Reading Abounds

Title:  The Hunger Games Series: The Hunger Games Trilogy Author: Suzanne Collins Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 30907 Description: In a future North America, where the rulers of Panem maintain control through an annual televised survival competition that pits young people against one another, sixteen-year-old Katniss is challenged, when she voluntarily takes her younger sister's place. Rubric Rating: Level 3: Laud It Why I Read It : There were so many people talking about this novel and recommending it, I thought I better get on the bandwagon. Lori's Notes: In order to protect her sister Prim, Katniss volunteers to take her place in the Hunger Games.  Before the games begin, Peeta, the boy chosen from her district, confesses to having a crush on Katniss.  She thinks this is just Peeta's strategy for the game.  However, it gives them both an opportunity to survive. Something that has never before happened in the games.  However, this may put Peeta and ...

Title: A Thief in the House of Memory Author: Tim Wynne-Jones Perma-Bound Canada Catalogue #: 297240 Description:   The death of an apparent stranger in the Steeple family's old home triggers troubling questions for sixteen-year-old Declan as he tries to make sense of his fragmented dreams, random memories, and unexplained coincidences, hoping to learn the truth about the mother who suddenly left when he was ten. ***Canadian Author*** Rubric Rating: Level 2: Like It Why I Read it: I loved this book's title and the air of mystery of the cover.  The gate surrounding a misty mansion evoked such a foreboding atmosphere as well as the idea of something being locked away.  Plus it's a Canadian Author. Lori's Notes:    The book started well, a death in an old mansion on a hill captures your interest right away.  Being based in Eastern Ontario I also found the setting recognizable.  I expected it to be a suspenseful novel but it was rather a bo...

Title: The False Prince Series: The Ascendance Trilogy Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 69857 Description:  In the country of Carthya, a devious nobleman engages four orphans in a brutal competition to be selected to impersonate the king's long-missing son in an effort to avoid a civil war. Rubric Rating: Level 3: Laud It! Why I Read It: I actually picked this book out for my husband to read as he's a fan of the fantasy genre.  However, he left it on his desk and I snatched it up after reading the first chapter. Lori's Notes:  The royal family is dead.  King Eckbert, Queen Erin, and the Crown Prince Darius have been killed - the country of Carthya just doesn't know it yet.  The King and Queen's youngest son, Prince Jaron, has been missing for the last four years and presumed dead.  To prevent a possible war with the surrounding countries or a takeover by one of the twenty regents, Bevin Connor recruits four orphan boys - ...

Title: Holes Author: Louis Sachar Perma-Bound Catalogue #: 138616 Description:   As further evidence of his family's bad fortune which they attribute to a curse on a distant relative, Stanley Yelnats is sent to a hellish correctional camp in the Texas desert where he finds his first real friend, a treasure, and a new sense of himself. Rubric Rating: Level 4: Love It! Why I Read It: This book was highly recommended to me by an associate and I have to say that it did not disappoint. Lori's Notes:   While the cover was quite boring, the contents were not and it quickly became one of my favourite read alouds with my son.  Stanley has had his fair share of bad luck.  It seems to run in the family.  After being wrongly accused of theft Stanley ends up at Camp Green Lake digging Holes. With the plot extending to include Green Lake's shady history, the present day camp, as well as Zero and Stanley's personal family histories, the characters are destined to...