Saturday, June 2, 2012
Thursday, May 31, 2012
Plague by Michael Grant
It has been eight months since everyone over the age of 15 had disappeared.
The book starts with five year old "Little Pete" Ellison (Astrid's autistic little brother) explaining his life in his own way, saying that he's living in two worlds, one on his right hand, the other at his left. At his right, are his parents, Astrid, his therapist, and others, saying things that were like "wild, parrot-colored spears shooting from their mouths". At his left, silent ghostly figures drifting past, and shades of gray. It was very dark and silent. There was also the Darkness, calling out to him to play a game. Games were the only thing that would make Pete give away his endless, impossible powers.
Later, three Jennifers that live together in a house all get a flu. The oldest Jennifer is the first kid in the FAYZ who coughed so hard that there were pieces of her lungs coming out of her mouth. Supposedly, she also coughed so hard she broke her own neck. One of the other Jennifers had to tell someone about what was coming, so she crawled to the so-called-hospital and told Dahra Baidoo, a doctor, but thought Jennifer was hallucinating. Lana "The Healer" finds out that her powers are helpless to the flu.
In the meantime, Hunter, the town hunter (also a freak that cook your insides, supposedly like microwaves, so the heat is invisible), is bothered by a small, beetle-like creature that is sticking out of his shoulder while he is hunting a lion. When the lion nearly kills him, the insect bites the lion's toe out and eats it, giving Hunter a chance for him to kill it with his concealed heat waves. While he gives meat to a collector, Roscoe, to feed the town, the insect bites Roscoe and he is infected with the deadly bugs that would kill him very soon.
In Perdido Beach, Albert runs the businesses and when the town is close to running out of water, he sends Sam, Dekka (a freak who can cancel gravity), Jack (a freak with super strength, also the boy who cut the electricity in Hunger), and Taylor (a freak who can teleport by thinking of a place, also who has an open crush on Sam) to go find a lake called Lake Tramonto and move the whole town there. On their way, they run into Hunter who is attempting (and failing) to commit suicide because the insects started growing out of his body and one of them ate his ear off. Sam had no choice but to kill Hunter himself. While Hunter and Dekka prayed together, Taylor took off from fear and the horrible sight of the bugs eating him alive, and Sam burned him finally, unfortunately to find that the bugs are immune to Sam's killer energy beams.
When Edilio, Sam's right-handed man, finds out that Roscoe is infected, he locks him up in the town hall and keeps Roscoe there until the bugs eat him to death. After his death, the bugs (which are now the size of an SUV) eat their way through the building and was about to attack the town until Brianna (a freak with superhuman speed, her highest reaching 300 miles per hour) lured them away. She then followed them to another group of bugs being led by Drake/Brittany, mainly Drake. Brianna was about to be killed when all the bugs, including Drake, turned on her and was about to be either: whipped to death by Drake, or eaten by the bugs.
Drake and his army of giant insects went to hunt down Sam, for slowly burning him in the last book. Finally, they finally found Sam and his crew, with a boy named Toto (a freak who can tell if you're lying) found in a military base because the base was studying freaks. When the crew eventually escapes, Drake sends half of the bug army to town and kill all the kids there.
Edilio finally caught the flu and thinks that he is about to die. So he sends Quinn Gaither to fetch Caine from San Francisco de Sales Island and have him save the town from the bugs. When Quinn did find Caine, Caine mistakenly thought the town needed him to be ruled, like a king. Apparently, when he got there, he was nearly killed by the now city bus sized bugs, being saved by Brianna.
You and I can both tell that I am on a roll here, and I am millimeters away from telling you the ending of the decade, so I'll just cut to the chase and tell you about my appreciation for this book. When the book ended, I literally screamed, dropped it, and did a standing ovation just for a BOOK. Yep, that's how much you need to read this series. Like all my other Gone post praises, Michael Grant has struck me yet again with the book's suspense, creativity, and character development.
This book is so freaky and unbelievable that it makes no one surprised or amazed at anything anymore. I mean, insects that hatch out of your body? It's like you're giving birth to them, then they eat you alive, grow to the size of a city bus, and go crawling all over town eating innocent citizens. Yeah, it's that bad. Then there's the flu, but it's not your regular sickness where you lay in bed all day and wait until it's over. It is the kind where your temperature reaches over 100 degrees, and then you cough up your insides.
