Brave New World

* I am cross posting this from my other blog, Mini-Van Mom, http://mini-van-mom.blogspot.com/.  I recently re-read Brave New World, as it is one of the most frequently challenged and banned books out there.  I wanted to remind myself why it was so controversial.  With this thought in mind, I am skipping my usual format for books I review on this blog.  I wrote my thoughts about the book down on my other blog, and I wanted to share them here, on the forum I have specifically devoted to YA literature.  

Please keep in mind, when Aldous Huxley wrote this book back in the 1930's, the world was different.  Take a quick look back at the world situation in the 30's, before you read the book. Huxley intended this book to be a disturbing Dystopic Society.  He intended it to be a warning tale of what could go wrong.  

While you are reading, take a very harsh look at our world and society today. I believe it's still a relevant story today.


Huxley, Aldous.  Brave New World.  1932.  Harper Perennial Modern Classics.  New York, NY.
Softcover, $8.49.  ISBN: 978-0060850524.


I ran across this book the other day.  I vaguely remember reading it before.  I believe I read it at the same time I read 1984 and Animal Farm.  All 3 books are about Dystopian societies.

I had a little time to spare, so I thought I'd tackle it once again, and see what, if anything, I got out of the book.

Funny thing.  Aldous Huxley wrote this book in 1932.  He was writing about an imaginary society that existed 600 years in the future. At that time, Huxley postulated a world in which people had become total wards of the state.  They were bred in a laboratory, hatched in the warmth of a laboratory, and brought into the world.

From the time that their embryos were fertilized, their entire life, from their physical features, to their caste, to their mental capabilities were determined for them by the scientists in the laboratory.

Raised within the facility by the state, divided by caste, these infants are indoctrinated into the philosophies of the state through negative reinforcement, as well as sleep teaching- where a voice droned on and on throughout the night that teaches them the "official" views that they are to keep.

Raised to live alone, these people are also trained to value a hedonistic lifestyle that puts their own pleasure and comfort above all else.

If anything uncomfortable faces them, why, they don't have to deal with these uncomfortable feelings.  The state issues them an official drug, Soma, and they are encouraged to use it whenever those messy feelings get in the way of them pursuing that hedonistic lifestyle that is condoned by the state.

Life and death are meaningless.  No value is placed on life.  Children are conditioned to death in order to make it seem like "no big deal".  With the advances in genetic engineering, the residents never age.  They stay in a perpetual state of youth until they "expire" and are taken to be decommissioned.

There's more. Oh, so much more.  Aldous Huxley wrote this book to disturb.  He intended to shake his audience up a bit, show them what horrible future awaited them if they didn't wake up and realize that their choices - and what he saw at the time in the rise of Communism and the Soviet Union - could easily become the official way of life, with no choices and no free will to make choices in front of them.


I remember back when I originally read this book in 1982, I thought how ridiculously far fetched these ideas were.

Reading it now, over 30 years later, I begin to wonder because so much that future is not only before us - it seems to be coming a reality.

We live in a hedonistic society that places materialism above all else.  Doubt me?  Take a look at the video footage of crowds stampeding on Black Friday to get the best deals.

Advertisers on television and the radio encourage us to pursue a materialistic, me first mentality that ignores the needs of others or the less fortunate around us.

Genetic Engineering is here.  It's a reality.  With the advent of test tube babies (now known as IVF fertilization), we began to cross that uncomfortable line.  While we do not yet have the ability to "design" a human being (read infant) to meet our personal needs- hair and eye color, intelligence, we do have the ability to get into the cells of an embryo who will have mitochondrial disease and change the DNA of that individual before birth.

Cloning.  Huxley didn't even dream of this reality in his novel.  Instead, he spoke of manipulating an ovum so that up to 90 viable embryos could result.  Instead of recreating the ovum, scientists have skipped that step entirely and are capable of taking the DNA of an organism and recreating this organism exactly.

Soma.  In the novel, Soma was used to pacify the masses.  When they experienced feelings, they took drugs to suppress the feelings.  By suppressing the feelings, people never questioned why and never looked for deeper meanings of life.  As a result, they turned away from all religion.  What need is there of religion when the state can guarantee you will never feel the need of anything but the pursuit of pleasure?  Not quite so far fetched, now.  Marijuana is legal in Colorado and Washington State.  Beginning next year, it will be legal in Washington DC and Alaska.  (What really is the driving force behind approving mood altering drugs, anyway?)

If you are up for a read that is going to make you look hard - very hard - at today's society, take the time to read Brave New World.

