Saturday, August 4, 2012

Fiction Friday



Time for Fiction Friday with Amanda from The Teaching Thief. Amanda, are the you the smartest thing or what for making this linky? It's been crazy fun!

This week I read three books. The first book has been on my list to read since undergrad. Now I understand what all the big business is about with this story.

You know this book would be perfect for? Teens and pre-teens whose emotions are almost too sharp to deal with. I can remember thinking that life would almost be easier if people didn't feel anything at all. 

The Giver is about a future society in which everyone is the same. They have been assimilated. There is no choice (choice causes anxiety), no surprises (surprises cause emotions), and no stimulation. They don't see in color, everyone dresses the same, and everyone's lives are identical except for the career they are assigned. 

12 year old Jonas is just like everyone else his age. He is nervous about the assignment he will be given for his career. When he is chosen to be the holder of memories a whole new world of emotions and sensations is opened for him. The Receiver of Memories is a lonely job; he is the only one who knows anything of feelings.

This is a MUST READ.



The second book I read was 


Rules is the perfect example of how complex emotions are during growing-up. Catherine just wants to have a normal life, but her autistic brother David makes that impossible. Catherine is torn between her protective love and her embarrassment of him. Things are made more complicated when she discovers a real friendship with  Jason, a boy without the ability to speak.

Catherine tries to categorize her life with David by making a list of Rules for him. But the rules can't solve everything.


Finally, I read

If you liked The Giver and Gregor the Overlander, you'll like The City of Ember. With no awareness of why, the residents of Ember live in a darkness that is only broken by electric lights that shine for prescribed hours of each day. When the lights begin to fail and food and supplies start to run out there is panic and fear. 

12 year old Lina and Doon are just beginning their assigned careers when they stumble upon a puzzling and imcomplete set of instructions and a shocking secret. Can they find the answers in time?

7 comments:

  1. The Giver is my all time favorite book EVER. I think I have seriously read it upwards of 10 times if not 20! It gives you so much to think about.

    That being said, I hated The City of Ember! I thought the author totally stole the storyline of The Giver, especially when I read that they got their community positions at age 12 and they referred to the outside world as "elsewhere". Sigh.

    But I am obsessed with The Giver so maybe I am a biased person, haha!

    Marvelous Multiagers!

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    1. Jill, I thought the same thing about Ember! Funny, it didn't bother me as much as 50 Shades bothers me in relation to Twilight.

      The Giver will go down as one of my all time favorites!!

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  2. Yay! Thanks for joining our linky again! When I first started reading your post, I was couldn't believe you got through 3 books! Dang, girl! That's a lot of reading. Then I saw your choices and I understood. Great books!

    The Giver is one of my favorites too. I reread every couple of years.

    I'm SO glad you read Rules. You already know how I feel about that one.

    And, I actually really loved City of Ember. It does mirror The Giver, but it is so much more accessible for my 4th graders. It makes a great read aloud AND the movie actually follows the book really well, so it is a nice companion. I have been told that the rest of the series is kind of a bust though, so I haven't read the rest of the Ember trilogy.

    Thanks again for linking up and sharing your love of books with me and everyone else!! :)

    Amanda
    The Teaching Thief

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  3. Heather, I am going to feature you on Friday for my first Followers Feature! Thanks for signing up. If you are interested in doing a freebie or a TPT/TN sale to coincide, just let me know and I can post about it as well. I can't wait to find some time to go through your blog here. Things look amazing.

    I love The City of Ember when I read it too. Did you know it's actually a series?
    Beth
    Thinking of Teaching

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    1. Hooray!! I think I will host a sale that day!!
      Thank you, Beth!!

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  4. I also created a "I was featured on Thinking of Teaching" button if you'd like it.
    Beth

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  5. I just nomiated you for the Liebster Award. Visit my blog to grab it!

    Sarah
    Mackey'sClassroom

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