I must say that besides the chaos, the FAYZ is my utopia. I would love to have supernatural powers and move in with my friends, not that I hate my family. Overall, l am disenchanted and relieved that I'm not stuck in the FAYZ.
The book starts with five year old "Little Pete" Ellison (Astrid's autistic little brother) explaining his life in his own way, saying that he's living in two worlds, one on his right hand, the other at his left. At his right, are his parents, Astrid, his therapist, and others, saying things that were like "wild, parrot-colored spears shooting from their mouths". At his left, silent ghostly figures drifting past, and shades of gray. It was very dark and silent. There was also the Darkness, calling out to him to play a game. Games were the only thing that would make Pete give away his endless, impossible powers.Later, three Jennifers that live together in a house all get a flu. The oldest Jennifer is the first kid in the FAYZ who coughed so hard that there were pieces of her lungs coming out of her mouth. Supposedly, she also coughed so hard she broke her own neck. One of the other Jennifers had to tell someone about what was coming, so she crawled to the so-called-hospital and told Dahra Baidoo, a doctor, but thought Jennifer was hallucinating. Lana "The Healer" finds out that her powers are helpless to the flu.
In the meantime, Hunter, the town hunter (also a freak that cook your insides, supposedly like microwaves, so the heat is invisible), is bothered by a small, beetle-like creature that is sticking out of his shoulder while he is hunting a lion. When the lion nearly kills him, the insect bites the lion's toe out and eats it, giving Hunter a chance for him to kill it with his concealed heat waves. While he gives meat to a collector, Roscoe, to feed the town, the insect bites Roscoe and he is infected with the deadly bugs that would kill him very soon.
In Perdido Beach, Albert runs the businesses and when the town is close to running out of water, he sends Sam, Dekka (a freak who can cancel gravity), Jack (a freak with super strength, also the boy who cut the electricity in Hunger), and Taylor (a freak who can teleport by thinking of a place, also who has an open crush on Sam) to go find a lake called Lake Tramonto and move the whole town there. On their way, they run into Hunter who is attempting (and failing) to commit suicide because the insects started growing out of his body and one of them ate his ear off. Sam had no choice but to kill Hunter himself. While Hunter and Dekka prayed together, Taylor took off from fear and the horrible sight of the bugs eating him alive, and Sam burned him finally, unfortunately to find that the bugs are immune to Sam's killer energy beams.
When Edilio, Sam's right-handed man, finds out that Roscoe is infected, he locks him up in the town hall and keeps Roscoe there until the bugs eat him to death. After his death, the bugs (which are now the size of an SUV) eat their way through the building and was about to attack the town until Brianna (a freak with superhuman speed, her highest reaching 300 miles per hour) lured them away. She then followed them to another group of bugs being led by Drake/Brittany, mainly Drake. Brianna was about to be killed when all the bugs, including Drake, turned on her and was about to be either: whipped to death by Drake, or eaten by the bugs.
Drake and his army of giant insects went to hunt down Sam, for slowly burning him in the last book. Finally, they finally found Sam and his crew, with a boy named Toto (a freak who can tell if you're lying) found in a military base because the base was studying freaks. When the crew eventually escapes, Drake sends half of the bug army to town and kill all the kids there.
Edilio finally caught the flu and thinks that he is about to die. So he sends Quinn Gaither to fetch Caine from San Francisco de Sales Island and have him save the town from the bugs. When Quinn did find Caine, Caine mistakenly thought the town needed him to be ruled, like a king. Apparently, when he got there, he was nearly killed by the now city bus sized bugs, being saved by Brianna.
You and I can both tell that I am on a roll here, and I am millimeters away from telling you the ending of the decade, so I'll just cut to the chase and tell you about my appreciation for this book. When the book ended, I literally screamed, dropped it, and did a standing ovation just for a BOOK. Yep, that's how much you need to read this series. Like all my other Gone post praises, Michael Grant has struck me yet again with the book's suspense, creativity, and character development.
This book is so freaky and unbelievable that it makes no one surprised or amazed at anything anymore. I mean, insects that hatch out of your body? It's like you're giving birth to them, then they eat you alive, grow to the size of a city bus, and go crawling all over town eating innocent citizens. Yeah, it's that bad. Then there's the flu, but it's not your regular sickness where you lay in bed all day and wait until it's over. It is the kind where your temperature reaches over 100 degrees, and then you cough up your insides.