It's not a "Feel Good Book".  It will make you think, and think hard, about our world today.

Remember, Huxley wrote it to upset his audience.  What does it say that 80 years later, it is still upsetting and angering people?  Why is it still a relevant read?

Four

Roth, Veronica.  Four: A Divergent Collection.  2014.  Katherine Tegen Books, a Harper Collins Imprint.  New York, NY.

Hardcover, $17.99.  ISBN: 978-0-06-234521-9.

Book Talk:

Have you read Divergent?  Seen the movie?  Curious to know more about the world?

Join Tobias in the years when he makes his own choice.

Written by Tobias, this companion guide gives you a glimpse into who Tobias is, and why he has made the choices that he has made.  It's a fascinating look into the world we join in the Divergent Books.


Author's Note:
Veronica Roth wrote an introduction to this series in the front of this book.  I would like to put a part of it here:
The first three stories: "The Transfer", "The Initiate", and "The Son" take place before he ever meets Tris, following his path from Abegnation to Dauntless as he earns his own strength. In the last, "The Traitor", which overlaps chronologically with the middle of Divergent, he meets Tris.  I wanted very much to include the moment when they meet, but unfortunately, it didn't fit into the story's timeline- you can find it instead at the back of this book.

The series follows Tris from the moment she seized control of her own life and identity: and with these stories, we can follow Four as he does the same.  And the rest, as they say, is history.

Author's Web Site:
http://theartofnotwriting.tumblr.com/

Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly

Wesselhoeft, Conrad.  Dirt Bikes, Drones, and Other Ways to Fly.  2014.  Houghton-Mifflin Harcourt Publishers, New York, New York.

Hardcover, $17.99.  ISBN: 978-0-544-23269-3

Book Talk:
When Arlo's mother died, a huge part of Arlo died, too.  Arlo's mother was gunned down at a robbery at a convenience store.  In the aftermath of the shooting, Arlo's sister struggles with a deadly illness, and his father loses their family business- the newspaper.  Struggling to make sense in a world gone mad, Arlo turns to the two things he loves best - speed and video games.

Out on the open desert, Arlo flies high and fast on his dirt bike.  He takes reckless chances on his bike, throwing himself into the game of high speed recklessness.  In his video game - Drone Wars - he finds an escape from the dreary, scary world he now lives in.

Flying high and reckless with the video game, Arlo becomes the highest scoring person in the game - EVER.

And then, he finds himself recruited by the Air Force to be a part of their ultra-secret drone program.  Flying drones in Afghanistan, while sitting quietly in the United States, Arlo begins to meld the virtual world together with the real world.

But what about Lee?  The beautiful new girl in town whose father is fighting in Afghanistan?
Intrigued by the mystery of Arlo, she begins to make Lee feel alive again - and wonder where his true loyalties lie...

Will Arlo ever be able to come to terms with his reality?


Note from Bettina:
There is language in this book.  A lot of language.  The themes are mature themes.  Considering the topic of the book- an alcoholic father, a mother gunned down in a convenience store, and a sister who is dying - the language matches the themes.

This book is appropriate for High School students, as well as ANY teenager who is suffering from the loss of a parent to violence.

Author's Web Site:
http://adiosnirvana.com/

Clueless in the Kitchen

Raab, Evelyn.  Clueless in the Kitchen.  2011.  Firefly Books, Buffalo, NY.

Softcover, $14.95.  ISBN: 978-1-55407-824-0.

Book Talk:
The pretzels are gone.  The pop tarts are gone.  The Zombie Apocalypse could happen at any moment, and you don't have any food in the house!  What will you do?

This book will take you quickly and easily from a bunch of raw ingredients on the pantry shelves to a nutritious meal or snack in minutes.  Clear, concise, easy to follow directions will make this cooking adventure an easy process you will want to repeat again and again!

Learn how to make Potato Paprikash, Home Made Pizza Crust, Chocolate Chip Cookies, Smoothies, Salad Dressing, and Buffalo Wings.  These yummy recipes are easy to make, and so much cheaper than buying them from the store!

Are you ready to bake?

The Curiosities

Stiefvater, Maggi; Grafton, Tessa; Yovanoff, Brenna.  The Curiosities: A Collection of Stories.  2012.
Carolrhoda Books, Minneapolis, MN, USA.

Hardcover, $17.95.  ISBN: 978-0-7613-7527-2.

Book Talk:
What happens when you get three authors together, give them writing prompts and free reign to let their imaginations run wild and write short little vignettes?  And then, what happens when you interact with each other - and put your short little vignettes out there on a blog where the world can see?

