BrianGriggs.com

Tallest librarian in the world

Archive for the ‘Action’ category

Heist Society by Ally Carter

January 7th, 2010

I welcomed in 2010 (or MMX, as I’m going to call it) by finishing Heist Society by Ally Carter. I’m a huge fan of the Gallagher Girls series, so I was very interested to see how this new set of books would play out.

It is a new series, to be clear. Cammie does not show up at all, although I think a Cammie vs. Kat showdown (in the same degree as a Batman vs. Superman, Spider-man vs. Wolverine conflict) is in order. Kat demonstrates the same strong protagonist characteristics as Cammie. I would argue Kat shows even more.

The set-up is that Kat has left the family business of thieving and has tried to pull off the ultimate con: live a normal life at a boarding school. News of her father’s trouble reaches her and she must get back into the game to save her dad.

If you are a fan of movies like Oceans 11 or The Italian Job, this is a must-read. Kat has to assemble her crew and each contributes their special abilities towards the goal of robbing the Henley. You’ve got your tech person, your pickpocket, and your diplomatic “face”. How the crew cases the museum is pretty funny and the tone highlights the fact that these characters are not the villains of the book, even if they are trying to steal thousands of dollars worth of paintings. There is genuine concern for the characters’ safety, but not to the extreme of Hunger Games/Catching Fire.

I feel like Kat has more focus on her objectives than Cammie did. Cammie could be distracted very easily by Zach and Josh. Kat still has two boys to try and figure out, but her long-time friend Hale outclasses Nick the pickpocket by far. (I know that this point will become an issue of debate in February when Heist Society hits the shelves, but come on! Hale is awesome.)

The book does have a more mature feel than the Gallagher Girls, a fact enhanced by Kat’s level of maturity. It’s not like there’s any questionable content; you can just tell that Kat has seen more of the world. The author mixes references to historical events and actual locations with fictional characters, locales, and pieces of art. It’s a great world that Ally Carter has envisioned.

What’s really exciting is to see Ally Carter mature as a writer with each book she creates. It would be easy for a series writer to slack off with one of the books ([cough]Final Warning[/cough]) and many times I finish book one to a series thinking that more plot could have gone into the first book. Heist Society has great pacing and can stand alone as its own book. You definitely want to hang out with the likes of Uncle Eddie and Bobby Bishop more (and figure out who framed Kat’s dad), but you could stop at Heist Society and know you’ve enjoyed a complete story.

I wouldn’t recommend stopping after just one book, though. Ally’s currently working on book two while we wait for GG4: Only the Good Spy Young to come out in June. Make sure you grab a copy of Heist Society in February (librarians, you’ll want multiple copies).

No comments »

Posted in Action, Ally Carter, Mystery, Romance

Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz

November 30th, 2009

Over the weekend, when I wasn’t figuring out Google Wave, I finished Crocodile Tears by Anthony Horowitz. Stormbreaker (as well as Haddix’s Among the Hidden) was the first YA book I read as a junior high teacher and it helped me to see how that market of books has developed over the years. If you remember my review of Ghost in the Machine by Patrick Carman, I made reference to how much I enjoyed Scorpia (my favorite of the series) and how Ark Angel was a letdown for me. (Yes, I’ve read Snakehead.)

As I began Crocodile Tears, I thought, “Can this get me back from ‘I enjoy the series’ to ‘I rave about the series’?”

I love how Horowitz starts out the novels with an opening scene much like a James Bond movie. We see minor characters involved in some sort of trauma, introducing a sliver of the main conflict. We also don’t see Alex Rider, for the most part. Chapter one gets you hooked with a disaster at a nuclear power plant. A charity swoops in to help immediately and we are instantly suspicious that the charity may have known ahead of time when the disaster was going to happen.

I was nervous, at first. I’m a huge supporter of helping out wherever you can, even internationally, so I was hoping that Horowitz would not paint a jaded view on aid organizations. There’s a great conversation where Alex Rider is defending people who donate because it’s the right thing to do, not because they’re playing some kind of game.

Desmond McCain is a good villain in the spy movie sense. There are some times where the cheaper, easier way to win would be to just kill Alex and be done with it. Nope. Just like it’s mentioned in Pixar’s Incredibles, the villain monologues and explains the plan, trusting the henchmen to finish the job. Not the most logical way to enact your evil schemes, but it definitely fits the style.

A student and I had debated on whether Alex Rider had actually killed anyone in his books. The villains pursue him to the “Captain Ahab” level of obsession to their own demise. In this one it’s pretty clear: bad guy is going to kill Alex, Alex kills him first – but it’s under a spy code of morality.

You point a gun at someone and shoot, you’re an assassin.
You create an elaborate plan to watch the person die, you’re a supervillain.
You create an elaborate plan using just what’s on you at the moment (perhaps feeling a degree of remorse), you’re a super spy.

Alex is angst-ier this time around.

Something that I had lost sight of is that the entire series has just been one year in Alex’s life. In other words, he has missed a TON of school. Crocodile Tears highlights this; the adults finally realize that this 14 year-old should probably attend a full day of school from time to time.