I must say that besides the chaos, the FAYZ is my utopia. I would love to have supernatural powers and move in with my friends, not that I hate my family. Overall, l am disenchanted and relieved that I'm not stuck in the FAYZ.
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Lies by Michael Grant
It has been seven months since everyone over the age of 15 had disappeared.
I chose to select number 5 for my novel reflection. In the book Lies, a girl named Orsay (a freak who can see dreams) found out she could see the dreams of the outside of the FAYZ, where the adults are. Very early in the morning, kids follow Orsay to hear what their parents have to say. After finding out that death can get you out of the FAYZ, kids become very desperate. Orsay's nickname becomes the Prophetess.
Meanwhile, Sam Temple is still deranged from his near death experience given by Drake Merwin, known as "Whip Hand" (a human that was given a python-like arm from the Darkness and uses it as a whip, who loves killing and violence). Drake was killed by Caine next to the mine shaft, where the Darkness lives.
Coates Academy ran completely out of food, meaning Caine and the other survivors would have to move somewhere else, that somewhere being San Francisco de Sales Island, where two celebrities lived. Zil and his "Human Crew" (a group founded by Zil Sperry, who are all human and freak haters and want to either kill them, or kick them out of Perdido Beach) made a deal with Caine, setting fire to Perdido Beach while Caine and the Coates survivors sneak to a boat and sail to the island and Zil would have control.
Brittany, a girl that was killed by Drake during Hunger in the power plant, turned out to be a freak who had the power of immortality. At first she thought that Jesus brought her back from the dead to avenge her and her little brother, Tanner's death with Drake. The Darkness needed Brittany to bring Drake back alive, so it bonded both their bodies together. Basically, Drake and Brittany share a body, half the time being Drake, then the body switching back to Brittany again.
Once again, Michael Grant created such a bizarre story that it leaves me begging for more. Orsay claims to see past the FAYZ. It has been rumored that Drake is walking back from the dead. Brittany, the same. What's crazy is that even though these rumors sound completely insane, they are actually true, making kids have a hard time trusting others. The book keeps me flipping through the compulsive pages. Only one word can describe this book, that word being phenomenal. Reading Grant's books has made my mind change completely, and I hope that it's in a good way.
I decided to make hateful "Human Crew" graffiti about the freaks. I realized that it wasn't enough, so I added the story's plot and my praise for the novel, as you can see above.
I chose to select number 5 for my novel reflection. In the book Lies, a girl named Orsay (a freak who can see dreams) found out she could see the dreams of the outside of the FAYZ, where the adults are. Very early in the morning, kids follow Orsay to hear what their parents have to say. After finding out that death can get you out of the FAYZ, kids become very desperate. Orsay's nickname becomes the Prophetess.Meanwhile, Sam Temple is still deranged from his near death experience given by Drake Merwin, known as "Whip Hand" (a human that was given a python-like arm from the Darkness and uses it as a whip, who loves killing and violence). Drake was killed by Caine next to the mine shaft, where the Darkness lives.
Coates Academy ran completely out of food, meaning Caine and the other survivors would have to move somewhere else, that somewhere being San Francisco de Sales Island, where two celebrities lived. Zil and his "Human Crew" (a group founded by Zil Sperry, who are all human and freak haters and want to either kill them, or kick them out of Perdido Beach) made a deal with Caine, setting fire to Perdido Beach while Caine and the Coates survivors sneak to a boat and sail to the island and Zil would have control.
Brittany, a girl that was killed by Drake during Hunger in the power plant, turned out to be a freak who had the power of immortality. At first she thought that Jesus brought her back from the dead to avenge her and her little brother, Tanner's death with Drake. The Darkness needed Brittany to bring Drake back alive, so it bonded both their bodies together. Basically, Drake and Brittany share a body, half the time being Drake, then the body switching back to Brittany again.
Once again, Michael Grant created such a bizarre story that it leaves me begging for more. Orsay claims to see past the FAYZ. It has been rumored that Drake is walking back from the dead. Brittany, the same. What's crazy is that even though these rumors sound completely insane, they are actually true, making kids have a hard time trusting others. The book keeps me flipping through the compulsive pages. Only one word can describe this book, that word being phenomenal. Reading Grant's books has made my mind change completely, and I hope that it's in a good way.
