Title: Uncommon Criminals
Author: Ally Carter
Publisher: Hyperion Books, 2011
Pages: 304 p
Source: Library
Compensation: None
I know I read this book months ago but I must have forgotten to review it here! Crazy.
When we last left Kat in Heist Society she had just wrapped up robbing the Henley to prove her father's innocence. In Uncommon Criminals, Kat has accepted that she is a thief and does not belong in the regular academic world she tried so hard to fit into in the first book, but she's okay with that as long as she is stealing within her personal code. She continues to steal artwork that has already been stolen so that she can return the pieces to the original owners. In this novel, however, she's after a mysterious jewel, the Cleopatra Emerald. It's a tough job and one that requires the help of not only her immediate band of thieves, but even her estranged Uncle Charlie-- Uncle Eddie's twin.
Just like Ally Carter's other novels, Uncommon Criminals is a fun, exciting read. I read it months ago but I still remember it. If you haven't picked up any of Carter's books, get on it. She's one of my favorite current YA authors.
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Title: Crap Kingdom
Author: DC Pierson
Publisher: Viking Juvenile, 2013.
Pages: 368 p
Source: Library
Compensation: None
I first heard about this book on twitter and the combination of the title and the comedian endorsements made me add it to my to read list.
Tom Parking is your ordinary drama geek who dreams of something more, something bigger, than his small town easy life. Tom is not unhappy, he's just not particularly happy either. He gets along well with his mom, enjoys his acting, has a couple of friends at school and no major problems. Which is why he's the wrong guy to be chosen as a hero for an alternate universe in trouble. Even though he dreams of being a hero and saving the world, his life is just a tad bit not horrible enough for him to risk everything to save this other world which, quite frankly, sucks. It's not until the "Crap Kingdom" finds another chosen one that Tom realizes the opportunity he passed up and tries to help.
Crap Kingdom is not your typical hero-novel. The portal between our worlds and theirs is a clothing drop-off bin, one of those large containers for donated clothes, which opens up to a lake full of rejected clothes and laundry detergent. The people of this alternate universe all wear odd combinations of clothing that they pick up from the lake. They build their houses from garbage gathered from the human world. There are funny bits about drinking from toilet-like contraptions to help them remember their horrible lives instead of forgetting them. Tom's interactions with the townspeople and the Princess are amusing.
Crap Kingdom is a good quick read, great for boys and for readers who want to read a funny take on the hero-quest novel.
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Title: Son
Author: Lois Lowry
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin, 2012
Pages: 400 p
Source: Library
Compensation: None aside from tears
This was not an easy book for me to read. The language is easy enough and the target audience of middle schoolers will have no problem it, but as a mother, particularly as a mother with an infant sleeping upstairs, this was not an easy book for me.
Son is the fourth and final book in the "series" that began with The Giver back in 1994. Son goes back to the time period and story told in The Giver but tells it from a different point of view. Instead of Jonas's tale of the perfect society with a secret, we have Claire's tale of the secret. In this strange utopia there's no pain or fear or conflict and everyone has a role to play in the community. Claire's role is of birthmother--an important albeit unglamorous job--until she has complications delivering her product and must have an emergency c-section. Removing pain and fear from society has also removed love and joy. Birthmothers deliver their products and caregivers apply to adopt them. There are no bonds between mother and child which is why Claire is completely unprepared for her feelings of love and care for the baby she had to give up. She does the unthinkable and locates him in the nursery and attempts to connect with him--without attracting too much attention to herself. The baby is designated "failure to thrive" because he doesn't like to sleep or stay quiet and just when Claire wonders if she should try to take him and escape the village, her baby is taken by a boy on a bicycle. She doesn't hesitate to jump on a trading boat and try to follow.
We know from The Giver who the boy is and who the baby is and we know from Messenger that they survive their journey. But Son is Claire's story. So we watch as her boat is ravaged in a storm and she washes ashore in yet another strange community. This community is missing the sterile technology of Claire's home and is full of people having *feelings.* Claire has amnesia from the storm and is able to assimilate into society before she remembers her former life and the baby she needs to find. Once she does remember it still takes years for her to be physically strong enough to climb out of the valley the community is in so she can begin her search.
Son answers many "what" questions from the previous books and ties all of them together, but not many "why" questions. We still don't know why there are all of these little communities that are so remote from each other and so vastly different. But it doesn't really matter. Reading Son does not make one think about what the apocalyptic event occurred to fracture this society could be, reading Son makes one's heart beat faster wondering if Claire will find her way out and find her baby. Although we know that the baby grows up and is well taken care of (from Messenger), we don't know whether Claire ever makes it or not, and that consumes us as we read her story to find out.
It is not unreasonable for kids to read Son and any of them who have read The Giver will certainly want to finish the story. But the fast heart beat, sweaty hands, nervous reading will probably be reserved for the mom (or dad, but probably mom) who truly understands the deep emotional connection made with motherhood and how mothers will do anything for their children.
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Title: The Goddess Legacy
Author: Aimee Carter
Publisher: Harlequin Teen, 2012
Pages: 373 p
Source: Amazon Kindle
Compensation: none
The Goddess Legacy was published between Goddess Interrupted and The Goddess Inheritance, but I don't think I missed out on anything by reading it last. Unlike the other novels in the trilogy, this one is a collection of novellas each from a different point of view. The stories are told in chronological order. It opens with Hera having just overthrown Cronus and arguing with Zeus over how they will split up ruling the world. Zeus naturally thinks that he's the best candidate to rule the skies but is willing to let Hera be a Queen with him. Thus begins the conflict between the misogynistic Zeus and the ambitious Hera.
We learn Aphrodite's true capacity for love and Persephone's suffering and sacrifice. We see Hermes/James as more than just the "friend" trying to woo Kate away from Henry. We learn why they changed their names. The very last story is Hades transformation to Henry, from a lonely bitter defeated man to one with hope for the future when he finally meets Kate.
Some of the stories were better than others, but as a whole I enjoyed The Goddess Legacy. It's not necessary to read it as part of the trilogy, but it added a new layer of understanding behind some of the characters' motivations. And it helped to fill the void of finishing the series. A void so deep I actually bought the ebook! This instant gratification is a dangerous thing.
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