It’s definitely not the end to the series. There is still room for Alex to grow throughout the years. Crocodile Tears is an enjoyable read. (I’m still biased towards Scorpia, but I’m excited to see where the series goes.)

No comments »

Posted in Action, Anthony Horowitz, Spy

The Way of the Warrior by Andrew Matthews

November 17th, 2009

There are many books with the title Way of the Warrior, so if you want to read this book, make sure it’s the book by Andrew Matthews.

I picked up this book because it was a short read. After a big epic-type book like Leviathan, I wanted a book that I could speed through. Also, despite their popularity, there are not many stories about samurai in the YA market (or at least ones that promise a little bit of realism). I started it wondering how authentic the book would be to 16th century Japanese lifestyle.

The Way of the Warrior by Andrew Matthews is the story of Jimmu, a 10 year-old boy whose father dies in the first chapter of the book. Jimmu is then taken in by Nichiren, his father’s bodyguard. The set-up for the quest is that they will search for Lord Ankan, the person responsible for destroying Jimmu’s family.

The book reads like a good samurai movie, such as Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai or Hiroshi Inagaki’s Musashi Miyamoto. Because the book is so short, the action sequences move very quickly. It’s not these long, drawn-out Hollywood scenes. One or two sword slashes determine the end of a duel. Something that I did not expect was who would live and who would die by the end of the book. I figured, “Hey. This character has a name, we know his background; he must be…” and then the character was dead on the ground. That kept me guessing and really added to my enjoyment of the story.

Characters that I was pretty certain would make it were the rulers from that time period. I knew that Tokugawa Ieyasu would make it since he eventually helped unite most of Japan. I’ll be honest with you, though. Most of my knowledge of 16th century Japan comes from playing Kessen on the PS2, so I had to check my facts with a little research.

For being such a short story, the characters do develop a little. It’s not all swordfights; there are traces of dialogue (although the conversation sometimes ended in swords being drawn).

Final verdict: I think it’s an enjoyable read, much better than most books that length.

No comments »

Posted in Action, Historical

Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld

November 3rd, 2009

This is one that I had been waiting for for a long time. In my opinion there are not enough books out there about giant robots.

In addition, there are many more books about World War II than World War I. I wonder if it’s because more veterans from WWII are alive, or if our perceptions of the war have clearer boundaries between right and wrong, or maybe it’s because Indiana Jones fought Nazis and we all want to be like Harrison Ford.

Leviathan is a steampunk version of World War I. The Clankers (Westerfeld has such a knack for fun to say words) consist of the Austrians, Germans, and Ottoman Empire. Alek is a Clanker, trained in the art of fighting with giant robots. Steampunk is a subgenre of sci-fi, with the technology being more like Jules Verne and from that transition into the 20th century. The Clanker mechs run off of kerosene, steam, an a whole lot of levers and gears.

The other side fights with genetically engineered whales. I mean, obviously.

You do have the two perspectives, one protagonist from Clanker, the other from Darwinist, and of course they’re going to cross paths – this is a YA book. Deryn has a whole Mulan thing going on, hiding the fact that she’s a girl so that she can enlist for the Darwinist forces. We’ve seen that plot hook done many times before, but it’s a necessity if you’re talking British military from 1914. We’ve also seen the shipwrecked airship mixed with a feisty female scientist, like Ken Oppel’s Airborn series.

Even though many parts of Westerfeld’s book are tropes used in other stories, Westerfeld still puts his fun spin on them for an enjoyable book. Another fun aspect is looking up the real life events and people from World War I to further explore this alternate history. It is a series; I am anxiously awaiting book two. The first booktalks today for book one drew a lot of student interest.

No comments »

Posted in Action, Historical, Sci-fi, Scott Westerfeld

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

November 3rd, 2009

I’ll be honest: when I got an advanced reading copy of The Maze Runner, it was in a bundle with Catching Fire. Me being the Hunger Games fan that I am, I went straight for Catching Fire. I set aside Maze Runner for a little bit. To be fair to James Dashner, I didn’t want to read it so close to another arena survival book that I knew I would obsess over.

I did pick up Maze Runner and enjoyed it. The focus is not so much on nature survival as it is on trying to figure out why the teens are in the maze. Protagonist Thomas has had his memory wiped and wakes up in a box. When the box opens, he is in The Glade, a place for Peter Pan-esque Lost Boys to congregate. Thomas gets curious about the maze and wants to be a Runner to help map out the pathways and perhaps lead the other teens out of the maze.

It is a definite first book to a series. A majority of the book is focused on setting up this strange world and building intrigue into who the creators of the maze are. There are some action sequences throughout, like facing off against maze denizens such as the Grievers, but the big action sequences are saved for the end.

No comments »

Posted in Action, Sci-fi

H.I.V.E. by Mark Walden

August 21st, 2009

If you are a fan of James Bond, this is a book for you.

Where do all of those supervillains learn their tricks? The Higher Institute of Villainous Education offers many courses that would make other schools cringe. Otto is joined by other students who show promise at becoming villains as they try and figure out exactly why the school was formed.

