fall and spring I appreciate having something to do in the afternoons, especially the games. Games are the most fun.

Sincerely,

Selah

Ship Breaker By Paolo Bacigalupi

       Inside the crumbling hulls of huge oil tankers there is no making mistakes. No stepping in the wrong spot or cutting the wrong wire. On light crew Nailer is forced to venture into such ships and rescue the copper wire and other valuable materials. Day after day of painful and tiring labor left Nailer's father a drunk and addict, and Nailer rarely goes home, living in fear of being beaten. All of this changes when he and Pima come across a wrecked clipper ship. A ship full of riches with enough worth to get them off the island. But the most important object is a single girl.

       I really enjoyed Ship Breaker. I feel like the characters were well written and the plot was continuously interesting, though there were some confusing points. When there was a lot of action going on I felt like the author sometimes left out pieces of the story, making it make less sense. Besides this though, I feel like the story line was unique and the characters were interesting to learn about. I would recommend this book to people who like dystopian fiction and action.

SOL - Snow

       Waking up to snow is almost as bad as waking up to a 100 degree day. Especially after you haven't slept well. Today I woke up before the alarm and could tell though the blinds that the weather was in a foul mood. I cracked open my door and trudged to the bathroom, not even bothering to look outside.
       "Good morning!" My mom says from her room. "Your uniform is dry, though I doubt you'll be having a game today with all the snow." I finally look outside to the grey sky and floppy white flakes and groan internally. I am not particularly fond of snow, even though I've lived with it my whole life, and almost never like waking up to it. Especially not in April. Four months into the year new snow should not be falling. If anything is going to fall from the sky it should be rain. I love rain. That's why I like spring. Usually.
       Walking outside is a whole new task entirely. There's no way to get around the large flakes, and I end up covered before I even reach the front of the car. Once in the car the drive's not so bad. We get the heater going and warm up, the snow slowly melting off our jackets. The worst part of the drive is the traffic. Other cars are going so slowly that we end up crawling our way to school. As we pull onto the school property "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" comes on the radio and I'm pulled back to another time where there wasn't snow on the ground and I was dressed up, performing in front of 80 people. Those were good times. We pull into the loop and I'm forced to get out of my warm, dry haven and embark on the treacherous journey to the front doors.

The Scorch Trials By James Dashner

       Once the Gladers make it out of the maze and into the waiting arms of their supposed rescuers, they feel a sense of security that has been missing for the entirety of their remembered lives. They are taken to a dormitory far away from the worst parts of the city and are given clean clothes, food, and beds. Teresa is isolated from the rest of the group, and when they wake up the next morning she is gone, they're locked in their room, and cranks are breaking their windows and trying to attack them. And that's only the beginning.
       I have thoroughly enjoyed the first 100 pages of The Scorch Trials. The action continues and the characters continue to be built by their choices and actions. Like The Maze Runner, I would recommend The Scorch Trials to people who enjoy dystopian fiction and action packed books.

SOL - It. Was. Wonderful.

       My foot connects with the ball and I send it flying, almost hitting a girl from the other team square in the face. She ducks at the last second and the ball is successfully played up field. Offense takes it the rest of the way and shoots right past the goalie into the net.
       We all go back to kick off positions and repeat the process of stealing and fighting for the ball before scoring again. We do this over and over until the end of the game, each time getting more and more optimistic about finally winning a game. By the end of the game the score is 6 - 0, us 6, Boulder Country Day 0. And the best part was it was my first game this season and I got to play the entire time. I was never subbed out. Not once. It. Was. Wonderful.

Room 214 by Helen Frost and The Maze Runner by James Dashner

       Over break I read Room 214 by Helen Frost and finished The Maze Runner by James Dashner. Room 214 is about the lives and interactions of a classroom of students, their teacher, and the school custodian. The story is told in poems written by the characters about the other student and things going on in their lives. Room 214 is an interesting book, and is written in a unique style. Because the poems are written by different people it keeps the story interesting. I would recommend this book to people who enjoy verse novels and quick reads.

       The conclusion to The Maze Runner wasn't satisfying, though it is only the first in the series and the story continues. The book remained interesting and fast paced, and I would still recommend it to people who enjoy dystopian novels and action packed reads. I am currently reading The Scorch Trials, the second book in the series, and am still on the edge of my seat as the action continues.