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.

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:

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!

Maximum Ride: The Final Warning

I decided to do number 13 on the novel reflection, which is doing something different. I decided to make and share a poem that Max made during the book, called "A Poem", while her and the flock was in Antarctica, and the whiteness made her sick. I thought this poem was pretty funny, and to those who never read the Maximum Ride series, you could take a look at Max's personality. I made this picture based on the "white" that Max is describing.

Get A Pet Owl. Now.

When I found this video, it made me really want an owl, because they're are soo adorable. Anyways, please enjoy.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay

I have read the first and second books of the Hunger Games Series ("The Hunger Games" and "The Hunger Games: Catching Fire") apparently not for this class and just for fun, but I decided to read the third and final book in the series to show this post and share with readers how great this book is. This 455 paged book is the most descriptive story I've read yet, which is why I love it. To me, the whole point of reading books is to imagine the characters and setting, not watching the movie and not imagining the story your way. Back to the point, the setting is in a futuristic North America called Panem, split in 12 different districts, which is where Katniss Everdeen, the narrator, lives. District 12 is a place described as "very poor, and starvation is a major issue for citizens". The book is about Katniss aka. "The Girl On Fire" becoming the face of a rebellion against the Capitol, the "chief city" of Panem, after she unknowingly defies the Capitol in the Hunger Games during the first book. After the Quarter Quell (a Hunger Games that happenes every 25 years, using twice the usual amount of tributes (24), and the tributes being all victors of the past 25 Hunger Games, which, obviously, Katniss and Peeta (also a victor from District 12, who had a crush on Katniss since the age of 5) are in), Katniss is rescued on the arena by a rebel group with her mentor, Haymitch, while Peeta was captured by the Capitol. When he was rescued, he had already been brainwashed by the Capitol using venom to make him hate Katniss. While Peeta is recovering, Katniss, Gale (her best friend), and some other soldiers go to the Capitol to kill President Snow. After almost all of her group is killed, she finds herself outside of President Snow's mansion, with groups of Capitol children, thinking they would be safe there. Then, Prim(rose), Katniss's little sister, who is a doctor-in-training, arrives to help heal the kids. Right then, a explosion takes place, killing Prim and injuring Katniss. When she is rescued back to the rebel quarters, she remembers the explosion with Prim in it, and being practically the only thing that keeps Katniss stable after what she has been through, Katniss goes into a mental-insane stage. When she recovers, she and Peeta spend the rest of their lives together. I think this book is an extreme page turner and has totally changed the book genres that I used to read, which is now fantasy and other worlds.

I apologize for practically telling you the whole story, but The Hunger Games is SO AMAZING that I had to share it with you with my own voice.

And just for the fun of it, please enjoy the trailer of "The Hunger Games"