I decided to make hateful "Human Crew" graffiti about the freaks. I realized that it wasn't enough, so I added the story's plot and my praise for the novel, as you can see above.
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
LIGHT BY MICHAEL GRANT
There is a 6th book in the Gone series called Light that will be coming out probably on April 2013. I've also read Michael Grant's biography and he said he wanted to "freak you out" because "in my head I imagine this reader. Sometimes it's a girl. Sometimes it's a boy. It changes. But in any case there's this reader. And I want that reader to pick up GONE, and to be unable to put it down until they have read every word. I want that reader to forget everything else going on around them and become completely engrossed. When they're done with that first book, I want them to need that next book desperately. I want to surprise that reader and scare that reader and make that reader fall in love. In the end I want the reader to put down the book and think, 'Man, that was fun.'" You were so right Mr. Grant, every word of it.
Sources: http://gone.wikia.com/wiki/Michael_Grant
Hunger by Michael Grant
It has been three months since everyone over the age of 15 had disappeared.This 590 paged novel is the sequel to Gone.
Food is running out and the starvation of all kids in Perdido Beach is fast-approaching. So Sam Temple (the mayor of Perdido Beach) considers every day a AHBL day (All Hell Breaking Loose), having to solve and ration food for around 300 kids, and even settle fights between siblings or making sure the youngsters get a visit from the "Tooth Fairy". Only to add to Sam's problems, Caine (Sam's fraternal twin brother) takes over their nuclear plant and shuts down Perdido Beach's power. The only way Caine would turn it back on, is in exchange for food, because Coates Academy apparently also has no food, driving some of the Coates kids to cannibalism.
Meanwhile, Lana the "Healer" went to a dark mine shaft in a ghost town in the middle of nowhere where the "Darkness" lives. The "Darkness" is a creature that plans to destroy the world and then reconstruct it. To do this, it must use some of the "freak's" (kids who have powers) powers to build himself, that is why it is taking over the kids' minds, calling out to them, and Lana being one of them. Unfortunately, when she came to destroy it, it took control of her mentality and she was then forced to serve it.
Caine found out then that he never intended to take over the power plant. Just that he was one of the kids that the Darkness was calling to, and it manipulated him to steal the fuel rod to feed the Darkness.
Like the first book, I was completely speechless of the plot and character development. I love all the characters, for they are so gratifying. I even like the villains, like Caine: He knows he's bad, and he OWNS it. One thing I think is really interesting about the Darkness is that before it destroys the world, it uses the kids to make monsters, unbeatable monsters. If you ever did destroy its monster, there would be another one, then another one, like a Russian nesting doll. I honestly think that that is a very creative idea, even if it would destroy the world.
Michael Grant describes the setting and characters so well that I feel like I am in Perdido Beach, living through the adult-less nightmare of killing mutated animals, and kids with supernatural powers that will surely leave your mouth gaping open, and what is better that that? (I'm being sarcastic. You will never want to be in this terrible torment. Trust me, I've lived through it.) But, if you are willing to read this obscure fiction, your funeral.
Wednesday, May 2, 2012
Gone By Michael Grant
I decided to do number 5 on my novel reflection (making my own way to share my book) by using a website called Tagxedo which is a way to make word clouds in different shapes and styles. The book Gone is a novel by Michael Grant which is about everyone 15 and over disappears "in the blink of an eye". The kids find out that all the adults disappear throughout the town on Perdido Beach, California. There is an energy barrier that blocks the kids from going to the "outside world" where the adults are, it being nicknamed the "FAYZ", which stands for Fallout Alley Youth Zone (Fallout Alley because there was an accident 15 years ago at Perdido Beach's nuclear plant with a meteorite crashing there, so Fallout Alley is it's nickname). Strangely, some of the individuals start having supernatural powers, making the book so much more suspenseful, exciting, and confusing all at once. I completely recommend this novel and I think that like Maximum Ride, Gone is an all-ages kind of book. This book is action-packed, full of suspense, and it's a kind of book that keeps you up thinking about it all night. My Tagxedo is filled with all the characters and setting. I kind of revolved the shape, font, and font colors around Perdido Beach:
Friday, April 6, 2012
Hunger Names
I ran into this website and thought that I should share with you for those who ever wondered how you would live your life in the Hunger Games universe. This website randomly generates your very own Panem name, your district, and how you died in the Hunger Games you competed in. Here are some examples:
Try it!
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