I really have a backlog of book titles to include with my Goodreads Challenge of reading 85 books during 2011. And with summer upon us, I'm reading a lot more! Anyway, here are a few selections moving through my reading queue. Some of the books are pre-screenings for my classroom, and others are for general personal consumption.
Every so often a book makes me angry because it is so poorly written. The Dangerous Days of Daniel X is one of these books.
I read this book to screen it for my classroom library. In particular, one of my fourth grade boys (we'll call him Tom) refuses to read anything but action books. At the beginning of the school year, Tom unabashedly exclaimed that he hated to read. I made it my personal quest to change him and asked him what kinds of video games he likes. He said, quite cheerfully, "I like violent games!" So, I started him with Alex Rider, a recommendation from my son, which is basically James Bond for kids.
Tom quickly took on to Alex Rider and tore through the whole series. After that, I was stuck--he wanted action, but he didn't want anything with magic or fantasy involved. Sadly, that left out a whole sub-genre of some great young-adult fiction. But then I figured, maybe he should try The Hunger Games. Right now, he is gobbling up the second of the trilogy.
But now, with summer drawing near, I've been frantically looking for a book that has all the action this kid craves with none of the magic. I googled "books like Alex Rider" and had to skip over great books like The Lightning Thief and The Warrior Heir because of the fantasy angle. What popped up most often? The Daniel X series. I reluctantly cracked open the book---I have found James Patterson to be the most overrated writer around. His books actually irritate me because they are so poorly written....and yet he is so popular. But Daniel X ended up on a lot of librarians' lists, so I decided to give it a try.
Here's the hook in a nutshell: Daniel X is an alien hunter. End of story. I won't waste any time on the plot--I'm sure you can read summaries elsewhere. It's basically a Men-in-Black knock-off for teens.
I just want to ask--who put these books on the same list as Percy Jackson? It's shameful. There is no coherent world view--apparently Daniel X has any power that will conveniently solve his problems. Unless the writers need to put him into a life-or-death situation, in which case they conveniently fail to mention his alien superpowers.
The descriptions are completely void of any detail. Oh--let me quote an example: "The inside of Seth's cochlea was even grosser than his earwax situation. It was filled with this fluid that was...ugh, I don't even want to get into it." Pleeeease get into it! I want to hear all about the fluid. Every last, disgusting detail. But James Patterson and his co-author pass up every single chance to give the reader a stimulating reading experience.
This book has two things going for it: (1) aliens are, in general, fun to read about, and (2) it's a very fast read. (Read: the pain of reading it was brief.) I wavered between giving it one and two stars--but this book is so horribly disappointing that I'm punishing it for letting me down.
So---next time I am tempted to read another James Patterson book, would somebody please poke me in the eye?
Goodreads Challenge 50/85: The House of the Scorpion by Nancy Farmer
There's a reason why The House of the Scorpion was showered with so many awards, including the National Book Award and Newbery Honor. This book treats us to an evolved future, some solid science fiction, and wonderfully complex characters.
Author Nancy Farmer develops a trajectory of the geo-political climate surrounding drug lords in Mexico, illegal border crossings, and child labor. The governments and drug lords have created a buffer zone between Mexico (now called Aztlán) and the United States called, of all things, Opium (wonder what goes on there….). People fleeing both sides get trapped in the heavily guarded state of Opium and are turned into zombie slave workers. Meanwhile back at the ranch, literally, drug lords nurture their own personal clones for organ harvesting, thus sustaining their lives upwards of 140 years.
How refreshing it is to read about complex characters whose motivations are revealed through their actions. Our main character, Matt Alacrán, is a boy clone of the drug lord El Patrón. El Patrón is cultivating Matt for future use as a possible heart donor—for when the time comes. As we see Matt grow up, we wonder if he is going to turn into a deadly killer like his genetic donor. Nature battles Nurture as El Patrón blesses Matt with many life lessons, such as "Easy targets are opportunities to frighten enemies you aren't ready to tackle yet." As we progress through the book we wonder—what part of his DNA contributed to the evil side of El Patrón? And what part will he pass on genetically to Matt? Conversely, what part will he pass on the Matt through his parables and advice? By the end of the book, we wonder which way the chips will fall—will Matt become a cold-blooded killer like El Patrón, or will he forge a new direction for his DNA code?
The House of the Scorpion is a very smart book. It will stoke your intellectual fires as you consider the implications of the numerous big ideas in the story.
Goodreads Challenge 49/85: The Chocolate Touch by Patrick Skene Catling
A cute book with lessons learned originally by King Midas--this time with chocolate. My fourth graders love this book. 'Nuf said.
No comments:
Post a Comment