You get The Curiosities.

A fascinating collection of short works written by three talented, published YA authors.  The works are well written, quick, fascinating glimpses of well written fiction into different and unique worlds.  Each work stands on it's own, and is totally independent of anything else written by themselves or any other author in that book.

Are you curious?

Juliet's Moon

Rinaldi, Ann.  Juliet's Moon.  2008.  Harcourt, Inc, New York, NY, USA.

Hardcover: $17.00.  ISBN:978-0-15-206170-8.

Book Talk:

Juliet is living in Missouri.  Around her the Civil War rages on.  Barely escaping the clutches of the Yankee Army when they come to her house, she watches in horror from her secret place while her father is murdered and their home is burned to the ground.

Juliet's brother, Seth, finds her later that day and takes her to the house of his intended.  Here, he feels she will be safe and sound, and protected from the uncertainties of life that surround everyone in the days at the close of the Civil War.

But wait!  Seth is a member of Quantrill's Riders, a notorious group of guerilla warriors who roam the countryside at will and harass the Union Army wherever they may go.  While their tactics are effective, anyone who is associated with the Riders is in danger because the Union Army will stop at nothing in their attempt to stop Quantrill's Riders. 

When the fateful day arrives and everyone - Juliet, the family she is staying with, her friends from surrounding farms - everyone who might possibly be affiliated with the Riders is arrested.  They are taken to town and tossed into a prison on the second floor of a house.

When that prison collapses with all of the prisoners inside, Juliet faces a quick lesson in growing up. When she discovers that most of the people who were prisoners with her were either killed or will be maimed for the rest of their lives, she experiences what is only the beginning of her new reality.

All of us experience a dark moon inside of our soul.  Juliet is about to discover hers.  How far will she go in order to save all that is precious to her?

Author's Web Site:
http://www.annrinaldi.net/

A Note from Bettina:
I was not expecting to be this swept away by this book!  I have read it all in one sitting, breaking only for lunch.  Holy cow!

I wanted to point out that this book is based on true facts.  I had never heard of this particular tale before.  All of the girl relatives of the Quantrill Raiders were in fact, herded up and sent to prison in a dilapidated jail - The Grand Avenue Prison- in Kansas City.  The jail did indeed collapse,  and most of the girls were killed.  The author created a beloved family of characters that were a part of this collapse.  The tale of survival, of love, and determination in the face of adversity is an enchanting tale that needs to be heard again and again.

The Oceanology Handbook

The Oceanology Handbook: A Course for Underwater Explorer, by Professor Pierre Aronnax
edited by Clint Twist.  2010.  Candlewick Press, Summerville, MA, USA.

Hardcover: $12.99.  ISBN: 978-0-7636-4874-9.

Book Talk:

Join the crew of Captain Nemo's submarine, the Nautilus.

This richly illustrated book introduces you to the oceans of our world, and how people set about exploring them.

Professor Aronnax shows you the various ships that have been used throughout history to help people explore the great, wide world that exists just off the edge of the land.

Find out more about the oceans, currents, and life at all levels of the ocean.

Find out how people first dived down to the bottom of the ocean and what their diving suits looked like.

Discover how animals live deep in the ocean where there is no light.

What are ocean currents?  How are they formed?  Where do they come from and where do they go?

This book takes you on an in depth tour of the ocean and how people have explored, discovered, and interacted with it for thousands of years.


Note From Bettina:
In case if you're wondering, yes, this is the same Professor Aronnax and ship that is in the classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  The pictures in this book are amazing, richly illustrated, and engaging.  This would be an awesome book for reluctant or struggling readers who are fascinated by ships, oceans, and sea life.

The Storm in the Barn

Phelan, Matt.  The Storm in the Barn.  2009.  Candlewick Press, Summerville, MA, USA.

Hardcover, $17.35.  ISBN: 978-0-7636-3618-0.

Book Talk:

Jack lives in Kansas.  The rain has not fallen in four years, and the ground is dead.  People are leaving and moving out, but Jack's family remains.  Jack's sister has what is known as dust pneumonia, and his family believes the he himself is losing his mind.

Jack struggles to help, to find a solution, to make everything alright again so that his sister will survive.

When he finds a strange, lurking figure in an abandoned barn, Jack is intrigued.  Noticing that the figure has a face like lightning, Jack is determined to find out if this strange creature has anything to do with the missing rain, and force it to make the rain come back again.

Is Jack losing his mind, or is there really an entity that controls the rain lurking in the barn?