One of the funnier scenes in the book is when some of the older students are talking with each other about the main enemy agent. He always has a similar style and demeanor, but his face always changes. This is in direct reference to the James Bond movies, parodying how the main character is played by different actors.

Much of the book revolves around different tests, like trying to swing across a pit of spikes using grapple gloves or discovering a way to amplify a superweapon. Where the action really picks up is when Otto and his circle of allies decide to escape from the island compound.

H.I.V.E. is a fun, light-hearted adventure with some larger than life scenes that many junior highers will enjoy.

No comments »

Posted in Action, Spy

Hunger Games Movie

July 14th, 2009

Scholastic is all over Facebook announcing that there will be a Hunger Games movie scheduled for 2011. It will be interesting to see how it plays out. I would like to see it scheduled for summer, like a blockbuster, instead of the normal winter release dates for YA books-turned movies.

You can find more info at the IMDb and the Scholastic page. It’s interesting seeing the illustrations of the characters.

You can also check out the game here.

1 comment »

Posted in Action, Administrative, Movie

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

June 16th, 2009

What’s the toughest part about Hunger Games? After finishing it, the next book that I read just doesn’t have as much grab for me.

I wonder if that’s a problem for Suzanne Collins. As I talked with students and staff about what to expect with Catching Fire, we had no clue how the author would follow up such a great story.

Now I can’t figure which one’s my favorite.

We knew that there would be rebellion. There’s no way that Capitol officials would let Katniss’ act of defiance go unnoticed. In the first book it is made very clear that Panem resembles Ancient Rome, hosting the games to crush the spirits of the rebels by crushing their kids.

Book two starts out with Katniss on a victory tour. The haunting President Snow warns her that her actions affect more than herself, a poorly veiled threat that her family is in danger unless districts are calmed down into obedience.

While people hold on to a strand of hope, they can still fight.

Katniss has been swept up in events larger than herself and has become the face of the resistance. In this way it keeps with characteristics of a successful YA book: a protagonist that ends up on her own and must figure out who she is, what she truly stands for, as forces push her from all sides.

I’ll be honest: in the first book, I cheered when the games started. I couldn’t put the book down once we had seen the tributes standing on the platforms in the minefield. I stayed up until the early morning, finishing the book and many caffeinated beverages.

In Catching Fire, seeing people thrown into the Games sickened me. I was literally distressed for the characters and angry at Panem’s injustice. I couldn’t stand the Capitol citizens’ compliance with how things were being run.

I have a renewed sense of social activism after reading the book. Seeing food so readily available, with Capitol socialites purposely vomiting so that they could gorge on more, reminded me that there are so many hungry people out there, in our country and others. We need to take action to help our fellow humans – and we’re running out of time.

If there’s one theme repeated throughout the book, it’s that your own mortality is a countdown. We have limited time. Katniss realizes what her goal is and is in a race to meet that goal before her life is snuffed out. She sees the other victors for who they are, as people scarred from the previous Games, people who need compassion but have been dehumanized for society’s entertainment. (One of the victors paints his nightmares from the Games. He has not slept a solid night since being thrown into the arena.)

Pretty challenging stuff for a teen book. But what Suzanne Collins does extremely well is take issues like social concern and mortality and blend it with an engaging, action-packed story. It’s a story that junior high and high school students can connect with, as evidenced by my students constantly having this book on a wait list.

When September 1 comes around, make sure you grab a copy (or four) to continue one of my favorite series. With book two, we knew that there would be rebellion. Book three is scheduled to wrap up the trilogy – I think I have a clue as to what will happen next, but I know that Suzanne Collins will blow away my expectations.

2 comments »

Posted in Action, Sci-fi, Society-Challenging, Survival, Suspense

Excited about Catching Fire

June 11th, 2009

The rebellion begins today.

No comments »

Posted in Action, Sci-fi, Society-Challenging, Survival

Percy Jackson and the Olympians Prediction

May 27th, 2009

Prediction, not so much prophecy. (The Oracle doesn’t return my calls.)

Language Arts teachers and students have asked me if there are going to be any more Percy Jackson books in the series.

I figure that people have had enough time to read book five. I won’t give too many spoilers.

Just one. If you haven’t read it yet, stop here. If you want to hear more, join me after the book cover.

There is a new prophecy towards the middle of the book. Even Percy comments on how Camp Half-Blood is going to have to be around for a new group of heroes. Also, if you read the acknowledgments at the end of the book, Riordan mentions the end of the first series.

Meaning it’s a good bet that a new series will be coming out. My prediction is that it will be something along the lines of what DiTerlizzi did with Spiderwick and Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles.

I really liked book five of Percy. It may even be my favorite (I love it when authors are gutsy enough to kill off characters – it’s something that John Flanagan stressed to our students about his decision with Morgarath…don’t just drag out a series to drag out a series.).

Right now I’m trying to make it through Forest of Hands and Teeth. I want to like it, I really do. I’m not done yet, so I’m reserving judgment.