Weekly Reads: Scythe

Scythe is the newest book by Neal Shusterman. It recently won a Printz Honor for distinguished books for teens. I read it for my book club. This book reminded me of a grittier, more disturbing version of The Giver which is my favorite book of all time. I wasn't thrilled that it was the first book in a series as I'm all about the stand alones these days. The story started off very strong, slowed down a little bit in the middle, and then picked up in a fierce and ferocious way. I couldn't put it down the last 100 pages!

My rating: 4 stars.

Summary from goodreads:

Thou shalt kill.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

Weekly Reads: The Sun is Also a Star

The Sun Is Also a Star is one of the best books I've read in a really long time. It was so amazing, and so incredibly topical. I think it's a must-read for anyone. It won a Printz honor this year, and was so very deserving of it.

My rating: 5 stars.

Summary from goodreads:

Natasha: I’m a girl who believes in science and facts. Not fate. Not destiny. Or dreams that will never come true. I’m definitely not the kind of girl who meets a cute boy on a crowded New York City street and falls in love with him. Not when my family is twelve hours away from being deported to Jamaica. Falling in love with him won’t be my story.

Daniel: I’ve always been the good son, the good student, living up to my parents’ high expectations. Never the poet. Or the dreamer. But when I see her, I forget about all that. Something about Natasha makes me think that fate has something much more extraordinary in store—for both of us.

The Universe: Every moment in our lives has brought us to this single moment. A million futures lie before us. Which one will come true?

Weekly Reads: The Carnival at Bray

I checked out The Carnival at Bray from my library the Friday before the ALA Printz Award was announced, so I was pretty thrilled to have it in my possession once it was announce as a Printz Honor. I tend to stay away from historical fiction because it's just not my cup of tea, but this book was set in the 90s and for some reason that seems like just yesterday! This book was an amazing read that tugged on my heart strings and reminded me of the struggle of just being a teen and trying to grow up. Throw in family tragedy, and it becomes much much harder.

Great book.

My rating: 4.5 stars

Summary from goodreads:

It's 1993, and Generation X pulses to the beat of Kurt Cobain and the grunge movement. Sixteen-year-old Maggie Lynch is uprooted from big-city Chicago to a windswept town on the Irish Sea. Surviving on care packages of Spin magazine and Twizzlers from her rocker uncle Kevin, she wonders if she'll ever find her place in this new world. When first love and sudden death simultaneously strike, a naive but determined Maggie embarks on a forbidden pilgrimage that will take her to a seedy part of Dublin and on to a life- altering night in Rome to fulfill a dying wish. Through it all, Maggie discovers an untapped inner strength to do the most difficult but rewarding thing of all, live.