Find out in... the storm in the barn!

Author's Web Site: http://www.mattphelan.com/

Note from Bettina:
This book is set during the Great Dust Bowl, in Kansas.  Many of the events of this story are true events from that time period.  Matt Phelan states in his end note that he was first inspired by photography of Dorothea Lange and Arthur Rothstein - who took haunting images of the people who lived through the dust bowl.  Further research had Mr. Phelan watching a documentary entitled "Surviving the Dust Bowl".  This haunting film showed actual footage from the Dust Bowl, and included stories and tales from the survivors.  As a result, he began to work on a story, told through the eyes of a child about the Dust Bowl.   It's a haunting tale, a mix of true facts, with just a touch of folk lore tossed in.  After the first reading, I found myself going back again and again, enchanted with the story, and haunted by the circumstances in which these people found themselves.

*The publisher recommends this book for children ages 10 and up.

Grimm

Nick Burkhardt has a secret.  A very big secret.  He is a Grimm.

Imagine that the creatures and characters that were presented in the Fairy Tales by the Brothers Grimm actually existed.  That each of those characters, and each of those tales, is real.  There is a hidden world that exists within our own every day world.  Within this world are creatures, humans, who have the ability to transform into other characters. (Think the Big, Bad, Wolf, 3 Little Pigs, etc.) 

Most of these creatures are good, kind people who live and work in the human world without a problem.

Nick is a Grimm.  The Grimms of the world run around, killing these fairy tale creatures.  However, Nick is a different kind of Grimm.  He has a conscience, and he doesn't indiscriminately kill.  He enforces the law, and helps the innocent, regardless of which world they live in.

Nick discovers that he is a Grimm in episode 1.   Unknown to him, his Aunt is a Grimm.  As his Aunt loses her battle with cancer, Nick's Grimm powers begin to show themselves, and he struggles with what he is becoming and how to adapt without telling the other people in his life about what is happening to him.

Throughout the three seasons, the stories and characters wind in and out, and throughout the series, with intriguing stories, and interwoven plot lines that weave back in and out through each show.   

NBC just finished broadcasting season 3.  Smart, funny, intelligently written, this series is an amazing piece of work.  The special effects are fantastic.  I am continually amazed by the level of special effects in a weekly television series.  It is not what I was expecting.

One last word from me:  This series is not for young teenagers (Tweens).  I believe that with the level of violence and graphic special effects, it's probably not best for the young ones, or for anyone who has a vivid imagination and is subject to vivid dreams or nightmares.  Other than that, it's an awesome show!

The Tinker King

Trent, Tiffany.  The Tinker King.  2014.  Simon & Schuster, New York, NY.

Hardcover, $17.99.  ISBN: 978-1-4424-5759-1.

Book Talk:

New London is a land of waste and ruin following the war.  Scienta is on the edge of a wilderness, where a battle between the forces of dark and light is waging, and will engulf everyone who lies in it's path. 

Since the last war, Syrus has been working as a Tinker, attempting to continue to run the machines that power the city in which he lives.  Empress Olivia struggles as the leader of the new regime, attempting to balance the new world order of equality between humans and elementals.

However, rebellion has reared it's ugly head, and Olivia and Syrus have been thrust into the middle of battle once again. 

While on a trip across town, Olivia has been attacked by a Xiren, and her life hangs in the balance, awaiting the intervention of a Master Tinker.  In the same battle in which Olivia was captured, Syrus was taken hostage by the Xiren.

Imagine Syrus' horror when he discovers that the Xiren have captured his family and turned them into monster hybrids, a cross between humans and the horrible Xiren/ spider people.  They need the expertise of a Master Tinker to help them achieve their goals of taking over and wresting rule away from the Empress.

Nothing, no, nothing, will keep the Xiren from achieving their goal.  And they are above nothing in the pursuit of their goals. 

Without a Master Tinker, the city is falling apart, and Olivia's life hangs in the balance.

Will Syrus choose death over cooperation with the Xiren?

Can Olivia's life be saved?


Author's Web Site:
http://www.tiffanytrent.com/

Guys Write for Guys Read

Scieszka, Jon.  Guys Write for Guys Read.  2005, Viking, New York, NY.

Softcover, $11.99, ISBN: 978-0-670-0144-5.

Book Talk: (Kind Of!)
Guys Read is an initiative begun by Jon Scieszka to encourage boys to read.  Getting boys to read any kind of book, at all, has become a challenge.  It is a disconcerting challenge, as we know that our boys need to read in order to succeed, and yet, for some reason, we seem to be failing to connect them with meaningful books that encourage them to read more.  Guys read was designed to help combat this problem and attempt to find a solution.

This book, Guys Write for Guys Read, was written by many, many male authors who all contributed a short story.  I enjoyed the stories.  Written for brevity, many of the authors exposed some embarrassing incident from their own childhood.  These stories left me at turns, laughing, crying, and touched beyond words that these men would open up so honestly with their audience and let the reader inside their own childhood in such a personal way.

The authors included in this collection read like a who's who of Boy Books:  Anthony Horowitz, Walter Dean Myers, Garth Nicks, Dan Gutman, Neil Gaiman, Gary Paulsen, Brian Jaques, Jerry Spinelli,   the list goes on and on, with a total of 92 authors contributing a piece to this compilation.

In addition to this book, Guys Read is a website.  If you are looking for information on Boy Books, from how to help, to a current list of new releases that just might appeal to the little guy in your life, please visit his website.  Mr. Scieszka has done a fantastic job of putting together a website that will guide a parent of a reluctant reader through the mine field of children's literature and connect them directly to the wonderful books that our little guys love to read.

Web Sites:

You can find the Guys Read website here:  http://www.guysread.com/

You can find the link to Jon Scieszka's author website here:
 http://www.jsworldwide.com/yeah_he_wrote_em.html

A Very Long Silence...

I have switched jobs.  I am now working in an academic library.  A medical library, no less.

Previously, my job had me reading a lot of YA literature, and I would share what I considered to be the best of the best on here.  I enjoyed the reading and the writing, and the thought that maybe I had connected some people with new books immensely.

Getting used to working in an academic library has been an adjustment.  Becoming familiar with a very different collection has been an even greater challenge.  The best way to become familiar with any library collection is to read through some of the titles, so you know what is where, and can help people find related titles.

This has involved me reading a lot of books.  It's been an intriguing challenge.  I've learned a lot about some new subjects.   After reading through the recommended titles in the nutrition section, I've changed my eating habits and lost 12 pounds so far!  Hey!  What a nice side effect of a new job!

I am finally comfortable enough with the new collection to go back to the books I love - the Young Adult collection.  Unfortunately, since I no longer work in that particular library, the books I pull off of the shelf are the ones that are sitting on the new release shelf in my public library.  It can be hit or miss with those books, and again, if I'm going to recommend a book on my blog, I have to have read it, and I have to feel that it has merit, worth, and value.  So, we are back once again to a very slow pace of posting books.

I will say this - I did find two gems over this past weekend at the library.  I've almost finished the first one.  I have laughed, cried, and groaned throughout this book.  I can't wait to share it.  The second book looks intriguing.  I read a few pages out of the middle of the book, and I was sucked into that world, and didn't want to leave it.  I'm planning on starting it tomorrow afternoon, along with a cup of tea.

One other big advantage of my new job is that I have a commute, so I can listen to books in the car as I drive.  I'm thinking I should be able to post at least one book a week.  I have a goal of posting on Fridays. 

Atlantis Rising

Barron, T.A..  Atlantis Rising.  2013.  Philomel Books, New York, NY.

Hardcover, $17.99.  ISBN: 978-0-399-25757-5.

Book Talk:

A young orphaned boy named Promi makes his way in the magical land of Ellegandia by  stealing what he can find in the market place.  Pies, cakes, and tarts are his favorite treats.  However, the day he gets caught for stealing the belt of the high priest from around the priests' waist, his life begins to change.  When he is caught later for stealing the coveted smackberry pie that belongs to the high monk, his life changes forever.

Suddenly thrust into the dungeon, Promi suddenly becomes aware of the mysterious, magical world that lies all around him.  When he befriends a monk, and saves an old woman from a beating in the dungeon, his life changes forever when she gives him the gift of listening magic.

Marked with strange birthmark over his heart that resembles a flying bird, Promi hears of a prophecy that foretells of the coming of a person marked with this birthmark who will forever change the history of Ellgandia and bring about the end of all magic.

Moved by a compassion for a young beggar named Atlanta in the city, Promi finds himself pulled into a battle for the very heart of Ellgandia.  The magical forest that surrounds the city is dying, and Atlanta is trying desperately to stop the blight that is destroying her forest.

Suddenly thrown into the battle for the very heart of Ellgandia, Promi and Atlanta discover that the high priest holds the key to the heart of the mystery of the blight over the forest.

In this race against time, can Promi and Atlanta save the forest, as well as the entire land, before time runs out?

Author's Web Site: http://tabarron.com/